KingSize.Hamster

WARNING: This is a long wordy post ...

After spending a bit of time on a brief test drive in a new Emira on less-than-perfect street conditions, I would just like to lay my thoughts out in words. There is zero track driving involved, nor did the drive involve breaking legal speed limits that could have brought anyone into a jail cell.

This is by no means a comprehensive review. I have very little understanding of the Lotus history and/or engineering, and may have some of the information completely wrong down below. So please do not flame me for being a noob in writing this stuff up. While I would like to keep my comments as objective as possible at the earlier part of my thoughts, I do admit there will be a certain level of bias and ignorance involved.


Background (of myself)
To give a bit of flavor on what kinda biases I have, I'm a huge Honda fanboy. I've always loved the high revving NA engines from Honda and those Honda-nese transmissions. The lower horsepower ratings and slower accelerations weren't a dealbreaker for me. I cannot say a I'm Chris Harris or Doug DeMuro who has driven hundreds of cars at their limits. So do take into account my limited experience with sportscars for comparison purposes. To this very day, having owned both a 2005 USDM AP2 S2000 and a 2004 JDM AP1 (or more like AP1.5) S2000, I still feel S2000 is the benchmark of manual transmission. Many argued otherwise and challenged my opinion. The way I would like to put it is, it's all purely personal and "you know it when you see [feel] it." Perhaps one may feel BMW has the best transmission.

I have always felt Porsche cars are an reincarnation of Hondas from the late 90s to early 2000s at where Honda engineers have left off when Honda Japan decided to can both the S2000 and the original NSX. I still remember the day when I jumped into a 997.1 GT3 soon after its launch, I instantly felt like I was home. That, along with a 997.1 turbo, were the first set of water-cooled Porsches I have driven more extensively in my life (previous 996 and 993 drives were only relatively short). I didn't have to think when driving those cars coming from a Honda. The pedals, the ergonomics, and the rhythm were just an extension of the Hondas and more. In comparison, I had a little bit of trouble getting used to the Z4M and E90 M3 over that period. Of course, I do have to admit that over the course of the three weeks when someone was kind enough to offer me a few cars including these Porsches, I was a little overwhelmed at first. But at no point did I feel I was distracted by anything in the driving experience. In any case, the purpose of this is not to digress, but to provide a background of what kind bias/preference I have. Now, let's move on to comments related to Emira itself.


Interior and Overall Build Quality
Lotus has clearly stepped up a few notches here in terms of interior design and build quality compared to the Evora. It's not even a fair comparison against the Elise and Exige as those two really can't offer much in terms of design when they weigh so little comparatively. Perhaps the interior design isn't a few notches "better" than the Evora, as that is largely subjective, the build quality certainly is the case. The interior feels very modern with premium touches, including leather door panels and dashboard. I felt like I have stepped into a car of 2022/2023 when I got into the cabin. It's very modern (did I just repeat that?). It has an LCD display that sticks up like what you will find in a BMW/Mercedes/Audi in showrooms today. If anything, the interior reminds me very much of how modern Lexus cars are like -- in a good way -- when I touch the interior bits. Just the type of materials they use on the door panels and the lines. I know the Lotus' interior does not look like what you see in a Lexus of today optically, but it's the overall feeling of it. For example, when I ran my hands over the interior and closed the door, the car felt more like Lexus-ish (but not Toyota) rather than Mercedes/BMW/Porsche/Ferrari.

The gauge cluster is digital with (potentially) better resolution than the TV I have at home. There are plenty of colors on that display as well. The steering is very much like what you would find in modern day cars, including some of the GT cars out there. Got the multi-direction arrows and other buttons you would expect from a multi-function steering wheel in a modern day car. It just works really well for anyone who prefers to have all the buttons on the steering wheel for convenience. The shape of the steering wheel is also very exotic looking, especially when paired with the extra-thick design. The Emira also has little quirks like the see-thru mesh design around the shifter, lift-up cage above the start-stop button, and a KEF sound system. The interior storage is fairly decent for a 2-seater, especially if you include the storage area behind the front seats. I felt like Lotus has made a huge effort in making this car very modern and premium like a Lexus. The rear trunk's lining also felt like it's much more respectable compared to earlier cars.

However, then comes the criticisms. There are certainly minor things like center display canted ever so slightly to the passenger side on the RHD display vehicle I saw, and stitching on the passenger side of the dashboard looked like it was done when the guy working on it was a little tipsy. The leather quality felt closer to something like of my family's mid to lower priced Lexus, which although is not bad but certainly felt I was expecting a little more for its price.


