The great big "all the customer test drives" thread

[hagen111]

Testdrove V6 Manual Final Edition this weekend. Touring suspension, goodyear tires.

I owned a 350V6 Exige until beginning of this year...modified with forged wheels, nitron dampers, lots of carbon, sabelt belts, etc. Absolutely loved that car...superfast on track with beautiful balance and flow. Just a bit too rough for more often 'daily' use. Sold in beginning of this year, as Emira was ordered and on the way and was very exited to welcome an improved Exige in the shape of the Emira.

Other cars in ownership include(d); Yaris GR, Donkervoort JD70, 458 Spider (Sold), F12 (Sold), 991.2 GT Manual, Caterham 485 CSR...so a I am a fan of real 'driver cars'.

This is the car I 'tested':

My notes/observations:

- within 200 meters your realize...this is a Lotus! Its different and maintains some of the Exige/Evora feel, which I was hoping for...but will it be enough?
- car was on Touring suspension and Goodyears...its actually quite firm, surprisingly. However I did not like the setup...its firm but the sharpness to bring the car alive is filtered out in touring suspension. It didn't feel any special, felt boring and made the car feel more 'normal' and heavy than it should be.
- I was also surprised how far off to the left the steering wheel is and the clutch pedal is in the opposite direction....I know you won't notice when driving, but initial thought is...this is weird. I never noticed this in my Exige.
- Power delivery is super smooth and linear. It is similar to my old Exige and therefore very easy to live with. Powertrain is far from perfect, but shift, engine, power delivery actually are good. When the road and driving gets complex...so corners, braking, accelerating actually the smooth power delivery makes this a very very fast car in these conditions. Like on a tight mountain road its star will rise. Also clutch is smooth, you can drive the car in very low revs, which makes it very easy to drive and live with.
- Steering feel ...love it. As well as brakes. The combo allows you to brake late and far into corners. Lots of steering feel and this is where the Emira is at its best...left right tight S, than long swervy corner under full acceleration before hard braking and braking far into a hairpin....this car is really really good and feels fast!
- Interior: Steering wheel itself...bummer, will/would swap it for a round more pure thinner steering wheel immediately. This is a lumpy square piece and I didn't like it a single bit. Same for dash! Please give me round dials. Big screen in the middle...slow and poor design. And I really missed the 'engineering' in general inside the cabin...the Exige had a beautiful aluminum cupholder and lots of aluminum engineering details...the Emira is all plastic and alcantara. Then the seats...I am 1.90cms and the seats are just horrible! Too thick, too high, no support, too small...definately a no go. Compared to the bucket seats in a GT3...oh man!

Conclusion: actually I felt disappointment afterwards, not what I hoped for. Its too mainstream, not the pure sportscar I expected or was hoping for. Not sure what I will do now. Definitely will not take the car without major modifications possible. Only if I can sharpen the suspension, replace the steering wheel, change the seats and spice up the interior I think I will take delivery and keep the car. Mine is planned for beginning 2023.

 

[jimbobc]

After putting my deposit down on July 7th 2021 I finally got to see a finished car and take the test drive which was a cancelled slot at lunchtime. The hours before were torrential rain but it came over beautiful sunshine for the test drive! Lotus Silverstone were great and the route was varied and well thought out. None of this I will drive out of the car park and we will swap nonsense.

But for me I prefer my Alpine and I didn't come away thinking I must find the extra £40k needed and swap the Alpine for one. Appreciate everyone is different but here are a few thoughts:
-Spectacular looking -it looks double the price
- Major controls are fairly heavy (at least compared to what I am used to) and I found the hydraulic steering heavy at low speeds. I should say I have mild cerebral palsy on my right side so this is probably more perculiar to me
- Found the gearbox rewarding if you are precise and it's slot in nicely. There is no way I could drive this anywhere near as quickly as my Alpine or smoothly
- Quite rattly particular drivers side
- The infotainment is bizzarre in that the map is almost black in either mode - no colours?! The guy showed be both modes and it made little difference
- Agree the brakes are grabby but you would get used to it and they have the stopping power as I needed to use them with a lorry on the wrong side of a country lane!
- The water running into the engine bay is bizzarre
- Down underdulating roads I didn't feel it had the composure of the Alpine but then I am sure plenty would say the Alpine is too soft. It also tram lined on that road
- Exhaust is underwhelming in either mode

