My Emira thoughts after the taster on Saturday.

[PJT]

I was booked in for a 20 minute drive around the track, but when I arrived the brief started by saying they’d changed the format. I thought, oh, here we go!  But……..  As they had so many coaches and cars, we’d get 15 minutes in both the touring and the sports trim.  Also dIscovered from Mr Donnelly that that Saturday was the first time the Emira was on track for the paying punter.  So lucked out really.

 It’s very……very good.  Most importantly it drives like a Lotus, no doubt.  It is comfortable and refined.  It doesn’t feel super luxurious. It is not as practical as a Cayman/Boxster.  It will still take a leap of faith to commit to one over a Porsche as there are still sacrifices in space, finish and quality.  You’d need a personal reason to go the Emira route such as a priority for drive feel, uniqueness, looks etc.  Porsche is still the default for the market as most buyers have limited imagination and an adversity to risk.  The Emira is the better sports car.

If you are an Evora owner (who only needs 2 seats), I really think it’s a no brainer).  If you are an Elise/Exige owner getting a bit older and wanting something less compromised, it’s a no brainier.  The Emira will maintain that Lotus magic without the headache.  It’s quiet, on the inside at least. Drove the touring and the sport.  If you’re coming from a Lotus, sport will be great everywhere.  If your getting it as a first sports/everyday car, maybe touring.  I’d go sport, no hesitation.  Neither is a track car, but both will be enjoyable to track once in a while.  Take the Elise and add smoothness, stability, flow and really low noise, deduct a little excitement and dynamics.  Piece of piss to get in.  Easy to have a conversation in, even while honing on track.

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Conclusion, it’s a great accomplishment car and I wouldn’t discourage anyone from getting one, unless they were a track addict.

 

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[Daveb99]

Great write up Pete, thanks for sharing that, sounds like a great day.   I think most people will agree with your assessment.    The Emira is stunning in the flesh - no question - and it’s what Lotus need to do to survive and prosper.  Evora owners will probably feel their cars have the edge in some ways, a little more raw and connected perhaps.  The interior quality is a massive step up from the Evora and Exige etc as well.
 

I have very nearly ordered an Emira more than once - the last time was at Goodwood last month after a couple of long chats with Scott Walker about the i4, but that evening I had a simply stunning drive back to the hotel in my Cayman 981.   One of the best drives I’ve ever had in fact.

So good in fact that I’ve since upgraded mine to a 3.4S, which although used, has cost me £35k less, and with the adaptive dampers (PASM) set to Sport it’s very Lotus-like when you’re really pushing on.  Only the steering feel is inferior as it’s an electric rack.   It’s a very tough benchmark for Lotus to compete with, I really hope they achieve it, from the orders so far it’s looking good but the next 3-5 years will be key I guess…

[lotus111]

Thanks Pete for what is a obvious first punter review. Can not wait for a catch up and pick your brains being a deposit holder .

[CDM2018]

I think a fair and balanced review 

I think the interior is a big step up and if the quality control is stepped up then the Porsche potential owners might take a punt with Emira 

I see that there’s a little disappointment with exhaust note, I suspect this in time will be solved by an aftermarket solution ?

as for me I intent to keep my ugly child of Evora ! 

[martenr1975]

Great write up Pete, very interesting to hear first hand from an unbiased existing Exige owner. 

[duncx]

Aaargh no, they've designed it with the steering wheel on the wrong side?

Good write up 👍  I only hope that the seats are low enough for me to see through the winsdcreen - on the pre-production car they were way too high for me

[PJT]

Just for you duncx, I’ve fixed it 😂 

seat height wise, I don’t think you’ll have any issues.

[Daveb99]

Pete has now been recruited by Lotus as the MLOC Sales Rep 😂

I noticed the seats were still a little too high too, but lower than the first cars I saw / sat in in 2021.

[Luke Seagrave]

Great write up Pete. Sounds like you enjoyed driving the Emira.