Ergonomics and Seats
The ingress/egress has improved a lot compared to the Evora for some reason, though optically it doesn't look like there was a huge diff. I felt like I could get out of the car with more dignity. When seated down in the driver's seat, I felt the controls and everything are just better overall compared to the Evora. The seats have a much "fatter" cushion under the thigh area to give the thigh area more cushy feeling, which is much closer to what newer Mercedes have on their rear seats as opposed to the Recaro Sportster CS seats from Evora. The seats in the Emira are definitely comfortable. They do sit a little higher based on my feel of the level of my hip versus heel on the floor. I think the seating position works very well for heavy traffic conditions. I would imagine my spine is not as slouched/crushed compared to a seating position that's much lower. I feel the seats are on the plush side. Put aside comparison of fixed bucket seats area the hip area, the Emira seats aren't not quite something that wrap around me a lot I feel. I would classify the seats as more of plush feeling comparatively speaking to other major brands out there as well.


Overall Manual Transmission and Brakes Feeling
This is very likely a just a feeling, and may be far from the measurable truth. I felt the Emira, or even the Evora from before, has a noticeably longer throw vertically compared to horizontal movements. I didn't notice this as a comment from journalists, so maybe I'm just imagining things. There is a slight feeling that the shifts aren't symmetrical between left/right and upper/lower gears on the shifter as well. The shifter also feels like it uses a heavier **** to make the shifting experience smoother. The shifting is definitely smooth. It does have the "rifle bolt" feeling that many have described, but I felt this was achieved using a 700gram shift **** (okay, I'm pretty sure the stock shift **** isn't that heavy, but you get my point) instead of what one would get from, say, an S2000 or NSX shifter with a much more mechanical engagement feel to it. In other words, I felt that the feeling was done by the counterweight / shift-**** as opposed to the mechanical part of the shifter. It does have some mechanical feeling; so don't get me wrong. I understand that S2000 shifters are hard to compare given how it's designed, while mid-engine cars like the NSX, etc require the use of shift cables. If anything, I would have preferred a slightly shorter throw on the vertical travel. As for the shifts, I found the cross-gate shifts quite unnatural for me. The driving pedals are a little too close to my preference, which is pretty much what the Evora had. I drove a RHD sample and the pedals are a little too offset to the left as well, much like how earlier days' 993s were. Perhaps this may not be an issue for LHD cars. The clutch pedal is on the lighter end of the scale. It does feel a little vague, but not overly so. I would have preferred a heavier clutch with more feedback.

Then comes the brakes. They were far too sensitive for my preference. They were not grabby in the sense that there is tremendous amount of bite when I go on to the brakes, but they were just too sensitive. I felt as if the brakes were overboosted at the top to give the brakes a really grabby feel. However, they aren't like PCCB type of grabby, but rather boosted like my Lexus. This, of course, isn't unique to the Emira either. It was also very similar to the Evora I had driven from before. If I were to really ding the Emira, I felt these things are where I really struggled with. I felt like I had to pay attention to the car so much just to keep the driving smooth on streets. Even the throttle felt a little too sensitive. Perhaps this may not be a problem once a driver drives these cars 10 out of 10 on a race track with pedal to the metal. It's just a little difficult for me to jam on all three pedals at the same time.


Engine and Transmission Gearing
There is very little that needs to be discussed on the engine front. After all the Emira uses the time-tested, and likely very bullet-proof, Toyota engine. It just works. Compared to the Evora my friend let me drive previously as well, I felt the engine is largely the same. If anything, the Evora had shortened final drive, and I felt the Emira with stock gearing has a much more natural feeling to it. The Evora with shortened gearing felt like I had to shift all the time especially given that the engine doesn't rev that high to begin with. While I could see the appeal of running shorter-gearings, I just am not a huge fan of it unless the car has issues in the conditions that I drive in that require me to address that. For example, I remember that when I changed the final drive of my AP2 S2000 from the stock 4.10 to 4.56, the ~10%+ gear ratio change actually made life more difficult for me on the local track that I drove on. I found myself caught in between embarassing situation of either going for mid-turn shifts, bouncing off 2nd gear at rev-limiter when I ran out of revs, or just kinda running at 3rd gear at sub-optimal revs. This problem, of course, would just appear for some other people at some other track with stock gearing. My point is, I just don't believe shorter gearing is a one size fits all. I feel some may find the Emira gearing to be too tall, but I do think it just suits the overall dynamics of the car. Or maybe I've just gotten used to taller gearings all along. In general, the engine sounds nice and has a nice tone to it. It has an lower rev whine at sub-2000rpm revs, which I suspect is more to do with the transmission than engine.


