So I got to take a test drive.... :)

[Leonard]

I have to work to get under the 210# weight limit but yeah I want one too...

What an incentive to lose weight!!!

 

[Pops68]

What an incentive to lose weight!!!

for sure!! Definitely on my bucket list!

 

[Leonard]

Thanks for sharing, I was genuinely curious. Agreed with a few points - if Porsche made a new 992.2 Carrera T 6MT (which they won't), that would be something I'd be interested in. Boxster/Cayman, eh, just not for me - personal preference.

GR Yaris/Corolla I would love to have, but:

1.) It will be impossible to get.
2.) ADM's through the roof, as per usual.

IMHO, the M2C was really never meant to be a dedicated track car out of the box. I don't even think the M2CS is. I actually think it's just more a modernized bone stock E46 M3.

Agreed about the weight; the Emira is compelling for me because I have a feeling it'll do pretty much everything the M2C does - but weighs 500lbs (227kg) lighter, while looking far more special. I'm not expecting it to be a track car either, which is fine by me, seeing how I don't really track my weekend toy.

I feel like the Exige V6 Cup R is more up your alley, lol.

I have literally just been watching reviews of Exiges again
I need to try a 390 Final Edition and maybe one of the harder core 410/20/30 models as well. See if I could live with them
Edited to add if you don't like the Boxster because of the hairdresser associations, you should give one a go at least once (the car not the hairdresser...). Probably a better real world car than the 911

 

[Lotustoronto]

I have literally just been watching reviews of Exiges again
I need to try a 390 Final Edition and maybe one of the harder core 410/20/30 models as well. See if I could live with them
Edited to add if you don't like the Boxster because of the hairdresser associations, you should give one a go at least once (the car not the hairdresser...). Probably a better real world car than the 911

The Spyder is the only non hairdresser Boxster. Sorry, but the look of the 718 Boxster is still a bit feminine IMO. No offence to anyone that owns one... Cayman is good tho...

 

[Leonard]

The Spyder is the only non hairdresser Boxster. Sorry, but the look of the 718 Boxster is still a bit feminine IMO. No offence to anyone that owns one... Cayman is good tho...

I will defend them forever, such an amazing car

 

[kratedisease]

Just want to thank Shyatic for

1) starting this thread
2) taking and SHARING a long video on his test drive ( could have just went for the drive without recording it, he did not need to post the video)
3) taking the time to answer all of the questions other deposit holders have

SO .... I speak for every here, thank you for your valuable time donated here on this forum,

 

[Shyatic]

Just want to thank Shyatic for

1) starting this thread
2) taking and SHARING a long video on his test drive ( could have just went for the drive without recording it, he did not need to post the video)
3) taking the time to answer all of the questions other deposit holders have

SO .... I speak for every here, thank you for your valuable time donated here on this forum,

That’s what we are here for, isn’t it? My pleasure to add even a little insight.

 

[Pegasi]

Great post and I also took @kratedisease post as simply saying the forum members needed this. Everyone wants THEIR car and these posts bring back the dream and change the topic.

 

[Leonard]

Just want to thank Shyatic for

1) starting this thread
2) taking and SHARING a long video on his test drive ( could have just went for the drive without recording it, he did not need to post the video)
3) taking the time to answer all of the questions other deposit holders have

SO .... I speak for every here, thank you for your valuable time donated here on this forum,

100%
Above and beyond
Thank you

 

[Russc]

Thanks for posting, quick question for me and excuse the personal nature of it, feel free not to answer But, how tall are you (you looked tall from the video ), how comfortable was it and was the view through the screen enough?

Still a worry at 6`2" for me and while i know i`ll only find out when i sit behind the wheel i thought i`d take the opportunity to ask

 

[kratedisease]

Thanks for posting, quick question for me and excuse the personal nature of it, feel free not to answer But, how tall are you (you looked tall from the video ), how comfortable was it and was the view through the screen enough?

Still a worry at 6`2" for me and while i know i`ll only find out when i sit behind the wheel i thought i`d take the opportunity to ask

I am 6'2" and sat in the demo car in NYCity and had tons of room. No issue, never felt tight or cramped. Most likely the EMIRA can easily take up to 6'4" with no problem.
Tons of room.

 

[GetawayDriving]

I guess I like performance and dynamics first and foremost and everything else is secondary. Weight is also a driver and partly why the M2 disappointed.
I rarely do track days but I'm a firm believer that cars designed to operate at ten tenths reward and encourage you to keep pushing up to the limit. I don't want to keep pushing only to find the car is lacking before I am.
Saying all of that if it is not my main performance car I can find excitement and thrills in almost anything! Definitely something to be said for extracting the most performance out of something not designed to perform in any way
I also think the engine and gearbox should be the main focus and everything else built around that (again M2 disappointed)
In hindsight the Emira probably wasn't for me, but I thought Lotus were building their equivalent of Toyotas GR Yaris and I didn't realise this was not the case until late in the day
So I'm invested now awaiting a test drive. I'm also willing to break my 10 year old rule not to modify any of my new cars, if it will give me the Emira that I want and think it should be.
Yes you are right GT4 be a great car for me, but I'd go for the Spyder as it looks better and the open top would tick yet another box of nice to haves. Plus its a slightly softer chassis so better on UK roads. Otherwise I'd get a 991.2 T, 991.2 GTS or 991.1 GT3 but don't really want an auto yet so GT3 is out..
That waffled on a bit, bet your glad you asked now But thanks for asking

My experience with Emira did not leave me feeling like it was a different thing from Lotus. 200lbs is not that far off from Evora in the grand scheme. The wider track hid this extra weight very well, it did not feel like a heavy car. I found it very rewarding when lapping at the top of my limit. Every lap my ceiling as a driver was being raised a little further, thanks to the confidence the car gives. I don't know where the Emira's limits are, I didn't find them. But I was having a ton of fun wherever I was.

