The great big "all the customer test drives" thread

[BeHappy]

References for acceleration - Honda CBR600RR and (a very long time ago) a passenger in an F40 around Silverstone

References for sports cars - Triumph Spitfire and a 986 Boxster S

Lotus as a company baffles me. The test drive was about 1 mile in a residential area with speed bumps, 1 mile on an A road with 2 (count em, 2) corners, a few miles on a dual carriageway and a few miles on a motorway.

And that is supposed to be enough to make me spend £80k (I buy cars for cash as trying to work out PCP hurts my brain).

Leaving my confusion with Lotus' marketing strategy aside, I will be buying a sports car to visit my kids when they start going to university and (less likely, I know) as something that makes me want to just go out for a drive. Like when I was 17.

Is the Emira going to do that? I found it comfortable and easy to drive. Acceleration is noticeable but not manic (so I think will be very usable on the road), the gear change is smooth and quick, the interior uncluttered (my preference) and seemed good quality.

And it does look very pretty.

But will it make me smile every time I use it? No bloody idea as I spent nearly all my time going over speed bumps or overtaking lorries on the M5.

DITTO DITTO DITTO DITTO and this is why I’m buggering off to a premium brand that deliver customer service and happy to give you a decent test rides - unaccompanied if I wish so I can gel with the car, well plus the concern of high no. of these cars have/ had faults and I’ll be pretty pis*** having spend £80k then to backwards n forwards to dealership

 

[Tonyshepp]

I’ll bet!!

DITTO DITTO DITTO DITTO and this is why I’m buggering off to a premium brand that deliver customer service and happy to give you a decent test rides - unaccompanied if I wish so I can gel with the car, well plus the concern of high no. of these cars have/ had faults and I’ll be pretty pis*** having spend £80k then to backwards n forwards to dealership

I took out a brand new 170k Vantage on my own after the Emira on whatever route however long I wanted to. Though I must say the Lotus test drive in Nottingham had been really thought out with a mixture of all roads. Both Charlie (she) and Conner were great. Chap who drove the car before me had ordered an I4 and didn’t rate the Emira so much against his Evora (which didn’t have a supercharger).

 

[DrD]

Test drive at Rybrook Solihull today.

I know the guys there well, having bought a few cars from them in the past. Exceptionally lovely people, very chilled.

Sports suspension car, on Goodyears, with no track mode available due to software bug.

Prev cars include 991 911 GTS, multiple caymans, caterhams, BMW M2, Audi TTS and a 1.3 toyota yaris if anyone cares. I've done a fair few trackdays, hold ARDS race license and have a lot of time in the seats of multiple McLarens, a couple of lamborghinis and R8s and smattering of all kinds of sports/ super cars.

TL;DR I think the Car is great for 90% of the people that are looking to purchase, especially new to the sports car market. However, for those that like abusing a car to 10/10ths (and beyond), granted very few of us - I personally think you'll be left wanting more. For me, not a cohesive driving experience, not a bad experience. Fun enough, but is it special enough for £80k...?

Conditions and route: Soaking wet, cold, 7 Deg C. Car is already warm due to previous test driver. I happen to know the gorgeous country road behind the dealership exceptionally well as it's the same winding twisty road I go on, in my own time to drive. 45 minute, 25ish mile country road circuit that I have (semi) free reign to do as I please, with a lady from Rybrook with me. I abuse it straight out of the dealership after making sure oil temps were ok, travel down the road at an enthusiastic pace. We didn't really do any normal road driving and there was no traffic on the route at all (england football match was on). So I can't give you my impressions of normal driving ironically. NVH etc...

Sports suspension is definitely on the firmer side, comparable to porsche PASM on. Suspension really finds the camber of the road and tramlines - with it giving you plenty of feedback through the wheel. I think it's definitely liveable, definitely not crashy and surprisingly compliant, but if I were to be dailying, I'd personally prefer the Tour (although I've not driven it). The sports was great for a hard drive, but would get cumbersome for me on normal roads.

Phenomenal chassis and steering feel though, despite the weather and temperature, it is incredibly playful.
I took it around a very quiet medium sized roundabout 5 times at a fair speed and had it feathering on the balance of understeer, allowing it to slide as it pleased. It's definitely tuned for a touch of safe understeer but has a remarkable front end with a fairly high limit. If you want the front glued and more willing to rotate at the rear, rather than push at the front: I can see that it will be easily changed with a minor Geo change (my previous 911 understeered more and had phenomenal front end grip after a geo change).
Once pushed into oversteer, it is like a gokart, feels like it can be driven with one finger and that aforementioned front end, finds the right line on it's own accord. The locking differential is brilliant and the combination of the cold and wet was just beautiful to hold on to a light drift with little effort (or talent). The car responds very well to weight transfer, both front and back and side to side. This is a shame as the brakes make it a little hard to trail brake...

