Cachaco131
Active member
Man, that boxy door panel for some reason has caught my attention not in a good way. Doesn't line up well with dashboard as well. Anyway, maybe its the Alcantara and will look better in leather ?
Emira event in Melbourne
- Thread starter Mickeymo
- Start date
digilotus
Well-known member
This photo was taken up close near the window switches. From eye level it all looked even to me.
Mayby those seeing the car in Sydney tomorrow can check the other door and see if this is designed this way or a build thing on this particular car.
Really appreciate all the details. I need to submit my spec in a few days and I’m leaning more towards Seneca so all this information is really helpful.You're welcome!
As for your questions:
1) I thought the Alcantara seats looked really really nice and had a "race car" feel to them. I obviously have not seen full leather seats so its difficult to compare. I wish they had a car with leather as that is what I ordered.
They have a good level of contrast between the black leather and black alcantara so don't look plain. Even though there wasn't much coloured contrast stitching, the stitching (in this case yellow) did pop without being over the top. One thing I would add is that I would avoid privacy glass with the alcantara seats. Black alcantara absorbs light really well, so looking at the car from the outside, it almost looks like the car has tinted windows given the large amount of internal light absorption (both on the seats and roof).
2) I was concerned about the "flower look" of the Diamond Cut wheels too. It's strange given that on some photos, the diamond cut part of the wheels stand out and makes it look like a wind mill or flower. But in real life this isn't the case. The satin finished inside paint blends in nicely with the satin aluminium front. I really really like them! They do not get lost on the car (like black does) and provide a little bit of bling in a tasteful way and somewhat subtle way.
These photos aren't bad representations of what the human eye sees. All the satin parts of the wheel throw of a white sheen which helps blend it all together with the aluminium. Maybe in strong sunlight the contrast would be larger, but at least on an overcast day they looked really classy.
View attachment 5513
The further you look to the side of the wheel the diamond cut pattern starts to totally disappear.
View attachment 5514
View attachment 5515
3) Seneca is such a difficult colour to photograph!
In person it is a really strong blue, not powder blue at all. The more saturated pictures I posted are more true to life. Many cameras capture Seneca as a baby blue (including the Shanghai Seneca showcar) which is so far from what it looks like. I was really surprised at how bold and striking it looks. Think Porsche Shark blue (VW cornflower blue), but a little bit darker and more classy as its a metallic. It has a lovely light silver fleck in the light - almost as if you get two paints in one. A solid flat strong pigmented colour from afar, and a lovely metallic in the light up close. I was pleasantly surprised. If you want to make a statement and be the centre of attention, then Seneca Blue or Hethel yellow will be the ones to get!
4) Just a latest model mobile phone camera! (Not iPhone, better!) I can't give away all my secrets!
As much as I want ice leather with Seneca, I think a darker interior would compliment the bold blue exterior better.
I see what you are saying about DC wheels and how the light blends it all together, but man, photos really make these wheels look like a fan and so distracting.
You are doing an amazing service for this community. Thank you. I now need to go back and digest all your info and pics again
digilotus
Well-known member
You're welcome! I'm not trying to convince you either way of course. I can only comment on what I saw and give you some more data points (e.g. photos) for consideration.Really appreciate all the details. I need to submit my spec in a few days and I’m leaning more towards Seneca so all this information is really helpful.
As much as I want ice leather with Seneca, I think a darker interior would compliment the bold blue exterior better.
I see what you are saying about DC wheels and how the light blends it all together, but man, photos really make these wheels look like a fan and so distracting.
You are doing an amazing service for this community. Thank you. I now need to go back and digest all your info and pics again
It would have been fantastic if the car had one set of wheels on one side (e.g. Silver) and another set on the other side (e.g. Diamond cut). Then I could provide you with my objective commentary for both.
Go with what you like best! Choice of colour, wheels and interior is a bit like taste in fine art or wine - a very personal thing.
digilotus
Well-known member
I think you missed the full revs at the end!
- Thread Starter
- Thread starter
- #147
My impressions
Exterior:
It's bigger than expected, which I really like. I was worried it would be too small, like a Cayman. But it's wide and it looks bigger on the road than in videos.
The Seneca blue looks flat, but is actually quite metallic. Quite a bit of fleck up close when seen in the sunlight.
