- Vastly improved supercar looks
- Interior does the car justice
- The wider design significantly improves handling
- The first car for 11 years creates a potential for issues
- Chinese owner’s first attempt in the UK market
- Likely poor fuel economy
Introduction
Lotus, of course, is famed for its small two-door sports car. The Elise is undoubtedly the most well-known in recent times and will probably account for the majority of Lotus models you’ve seen on the roads.
There was also the more hardcore Exige and then the Evora, which have finally gone out of production.
Now the Emira prepares to take the latter’s place.
It’s a real head-turner of a car, with a 10-channel premium sound system, electric seats, cruise control, rain-sensing wipers, parking sensors and keyless go among the gadgets on offer.
And, while Lotus has based the car's design on the Evora, very few components from the outgoing model have made it onto the new vehicle.
The Emira is based on Lotus’ new Sports Car Architecture. Therefore, it really is a case of going back to the drawing board and designing a motor from the ground up, with the Evora merely used as a yardstick so that the new car can improve on it in every conceivable way.
Lotus bravely chose this summer’s Goodwood Festival of Speed for its unveiling and appears to have struck a positive first impression with a car that, it says, goes back to its roots under its founder, Colin Chapman.
The Emira will also be iconic for a different reason, though. It will be the last ever petrol-powered Lotus. The company plans to go all-electric by 2028, starting with two new SUVs – a large one due in 2022 – and a smaller one in 2025.
We’re desperately hoping the Emira provides a worthy swansong.
On The Road
Performance
The Emira is rear-wheel drive and mid-engined.
Speaking of power, there are two units to choose from – a supercharged 3.5-litre V6 from Toyota producing 399PS, the same found in the Exige and the Evora – and a turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder from Mercedes-AMG producing 360PS.
The AMG engine comes with an eight-speed automatic, while the V6 is available with a six-speed and a choice of a manual or automatic.
With the V6, Lotus predicts a 0-62mph time of under 4.5-seconds and a top speed of around 180mph.
These figures mean it’s gunning for the Alpine A110S and the Porsche 718 Cayman GTS.
Ride Handling
Unusually, you’ll be able to choose from a couple of chassis setups when you buy your Emira.
There’s ‘Tour’, which is designed for everyday use and, according to Lotus, blends “dynamic performance and handling with a more comfortable ride”.
Then there’s ‘Sport’, which provides a stiffer suspension setup for enhanced dynamic stability. Select this, and you'll also have the option to add the Lotus Drivers Pack, which includes launch control and different tyres.
Hydraulic steering is retained in the Emira, improving the feel of the car as opposed to the electronic drive-by-wire systems that are becoming commonplace. In addition, the vehicle has been designed to be easily controllable when pushed in the corners, without any skittishness.
The low-to-the-ground design of Lotus models of old has always given the cars a low centre of gravity, aiding handling. This is enhanced further by the Emira’s increased width, improving stability, limiting body roll and making for excellent grip levels.
Styling
Well, it’s impressive.
The problem with the Lotus Elise was that, aesthetically, although you didn’t expect it to look like a supercar, you were hoping it would be more McLaren than Toyota MR2. But, in truth, it always took a somewhat uncomfortably poised balance between the two, leaning more towards the latter.
Not so the Emira. The outgoing Evora took a step towards the supercar look, and the Emira now takes a giant leap. Though it looks slightly more restrained than a supercar, that’s still many steps above where the old range was. Moreover, it looks like it means business.
Lotus has previously unveiled its forthcoming imposing Evija hypercar, and it’s clear the design of the Emira is fluent in the former’s design language.
There’s a swooping bonnet with a mean-looking sizeable grille at the front.
Down the side, it widens towards the back, with an air intake on each flank shaping the car's rear, sprouting out immediately behind the door to add some extra muscle.
The back is sublime, too, with thin-strip LED lights at the top of a modest rear spoiler that builds out from the side of the Emira to form part of its natural shape, creating beautiful curves. Unlike the Exige, there’s no rudimentary bolted-on rear wing.
Meanwhile, above the floor, the bodywork creates an arch from one side to the other over the twin exhausts.
