The great big "all the customer test drives" thread

[Toomanyloti]

Ok guys just been for my drive. I'm not going to sugar coat it. Its my opinion based on my experience which even at my age is pretty limited. Current fleet Elan Sprint, S1 Exige, Esprit GT3, MK2 MR2 (NA UK Spec) Taycan4S daily. Had a Kia Stinger GTS before the Porsche and that has to be the most under rated car ever. Loved it to bits.

If you don't want to read any more I'll sum up.... an Evora 430 shaped like an Emira would be the absolute dogs bollox...

I'll attempt to be brief but it wont be sorry.

Car is HY Sports Manual (of course) UBP Privacy Alcantara wheel and I think they were leather seats.

Route - pants. It is what it is. The dealership is in the wrong place for test drives there's nothing much else to say. Weather was very wet raining most of the time. Hardly any chance to rev it out at all.

Looks - It really is one of the best looking cars I have ever seen especially new. Love the look completely would not change anything.

Interior - Really good and is not a Lotus of the past at all completely in another league. There was an unidentified rattle coming from somewhere like a lost set of keys??

Digital Dash - sigh. I just dont get it. Can I just have some dials even if they are graphics? I suppose one just has to get used to it.

Steering wheel - Alcantara. Didn't touch the controls as I completely forgot. The shape and thickness (which varies) is a bit off putting. It seems like another 'lets change something for no other reason than to change it'. The Porsche wheel is great so was the Kia. I'll have to get used to it.

Had it in sports mode very briefly but could hardly hear the theatre without the window down a bit...

Infotainment. Didn't bother with it at all. Silly screens which will be out of date in 3 years. My passenger seemed to be struggling connecting her phone but other than that can't comment on connectivity as i didn't try it. Kia was brilliant never failed Porsche is hit and miss. If it doesn't work with only minimal involvement from me I regard it as not fit for purpose.

Visibilty - I think for the type of vehicle just perfect without feeling like you are sat on top of the car. Rear vis also v good/excellent when factoring in the door mirrors too.

Wipers were excellent. The car was completely fogged up and took no time to clear (it was still warm from last drive to be fair).

So yes the interior was excellent apart from..

Seats - here we go...they are absolutely garbage. I thought they were ok stationary but having a think and more time no just terrible. It was the height which I was really bothered about initially but that was not the issue in real life. The Stinger seats were amazeballs. The Taycan seats took me forever to get used to 18 way etc and still not great. I'm just under 6' and about 13.5 stone. Headrest is defo too low. Too hard/flat just no good for me at all. Got out of the Porsche for the drive up and back in to go back to work and it was nice to get back in. Very sad.

Bearing in mind the Exige seats have basically no padding and slide fore and aft that's it. Esprit ones are similar (Sport 300 style). Both are miles better for me. I know its a lowest common denominator biggest audience thing with this car but that's my opinion.

Hopefully there will be something we can swap to as they are rubbish and almost certainly the function as a drivers seat has been heavily compromised by the need to fit lots more 'big blokes' and all the bullsh!te motorisation which looks useful when playing top trumps. No not for the real drivers Lotus!!!

Gear Change - excellent nothing else to say. I ordered Auto so I'm not that fussed anyway.

Noise - I'm a bit deaf (according to my wife and daughter - I blame soft tops and noisy 2 seater aeroplanes) but the road noise was quite a lot more than I expected and the exhaust/supercharger less so.

Suspension - It is a sports 'chassis' and on occasion it felt a bit hard. I have ordered tour and glad I did.

Performance - TIp for anyone who is into cars/acceleration - DO NOT RIDE IN OR USE/OWN AN ELECTRIC PERFORMANCE CAR EVER ALL OTHER CARS THEREAFTER WILL BE RUBBISH (Apart from Super Cars)....

I have been completely broken by this Taycan. I was expecting some sort of kick in the back from the Emira but no. I know this is so unfair and you will all want to give me cr@p about it but it felt like the handbrake was stuck on. Again the route did not help at all. I have got so used to the Porsche that only the Exige handling and raw, visceral involvement can provide something 'better'.

