Race to the first i4

[TurboTambo]

You gotta say more that that!!! Pic? Transmission? Power? Suspension?

haha... Not much to comment on really as I've only done 100km and not given it much stick. But, so far the massive positives are:

- Looks stunning from every angle inside and out. Has to be in the top ten of best looking cars ever produced!!! It literally is that nice.
- To me the steering is sensational. It feels pretty old school, kind of non-power steering like, without being too heavy.
- When the turbo kicks in it wants to go. I never thought id say this but 360hp does feel enough. A 500hp upgrade down the line would be mental.
- I have the sports suspension, which on the Western Australian roads feels great. Firm without being to hard. Was really comfortable, as were the seats, on my 60km journey home.
- I can't see any negatives with the KEF sound system yet. The integration with my iPhone was seamless, and the sound quality is great. I'm never going to be pumping tunes like when I was 18, so it's more than good enough for a sports car.
- In Touring the exhaust note is quiet, perfect for a nice leisurely drive, but when you flick into Sport it comes alive. Its no V6 but still sounds good. All the other sounds from the turbo more than make up for it.

The only negative so far is the paint quality isn't the best. I have a fair few swirl marks, as well as small dots which look like lacquer issues. Also, the paint doesn't look to be finished correctly underneath the rear glass, its rough to the touch, Luckily I've been assured it'll all be fixed when the paint is corrected ready for ceramic coating.

From now on when I read from people that another car is better than the Emira, I'm going to have to assume that the other car must be something very special. As the Emira is everything I could have every asked for and more. The car has been well worth the wait.

I haven't taken many pics, as i can actually just look at it now ;-) But this is it parked at work.

 

[MajHall04]

haha... Not much to comment on really as I've only done 100km and not given it much stick. But, so far the massive positives are:

- Looks stunning from every angle inside and out. Has to be in the top ten of best looking cars ever produced!!! It literally is that nice.
- To me the steering is sensational. It feels pretty old school, kind of non-power steering like, without being too heavy.
- When the turbo kicks in it wants to go. I never thought id say this but 360hp does feel enough. A 500hp upgrade down the line would be mental.
- I have the sports suspension, which on the Western Australian roads feels great. Firm without being to hard. Was really comfortable, as were the seats, on my 60km journey home.
- I can't see any negatives with the KEF sound system yet. The integration with my iPhone was seamless, and the sound quality is great. I'm never going to be pumping tunes like when I was 18, so it's more than good enough for a sports car.
- In Touring the exhaust note is quiet, perfect for a nice leisurely drive, but when you flick into Sport it comes alive. Its no V6 but still sounds good. All the other sounds from the turbo more than make up for it.

The only negative so far is the paint quality isn't the best. I have a fair few swirl marks, as well as small dots which look like lacquer issues. Also, the paint doesn't look to be finished correctly underneath the rear glass, its rough to the touch, Luckily I've been assured it'll all be fixed when the paint is corrected ready for ceramic coating.

From now on when I read from people that another car is better than the Emira, I'm going to have to assume that the other car must be something very special. As the Emira is everything I could have every asked for and more. The car has been well worth the wait.

I haven't taken many pics, as i can actually just look at it now ;-) But this is it parked at work.

Thank you Sir! Greatly appreciate the write-up. I finalized my Atlantis blue red interior in October for a 2025 delivery in the USA!

 

[GlobalPilot777]

haha... Not much to comment on really as I've only done 100km and not given it much stick. But, so far the massive positives are:

- Looks stunning from every angle inside and out. Has to be in the top ten of best looking cars ever produced!!! It literally is that nice.
- To me the steering is sensational. It feels pretty old school, kind of non-power steering like, without being too heavy.
- When the turbo kicks in it wants to go. I never thought id say this but 360hp does feel enough. A 500hp upgrade down the line would be mental.
- I have the sports suspension, which on the Western Australian roads feels great. Firm without being to hard. Was really comfortable, as were the seats, on my 60km journey home.
- I can't see any negatives with the KEF sound system yet. The integration with my iPhone was seamless, and the sound quality is great. I'm never going to be pumping tunes like when I was 18, so it's more than good enough for a sports car.
- In Touring the exhaust note is quiet, perfect for a nice leisurely drive, but when you flick into Sport it comes alive. Its no V6 but still sounds good. All the other sounds from the turbo more than make up for it.