The engine... Sounds great, nice and responsive... but lacks any sort of drama. Has a very blunt redline where it doesn't feel like it has crescendo'd at all. Feels like it is significantly held back. Hit the rev limiter once as you expect another 1-2k revs. It is zingy though and revs freely. Power is adequate, it's either enough for you or it's not - entirely personal circumstance. In the cold and wet I was able to use all of it, so for me I think i'd probably need a little more in the dry. The best way I can describe it, is the engine feels like the power delivery is incomplete, even if the amount of power is enough. It gets you close to what you want, but then just suddenly gives up. Almost leaves you frustrated.

Gearbox is decent, nothing amazing, nothing bad. However it is definitely "fun". It's a Little bit notchy, but works well in aggressive driving with no difficulty in finding the right gate. Similarly there's been some mixed opinions on the clutch heavy or light etc... - the best way I can describe it, is that I wasn't even aware that I was using it. A non-event in my opinion. It works well with the car and I think if you're a manual enthusiast, you'll be very happy. I enjoyed the gearbox, the "notchiness" or gates didn't change the enjoyment of rowing through the gears. However heeling and toeing as an experience was poor due to....

Brakes are massively over servo'd. They're plenty powerfull but have way too much assistance and are too grabby. Makes heeling and toeing quite difficult as you can't apply braking force, and use the pedal as a fulcrum to lever your foot onto the throttle at the same time. I found I'd always end up applying way too much braking pressure and not allow the heel and toe to be smooth - i.e defeating the half point of heel and toe, smooth transitions with as little mass movement back and forth across the wheelbase. Something I imagine you could get over with time. I'd say even having got it right, it's not one of the more satisfying heel and toe boxes.
It's also difficult to trail brake in the car, even if not changing gears mid brake - it's a touch difficult to modulate the pedal and keep the weight of the car over the front wheels - shame as the chassis responds so well to weight transfer.

Conclusion: Great steering, great chassis, touch of safe understeer (will be easy to remove if you really want), very playful oversteer, a touch harsh sports suspension, finds camber in the roads, but leads to great feedback. Good sounding engine, performance feels incomplete though. Brakes are powerful but overly so and lack feel, makes it difficult to heel and toe. Gearbox felt ok, neither bad nor amazing, but is fun and adds to the experience.

All in all, if it was £60k, i'd say with the gorgeous looks, it's a good buy for me. At £80k there are things that make me fizz a little more. I hate to say it, but it doesn't feel special - it looks special, it just doesn't feel it. It feels OK.

It's fun enough... but I want something more fun for the money. As a complete package, removing fun as the sole objective, it's a good all around car. Not amazing though.

I really wanted it to be special, Unfortunately I think I'll probably end up getting a McLaren or a GT4 instead. Specifically for my, more aggressive style of driving. TBD after a little time to think.

 

[emiraspain]

Test drive at Rybrook Solihull today.

I know the guys there well, having bought a few cars from them in the past. Exceptionally lovely people, very chilled.

Sports suspension car, on Goodyears, with no track mode available due to software bug.

Prev cars include 991 911 GTS, multiple caymans, caterhams, BMW M2, Audi TTS and a 1.3 toyota yaris if anyone cares. I've done a fair few trackdays, hold ARDS race license and have a lot of time in the seats of multiple McLarens, a couple of lambourghini's and R8s and smattering of all kinds of sports/ super cars.

TL;DR I think the Car is great for 90% of the people that are looking to purchase, especially new to the sports car market. However, for those that like abusing a car to 10/10ths (and beyond), granted very few of us - I personally think you'll be left wanting more. For me, not a cohesive driving experience, not a bad experience. Fun enough, but is it special enough for £80k...?

Conditions and route: Soaking wet, cold, 7 Deg C. Car is already warm due to previous test driver. I happen to know the gorgeous country road behind the dealership exceptionally well as it's the same winding twisty road I go on, in my own time to drive. 45 minute, 25ish mile country road circuit that I have (semi) free reign to do as I please, with a lady from Rybrook with me. I abuse it straight out of the dealership after making sure oil temps were ok, travel down the road at an enthusiastic pace. We didn't really do any normal road driving and there was no traffic on the route at all (england football match was on). So I can't give you my impressions of normal driving ironically. NVH etc...

Sports suspension is definitely on the firmer side, comparable to porsche PASM on. Suspension really finds the camber of the road and tramlines - with it giving you plenty of feedback through the wheel. I think it's definitely liveable, definitely not crashy and surprisingly compliant, but if I were to be dailying, I'd personally prefer the Tour (although I've not driven it). The sports was great for a hard drive, but would get cumbersome for me on normal roads.