At the moment electric cars are not a solution either. Too heavy and no infrastructure to support their use like an IC car.

In fairness it seems some want this car to be something its not and others are happy. I'm in the former group based on this test.

Its not an Exige of any type so other than better seats I fail to see why talk of track use/firmer suspension fits with this model. Surely it's a mini GT car and that's where it Excels (forgive the tenuous pun).

I'm so far into this now I think I will keep the dipper in but have little confidence an Auto will appear. If offered a manual I will probably pull out but we will cross that bridge if it arrives.

 

[Dommo]

It was my second test drive today - a test drive that I 'needed' to decide the fate of my order and anyone who has read my post in the 'cancellations' thread, will know that I'm right on the edge of pulling the plug.

I'm sorry, there's no short version and sorry Emiraspain but no cake either! Sorry also if it crosses over between stay/go/test drive, but it's mainly test drive with a few boring bits of dialogue either side so hopefully the mods won't condemn it to the naughty list!!


Today's outing was a 220 mile round trip to Hendy (Southampton) as they are the nearest dealer with a sport suspension car. And because I've been looking at other cars too I booked a test drive with Alpine Winchester, in an A110S - I have previously test driven the A110 and GT and loved them both, so a drive in the S was the best comparison the Emira (Sport).

First off, the weather was horrendous! Constant rain and standing water. Good start

Anyone going to Hendy for the first time will surely do as I did, and drive directly towards the huge Lotus sign on the assumption that you've found it quite easily, just to find out that the Lotus sign is there just to mug you off, because the Lotus entrance is actually on a whole different part of the trading estate that you wouldn't even know was there

Anyway, once I eventually found the main (hidden) entrance. The Seneca blue Emira was sitting outside amongst a fine mix of performance cars that all paled into the background.

I've seen the car in person a few times now, and every time I'm taken aback by just how beautiful it is, but I try not to get lured into my rose tinted glasses (like I normally am) as I need to remember that this is the smoking hot girlfriend who's full of promises, high maintenance, unreliable and always late! But is she worth it??

Before going inside, I took a moment to really imagine this car on my drive and how that would make me feel and the honest answer is, I love it! There's just no getting away from it....... In fairness, that's never changed and my 'nearly out' status in borne out of the Lotus experience so far and not the car but sometimes you need to take the rough with the smooth, so I need to consider all factors.

So, I was greeted by 2 very friendly chaps inside Hendy who quickly called down my host for the drive. She was very chirpy from the off and when you consider that she's done over 100 of these test drives now, all on the same route, it must be hard.

Whilst doing the obligatory paperwork, she mentions that Lotus have asked the test drives to remain under 5000 RPM........eh, ok but isn't the engine run in now? Well, it has nothing to do with running in the engine in this case. Apparently it keeps breaking down . After a few more questions about what the faults have been, she tells me that it's mainly software glitches that throw up warnings. Ok, not too bad I guess....but then she explains that every time it throws up a fault code, once you stop the car it won't restart until they disconnect the battery and plug it in to their laptop, which is apparently quite time-consuming! It had already happened today, so things were not starting off promisingly......

The test drive is the same protocol as in my Bristol test drive, they drive for the first few minutes (which are not a few minutes, they're about 10 minutes that I feel robbed of), followed by a mixed drive of roads and a motorway.......all I really cared about was whether it was going to be long enough and mixed enough to make an informed decision in the grand picture....

We set off straight into a traffic jam and rain (no ones fault and just adding this for context). The obligatory passenger ride seems to go on for ages and on roads that I would deem as quite useful to get a proper sense of what town driving might be like, but as I won't be driving myself around town as a passenger, it wasn't useful on the wrong side of the car! What I do notice immediately, and probably no surprises here either, is the firmness of the ride vs the tour spec. A firmness that I like, and not crashy.

So when we swap places, we head through a good mix of A/B roads with roundabouts and some longer straights to test things out further, as well as some uneven surfaces and finally a motorway with roadworks and average speed cameras set to 50 MPH.

