Lotus Emira test drive

[jimbo761]

I finally got my hands on one of these last week for a drive after six years driving a base Cayman 718 pdk and thought I’d share my thoughts here in case any one else is considering one or is interested in a Cayman owner’s perspective, if not please feel free to ignore.

• Sports suspension is firmer than my Cayman on passive damping. I would order touring as will be a daily driver
• Steering is far more direct, I now understand all the comments about hydraulic. I mean wow, the Cayman is direct and much improved from the vague old 981 first gen epas but the Emira’s steering is on another level entirely
• Manual gearbox was excellent, quick change, is also very direct and definitely suited the car. I originally ordered an i4 dct but am now weighing up a base v6 manual as I enjoyed driving it so much.
• Engine puts down a bit more power than the 300bhp Cayman and this is very evident as you run through the gears, it also has a very linear power curve. I didn’t hit the limiter so had no problem with the rev limit, it is plenty to have fun with as you blast through the gears. If you’re comparing to an SF90 then perhaps you might find it slow, but then there is a slight difference in price..
• No issue with gear ratios. Always a lot of commentary on here about high gearing in Porsches but as long as you have power throughout the rev range I really don’t find it a problem.
• No auto blipping on the down changes like Porsche but the pedals are well placed to heel and toe, this car is old school
• Noise- coming from a hated four cylinder Porsche you’d think a v6 would be a revelation, well it wasn’t. My Cayman is pre gpf and much louder especially in sport mode. It sounds good to my ears but the Emira’s engine from inside the car was muted, that said the interior noise was much louder than the Cayman which is not particularly quiet.
• I didn’t notice the interior fit and finish particularly as was far too busy enjoying the drive. Trying the kef stereo at the end was better than the standard one in my Cayman.
• Luggage space and all important cup holders are fine, maybe slightly less luggage space than the Cayman but plenty available and perfectly liveable as my daily car.
• Looks, no comment needed here
• As soon as I pulled away after getting in the driver’s seat I knew I liked it enormously. Cayman now feels positively more of a GT in comparison. True I’m not coming from Elises or Caterhams but compared to my base Cayman at least the Emira on sports suspension is the much rawer drivers’ car, perhaps it’s time to try a GT4…

Ymmv of course.

[Orangecurry]

Thanks for that - if I were to buy a new car, that would probably be the one. What colour was the test car, and did the colour look good in the real world?

[jimbo761]

[ChrisW.]

A good read ... thanks !

I owned an Exile 410 Sport for a short while but preferred my GT4.

1. The Lotus seats were a little wide for me
2. I kept touching the rev limiter which bothered me ... and then discovered that the last 500 revs were only available in Sport mode !
3. Still preferred my modified 981 GT4 ....

But I really hope that the Emira does well for Lotus ... the looks ? No need to comment

Edited by ChrisW. on Saturday 19th November 17:13

[Fnumber1user]

Interesting read, cheers. Would definitely be great to hear your thoughts if you do try a GT4. Really hope it does well for Lotus.