Phenomenal chassis and steering feel though, despite the weather and temperature, it is incredibly playful.
I took it around a very quiet medium sized roundabout 5 times at a fair speed and had it feathering on the balance of understeer, allowing it to slide as it pleased. It's definitely tuned for a touch of safe understeer but has a remarkable front end with a fairly high limit. If you want the front glued and more willing to rotate at the rear, rather than push at the front: I can see that it will be easily changed with a minor Geo change (my previous 911 understeered more and had phenomenal front end grip after a geo change).
Once pushed into oversteer, it is like a gokart, feels like it can be driven with one finger and that aforementioned front end, finds the right line on it's own accord. The locking differential is brilliant and the combination of the cold and wet was just beautiful to hold on to a light drift with little effort (or talent). The car responds very well to weight transfer, both front and back and side to side. This is a shame as the brakes make it a little hard to trail brake...

The engine... Sounds great, nice and responsive... but lacks any sort of drama. Has a very blunt redline where it doesn't feel like it has crescendo'd at all. Feels like it is significantly held back. Hit the rev limiter once as you expect another 1-2k revs. It is zingy though and revs freely. Power is adequate, it's either enough for you or it's not - entirely personal circumstance. In the cold and wet I was able to use all of it, so for me I think i'd probably need a little more in the dry. The best way I can describe it, is the engine feels like the power delivery is incomplete, even if the amount of power is enough. It gets you close to what you want, but then just suddenly gives up. Almost leaves you frustrated.

Gearbox is decent, nothing amazing, nothing bad. However it is definitely "fun". It's a Little bit notchy, but works well in aggressive driving with no difficulty in finding the right gate. Similarly there's been some mixed opinions on the clutch heavy or light etc... - the best way I can describe it, is that I wasn't even aware that I was using it. A non-event in my opinion. It works well with the car and I think if you're a manual enthusiast, you'll be very happy. I enjoyed the gearbox, the "notchiness" or gates didn't change the enjoyment of rowing through the gears. However heeling and toeing as an experience was poor due to....

Brakes are massively over servo'd. They're plenty powerfull but have way too much assistance and are too grabby. Makes heeling and toeing quite difficult as you can't apply braking force, and use the pedal as a fulcrum to lever your foot onto the throttle at the same time. I found I'd always end up applying way too much braking pressure and not allow the heel and toe to be smooth - i.e defeating the half point of heel and toe, smooth transitions with as little mass movement back and forth across the wheelbase. Something I imagine you could get over with time. I'd say even having got it right, it's not one of the more satisfying heel and toe boxes.
It's also difficult to trail brake in the car, even if not changing gears mid brake - it's a touch difficult to modulate the pedal and keep the weight of the car over the front wheels - shame as the chassis responds so well to weight transfer.

Conclusion: Great steering, great chassis, touch of safe understeer (will be easy to remove if you really want), very playful oversteer, a touch harsh sports suspension, finds camber in the roads, but leads to great feedback. Good sounding engine, performance feels incomplete though. Brakes are powerful but overly so and lack feel, makes it difficult to heel and toe. Gearbox felt ok, neither bad nor amazing, but is fun and adds to the experience.

All in all, if it was £60k, i'd say with the gorgeous looks, it's a good buy for me. At £80k there are things that make me fizz a little more. I hate to say it, but it doesn't feel special - it looks special, it just doesn't feel it. It feels OK.

It's fun enough... but I want something more fun for the money. As a complete package, removing fun as the sole objective, it's a good all around car. Not amazing though.

I really wanted it to be special, Unfortunately I think I'll probably end up getting a McLaren or a GT4 instead. Specifically for my, more aggressive style of driving. TBD after a little time to think.

That’s all worth while reading
And of course a mclaren is going to be so much more, but it’s a bit out of the emitas league in every sense, starting with price.
If someone offered me one for 80k I’d ditch the emira and take one too… if it had a good warranty

The gt4 with extras is also way above 80k if anywhere near new.

Having said that everything you said could apply to some Buyers on here also ….

 

[SmallerBaller]

I test drove today in Nottingham. Great route, mixture of town and country and fast A roads, rained all the time.

On the last leg of the journey I managed to lose the back end on a roundabout and ended up 180 degrees from where I started. This was in second gear in sport mode, it frightened me and my dealer. Luckily the other cars managed to break in time. I wasn't driving like a lunatic only 20mph ishh..

Performance of the car feels right coming from my V8 M3, plenty more torque then I'm used to
Interior is good but the seats I couldn't get comfy in easily. The headrest is weird like resting your head against a hard melon... Really odd.

KeF stereo got it finally working and set the equaliser on my phone, Amazon Prime streAming , it was good better, I actually got some bass, than my first experience using the radio as a benchmark.

Steering and cornering were sublime. Ride is sport was jiggy in town and not for me.