[PJT]

2 hours ago, Daveb99 said:

Pete has now been recruited by Lotus as the MLOC Sales Rep 😂

I noticed the seats were still a little too high too, but lower than the first cars I saw / sat in in 2021.

😂  Well someone has to try and do a decent PR job for Lotus with the current owners!  The factory seem to be just courting the new ones. 

 

It is interesting to note however, I was the only one of the 20 or so people there who was a current Lotus owner. About half of those had a deposit down.

[DeanB]

I've said this before but I'm not sure every Emira buyer will also have considered a Cayman.  I think a lot of people will fall in love with the looks of the Emira and buy it for that - an emotional rather than rational motivation. The Cayman on the other hand, well only its mother could love the way it looks (sorry Dave!).

I might be wrong but I can't imagine someone choosing a Cayman over an Emira because it's more practical either. Such a person would have no soul whatsoever. 

I get that the Cayman is a fabulously competent thing and, I expect, brilliant to drive (except for the electric steering, which is not insignificant) and so on, but a lot of car purchases are made because of emotions, not purely rational decisions about which is better at this, which is better at that and so on.  If I had the spare money to buy a Cayman (which I admit I don't) I would never entertain one in a million years because it doesn't engage me on an emotional level. 

A Porsche is a known quantity. It has an exceptionally strong brand image. The sentence 'its a Porsche' is loaded with meaning, most of it positive. People can buy one knowing that it is considered by the opinion makers (journos mostly) to be the market leader, or at least the benchmark. This means they know they won't get laughed at or looked down upon if they buy one. And there is safety in numbers - lots of people don't like to stand out from the crowd, they like to do what everyone else is doing. Plus, of course, the depreciation on a Porsche over the years has been quite low and fairly easy to estimate.  And there is the status symbol element let's not forget.

It's a long list.

All of these things make it a really easy and safe decision to buy one. 

A Lotus doesn't have all of those advantages  and so some people will just not consider an Emira, no matter how good it is. It would be too risky a buy for them.

If the Emira starts to sell really well, and Lotus can build enough of them, that might start to change. When the sheep can see lots of other people have bought Emiras then it might give them the courage to do the same.

Also, I think resale values might have a big impact. If the supply of Emiras over the next two years is limited (aren't they supposed to be sold-out?) then resale values might be very high.  You might feel like a bit of a chump if £20k was wiped off the price of your brand new Cayman in the first 18 months and your mate could sell his Emira for what he paid for it!

There will also be, I suspect, some people that have had junior supercars like R8s, Gallardos and so on that 'trade down' to an Emira because it still has a bit of that supercar glamour.

For what it's worth I love the Emira. I think it looks stunning and I expect I would love driving it over my favourite bumpy Derbyshire B-roads.  I'd buy one in a second if I could.

[Daveb99]

I agree with you Dean on most points.  You’re maybe right about an Emira being an emotional purchase because it’s a risk compared to the tried and tested Cayman - although a very calculated risk given that it’s an Evora in drag!  Regarding looks, obviously very subjective but it sounds like you are confusing the early Cayman (987) with the one I have (981), which is the last of the flat sixes in 2.7 and S guise and is set to be a classic.   It’s widely acknowledged that the slightly awkward looks of the 987 were well and truly addressed by the 981, which to my eyes, looks superb.   Perhaps you have to like the Porsche shape, I certainly do.  Of course it isn’t as exotic as the Emira, it was never intended to look like a junior McLaren.   Lotus have pulled a blinder there and it’s undoubtedly the single biggest reason for all the orders.

In terms of practicality, in reality it’s a much bigger factor than you think.   The total luggage space on the Cayman is way more than the Emira.   The cup holders are way better.   The stowage in the cabin is about the same on both.  All this stuff matters to people, especially buyers who aren’t blindfolded by having owned Lotuses, and it increases the usability dramatically.   I do think the Emira has just about enough storage though, and of course we forgive it because of the stunning looks it has.

