Emira - Drove it - loved it
Discussion
Had my test drive yesterday at Bell and Colvill.
Nimbus grey
Red leather
Manual
Touring
Goodyear tyres
Weather was damp / greasy and rather cold.
Car was well run in with 5,000 miles
30 min test drive on a mix of roads, no restrictions on revs nor how I drove
Looks
- simply epic, I have switched blue to green to grey and think grey really shows off the lines
Interior
- clean, good quality, simple
- seats - comfortable, didn’t notice them to be honest (must be good) - I am 5ft 9 and 13.5st with size 10 feet, shorter legs (I am not a hobbit!)
- stereo - sounds pretty good to me
- good view front and rear
- useful space behind you, 2x cabin bags would fit
Pedals / gearbox
- slightly offset pedals, but no issues for me
- gear change nice and notchy, took a little to get used to but second nature after 15 mins
- clutch is a good weight, certainly not heavy
Power
- linear with an increasing urgency above 4,000
- earlier test drives would not have given any sense of occasion in my view with a rev cap
- sounds great from the outside, less exhaust note and more transmission noise on the inside (probably the biggest “negative” for me)
- overall a relatively flexible engine that enjoys being revved with enough grunt for the road
Brakes
- felt great with good feel, didn’t really get to test them
Handling / ride
- steering incredibly direct
- didn’t notice any understeer (but you shouldn’t be at that level on the road to be honest), tight turn with a bit of power gave a slight front end slip but the roads were very greasy. Back end felt rock solid
- excellent ride over mixed surfaces inc pot holes
- feels small
In summary, I really liked it: it feels special and great at road legal speeds. I have zero interest in a cayman (done the 911 thing) so don’t care how they compare, Alpine just doesn’t do it for me for some reason (looks, engine) but fair play to anyone who has one. So it’s in a league of its own really for me and just a case of if I want it.
Anecdotally my chaperone said very few cancellations and it has been totally reliable aside from a tyre pressure warning light.
I strongly advise those that have read some of the earlier less glowing reviews (comparing it to GT4 RS etc) to go drive one before you say it’s a missed opportunity, poor turn in / understeer, terrible gear box, awful seats etc….I found none of these to be true.
Overall my experience chimed well with Harry’s Garage video and I am 100% staying in.
Some filthy car porn
Nimbus grey
Red leather
Manual
Touring
Goodyear tyres
Weather was damp / greasy and rather cold.
Car was well run in with 5,000 miles
30 min test drive on a mix of roads, no restrictions on revs nor how I drove
Looks
- simply epic, I have switched blue to green to grey and think grey really shows off the lines
Interior
- clean, good quality, simple
- seats - comfortable, didn’t notice them to be honest (must be good) - I am 5ft 9 and 13.5st with size 10 feet, shorter legs (I am not a hobbit!)
- stereo - sounds pretty good to me
- good view front and rear
- useful space behind you, 2x cabin bags would fit
Pedals / gearbox
- slightly offset pedals, but no issues for me
- gear change nice and notchy, took a little to get used to but second nature after 15 mins
- clutch is a good weight, certainly not heavy
Power
- linear with an increasing urgency above 4,000
- earlier test drives would not have given any sense of occasion in my view with a rev cap
- sounds great from the outside, less exhaust note and more transmission noise on the inside (probably the biggest “negative” for me)
- overall a relatively flexible engine that enjoys being revved with enough grunt for the road
Brakes
- felt great with good feel, didn’t really get to test them
Handling / ride
- steering incredibly direct
- didn’t notice any understeer (but you shouldn’t be at that level on the road to be honest), tight turn with a bit of power gave a slight front end slip but the roads were very greasy. Back end felt rock solid
- excellent ride over mixed surfaces inc pot holes
- feels small
In summary, I really liked it: it feels special and great at road legal speeds. I have zero interest in a cayman (done the 911 thing) so don’t care how they compare, Alpine just doesn’t do it for me for some reason (looks, engine) but fair play to anyone who has one. So it’s in a league of its own really for me and just a case of if I want it.
Anecdotally my chaperone said very few cancellations and it has been totally reliable aside from a tyre pressure warning light.