The sport suspension is firm, a bit giggly on rougher roads and probably on par with my GR Yaris, that I drove to the test route in. I like that, but I actually think that tour will be a better setup for most people and dare I say it, I think tour suits the Emira's credentials better. I say this because I've now realised that this is never going to be a track toy/weapon, not for me anyway. I should have realised this earlier but like a lot of things in this process, it's been a learning curve and the looks tell a different story.

The things that struck me the most during the drive was that I didn't feel like I was in the same car that I had driven in Bristol. And I don't mean literally the same car, but I couldn't get over how different everything felt about the ride and drive...not just the suspension.

For a start, it felt slower than I remembered but this could be that I'd already driven over 100 miles to get there in something vaguely fast as opposed to the Bristol drive where I arrived in my van. In Bristol I also remember the vivid supercharger whine on the slightest press of the throttle and a reassuring burble from the exhaust. Neither were 'standout' features in this car. The steering also felt much much lighter than I remember and the brakes were definitely more grabby........Truth be told, my opinion is that the Bristol car was better in every way (except the colour!).

Today's car still had the essence of the Emira that I liked on my first drive and was still a solid 7/10. Most of the interior features were just as I remember them and were good, and the KEF was better than I remember it being. As was the infotainment screen which was not laggy at all and was very clear.

I did get told that they'd had 'quite a few' cancellations at the Hendy Southampton branch (cancelled for reasons related to the car/Lotus and not Hendy) and I got told a horror story about a customer delivered car that I won't include here. Hendy, however, were great and they are clearly about customer service and car enthusiasm from what I could tell.

So where do I go from here? The car is stunning and I cannot get over how good it looks from every angle but we're in a lottery here.....we either get a good one or we don't, I think. So I've had to remind myself of a well said question posed by another member, 'would I regret not buying it more than if I did buy it?' ............................................And the answer, for now, is yes.

So, for now I'm still in and let's see how Lotus handle things over the next month..... and as for the A110 drive, well this is the wrong thread for that....

 

[TomE]

Thanks for the write up and insights on the different impressions between the two test drives. Useful info from your chats with the dealer too.

 

[First Lotus]

It was my second test drive today - a test drive that I 'needed' to decide the fate of my order and anyone who has read my post in the 'cancellations' thread, will know that I'm right on the edge of pulling the plug.

I'm sorry, there's no short version and sorry Emiraspain but no cake either! Sorry also if it crosses over between stay/go/test drive, but it's mainly test drive with a few boring bits of dialogue either side so hopefully the mods won't condemn it to the naughty list!!


Today's outing was a 220 mile round trip to Hendy (Southampton) as they are the nearest dealer with a sport suspension car. And because I've been looking at other cars too I booked a test drive with Alpine Winchester, in an A110S - I have previously test driven the A110 and GT and loved them both, so a drive in the S was the best comparison the Emira (Sport).

First off, the weather was horrendous! Constant rain and standing water. Good start

Anyone going to Hendy for the first time will surely do as I did, and drive directly towards the huge Lotus sign on the assumption that you've found it quite easily, just to find out that the Lotus sign is there just to mug you off, because the Lotus entrance is actually on a whole different part of the trading estate that you wouldn't even know was there

Anyway, once I eventually found the main (hidden) entrance. The Seneca blue Emira was sitting outside amongst a fine mix of performance cars that all paled into the background.

I've seen the car in person a few times now, and every time I'm taken aback by just how beautiful it is, but I try not to get lured into my rose tinted glasses (like I normally am) as I need to remember that this is the smoking hot girlfriend who's full of promises, high maintenance, unreliable and always late! But is she worth it??

Before going inside, I took a moment to really imagine this car on my drive and how that would make me feel and the honest answer is, I love it! There's just no getting away from it....... In fairness, that's never changed and my 'nearly out' status in borne out of the Lotus experience so far and not the car but sometimes you need to take the rough with the smooth, so I need to consider all factors.

