Let's talk about the Emira's seats...

[RENDERMAN]

Yeah agreed I am planning on getting some red alcantara Recaro Podiums for my Emira. Something a little crazier looking that will still fit the car well. Assuming it will fit.

View attachment 6701

Are they going to make the railing for the Emira? 30 total sales for Recardo wouldn't make sense..

 

[Leonard]

OK I think this has been mentioned before but I'm suprised it's not more of a concern.
Having sat in the production seats yesterday I was really suprised by the headrest position and that it is non adjustable.
I'm 5'9 and my head was higher than the top of the headrest by 8cm. In a modern performance car this felt pretty unnerving.
Anyone over 6ft tried the seats and noticed?
I imagine there is a real risk of additional whiplash in the unfortunate case of an accident.

 

[Toomanyloti]

I can see these seats sat on the mezzanine at work on top of the ghastly leather V8 seats I ragged out of the esprit 🤦‍♂️

 

[Leonard]

I can see these seats sat on the mezzanine at work on top of the ghastly leather V8 seats I ragged out of the esprit 🤦‍♂️

Yup. The lateral side support is poor also...
Comfy tho!!! 😏

 

[Toomanyloti]

Yup. The lateral side support is poor also...
Comfy tho!!! 😏

where did you go? JCB666?

 

[Leonard]

where did you go? JCB666?

Central

 

[NicolasB]

Excuse my slanty eye that makes me look like I've had a few, was focusing on the selfie 😄

It's certainly the lowest headrest I have encountered, I'm 6'3", legs are a little long and average torso, for reference.

 

[freefall_junkie]

OK I think this has been mentioned before but I'm suprised it's not more of a concern.
Having sat in the production seats yesterday I was really suprised by the headrest position and that it is non adjustable.
I'm 5'9 and my head was higher than the top of the headrest by 8cm. In a modern performance car this felt pretty unnerving.
Anyone over 6ft tried the seats and noticed?
I imagine there is a real risk of additional whiplash in the unfortunate case of an accident.
View attachment 10548

I'm 6ft 2 with long leg/short torso proportions. I sat in the demo at Parks in Hamilon this week and I must say I didn't notice the height of the headrest. I'll make a point of checking on the test drive when it comes. My main concern was that the seat would be perched too high up like the pre-prod cars, and on that front it was ok. I would prefer it a bit lower, but it is not a deal breaker. On first impressions I thought the seat was really comfortable, giving good under thigh support for my long legs with the base tilted. I was able to get a good driving position with my legs nice and straight and the wheel close. I agree that the side bolstering is only so-so though. There was an Evora 410 sitting next to the Emira in the showroom, and the side support of the Evora's Sparcos was far better. It is disappointing that Lotus have taken the seat manufacturing in-house (although the frames come from Lear), have apparently gone through multiple iterations finessing the design, and yet have come up with something inferior to the Evora in terms of support. On a positive note, the fit, finish and general perceived quality of the Emira interior is several steps up from the Evora. As I mentioned on another thread, the interior felt right up there with a Maser MC20 which was also in the showroom.

 

[Leonard]

Excuse my slanty eye that makes me look like I've had a few, was focusing on the selfie 😄

It's certainly the lowest headrest I have encountered, I'm 6'3", legs are a little long and average torso, for reference.

View attachment 10549

Sums up my point nicely thank you lol.
I'm liking the smug look at me in my Emira look 😅

 

[schorsch]

OK I think this has been mentioned before but I'm suprised it's not more of a concern.
Having sat in the production seats yesterday I was really suprised by the headrest position and that it is non adjustable.
I'm 5'9 and my head was higher than the top of the headrest by 8cm. In a modern performance car this felt pretty unnerving.
Anyone over 6ft tried the seats and noticed?
I imagine there is a real risk of additional whiplash in the unfortunate case of an accident.
View attachment 10548

I raised the exact same conern a couple of weeks ago in another thread after having sat in a customer car at Komotec. I havenˋt yet driven the car, so I may or may not perceive this as an issue when driving (putting the safety concern aside). This may be a show stopper for me unless there will be aftermarket seat options available in the near future. I am 6 feet 1.

