USA/Canada Delivery Thread

[DPB]

They are not. No rear bump outs and no amber signals.

Maybe I missed this, but. What are these “bump outs” you speak of? Are there any pictures of these? I’m imagining unsightly protuberances from the 80’s and hoping I’m wrong!

 

[KAR120C]

Maybe I missed this, but. What are these “bump outs” you speak of? Are there any pictures of these? I’m imagining unsightly protuberances from the 80’s and hoping I’m wrong!

Probably similar to the ones on the Evora. Luckily those were easily removed.

 

[Pegasi]

Just going to post this because it’s mostly US based but the Quail Lodge test drive was incredible.

The route was on Carmel valley road and lead follow and solo, incredible test drive format. We really got to hammer on these brand new cars for 20+ minutes and I really finally got a chance to fall in love with the Emira. Really got to ring the car out, launch it etc all on a warm sunny day. This manual was perfect and heel toed just fine, easy to drive with a predictable clutch.

I also finally got to see Magma in person and it’s beautiful and metallic.

This is great news. Like everyone else I feel like I am in the 12 round of a prize fight. Taking one in the chin then unleashing a haymaker.

Are you going to do a more detailed evaluation of your test drive? Hoping so.

 

[Hell4Leather]

FYI, I called Mike over at Lotus of Dallas yesterday. He said they've specced their demo cars and expects to see them in Oct. They're getting both a V6 and an I4! One of them is Hethel Yellow. Donno the color of the other.

Just to be clear he ordered 2 cars for himself. One to drive and one to park in the showroom. If he has since ordered 2 more actual dealer demos then that’s a recent addition.

 

[Hell4Leather]

I ordered one because I wanted a DCT in this car.

Just one more thing to break

 

[Jdmc21]

Just one more thing to break

Indeed. But preferred over the slush box, which can also break.

 

[kitkat]

This is great news. Like everyone else I feel like I am in the 12 round of a prize fight. Taking one in the chin then unleashing a haymaker.

Are you going to do a more detailed evaluation of your test drive? Hoping so.

I'll try to organize some thoughts into categories and bullet points to not make this too long of a read.

Steering & Feedback

• Nothing to complain about here, we all know the steering feel is sublime.
• Great balance of hydraulic assistance -- Goldilocks.
• Road feedback through the steering wheel is obvious but not annoying.

Handling

• Test drive car was sport suspension.
• Sharp turn-in
• Placing car and correcting mid turn was easy and predictable on and off the throttle.
• Very little body roll on the street, I suspect this will only become obvious at track speeds.
• Won't comment on car's front/rear balance as we were nowhere near the limit of handling.

Suspension Compliance

• Sport soaked up the typical California canyon road bumps and road undulations.
• Barely felt any of the cracks in the road when transitioning from various types of road surfaces.
• More compliant than even my BMW M4 on the softest EDC setting.

Brakes

• More than adequate for street
• I did not feel they were over-assisted as some have mentioned.
• Did not get a chance to test ABS characteristics but I doubt this has anywhere near a motorsports ABS system. It would be unlikely anyone would appreciate it if I had tested ABS in this test drive format.

Ergonomics

• Seat is still poorly bolstered.
• Lumbar is a tad on the aggressive side.
• The pedal box is small and right centered and deep into the footwell.
• I'm 5'9" and of normal torso/arm/leg dimensions and I find that to comfortably reach the functional range of the clutch my arms and chest are quite close to the wheel and possibly a little too far forward to the shifter. It's live-able but I'd love to have an inch or so of pedal fore / aft adjustment.
• I still don't like the square-ish steering wheel.

Gear Changes

• I've seen quite some variance between the three test drives I've done.
• This was the best car yet.
• Predictable clutch grab point
• Good smooth gear shifts, not a single missed shift the entire drive even through the aggressive shifting.
• Okay but not amazing rev-matching. What the engine and transmission lacks is response for this to get better. Completely acceptable but simply not on part with say a smaller 4 cylinder Japanese sports car.