So, I was greeted by 2 very friendly chaps inside Hendy who quickly called down my host for the drive. She was very chirpy from the off and when you consider that she's done over 100 of these test drives now, all on the same route, it must be hard.

Whilst doing the obligatory paperwork, she mentions that Lotus have asked the test drives to remain under 5000 RPM........eh, ok but isn't the engine run in now? Well, it has nothing to do with running in the engine in this case. Apparently it keeps breaking down . After a few more questions about what the faults have been, she tells me that it's mainly software glitches that throw up warnings. Ok, not too bad I guess....but then she explains that every time it throws up a fault code, once you stop the car it won't restart until they disconnect the battery and plug it in to their laptop, which is apparently quite time-consuming! It had already happened today, so things were not starting off promisingly......

The test drive is the same protocol as in my Bristol test drive, they drive for the first few minutes (which are not a few minutes, they're about 10 minutes that I feel robbed of), followed by a mixed drive of roads and a motorway.......all I really cared about was whether it was going to be long enough and mixed enough to make an informed decision in the grand picture....

We set off straight into a traffic jam and rain (no ones fault and just adding this for context). The obligatory passenger ride seems to go on for ages and on roads that I would deem as quite useful to get a proper sense of what town driving might be like, but as I won't be driving myself around town as a passenger, it wasn't useful on the wrong side of the car! What I do notice immediately, and probably no surprises here either, is the firmness of the ride vs the tour spec. A firmness that I like, and not crashy.

So when we swap places, we head through a good mix of A/B roads with roundabouts and some longer straights to test things out further, as well as some uneven surfaces and finally a motorway with roadworks and average speed cameras set to 50 MPH.

The sport suspension is firm, a bit giggly on rougher roads and probably on par with my GR Yaris, that I drove to the test route in. I like that, but I actually think that tour will be a better setup for most people and dare I say it, I think tour suits the Emira's credentials better. I say this because I've now realised that this is never going to be a track toy/weapon, not for me anyway. I should have realised this earlier but like a lot of things in this process, it's been a learning curve and the looks tell a different story.

The things that struck me the most during the drive was that I didn't feel like I was in the same car that I had driven in Bristol. And I don't mean literally the same car, but I couldn't get over how different everything felt about the ride and drive...not just the suspension.

For a start, it felt slower than I remembered but this could be that I'd already driven over 100 miles to get there in something vaguely fast as opposed to the Bristol drive where I arrived in my van. In Bristol I also remember the vivid supercharger whine on the slightest press of the throttle and a reassuring burble from the exhaust. Neither were 'standout' features in this car. The steering also felt much much lighter than I remember and the brakes were definitely more grabby........Truth be told, my opinion is that the Bristol car was better in every way (except the colour!).

Today's car still had the essence of the Emira that I liked on my first drive and was still a solid 7/10. Most of the interior features were just as I remember them and were good, and the KEF was better than I remember it being. As was the infotainment screen which was not laggy at all and was very clear.

I did get told that they'd had 'quite a few' cancellations at the Hendy Southampton branch (cancelled for reasons related to the car/Lotus and not Hendy) and I got told a horror story about a customer delivered car that I won't include here. Hendy, however, were great and they are clearly about customer service and car enthusiasm from what I could tell.

So where do I go from here? The car is stunning and I cannot get over how good it looks from every angle but we're in a lottery here.....we either get a good one or we don't, I think. So I've had to remind myself of a well said question posed by another member, 'would I regret not buying it more than if I did buy it?' ............................................And the answer, for now, is yes.

So, for now I'm still in and let's see how Lotus handle things over the next month..... and as for the A110 drive, well this is the wrong thread for that....

Nail on the head with 'tour' suiting the car the most. Its what I've been feeling for a while but I can't quite settle in my head. I want a sporty lotus (and truth be known I'd feel like I'd not got value for money if I didn't spec 'sport' as I'm sure it will be optional extra), but I feel the car is aimed at someone who's main use is GT/DD.
There are soooo many things which tell me to look elsewhere, but the 'imagining it on my drive' helps keep my deposit in!
Luckily (and I wasn't saying that 12 months ago!) I have a Q1 2024 delivery date (V6 manual deposit oct/Nov 21) so I will know whether Lotus have sorted their sh*t out or its just time to end the roller-coaster!

