2024 Lotus Emira Review
Words: Peter Anderson
Images: Blake Currall and Matt Garrard
Co-pilot: Mark Dewar
Lotus has had many owners, some consequential, others just treading water. In the Before Times (2017), Chinese automotive giant Geely – still not yet really a household name outside of China – added Lotus to its group of brands. I'm going to tell you a story but the summary is that Geely's ownership of Lotus is definitely consequential.
Geely has form for buying brands from companies who don't know what they're doing. Its first major acquisition outside of its homeland was Volvo. Ford had not done a great job with any of the brands in the ill-fated Premier Automotive Group, surrendering the Swedish carmaker for US$1.8bn in 2010, less than half of its purchase price in 1999 of nearly US$5bn.
Since Geely's purchase, Volvo has taken flight and is now making the best cars since its 1960s heyday.
The Lotus story is a lot more wobbly. Started by Colin Chapman in a garage (like, actually in a garage, not like these stupid creation myths of tech companies), the iconic Seven launched the brand to the world. It wasn't the first Lotus but it arguably remains the most famous.
Perhaps more accurately, the Seven launched to a bunch of lunatic English gentry with a taste for danger. Lotus started winning stuff all over the place in motorsport and the road car division grew alongside it.
A global recession and Chapman's untimely death in 1982 aged just 54 sent both the race and road car teams into a spiral. A bit of a turnaround sparked some hope with a new chairman but eventually, the business was sold to General Motors in 1985.
GM didn't really know what to do with it having assumed complete control in 1986, then selling it on to a company controlled by mercurial Italian entrepreneur Romano Artioli.
Under his inevitably chaotic three-year rule the Lotus Elise was born, as was his granddaughter from which the revolutionary new car took its name. Malaysia's DRB Hicom (owner of Proton Motors) then bought the company from Artioli who basically vanished from view after his Lotus and Bugatti forays.
Proton used the Lotus badge on a Satria GTi hatchback but like GM before it, didn't really know what to do with it. Lotus remained underfunded but punched well above its weight with endless tweaks to the Elise and the creation of the Exige, the Europa and Evora.
Then in 2017, a complicated deal saw Geely take a controlling stake in Lotus and duly chucked a bunch of money at it. Out popped the Evija electric hypercar, two new EVs and in between all of that, a new sports car the Emira.
When it arrived we were told this was the Last of the Line of petrol-powered Lotus sports cars. I bloody hope not.
How much is 2024 Lotus Emira and what do I get?
Lotus Emira I4 First Edition: $199,990
Lotus Emira V6 First Edition manual: $209,990
Lotus Emira V6 First Edition automatic: $213,990
The inline four-cylinder First Edition is the entry-level and represents a fairly decent price rise over the Evora. It sort of replaces both the Evora and the Elise but nothing can really replace the Elise. That car was its own thing and will forever be a gem.
First Editions feature a bunch of stuff over the standard cars which are starting to filter through and this particular car was around $206,000. Non First Edition cars are coming and will settle in the upper reaches of the $100k mark – as in closer to $200k – but unlikely to be a significant rise over the final Evora, which is nice.
In the First Edition you get a choice of Sport and Touring chassis as a no-cost option as well as a string of free cosmetic choices like paint, leather and brake caliper colours. And lots of First Edition bling.
This car was the Sport chassis. I have driven an Emira briefly on the Touring chassis as well.
Also along for the ride are 20-inch wheels shod with Goodyear Eagle F1 tyres, leather and Alcantara interior, digital dashboard and a 10.25-inch touchscreen, climate control, a few handy safety features, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, USB ports and even somewhere to wirelessly charge your phone.
Look and Feel
Fundamentally, wow. The exterior styling of this car is superb. Perfect proportions, gorgeous angles and details, there isn't a single bad view on it. There are echoes at the rear of the dramatic Evija and a complete departure from Lotuses past at the front, with a beautifully resolved front end featuring gorgeous, arrow-shaped hot air exits. It's just lovely.
The exterior detailing is a huge step up from Lotuses past which is evidence of the huge sums of money invested by Geely. You have a wide choice of wheels and despite the diminutive size of the car itself, the 20-inch alloys are spot on. The risk was it would look a bit roller-skatey but they're visual perfection.
I also love the sculpted air intakes on the side, reminding me of a McLaren. The rear end is as clean as you can imagine and definitely not shouty. I'm kind of sad however that you can't see the engine under the plastic covers. I'd probably want to see a bit more bling there but knowing what the M139 AMG engine looks like, perhaps it's better hidden away.