I strongly advise those that have read some of the earlier less glowing reviews (comparing it to GT4 RS etc) to go drive one before you say it’s a missed opportunity, poor turn in / understeer, terrible gear box, awful seats etc….I found none of these to be true.
Overall my experience chimed well with Harry’s Garage video and I am 100% staying in.
Some filthy car porn
Edited by vanman1936 on Wednesday 25th January 22:45
TrotCanterGallopCharge said:
Thanks for posting.
I had a '13 plate Evora S, the Emira looks far better, & was the car the Evora should have been all along. They'd have sold lots more if it had looked like that.
That'll be down to the tens of extra millions spent on this (and having a chassis already ready)I had a '13 plate Evora S, the Emira looks far better, & was the car the Evora should have been all along. They'd have sold lots more if it had looked like that.
vanman1936 said:
Had my test drive yesterday at Bell and Colvill.
Nimbus grey
Red leather
Manual
Touring
Goodyear tyres
Weather was damp / greasy and rather cold.
Car was well run in with 5,000 miles
30 min test drive on a mix of roads, no restrictions on revs nor how I drove
Looks
- simply epic, I have switched blue to green to grey and think grey really shows off the lines
Interior
- clean, good quality, simple
- seats - comfortable, didn’t notice them to be honest (must be good) - I am 5ft 9 and 13.5st with size 10 feet, shorter legs (I am not a hobbit!)
- stereo - sounds pretty good to me
- good view front and rear
- useful space behind you, 2x cabin bags would fit
Pedals / gearbox
- slightly offset pedals, but no issues for me
- gear change nice and notchy, took a little to get used to but second nature after 15 mins
- clutch is a good weight, certainly not heavy
Power
- linear with an increasing urgency above 4,000
- earlier test drives would not have given any sense of occasion in my view with a rev cap
- sounds great from the outside, less exhaust note and more transmission noise on the inside (probably the biggest “negative” for me)
- overall a relatively flexible engine that enjoys being revved with enough grunt for the road
Brakes
- felt great with good feel, didn’t really get to test them
Handling / ride
- steering incredibly direct
- didn’t notice any understeer (but you shouldn’t be at that level on the road to be honest), tight turn with a bit of power gave a slight front end slip but the roads were very greasy. Back end felt rock solid
- excellent ride over mixed surfaces inc pot holes
- feels small
In summary, I really liked it: it feels special and great at road legal speeds. I have zero interest in a cayman (done the 911 thing) so don’t care how they compare, Alpine just doesn’t do it for me for some reason (looks, engine) but fair play to anyone who has one. So it’s in a league of its own really for me and just a case of if I want it.
Anecdotally my chaperone said very few cancellations and it has been totally reliable aside from a tyre pressure warning light.
I strongly advise those that have read some of the earlier less glowing reviews (comparing it to GT4 RS etc) to go drive one before you say it’s a missed opportunity, poor turn in / understeer, terrible gear box, awful seats etc….I found none of these to be true.
Overall my experience chimed well with Harry’s Garage video and I am 100% staying in.
Some filthy car porn
Nice post . Nimbus grey
Red leather
Manual
Touring
Goodyear tyres
Weather was damp / greasy and rather cold.
Car was well run in with 5,000 miles
30 min test drive on a mix of roads, no restrictions on revs nor how I drove
Looks
- simply epic, I have switched blue to green to grey and think grey really shows off the lines
Interior
- clean, good quality, simple
- seats - comfortable, didn’t notice them to be honest (must be good) - I am 5ft 9 and 13.5st with size 10 feet, shorter legs (I am not a hobbit!)
- stereo - sounds pretty good to me
- good view front and rear
- useful space behind you, 2x cabin bags would fit
Pedals / gearbox
- slightly offset pedals, but no issues for me
- gear change nice and notchy, took a little to get used to but second nature after 15 mins
- clutch is a good weight, certainly not heavy
Power
- linear with an increasing urgency above 4,000
- earlier test drives would not have given any sense of occasion in my view with a rev cap
- sounds great from the outside, less exhaust note and more transmission noise on the inside (probably the biggest “negative” for me)
- overall a relatively flexible engine that enjoys being revved with enough grunt for the road
Brakes
- felt great with good feel, didn’t really get to test them
Handling / ride
- steering incredibly direct
- didn’t notice any understeer (but you shouldn’t be at that level on the road to be honest), tight turn with a bit of power gave a slight front end slip but the roads were very greasy. Back end felt rock solid
- excellent ride over mixed surfaces inc pot holes
- feels small
In summary, I really liked it: it feels special and great at road legal speeds. I have zero interest in a cayman (done the 911 thing) so don’t care how they compare, Alpine just doesn’t do it for me for some reason (looks, engine) but fair play to anyone who has one. So it’s in a league of its own really for me and just a case of if I want it.