Power, Torque & Delivery

• Decent power & torque but nothing mind-blowing.
• This is a momentum car
• Power delivery is linear and predictable
• Cuts off early as everyone mentions, really do wish I could get another 400 rpms out of this car. I think part of this is also the tachometer lag.

Sound

• Loads of cabin noise but I like that
• Very little gearbox whine, but this car had only 100 miles.
• Inside the cabin is overwhelming supercharger sounds and less exhaust sounds.
• From inside the cabin I could hear the exhaust from Emiras in front and behind me, and they sounded glorious @ WOT.
• Personally I will want a 3rd cat removal and valve controller.

I will leave out the following because I was really focused on the driving and don't think I gave a fair chance to the following. They weren't very good with the very little time I did spend on them.

- Infotainment
- Steering Wheel Controls
- Audio System

The lead follow solo drive format was really what sold me on the car. It allowed me to loosen up and the other drivers around me were passionate experienced drivers. Had I not had this experience who knows how I'd feel about the car in the coming months as we experience more poor comms, reliability issues, and probably delays in deliveries.

Overall, this car is absolutely a buy from me. It's not cheap, it's not that powerful, and it's certainly not perfect, but it's a visceral experience and I think that's what most of us are buying a Lotus for right?

 

[Callabrator]

Just to be clear he ordered 2 cars for himself. One to drive and one to park in the showroom. If he has since ordered 2 more actual dealer demos then that’s a recent addition.

Hmm, he specifically said I’d be able to drive both

 

[Maurice R]

Just to be clear he ordered 2 cars for himself. One to drive and one to park in the showroom. If he has since ordered 2 more actual dealer demos then that’s a recent addition.

So you are saying Mike is the owner of LOTUS Dallas maybe I need to meet him and ask when my car is scheduled to arrive

 

[JackSlack]

I placed a I4 FE order recently. Dealer claimed deliveries will begin May of next year.

I heard from the dealer today that if I order this month it's a Jan production date and he says delivery in March/April. I believe your May date over March.

 

[Cachaco131]

Just going to post this because it’s mostly US based but the Quail Lodge test drive was incredible.

The route was on Carmel valley road and lead follow and solo, incredible test drive format. We really got to hammer on these brand new cars for 20+ minutes and I really finally got a chance to fall in love with the Emira. Really got to ring the car out, launch it etc all on a warm sunny day. This manual was perfect and heel toed just fine, easy to drive with a predictable clutch.

I also finally got to see Magma in person and it’s beautiful and metallic.

How many did you manage to break down?

Sounds like a great test format!

 

[Cachaco131]

@Cachaco131 stay away from the blue Emira, there were too many door handles to lick. Also, I feel bad for these cars — the entire group really romped on these and mine had just over 100 mi on it when I got it.

Hard break in miles for sure.

Thanks for the tip. If they survived @kitkat then all quality control issues must have been addressed!

 

[Porter]

I'll try to organize some thoughts into categories and bullet points to not make this too long of a read.

Steering & Feedback

• Nothing to complain about here, we all know the steering feel is sublime.
• Great balance of hydraulic assistance -- Goldilocks.
• Road feedback through the steering wheel is obvious but not annoying.

Handling

• Test drive car was sport suspension.
• Sharp turn-in
• Placing car and correcting mid turn was easy and predictable on and off the throttle.
• Very little body roll on the street, I suspect this will only become obvious at track speeds.
• Won't comment on car's front/rear balance as we were nowhere near the limit of handling.

Suspension Compliance

• Sport soaked up the typical California canyon road bumps and road undulations.
• Barely felt any of the cracks in the road when transitioning from various types of road surfaces.
• More compliant than even my BMW M4 on the softest EDC setting.

Brakes

• More than adequate for street
• I did not feel they were over-assisted as some have mentioned.
• Did not get a chance to test ABS characteristics but I doubt this has anywhere near a motorsports ABS system. It would be unlikely anyone would appreciate it if I had tested ABS in this test drive format.

