Harry's Garage - YouTube
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Tour and Sport are, I think, deliberately ambiguous. I think Lotus would not have wanted to call one car a Road version and the other Track as it would imply that the Road product is a bit rubbish on a track, and vice versa. It’s a fine line to walk in the marketing.
Toyota using “Circuit” and not calling the standard car anything was a clever move. Though seems almost everyone bought a Circuit when they might have preferred the standard car for road use.
Toyota using “Circuit” and not calling the standard car anything was a clever move. Though seems almost everyone bought a Circuit when they might have preferred the standard car for road use.
F20CN16 said:
Tour and Sport are, I think, deliberately ambiguous. I think Lotus would not have wanted to call one car a Road version and the other Track as it would imply that the Road product is a bit rubbish on a track, and vice versa. It’s a fine line to walk in the marketing.
Toyota using “Circuit” and not calling the standard car anything was a clever move. Though seems almost everyone bought a Circuit when they might have preferred the standard car for road use.
Good analogy.Toyota using “Circuit” and not calling the standard car anything was a clever move. Though seems almost everyone bought a Circuit when they might have preferred the standard car for road use.
The Yaris in circuit pack only really had the slippy diffs and I think I would ideally want them in the perfect fast road spec. It was a shame that the Yaris lost other options with the circuit pack though such as heated front seats which I love in a car. In reality I doubt you do need the slippy diffs in a 4wd road car unless you are in snow or REALLY on it on a wet and slippery road.
Demhcs said:
otolith said:
Top Gear put the A110S first and the Pork last.
Evo said the Lotus was s
t
Is there another Top Gear review ? I can only find one of an early prototype.Evo said the Lotus was s
tEvo's review is compromised by being track focused but on road tyres.
Looking forward to Catchpole...
RoadRunner220 said:
Demhcs said:
otolith said:
Top Gear put the A110S first and the Pork last.
Evo said the Lotus was st
Is there another Top Gear review ? I can only find one of an early prototype.Evo said the Lotus was s
tEvo's review is compromised by being track focused but on road tyres.
Looking forward to Catchpole...
F20CN16 said:
Tour and Sport are, I think, deliberately ambiguous. I think Lotus would not have wanted to call one car a Road version and the other Track as it would imply that the Road product is a bit rubbish on a track, and vice versa. It’s a fine line to walk in the marketing.
Toyota using “Circuit” and not calling the standard car anything was a clever move. Though seems almost everyone bought a Circuit when they might have preferred the standard car for road use.
I suspect the Tour is all the car many would every want , and would not disgrace on a track. I would also suspect that many would chose 'Sport' because they think it is cooler / faster etc..... Toyota using “Circuit” and not calling the standard car anything was a clever move. Though seems almost everyone bought a Circuit when they might have preferred the standard car for road use.
Wrong choice IMHO
LM240 said:
I’ve really looked forward to seeing the tests of the Emira come out.
It is the first car in a long time that I’d think about swapping from the 987 Boxster Spyder.
Lovely seeing a bit about the sport and touring differences. That spoke volumes.
V6, manual, blue tempting, but I think yellow with black packs and definitely in touring spec would be my spec choice for now.
Not interested in track performance, road is where it is relevant. What percentage of owners actually track any make and model of car? Even bog standard family saloons get rated on how ‘sporty’ they are these days. Bit of a low ball from Evo comparing standard Emira with GT4.
I dearly loved my Elise S2. Bog standard, 118bhp. Washed out with understeer and short on grunt on the track (only time I did track stuff at the ‘ring and Bugatti circuit).. still great fun managing the handling, however on road it is one of the greatest cars I’ve ever driven.
I'm surprised by all the negativity around some of the reviews of the Emira. I think a new challenger to the mighty Porsche Cayman GTS should be celebrated, especially if it's affordable and produced by Lotus. To even get close to beating the Cayman GTS tells you the Emira is pretty special.It is the first car in a long time that I’d think about swapping from the 987 Boxster Spyder.
Lovely seeing a bit about the sport and touring differences. That spoke volumes.
V6, manual, blue tempting, but I think yellow with black packs and definitely in touring spec would be my spec choice for now.
Not interested in track performance, road is where it is relevant. What percentage of owners actually track any make and model of car? Even bog standard family saloons get rated on how ‘sporty’ they are these days. Bit of a low ball from Evo comparing standard Emira with GT4.
I dearly loved my Elise S2. Bog standard, 118bhp. Washed out with understeer and short on grunt on the track (only time I did track stuff at the ‘ring and Bugatti circuit).. still great fun managing the handling, however on road it is one of the greatest cars I’ve ever driven.