Anecdotally my chaperone said very few cancellations and it has been totally reliable aside from a tyre pressure warning light.
I strongly advise those that have read some of the earlier less glowing reviews (comparing it to GT4 RS etc) to go drive one before you say it’s a missed opportunity, poor turn in / understeer, terrible gear box, awful seats etc….I found none of these to be true.
Overall my experience chimed well with Harry’s Garage video and I am 100% staying in.
Some filthy car porn
Edited by vanman1936 on Wednesday 25th January 22:45
I love the look of the car but struggle to get my head round an everyday lotus . Wrong of me i know but having owned an Exige S2 I just love the Exige purposefully looking shape.
I wonder what would be better on track
I drove the same car a few weeks before. Unfortunately someone had managed to hit a bollard at the entrance to Bell & Colvill a few days before, making a mess of the passenger side of the car, which didn't enhance the looks! That's why you would have used the roundabout side of the garage for coming in and out, as there aren't any bollards there....
Mine is also specced in Nimbus, although tan inside, rather than the red.
I thought it was a fantastic drive. I bought my 991.2 Carrera T along, for comparison, as they are about the same power output, and sort of the same price point. The throttle response on the Lotus is so much better, as it doesn't have turbos to spool up - it just picks up instantly. Just the right amount of power for the road in my view - it's just brilliant to thread around country roads and feels much more involving at road-legal speeds than the Porsche. The Porsche feels faster, but the Lotus is more enjoyable, perhaps because it feels a little less planted on the road and the steering is so chatty. It feels closer to a Cayman than a 911, which is meant to be a complement. The steering was, as ever, Lotus fantastic, but I did manage to find a little understeer on the way into a couple of tighter corners (it was cold and a bit damp). The interior is obviously a huge improvement on previous Lotuses, but it doesn't really compare to the 911, which feels in another league. The only real letdown for me was the whole engine-on-display thing. Once the boot is open, you see that the engine is surrounded by really cheap-looking, thin moulded plastic, which flexes and looks like it won't last very long. It seems like an odd decision to put it all on display and then make it look rubbish. Plus my OCD was twitching at the asymmetry of how the engine sits in the rear window frame, but I accept that's not really something they can do anything about......
Overall I think they've nailed the brief. It still feels like a Lotus. But it's civilised and comfortable and looks amazing.
ph
Mine is also specced in Nimbus, although tan inside, rather than the red.
I thought it was a fantastic drive. I bought my 991.2 Carrera T along, for comparison, as they are about the same power output, and sort of the same price point. The throttle response on the Lotus is so much better, as it doesn't have turbos to spool up - it just picks up instantly. Just the right amount of power for the road in my view - it's just brilliant to thread around country roads and feels much more involving at road-legal speeds than the Porsche. The Porsche feels faster, but the Lotus is more enjoyable, perhaps because it feels a little less planted on the road and the steering is so chatty. It feels closer to a Cayman than a 911, which is meant to be a complement. The steering was, as ever, Lotus fantastic, but I did manage to find a little understeer on the way into a couple of tighter corners (it was cold and a bit damp). The interior is obviously a huge improvement on previous Lotuses, but it doesn't really compare to the 911, which feels in another league. The only real letdown for me was the whole engine-on-display thing. Once the boot is open, you see that the engine is surrounded by really cheap-looking, thin moulded plastic, which flexes and looks like it won't last very long. It seems like an odd decision to put it all on display and then make it look rubbish. Plus my OCD was twitching at the asymmetry of how the engine sits in the rear window frame, but I accept that's not really something they can do anything about......
Overall I think they've nailed the brief. It still feels like a Lotus. But it's civilised and comfortable and looks amazing.
ph
Frimley111R said:
TrotCanterGallopCharge said:
Thanks for posting.
