Emira Review Index [V6 FE]

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For those looking for the latest Emira V6 FE reviews scheduled to be released today, I've self-volunteered to maintain a quick reference index here.
Please let me know of any missing articles and I'll update accordingly. (y)

ReviewerTypeDirect Link
EdmundsArticle
Harry's Garage (Harry Metcalfe)Video Review

Harry drives the Sports and Tour suspension back to back on the same road and shares his thoughts.
Schmee150 (Tim Burton)Video ReviewPublished 21st June
Carwow (Mat Watson)Video Review
TopGearArticles and VideoPublished 3rd July
Chris Harris talks about the Lotus Emira

Published 20th June

AutoTrader (Rory Reid)Video Review
EvoArticle and Video Review
CARArticle and Video ReviewPublished 22nd July


Lotus Emira vs Cayman 718 GTS vs Alpine 110s
AutocarArticle and Video Review
PistonheadsArticle
KHTVVideo Review
The DriveArticle
AutoExpressArticle
Pictures:
WhichCarArticle
CarBuyerArticle
HagertyArticle
Road and TrackArticlePublished 1st September
Lotus Emira Road and Track Drive

GoodwoodArticle
The IntercoolerPodcastReasonably good post-embargo Emira discussion on The Intercooler.
MotortrendArticle
DriveArticle
AFRArticle
ParkersArticle
CarExpertArticle
Caffeine & MachineArticle
Photos on Instagram:
The Sunday Times DrivingArticle
Car and DriverArticle
The SunArticle
AutoCar UKArticlePublished 2nd July

 
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Jonhklee

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Probably, if you're looking to conserve fuel. This is why an auto trans is always trying to get you into the highest gear as quickly as possible, to keep the rpm down. There's a place for redline though, when you need to pass slower traffic like a big rig climbing through passes and hills.
Or an empty straight country road or over a mountain pass…..
 

Tonyshepp

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I must admit i'm used to a redline at 8500 rpm where all my power arrives from 5000 rpm onwards... but you can't/don't want to use this around town, only on special occasions. I'm a bit disappointed the rev limit isnt 7500rpm so saying its only 6800rmp doesn't influence me either way.
 

Leonard

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Redline in 2nd will take you just over 60mph, in 3rd it's about 100mph.
It's not about how long it takes to get there, it's how you get there. And I want to arrive screaming 😱 Can I please have 7200rpm 😅
 

TomE

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Sure, when someone cracks the ECU.
 

Dabjbr

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Redline in 2nd will take you just over 60mph, in 3rd it's about 100mph.
Gears are short enough that you’ll get plenty of changes even while driving on the road. They are also long enough that you Won’t need excessive changes on most race tracks so 3rd gear will be used most often with occasionally grabs for 2nd, 4th and 5th. Perfectly fine for my taste.
 

Dabjbr

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I must admit i'm used to a redline at 8500 rpm where all my power arrives from 5000 rpm onwards... but you can't/don't want to use this around town, only on special occasions. I'm a bit disappointed the rev limit isnt 7500rpm so saying its only 6800rmp doesn't influence me either way.
You bring up a good point… 8500 was important to you when driving a car that had power starting at 5000rpm. So basically, you were using a 3500rpm band.

The Emira will still have a very reasonable 3-3500rpm power band. It‘ll just be lower like 3500-6800rpm. I truly doubt that will negatively affect anyone’s experience.
 

Leonard

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You bring up a good point… 8500 was important to you when driving a car that had power starting at 5000rpm. So basically, you were using a 3500rpm band.

The Emira will still have a very reasonable 3-3500rpm power band. It‘ll just be lower like 3500-6800rpm. I truly doubt that will negatively affect anyone’s experience.
But they have tuned it to be like this. They could have gone the other way rather than play it safe for mass appeal..... Still would have been more than torquey enough for most.
It doesn't feel like 'the drivers' are getting much of a look in here
 

Eagle7

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Or an empty straight country road or over a mountain pass…..
True, as long as there isn't a cop on a motorcycle with a radar gun hiding behind a tree, or on the other side of the pass as you come over the top. I've seen both those situations more than once. They know how to pick their spots.
 

Leonard

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True, as long as there isn't a cop on a motorcycle with a radar gun hiding behind a tree, or on the other side of the pass as you come over the top. I've seen both those situations more than once. They know how to pick their spots.
Where does it stop ✋️ Activate the speed limit controller now and we can all drive around in 1st 2nd and 3rd and reduce the redline to 4500rpm...
I'm a 6th Dan black belt and can kill with my bare hands. Doesn't mean I will, or I should stop at a less lethal yellow belt.







I'm not really bit you get the point 😋
 

Eagle7

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But they have tuned it to be like this. They could have gone the other way rather than play it safe for mass appeal..... Still would have been more than torquey enough for most.
It doesn't feel like 'the drivers' are getting much of a look in here
I don't think they tuned it to play it safe for mass appeal, according to one of the testers they had to do it because of emissions. That's the downside of coming out with a brand new car, and it's the only car you have to sell. It has to carry the load of meeting emissions regulations all by itself, because there isn't another model with better performance in that area, to create a fleet average you can take advantage of.
 