As you could probably tell from my review, I genuinely enjoyed my drive in it, maybe I went a little overboard when I drove the Tour version for the first time but that was only because I'd been confused by how the Sport version behaved on my testing bit of B-road, which didn't deal with the road imperfections as I expected a Lotus to do.
The fundamentals of the Emira are excellent but the standout for me was the way the steering wheel gently dances in your hands as you travel down the road, just like the Evora and Elise do. Porsche Caymans don't do that anymore. I also liked the design and the fact there was a youthful exuberance to the drive experience, that's rare in cars today. Alpine A110 is similar but I'd take the Emira over A110 every time because I much prefer the combination of V6 and manual over the 4-pot turbo DCT. I preferred the Emira's packaging too.
Finally, I refuse to test cars on track, as I don't believe that's how we use our cars. Sadly, many media outlets only review cars on track because it makes filming much easier and if a risk assessment form is a requirement of the company you work for, then that forces you to only film cars on track too. I'll stick to my regular on-road test route on Harry's Garage, as it tells me everything I need to know. If I enjoy it there, then I know I'm driving a great car.
NDA said:
M4SER said:
. I'll stick to my regular on-road test route on Harry's Garage, as it tells me everything I need to know. If I enjoy it there, then I know I'm driving a great car.
And that's why I watch the channel!Guffawing presenters drifting around a track tell me nothing.
Harry your post is why I value your reviews over everyone elses - by a considerable margin.
The evo review is embarrassing in comparison, I want an Emira very much, but have no interest in Porsche, evo couldn't allow the video to just be about the Emira.
Touring v Sport would depend heavily on usage, I guess it wouldn't be too hard to retrofit the Touring dampers/geometry?
Your testing b roads are more informative than any track.
The evo review is embarrassing in comparison, I want an Emira very much, but have no interest in Porsche, evo couldn't allow the video to just be about the Emira.
Touring v Sport would depend heavily on usage, I guess it wouldn't be too hard to retrofit the Touring dampers/geometry?
Your testing b roads are more informative than any track.
M4SER said:
Finally, I refuse to test cars on track, as I don't believe that's how we use our cars. Sadly, many media outlets only review cars on track because it makes filming much easier and if a risk assessment form is a requirement of the company you work for, then that forces you to only film cars on track too. I'll stick to my regular on-road test route on Harry's Garage, as it tells me everything I need to know. If I enjoy it there, then I know I'm driving a great car.
It's why I really enjoy your channel - you use the cars on test just the same as I would. The A and B Road drives, the road trips, long weekends away, and tours across Europe - just wish I got to do the last one a bit more often.I could tell how impressed you were with the Emira, I'm very tempted to put an order in for a couple of years time. Especially given I already deal with Bell & Colvill for servicing of the McLaren in Guildford, and get on with them very well.
DuncanM said:
Harry your post is why I value your reviews over everyone elses - by a considerable margin.
The evo review is embarrassing in comparison, I want an Emira very much, but have no interest in Porsche, evo couldn't allow the video to just be about the Emira.
Touring v Sport would depend heavily on usage, I guess it wouldn't be too hard to retrofit the Touring dampers/geometry?
Your testing b roads are more informative than any track.
Porsche make great cars, that's a given, but having great alternatives to choose from too is fantastic news for car enthusiasts. Sticking solely with Porsche is a bit like only choosing steak whenever you go to a restaurant. Life is all about experiences and that's why it's best to experiment with different tastes once in a while. Be it food or cars!The evo review is embarrassing in comparison, I want an Emira very much, but have no interest in Porsche, evo couldn't allow the video to just be about the Emira.
Touring v Sport would depend heavily on usage, I guess it wouldn't be too hard to retrofit the Touring dampers/geometry?
Your testing b roads are more informative than any track.
As for swapping dampers, I think that would be a pain. I can see why they developed the Sports setup but don't think it was labelled very well for customers ordering their cars. I would have called it 'track pack' and only made it available with Cup2 tyres.
Like many others I really enjoyed the Emira review that Harry produced. It was good to see the many improvements made to the interior in particular over the previous offerings, and the more reasonable pricing. As others have noted, Harry did potential buyers a great service with this review by getting to the differences between Touring and Sport choices. The one thing I remain curious about is the Touring's standard spec Goodyear F1 Supersport tires. I'm unfamiliar with these and understand they are fairly new to the market. I don't normally think of Goodyears as being in the same class as Michelins and so that surprised me.
Caddyshack said:
Good analogy.
The Yaris in circuit pack only really had the slippy diffs and I think I would ideally want them in the perfect fast road spec. It was a shame that the Yaris lost other options with the circuit pack though such as heated front seats which I love in a car. In reality I doubt you do need the slippy diffs in a 4wd road car unless you are in snow or REALLY on it on a wet and slippery road.