Go and drive a Cayman S or GTS with Sports Exhaust and PASM, put it in Sport or Sport Plus with the valves open and you will most likely see them in a completely different light - they are truly fantastic drivers cars.    Karl and I did exactly this in January - ie as serial Lotus owners with a completely open mind.   The Evora can’t compare on quality, the Emira is getting close for sure.   For me, having experienced some of the flaky Evora build quality and parts supply issues (all too common), my £30k was far better spent in a Cayman, which is a car you can jump in and use every day if you so wish, and I also feel like I can park it (more or less) anywhere.   Oh, and it absolutely does engage me on an emotional level - but everyone is different.    I also made the jump to a PDK DCT Cayman to allow Joanne to drive it (she has arthritis in her feet and can’t easily drive a manual) so I had other reasons too.
 

I’m getting way more value for money out of my £30k Cayman S than I’d ever get out of a £70- £80k Emira, with £40k plus left over.   It’s an incredible all rounder, and it isn’t going to sit in the garage in winter unlike my Evora.   I used it last winter and it swallowed it up.
 

I’d never buy a new one, I think thats just throwing money away.   Bringing up a family and with lots of work planned for our house, that’s important to me.  

All this said - much like yourself, I’d choose the Emira if I could.    It would be a very, very close call with a Cayman GT4 though - the latter has won most of the head to heads in the reviews too I think.

Far be it from me to turn this into a Porsche thread (and my Elise isn’t going anywhere) but it’s what the Emira has to beat to be top of the tree, in every aspect not just looks and steering, so it’s quite relevant….or maybe it doesn’t have to beat it and it’s great to have a choice.

Anyway to keep it on topic here are my Emira photos from Goodwood this year, plus one of my ugly Cayman for balance 🤣

 

[DeanB]

I don't think I was too negative about the Porsche Dave, well apart from the bit about only its mother could love its looks 😁

I get they are great cars, I really do. There are a lot of Porsches I really like. 

I have a philosophical problem with the Porsche styling aproach which I won't go in to in detail but can be summarised as - all Porsches have to look like Porsches, i.e a bit like a 911. But they can't look as good as a 911 because that is the top of the range so has to look the best. That places constraints on the designers that they usually cannot overcome. It's a shame, because before they had that philosophy, back in the 70s, they built the 928 which was, and is, a fabulous looking thing.

Oh, and if there really is a person out there that would choose a Cayman over an Emira because it has more luggage space and better cup holders I hope I never find myself sat next to him or her for dinner!

 

[Daveb99]

10 minutes ago, DeanB said:

I don't think I was too negative about the Porsche Dave, well apart from the bit about only its mother could love its looks 😁

I get they are great cars, I really do. There are a lot of Porsches I really like. 

I have a philosophical problem with the Porsche styling aproach which I won't go in to in detail but can be summarised as - all Porsches have to look like Porsches, i.e a bit like a 911. But they can't look as good as a 911 because that is the top of the range so has to look the best. That places constraints on the designers that they usually cannot overcome. It's a shame, because before they had that philosophy, back in the 70s, they built the 928 which was, and is, a fabulous looking thing.

Oh, and if there really is a person out there that would choose a Cayman over an Emira because it has more luggage space and better cup holders I hope I never find myself sat next to him or her for dinner!

 

😂😂😂

It won’t be me.   I will have an Emira, but perhaps a used one in a few years.   I still have mad moments where I think about ordering one though…..

Totally agree about the somewhat hamstrung designers.   I guess it’s a formula that works so they stick to it.   Maybe the next Lotus sports cars will look a bit like the Emira, if it’s a winner, and all that…

Pete, out of interest, did any of the non-deposit holders say there were going to order one after driving it ?

Edit - sorry I did edit my initial reply and removed the bit about you being a Porsche hater, after reading it all properly  😂

[PJT]

Glad you two are friends again 😁

There were a couple that were making noises, but I think the wait now is a year or so.  So for any sitting orders, there'll be some flippin' money to be made (pun intended).

I'll leave you two with what I hope is a consolidating thought:-  The car graveyard is as full of cars trying to beat the Cayman at it's own game as it is of cars trying to beat the Elise at it's own game.