Steering and Suspension
To give you a bit of context, the 40-minute drive was just around city roads with a bit of highways. There was a good mixture of rough and smooth pavements with the car spec'd with sport suspension wearing a fresh set of Cup2s. The steering feeling is definitely good. However, I was a little surprised. I might either have relatively numb hands, or I was just expecting something else given the level of expectation that's been built up from journalists. I actually didn't find there is an extreme high level of texture to the steering. Don't get me wrong. The steering wheel feeling was good, but I just didn't feel it was a night and day difference compared to a well-executed electric steering in terms of the level of information. I might have been expecting a 997-era GT3 steeering, but I felt it's much closer to something like the GT4's steering. I know this statement itself will get my back stabbed by many enthusiasts. I'm just saying what I felt. Again, the steering feel is definitely good. It's just not something that really knocked the ball out of the park kinda thing.

The suspension is very compliant on busier road surfaces. Granted it's a brand new car with fresh rubber and suspension. I suppose there is some level of correlation between where (i.e. country) a car was designed from the get go. The Lotus engineers likely took into consideration of drivers needing to drive these things on relatively-poor road conditions. The double-wishbone suspension feels nice in the way that it holds the car in more aggressive turns. I don't know how to put it into words. I could be just dreaming, but I do feel the car rolls differently compared to standard struts design whenever I drive a double-wishbone suspension. The car kinda tucks into the corner more like my S2000s and even EK Civic TypeR did. I don't know anything about what kind bushings or design of the suspension beyond that point on the Emira though. I do feel that the car has a tiny bit of softness when turning in. It might be due to the relatively softer suspension setup. I am hesitant to use the word "delay" in the turn-in, as it's not like driving a 10-year old Mini Cooper with 50,000miles on stock suspension. It just feels like the reaction isn't as immediate as I expected. I'm not comparing this to a GT-blah car from Porsche here, but rather to something like a stock S2000 CR or 981 GTS suspension with simple passive coilovers. The suspension just works really well on rough pavements.


Overall Impressions
The Lotus Emira is a great car. I would have a hard time imagining anyone really bashing this car on a standalone basis. Lotus has really made this a nice GT car in every way. The interior design and quality do match its price. The looks are very exotic, and certainly reminds people of something like a Ferrari 488. I'm pretty sure it's a head turner on the streets. The interior is very modern (yes, my 3rd time mentioning it) but not overly so. The launch color blue looks great for those who prefer a more exciting look, while the dark green exterior with dark-brown interior looks really classy. The exhaust note is quite nice, especially when you flick the car into the Track mode. For a car in 2022/2023, the weight of around 3100-3200lbs (?) is likely considered on the lighter end of the scale. It does feel agile for today's car. I'm not sure if we could realistically see anything south of 2500lbs anymore nowadays given the safety standards and other requirements from a car of this size.

Performance-wise, I'm sure the car will do well in the hands of capable track enthusiasts. In fact, I don't even know what the 0-100km/h, quarter-mile, and 'Ring times are on this car. I just feel there is not much point for me to talk about it, as journalists would have dumped the clutch enough times to squeeze the last 0.1 second out of it on a dry cool day. Nor am I qualified to comment on these aspects.

I do feel the Emira is really a great GT car for anyone who's looking to have something from the dealer lot today with a manual transmission. It has some nice features like the cage over the start-button and the visible shifter mechanics. This car is really great for someone looking to have a more modern interior and a GT car that is very unique. With many streets flooded with Porsches nowdays that pretty much look the same, the Emira is something that will really stand out from the crowd. One thing though, as much as Lotus emphasized the Emira is not a replacement of the Evora, I could not help but to feel that the Emira is a replacement of the Evora. The Emira is by no means a facelifted Evora, but neither does it feel like an entirely new car or even generations newer. I'm sure they have lengthened the wheelbase or widened the track width of some sort, but it's still very much an Evora. It resembles very little to an Exige if at all. So it really is natural for journalists and potential buyers to compare this with a Porsche Cayman variant.


Comparison with Porsches
Now here comes the comparison. I mean, as much as I try to step into the Emira with a clean slate in mind, I could not entirely put a pause to compare it with my own 981 GT4. I know there are countless debates on whether the Emira should be more of a barebone 982 GT4 competitor due to the price of ~US$105K, or should it be closer to a 982 GTS 4.0 due to the P-car's barebone nature and that a GTS with comparable options would bring its price tag closer to Emira's. That said, as a regular Joe with a 981 GT4, I could only compare the Emira against my own car.