The guy said did it live upto what I was expecting. Probably reflecting on it no. If I didn't have the Alpine and was still in the F-Type it would seem a more logical purchase. I am pretty certain I am remaining Team Alpine and would be buying for the looks rather than the car. The chap did say he is handing over his first car on Friday and Lotus haven't confirmed the spec yet so it will be a surprise.

 

[roundincircles]

After putting my deposit down on July 7th 2021 I finally got to see a finished car and take the test drive which was a cancelled slot at lunchtime. The hours before were torrential rain but it came over beautiful sunshine for the test drive! Lotus Silverstone were great and the route was varied and well thought out. None of this I will drive out of the car park and we will swap nonsense.

But for me I prefer my Alpine and I didn't come away thinking I must find the extra £40k needed and swap the Alpine for one. Appreciate everyone is different but here are a few thoughts:
-Spectacular looking -it looks double the price
- Major controls are fairly heavy (at least compared to what I am used to) and I found the hydraulic steering heavy at low speeds. I should say I have mild cerebral palsy on my right side so this is probably more perculiar to me
- Found the gearbox rewarding if you are precise and it's slot in nicely. There is no way I could drive this anywhere near as quickly as my Alpine or smoothly
- Quite rattly particular drivers side
- The infotainment is bizzarre in that the map is almost black in either mode - no colours?! The guy showed be both modes and it made little difference
- Agree the brakes are grabby but you would get used to it and they have the stopping power as I needed to use them with a lorry on the wrong side of a country lane!
- The water running into the engine bay is bizzarre
- Down underdulating roads I didn't feel it had the composure of the Alpine but then I am sure plenty would say the Alpine is too soft. It also tram lined on that road
- Exhaust is underwhelming in either mode

The guy said did it live upto what I was expecting. Probably reflecting on it no. If I didn't have the Alpine and was still in the F-Type it would seem a more logical purchase. I am pretty certain I am remaining Team Alpine and would be buying for the looks rather than the car. The chap did say he is handing over his first car on Friday and Lotus haven't confirmed the spec yet so it will be a surprise.

I tested the car from Silverstone and also felt, on very undulating B roads, the suspension lacked composure, almost like the damping had too much travel or had soft compression but the steering/chassis stayed 'true'. It was uncomfortable at speed on those undulating roads. I also asked the Lotus chap to change the screen to a white background and he could not. Your Alpine is very different as you say. I guess it's a lot about engineering trade-offs.

 

[Tim Hodgson]

Quite strange, I come from a gt4 with buckets, thought the emira seats offered less support but didn't notice that I sat higher in the car at all and thought the general feel and drive very similar to my gt4.

Just shows we can read all the reviews we like but in the end only one person's matters

Agreed. Harry Metcalfe (yes that one) replied to me earlier agreeing the seats felt too high for him. He also stated that after 2500 miles he felt it was more to do with the windscreen height than the seats! He knows a lot more than me!

 

[FrenchBred]

So I had my test drive yesterday at Rybrook Bristol. I live in Cardiff so am I the first person to travel internationally to test drive? It was a straight forward 45 minute motorway drive, in awful weather which persisted most of the day.

I've spec'd V6MT with tour suspension and happily their demo is the same config. Nimbus looks great in person, pictures don't do it any justice (especially my own!).

The rain started to get heavy just as I arrived so I didn't have a look around the car to begin with, we just jumped in and got underway. As others have experienced at Bristol, the rep drove a short way to a pub where we swapped seats. Personally I was OK with this as it meant I didn't have to navigate the busy junctions in bad conditions around Cribbs Causeway (not somewhere I am familiar with at all.) The route went along A roads, dual carriageway and motorway. It was a decent blend to sample the Emira in various environments but obviously more time and mileage would have been appreciated.