Still, a grey plastic cover with Lotus written on it is a bit lacking in drama.
The interior is lovely and huge jump over the Evora's. The chassis itself has been re-shaped and while fashioned from extruded aluminium, the door aperture is more human-friendly. This dark-interior hides the quality and design a bit, makes it look a bit generic, but it isn't.
It's roomy like the Evora was, but so much easier to get in and out of, instantly transforming the Emira into a daily driver. I'm getting old but there was no grunting and huffing to get in and out, just a nice easy fluid movement. The sill is still wide but you're not negotiating a diagonal extrusion.
When I say it's roomy, it's obviously not a Bentley inside but remarkably my long-legged friend Stephen who stands at two metres fit without drama. Co-pilot Mark and photographers Blake and Matt are all a little broader than me and none complained.
The squared-off steering wheel looks weird and if I'm being totally honest, it's a bit on the thick side. I think it's isn't helped by the shape of the rim being a bit complex, more of a triangular section rather than tubular, but it's perfectly usable.
I like the perforated outer surface but the fact it's off centre makes it visually top heavy. But that means the bigger members of the crew were able to slide in without drama.
The digital dash is pretty simple to look and doesn't feature any significant customisation. It's big enough, though, and works really well. I wouldn't mind a bit style tacho like a Ferrari's with the big speed readout in the middle, but I think it's too short and there isn't the real estate for that to make sense.
Down on the centre console is an inoffensive shifter with a mildly baffling action (more on that later). Behind it is a start-stop button covered by the cheapest, nastiest flip-top cover that I was tempted to tear out and cast asunder. It's unnecessary in the first place but if you're going to do it, do it properly.
That's the worst complaint I have about the interior.
As with the dashboard, the 10.25-inch touchscreen is hardly the last word in excitement but features some interesting stats, a G-meter and everything you need. It's a bit slow, though, and could do with a bit more grunt to make it easier to use.
The climate controls are separate and even have a helmeted figure for the button directing the airflow which made me laugh.
It's functional, well-made and doesn't smell of glue.
Drivetrain
2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo (Mercedes M139)
Capacity: 1991cc
Power: 268kW at 6500rpm
Torque: 430Nm between 3000 and 5500rpm
Emira debuts the M139 AMG 2.0-litre four-cylinder in the lower state of tune we don't get in Australia in the A45. With "just" 268kW on offer today, the SE arrives in 2025 with 310kW if that and the 4.4-second sprint to 100km/h isn't enough.
Speaking of that sprint, it's just 0.1 seconds slower than the supercharged V6.
Along with the engine comes AMG's eight-speed dual-clutch gearbox, straight out of the A45/GLA45. We'll be talking more about that.
The reason there's an AMG engine in here has a lot to do with Geely somehow building up a shareholding in Mercedes-Benz that makes them the largest single shareholder. That has also spawned another purchase, that of smart, of which Geely now owns half.
The engine is mounted amidships and uses an aluminium subframe, meaning despite the higher complexity of the M139 engine, the four-cylinder Emira is a little lighter overall than the V6 which has a steel unit. The weight is also lower down and Lotus if-you-kn0w-you-know folks reckon it's a better car for it.
Chassis
The Emira is built around Lotus's Elemental extruded aluminium chassis technology. Much has changed since the Evora, not least the giant chunk of aluminium making it a bit tricky to get in and out of.
Double-wishbones at both ends hold the car off the ground. It's amazing how compact they are, the front end is so lithe and also houses a bunch of cooling gear.
As with Evora – and McLaren – the steering rack is hydraulically-assisted which bodes well for replicating the fabled steering feel of both, but particularly Evora which was considered a benchmark for a long, long time.
Front brakes are drilled 370mm discs with four-pot AP Racing calipers while the rears are only slightly smaller at 350mm, again with four pistons.
Wrapped around the 20-inch wheels are Goodyear Eagle F1 Supersports, measuring 245/35/R20 on the front axle and 295/30/R20 at the rear. Optional are Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tyres.
What is the Lotus Emira like to drive?
The fact that this car is related to the Evora is no bad thing. I loved that car, even with its Aisin six-speed automatic that wasn't quite the trackday weapon even if it was great on the road.
And you feel a lot of Evora in this car, which means the magic is still there. Fire up the M139 and it hoots and hollers and chuffs and whistles. Lotus has a different intake and exhaust setup, partly for the obvious mid-engined reasons but partly to improve the noise.
You hear so much more of it because the intakes are right behind your ear, like a Ferrari 360 Spider and I love it.