My car has approximately 10,000 miles since I drove it off the lot from my dealer years ago. It's still riding on those original Cup2s from 2015. The car is stock except for a TPC DSC unit with the mapping from 2016 and a set of Soul catted headers + Softronic generic tune relativelt recently. The moment I hopped into the Emira, I immediately noticed the 2022/2023 interior compared to the interior that most would considered as dated, which is entirely understandable given the 981 interior has been around for 10years+ already by now. The 982 generation isn't much better, as I personally would think of the 982 as more of a 981.2 generation instead. The Lotus just gives the driver a fresher look compared to an interior that I'm very used to. Some would find the 981/982 interior to be mundane.

The overall driving experience of the Emira feels much more grand touring car compared to the GT4. I would refrain from using the term "track focused" as there is gabillion interpretations of that. They are both very driver-focused, but in different ways. I would say the GT4 feels more highly-strung compared to the Emira. I felt much less distracted in the whole driving experience when I first drove the 997 years ago, compared to when I first hoped into this Emira. I could totally see why many considered any form of Porsche to be boring. Porsches are quite clinical in many ways. They do feel much more of an natural extension of the driver. It's not a very exciting vehicle in the sense that one needs to pay attention to the shifting and all that. It's kinda like, you kinda know what the car would do and the car tells you that. There is very little to no quirks on street driving. The inputs are very precise. Driving a the Cayman feels like you aren't accomplishing much. The car does pretty much what the driver inputs without much in between. I would disgree with those who think the Cayman is disconnected compared to the Emira. There isn't really something specifically that the Cayman would make a driver go "oohhh ... ahhh. This one thing is so good." The Cayman just has a very balanced design (not referring to weight distribution and all that, but rather the end-product). If the 981 GT4 is considered a B+ overall car, then it pretty much has B+ parts and design in the whole car: suspension, chassis, engine, etc. The Porsche just feels well-executed and coherent from a driver's perspective. There isn’t really any one or two particular spec to highlight. The drive is just really engaging.

The Emira, on the flip side, is an entirely new kid on the block per se. Compared to the Cayman with enough YouTubers reviewing the variants to keep someone with a mobile data plan of 100GB/month busy for more than a year probably, or any Porsches for that matter, the Emira is so fresh. The manufacturer has gone all out and gave its best when designing the Emira with no-compromise. The looks are very exotic. It's got much more aggressive lines with the vents etc. Maybe Porsche AG created more boring lines due to aero, taste or practicality to keep the frunk and all the storage space. Who knows. But the Emira just looks different compared to most of the cars on the streets. It has a lot of quirks, like the multi-function flat-bottom steering, visible shifter, digital gauge cluster, an engine that you could actually see from the outside, and great storage area behind the seats for people to put stuff that they don’t want to be exposed to the heat up the frunk and rear trunk. The Emira has a lot more features -- electronic adjustable seats, KEF sound system, built-in track app, and leather dashboard as no-cost options. The Lotus takes the spot for anyone who prefers having a hydraulic steering rack, double wishbone suspension, the Lotus heritage, and/or aluminium chassis. Then comes the better comfort in rough roads. The Emira handles rough roads with a more comfortable ride.

The Emira is great for anyone looking to have something different and not wanting to be another conformist in the parking lot. Both cars have very stiff chassis and good ride in my opinion. While I have never found the 981 GT4 harsh even with factory PASM program, the Lotus does have an edge on the ride comfort on bad pavements. I feel like the Cayman (including a 981 GTS with passive suspension that I've spent brief period on) is so similar to the Emira, but yet different in many ways once I drill into the details. That said, the Emira is vastly different from the Exige/Elise, with the latter two being much more intense experience.

Anyway, I could see the appeal of Emira, and it certainly is a great car if one is looking to check certain boxes. For anyone who's interested in the Emira, go to the nearest dealer or ask an owner who's kind enough to let you drive one. Journalists and reviews can only tell you so much. No reviewer has mentioned there is a power dip in these 981 cars, but then everyone became a gearing specialist when the Evo video first introduced the 981 GT4 with that comment with AP before anyone else has even driven the car. Before that launch video ... journalists rarely commented about the tall gearing in previous cars, but after that ... everyone mentioned it. Point is, go drive the cars if you really want to make the comparison or even just to know about the cars. People have different preferences, and they drive these cars in different conditions with different needs. It really boils down to personal preference. Both cars get a lot of hypes and rightfully so.