 

[Toomanyloti]

The seats are certainly an issue to some just like every other aspect of the car so I don't really agree with singling them out. 'ALL' of the car is personal preference. Let's not bring up tour and sport....
I also want to make it plain to all that I'm not having a jab at Lotus at all really. I just think they have gone all 'commercial' and made a lowest common denominator in order to capture more of an audience. All good its a business etc..but we can say we dont like certain aspects in the hope its read and hopefully is considered for the future.
Something I forgot to mention in more detail was the exhaust volume. I had a big problem with th kia as it was virtually impossible to use the paddles based on engine /exhaust volume ...because one couldn't hear it. Even the piped in cabin simulation didn't help.
It was the same yesterday. I believe to enjoy the Emira to its full potential it really needs a louder system. It felt distant and disconnected. even with the window down it was like listening to another car not the same one I was driving.
Rider - It was only and hour in traffic in the p!ssing rain so .....
S2 Toyota Supercharged Exige sound would be my main reference - they sound amazeballs inside.

I really do think the package is getting away with murder due to its looks. I think it might get slaughtered if it wasn't for the aesthetics. It appears that there are also more owners/depositors who might be new to this 'type' of motoring and hence don't know any different... just a thought. I also suspect new owners and test drivers are being a little bit star struck by the whole buzz/anticipation/exclusivity to be fully objective - I am/was/am etc...

Re Harry and Shmee. I think they are good guys but I wouldn't be true to myself if i didn't suspect a little bit of a 'commercial arrangement' going on......

 

[Toomanyloti]

I agree with the supercar bit to a certain extent maybe thats true but how many real supercar buyers are going for an 80k motor with very average performance?
I know I sound like I'm being a bit of a tw@t but reading words like visceral when referring to the car I drove this week and it being a 'Lotus' (I have three and had an elise too at one point) its just not in the traditional sense.
Chop any part off me and it says lotus through it like a stick of Blackpool Rock!!
I'm not saying its a bad thing its just not what I expected and mostly signed up for. I was hoping for a faster better looking improvement on an Evora and its clearly not all those things.
I went to the factory show when the Evora was released and It didn't really float my boat at that point but the release of the 400 really made a difference. The latter iterations are possibly what I should be looking at.
Not to go on but the test drive was not fair on the car at all but shifting ratios and dumping the throttle felt family saloon pedestrian. On the positive side i think (hope) the auto will be way better suited to the engine and power delivery in this car....but it still needs a fruity pipe on it!!!!

And I agree re the average Lotus customer. Those people have been treated like 'sh!te' in my opinion and i now firmly believe its completely deliberate. They are after someone who uses words like Visceral when referring to the Emira. Drive my S1 Exige round Anglesey or Cadwell then the Emira click the edit post button and try again....

 

[jamesbxxx]

Today was my turn to get behind the wheel of Rybrook Birmingham’s Seneca, Sport + Goodyear demonstrator.

Car has over 2500 miles, with currently up to 6 drives per day. Dropping down into the seat (and getting out) the car felt really low, but the seating position felt a touch too high when adjusting the seat (I’m 6’4”). However, once on the move it wasn’t a problem and gave great visibility over the wings. Similar to the GR.