The only negative so far is the paint quality isn't the best. I have a fair few swirl marks, as well as small dots which look like lacquer issues. Also, the paint doesn't look to be finished correctly underneath the rear glass, its rough to the touch, Luckily I've been assured it'll all be fixed when the paint is corrected ready for ceramic coating.

From now on when I read from people that another car is better than the Emira, I'm going to have to assume that the other car must be something very special. As the Emira is everything I could have every asked for and more. The car has been well worth the wait.

I haven't taken many pics, as i can actually just look at it now ;-) But this is it parked at work.

I totally agree with you! I just picked up mine last Saturday (v6 manual) and am in Love with the car! However, I have been told by Lotus Dubai that there will be no more V6 manuals coming (or even being made) from now on apparently only i4’s. I love the look from every single angle and the photos just dont do justice to how the car looks and the presence it has. Supercar look for sportscar monies.

 

[TurboTambo]

Thank you Sir! Greatly appreciate the write-up. I finalized my Atlantis blue red interior in October for a 2025 delivery in the USA!

Well worth the wait. I'm actually in love with my Emira, hahaha

 

[MajHall04]

Well worth the wait. I'm actually in love with my Emira, hahaha

I was going to bail and get a m3 xdrive but I will stick it out. Placed my deposit july21

 

[lynchy73]

Well worth the wait. I'm actually in love with my Emira, hahaha

I received my I4 Emira in December on my 50th Birthday. Loved it when it came and still in Love. Is fun even when babying it during run in, but really comes alive once you can give it the full beans. The mpg gas taken a bit of a hit since I started using all the revs and all the throttle.

BTW, I changed my oil at about 1200 miles and I suggest all I4 owners do the same. Happy I did, the oil was rather dark looking. Below are my car.

 

[Andy H]

I changed my oil at about 1200 miles

That's interesting. Lotus don't have a running in service in their schedule and having scored the 3 year package with mine, I wasn't expecting to be spending any money on it. I'm no oil expert but that does look quite murky.

 

[lynchy73]

That's interesting. Lotus don't have a running in service in their schedule and having scored the 3 year package with mine, I wasn't expecting to be spending any money on it. I'm no oil expert but that does look quite murky.

It’s only a suggestion from myself, it’s not part of the service schedule and was advised it’s not required/necessary. I’ve also got 3 years service FOC, and I paid for this oil service out of my pocket, as I figured the annual service may be more expensive (could have gotten it free, but then lose a scheduled service).

Likewise, no expert, but it looked pretty dirty to me too when they forwarded the pic. I ran in with relatively spirited driving but not too hard, didn’t spend much time on dual carriageways etc. Anyways, glad I did it, I intend to keep this car long term.

 

[Tokion]

I totally agree with you! I just picked up mine last Saturday (v6 manual) and am in Love with the car! However, I have been told by Lotus Dubai that there will be no more V6 manuals coming (or even being made) from now on apparently only i4’s. I love the look from every single angle and the photos just dont do justice to how the car looks and the presence it has. Supercar look for sportscar monies.

Congratulations Globalpilot777

So, you ended up getting the V6 Manual anyway. Depending on your needs and desires this is of course probably the best choice for you, and if circumstances and surroundings were different for me, this may have been my own choice too (I currently have two straight six, twin turbo cars, and I have owned several manual cars including three RX-7.)

However, my own needs at current still fits better with the Dual Clutch Transmission i4 FE, so I am still patiently waiting. As I am being told, the wait may soon be over.

Enjoy your car

 

[DenzilP]

Congratulations Globalpilot777

So, you ended up getting the V6 Manual anyway. Depending on your needs and desires this is of course probably the best choice for you, and if circumstances and surroundings were different for me, this may have been my own choice too (I currently have two straight six, twin turbo cars, and I have owned several manual cars including three RX-7.)

However, my own needs at current still fits better with the Dual Clutch Transmission i4 FE, so I am still patiently waiting. As I am being told, the wait may soon be over.

Enjoy your car

For all of you waiting for the i4 it is definitely worth the wait. I was going to switch with the last delay last year to a V6, but decided to stick with the i4. I have had my i4 for 3 weeks now, it’s fantastic. I did have an issue with the boot shut lines, it was 3mm out one side. It went in last week to have the boot adjusted and they gave me a V6 Emira for the day. The V6 does sound good and the sound outside of the car is even better. I loved the V6 but soon got tired of changing gear in traffic, I also felt it was lot heavier at the rear compare to my i4 - I am not a professional driver of any sort, just what I felt. As I will be doing long driving tours the fuel economy was the other factor that made me think I made the right decision with the i4.
Still running my i4 in, hoping to put more miles on it this weekend.