Ergonomics

• Seat is still poorly bolstered.
• Lumbar is a tad on the aggressive side.
• The pedal box is small and right centered and deep into the footwell.
• I'm 5'9" and of normal torso/arm/leg dimensions and I find that to comfortably reach the functional range of the clutch my arms and chest are quite close to the wheel and possibly a little too far forward to the shifter. It's live-able but I'd love to have an inch or so of pedal fore / aft adjustment.
• I still don't like the square-ish steering wheel.

Gear Changes

• I've seen quite some variance between the three test drives I've done.
• This was the best car yet.
• Predictable clutch grab point
• Good smooth gear shifts, not a single missed shift the entire drive even through the aggressive shifting.
• Okay but not amazing rev-matching. What the engine and transmission lacks is response for this to get better. Completely acceptable but simply not on part with say a smaller 4 cylinder Japanese sports car.

Power, Torque & Delivery

• Decent power & torque but nothing mind-blowing.
• This is a momentum car
• Power delivery is linear and predictable
• Cuts off early as everyone mentions, really do wish I could get another 400 rpms out of this car. I think part of this is also the tachometer lag.

Sound

• Loads of cabin noise but I like that
• Very little gearbox whine, but this car had only 100 miles.
• Inside the cabin is overwhelming supercharger sounds and less exhaust sounds.
• From inside the cabin I could hear the exhaust from Emiras in front and behind me, and they sounded glorious @ WOT.
• Personally I will want a 3rd cat removal and valve controller.

I will leave out the following because I was really focused on the driving and don't think I gave a fair chance to the following. They weren't very good with the very little time I did spend on them.

- Infotainment
- Steering Wheel Controls
- Audio System

The lead follow solo drive format was really what sold me on the car. It allowed me to loosen up and the other drivers around me were passionate experienced drivers. Had I not had this experience who knows how I'd feel about the car in the coming months as we experience more poor comms, reliability issues, and probably delays in deliveries.

Overall, this car is absolutely a buy from me. It's not cheap, it's not that powerful, and it's certainly not perfect, but it's a visceral experience and I think that's what most of us are buying a Lotus for right?

@kitkat this is one of the best test drive feedback posts I've ever seen on this forum. Great contribution, thank you for taking the time to express all of this so clearly and succinctly.

 

[Pegasi]

Suspension Compliance

• Sport soaked up the typical California canyon road bumps and road undulations.
• Barely felt any of the cracks in the road when transitioning from various types of road surfaces.
• More compliant than even my BMW M4 on the softest EDC setting.

Ditto to @Porter. Great write up. This review gives me energy and sustains my excitement during our long wait. The comment about the suspension being more compliant than your M4 on the softest setting also hit home with me. This is a Lotus!

I wish everyone on this forum had this same test drive format. Maybe the demo cars will allow for this.

 

[KCMO68_510]

Power, Torque & Delivery

• Decent power & torque but nothing mind-blowing.
• This is a momentum car
• Power delivery is linear and predictable

My first test drive I came back and said it was kind of like a more powerful, but lower RPM S2000 and that is sort of what you described.

 

[kitkat]

My first test drive I came back and said it was kind of like a more powerful, but lower RPM S2000 and that is sort of what you described.

As an s2000 owner for 13 years, agreed. I really did wish it had about 100 hp and more torque to go with it — then it would go from quick car to fast car.

 

[Nova]

It would also seem that every single one of those VINs that got shipped here last month were Emiras for this event.

That's quite an expense to undertake.

 

[dgrace]

I heard from the dealer today that if I order this month it's a Jan production date and he says delivery in March/April. I believe your May date over March.

LOL that’s exactly what my dealer told me 2 years ago!

 

[KCMO68_510]

LOL that’s exactly what my dealer told me 2 years ago!

My dealer just tells me "I could tell you a date, but then you'd be mad that I lied if it's wrong, so I'll be honest... it will be here when it's here."

 

[eriegz]

My dealer just tells me "I could tell you a date, but then you'd be mad that I lied if it's wrong, so I'll be honest... it will be here when it's here."

Pretty much this entire 127-page thread in a nutshell.