Anyway, enough rambling ...

vantage

I drove the Emira as well, thought it was a nice car, but I felt confused by it. In some ways it's a more comfortable every day car than the GT4. In other ways it's less practical and quality than a GT4. So it is sort of caught between personalities. I think they should come out with an Emira S or something that is more hardcore. Agree on a lot of your observations about the shifter and brakes.

PS: For God sakes man, get new tires for your GT4!

1FSTREX

Great read. I am a previous Exige S owner and absolutely loved it. I am excited to get into my GT4 and see how they compare.

skl

Interesting reading. I had an Elise for a few years and wish I had kept it. It was like buying a new 914, and obviously I like 914’s as I’ve had mine for over 52 years. The new Lotuses are intriguing. and you definitely won’t see yourself coming and going. It seems like every other car on the road in North Scottsdale is a Porsche.

colnagoG60

Thanks for the write up!

Just a heads up though, even though the "treads" may look good, you want to change out tires about every 5-6 year sor so, due them hardening over time. 8+ years on the same tires is not good for you, nor anyone around you.

KingSize.Hamster

lol yes. I need to get new tires

fast_driver

Emira vs GT4
hydraulic vs electric steering
aluminum spacetube vs steel monocoque frame
double wishbone vs strut suspension
supercar vs ordinary looks
bespoke design vs parts bin exercise

∴ emira = superior

'nuff said

Jay9722

Maybe. I have owned both a 21 Evora GT and every Spyder variant and I sold the Evora and came back to Porsche with a 23 Spyder and don’t think it’s that simple. Unless the build quality at Lotus has changed significantly since the Evora GT I would choose my 718 every single time. All of the things you pointed out are pretty spot on but when you pay over $100k for a car and niggling little quality issues ruin your overall ownership experience it’s hard to stay positive. My bespoke built Lotus spent more time at the dealership than in my garage because of quality control issues. I don’t think the Emira has enough improvements over the Evora to put it ahead of a GT4. I think a one year long term test of the two cars would change a lot of minds. I get that the Emira is not the Evora but the similarities are undeniable. However, knowing all this about the Lotus, I would like to have a clean, pre owned one in my garage next to my Spyder.

vantage

I don't know how someone can attempt to call the GT4 a parts bin exercise in a negative way, when the Emira uses an engine from Toyota and essentially recycles the Evora chassis. Regardless, the final product is what matters.

Emira is a cool car for sure though. And you'd rather have a Toyota engine in it for reliability than something made bespoke by Lotus. I will consider going back to Lotus if the iron out the issues with this car and make a more focused version.

Denny Swift

I read this far:

“After spending a bit of time on a brief test drive in a new Emira on less-than-perfect street conditions, I would just like to lay my thoughts out in words. There is zero track driving involved, nor did the drive involve breaking legal speed limits that could have brought anyone into a jail cell.

This is by no means a comprehensive review. I have very little understanding of the Lotus history and/or engineering, and may have some of the information completely wrong down below.”

kwikit356

I have no overall data on the Toyota engine in any Lotus, except an anecdotal story about the wisdom of buying an Evora: prospective purchaser asks the Lotus Sales Advisor what he thinks about the car. SA says to him, "Instead of buying that, just come in here once a month, give me $400, and I'll kick you in the *****. You'll be a lot happier." I still cannot help lusting after the Emira, even though thanks to 'Nam I have only one ball left.

DriverDaily

I was seriously considering an Emira. But 10 minutes of reading ownership experiences on EmiraForum was enough to convince me to never touch an early production version.

Maybe in a few years they will have the issues sorted and it won’t be short 30hp compared to the Evora for no good reason.

Le Petit Garage

I'm really excited for the Emira, I hope it brings some competition in the 6MT Mid engine arena which is currently only occupied by the Boxster/Cayman.

Its been probably a decade since I last drove a lotus (Evora), would love to have a go in an Emira... you know for science

robotvoice

Nice write-up and a lot of what you said seems to echo other reviews I've seen. I think Lotus really knocked it out of the park with the styling. I can't wait to see one of these in person. It's a shame that it seems like it will be years before this car really will have a chance to take off here in the US with so many production set backs and supply chain issues that Lotus has been facing.

KingSize.Hamster

Both cars are great in their own ways

The Cayman is a car I need to think about what's not great about it
The Emira is a car I need to think about what's great about it

I felt I was driving the Lotus, while I felt I was wearing the Porsche.