Race to the first i4

[Superman]

I started a bit of an Owner's Journal Here, if anyone is interested in perusing my ramblings and some initial thoughts of Emira ownership.

 

[MB-SC-LTSE]

I started a bit of an Owner's Journal Here, if anyone is interested in perusing my ramblings and some initial thoughts of Emira ownership.

Hi folks, South Carolina-USA meridian blue emira i4 fan posting again. I have the i4 on order here and ours aren't due until early 2025. I think it's great that the U.K. i4 deliveries are happening and am really happy to see a lot of you sharing your thoughts and feedback with the rest of us that are still patiently waiting. Really appreciate getting the true owners experience on our i4 model. Please keep sharing as I'm sure we all find this extremely invaluable.
Also I'm really thinking about doing an immediate exhaust system upgrade when I get mine. I know there's a lot of info out for the V6 model with the Milltek option, but not sure if this will be the best option for the i4 or if something else will be more suitable for the i4. If any of you are thinking about doing this and find any better or different options for our model, please let me know. Looking forward to seeing all your great feedback in future posts as everyone is having fun with and loving the emira driving experience!!

 

[Superman]

Also I'm really thinking about doing an immediate exhaust system upgrade when I get mine. I know there's a lot of info out for the V6 model with the Milltek option, but not sure if this will be the best option for the i4 or if something else will be more suitable for the i4. If any of you are thinking about doing this and find any better or different options for our model, please let me know. Looking forward to seeing all your great feedback in future posts as everyone is having fun with and loving the emira driving experience!!

Can't really help with that. On a personal note, I have so far found the car to have plenty enough exhaust sound already for my taste. In Tour it is perfect for longer motorway cruises; Whilst in Sport, it sounds fruity enough for when you want to have a bit of fun. I am not a fan of 'shouty' exhausts, as I think they just give off too much of a wannabe street racer vibe. I prefer a more subtle exhaust note... Besides, the Emira is so stunningly beautiful to look at, why distract from that with a loud barking exhaust?

just my thoughts, but you do whatever is right for you.

 

[Mitcheroo]

I have a sneaky suspicion a lot of our cars were built several months ago, and now they are trying to get them all delivered ASAP...

My service information on the in-car display says 181 days until next service; That to me implies a late Sep 2023 build. That timescale does tie-in with the previous Comms last year about delivery dates in Oct I believe it was. Which would also tie-in with the suggestion that sales/delivery of the I4 in the UK was held up with some regulatory approval.

I don't LOVE that my car may have been built 6 months ago and been sitting around waiting (most probably outside in the rain, over winter ), but to counter that, I DO love that I have it now!!

Is there any way to get a confirmation of actual build date??

I was wondering about the actual build date too. I asked the chap when I picked mine up yesterday but he could not give me an answer. Would be good to know.
I noticed one of my rear discs was rusty (see pic) so flagged it up as a possible issue during handover. Would tie in with sitting around, although I appreciate they can go rusty v quickly.

 

[PsymonR]

I have a sneaky suspicion a lot of our cars were built several months ago, and now they are trying to get them all delivered ASAP...

My service information on the in-car display says 181 days until next service; That to me implies a late Sep 2023 build. That timescale does tie-in with the previous Comms last year about delivery dates in Oct I believe it was. Which would also tie-in with the suggestion that sales/delivery of the I4 in the UK was held up with some regulatory approval.

I don't LOVE that my car may have been built 6 months ago and been sitting around waiting (most probably outside in the rain, over winter ), but to counter that, I DO love that I have it now!!

Is there any way to get a confirmation of actual build date??

I've got a similar suspicion, the cars probably entered production when the emails went out towards the end of last year saying that production was imminent. I presume your VIN will have a 'P' in the 10th digit, representing a '23 car, mine does (Also as a reference note, my car is saying 160 days till next service.). The cars would then likely have been stored whilst waiting for whatever was causing the delay to be sorted. A bit like the US cars being produced and delivered to the states whilst awaiting CARB etc.

 

[Superman]

I've got a similar suspicion, the cars probably entered production when the emails went out towards the end of last year saying that production was imminent. I presume your VIN will have a 'P' in the 10th digit, representing a '23 car, mine does (Also as a reference note, my car is saying 160 days till next service.). The cars would then likely have been stored whilst waiting for whatever was causing the delay to be sorted. A bit like the US cars being produced and delivered to the states whilst awaiting CARB etc.

The 10th digit in my VIN is an 'R', if that makes any difference?

 

[Superman]

I was wondering about the actual build date too. I asked the chap when I picked mine up yesterday but he could not give me an answer. Would be good to know.
I noticed one of my rear discs was rusty (see pic) so flagged it up as a possible issue during handover. Would tie in with sitting around, although I appreciate they can go rusty v quickly.

I was super-conscious to check the brake disks on mine too, but to be fair they all looked perfect, no rusting at all...

I just went and had a look at mine and the rear pads sweep a large proportion of the disk, so if that surface rust is still there on yours after a good drive with some spirited braking, then you might want to get it checked for possible pad defects of caliper sticking. (You might know all this already, but make sure you get some good, fairly hard braking done, say from 60mph to 10mph, a couple of times, as the rear brakes work less hard than the fronts).

 

[Mitcheroo]

Many thank

I was super-conscious to check the brake disks on mine too, but to be fair they all looked perfect, no rusting at all...