Wheel gap is about 3 fingers on this car. I asked Matt if if this was the final, but he wasn't sure. He said it depends on which set up it is. But to his eye at the time he thought the gap was a bit too much.
I think the wheels of this car don't really do the job. The alloys might be too small, I think it have much more presence with wheel an inch bigger.
Interior
Feels much bigger than an Evora. After this event, I went straight to Porsche show room to compare. Feels slightly bigger than Cayman, not sure why. Perhaps because the sports seat in the Cayman was very buckety, so squeeze on me.
The quality feels on par with Porsche, although I didn't take a close look at any of the materials to be honest, thus I'm calling it a "feeling".
Exhaust
I left the event and walked down the street 60-70 metres and was waiting for an Uber. Then I hear the Emira start up, I knew it immediately, ran back to the event to capture this video. They were saying they were having a problem with starting it up in loud mode rather than Camry mode. It was pretty loud, but not ear popping loud, just about how I personally like it.
Fuller revs at the end of vid. Re uploaded the video because I uploaded the wrong part originally.
Final thoughts
When I initially saw the car I wasn't like WOW. When you're up close to it, like 3- 4 metres away from it, it somehow doesn't look right, especially the front. Like it feels out of proportion or something. Like I said I went to the Porsche dealer immediately after I saw the Emira, and the Porsche felt more attractive to me from up close. Must be the smooth flowing lines of the porsche. But when you're 10 metres away from the car it looks amazing. Especially the front three quarters view.
Later upon reflection I think the Emira is right for me compared to Cayman. Just had much more presence than the Cayman. It feels like a special car, unlike the Porsche.
Exterior:
It's bigger than expected, which I really like. I was worried it would be too small, like a Cayman. But it's wide and it looks bigger on the road than in videos.
The Seneca blue looks flat, but is actually quite metallic. Quite a bit of fleck up close when seen in the sunlight.
Wheel gap is about 3 fingers on this car. I asked Matt if if this was the final, but he wasn't sure. He said it depends on which set up it is. But to his eye at the time he thought the gap was a bit too much.
I think the wheels of this car don't really do the job. The alloys might be too small, I think it have much more presence with wheel an inch bigger.
Interior
Feels much bigger than an Evora. After this event, I went straight to Porsche show room to compare. Feels slightly bigger than Cayman, not sure why. Perhaps because the sports seat in the Cayman was very buckety, so squeeze on me.
The quality feels on par with Porsche, although I didn't take a close look at any of the materials to be honest, thus I'm calling it a "feeling".
Exhaust
I left the event and walked down the street 60-70 metres and was waiting for an Uber. Then I hear the Emira start up, I knew it immediately, ran back to the event to capture this video. They were saying they were having a problem with starting it up in loud mode rather than Camry mode. It was pretty loud, but not ear popping loud, just about how I personally like it.
Fuller revs at the end of vid. Re uploaded the video because I uploaded the wrong part originally.
Final thoughts
When I initially saw the car I wasn't like WOW. When you're up close to it, like 3- 4 metres away from it, it somehow doesn't look right, especially the front. Like it feels out of proportion or something. Like I said I went to the Porsche dealer immediately after I saw the Emira, and the Porsche felt more attractive to me from up close. Must be the smooth flowing lines of the porsche. But when you're 10 metres away from the car it looks amazing. Especially the front three quarters view.
Later upon reflection I think the Emira is right for me compared to Cayman. Just had much more presence than the Cayman. It feels like a special car, unlike the Porsche.
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- Thread Starter
- Thread starter
- #148
Oh I'll upload again
kbhoz
Active member
I also was torn between leather/alcantara but ended up going full black leather. So no contrast stitching available. I also have not seen a full leather yet. I am not too sure if the speaker covers remain as silver (not black as shown in the configurator). I have black leather in the 2015 Exige and it has worn very well even after 85000Km.First of all, a huge thank you for all the insights and pictures. Few questions…
1. Any thoughts around the leather/alcantara combo compared to full leather? Did the interior feel too dark?
2. In person did you find the diamond cut wheels distracting or flower-ish looking?
3. Like many colors, Seneca also changes based on light source and viewing angle. Would you say these photos are a good representation of what the color looked like in person? In some pics, the color is more saturated than others.