First impressions of the cabin were very plush and premium (but I am coming from GR Yaris). I found the seats easy to get comfortable in straight away, and I didn't give them a second thought the rest of the drive. The wipers worked well, and rear visibility was good. Big blindspots over the shoulder though, I gave up and used wing mirrors which are well sized.
Upon driving I immediately stalled, seems a few more revs are needed, but after that the pedals felt pretty natural. I had no complaints of a narrow pedalbox personally. The brakes weren't as sharp as I had prepared for based on feedback here, but probably because the GRY has some impressive anchors of its own. I did struggle to modulate the brakes nicely when slowing to a stop though, that needed more practise.

In terms of the engine, the increased torque and power was very noticeable and at no point was I left wanting more. When I did flex my right foot, the progress was notable, but not necessarily physical in the same way my 3 pot turbo ploughs through it's narrow ratios. The Emira definitely feels long-geared (I didnt get close to hitting the limiter). Not bad, just a very different experience. The engine exhaust noise was muted more than I had hoped during the drive and I could barely tell the difference between tour/sport mode although that might have been to do with the relatively low RPM I was deploying? The supercharger whine was louder, but not annoyingly so. I was surprised how much road noise came into the cabin, I was expecting better in this regard.

Back to the gearbox, I found the gate to be very narrow I may have missed one or two ratios on the test drive but probably would get accustomed to that quite quickly with more time behind the wheel.

Part of the route was a nasty bumpy little stretch with speedbumps to boot. I couldn't believe how well the Emira dealt with it all. I am very happy to have spec'd tour. My GRY is poverty spec without the track pack but still feels every bit the rally car in comparison. When encouraged to press on along some sweeping bends, the car gave me more confidence than the road conditions warranted. I felt like nowhere near the limits of traction which was a surprise especially after the recent spin by a forum member. I wouldn't have attacked the road any harder in my 4wd pocket rocket.

When we got back to the dealership the rain had eased, I spent a lot of time taking the car in from every angle (forgot to mention, this is my first time seeing one in person) and its an absolute delight. FWIW when we opened the boot, not a single drop of water went into the luggage bay. The boot was smaller than I imagined, and the cabin luggage space was defiantly less practical than I envisaged. Still probably not an issue for me as I don't play golf...
The door seals look cheap but practical, no obvious defects, just look like they were fitted by an apprentice. The bonnet seal could have been neater but it was 95%, and it wasn't a distraction of the overall car, just something I remembered to check out.
I tested the KEF through the DAB radio and I thought it was decent, I could definitely feel bass. I'm no audiophile and the GRY does have a rubbish stereo for comparison though. Maybe the stereo is less good when on the move.
The infotainment/binnacle were a little dim, but not a dealbreaker. Without playing with every single screen I couldn't say if it was good or bad, but definitely modern and hopefully tweakable. Android Auto may well negate some of these issues. I also didn't have any problem with the steering wheel switches in the very limited use I gave them.
Going back to the seats, I took no issue with the headrest position. I'm 6ft0 and It was near enough in the right place when I put my head back, but I guess I'm not that laid back when driving as I don't recall resting it when on the move.

As I left the dealership I was very happy, and left wanting more! The seat height of the GRY is like a bus in comparison.

Having slept on it though, I am thinking surely I should be more excited and impatient. In reality I am just longing for more wheel-time in my own stomping ground to establish if Emira warrants 2 and a bit GRY's.

Regardless, thankyou to Jon at Rybrook who was very enthusiastic and a pleasure to deal with.

 

[likeakidonchristmaseve]

Just some feedback - Just had my test drive in the V6 manual. Something was bugging me and I couldnt put my finger on it.

The car just didnt seem to accelerate how I expected for a 0-60 4.2s car. It is faster than anything I have owned but didnt feel it. I think the issue is you need to rev it high to get the best out of the supercharger and thats not really possible on greasy roads in the UK.

I am quite sure I didnt even get close to the limits of the car and it would take me a few weeks to really feel part of the car. However, I am very tempted to switch to the i4 engine now.