 

[Callabrator]

Thanks for posting, quick question for me and excuse the personal nature of it, feel free not to answer But, how tall are you (you looked tall from the video ), how comfortable was it and was the view through the screen enough?

Still a worry at 6`2" for me and while i know i`ll only find out when i sit behind the wheel i thought i`d take the opportunity to ask

I sat in the car in Dallas yesterday. I’m 6’ 185, 34” inseam and a slender build. I had to move the seat up quite a bit to be comfortable. The wheel telescoped out nice and far too. I have full faith a 6’2” person will fit with no problem.

I will say the lack of bolstering on the seats was a disappointment though. Even compared to my current a90 Supra seats, they felt like benches…and the Supra seats aren’t great in that regard. For anyone doing even a moderate amount of track work, I’d factor in the price of better seats into your future.

 

[VL3X]

Thanks for posting, quick question for me and excuse the personal nature of it, feel free not to answer But, how tall are you (you looked tall from the video ), how comfortable was it and was the view through the screen enough?

Still a worry at 6`2" for me and while i know i`ll only find out when i sit behind the wheel i thought i`d take the opportunity to ask

FWIW My buddy is 6'2" ~260lbs+ and felt comfortable in the Emira at the roadshow.

 

[Shyatic]

FWIW My buddy is 6'2" ~260lbs+ and felt comfortable in the Emira at the roadshow.

Agreed — I am 5’11”, and had to pull the seat way up to feel comfortable. Dude before me was much taller.

 

[VL3X]

Agreed — I am 5’11”, and had to pull the seat way up to feel comfortable. Dude before me was much taller.

Haha, I'm 5'8" and had to do the same. The roadshow seat was finicky so the Lotus rep/tech had to adjust it way up for me. I'm sure I'll be able to get dialed in and comfortable.

 

[Willcall]

Hello everyone, I’ve just registered after having followed the forum for quite awhile. I first put down a deposit for the Emira back in August 2021, since then I’ve been through several sales associates, but thankfully I just experienced a test drive on Thursday morning in Dallas. I’ve never been in a Lotus so this was totally a first for me. I currently own a 2019 Corvette so I’m clearly enamored by performance. But I found the Emira test drive was really great. Unfortunately, the area is not very conducive to really understanding the capabilities of the car, but I found the manual quite easy for me, even though it’s been three years since I’ve driven one. Storage is an issue for me since I go on road trips where I’ll be away from home for several weeks, but that’s life. I look forward to moving to the spec stage, which for me looks like next July. if I do decide to withdraw my interest it won’t be because I was in anyway disappointed with what I saw or experienced during the test drive.

 

[Eagle7]

Hello everyone, I’ve just registered after having followed the forum for quite awhile. I first put down a deposit for the Emira back in August 2021, since then I’ve been through several sales associates, but thankfully I just experienced a test drive on Thursday morning in Dallas. I’ve never been in a Lotus so this was totally a first for me. I currently own a 2019 Corvette so I’m clearly enamored by performance. But I found the Emira test drive was really great. Unfortunately, the area is not very conducive to really understanding the capabilities of the car, but I found the manual quite easy for me, even though it’s been three years since I’ve driven one. Storage is an issue for me since I go on road trips where I’ll be away from home for several weeks, but that’s life. I look forward to moving to the spec stage, which for me looks like next July. if I do decide to withdraw my interest it won’t be because I was in anyway disappointed with what I saw or experienced during the test drive.

Welcome to the forum!

 

[Leonard]

My experience with Emira did not leave me feeling like it was a different thing from Lotus. 200lbs is not that far off from Evora in the grand scheme. The wider track hid this extra weight very well, it did not feel like a heavy car. I found it very rewarding when lapping at the top of my limit. Every lap my ceiling as a driver was being raised a little further, thanks to the confidence the car gives. I don't know where the Emira's limits are, I didn't find them. But I was having a ton of fun wherever I was.

That's good to hear, it really it is and that is what I'm hoping to experience from my test drive.
Just have to hope that it transfers equally well to the road and in my case specifically B roads where car width, drivetrain and weight transfer do all play a big part in the enjoyment factor. Hoping the suspension set up will be a blinder though!

 

[TomE]

Hello everyone, I’ve just registered after having followed the forum for quite awhile. I first put down a deposit for the Emira back in August 2021, since then I’ve been through several sales associates, but thankfully I just experienced a test drive on Thursday morning in Dallas. I’ve never been in a Lotus so this was totally a first for me. I currently own a 2019 Corvette so I’m clearly enamored by performance. But I found the Emira test drive was really great. Unfortunately, the area is not very conducive to really understanding the capabilities of the car, but I found the manual quite easy for me, even though it’s been three years since I’ve driven one. Storage is an issue for me since I go on road trips where I’ll be away from home for several weeks, but that’s life. I look forward to moving to the spec stage, which for me looks like next July. if I do decide to withdraw my interest it won’t be because I was in anyway disappointed with what I saw or experienced during the test drive.

Welcome to the forum and thanks for sharing your perspective as one of the “new to Lotus” folks. Always good to have a fresh perspective.

Feel free to head over to the Introductions thread to say hi and share your previous car history.