Skip advert
Advertisement
In-depth reviews

Lotus Emira review

The new Emira isn’t a game-changer, but it’s attractive, good to drive, and better-built than any Lotus before it

Overall Auto Express Rating

4.0 out of 5

Price
£84,405 to £91,650
  • Supercar styling
  • Quality cabin
  • Fluid chassis
  • Loses precision at the limit
  • So-so practicality
  • Average gearshift
Find your Lotus Emira
Offers from our trusted partners on this car and its predecessors...
Hassle-free way to a brand new car
Or are you looking to sell your car?
Customers got an average £1000 more vs part exchange quotes
Advertisement

The last combustion Lotus isn’t perfect, but it’s made significant strides over its predecessors in terms of quality, equipment and refinement. It’s still great to drive too, though in making the Emira a better all-rounder than the outgoing Evora, some drivers might be disappointed that Lotus hasn’t made it just a little lighter and a little more raw.

Advertisement - Article continues below

Still, sleek and almost supercar-like styling, a pleasant cabin environment, and the option of a rowdy four-cylinder AMG engine to kick off the range should find the car plenty of fans, and Lotus is sure to offer variations in future that make the car more capable on track and satisfy customers trading up from Elises and Exiges.

About the Lotus Emira

There’s no such thing as an unimportant car for the Lotus brand, but as the firm’s last internal combustion sports car, the Lotus Emira has plenty of heritage to live up to, and will wave the flag for petrol power as electric models like the Evija hypercar and Eletre SUV spring up around it.

Replacing the long-running Evora, the Emira does carry over some of its predecessor’s technology, but it’s overall a more sophisticated and exotic car. It’s a heavier one too, at more than 1,400kg, but for the first time, also offers two distinctly different powertrains, each mid-mounted and sending their power to the rear wheels alone.

Skip advert
Advertisement
Skip advert
Advertisement - Article continues below

Available only in a two-door coupe body style, the Emira is available with 2.0-litre four-cylinder AMG power, and with a development of the old 3.5-litre Toyota supercharged V6. The former is attached to AMG’s 8-speed dual-clutch automatic, while the V6 can be directed by either a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic. The AMG engine produces 360bhp, while the V6 makes 400bhp – and gives the top Emira a 180mph top speed.

At launch the Emira is available only in First Edition trim, but other variants are sure to follow once these launch models have all been delivered. There’s a wide choice of colours though, as well as Touring and Sports chassis tuning options, different interior hues, several wheel designs, and a handful of other options. It’s not quite Porsche Cayman levels of personalisation, but it’s less prescriptive than Lotus models of old, and supports the Emira’s higher levels of quality and the premium feel than goes beyond any previous Lotus.

That Porsche Cayman is the Emira’s main rival, itself spanning everything from a 2-litre turbocharged flat four to the screaming 4-litre naturally-aspirated GT4 RS. Rivals don’t come much tougher in any class, but the Emira is arguably closer than ever to its Stuttgart rival. At the lower levels of the Emira range, Alpine’s A110 could be a consideration – and it’s the only car in the class you could still call genuinely lightweight, undercutting the Emira by more than a third of a tonne.

For an alternative review of the Lotus Emira, visit our sister site carbuyer.co.uk...

Skip advert
Advertisement
Skip advert
Advertisement

More on Emira

Car Deal of the Day: breathtaking Lotus Emira V6 for £45k and an I.O.U.
Lotus Emira - driving
News
15 Mar 2024

Car Deal of the Day: breathtaking Lotus Emira V6 for £45k and an I.O.U.

Our Deal of the Day for 15 March is a half-now, half-later plan for the last-ever petrol-powered Lotus sports car
New Lotus Emira i4 2023 review
Lotus Emira i4 - front
Road tests
7 Aug 2023

New Lotus Emira i4 2023 review

We get behind the wheel of the last combustion Lotus ever. Is the new 4-cylinder Emira a worthy send-off?
New Lotus Emira: Mercedes-AMG four-cylinder version to debut at Goodwood
Lotus Emira - Shadow Grey
News
10 Jul 2023

New Lotus Emira: Mercedes-AMG four-cylinder version to debut at Goodwood

The Emira range will double in size with the arrival of a turbocharged variant courtesy of Mercedes-AMG
New Lotus Emira V6 First Edition review
Lotus Emira - front
Road tests
7 Jun 2022

New Lotus Emira V6 First Edition review

We hit road and track in the new Lotus Emira - the model that redefines the brand as a sports car maker
New Lotus Emira driven: first review by Jenson Button
Lotus Emira - front
News
14 Jul 2021

New Lotus Emira driven: first review by Jenson Button

2009 Formula One world champion Jenson Button gives us his verdict on the new Lotus Emira