I nearly fell out of love with the car straight away, however. The shifter is annoying to use and seems to want up to seven pulls to make it work (slight exaggeration). Parking and three-point turns are embarrassing. I'd prefer a D button instead or better still the manual that simply doesn't exist on the four-cylinder cars.
Vision forward is brilliant. The big windscreen, the way the wheelarches peak over the wheel centre line, it's a great view and a clear one. The mirrors are almost SUV big but you can see what's coming and they're a key part of the styling's cohesion.
The rear window is a narrow slot, of course, and over the shoulder is catastrophic, but the mirrors cover most of that sin well. Of course it's inevitably like this, it's a two-door sports car. Could do with a better reversing camera though.
I've already talked about mildly weird wheel (it reminded me of the Aston Martin Vantage F1 I drove) but I haven't talked about the Volvo switchgear (good, move on, it's fine) or the metal paddles (lovely).
While tactile, there's no haptic feedback from the paddles, no pleasing click or mechanical clack. I guess you can't have everything. Another small point of complaint in a sea of big points of praise.
Because my goodness this car is dead-set wonderful.
Even bumbling about at low speed it's easy to live with. Nobody knows what it is so there's no getting cut up by an angry ute driver. Although they fact they can't see you under their high window line might have something to do with it.
The M139 is a little on the cantankerous side at low speeds and the inherited gearbox isn't much to write home about, but it does the job and you learn its quirks quickly.
Basically, there's no issue driving this to the shops or the school drop-off or to work.
Point it a great piece of road, though, and hoo-boy. Get into sport mode and just let it rip. Like Elise, Exige and Evora, you don't so much build confidence as inherit it, like Neo learning jiu-jitsu with a download.
The Emira beckons you into corners with the kind of poise and grip some more expensive supercars can only dream of. The poise comes from a chassis that seems completely resistant to bottoming out, choosing instead to let you get on with wringing its neck rather than worrying about scraping its belly.
It doesn't bounce or bobble on rugged surfaces, the tyres just bite and the car – by sports car standards – glides over the top. You never, ever feel like a bump or pothole or sudden surface change is going to chuck you off the road.
Few cars feel this good, this stable, this capable through the messiness of the road I save for the stuff that needs a good going over. On-camber, off-camber turns, terrible surfaces, messy joins in the road surface, tight hairpins and long sweepers. The Emira ate them up. The low-end drivability concerns of the engine go out the window.
I've driven so many very fast cars down this particular stretch of road I like and the Emira stands tall as the car I've had least to worry about, the Elise excepted. The front-end grip on these road-biased F1 Eagle Supersports is phenomenal. You cannot unsettle this car unless you're trying to and even then, you're really going to have to put your mind to it.
You have to work with the engine's strengths, though. The turbo four has a habit of hanging on to a gear too long despite you demanding a downshift. It gets there in the end – and those monstrously big brakes are washing off great chunks of speed anyway. This quirk is more than made up for with the hilarious soundtrack and blunt force of the power delivery.
The way this thing rockets out of corners despite running a four-pot behind your back beggars belief.
Perhaps the most Evora-ey thing about this car is the steering. Still vivid – although perhaps slightly less so – still sharp, always inviting. It feels just right with a change of direction that will almost certainly apply a permanent grin to your face.
But at the same time, it's so civilised. Folks might complain about that, long-suffering Elise owners (of which I dream) will whine that its too nice. The fact it is so nice but still goes, stops and turns like a Lotus means the Emira has moved things on spectacularly. As the sports car pool shrinks, the Emria has landed in it with a car that looks twice its price, does everything they do but probably won't cost $15,000 to service after a trackday.
Redline Recommendation
This car has joined my five-car fantasy garage, right next to the Elise. It's so absurdly fun and capable but at half the price of the cars it feels like. This drives like a McLaren 570S which is a massive compliment because McLarens are the only supercars that can handle the difficult tarmac I sent the Emira down without expensive scraping noises.
It's got the delicacy for which Lotus is so famous but without the ascetic interiors. What Lotus did for twenty-five years with Elise, Exige, Europa and Evora is nothing short of miraculous but the Emira justifies its price tag by being as fun as a McLaren to drive and as comfortable as an R8.
The fact it does so with a turbo four (or supercharged six) is immensely impressive. Lotus isn't back – it never went anywhere – but with a car this good, inside and out and a chassis that scarcely puts a foot wrong on the road, it's in incredible shape.
The Emira is my car of the year. I guess you're wondering which car fell out of the five car garage? The McLaren 570S. It costs twice as much as the Emira but aside from a more powerful engine – it's not twice the car.
The Emira is another landmark car from Lotus. Long may it live.