I then took out the Aston Vantage AMR manual, just couldn't get on with it. Mind you the gear know in the Emira felt like it hadn't been finished off, like the numbers were machined out rather then laser cut.
Took an automatic vantage out as well

Either car I'd be happy in.

During the Emira test drive kids were taking photos of the car and encouraging me to rev it at traffic lights...

Long and short of it is I'm turn between both auto vantage and Emira.

What tires? Goodyears in the rain, or Michelins in the rain? Glad no damage was done to you or the car!

 

[Grumpy]

Agreed. Everyone knows it needs more power, which is a shame because Lotus should have released it with 450HP to improve on the Evora as much as they did looks wise.

Appreciate your detailed feedback. If Lotus continues to delay things and early FE receivers continue to report issues, I'll eventually have enough saved to get a McLaren that'll really have the power and excitement I'm after. However, the Emira still has those 3 pedals I want! My realistic dream garage continues to change and I no longer see the Emira FE as a forever car, but maybe a GT or final edition with more power and bugs worked out would be worthy of the garage spot. Hopefully the upgraded versions will still be offered with a manual transmission!

The fact that it can handle more power doesnt mean it needs it. A porsche GTS 4.0 same price with the options and its 400hp - never heard anyone say it needs more. It’s purely because it looks like a £150k super car people may think it, but it isnt. On UK roads an a110 with 254 BHP and a great power to weight ratio is as quick as pretty much anything. if 400bhp isn’t really enough its a strange situation.

 

[BeHappy]

Test drive at Rybrook Solihull today.

I know the guys there well, having bought a few cars from them in the past. Exceptionally lovely people, very chilled.

Sports suspension car, on Goodyears, with no track mode available due to software bug.

Prev cars include 991 911 GTS, multiple caymans, caterhams, BMW M2, Audi TTS and a 1.3 toyota yaris if anyone cares. I've done a fair few trackdays, hold ARDS race license and have a lot of time in the seats of multiple McLarens, a couple of lambourghini's and R8s and smattering of all kinds of sports/ super cars.

TL;DR I think the Car is great for 90% of the people that are looking to purchase, especially new to the sports car market. However, for those that like abusing a car to 10/10ths (and beyond), granted very few of us - I personally think you'll be left wanting more. For me, not a cohesive driving experience, not a bad experience. Fun enough, but is it special enough for £80k...?

Conditions and route: Soaking wet, cold, 7 Deg C. Car is already warm due to previous test driver. I happen to know the gorgeous country road behind the dealership exceptionally well as it's the same winding twisty road I go on, in my own time to drive. 45 minute, 25ish mile country road circuit that I have (semi) free reign to do as I please, with a lady from Rybrook with me. I abuse it straight out of the dealership after making sure oil temps were ok, travel down the road at an enthusiastic pace. We didn't really do any normal road driving and there was no traffic on the route at all (england football match was on). So I can't give you my impressions of normal driving ironically. NVH etc...

Sports suspension is definitely on the firmer side, comparable to porsche PASM on. Suspension really finds the camber of the road and tramlines - with it giving you plenty of feedback through the wheel. I think it's definitely liveable, definitely not crashy and surprisingly compliant, but if I were to be dailying, I'd personally prefer the Tour (although I've not driven it). The sports was great for a hard drive, but would get cumbersome for me on normal roads.

Phenomenal chassis and steering feel though, despite the weather and temperature, it is incredibly playful.
I took it around a very quiet medium sized roundabout 5 times at a fair speed and had it feathering on the balance of understeer, allowing it to slide as it pleased. It's definitely tuned for a touch of safe understeer but has a remarkable front end with a fairly high limit. If you want the front glued and more willing to rotate at the rear, rather than push at the front: I can see that it will be easily changed with a minor Geo change (my previous 911 understeered more and had phenomenal front end grip after a geo change).
Once pushed into oversteer, it is like a gokart, feels like it can be driven with one finger and that aforementioned front end, finds the right line on it's own accord. The locking differential is brilliant and the combination of the cold and wet was just beautiful to hold on to a light drift with little effort (or talent). The car responds very well to weight transfer, both front and back and side to side. This is a shame as the brakes make it a little hard to trail brake...

The engine... Sounds great, nice and responsive... but lacks any sort of drama. Has a very blunt redline where it doesn't feel like it has crescendo'd at all. Feels like it is significantly held back. Hit the rev limiter once as you expect another 1-2k revs. It is zingy though and revs freely. Power is adequate, it's either enough for you or it's not - entirely personal circumstance. In the cold and wet I was able to use all of it, so for me I think i'd probably need a little more in the dry. The best way I can describe it, is the engine feels like the power delivery is incomplete, even if the amount of power is enough. It gets you close to what you want, but then just suddenly gives up. Almost leaves you frustrated.