Diff spec is extremely noticeable in the AWD cars i have driven over the years, even in road use. Just going from a suretrack to helical front, never mind open, makes a big difference. The Yaris in circuit pack only really had the slippy diffs and I think I would ideally want them in the perfect fast road spec. It was a shame that the Yaris lost other options with the circuit pack though such as heated front seats which I love in a car. In reality I doubt you do need the slippy diffs in a 4wd road car unless you are in snow or REALLY on it on a wet and slippery road.
M4SER said:
I'm surprised by all the negativity around some of the reviews of the Emira. I think a new challenger to the mighty Porsche Cayman GTS should be celebrated, especially if it's affordable and produced by Lotus. To even get close to beating the Cayman GTS tells you the Emira is pretty special.
As you could probably tell from my review, I genuinely enjoyed my drive in it, maybe I went a little overboard when I drove the Tour version for the first time but that was only because I'd been confused by how the Sport version behaved on my testing bit of B-road, which didn't deal with the road imperfections as I expected a Lotus to do.
The fundamentals of the Emira are excellent but the standout for me was the way the steering wheel gently dances in your hands as you travel down the road, just like the Evora and Elise do. Porsche Caymans don't do that anymore. I also liked the design and the fact there was a youthful exuberance to the drive experience, that's rare in cars today. Alpine A110 is similar but I'd take the Emira over A110 every time because I much prefer the combination of V6 and manual over the 4-pot turbo DCT. I preferred the Emira's packaging too.
Finally, I refuse to test cars on track, as I don't believe that's how we use our cars. Sadly, many media outlets only review cars on track because it makes filming much easier and if a risk assessment form is a requirement of the company you work for, then that forces you to only film cars on track too. I'll stick to my regular on-road test route on Harry's Garage, as it tells me everything I need to know. If I enjoy it there, then I know I'm driving a great car.
I thought your review had it nailed. It wasn't some muppet trying to go 10/10th around a track, with or without tobacco filters and EDM soundtrack. It was a bloke driving it where 90% of buyers are going to drive it. As you could probably tell from my review, I genuinely enjoyed my drive in it, maybe I went a little overboard when I drove the Tour version for the first time but that was only because I'd been confused by how the Sport version behaved on my testing bit of B-road, which didn't deal with the road imperfections as I expected a Lotus to do.
The fundamentals of the Emira are excellent but the standout for me was the way the steering wheel gently dances in your hands as you travel down the road, just like the Evora and Elise do. Porsche Caymans don't do that anymore. I also liked the design and the fact there was a youthful exuberance to the drive experience, that's rare in cars today. Alpine A110 is similar but I'd take the Emira over A110 every time because I much prefer the combination of V6 and manual over the 4-pot turbo DCT. I preferred the Emira's packaging too.
Finally, I refuse to test cars on track, as I don't believe that's how we use our cars. Sadly, many media outlets only review cars on track because it makes filming much easier and if a risk assessment form is a requirement of the company you work for, then that forces you to only film cars on track too. I'll stick to my regular on-road test route on Harry's Garage, as it tells me everything I need to know. If I enjoy it there, then I know I'm driving a great car.
The Cayman is indeed a superb car, but it's not the only car. The Lotus has stunning looks, the cabin is fine and it appears to handle well, especially in touring mode.
It has one thing that the Cayman does not have and that is drama, at least to look at. The Cayman has the house style of Porsche. It's attractive but a little generic. The Lotus is a real sense of occasion.
What could you drive for £70k that looks anything like it? A 12C, with potential trips to Thorney? A leggy ex hire 570S? Nothing that I can think of.
It's an admirable piece of work. Uses a trusted, reliable drivetrain, handles exceptionally well, has a comfortable cabin, looks like it should cost 3 times as much and would be a great tourer.
Edit: typoez
M4SER said:
Porsche make great cars, that's a given, but having great alternatives to choose from too is fantastic news for car enthusiasts. Sticking solely with Porsche is a bit like only choosing steak whenever you go to a restaurant. Life is all about experiences and that's why it's best to experiment with different tastes once in a while. Be it food or cars!
As for swapping dampers, I think that would be a pain. I can see why they developed the Sports setup but don't think it was labelled very well for customers ordering their cars. I would have called it 'track pack' and only made it available with Cup2 tyres.
This is my problem with evo, they are telling us what we already know, you'd have to live under a very big rock to not know how great the GT4 is. As for swapping dampers, I think that would be a pain. I can see why they developed the Sports setup but don't think it was labelled very well for customers ordering their cars. I would have called it 'track pack' and only made it available with Cup2 tyres.
The Emira excites me more than any recent car, realistically priced not like the Maserati, and finally a real looker (I like the Evora but it never nailed the looks for me).
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