Race to the first i4

[PsymonR]

Hi, Does anyone have any decent delivery status updates for Europe for I4?

I had estimated delivery in August, then September and now I have asked my dealer and he says "no news from lotus are good news and means you will have your car in December".

I don't know whether to feel nervous... or skeptical.

Having been given a build month for my (UK) I4 which has now passed with no official news from Lotus (delay confirmed by Lotus Customer Care after contacting them) I think I'd be skeptical on the no news is good news thing...

 

[Cutting42]

Hi, Does anyone have any decent delivery status updates for Europe for I4?

I had estimated delivery in August, then September and now I have asked my dealer and he says "no news from lotus are good news and means you will have your car in December".

I don't know whether to feel nervous... or skeptical.

Without knowing the cause of the delays I cannot advise sadly. My dates have also moved from Aug to Sept to Oct and the last I heard after chasing customer service was "you will be in your car in Q1 2024". I am in the UK so do not know if we are being penalised or there is a wider delay. Maybe being Spanish might help you, the continent beat the UK to V6 cars so maybe you will win. No clue.

 

[Zayex]

Having been given a build month for my (UK) I4 which has now passed with no official news from Lotus (delay confirmed by Lotus Customer Care after contacting them) I think I'd be skeptical on the no news is good news thing...

I completely agree with you, I think the delivery will be next year.

It would be really interesting to know if they are delivering an i4 to anyone in europe.

 

[Zayex]

Without knowing the cause of the delays I cannot advise sadly. My dates have also moved from Aug to Sept to Oct and the last I heard after chasing customer service was "you will be in your car in Q1 2024". I am in the UK so do not know if we are being penalised or there is a wider delay. Maybe being Spanish might help you, the continent beat the UK to V6 cars so maybe you will win. No clue.

You may be right. I was offered in July to trade my i4 for the v6, and I know those cars were delivered in time.

To be on schedule my dealer must ask for full payment in two weeks. if he doesn't it's clear I won't get the car this year.

I promise to update.

 

[0pirates0]

i was so busy for the last couple weeks and did not have time to share online.
But, i finally COLLECTED my emira.
So far I have only driven for 100kms last weekends. I have to admit it's an amazing vehicle. ppl would staring at this beautiful little beast. Only tried tour mode so far, in the i4's manual book, Lotus suggested to use tour mode for the first 1600km(i guess 1000 miles)
New issues updating:
about 5 i4 models found their emira lost control of acceleration on high way. When they tried to step on the gas, there's no response AT ALL. This problem only happened on i4 after driving highway for 3hrs(at around 120km average speed). Iron scurf was found in gas tank and gas pump. Lotus team was trying to figure out.

 

[Tokion]

i was so busy for the last couple weeks and did not have time to share online.
But, i finally COLLECTED my emira.
So far I have only driven for 100kms last weekends. I have to admit it's an amazing vehicle. ppl would staring at this beautiful little beast. Only tried tour mode so far, in the i4's manual book, Lotus suggested to use tour mode for the first 1600km(i guess 1000 miles)
New issues updating:
about 5 i4 models found their emira lost control of acceleration on high way. When they tried to step on the gas, there's no response AT ALL. This problem only happened on i4 after driving highway for 3hrs(at around 120km average speed). Iron scurf was found in gas tank and gas pump. Lotus team was trying to figure out.

Thanks for your update on i4, and congratulations with your Emira that you have now collected. It sounds like you are not personally experiencing any malfunction with your car, and that you are following the running-in procedures by using only tour-mode, and probably limiting rpm to the recommendations by Lotus Cars.

Regarding the other issue with 5 other i4 cars, your explanation sounds like impurities (iron particles?) found their way into the gasoline. I hope the Lotus retailer, together with the Lotus distributor, finds the true cause for why these particles ended up in the fuel system of these cars?

At least it sounds like this isn’t a malfunction of the cars themselves?

Keep on enjoying and reporting on your car as you continue to drive it.

Do you hear any information regarding updating and functionality of the DCT gearbox regarding i4 cars in China? Especially interesting is whether recently arrived and delivered i4 cars seem seem to have an improved DCT gearbox (elimination of the various problems reported by reviewers in England and USA back in August)?

Maybe the DCT gearbox never became an issue in China, and that Chinese users have mostly been satisfied with it the way it has always been?

 

[0pirates0]

Thanks for your update on i4, and congratulations with your Emira that you have now collected. It sounds like you are not personally experiencing any malfunction with your car, and that you are following the running-in procedures by using only tour-mode, and probably limiting rpm to the recommendations by Lotus Cars.

Regarding the other issue with 5 other i4 cars, your explanation sounds like impurities (iron particles?) found their way into the gasoline. I hope the Lotus retailer, together with the Lotus distributor, finds the true cause for why these particles ended up in the fuel system of these cars?

At least it sounds like this isn’t a malfunction of the cars themselves?

Keep on enjoying and reporting on your car as you continue to drive it.

Do you hear any information regarding updating and functionality of the DCT gearbox regarding i4 cars in China? Especially interesting is whether recently arrived and delivered i4 cars seem seem to have an improved DCT gearbox (elimination of the various problems reported by reviewers in England and USA back in August)?

Maybe the DCT gearbox never became an issue in China, and that Chinese users have mostly been satisfied with it the way it has always been?

i doubt that there was an upgrade on the DCT gearbox. My vehicle was made in Aug. 2023, shipped out in early Sep, then arrived Shanghai in late Oct. and was delivered in Nov. 15 after PDI tests. I dun think there was time for upgrading.
For the iron particles, we were told by lotus team that either they were impurities found in gas in China or they were already there when our vehicle get delivered. I will get my car check next week. If they were also found in my vehicle, then it must be something left when Lotus assemble the gas tank.

