Here are my impressions on the car after 1500 miles.
Mine is a V6 manual. And there is no other way to own a Lotus with given options. I love manual cars period anyways.
I will start with first impression off the dealer lot. It was a very rainy and stormy day and i drove from Phili to VA. 3 and a half hour drive on cup 2s, car was very stable and balanced. In that rain over 80mph, it did not give me a moment of “oh snap” lol
Notchy gearbox is what i like and Emira sure has that. Expect a s2000 smooth gearbox or 997 Turbo? no that is not the case. Pedal positioning is really not my favorite, too close and shifted towards right is akward. Did i get used to it? yes i did. Do i like it? No
Build quality is good, no rattles anywhere. Good materials inside. Great cabin to be in. Overall sure not a Porsche build quality but is not a Tesla quality either lol
Parking sensors is one issue in most Emiras i have read so far, trying to decide if my left sensor is bad or not lol 3 days great but then when a rain drop happens then all of a sudden she has her own world of going off lol
Yes trunk is annoying that you need extra force to close. And sometimes even then you get in car and still not fully shut so get out and jump on it lol
Not having keyless entry is another annoying part of the car. You put cruise control but no keyless entry? My huracan didnt have keyless entry either and it was very inconvenient.
Power is good, very well balanced chassis&power duo. Usable horsepower is the best horsepower for me. Could use more power? i will answer that with “of course” as always for any car. Yes 60hp-70hp could make this car more alive imo. I see reviewers not happy with 6800 rpm, well its plenty good for me. Could use more? Not sure as i see car reaches its peak around 6500 anyways. So, more rpm for what then? I do love the way it is but that is still my two cents on power. When in track mode and esc off, can get tail happy and super fun especially when asphalt is slightly wet.
Handling is a Lotus classic, absolutely brilliant. Almost feels like an awd car. Grippy, balanced, and very accurate in corners. Very little oversteer and body roll so minimal pushed hard.
Suspension is sport as that was the only option for Chapman edition. I would not want it any other way anyways. Touring suspension i test drove and was too soft for me when i pushed thru corners. Sport suspension is comfy enough for me even daily. And for hard driving, only way to go.
Steering is great. Very talkative and communicative, just the way a sports car should be.
Is she exotic, very debatable. Looks surely exotic, feels as well. Great sound definitely contributes to the experience. However everyones “exotic” definition is different and i respect that. To me she is. Rare scene in street, great looks, two seats, sounds great off the factory, mid mounted engine, engagement aspect. Those are the areas makes a car exotic for me.
Is she a supercar? She shares some characteristics but performance wise falls short imo. Looks like a supercar that is for sure but no i dont call her a supercar. I would call Emira a proper sports car.
Reliability wise i did not have one issue yet as it requires time and miles for me to say reliable or not. So far so great as i drive hard past 700 miles or so.
Car gets attention everywhere i go mostly like “oh what brand is that?” Lots of compliments on the isotope green color mostly.
To me Emira is an amazing car overall. At $115k, i did not see one competition in market new and manual transmission. Car so far exceeded my expectations and i absolutely love it.
Mine is a V6 manual. And there is no other way to own a Lotus with given options. I love manual cars period anyways.
I will start with first impression off the dealer lot. It was a very rainy and stormy day and i drove from Phili to VA. 3 and a half hour drive on cup 2s, car was very stable and balanced. In that rain over 80mph, it did not give me a moment of “oh snap” lol
Notchy gearbox is what i like and Emira sure has that. Expect a s2000 smooth gearbox or 997 Turbo? no that is not the case. Pedal positioning is really not my favorite, too close and shifted towards right is akward. Did i get used to it? yes i did. Do i like it? No
Build quality is good, no rattles anywhere. Good materials inside. Great cabin to be in. Overall sure not a Porsche build quality but is not a Tesla quality either lol
Parking sensors is one issue in most Emiras i have read so far, trying to decide if my left sensor is bad or not lol 3 days great but then when a rain drop happens then all of a sudden she has her own world of going off lol
Yes trunk is annoying that you need extra force to close. And sometimes even then you get in car and still not fully shut so get out and jump on it lol
Not having keyless entry is another annoying part of the car. You put cruise control but no keyless entry? My huracan didnt have keyless entry either and it was very inconvenient.
Power is good, very well balanced chassis&power duo. Usable horsepower is the best horsepower for me. Could use more power? i will answer that with “of course” as always for any car. Yes 60hp-70hp could make this car more alive imo. I see reviewers not happy with 6800 rpm, well its plenty good for me. Could use more? Not sure as i see car reaches its peak around 6500 anyways. So, more rpm for what then? I do love the way it is but that is still my two cents on power. When in track mode and esc off, can get tail happy and super fun especially when asphalt is slightly wet.
Handling is a Lotus classic, absolutely brilliant. Almost feels like an awd car. Grippy, balanced, and very accurate in corners. Very little oversteer and body roll so minimal pushed hard.
Suspension is sport as that was the only option for Chapman edition. I would not want it any other way anyways. Touring suspension i test drove and was too soft for me when i pushed thru corners. Sport suspension is comfy enough for me even daily. And for hard driving, only way to go.
Steering is great. Very talkative and communicative, just the way a sports car should be.
Is she exotic, very debatable. Looks surely exotic, feels as well. Great sound definitely contributes to the experience. However everyones “exotic” definition is different and i respect that. To me she is. Rare scene in street, great looks, two seats, sounds great off the factory, mid mounted engine, engagement aspect. Those are the areas makes a car exotic for me.
Is she a supercar? She shares some characteristics but performance wise falls short imo. Looks like a supercar that is for sure but no i dont call her a supercar. I would call Emira a proper sports car.
Reliability wise i did not have one issue yet as it requires time and miles for me to say reliable or not. So far so great as i drive hard past 700 miles or so.
Car gets attention everywhere i go mostly like “oh what brand is that?” Lots of compliments on the isotope green color mostly.
To me Emira is an amazing car overall. At $115k, i did not see one competition in market new and manual transmission. Car so far exceeded my expectations and i absolutely love it.
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