@@rtfazeberdee3519 They're not Porsche and won't become what Porsche were by throwing an electric SUV together and sticking a badge on it. It wasn't such a competitive market when Porsche launched their SUV, but it certainly is now and Porsche have a heck of a lot of unsold EVs and product recalls these days.
Bigger market than you might think. Model S, Taycan, E-Tron GT, Xiaomi SU7, BMW i5, Mercedes EQS/EQE, … and not even going to try to mention all Chinese saloons. Considering they share a lot with their SUV counterparts, it’s probably smart to make both.
The Elise was such a success as it went back to Lotus' roots: Light and agile. The 'restomod' Elise takes that to an extreme! Actually, Lotus tried to go upmarket before, with the Elite II and Espirit. That did carve out a new niche, then they went back to their roots with the Elise. Successor to the Elite I and Elan. The Emira is really a replacement for the Espirit. They need an Elise / Exige / Europa II / VX 220 replacement.
I really hope that the Lotus SUVs and Saloon will be a success so they can be around to produce proper sports cars. I’m one of the person they mention in the video that keep an old Lotus alive instead of buying a newer one. The S1 Sport 135 isn’t used for the daily commute to work, highway and heavy traffic is no fun in the Elise. But as an alternative to a motorbike on fun roads, it’s perfect. The daily commute is done in a used EV with a small battery. Good comfort and driver supports in the boring commute. But still consider a range extender for longer weekend drives, a V8 saloon car might be a good alternative.
I think you guys missed the point of the AA Elise, it's a chance to own a brand new super Elise (spec is way beyond Elise S1 Sport 190). Of course you can buy an old S1 Elise for a lot less but it will be up to 25 years old. For those people who prefer the S1 Elise over any other car (including later Elises) this is the only way to buy one effectively new so rightly should cost a lot more.
It's nice, don't get me wrong, but the car isn't new. One could buy a shed-ornament low miles S1 Elise for £40k, spend £30k on it and have essentially the same thing. I essentially did the same thing to my S1 Exige, bare nut and bolt rebuild. Pretty much just made it a brand new car under the skin, kept it looking stock but just built the engine to be stronger and a bit more.... well.... more. I can see how paying a company to do that would cost a whole bunch.
@@LotusEliseNZ True, but not everyone has the skills you do. Others have a multiple car garage, with a lot of money and no time and wish to have an - as new as it gets - Elise. This is where AA comes in.
See... this is what I don't understand about Autocar.... Their content has gotten MUCH better over the years, but now they're back to the unbelievably septic format which highlights the worst in Matt Prior...Why? How can you manage to make your content this boring again?
I own an Exige 410. Will never sell it. The car defines the old company ethos of simplify and add lightness. Direction for the new Lotus cars seems to be complicate and add weight. It's a company that doesn't know what it is any more.
To me the Eletre is horrendous. It could be any Chinese or Korean SUV. I’d take a Q8 e-tron all day every day. Or a pre-owned Hyundai and a pre registered Emira for the same money
The Chinese car is no way a Lotus, the Lotus we knew were great sports cars, the monstrosity EV is a car which the manufacturer decided to stick a Lotus badge on, okay the Chinese bought the lotus outfit but it’s not a Lotus, what is being produced now is a vehicle which is a characterless EV. MG has gone a similar way, decades of making great sports cars, now look at what the MG badge is stuck on
Oh dear. How can Autocar which is a publication for car enthusiasts get excited about a 2.5 ton EV. It is poles apart from the magnificent Lotus ICE Elise and Exige which worked because of their lightness, agility and innovation. Most importantly they have a soul. The customer base for these EVs is totally different. I doubt the future is really about very heavy cars with enormous batteries. These cars are not good for the environment and have very poor efficiency in the real world re KWH per mile - see Harry Metcalfe’s test of the Eletre. Come on Autocar - car enthusiasts deserve more honesty when reviewing these EVs.
So if Lotus Electric SUVs are so fantastic, why isn’t the Eletre selling well? IMHO excessively high weight, poor efficiency, high vehicle price and meteoric depreciation may well be contributing to poor sales. We obviously hope Lotus does well, however the current product plans don’t bode well for the future (even with governments forcing EV on people as the sole solution).
Record sales overall yes, but Lotus continues to post a loss (£594m - $202 million for the second quarter of 2024). Sales largely achieved through unsustainable massive discounts (which will affect depreciation and brand value). Eletre also not seen as ‘best in class’ and selling less than expected.