 

[EspritGuy]

i doubt that there was an upgrade on the DCT gearbox. My vehicle was made in Aug. 2023, shipped out in early Sep, then arrived Shanghai in late Oct. and was delivered in Nov. 15 after PDI tests. I dun think there was time for upgrading.
For the iron particles, we were told by lotus team that either they were impurities found in gas in China or they were already there when our vehicle get delivered. I will get my car check next week. If they were also found in my vehicle, then it must be something left when Lotus assemble the gas tank.

Wouldn't a fuel filter capture contaminants?
Thereafter a dirty fuel filter affects performance.
Debris actually in the fuel tank seems something other than bad fuel. Emira requires a higher octane, and presumably higher quality gas?

 

[Tokion]

i doubt that there was an upgrade on the DCT gearbox. My vehicle was made in Aug. 2023, shipped out in early Sep, then arrived Shanghai in late Oct. and was delivered in Nov. 15 after PDI tests. I dun think there was time for upgrading.
For the iron particles, we were told by lotus team that either they were impurities found in gas in China or they were already there when our vehicle get delivered. I will get my car check next week. If they were also found in my vehicle, then it must be something left when Lotus assemble the gas tank.

Thank you 0pirates0

I really appreciate your accurate information, and I acknowledge it is very important for us waiting for Emira i4 outside China (in my case it is in Tokyo, Japan)

 

[PsymonR]

Was just playing around on the configurator and spotted that you can't currently place an order online for the I4 in the UK. After making a config you can only save the config or find a dealer, whereas if putting a V6 order together you can save the config or order now...

I4:

V6:

Does this mean they've currently closed the order book for the I4? If so I wonder if this is potentially bad news for chances of the I4 appearing soon...

 

[Zayex]

Was just playing around on the configurator and spotted that you can't currently place an order online for the I4 in the UK. After making a config you can only save the config or find a dealer, whereas if putting a V6 order together you can save the config or order now...

I4: View attachment 33595 V6: View attachment 33596

Does this mean they've currently closed the order book for the I4? If so I wonder if this is potentially bad news for chances of the I4 appearing soon...

And a possible price increase? I still think the amg block gives them less margin than the toyota's.

 

[JClem]

Saw this on Facebook. Doesn’t sound good.

 

[DJManc]

Saw this on Facebook. Doesn’t sound good.

View attachment 33642

This sounds a little odd. I have never previously heard of Lotus actually calling a customer directly to advise of a delay but time will tell. If there is some truth in this, I guess we will find out soon. If this person has spoken to LCS they usually say that they do not know exactly when we will get the cars and just refer to the scheduled build data on their system, which has not been correct anyway. The production team do not appear to communicate with LCS very much at all from my experience.

 

[Wiz33]

Saw this on Facebook. Doesn’t sound good.

View attachment 33642

And in the meantime, hundreds of Emira I4 are showing up in China.

 

[CraigO]

Saw this on Facebook. Doesn’t sound good.

View attachment 33642

I had a missed call from Lotus today.
If the same message, and I'm sure it will be, that's it. Enough is enough . Time to move on.....

 

[christophermalex]

And in the meantime, hundreds of Emira I4 are showing up in China.

Exactly....... how can i4's be streaming into China if they are so far from a finished product that Lotus can't commit to at the very least Q1/'24 delivery to the rest of the world?!

Did they throw an unfinished product out there for China to appease the Geely execs? Did they somehow give China the RIGHT setup with the 400hp and are simply waiting for enough V6's to sell so that they can reward the rest of the world with the same output?!

Maybe if we all stop trying then Lotus will sort it out and give us all the details......

 

[PsymonR]

Delaying to the summer would indeed be strange: reviews of "production" cars back in August, emails going out giving a production month which for some people (including me) was earlier than initial estimates (though has since missed, of course) and cars being shipped to China. To go from being told production is a month away to then have it delayed by over half a year has to mean a fairly major issue, but then again why are they shipping I4s if so... But if this is indeed the case, no wonder they've stopped online orders for the I4 variant!

I'm still in at this stage, but would really appreciate some information to why such a delay if it is the case!

 

[Lotustoronto]

Delaying to the summer would indeed be strange: reviews of "production" cars back in August, emails going out giving a production month which for some people (including me) was earlier than initial estimates (though has since missed, of course) and cars being shipped to China. To go from being told production is a month away to then have it delayed by over half a year has to mean a fairly major issue, but then again why are they shipping I4s if so... But if this is indeed the case, no wonder they've stopped online orders for the I4 variant!

I'm still in at this stage, but would really appreciate some information to why such a delay if it is the case!

i4 production is being re-allocated to the US market along side V6 models to reduce overall fleet emissions so that they are not penalized as heavily?

There is no rational explanation for such a lengthy delay on a vehicle that is currently in production and actively being shipped. Perhaps they would like i4 holders to pick up the V6 F/E's sitting on dealer lots instead in the UK?

 

[JClem]

Agreed that none of this makes sense.

However, Bell & Colvill told me back in May that i4 demos would arrive in August once the press drives were done, then it was September and now we’re looking at January. If there wasn’t an issue why delay demonstraters?

i4 cancellations from Europe must be going through the roof.

 

[adamrj]

I received the call yesterday. They told me 'by summer next year'. I was also offered an invitation to a Lotus event as a consolation prize. I asked whether it would be possible to get a refund even if my spec is locked and they said yes. Waiting to see how it goes for the time being.