Gearbox is decent, nothing amazing, nothing bad. However it is definitely "fun". It's a Little bit notchy, but works well in aggressive driving with no difficulty in finding the right gate. Similarly there's been some mixed opinions on the clutch heavy or light etc... - the best way I can describe it, is that I wasn't even aware that I was using it. A non-event in my opinion. It works well with the car and I think if you're a manual enthusiast, you'll be very happy. I enjoyed the gearbox, the "notchiness" or gates didn't change the enjoyment of rowing through the gears. However heeling and toeing as an experience was poor due to....

Brakes are massively over servo'd. They're plenty powerfull but have way too much assistance and are too grabby. Makes heeling and toeing quite difficult as you can't apply braking force, and use the pedal as a fulcrum to lever your foot onto the throttle at the same time. I found I'd always end up applying way too much braking pressure and not allow the heel and toe to be smooth - i.e defeating the half point of heel and toe, smooth transitions with as little mass movement back and forth across the wheelbase. Something I imagine you could get over with time. I'd say even having got it right, it's not one of the more satisfying heel and toe boxes.
It's also difficult to trail brake in the car, even if not changing gears mid brake - it's a touch difficult to modulate the pedal and keep the weight of the car over the front wheels - shame as the chassis responds so well to weight transfer.

Conclusion: Great steering, great chassis, touch of safe understeer (will be easy to remove if you really want), very playful oversteer, a touch harsh sports suspension, finds camber in the roads, but leads to great feedback. Good sounding engine, performance feels incomplete though. Brakes are powerful but overly so and lack feel, makes it difficult to heel and toe. Gearbox felt ok, neither bad nor amazing, but is fun and adds to the experience.

All in all, if it was £60k, i'd say with the gorgeous looks, it's a good buy for me. At £80k there are things that make me fizz a little more. I hate to say it, but it doesn't feel special - it looks special, it just doesn't feel it. It feels OK.

It's fun enough... but I want something more fun for the money. As a complete package, removing fun as the sole objective, it's a good all around car. Not amazing though.

I really wanted it to be special, Unfortunately I think I'll probably end up getting a McLaren or a GT4 instead. Specifically for my, more aggressive style of driving. TBD after a little time to think.

What a superb write up it’s almost like your a professional car reviewer - with your comment of £60k you would buy that was my conclusion exactly yes £60k ( the looks carry it ) but not £80k so maybe people are wise to wait for the base on the proviso that of course price doesn’t rocket

 

[SmallerBaller]

Glad you didn’t crash!

Perhaps you get a prize for first loss of the rear end too….

Don't forget about the automatic v6 that went off the track! I think in China?

 

[New to Lotus]

Same here 60k good buy 80k?

 

[CarGuy07]

Dr.D: between the Porsches you have (or have had), which one(s) was more fun to drive and comparable to the Emira?

As to the price, I agree. This was something I mentioned and feared a while back: if the Emira was phenomenal and outperforms cars in its league, then it is a great buy at $110K after taxes and fees for FE V6. After the test drive, I was left wanting more as well and did not think it’s worth $110K (US; possibly more after FE batch). Will need to drive it a bit more extensively vs the 10-15 minutes that we had few weeks ago. Gorgeous looking car for sure and it’s pretty fun.

 

[VL3X]

The fact that it can handle more power doesnt mean it needs it. A porsche GTS 4.0 same price with the options and its 400hp - never heard anyone say it needs more. It’s purely because it looks like a £150k super car people may think it, but it isnt. On UK roads an a110 with 254 BHP and a great power to weight ratio is as quick as pretty much anything. if 400bhp isn’t really enough its a strange situation.

Agreed. Maybe needs isn't the correct word, but rather deserves more power. Porsche always manages to increase power over the model years whereas Lotus actually de-tuned from the predecessors. Sure, we don't need more power, but absolutely no one would be complaining if Lotus gave us more.

 

[Leonard]