Another thing was the gear shift - great gear box, no complainst. But it was very precise - easy to miss a gear if you are not used to it. All in all I thought I would prefer a supercharged engine. Now I am not so sure.

Summary: V6 is going to be awesome on track, i4 turbo might possibly be more fun on the roads and easier on long road trips.

 

[Steve Tillett]

Testdrove V6 Manual Final Edition this weekend. Touring suspension, goodyear tires.

I owned a 350V6 Exige until beginning of this year...modified with forged wheels, nitron dampers, lots of carbon, sabelt belts, etc. Absolutely loved that car...superfast on track with beautiful balance and flow. Just a bit too rough for more often 'daily' use. Sold in beginning of this year, as Emira was ordered and on the way and was very exited to welcome an improved Exige in the shape of the Emira.

Other cars in ownership include(d); Yaris GR, Donkervoort JD70, 458 Spider (Sold), F12 (Sold), 991.2 GT Manual, Caterham 485 CSR...so a I am a fan of real 'driver cars'.

This is the car I 'tested':

My notes/observations:

- within 200 meters your realize...this is a Lotus! Its different and maintains some of the Exige/Evora feel, which I was hoping for...but will it be enough?
- car was on Touring suspension and Goodyears...its actually quite firm, surprisingly. However I did not like the setup...its firm but the sharpness to bring the car alive is filtered out in touring suspension. It didn't feel any special, felt boring and made the car feel more 'normal' and heavy than it should be.
- I was also surprised how far off to the left the steering wheel is and the clutch pedal is in the opposite direction....I know you won't notice when driving, but initial thought is...this is weird. I never noticed this in my Exige.
- Power delivery is super smooth and linear. It is similar to my old Exige and therefore very easy to live with. Powertrain is far from perfect, but shift, engine, power delivery actually are good. When the road and driving gets complex...so corners, braking, accelerating actually the smooth power delivery makes this a very very fast car in these conditions. Like on a tight mountain road its star will rise. Also clutch is smooth, you can drive the car in very low revs, which makes it very easy to drive and live with.
- Steering feel ...love it. As well as brakes. The combo allows you to brake late and far into corners. Lots of steering feel and this is where the Emira is at its best...left right tight S, than long swervy corner under full acceleration before hard braking and braking far into a hairpin....this car is really really good and feels fast!
- Interior: Steering wheel itself...bummer, will/would swap it for a round more pure thinner steering wheel immediately. This is a lumpy square piece and I didn't like it a single bit. Same for dash! Please give me round dials. Big screen in the middle...slow and poor design. And I really missed the 'engineering' in general inside the cabin...the Exige had a beautiful aluminum cupholder and lots of aluminum engineering details...the Emira is all plastic and alcantara. Then the seats...I am 1.90cms and the seats are just horrible! Too thick, too high, no support, too small...definately a no go. Compared to the bucket seats in a GT3...oh man!

Conclusion: actually I felt disappointment afterwards, not what I hoped for. Its too mainstream, not the pure sportscar I expected or was hoping for. Not sure what I will do now. Definitely will not take the car without major modifications possible. Only if I can sharpen the suspension, replace the steering wheel, change the seats and spice up the interior I think I will take delivery and keep the car. Mine is planned for beginning 2023.

I did my test drive Monday and I loved the car, other than the seats. No surprise there as I always planned to fit my brand in. I was probably the only person to ever sit in the car that was happy the seats were the worse bit.
The first thing I will do when it comes in January is change the seats. I just hope I can get some help with all the airbag sensors.
I agree on the steering wheel as well. I wish they would not over design these critical things. It just needs to be round and turn centrally.

 

[Tonyshepp]

I did my test drive Monday and I loved the car, other than the seats. No surprise there as I always planned to fit my brand in. I was probably the only person to ever sit in the car that was happy the seats were the worse bit.
The first thing I will do when it comes in January is change the seats. I just hope I can get some help with all the airbag sensors.
I agree on the steering wheel as well. I wish they would not over design these critical things. It just needs to be round and turn centrally.