Leonard

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I don't think they tuned it to play it safe for mass appeal, according to one of the testers they had to do it because of emissions. That's the downside of coming out with a brand new car, and it's the only car you have to sell. It has to carry the load of meeting emissions regulations all by itself, because there isn't another model with better performance in that area, to create a fleet average you can take advantage of.
Yeah I want to believe it. But I dont
 

Eagle7

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Where does it stop ✋️ Activate the speed limit controller now and we can all drive around in 1st 2nd and 3rd and reduce the redline to 4500rpm...
Oh you can still choose to hit redline in those areas. Depends on your knowledge of how often it's patrolled, how it's patrolled and when. In California they use spotter planes that clock cars on the ground, and they radio ground units when someone goes over what they decide they don't want to ignore. You never see the ground unit, it just comes speeding up from behind and pulls you over.

Each state has it's own style and methods. You just have to know where you're at and the risk you're willing to take.
 

Leonard

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Oh you can still choose to hit redline in those areas. Depends on your knowledge of how often it's patrolled, how it's patrolled and when. In California they use spotter planes that clock cars on the ground, and they radio ground units when someone goes over what they decide they don't want to ignore. You never see the ground unit, it just comes speeding up from behind and pulls you over.

Each state has it's own style and methods. You just have to know where you're at and the risk you're willing to take.
Apologies I thought you were implying we shouldn't bemoan the lack of performance and rpm because we couldn't use it anyway
 

Eagle7

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Yeah I want to believe it. But I dont
Why? 200 rpm is actually quite believable. It's just a small enough amount that I can easily see them having to do that to get the car to just pass emissions standards.
 

emiraspain

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I am sure I have read, and it would seem to make sense, more RPMs means more emissions at the top end and I believe this had something to do with the whole debate re the red line, but someone who actually knows feel free to step in, and I mean know for sure internally in Lotus, not a general knowledge of the subject.
I can only guess the emissions are an average figure from a laboratory with the engine and if the emissions at 7200 are 500g CO2 for example but at 6800 they are 400g, then it may make perfect sense that they limited the red line to 6800 in order to give better average emissions from 0 - 6800, and hence make certain levels and meet certain criteria for the EU and for emissions taxes in certain countries.
Unless we know this absolutely not to be the case, and Lotus say this isnt the case.... ???? then I think we should assume it is the case and hence end of debate on red lines. We all want an 8 or 9000 red line like the gt3, but porsche have many more cars to offset these figures, Lotus don't.
the only thing I would add is that when I drove the Exige, I got no where near the red line and it was still amazing!

And if this engine is now designed so that the power has reached its max well before 7000, then I cant see it as a big deal... but clearly others do, but the % that do are quite small and Lotus live with it at the end of the day, whether for emissions or not, but it makes sense to me and I will only believe Lotus if they say it wasnt for emissions as we are all experts on here, materials, suspension, wheel gaps, global warning... but personally in this regard, I'd like to hear it from the horses mouth.
 

Cutting42

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I am sure I have read, and it would seem to make sense, more RPMs means more emissions at the top end and I believe this had something to do with the whole debate re the red line, but someone who actually knows feel free to step in, and I mean know for sure internally in Lotus, not a general knowledge of the subject.
I can only guess the emissions are an average figure from a laboratory with the engine and if the emissions at 7200 are 500g CO2 for example but at 6800 they are 400g, then it may make perfect sense that they limited the red line to 6800 in order to give better average emissions from 0 - 6800, and hence make certain levels and meet certain criteria for the EU and for emissions taxes in certain countries.
Unless we know this absolutely not to be the case, and Lotus say this isnt the case.... ???? then I think we should assume it is the case and hence end of debate on red lines. We all want an 8 or 9000 red line like the gt3, but porsche have many more cars to offset these figures, Lotus don't.
the only thing I would add is that when I drove the Exige, I got no where near the red line and it was still amazing!

And if this engine is now designed so that the power has reached its max well before 7000, then I cant see it as a big deal... but clearly others do, but the % that do are quite small and Lotus live with it at the end of the day, whether for emissions or not, but it makes sense to me and I will only believe Lotus if they say it wasnt for emissions as we are all experts on here, materials, suspension, wheel gaps, global warning... but personally in this regard, I'd like to hear it from the horses mouth.

Well logically yes you are correct. Ignoring efficiency gains, there are only two ways to get more power, make the bangs bigger or have more of them. So with more bangs per period of time, you are therefore consuming more fuel and generating more emissions.
 

emiraspain

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Well logically yes you are correct. Ignoring efficiency gains, there are only two ways to get more power, make the bangs bigger or have more of them. So with more bangs per period of time, you are therefore consuming more fuel and generating more emissions.
so this means, Lotus would, if they could, give us the 7000 or 7250... but they cant..... however, as others have said, I am sure that within 6 months or much less, someone else will for a small fee do just that, but I doubt most, 90% of us will notice.....
 

TomE

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But they have tuned it to be like this. They could have gone the other way rather than play it safe for mass appeal..... Still would have been more than torquey enough for most.
It doesn't feel like 'the drivers' are getting much of a look in here
Have you driven an Evora? The torque from low rpm and the linearity of power delivery from 2500rpm upwards is a characteristic of the Toyota + SC and the Lotus tune.

It doesn’t need to be kept in a narrow sweet spot to get the most from it, you could stay in 2nd and 3rd on most UK roads and have accessible power all the time, for example to go for an overtake.
 

TomE

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so this means, Lotus would, if they could, give us the 7000 or 7250... but they cant..... however, as others have said, I am sure that within 6 months or much less, someone else will for a small fee do just that, but I doubt most, 90% of us will notice.....
You could modify it after delivery. It then depends on your local regulations. UK cars have to pass an emissions test annually, as do some US states, but the limits are not the same as the emissions bands used for tax. Some countries prohibit modifications that affect emissions.

Lotus have to pass type approval and gain official emissions figures so the cars can be taxed.
 

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