Had my test drive today at Central. Shortly after Tony had spun it... The weather had got worse by this point, so that kind of set the tone for the drive, especially as the mileage was on 666 as well
Central Nottingham are great (recommended), really customer centric and their test route was perfect balance of city driving, dual carriage way and twisty B road.
The Emira driving position was great, pedal positioning was close but acceptable in a Sports car, I wore my size 9 Vans Boots and didn't have any issues. Set up perfectly for heel and toe but as DrD mentioned the over servoed brakes make it hard. I had one go and then didn't want to shame myself further so left it for the rest of the drive Possible that the brakes may bed in a bit, but I wouldn't be 100% on this. They were VERY good though once you got used to the pressure required.
I felt immediately at home in the car, I was worried it may feel a little wide, but it shrinks around you and there were zero issues in town and busy traffic
Visibility was almost on par with my Yaris, which sounds unlikely, but the Emira has a similarly shaped glass canopy strangely! So basically great. Rear view camera also good.
Steering is razor sharp with good feel. At speed it was lighter than I expected and I'm yet to decide if this is good or bad. Just not what I'm used to I guess.
Sports suspension. SPORTS? If I hadn't known before hand I'd have thought it was Touring. I didn't think it was overly firm at all, it flattered the car and it felt very controlled on all surfaces. So now I'm second guessing my choice of Touring. But it could all be different on my local roads on the Peak
I can't really comment on performance as I didn't get to stretch the car at all, what with commuter traffic and standing water everywhere. It didn't feel like I had a lot of power under my right foot, but will reserve judgement. I'm fortunate enough to have another test drive in 2 weeks so hoping conditions will be better.
KEF stereo was OK once you connected a music app and fiddled with the settings. Still not mind/ear blowing but perfectly adequate (depending how much it costs as an extra)
Quality of the demo car was OK, but the yellow customer car in the showroom was significantly better which bodes well. Bonnet strip was perfect as were the door and rubber carpet seals
I worry a little about the panel gaps. Some are quite large, others are non existent especially on the bumpers and I'd be amazed if these didn't rub and cause paint issues in the future.
The interior fit, finish and feel is not as good as Porsche fit and finish but felt acceptable. However I will be interested to see how well it ages.
The infotainment and dash was a big disappointment to me. I just found the whole thing incredibly fussy for a car of this type. Maybe im just too old at 48!?
The main screen wasn't bright enough, was a little laggy and you really shouldn't have to access a sub menu to put your heated seats on....
Steering wheel felt good, nice size and square bottom didnt overly concern me. But again overly fussy with the haptic buttons.
The seats are not great which is a shame after all the changes Lotus have made. Biggest issues are the lack of lateral support and the headrest is too low. Im only 5'9 so dont know how you rall fellas and lasses cope. My Yaris seats are better and they are the weakest part of that car.
So my overall first impression is a genuinely positive one. Lotus have certainly hit the mark in making this car accessible to the masses. You could easily daily it and when the auto versions come out and the i4 in particular it will be a really great daily.
But does it feel special enough for a weekend car is the question?
I'm looking fwd to my second test drive to see if it comes alive when you really get to press on in it.
However in the meantime I'm going back to Central to try out their Evora GT410 (with no test drive restrictions...).
Just sitting in the Evora felt right in a way that the Emira didnt. I didnt find the Evora any harder to get into. The seats were a LOT better, the steering wheel felt better, gauge cluster was lovely and simple, it had buttons for heated seats and climate.. and you can have android car play on the Alpine head unit which is all anyone needs.
There was more room behind the front seats suprisingly as well!
Without driving it I know it will sound better. I know it's more powerful and lighter. The handling will be similar to the Emira. It's got carbon bits.... and it's 20k cheaper.
Plus being the last of the model line it will have all the kinks ironed out (or i will atnleast know about them upfront!), unlike the Emira.
All in all I think it's probably worth a look

 

[Leonard]

Test drive at Rybrook Solihull today.

I know the guys there well, having bought a few cars from them in the past. Exceptionally lovely people, very chilled.

Sports suspension car, on Goodyears, with no track mode available due to software bug.

Prev cars include 991 911 GTS, multiple caymans, caterhams, BMW M2, Audi TTS and a 1.3 toyota yaris if anyone cares. I've done a fair few trackdays, hold ARDS race license and have a lot of time in the seats of multiple McLarens, a couple of lambourghini's and R8s and smattering of all kinds of sports/ super cars.

TL;DR I think the Car is great for 90% of the people that are looking to purchase, especially new to the sports car market. However, for those that like abusing a car to 10/10ths (and beyond), granted very few of us - I personally think you'll be left wanting more. For me, not a cohesive driving experience, not a bad experience. Fun enough, but is it special enough for £80k...?

Conditions and route: Soaking wet, cold, 7 Deg C. Car is already warm due to previous test driver. I happen to know the gorgeous country road behind the dealership exceptionally well as it's the same winding twisty road I go on, in my own time to drive. 45 minute, 25ish mile country road circuit that I have (semi) free reign to do as I please, with a lady from Rybrook with me. I abuse it straight out of the dealership after making sure oil temps were ok, travel down the road at an enthusiastic pace. We didn't really do any normal road driving and there was no traffic on the route at all (england football match was on). So I can't give you my impressions of normal driving ironically. NVH etc...

Sports suspension is definitely on the firmer side, comparable to porsche PASM on. Suspension really finds the camber of the road and tramlines - with it giving you plenty of feedback through the wheel. I think it's definitely liveable, definitely not crashy and surprisingly compliant, but if I were to be dailying, I'd personally prefer the Tour (although I've not driven it). The sports was great for a hard drive, but would get cumbersome for me on normal roads.