 

[grahamgreen]

Agree they do appear underwhelming… the alcantara better in my opinion (although biased as this what I’ve gone for) agree though Evora carbons would of looked so much better

 

[Leonard]

I raised the exact same conern a couple of weeks ago in another thread after having sat in a customer car at Komotec. I havenˋt yet driven the car, so I may or may not perceive this as an issue when driving (putting the safety concern aside). This may be a show stopper for me unless there will be aftermarket seat options available in the near future. I am 6 feet 1.

I was just suprised that it wasn't spotted and considered a concern early on in development

 

[NicolasB]

Sums up my point nicely thank you lol.
I'm liking the smug look at me in my Emira look 😅

Right after my test drive I sat in a new M4 with carbon buckets that a guy had at the dealer...🤤 Sooooo nice. Looked great, felt great, inflatable bolsters, what a difference.

 

[Leonard]

Right after my test drive I sat in a new M4 with carbon buckets that a guy had at the dealer...🤤 Sooooo nice. Looked great, felt great, inflatable bolsters, what a difference.

Great seats make such a difference to not only the driving experience but overall perception of quality
I was lucky enough to have Evora GT410 and Emira side by side and in my honest opinion the Evora had the better seats, driving position, visibility, steering wheel and dials. I felt like I was in a sports car. I didnt get that feeling in the Emira. I am old (48) though and like my cars to be more analogue, so..

 

[freefall_junkie]

If anyone remembers way back to the S2 Elise launch, the car initially came with seats with fixed headrests which were too low. After safety concerns were raised these were swiftly replaced with taller seats only a few months into production, although early adopters were stuck with the original ones. The seat subframes on early Evora 400s creaked and were replaced under warranty. The Evora Sport 410 came with fixed buckets from the Exige, but for some bizarre reason they were mounted bolt upright making them really uncomfortable. Let's just say that Lotus have a troubled history with seats

 

[TomE]

Exactly, and why I've been concerned to see numerous iterations of the Emira seat and yet still concerns being expressed about things like bolstering.

 

[DF_Toronto]

I think the Evora seats were likely quite a bit more expensive to produce. Hand made etc for small production volumes and I’m sure this is an area Lotus has cut some cost to bring the price point down. That being said from my brief test drive everything fit like a glove like Ade said in his review - but that’s for me and likely not everyone else. I’m 5’10 165 lbs so very much in the ”avg” category , sounds like there may be some issues for the bigger folks. For whatever reason I think the seats look nicer and more expensive in the red and brown leathers but I still plan on going alcantara with yellow stitching as I’ve decided I want max sportiness and will keep a 2nd car for practicalities. The test car was alcantara and felt super comfortable with perfect bolstering for my size - of course I do wonder how we’ll they’ll hold up 10 years from now once I’ve put 100K KM into the seats. Those head rests do look concerning for taller ppl for sure…didn’t notice them in my case.

Curious if the base car will have higher end options in some areas than the FE or if the FE will be where everything tops out. Ie. for those who may want something like carbon or super premium vented seats, or a higher end KEF system etc. Or what many I think would be very interested such as a “performance tuning“ (higher red line and angrier exhaust). Apparently the base configuration is imminent and we should find out “soon”.

 

[TomE]

I think the FE spec will continue to be the top end for some time. Base will let you get up to FE spec but I don't think it'll go beyond. The higher-end options will come when they do the S/GT version and offer some more light weight features like carbon seats. In the meantime there will be aftermarket options. I know Tillett will be doing an Emira light/race seat.

 

[HNG]

Excuse my slanty eye that makes me look like I've had a few, was focusing on the selfie 😄

It's certainly the lowest headrest I have encountered, I'm 6'3", legs are a little long and average torso, for reference.

View attachment 10549

Yup, I am your size and this is exactly what it looked like for me. BMW had the same in f-series M-seats. A bit difficult to understand How such a seat makes it through r&d.

 

[~el~jefe~]

Emira's seats are meant for chunky people. I did not like them at all. I swam in them. They are a clear 1 inch wider in their bolster span than they ever should be. Porsche sports seats plus are not cramped but hold well. I also own the Full Bucket Seats from Porsche. They are pricey but the impact on driving is more than adding +200 hp.