 

[Andy H]

definitely worth the wait

I agree. I'm still running in but I'm already 100% convinced I made the right choice hanging on for the i4. I test drove the V6 when it came out and I wasn't a fan. For me, the clutch was heavy and the shift was an acquired taste. There's a real Jekyll and Hyde personality between Tour and Sport mode in the i4 which gives the best of both worlds.

 

[GlobalPilot777]

Congratulations Globalpilot777

So, you ended up getting the V6 Manual anyway. Depending on your needs and desires this is of course probably the best choice for you, and if circumstances and surroundings were different for me, this may have been my own choice too (I currently have two straight six, twin turbo cars, and I have owned several manual cars including three RX-7.)

However, my own needs at current still fits better with the Dual Clutch Transmission i4 FE, so I am still patiently waiting. As I am being told, the wait may soon be over.

Enjoy your car

Hi Tokion,

Thank you very much. To be honest it was still a big thing for me the v6 vs i4. First of all not being able to purchase the spec I wanted vs the fun vs delays on the i4 made me go for the V6… the spec was right, it was available and although I still think that the i4 is the better car I must say that I love the engagement of the manual gearbox (it is absolutely not the best gearbox, its heavy clutch and gears shifts are notchy compared to the porsche carrera t gearbox its a day and night difference but I love it somehow, heavy left foot and klick klick, in fact after so many years driving around in auto gearbox I really had a soar left lef.. like gym workout ) … if the i4 had a manual version that would be for me 1000% the best of all but sometimes you have to compromise and did not want to compromise on 2 things.. the manual gearbox and the sound of a v6 which is already impressive in stock but with all the mods I am planning it can only be much better. Looking forward to hear your i4 stories hopefully soon. All the best and takecare

 

[Tokion]

Hi Tokion,

Thank you very much. To be honest it was still a big thing for me the v6 vs i4. First of all not being able to purchase the spec I wanted vs the fun vs delays on the i4 made me go for the V6… the spec was right, it was available and although I still think that the i4 is the better car I must say that I love the engagement of the manual gearbox (it is absolutely not the best gearbox, its heavy clutch and gears shifts are notchy compared to the porsche carrera t gearbox its a day and night difference but I love it somehow, heavy left foot and klick klick, in fact after so many years driving around in auto gearbox I really had a soar left lef.. like gym workout ) … if the i4 had a manual version that would be for me 1000% the best of all but sometimes you have to compromise and did not want to compromise on 2 things.. the manual gearbox and the sound of a v6 which is already impressive in stock but with all the mods I am planning it can only be much better. Looking forward to hear your i4 stories hopefully soon. All the best and takecare

Well said, Globalpilot777. I don’t disagree with anything you said, and if my own circumstances had been different, I could have selected and truly enjoyed the V6 with manual transmission and sport suspension.

However, as other i4 owners (including those like me still “in-waiting”), I am personally still looking forward to enjoying the features and “feel” of the i4. I was originally recommended to go for the i4 version by a Japanese Lotus Elise racer and the owner of the most serious and respected Lotus tuner in Japan.

I think it is quite exciting that there are two distinctive versions of the Emira, and the hardest thing during the long wait has been the relentless “i4 bashing” among certain members and groups. They seem to take morbid pleasure in putting it down as the inferior version that no serious car enthusiast (whom by definition must enjoy “rowing your own gears”, and that just “four cylinders” must be a joke). A pity that most of these guys seems to not have studied the Colin Chapman Lotus history and all the brand’s wonderful drivers’ cars, most of them with 4-cylinder engines!!!

I do agree though that it would have been much nicer if there were a manual gearbox option for the four-cylinder.

I shall enjoy my i4 FE together with other Lotus friends that have taken delivery of V6 cars, and also Lotus friends with Exige, Elise, Europa, Elan, Esprit and others.

I would like our Lotus community to be inclusive and diverse, so we can celebrate the differences

 

[GlobalPilot777]

Well said, Globalpilot777. I don’t disagree with anything you said, and if my own circumstances had been different, I could have selected and truly enjoyed the V6 with manual transmission and sport suspension.

However, as other i4 owners (including those like me still “in-waiting”), I am personally still looking forward to enjoying the features and “feel” of the i4. I was originally recommended to go for the i4 version by a Japanese Lotus Elise racer and the owner of the most serious and respected Lotus tuner in Japan.