Phenomenal chassis and steering feel though, despite the weather and temperature, it is incredibly playful.
I took it around a very quiet medium sized roundabout 5 times at a fair speed and had it feathering on the balance of understeer, allowing it to slide as it pleased. It's definitely tuned for a touch of safe understeer but has a remarkable front end with a fairly high limit. If you want the front glued and more willing to rotate at the rear, rather than push at the front: I can see that it will be easily changed with a minor Geo change (my previous 911 understeered more and had phenomenal front end grip after a geo change).
Once pushed into oversteer, it is like a gokart, feels like it can be driven with one finger and that aforementioned front end, finds the right line on it's own accord. The locking differential is brilliant and the combination of the cold and wet was just beautiful to hold on to a light drift with little effort (or talent). The car responds very well to weight transfer, both front and back and side to side. This is a shame as the brakes make it a little hard to trail brake...

The engine... Sounds great, nice and responsive... but lacks any sort of drama. Has a very blunt redline where it doesn't feel like it has crescendo'd at all. Feels like it is significantly held back. Hit the rev limiter once as you expect another 1-2k revs. It is zingy though and revs freely. Power is adequate, it's either enough for you or it's not - entirely personal circumstance. In the cold and wet I was able to use all of it, so for me I think i'd probably need a little more in the dry. The best way I can describe it, is the engine feels like the power delivery is incomplete, even if the amount of power is enough. It gets you close to what you want, but then just suddenly gives up. Almost leaves you frustrated.

Gearbox is decent, nothing amazing, nothing bad. However it is definitely "fun". It's a Little bit notchy, but works well in aggressive driving with no difficulty in finding the right gate. Similarly there's been some mixed opinions on the clutch heavy or light etc... - the best way I can describe it, is that I wasn't even aware that I was using it. A non-event in my opinion. It works well with the car and I think if you're a manual enthusiast, you'll be very happy. I enjoyed the gearbox, the "notchiness" or gates didn't change the enjoyment of rowing through the gears. However heeling and toeing as an experience was poor due to....

Brakes are massively over servo'd. They're plenty powerfull but have way too much assistance and are too grabby. Makes heeling and toeing quite difficult as you can't apply braking force, and use the pedal as a fulcrum to lever your foot onto the throttle at the same time. I found I'd always end up applying way too much braking pressure and not allow the heel and toe to be smooth - i.e defeating the half point of heel and toe, smooth transitions with as little mass movement back and forth across the wheelbase. Something I imagine you could get over with time. I'd say even having got it right, it's not one of the more satisfying heel and toe boxes.
It's also difficult to trail brake in the car, even if not changing gears mid brake - it's a touch difficult to modulate the pedal and keep the weight of the car over the front wheels - shame as the chassis responds so well to weight transfer.

Conclusion: Great steering, great chassis, touch of safe understeer (will be easy to remove if you really want), very playful oversteer, a touch harsh sports suspension, finds camber in the roads, but leads to great feedback. Good sounding engine, performance feels incomplete though. Brakes are powerful but overly so and lack feel, makes it difficult to heel and toe. Gearbox felt ok, neither bad nor amazing, but is fun and adds to the experience.

All in all, if it was £60k, i'd say with the gorgeous looks, it's a good buy for me. At £80k there are things that make me fizz a little more. I hate to say it, but it doesn't feel special - it looks special, it just doesn't feel it. It feels OK.

It's fun enough... but I want something more fun for the money. As a complete package, removing fun as the sole objective, it's a good all around car. Not amazing though.

I really wanted it to be special, Unfortunately I think I'll probably end up getting a McLaren or a GT4 instead. Specifically for my, more aggressive style of driving. TBD after a little time to think.

This is how I wanted my review to read
Thanks for sharing

 

[Cachaco131]