I had a '13 plate Evora S, the Emira looks far better, & was the car the Evora should have been all along. They'd have sold lots more if it had looked like that.
That'll be down to the tens of extra millions spent on this (and having a chassis already ready)I had a '13 plate Evora S, the Emira looks far better, & was the car the Evora should have been all along. They'd have sold lots more if it had looked like that.
PorkerHam said:
I drove the same car a few weeks before. Unfortunately someone had managed to hit a bollard at the entrance to Bell & Colvill a few days before, making a mess of the passenger side of the car, which didn't enhance the looks! That's why you would have used the roundabout side of the garage for coming in and out, as there aren't any bollards there....
Mine is also specced in Nimbus, although tan inside, rather than the red.
I thought it was a fantastic drive. I bought my 991.2 Carrera T along, for comparison, as they are about the same power output, and sort of the same price point. The throttle response on the Lotus is so much better, as it doesn't have turbos to spool up - it just picks up instantly. Just the right amount of power for the road in my view - it's just brilliant to thread around country roads and feels much more involving at road-legal speeds than the Porsche. The Porsche feels faster, but the Lotus is more enjoyable, perhaps because it feels a little less planted on the road and the steering is so chatty. It feels closer to a Cayman than a 911, which is meant to be a complement. The steering was, as ever, Lotus fantastic, but I did manage to find a little understeer on the way into a couple of tighter corners (it was cold and a bit damp). The interior is obviously a huge improvement on previous Lotuses, but it doesn't really compare to the 911, which feels in another league. The only real letdown for me was the whole engine-on-display thing. Once the boot is open, you see that the engine is surrounded by really cheap-looking, thin moulded plastic, which flexes and looks like it won't last very long. It seems like an odd decision to put it all on display and then make it look rubbish. Plus my OCD was twitching at the asymmetry of how the engine sits in the rear window frame, but I accept that's not really something they can do anything about......
Overall I think they've nailed the brief. It still feels like a Lotus. But it's civilised and comfortable and looks amazing.
ph
I'm literally just back from a mooch around the forecourt and noticed the gaffer tap on the side of the grey Emira. Mine is also specced in Nimbus, although tan inside, rather than the red.
I thought it was a fantastic drive. I bought my 991.2 Carrera T along, for comparison, as they are about the same power output, and sort of the same price point. The throttle response on the Lotus is so much better, as it doesn't have turbos to spool up - it just picks up instantly. Just the right amount of power for the road in my view - it's just brilliant to thread around country roads and feels much more involving at road-legal speeds than the Porsche. The Porsche feels faster, but the Lotus is more enjoyable, perhaps because it feels a little less planted on the road and the steering is so chatty. It feels closer to a Cayman than a 911, which is meant to be a complement. The steering was, as ever, Lotus fantastic, but I did manage to find a little understeer on the way into a couple of tighter corners (it was cold and a bit damp). The interior is obviously a huge improvement on previous Lotuses, but it doesn't really compare to the 911, which feels in another league. The only real letdown for me was the whole engine-on-display thing. Once the boot is open, you see that the engine is surrounded by really cheap-looking, thin moulded plastic, which flexes and looks like it won't last very long. It seems like an odd decision to put it all on display and then make it look rubbish. Plus my OCD was twitching at the asymmetry of how the engine sits in the rear window frame, but I accept that's not really something they can do anything about......
Overall I think they've nailed the brief. It still feels like a Lotus. But it's civilised and comfortable and looks amazing.
ph
That must have been a tad awkward !
They have two nimbus blue cars ( if thats what the colour is called ) in the showroom awaiting collection and i have to say they look stunning.
I think you have to go for a bright colour personally.
The one issue i have is that i look at the orange 430 they have and think thats the lotus i'd go for.
Each to their own i guess
Piginapoke said:
Does the Emira take the Evora chassis, or is it totally new?
Lotus would have us believe that it's all new, but many believe that that is as best stretching the truth. Jayemm noted in his recent vid that the dimensions of the suspension are the same as the Evora and he is very vocal that it is absolutely an Evora chassis with some changes.I'm not sure I'm bothered either way. I think the outcome is that the Emira on Touring settings drives better on the road than the Evora 410 sport I had. I'm really impressed that they have taken the much heavier car on fat wheels and made it dynamically so good!
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