Prominence? Yes. Presence? Yes. Perfection? Well, just about everyone in the office went open-eyed when they first saw it.
In The Car
Behind the Wheel
The interior looks as impressive as the exterior. There’s a big, thick, meaty sports steering wheel that screams performance. And the interior goes for a simplistic look with not many buttons on offer to distract you from the job of driving.
Most of the switches that are on display are on the steering wheel, but they are all intuitive to use. A 10.25-inch touchscreen is offered in the centre of the dashboard, along with a 12.3-inch digital instrument display behind the wheel.
The display is customisable and comes with a g-force meter, so those who like to go to track days and screech around corners are catered for.
The infotainment system, which includes Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, has been designed in-house. It doesn’t appear to be class-leading, but it's a massive progression on the Evora.
There are touches of silver surround the air vents and gear lever, while the gear knob itself is also silver on the manual, adding a nice, contrasting touch.
The materials feel premium, and there's no air of cheapness at all.
Space & Practicality
Despite the car’s relatively small size compared with a family motor, it feels bigger than it is and getting in and out is far less of an event than it used to be in other Lotus models.
There’s a decent amount of space inside, with two cupholders along the centre console and fairly capacious door bins.
You don't feel hemmed in when sat in the front. And, with no rear seats to worry about, you'll find around 200-litres of storage behind the seats, as well as about 150-litres behind the engine in the boot.
Unless you need more than two seats or you need to carry around large items with you for work purposes, you could easily use this car every day of the week in ‘Tour’ trim.
Ownership
Running Costs
The four-cylinder Mercedes-AMG motor is likely to have CO2 levels of under 180g/km.
It’s detuned slightly, as Merc uses the same engine in the AMG A45, where it produces around 20PS more than it’ll have in the Emira. The Mercedes configuration puts out 203g/km of CO2, managing fuel consumption figures of 31.9mpg.
The six-cylinder powerplant from Toyota manages 225g/km of CO2, running at 29.1mpg in the outgoing Evora.
These figures aren’t going to be exactly reflective of what’s to come from the Emira, but that should give you a reasonable idea.
Servicing costs are likely to be on the expensive side.
Quality & Reliability
Recent investment in Lotus' production facilities certainly brings the potential for teething issues. But, in truth, a significant modernisation programme should solve more problems than it creates.
Under the management of the Chinese firm, Geely, the company has invested £100 million in two new factories in Norwich and nearby Hethel.
The Lotus Evora scored impressively well in terms of overall reliability, so we’ve no reason to suspect the Emira won’t do even better.
Time will tell, of course. The Emira is Lotus’ first new car in over a decade, which could create problems. But it’s also given the automaker plenty of time to focus on the Emira to iron out any gremlins.
The new car is still months away from rolling into showrooms, too, so that gives Lotus even more breathing space to sort out any eleventh-hour niggles.
Safety & Security
Euro NCAP has no testing records for Lotus. It remains to be seen whether the Norfolk-based automaker will give an Emira to the organisation to test, but verified safety stats remain something of an unknown.
Nevertheless, you’ll get an anti-collision system, driver alertness detection, lane-departure warning and lane-change assist, rear cross-traffic warning and adaptive cruise control.
Hopefully, that offers some peace of mind.
Summary
Lotus has been in the doldrums for a good while now, and the Emira needs to work for the company.
While its new owner, Geely, has pumped in a lot of money, it makes you wonder what the future might hold for Lotus if the Emira turns out to be a flop.
In all honesty, we can’t see that happening.
The Emira looks pretty much like a supercar and will most likely go like one, too. We think moving its styling from ‘beefed-up Toyota MR2’ to ‘downsized McLaren’ will make it ridiculously popular.
It appears Lotus has improved its newest model over its predecessors in every imaginable way.
The Emira is set to cost less than £60,000 – and to own something that genuinely looks like a supercar for that sort of money is virtually unheard of.
With significantly modernised facilities, these vast improvements should transfer themselves over to the new car and begin the rebirth of this famous, much-loved East Anglian sleeping giant.
The fresh model is not out until next year, but all signs are that this will be a worthy and memorable Lotus as the firm takes one last stand before beginning its journey into the future without its combustion engines.