I think it is quite exciting that there are two distinctive versions of the Emira, and the hardest thing during the long wait has been the relentless “i4 bashing” among certain members and groups. They seem to take morbid pleasure in putting it down as the inferior version that no serious car enthusiast (whom by definition must enjoy “rowing your own gears”, and that just “four cylinders” must be a joke). A pity that most of these guys seems to not have studied the Colin Chapman Lotus history and all the brand’s wonderful drivers’ cars, most of them with 4-cylinder engines!!!

I do agree though that it would have been much nicer if there were a manual gearbox option for the four-cylinder.

I shall enjoy my i4 FE together with other Lotus friends that have taken delivery of V6 cars, and also Lotus friends with Exige, Elise, Europa, Elan, Esprit and others.

I would like our Lotus community to be inclusive and diverse, so we can celebrate the differences

Ill be the last one to say that the i4 is inferior in fact I totally agree with every bit you said and defo believe the i4 is the better car in terms of power, tune’ability… the m139 engine is just perfect.. especially when you can get it to that standard 416hp or beyond. So you will defo enjoy the car alot. Looking forward for your review soon.

 

[PsymonR]

Well I've now passed the magic 1000 miles, so my car is now officially run in!

I'd been good and stuck to Tour mode during the process so today was the first time I've tried it in something more potent. And I'd have to agree with Andy H, the car definitely does have a split personality depending on what mode it is in! Now I'm able to open things up fully I can say the car definitely doesn't feel that it is lacking power and is fast enough for my needs as things stand!

In less good news, during the journey I had the ECL come on part way through the day so I didn't push as hard as I might have otherwise. Plugged my OBD reader in when I got home and got a few codes come up, with two specifically showing as having requested the warning indicator (though something tells me my ODB app isn't fully translating the codes correctly...). I've been able to clear the codes and the light has gone away for now, lets see if it comes back... the OBD dongle is now in the glove box!

P246B(00)
Raw code: 246B00
ECU: 59
Status: Test failed, Test failed (current drive cycle), Pending, Confirmed, Test failed since last DTC clear, Warning indicator requested
Diesel particulate filter (DPF) - vehicle conditions incorrect

P0483(92)
Raw code: 048392
ECU: 59
Status: Test failed, Test failed (current drive cycle), Pending, Confirmed, Test failed since last DTC clear, Warning indicator requested
Engine coolant blower motor, rationality check - malfunction

 

[Andy H]

Well I've now passed the magic 1000 miles, so my car is now officially run in!

Congratulations! I've very envious. Various commitments and a holiday mean I'm only about half way there so far. Hopefully I'll be done some time in May. My test drive was limited to 4,000 rpm for run in too so I've not experienced the full package yet.

I had the ECL come

I have a feeling we will be going through a similar experience to the V6 crowd for the elements that are new to the i4. Hopefully, if Lotus get to see enough cases they'll be able to identify a common theme and get a fix out.

 

[Hethel Merman]

Well I've now passed the magic 1000 miles, so my car is now officially run in!

I'd been good and stuck to Tour mode during the process so today was the first time I've tried it in something more potent. And I'd have to agree with Andy H, the car definitely does have a split personality depending on what mode it is in! Now I'm able to open things up fully I can say the car definitely doesn't feel that it is lacking power and is fast enough for my needs as things stand!

In less good news, during the journey I had the ECL come on part way through the day so I didn't push as hard as I might have otherwise. Plugged my OBD reader in when I got home and got a few codes come up, with two specifically showing as having requested the warning indicator (though something tells me my ODB app isn't fully translating the codes correctly...). I've been able to clear the codes and the light has gone away for now, lets see if it comes back... the OBD dongle is now in the glove box!

It's a bit worrying to hear you're already having trouble with your diesel particulate filter.

 

[PsymonR]

It's a bit worrying to hear you're already having trouble with your diesel particulate filter.

Exactly

The i4 does have a petrol particulate filter so guess it could be related to that if it is a real issue, but then again the code could be for something completely different!

 

[CraigO]

Just simply loving this truly special, stunning car.

 

[Andy H]

I know what you mean. I'm actually slightly disappointed I'm off on hols and will miss the next 2 weekends' driving!

I'm envious of your location there. I can't wait to complete run-in and get out to the Peaks/Dales/Lakes for some proper driving.