Lotus Emeya 450kW 102kWh 4dr Auto

Ten Second Review

The Emeya is another different kind of luxury Lotus EV, a Taycan-style four-door luxury GT with dramatic pace and a rather unique feel, inside and out. Whether Colin Chapman would have liked it is debatable but you might.

Background

Lotus is a different brand these days. And so are the cars it makes. There's still a combustion Emira sports car. And there might in future be a replacement Elise roadster. But only if the company's new generation of huge, Chinese-built luxury electric vehicles sell - and sell well. The 'Electric Premium Architecture' that supports these has already yielded us one model, these days Lotus's bestseller, the Eletre SUV. Now here's another, the Emeya. This is a four-door GT, generally pitched from just over the six-figure price point and targeted at well-established luxury GT EVs like Porsche's Taycan, the Audi e-tron GT and the Tesla Model S. It's certainly an international product, designed in Coventry, dynamically developed in Frankfurt and screwed together in Wuhan. But is it recognisably a Lotus? It's take a look.

Driving Experience

The Emeya may be prodigiously heavy but it's also extremely fast. All versions use a dual motor powertrain linked to a 2-speed gearbox assembly on the back axle and a big 102kWh nickel-manganese-cobalt battery pack. With the Emeya and Emeya S models, that means 603bhp and a decent 379 mile range with the standard model - or 336 miles with the S. Rest to 62mph with these two mainstream variants is just 4.2s away once you engage launch control. If that's somehow not enough, there's the top Emeya R, which adds an extra motor on the back axle to up output to a frankly manic 905bhp; which means a Ferrari-slaying 0-62mph time of just 2.8s. Top speed rises fractionally over the S - to 156mph. And range falls to 270 miles. Given a kerb weight comparable to three Series 1 Elises, you might think all that power would be needed if the Emeya is to fulfil its Taycan Turbo ambitions. But it's been signed off at the Nurburgring Nordschliefe by the same people who brought you the Emira sports car (step forward Gavan Kershaw and team), who know that if the Emeya doesn't sell, there won't be an Emira replacement. So compared to a Taycan, steering and ride get a more involving tune, the latter an all-round multi-link suspension dual-chamber air-sprung setup. For a supple ride, you'll need to keep the car in its default 'Tour' drive mode. Switching to 'Track' unsettles things considerably. The top R version adds rear-wheel steering and active anti-roll bars, neither of which you might feel are absolutely necessary. There's talk of a base rear wheel-driven version appearing later in the production run. Across the line-up, active aero bodywork boosts downforce when you need it - and drive range when you don't. Surprisingly, there's no provided EV drive sound. Lotus, it seems, doesn't believe in this kind of thing and you can imagine that Colin Chapman wouldn't have had much time for it either.

Design and Build

Underneath the Emeya's elegant, swept-back German design is most of the hardware used by the brand's Eletre SUV, though Lotus has had to adapt this quite a bit to fit with this GT model's lower-slung stance. The Geely EPA platform is the same, but the battery cells that sit on top of it have been repackaged, the designers making the casing 20mm thinner and relocating the cooling plates to the sides, rather than underneath. Some might find the exterior looks divisive; the slanting insectoid-style front end; the kamm-style tail with its full-width light bar. But it makes a statement, which is what a car in this segment needs to do. Wheel options range from 20 to 21-inches. Your perception inside at the wheel will depend on whether you've previously tried an Eletre, with which this car shares much of its cabin design. If you haven't, then the spacious luxury on offer here will come as a very pleasant surprise. You'd be happy switching to it from a Taycan or an EQS. The transmission selector and belt line are high-set, to give you the feeling of being embedded in the car - you're actually 70mm nearer the ground than in an Eletre. As usual in this era, a huge central touchscreen dominates - in this case 15.1-inches in size. Unfortunately, all the instrument cluster information must be compressed into a narrow letterbox-shaped display. But there's proper luxury here. The real Alcantara trim and carbon fibre switchgear is classy, there's a lovely mix of woven fabrics and leather, the seats are brilliant and build quality from the Wuhan factory seems to be as good as the Teutonic competition. Surprisingly, the Emeya has a lengthier wheelbase than the Eletre (by 60mm), which means excellent rear seat space; there's a choice of two or three-seat rear lay-outs. A low centre tunnel makes the latter feasible. The boot isn't as large as the 5,139mm body length leads you to expect, rated at 509-litres. It would be bigger were it not for the fact that the top R model's back axle motor and 2-speed gearbox assembly must be accommodated.

Market and Model

Prices are very similar to those of the Eletre SUV. They start at £89,500 for the base Emeya model, but you'll probably want to stretch at least to the mid-level Emeta S, which prices from around £102,000. The top Eletre R costs around £130,000. With both the two top variants, you'll be offered the optional 'Lotus Dynamic Handling Pack' for a sharper driving feel. This includes intelligent anti-roll control and active rear-wheel steering. There's also an 'Active Aero Pack'. Standard equipment includes 20-inch wheels, with a range of 21-inch rims additionally available. There's an optional Carbon pack for the exterior. For inside, there's a choice of either four or five-seat configurations with a choice of nappa or vegan leather upholstery. With the five-seat set-up, you can specify an optional 'Comfort Seat Pack', which includes massaging rear seats and for the front seats includes ventilation, heating, a 2-way cushion extension, 2-way head rests and 4-way side bolsters. You're going to want the 'Intelligent Glass Roof'. And the 'Touring Pack' includes soft-close doors, a hands-free tailgate, illuminated side sills and configurable ambient lighting. You can also add side cameras, a 'Parking Pack' and a tow bar. If you want autonomous driving aids, you'll be offered the 'Highway Assist Pack'.

Cost of Ownership

Lotus says the Emeya can charge from 10 to 80% in 14 minutes, but that's based on use of a 400kW charger and at the time of this car's launch, there weren't actually any of those yet in the UK. Quick charging is a result of an advanced cell-to-pack battery structure which Lotus claims allows 20% more cells to fit in the same space than with a standard modular architecture. The Emeya has a newer cooling system then the Eletre and can charge its 112kWh battery (102kWh usable) at a 331kW average speed. Helping with long journey DC charging is a clever navigation system that will chain together charging stations, re-routing if a location becomes occupied. You might still think though, that a 100-litre fuel tank might be more convenient - and we wouldn't disagree. The charging port has been placed on the front wing, which means electricity coming through to the car will be as close as possible to where it's needed, which cuts down on unnecessary internal cabling and the extra weight that would bring. Forget overnight home charges though - from a typical 7.4kW garage wallbox anyway, which needs around 17 hours for a full charge. A five year warranty is standard in the UK. Lotus offers roadside assistance across Europe for five years after vehicle purchase.

Summary

If this car wasn't badged as a 'Lotus', it would be so much easier to approach it without preconceptions. But it is and we must. Vast numbers of those who love the brand are going to be put off by the fact that this GT is electric and weighs two and a half tonnes. But, by and large, they're not the people the Emeya is targeted at. To survive, Lotus needs a new audience, people who want the kind of practical, luxurious, well assembled and technologically current model that Lotus as it was could never conceivably have built on its own. Like its Eletre SUV showroom stablemate, the Emeya provides just that. As some writers have observed, the design ethos is more spa break than Spa-Francorchamps, but at the same time, there are also hints here of the kind of handling character that most Teutonic rivals just don't have. We'd like to see a lighter, more affordable single motor rear-driven version later in the production run. By which point Lotus will probably be a brand perceived quite differently. Hopefully though, its products will still be just that little bit uniquely 'Lotus'. As this one is.