Perspective on reviews

[emiraspain]

Am I the only one who finds these track times interesting? The Emira seems to hold its own among the top tier of "affordable" sports cars.

there is the list of all times and the Evo list:

evo Leaderboard lap times – the world's fastest cars tested on track | Evo

This is our official evo Leaderboard, ranking the fastest lap times from Anglesey Circuit, Bedford Autodrome and Blyton Park

www.evo.co.uk

If you click on the car you will see more info. I am not sure they link to the actual car tested or the current version of that car which may not have been tested yet, its not well done really for a car magazine/website, but I am sure they will improve it (there is me doing what Jethro could have done hahha)
Anyway, the one that surprises me is the M4, which in a review I posted somewhere here, beat the caymans lap time by a decent margin with Stuart Sut. driving back to back, maybe the gts of gt4, cant recall now, probably gts. Could have been older cars of course...
Anyway, for the Emira, on crappy tyres, which I have ordered too, to beat the m4, i think is pretty good and I would be all accounts be very happy if it knocked a second or 2 off with cup tyres, but I guess I should not care, Harry wouldnt care one Iota one way or the other, especially now he is going tour... with which tyres? haha

 

[emiraspain]

there is the list of all times and the Evo list:

evo Leaderboard lap times – the world's fastest cars tested on track | Evo

This is our official evo Leaderboard, ranking the fastest lap times from Anglesey Circuit, Bedford Autodrome and Blyton Park

www.evo.co.uk

If you click on the car you will see more info. I am not sure they link to the actual car tested or the current version of that car which may not have been tested yet, its not well done really for a car magazine/website, but I am sure they will improve it (there is me doing what Jethro could have done hahha)
Anyway, the one that surprises me is the M4, which in a review I posted somewhere here, beat the caymans lap time by a decent margin with Stuart Sut. driving back to back, maybe the gts of gt4, cant recall now, probably gts. Could have been older cars of course...
Anyway, for the Emira, on crappy tyres, which I have ordered too, to beat the m4, i think is pretty good and I would be all accounts be very happy if it knocked a second or 2 off with cup tyres, but I guess I should not care, Harry wouldnt care one Iota one way or the other, especially now he is going tour... with which tyres? haha

*worth noting, if it interests you, the basic cayman 981, not the 718 GTS, and not even the 981 GTS, so a car from 10 years ago and over 100 HP less than the current car, was only 0.4 seconds slower than the Emira. I would expect the latest GTS to be at least 2 seconds quicker if not more and the GT4 to be nearly another second quicker than that. So cayman asside, yes the emira looks decent and will look better next review, but the "other car" is best not to talk about.

 

[switchlanez]

Emira's 1:18.5s would rank faster than the S3 Exige S which does 0-60mph in 3.8s. I'd have snagged that Exige if it were road legal in the US. Track times aren't my main concern but the Exige S sets a good bar for me to be satisfied with performance. And would be far more exceeded if Emira were on Sport tires.

 

[Hedge]

Emira's 1:18.5s would rank faster than the S3 Exige S which does 0-60mph in 3.8s. I'd have snagged that Exige if it were road legal in the US. Track times aren't my main concern but the Exige S sets a good bar for me to be satisfied with performance. And would be far more exceeded if Emira were on Sport tires.

View attachment 6452

It’s definitely quick enough in the real world.

But, useful to note though the age of the tests, as newer tyres would probably improve those old times further.

The Exige S time is from 8 years ago, for example.

But on the Cup2s it wouldn’t be unreasonable to see the Emira going 1-2 seconds (just a guess) per lap quicker than last weeks reviews which should put it into the mix.

Normally Lotus do give us a real or hypothetical Hethel lap time to compare relative performance. I’ve not seen that reported yet.

I’ll add that as I’m rubbish on track, lap times aren’t a factor for me either!

 

[Sirtreeman]

I think this is all about managing expectations, and goes to the poor communications Lotus have been guilty of. Jethro thought the car would be good for track regardless of set up and reviewed accordingly. If there is some skullduggery around what Lotus thought he was going to do with the car and what he actually did then I'd put that on them. If I was the MD I'd be looking at the leadership team around me responsible for this particular narrative. From a personal point of view it doesn't have any impact on my view on the car, until I get my lardy ass in one for a decent spin my judgement is reserved.

 

[emiraspain]

I think this is all about managing expectations, and goes to the poor communications Lotus have been guilty of. Jethro thought the car would be good for track regardless of set up and reviewed accordingly. If there is some skullduggery around what Lotus thought he was going to do with the car and what he actually did then I'd put that on them. If I was the MD I'd be looking at the leadership team around me responsible for this particular narrative. From a personal point of view it doesn't have any impact on my view on the car, until I get my lardy ass in one for a decent spin my judgement is reserved.