The usual test route wasn’t an option due to local flooding, so we set off with only a vague route in mind. This was great and meant I could avoid the motorway and take my own B-road choice, with a short blast onto a dual-carriageway. My test pilot - Jade, was great, not worrying about my spirited approach to the route but did mention she may get a reprimand for the multiple Lotus GPS pings for being off route etc…

Main takeaways for me:
Fit and finish of the cabin felt great. No problem doing long road trips in comfort. A relatively quiet place to be with minimal tyre and engine noise when just ambling along.
Power delivery felt a bit odd; Low down in the revs it felt a bit flat and muted but once over 4K in third it really picked up and was powerful enough for me to have a lot of fun. On a flowing twisty road it would be sublime. My brain did get a bit confused going from 4th to 5th for some reason (got a bit giddy?), but I think I’d soon calibrate road speed, to revs, to which gear (as I have in the GR). Overtaking was effortless.
Exhaust in sport very muted from cabin. Only really heard the off-throttle burbles. GT car appropriate.
I think touring would be better suited to my local roads (also the preferred choice of a Lotus dev driver at the factory)
Gearbox has a good mechanical feel.
Steering wheel shape odd when manoeuvring into parking space, fine on move but a bit thick. Alcantara not wearing very well.
Seats ok. Don’t need the 12-way complexity.
Lower black pack gets very dirty. A PPF must I think.
Drive digital screen didn’t bother me as I thought it would. Infotainment screen not the best, but not worried as would use CarPlay 99% of the time.
Glad I’m going for Nimbus, as Blue looks too plastic IMO.

Still think it’s a great car at an appropriate price. Still in, just.

 

[Emira]

My turn for a test drive today, finally! I was very pleased to see that the weather Gods looked upon me favourably and I had good roads. Can't really add anything over the above reviews, but my key takeaways:

1. Fit and finish was great
2. Exhaust note in Sport was disappointingly quiet, which was a shame. Sounded like someone had stuck a pillow over the tailpipes, very muted and not distinct.
3. Performance seemed pretty good, I was expecting it to feel slower than it did
4. Steering/handling was a complete joy. Having owned two S1 Elises, I felt completely at home.
5. Clutch bite point was basically on the carpet, very odd. Probably accentuated because the car I drove to the Dealer has a bite point right at the top of the pedal travel, so it was just very, very different.
6. Touring suspension with the Goodyears was a lovely ride balance.

Not out!!!

 

[Lotus64]

2. Exhaust note in Sport was disappointingly quiet, which was a shame. Sounded like someone had stuck a pillow over the tailpipes, very muted and not distinct.

Great review! The intake is on the left side of the vehicle, so the right hand drives unfortunately sound more muted.

 

[ADC]

Great review! The intake is on the left side of the vehicle, so the right hand drives unfortunately sound more muted.

Feels like there's room for an aftermarket solution here... hinged rear partition window maybe?

 

[Pegasi]

I agree with the supercar bit to a certain extent maybe thats true but how many real supercar buyers are going for an 80k motor with very average performance?
I know I sound like I'm being a bit of a tw@t but reading words like visceral when referring to the car I drove this week and it being a 'Lotus' (I have three and had an elise too at one point) its just not in the traditional sense.
Chop any part off me and it says lotus through it like a stick of Blackpool Rock!!
I'm not saying its a bad thing its just not what I expected and mostly signed up for. I was hoping for a faster better looking improvement on an Evora and its clearly not all those things.
I went to the factory show when the Evora was released and It didn't really float my boat at that point but the release of the 400 really made a difference. The latter iterations are possibly what I should be looking at.
Not to go on but the test drive was not fair on the car at all but shifting ratios and dumping the throttle felt family saloon pedestrian. On the positive side i think (hope) the auto will be way better suited to the engine and power delivery in this car....but it still needs a fruity pipe on it!!!!

And I agree re the average Lotus customer. Those people have been treated like 'sh!te' in my opinion and i now firmly believe its completely deliberate. They are after someone who uses words like Visceral when referring to the Emira. Drive my S1 Exige round Anglesey or Cadwell then the Emira click the edit post button and try again....

I appreciate reviews from across the spectrum. If you are a prior/current Lotus owner your perspective is welcome because if you say the car is just average, then it will likely be perfect for someone like me. So you aren't tw@t IMO! Lol

Clearly the brand is getting more attention which means the Elise, Exige, and Evora are all getting well deserved appreciation.

My first experience was an Evora GT and a slightly softer Evora that looks better than almost any car on the road for under 100K is the Emira. I believe it has the perfect balance of focus and comfort.