4. Which camera/lens combo are you using?
I like the DC wheel especially when the car is moving slowly - quite an unusual effect. Obviously we didn't get to see it at speed.
The Seneca paint was in part daylight - I white balanced each shot but sometimes it can be slightly "off". Matt Windle actually got his phone flashlight on at held it against the paintwork for me and it did pop with a very fine silver particulate. It will glow very nicely on a sunny day.
I was using Canon RP with RF24-105L Lens and RF35 f1.8 - Many are shot in HDR and merged in Lightroom.
I don't think there is a bad colour to be honest but we need to make a choice. I ended going Yellow with no black pack and red callipers to complement the red in the rear lights with privacy glass as shown.
I went with Seneca as it had the instant WOW factor at Goodwood and the wife said ‘we need one of those!!’
Also never had a blue car!
freefall_junkie
Well-known member
First of all big thanks to @digilotus and @kbhoz - great reporting guys!
Having seen the car on two occasions now I have discovered that any photo taken on my phone can't be trusted to represent the true colour - it always end up looking more baby blue than it really is. However this might interest some people like @DaaS considering Seneca. I dropped by Parks Lotus near the Weege yesterday for a chat and a geek at some cars. They had this lovely Daytona Blue Elise cup 250 in the showroom. Comparing the Seneca sample disc against Daytona it looked almost the same, surprisingly perhaps Seneca just a shade darker, although Seneca has a fine metallic fleck and Daytona is flat so Seneca will pop more in bright light.
Not the best photo as I'm holding the Seneca sample disc so it is concave and the Daytona wing is convex, but but to the naked eye they looked very close indeed, as per the top left and bottom right of the image. So, for anyone wanting to see what Seneca looks like in the wild, I'd say try and find someone local with a Daytona Elise, Exige or Evora and you will get a pretty good idea.
digilotus
Well-known member
I believe it’s behind the centre storage compartment. Within it are two usb-c ports. Sorry I don’t have a photo!
digilotus
Well-known member
Oh that’s very cool!
digilotus
Well-known member
The speaker grills are silver in all configurations. The interior images in the configurator are incorrect showing dark grilles which will be part of the base edition and standard audio setup.
digilotus
Well-known member
Event Cocktails
@virtualmacho - I'm so sorry for not sharing some of the cocktails from the event! Here you go!
Lets see if Sydney can outdo Melbourne!
#forthecompetition
@virtualmacho - I'm so sorry for not sharing some of the cocktails from the event! Here you go!
Lets see if Sydney can outdo Melbourne!
#forthecompetition
donskibeat
Well-known member
Okay thanks, so just two USB C ports, not a standard 12 v socket like in most other cars?
digilotus
Well-known member
There is a 12v socket like in most cars, just not within the central storage compartment but behind it.
It is on the back face of the central storage compartment behind a cover that can be unclipped to fit a standard 12v car socket. So you can put for example a small 12v powered car fridge behind the seats (if the seats are forward enough) without needing to route a cable under the lid into the inside of the central storage compartment.
And there are three USB-C ports - two within the central storage compartment (see photo below) and one below the gear selector/shifter in the little storage area. The inside of the centre storage is nicely finished with a rubber base and lined sides so any loose objects or your phone won't be banging around against plastic. On the outside it is finished in black nappa leather with contrast stitching on the lid (depending on spec chosen).
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TXEMIRA
Well-known member
NicolasB
Well-known member
Any more on the seats? Comfort, bolstering, upholstery tightness?
Loving all of the posts so far! Thank you!
Loving all of the posts so far! Thank you!
digilotus
Well-known member
The seats were not final as previously stated. Fit and finish of them wasn't 100% perfect, maybe 95%. Upholstery tightness wasn't where it needs to be and there were a few little stitching imperfections I noticed (but I'm really fussy).
This pre-production seat version didn't have things like the back seat three embossed stripes that more recent versions have (as folks have seen in Hethel factory tours more recently).
Sitting in them, they nicely hug on the sides and were not loose or laterally unsupportive as was a common complaint in the show car seats. The base foam was nice and firm with a sporty feel. They are not soft lounge furniture seats. I had no complaints from a comfort, support or seat adjustment perspective. I didn't find them too high or wished they be lower.
The electrical adjustment on the side of the seats worked very well. Motors were smooth and quiet with nicely tactile switch mechanisms.
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