Im not so sure, I dont expect someone to be so negative about any new car, especially one that other reviewers like. No its not a cayman beater, I never thought it could be.
Jethro is one of the fastest drivers at Evo, and at that track, and he knows 100% more than most that the car's tyres were not for the track and he didnt ask for them to be changed. So how could he do a fair review and on top, he didn't ask to put it up against his favourite car, which is way quicker, and he knew it would be.
He went for some sensationalism... and I think it has backfired. I think hes next review, if he does it, will be more measured one way or another, with the right tyres and I guess the gt4 wont be there, maybe an ariel atom 4... to top it off haha.

 

[implus]

There’s an awful lot of defensiveness over Evo intentionally putting out a bad review of the car. If you actually read the Evo article, you’d see that Lotus declined to offer a “tech back up” or Cup 2s for the car they were testing at Anglesey.

 

[frazzer]

To be fair they did ask for the Cup2s but Lotus where not able to provide them - They probably wanted Lotus to deliver to Anglesey, a long way from Hethel.

Also its not just Jethro, Henry C. also notes the Emira's characteristics at 8/10ths on his drive across the Alps. But hitting 8/10ths on a public road is not something most of us will do, nor am I focused on the limit handling as a high priority. That said, it is still disappointing that the limit / track handling is such a departure from previous Lotuses, I'd just assumed that this aspect was in the bag being a Lotus.

In aggregate and taken objectively (usually negativity gets weighted higher) I'd say the reviews are actually positive side of neutral, even the EVO one is positive until it hits the track / limits.

Filtered for the road driver keeping it below 8/10th, I'd go further and say the reviews are overwhelmingly positive.

 

[emiraspain]

I think this is all about managing expectations, and goes to the poor communications Lotus have been guilty of. Jethro thought the car would be good for track regardless of set up and reviewed accordingly. If there is some skullduggery around what Lotus thought he was going to do with the car and what he actually did then I'd put that on them. If I was the MD I'd be looking at the leadership team around me responsible for this particular narrative. From a personal point of view it doesn't have any impact on my view on the car, until I get my lardy ass in one for a decent spin my judgement is reserved.

to put his review into perspective, the other review, by carwow (I dont like him either.. haha) got 32,000 likes, it got 1.6 million views, compared to Jethro's, 100,000 and 2,300 likes.
Just one viewer's comment on the other review got over 1600 likes... nearly as many as all of jethros... He gets half the views and twice as many dislikes as Harrys video...

Yesidoplaytheguitar​

5 days ago
I hope this sells well for them, it's a really cool car!

1.6K

 

[emiraspain]

There’s an awful lot of defensiveness over Evo intentionally putting out a bad review of the car. If you actually read the Evo article, you’d see that Lotus declined to offer a “tech back up” or Cup 2s for the car they were testing at Anglesey. View attachment 6455

But most watching the video wont read the magazine... so with all due respect, and I am far from arguing, but its a mute point re the article. I am talking about the video, plain and simple....
I cant go on line and insult someone on here for example, then make an apology elsewhere on another forum, that the person may not see, and most of those on here wont see. Those on here will still think I am a bit of an ass for my insult... if you see what I mean. So while I understand what you are saying, I am simply saying it was not a well done review, no +ve energy, no +ve vibes as they say, no encouraging words.... I would not expect that review from someone in his position and if it was another make.. Im sure it would have been given a more +ve forgiving feel.

Could it be that EVO made him do the article in a more balanced way??? No idea, but I am not talking about the article, which I admit I have not read and after seeing the video, have little interest in reading

 

[TomE]

There’s an awful lot of defensiveness over Evo intentionally putting out a bad review of the car. If you actually read the Evo article, you’d see that Lotus declined to offer a “tech back up” or Cup 2s for the car they were testing at Anglesey. View attachment 6455

That's worded quite carefully. Lotus couldn't support EVO's track activity because they didn't know about it until afterwards.

 

[emiraspain]

There’s an awful lot of defensiveness over Evo intentionally putting out a bad review of the car. If you actually read the Evo article, you’d see that Lotus declined to offer a “tech back up” or Cup 2s for the car they were testing at Anglesey. View attachment 6455

at what point do we think Lotus were asked for the tyres and tech back up? Does it actually count if they asked them the same day for example? Does it count that no one was allowed to do 0-60's but some idiots still did it. There is so much here we dont know, but the inside word is Lotus were NOT warned of the track battle or even track appearance via Evo, and seeing as how Harry got a new car the next day, I dont believe all that I read... although I have again not read it all. Yes I accept I am defensive of something I hope to enjoy, but I also expect myself and others to be treated with respect... and this video I feel lacked that, IMHO.