Had my test drive today at Central. Shortly after Tony had spun it... The weather had got worse by this point, so that kind of set the tone for the drive, especially as Tony had left the mileage on 666 as well
Central Nottingham are great (recommended), really customer centric and their test route was perfect balance of city driving, dual carriage way and twisty B road.
The Emira driving position was great, pedal positioning was close but acceptable in a Sports car, I wore my size 9 Vans Boots and didn't have any issues. Set up perfectly for heel and toe but as DrD mentioned the over servoed brakes make it hard. I had one go and then didn't want to shame myself further so left it for the rest of the drive Possible the the brakes may bed in a bit, but I wouldn't be 100% on this. They were VERY good though once you got used to the pressure required.
I felt immediately at home in the car, I was worried it may feel a little wide, but it shrinks around you and there were zero issues in town and busy traffic
Visibility was almost on par with my Yaris, which sounds unlikely, but the Emira has a similarly shaped glass canopy strangely! So basically great. Rear view camera also good.
Steering is razor sharp with good feel. At speed it was lighter than I expected and I'm yet to decide if this is good or bad. Just not what I'm used to I guess.
Sports suspension. SPORTS? If I hadn't known before hand I'd have thought it was Touring. I didn't think it was overly firm at all, it flattered the car and it felt very controlled on all surfaces. So now I'm second guessing my choice of Touring. But it could all be different on my local roads on the Peak
I can't really comment on performance as I didn't get to stretch the car at all, what with commuter traffic and standing water everywhere. It didn't feel like I had a lot of power under my right foot, but will reserve judgement. I'm fortunate enough to have another test drive in 2 weeks so hoping conditions will be better.
KEF stereo was OK once you connected a music app and fiddled with the settings. Still not mind/ear blowing but perfectly adequate (depending how much it costs as an extra)
Quality of the demo car was OK, but the yellow customer car in the showroom was significantly better which bodes well. Bonnet strip was perfect as were the door and rubber carpet seals
I worry a little about the panel gaps. Some are quite large, others are non existent especially on the bumpers and I'd be amazed if these didn't rub and cause paint issues in the future.
The interior fit, finish and feel is not as good as Porsche fit and finish but felt acceptable. However I will be interested to see how well it ages.
The infotainment and dash was a big disappointment to me. I just found the whole thing incredibly fussy for a car of this type. Maybe im just too old at 48!?
The main screen wasn't bright enough, was a little laggy and you really shouldn't have to access a sub menu to put your heated seats on....
Steering wheel felt good, nice size and square bottom didnt overly concern me. But again overly fussy with the haptic buttons.
The seats are not great which is a shame after all the changes Lotus have made. Biggest issues are the lack of lateral support and the headrest is too low. Im only 5'9 so dont know how you rall fellas and lasses cope. My Yaris seats are better and they are the weakest part of that car.
So my overall first impression is a genuinely positive one. Lotus have certainly hit the mark in making this car accessible to the masses. You could easily daily it and when the auto versions come out and the i4 in particular it will be a really great daily.
But does it feel special enough for a weekend car is the question?
I'm looking fwd to my second test drive to see if it comes alive when you really get to press on in it.
However in the meantime I'm going back to Central to try out their Evora GT410 (with no test drive restrictions...). Just sitting in the Evora felt right in a way that the Emira didnt. I didnt find the Evora any harder to get into. The seats were a LOT better, the steering wheel felt better, gauge cluster was lovely and simple, it had buttons for heated seats and climate.. and you can have android car play on the Alpine head unit which is all anyone needs.
There was more room behind the front seats suprisingly as well!
Without driving it I know it will sound better. I know it's more powerful and lighter. The handling will be similar to the Emira. It's got carbon bits.... and it's 20k cheaper.
Plus being the last of the model line it will have all the kinks ironed out (or i will atnleast know about them upfront!), unlike the Emira.
All in all I think it's probabaly worth a look

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Most positive post from @Leonard so far. Until half way through. But that's something!

 

[Tonyshepp]

What tires? Goodyears in the rain, or Michelins in the rain? Glad no damage was done to you or the car!

Goodyears.

 

[Leonard]

Most positive post from @Leonard so far. Until half way through. But that's something!

It was a positive experience!!!
Needs to be balanced though....

 

[SmallerBaller]

Goodyears.

Dang, not what I wanted to hear!

 

[Mistral]

It was a positive experience!!!
Needs to be balanced though....

Thanks for your review. I wondered what you would make of the Emira. Ultimately, I sense that you quite liked it but not at the FE price point. Also that you'd prefer something a bit more hardcore.

 

[Leonard]

Thanks for your review. I wondered what you would make of the Emira. Ultimately, I sense that you quite liked it but not at the FE price point. Also that you'd prefer something a bit more hardcore.

Pretty much, yes.
Plus the infotainment and the seats in the Emira would annoy me everytime I got in the car. Not sure I can look past that.
I'm sure im probably in the minority though and most buyers probably want all that tech and comfort in their Sports car

 

[For the drivers]

Central Lotus test drive today just after Tony and before Leonard who I had a brief chat with before leaving. My impressions on the car where a lot better than I thought they where going to be, my current car is a Evora GT 410 sport having owned numerous Lotus cars in the past.
Thinking the driving experience was going to be like the Evora, well it’s totally different and in a very good way for me sports settings was always going to be the way to go having been more than happy with setup on the Evora the Emira is definitely better sprung car and really surprised me how it coped with broken bad road surfaces. Build quality is in a different league, seating position was spot on for me far better than the Evora which you sit to high and feels a more special place to be sat in. Gear change better and less transmission noise than the Evora, performance hard to judge with the weather conditions but felt very similar to the Evora the biggest thing that surprised was the sound obvious not as loud as the 410 but a a far better sounding exhaust note with the valve closed and open. So my deposit definitely stopping where it is and looking forward to collection.