I just went and had a look at mine and the rear pads sweep a large proportion of the disk, so if that surface rust is still there on yours after a good drive with some spirited braking, then you might want to get it checked for possible pad defects of caliper sticking. (You might know all this already, but make sure you get some good, fairly hard braking done, say from 60mph to 10mph, a couple of times, as the rear brakes work less hard than the fronts).

 

[Mitcheroo]

That is useful to know. I only did around 50 miles yesterday and the disc is still pretty rusty. Brakes feel good though. I shall do as you suggest and keep an eye. I don’t know much about car mechanics - I just know whether a car feels good to drive or not so all feedback welcome. Have learnt a few things from the forum.

 

[SCJ]

Just checked my vin number it’s an ‘R’, thank you for the info. Still haven’t collected mine yet, it’s at the dealers but I’m abroad on work, very frustrating. Mine‘s meridian blue, any others out there?

 

[DenzilP]

Another happy customer! Handling is sublime.

I picked my DV up just before you yesterday. I agree handling is excellent. Hendy said you don’t need to run them in, but going to give it 1000 miles before opening her up.

 

[Andy H]

Another collection today. Still can't quite believe it's here!

 

[schuey100]

I have a sneaky suspicion a lot of our cars were built several months ago, and now they are trying to get them all delivered ASAP...

My service information on the in-car display says 181 days until next service; That to me implies a late Sep 2023 build. That timescale does tie-in with the previous Comms last year about delivery dates in Oct I believe it was. Which would also tie-in with the suggestion that sales/delivery of the I4 in the UK was held up with some regulatory approval.

I don't LOVE that my car may have been built 6 months ago and been sitting around waiting (most probably outside in the rain, over winter ), but to counter that, I DO love that I have it now!!

Is there any way to get a confirmation of actual build date??

Interesting, you may be right but I’m with you wouldnt want it left out in the bad weather over winter but will never know (only just taken mine out of the garage today as there is blue sky) havnt checked the service interval on the car but will find out, not pressed any of the buttons yet!

 

[schuey100]

Can't really help with that. On a personal note, I have so far found the car to have plenty enough exhaust sound already for my taste. In Tour it is perfect for longer motorway cruises; Whilst in Sport, it sounds fruity enough for when you want to have a bit of fun. I am not a fan of 'shouty' exhausts, as I think they just give off too much of a wannabe street racer vibe. I prefer a more subtle exhaust note... Besides, the Emira is so stunningly beautiful to look at, why distract from that with a loud barking exhaust?

just my thoughts, but you do whatever is right for you.

Totally agree, sounds decent imo, the exhaust looks like great workmanship what you can see through the rear mesh

 

[Andy H]

I presume your VIN will have a 'P' in the 10th digit, representing a '23 car, mine does (Also as a reference note, my car is saying 160 days till next service.)

I just checked mine. The VIN has an 'R' and the dash says 335 days to next service so it looks like it was a fairly recent build. Also, no rust on the discs.

I wonder if Lotus started i4 production in 2023 before the type approval problems, then they paused for some months and resumed in 2024?

Unfortunately, I think a lot of companies have been stockpiling cars for various reasons since Covid. There's been a lot of pictures in the press of vast storage lots. I guess it's a bit of a lottery.

 

[Mitcheroo]

Likewise, mine has ‘R’ and 350 days until next service, but not sure if this means too much.

 

[MB-SC-LTSE]

Totally agree, sounds decent imo, the exhaust looks like great workmanship what you can see through the rear mesh

Thanks for the feedback guys. I've only test driven the V6, and haven't heard or driven the i4 yet. Based on your feedback I might wait live with it a bit first to see if I think an exhaust upgrade is necessary. Please keep your i4 impressions and experiences coming for those of us unlucky enough to still be patiently waiting for ours!!

 

[schuey100]

I just checked mine. The VIN has an 'R' and the dash says 335 days to next service so it looks like it was a fairly recent build. Also, no rust on the discs.

I wonder if Lotus started i4 production in 2023 before the type approval problems, then they paused for some months and resumed in 2024?

Unfortunately, I think a lot of companies have been stockpiling cars for various reasons since Covid. There's been a lot of pictures in the press of vast storage lots. I guess it's a bit of a lottery.

R for me aswel, can’t see where to check service due though if you can advise? Dosnt come up when starting the car and can’t find it on info screen?! Amazing car though so pleased I waited for I4, proper pocket rocket, oh and the jaw dropping. and phones taking photos going through town is getting a little much….

 

[PsymonR]

I wonder if Lotus started i4 production in 2023 before the type approval problems, then they paused for some months and resumed in 2024?

Yeah this does seem the most likely scenario to me. It did seem like whatever specifically caused the delay was a surprise to Lotus, otherwise they wouldn't have suddenly brought forward a load of orders into the end of last year (if they'd not told me October then I wouldn't have felt a delay having originally been told Q1 '24!).

Although it seems my car was built at the end of last year, the discs are looking good at least.

 

[schuey100]

Thanks for the feedback guys. I've only test driven the V6, and haven't heard or driven the i4 yet. Based on your feedback I might wait live with it a bit first to see if I think an exhaust upgrade is necessary. Please keep your i4 impressions and experiences coming for those of us unlucky enough to still be patiently waiting for ours!!

Think the engine sound is very deep and playful, loud enough in the cabin, think a louder exhaust would be a bit overload personally, it sounds throaty from the outside not loud but classy, any noisier I really don’t think would suit the car unless you want to be a boy racer as we say in the UK! As a nearly 50 year bloke my days of loud exhausts are over!