 

[BeHappy]

That's worded quite carefully. Lotus couldn't support EVO's track activity because they didn't know about it until afterwards.

Well worded as a mistruth Lotus couldn’t decline offer if they did not even know about it - sounds like daily mail type of reporting ! Gives a totally different perspective to the reader NAUGHTY 👿

 

[emiraspain]

That's worded quite carefully. Lotus couldn't support EVO's track activity because they didn't know about it until afterwards.

yes to me it looks like a well written and calmed down version to appease either lotus or viewers.....
I wonder when their final video will be made, or will it simply be an article...

 

[hagen111]

I come out of an Exige 350 V6...a car I absolutely loved! For that money...closest to a (little) supercar...with very special 'Lotus-feel'. I also tracked it about 2 times a year. Then... and I am not at all a super talented driver, but on average find that on most trackdays...most people are actually not that fast! Most of us don't drive these cars on the limit... and then touring or sports setup doesn't make a difference at all. Good driver on Touring and Goodyear will be so much faster than poor driver on Sports and Cup2's. The other thing from my own experience...as you progress you start developing the car...you go to Avon's, go to Nitron dampers, change seating position, etc. So where touring fits starting drivers best...as you progress you will want sports or aftermarket...its a moving target.

The V6 is an 'old' engine! The shifting is not best in class. But I absolutely loved it, because of linear powerdelivery from low rpm, the howl, the smooth shifting. The Exige was just flying on track once you got the rhythm right and the flow and balance were phenomenal. The problem for Lotus...they will never sell tons of them, its to extreme.

Comes in the Emira...yes same type of chassis, engine and gearbox...not the most modern, but proven package. Accessibility in terms of design and usage...so much more equipped for daily use. Best Lotus package ever! And all reviews I have read tell a story of what it really is, beautiful, old engine and gearbox, and it should drive like a Lotus. Harry really loves it, some other journalist' hoped for more. I am confident the end result will satisfy all of us.

With Emira on order and October delivery, I am still super exited - it will be a weekend car, will be based in the mountains, will do 2 trackdays a year...so will come on sports and cup2's.

My few cents....

 

[TomE]

Well worded as a mistruth Lotus couldn’t decline offer if they did not even know about it - sounds like daily mail type of reporting ! Gives a totally different perspective to the reader NAUGHTY 👿

Not the first time EVO have done that kind of thing with the track test and not just with Lotus.

 

[TomE]

at what point do we think Lotus were asked for the tyres and tech back up? Does it actually count if they asked them the same day for example? Does it count that no one was allowed to do 0-60's but some idiots still did it. There is so much here we dont know, but the inside word is Lotus were NOT warned of the track battle or even track appearance via Evo, and seeing as how Harry got a new car the next day, I dont believe all that I read... although I have again not read it all. Yes I accept I am defensive of something I hope to enjoy, but I also expect myself and others to be treated with respect... and this video I feel lacked that, IMHO.

We also have to ask why Lotus allowed such free and unsupervised usage by the press. Not just by EVO but others too, like the 0-60 test ... which was done on the Hethel test track, so not hard to supervise!

It seems slightly naive to give a highly anticipated pre-launch car in a pre-prod spec to a load of journalists and effectively say "do what you like with them".

Other manufacturers would have supervised it much more heavily. When Lotus launched the Evora the press drives (with final production spec cars) were all hosted and managed by Lotus from one location in Scotland over pre-designated routes.

 

[TomAce]

I've read the EVO article from JB and I find it even more harsh regarding the gearbox: "I can't think of a manual 'box fitted to any production car that would be trickier to manage on a circuit."

And the rest regarding the way it steers and feels. Could it be, that they a had car that was fitted with the touring suspension?! That, at least, would make sense to me...

Then, it would suddenly make sense why the car cannot be rushed, only to 8/10 and also on the track the behaviour it showed. I mean, how can someone know which suspension (touring or sports) is fitted? There is no external marking for it I guess.

 

[Tonyshepp]

The pre pre-prod cars received better reviews than these (Top Gear and Henry Catchpole) tooling testing cars. Me thinks the tools must be broken..

 

[Tonyshepp]

I've read the EVO article from JB and I find it even more harsh regarding the gearbox: "I can't think of a manual 'box fitted to any production car that would be trickier to manage on a circuit."

And the rest regarding the way it steers and feels. Could it be, that they a had car that was fitted with the touring suspension?! That, at least, would make sense to me...

Then, it would suddenly make sense why the car cannot be rushed, only to 8/10 and also on the track the behaviour it showed. I mean, how can someone know which suspension (touring or sports) is fitted? There is no external marking for it I guess.

It was sports suspension and good year tyres.