I had trouble with the seats, I couldn’t get a good driving position, the seat back felt rock hard and yes I tried the myriad of buttons lumber etc I’m 5 foot 9

 

[Shahaf2911]

So after a lot of reading I got to my turn as I’ve had my test drive today.
I’ll be comparing the emira to my huracan STO as I can afford both and that’s my benchmark, the emira is crap, it lacks so much power and is cheap period! Now all jokes aside of people comparing it to 2nd hand exotics and 1st hand more expensive cars let’s get to my opinion on the car 😂
I’ll write the cars I’ve owned/own for reference to my knowledge about cars: BRZ (N/A then turboed), N55 M2, 8Y RS3, 992 carerra, Quattro R8 22’, RSQ8, first and 2nd gen panamera, tt v8 S8 (and the OG V10 😈), 718 boxster s and my crown jewel the Huracan STO (just noted the sports/sports oriented cars over the past 7-10 years or so).
Emira spec: demo car: sport suspension, F1 tyre, manual, tan interior, DV (beautiful in the flesh fyi imo), and they also had a blue show car.
When it comes to looks the emira is a STUNNER in the flesh as it is in pictures and videos, also loved the interior design, it’s elegant, simplistic and useful plus up to date, idk the screens seems bright enough for me and weren’t an issue by any means but maybe that’s each to their own, also tried the sound system and played with the setting it’s really nice idk why people are complaining, it’s better than my upgraded RS3 audio but less then the RSQ8 (put 4 on bass, 5 if I can recall on mid and 4 on the last one I can’t recall the name), also had a few Rand rover vouges over those 7-10 years and the sound system didn’t disappoint me and I was really worried after all the reviews and I love audio system (paid 12K (it’s 6K I know but i have 122% tax where I live) for the upgraded system in the RS6 I’ve ordered so yeah audio is important to me)z
Now for the other important bit, DRIVING:
Gearbox: as it’s my first lotus I can’t compare to old ones but I was left SPEECHLESS by the mechanical feel of it and sound it does! and it’s so precise and smooth just wow, fell in love with it on the first gear engagement, well done lotus!
The clutch had an early engagement and from what I’ve read some disliked it and some did like it, for me it’s a plus and it was really easy to use IMO.
Chassis: the ride was hard but not annoying hard, my M2 was less comfortable and was more bouncy (?) per say, the 992 on sport setting was less comfortable as well, the geometry and engineering that went into the dynamics of the car is amazing, big or small bumps just disappear in a sense compared to my other sports cars which get unsettled from imperfections in the road. (I might not use the exactly the correct terms but I’m certain you’ll get my point haha), and the chassis communication is amazing, almost up there with my STO, but I’ll rank it 2nd place from the cars I’ve owned which in my book is 10/10.
Steering: AMAZING, it’s so precise and communicative it’s on a different level, best steering I’ve ever used period, hydraulic steering got a new special place in my books.
Powertrain: I have no clue what the heck some people are whining about the lack of power, the car was in breakin and I didn’t think for once “it lacks power” the supercharger makes the power band so useful and amazing to drive its suits the car so much, I got and had 200-700hp cars, some I though did lack power some I didn’t, lotus isn’t one of them, if you do think it lacks it’s something specific to you IMO as the car is designed to have that specific powertrain (FYI I’m one of those people who thinks the BRZ doesn’t lack power for it’s *purpose*, it can sure as hell handle and be a crazy car with more hp but it defeats its purpose of being a skid car (after 3 years I slapped a turbo on it, it was fun as hell, but didn’t regret not doing it from day one)).
So to sum it up, I put down my money today and placed my order on a December 22 build with Feb-Merch 23 delivery (nimbus, tan interior, black pack, MT) , and I think it’s says enough about my opinion. I might got carried away a tad but I got fed up with all the ranting so sorry 😅

 

[Dabjbr]