 

[vision]

My turn for a test drive today, finally! I was very pleased to see that the weather Gods looked upon me favourably and I had good roads. Can't really add anything over the above reviews, but my key takeaways:

1. Fit and finish was great
2. Exhaust note in Sport was disappointingly quiet, which was a shame. Sounded like someone had stuck a pillow over the tailpipes, very muted and not distinct.
3. Performance seemed pretty good, I was expecting it to feel slower than it did
4. Steering/handling was a complete joy. Having owned two S1 Elises, I felt completely at home.
5. Clutch bite point was basically on the carpet, very odd. Probably accentuated because the car I drove to the Dealer has a bite point right at the top of the pedal travel, so it was just very, very different.
6. Touring suspension with the Goodyears was a lovely ride balance.

Not out!!!

Hi all, I had my second drive today at B&C,; my first drive was at Southampton with sports suspension two month ago. I wanted to see the difference between setups and run in cars also with different interiors.
Firstly both lotus outlets are very good and know what you need / want to know having done this many times (thank you Richard). No driving as a passenger, get in and go. Started in touring but straight into sport and then track for the last 20 minutes (I asked).
4K on the clock and brakes are really good and bedded in, the initial grab of my first drive at Southampton with low mileage have gone away.
Interior - the leather after 4K looked good as did the whole thing (red leather not my thing, I've gone for tan). No issues for me with build quality (time old school Lotus so know what to expect but so much better).
Performance - it is a really fast car for British roads, but for me it just lacks ultimate drama, its beautiful from the outside but needs Mr Darcy to spice it up. Don't get me wrong its really good and is pitched at the right level for anyone thinking about entering this market /attracting new customers. For me I want exige rawness in this car and then it would be really cool, also lower and reduce motorised seats as it sits too high.

From feedback today B&C are offering 7 day a week test drives, averaging 5 per day, current wait list for the car is getting close to 30 months if you deposit today.

My build is now, waiting for the elusive checkout email, if it ever comes! Do I want this car, ABSOLUTELY, and I cannot wait

 

[Pegasi]

Hi all, I had my second drive today at B&C,; my first drive was at Southampton with sports suspension two month ago. I wanted to see the difference between setups and run in cars also with different interiors.
Firstly both lotus outlets are very good and know what you need / want to know having done this many times (thank you Richard). No driving as a passenger, get in and go. Started in touring but straight into sport and then track for the last 20 minutes (I asked).
4K on the clock and brakes are really good and bedded in, the initial grab of my first drive at Southampton with low mileage have gone away.
Interior - the leather after 4K looked good as did the whole thing (red leather not my thing, I've gone for tan). No issues for me with build quality (time old school Lotus so know what to expect but so much better).
Performance - it is a really fast car for British roads, but for me it just lacks ultimate drama, its beautiful from the outside but needs Mr Darcy to spice it up. Don't get me wrong its really good and is pitched at the right level for anyone thinking about entering this market /attracting new customers. For me I want exige rawness in this car and then it would be really cool, also lower and reduce motorised seats as it sits too high.

From feedback today B&C are offering 7 day a week test drives, averaging 5 per day, current wait list for the car is getting close to 30 months if you deposit today.

My build is now, waiting for the elusive checkout email, if it ever comes! Do I want this car, ABSOLUTELY, and I cannot wait

Great review. Also it sounds like you have driven both suspensions. If so can you go provide a comparison?

 

[Pegasi]

Has anyone commented on hard cornering in the Emira? I suppose that isn't possible on a test drive but it seems to me that aspect of the car is missing from forum reviews.

 

[Leonard]

Today was my turn to get behind the wheel of Rybrook Birmingham’s Seneca, Sport + Goodyear demonstrator.

Car has over 2500 miles, with currently up to 6 drives per day. Dropping down into the seat (and getting out) the car felt really low, but the seating position felt a touch too high when adjusting the seat (I’m 6’4”). However, once on the move it wasn’t a problem and gave great visibility over the wings. Similar to the GR.

