EVO: BMW M2 v Porsche Boxster GTS v Lotus Emira v Alpine A110 v Ford Mustang

[nickorette]

 

[nickorette]

Unsurprisingly, Boxster GTS is first place and A110 is second. Mustang and M2 tied 4th

Boxster was praised for being "hard to fault" "such a rounded package", "best sounding engine.. sweet gearshift.. chasis feels more poised and less busy than the Emira's"

 

[nickorette]

Journalists have lost a ton of credibility with Emira reviews imo. First time I've heard anyone say the steering was too jittery but also non-communicative in corners

 

[Lotustoronto]

I think they are taking price point into consideration. Most expensive car there and it's a Lotus. The driving dynamics should be the best out of the lot, while the M2 and Ford are probably best in a straight line. Alpine has the much more attractive price point and the Boxster GTS being priced UNDER the Emira is not a fight it was going to win. Not in the magazine or on track.

 

[David s]

I stopped reading motoring journals years ago. Opinions and arseholes… we’ve all got one.

 

[SimonT]

For all the problems I've had with the car the steering sure isn't one of them. It goes where you turn immediately, it demands you stay in touch as the slightest movement of the steering wheel means the car moves too. My previous car, a Cayman S, was way more forgiving and required less concentration.

For me it handles more like a go-kart than anything. Price point, far too expensive now I specced mine 2 weeks ago on the Lorus configuration and it came to £106,750. A ridiculous amount when compared to the competition, and the depreciation it suffers.

 

[netsinah]

IMO the Emira steering, if we focus on function and not looks, is its #1 best feature. I had a love-affair a long time ago with a 2005 BMW M3 cabriolet...which handled great on the track due to its 50/50 balance...followed by a love-affair with a 2020 then ++ loaded 2023 C8 Corvette Stingray (FUN on the track, especially with its mid-engine configuration), and rejected a slightly used (about 10,000 km) 2017 Porsche Turbo S which I test drove in between the 2 C8's and seriously thought I'd fall in love with and buy (after all, it's a "Supercar"), but its steering responsiveness wasn't up to my expectations (rear engine weight, I felt the C8 balance better, much to the disbelief of the 25+ year Porsche salesman, who'd never driven a C8 and likely wouldn't be caught dead in one)...which brings me to the Emira: compared to all those, I find its steering the most responsive/fun and better on the track, once again helped out big-time by its mid-engine configuration.

Like SimonT, I agree it's more of a "go-kart" feel, which lives up to its Lotus pedigree and makes it a more "raw fun" sports car, with my connection to it, increased with a manual transmission...just like my 2005 BMW had. The transmission type, is a personal preference for everyone. I certainly acknowledge the smoother and more effortless shifting the C8 had, with its DCT controlled by many computers that think faster than any Formula 1 racer.

That said, the Emira has the odd issue of the steering wheel "clunk" at the extremes, however that happens so rarely and never during "spirited driving", so it's nothing to complain about. Just one person's opinion based upon 20 years of on/off sport car driving (mixed with 10 years of motorcycles), although I certainly bow to others with far more experience in both years, track time, and types of cars driven.

At least the article got it right, when commenting on the Emira's looks. That view is almost universally shared by all reviewers.