So after a lot of reading I got to my turn as I’ve had my test drive today.
I’ll be comparing the emira to my huracan STO as I can afford both and that’s my benchmark, the emira is crap, it lacks so much power and is cheap period! Now all jokes aside of people comparing it to 2nd hand exotics and 1st hand more expensive cars let’s get to my opinion on the car 😂
I’ll write the cars I’ve owned/own for reference to my knowledge about cars: BRZ (N/A then turboed), N55 M2, 8Y RS3, 992 carerra, Quattro R8 22’, RSQ8, first and 2nd gen panamera, tt v8 S8 (and the OG V10 😈), 718 boxster s and my crown jewel the Huracan STO (just noted the sports/sports oriented cars over the past 7-10 years or so).
Emira spec: demo car: sport suspension, F1 tyre, manual, tan interior, DV (beautiful in the flesh fyi imo), and they also had a blue show car.
When it comes to looks the emira is a STUNNER in the flesh as it is in pictures and videos, also loved the interior design, it’s elegant, simplistic and useful plus up to date, idk the screens seems bright enough for me and weren’t an issue by any means but maybe that’s each to their own, also tried the sound system and played with the setting it’s really nice idk why people are complaining, it’s better than my upgraded RS3 audio but less then the RSQ8 (put 4 on bass, 5 if I can recall on mid and 4 on the last one I can’t recall the name), also had a few Rand rover vouges over those 7-10 years and the sound system didn’t disappoint me and I was really worried after all the reviews and I love audio system (paid 12K (it’s 6K I know but i have 122% tax where I live) for the upgraded system in the RS6 I’ve ordered so yeah audio is important to me)z
Now for the other important bit, DRIVING:
Gearbox: as it’s my first lotus I can’t compare to old ones but I was left SPEECHLESS by the mechanical feel of it and sound it does! and it’s so precise and smooth just wow, fell in love with it on the first gear engagement, well done lotus!
The clutch had an early engagement and from what I’ve read some disliked it and some did like it, for me it’s a plus and it was really easy to use IMO.
Chassis: the ride was hard but not annoying hard, my M2 was less comfortable and was more bouncy (?) per say, the 992 on sport setting was less comfortable as well, the geometry and engineering that went into the dynamics of the car is amazing, big or small bumps just disappear in a sense compared to my other sports cars which get unsettled from imperfections in the road. (I might not use the exactly the correct terms but I’m certain you’ll get my point haha), and the chassis communication is amazing, almost up there with my STO, but I’ll rank it 2nd place from the cars I’ve owned which in my book is 10/10.
Steering: AMAZING, it’s so precise and communicative it’s on a different level, best steering I’ve ever used period, hydraulic steering got a new special place in my books.
Powertrain: I have no clue what the heck some people are whining about the lack of power, the car was in breakin and I didn’t think for once “it lacks power” the supercharger makes the power band so useful and amazing to drive its suits the car so much, I got and had 200-700hp cars, some I though did lack power some I didn’t, lotus isn’t one of them, if you do think it lacks it’s something specific to you IMO as the car is designed to have that specific powertrain (FYI I’m one of those people who thinks the BRZ doesn’t lack power for it’s *purpose*, it can sure as hell handle and be a crazy car with more hp but it defeats its purpose of being a skid car (after 3 years I slapped a turbo on it, it was fun as hell, but didn’t regret not doing it from day one)).
So to sum it up, I put down my money today and placed my order on a December 22 build with Feb-Merch 23 delivery (nimbus, tan interior, black pack, MT) , and I think it’s says enough about my opinion. I might got carried away a tad but I got fed up with all the ranting so sorry 😅

Interesting perspective. Hope I come to the same conclusions when I get a test drive in March.

 

[Tonyshepp]