The usual test route wasn’t an option due to local flooding, so we set off with only a vague route in mind. This was great and meant I could avoid the motorway and take my own B-road choice, with a short blast onto a dual-carriageway. My test pilot - Jade, was great, not worrying about my spirited approach to the route but did mention she may get a reprimand for the multiple Lotus GPS pings for being off route etc…

Main takeaways for me:
Fit and finish of the cabin felt great. No problem doing long road trips in comfort. A relatively quiet place to be with minimal tyre and engine noise when just ambling along.
Power delivery felt a bit odd; Low down in the revs it felt a bit flat and muted but once over 4K in third it really picked up and was powerful enough for me to have a lot of fun. On a flowing twisty road it would be sublime. My brain did get a bit confused going from 4th to 5th for some reason (got a bit giddy?), but I think I’d soon calibrate road speed, to revs, to which gear (as I have in the GR). Overtaking was effortless.
Exhaust in sport very muted from cabin. Only really heard the off-throttle burbles. GT car appropriate.
I think touring would be better suited to my local roads (also the preferred choice of a Lotus dev driver at the factory)
Gearbox has a good mechanical feel.
Steering wheel shape odd when manoeuvring into parking space, fine on move but a bit thick. Alcantara not wearing very well.
Seats ok. Don’t need the 12-way complexity.
Lower black pack gets very dirty. A PPF must I think.
Drive digital screen didn’t bother me as I thought it would. Infotainment screen not the best, but not worried as would use CarPlay 99% of the time.
Glad I’m going for Nimbus, as Blue looks too plastic IMO.

Still think it’s a great car at an appropriate price. Still in, just.

Glad you had a good drive. Love Jade #rebel need more

 

[vision]

Great review. Also it sounds like you have driven both suspensions. If so can you go provide a comparison?

I think for me sport works as I will do short fast runs at max revs, I’m not using it as a touring car or for track use. If you are looking for a car to do lots of distance on motorways it is really refined, comfortable and quiet, with ability to throw it around in track / sport mode on normal twisty roads then touring is spot on. In my spec I should have gone for cup tyres, I also found the touring set up over twisty roads and a little bit wobbly, but I like crashing banging driving.
Also the DV car at B&C I thought it was black in the showroom, looked like a solid coloured from some angles. That said it looks seriously mean, a good choice.
The next factory upgrades / variations on this are going to be entertaining as per the prices. At the moment it is so deliberately rained back to appeal to all markets at very good price.
Unfortunately I think the £60k for a base model emira is never going to happen

 

[Evotion]

Has anyone commented on hard cornering in the Emira?

I did in one of my videos.
I was on Sports suspension. The car was fully run in.
No noticeable understeer and the traction is UNBELIEVABLE.
All in all, I think this could destroy many 'faster' cars on shorter circuits and twisty country roads.

I felt I could feel what was going on really well. It was confidence inspiring.

 

[Evotion]

, but for me it just lacks ultimate drama,

That is a fair comment. The car is amazing BUT, for many, it will not have that exhilarating sparkle you can perhaps find in other cars.

 

[JPSpecial]

Isn’t that what you would buy a sports car for though?

 

[GetawayDriving]

Has anyone commented on hard cornering in the Emira? I suppose that isn't possible on a test drive but it seems to me that aspect of the car is missing from forum reviews.

Possibly because this is the test drive thread. There is also a track experience thread that might provide more color. I spent a day hooning it around Hethel and I reached my limit long before the car did. If I missed an apex, I'd over-correct and the car simply complied, letting me know it had much more to offer. I'm no Jim Clark, but I've had on-track instruction 5 or 6 times and have participated in double-digit track days. My on-track experience has been with 911 (991 GTS), A110, Elise, 2-series BMW, Miata (ND) and Model 3 Performance. Of those, it's the most confidence-inspiring car I've ever driven. More planted than Elise, more nimble than 911. On the skid pad, was heavily tuned to understeer but I presume that can be dialed out.