So after a lot of reading I got to my turn as I’ve had my test drive today.
I’ll be comparing the emira to my huracan STO as I can afford both and that’s my benchmark, the emira is crap, it lacks so much power and is cheap period! Now all jokes aside of people comparing it to 2nd hand exotics and 1st hand more expensive cars let’s get to my opinion on the car 😂
I’ll write the cars I’ve owned/own for reference to my knowledge about cars: BRZ (N/A then turboed), N55 M2, 8Y RS3, 992 carerra, Quattro R8 22’, RSQ8, first and 2nd gen panamera, tt v8 S8 (and the OG V10 😈), 718 boxster s and my crown jewel the Huracan STO (just noted the sports/sports oriented cars over the past 7-10 years or so).
Emira spec: demo car: sport suspension, F1 tyre, manual, tan interior, DV (beautiful in the flesh fyi imo), and they also had a blue show car.
When it comes to looks the emira is a STUNNER in the flesh as it is in pictures and videos, also loved the interior design, it’s elegant, simplistic and useful plus up to date, idk the screens seems bright enough for me and weren’t an issue by any means but maybe that’s each to their own, also tried the sound system and played with the setting it’s really nice idk why people are complaining, it’s better than my upgraded RS3 audio but less then the RSQ8 (put 4 on bass, 5 if I can recall on mid and 4 on the last one I can’t recall the name), also had a few Rand rover vouges over those 7-10 years and the sound system didn’t disappoint me and I was really worried after all the reviews and I love audio system (paid 12K (it’s 6K I know but i have 122% tax where I live) for the upgraded system in the RS6 I’ve ordered so yeah audio is important to me)z
Now for the other important bit, DRIVING:
Gearbox: as it’s my first lotus I can’t compare to old ones but I was left SPEECHLESS by the mechanical feel of it and sound it does! and it’s so precise and smooth just wow, fell in love with it on the first gear engagement, well done lotus!
The clutch had an early engagement and from what I’ve read some disliked it and some did like it, for me it’s a plus and it was really easy to use IMO.
Chassis: the ride was hard but not annoying hard, my M2 was less comfortable and was more bouncy (?) per say, the 992 on sport setting was less comfortable as well, the geometry and engineering that went into the dynamics of the car is amazing, big or small bumps just disappear in a sense compared to my other sports cars which get unsettled from imperfections in the road. (I might not use the exactly the correct terms but I’m certain you’ll get my point haha), and the chassis communication is amazing, almost up there with my STO, but I’ll rank it 2nd place from the cars I’ve owned which in my book is 10/10.
Steering: AMAZING, it’s so precise and communicative it’s on a different level, best steering I’ve ever used period, hydraulic steering got a new special place in my books.
Powertrain: I have no clue what the heck some people are whining about the lack of power, the car was in breakin and I didn’t think for once “it lacks power” the supercharger makes the power band so useful and amazing to drive its suits the car so much, I got and had 200-700hp cars, some I though did lack power some I didn’t, lotus isn’t one of them, if you do think it lacks it’s something specific to you IMO as the car is designed to have that specific powertrain (FYI I’m one of those people who thinks the BRZ doesn’t lack power for it’s *purpose*, it can sure as hell handle and be a crazy car with more hp but it defeats its purpose of being a skid car (after 3 years I slapped a turbo on it, it was fun as hell, but didn’t regret not doing it from day one)).
So to sum it up, I put down my money today and placed my order on a December 22 build with Feb-Merch 23 delivery (nimbus, tan interior, black pack, MT) , and I think it’s says enough about my opinion. I might got carried away a tad but I got fed up with all the ranting so sorry 😅

Great review and some excellent cars to benchmark it to.
So day to day driving would you take the lambo or Emira - both are exotic.

 

[Shahaf2911]

Interesting perspective. Hope I come to the same conclusions when I get a test drive in March.

And I really hope you’ll (and everyone else) love it as much as I did, just don’t let people pull you down!

Great review and some excellent cars to benchmark it to.
So day to day driving would you take the lambo or Emira - both are exotic.

In a year or two I plan to export it back to my home county and daily the emira, but the STO is NOT a daily by any means, after a 2h drive your ass is practically dead 😂
Did a non stop 4h drive to Milan, I regretted it in a sense as my ass and back hurt a lot, I can daily the emira all day long but each to their own standards.

 

[kitkat]

I did my test drive Monday and I loved the car, other than the seats. No surprise there as I always planned to fit my brand in. I was probably the only person to ever sit in the car that was happy the seats were the worse bit.
The first thing I will do when it comes in January is change the seats. I just hope I can get some help with all the airbag sensors.
I agree on the steering wheel as well. I wish they would not over design these critical things. It just needs to be round and turn centrally.

The off center steering wheel is really annoying.

 

[695 to Emira]

I had my test drive yesterday and two things stick out for me:

1. The sports suspension is super comfy so forget those worries about it being too firm and rattling your teeth out. I’d hate it to be any softer;

2. It did not seem rabidly fast to me. To put it into context my wife’s 718 Boxster S seems plenty fast enough on a bumpy B road. In the Emira I caught traffic for my entire test drive so never really managed to open its lungs, but on the odd stretch of dual carriageway it’s felt very slow to pick up speed, albeit from 6th.

Maybe I need to drive it again.

 

[Green]

The off center steering wheel is really annoying.

Funny I did not even notice it at all. It just felt smaller and lighter compared to my R8 wheel.

 

[roundincircles]

Funny I did not even notice it at all. It just felt smaller and lighter compared to my R8 wheel.

I didn't notice offset pedals, steering wheel, narrow screen, wobbly switches, door seal imperfections, water in the boot, orange peel, panel gap variance, ugly bonnet seal, wind noise, gearbox squeak or lack of Sky Sport. I wonder if I was driving an Emira, must check with the dealer.

 

[Green]

I didn't notice offset pedals, steering wheel, narrow screen, wobbly switches, door seal imperfections, water in the boot, orange peel, panel gap variance, ugly bonnet seal, wind noise, gearbox squeak or lack of Sky Sport. I wonder if I was driving an Emira, must check with the dealer.

Funny did not notice those either. I suppose it depends what you are focused on. If you are looking for faults in anything you will find them. If you are focused on the driving experience you will find it is wonderful. All I know is I had a huge grin on my face and cannot wait for delivery. There is not another car today that competes with the Emira. I do not care about automatic cars and will never buy one. To me that’s a true design flaw.

 

[Lotus64]

Powertrain: I have no clue what the heck some people are whining about the lack of power, the car was in breakin and I didn’t think for once “it lacks power” the supercharger makes the power band so useful and amazing to drive its suits the car so much, I got and had 200-700hp cars, some I though did lack power some I didn’t, lotus isn’t one of them, if you do think it lacks it’s something specific to you IMO as the car is designed to have that specific powertrain (FYI I’m one of those people who thinks the BRZ doesn’t lack power for it’s *purpose*, it can sure as hell handle and be a crazy car with more hp but it defeats its purpose of being a skid car (after 3 years I slapped a turbo on it, it was fun as hell, but didn’t regret not doing it from day one)).

Great review, with a lack of pre conceived notions and an appreciation for a cars intended purpose!

 

[Pegasi]

Chassis: the ride was hard but not annoying hard, my M2 was less comfortable and was more bouncy (?) per say, the 992 on sport setting was less comfortable as well, the geometry and engineering that went into the dynamics of the car is amazing, big or small bumps just disappear in a sense compared to my other sports cars which get unsettled from imperfections in the road. (I might not use the exactly the correct terms but I’m certain you’ll get my point haha), and the chassis communication is amazing, almost up there with my STO, but I’ll rank it 2nd place from the cars I’ve owned which in my book is 10/10.

So STO 1st, Emira 2nd, what car would be 3rd in your opinion in terms of chassis communication and handling I presume?

Great review!

 

[Italiabrain]

I was encouraged to push it hard for the test drive.

It will be my 5th manual

I was well aware it wasn’t going to have the low end torque of a turbo.

I still thought that it lacked for power and for any associated drama with acceleration

To be clear, I’m buying the car — I’m not universally hating on it. Just calling a spade a spade.

The car doesn’t hold with some modern similar power/weight cars, including NA cars like the C8 (including factoring a time penalty for the manual). It also won’t hold with the outgoing Evora with the slight loss in top end and a gain in weight. The “butt dyno” is right on par with the old 370Z and the power delivery and drama are IMO inferior to the old VQ37VHR.

I’m still going through with the overall package. But compared to things in the same price range and cheaper, the engine is frankly a disappointment. Just within manuals: Set aside Mustangs and Cameros. The Emira is going to get outpaced by current Zs and Ms by a good margin.