Colin Chapman must be spinning in his grave. By any objective criteria all these massively overweight, over-powered EVs seem utterly pointless, and calling one a Lotus is an insult to a hallowed brand and memory.
Unfortunately they are soon going to be black due to handling, Ditto the rest of that Ivory interior. Always looks nice when brand spanking new but not after a few years with a family tearing in and out of it
@blarkdexture8899 Have you ever owned a Lotus or are you just 'trotting out' the typical comment? I ran my Esprit S3 as a daily driver for 2+ years and never had any issues with it. Half the 'problems' with Lotus is that successive owners don't necessarily maintain them very well. This can happen with many 'prestige' cars as they age and depreciate - people buy 'cheap' and forget about the cost of maintenance (especially at main Dealer prices)
Chinese made 2.5 ton Lotus. Really? They have sold their soul. RIP Lotus. Going the same way as Jag. Probably long overdue to be honest. Can’t watch anymore.
Lotus is no more, they lost it's way, thay should stay niche manufacturer under Geely group making lightweight sports 2 seater cars and not 3 tone SUVs😢
The Emeya and Eletre are perfect examples of badge engineering. They have no link to the Lotus of old - with the possible (tenuous) exception of the Lotus Carlton saloon. If it takes looking at the badge to tell you what you're driving (as mentioned) you have your answer. They could easily be BYD or any other attempt at a luxury EV. That said, at least Geely have produced some cars under the Lotus brand (unlike the Jaguar rebrand..). Whether the company survives now depends on QC (there are plenty of poor Customer experience reports out there already..) and how many interested £100K+ buyers there are. I doubt they will be selling a huge volume of these EVs. A comparison to an Emira might have made more sense (at least they're both current production models) than that ridiculously over-priced pimped S1 Elise. The Analog Automotive is a very 'single minded' conversion. Whilst 200+ BHP might be nice compared to stock, the rest of the car is simply to uncompromising for anything other than occasional track day use. The K-Series mechanicals were always a bit of a weak point. The later Toyota engine/gearbox cars are far more sophisticated and durable. I'd take a nicely maintained Supercharged Elise or 111R in preference and have half a chance of being able to enjoy it more frequently.
@@clintoncoker6 what scientific fact is that? The 'message' that EVs are 'better' for the planet is total nonsense. EV production has an equally high - if not higher - carbon footprint than existing ICEs. Not to mention strip mining rainforests etc. to extract Lithium (and other rare eath metals) to produce the batteries for these overweight creations is ravaging the planet. Running EVs is simply moving the harmful 'exhaust gases' from cars to over-burdened Power Stations (typically powered by fossil fuels). Don't get me started on so-called 'Sustainable Green Electricity'. Wind farms draw energy from the National Grid more often than they actually generate electricty in many countries
I can tell you what Lotus isn't, a manufacturer of big, heavy, high-powered SUVs. They may stick the badge on it, but it's not a Lotus.
Whats wrong with copying Porche's business plan to survive?
@@rtfazeberdee3519 They're not Porsche and won't become what Porsche were by throwing an electric SUV together and sticking a badge on it. It wasn't such a competitive market when Porsche launched their SUV, but it certainly is now and Porsche have a heck of a lot of unsold EVs and product recalls these days.
I had to watch this video in bits, because the hosts raging enthusiasm was too much for me
😂😂😂
.. they drive the Elise like a Diesel car, that´s pretty said. They should play with the car, that´s what it´s meant for.
Bro… It is absolute torture watching these guys review a car! It’s like two retired librarians that just happened to love cars. 🤦🏽♂️
Lotus was an aspirational & affordable brand once upon a time.
Matt prior does a podcast? Awesome. Digital valium.
Who else skipped the EV bit and went straight to the elise...? I bet that's why the EV car was reviewed first because lol
Yep!
It's at 10.15 for those like me that want to move on........and then they mentioned it's £100k 😱
Came for the EV bit
100%
@@AdrianMcDaid these always 1 🤣🤣
Emeya is just a lowered Eletre. Who asked for a 2.5 ton saloon? If the sales are all in SUVs why bother making this?
Saloons are popular in China
Bigger market than you might think. Model S, Taycan, E-Tron GT, Xiaomi SU7, BMW i5, Mercedes EQS/EQE, … and not even going to try to mention all Chinese saloons. Considering they share a lot with their SUV counterparts, it’s probably smart to make both.
No Elise was ever over 1000Kg. This fundamental inaccuracy from the same man who also doesn’t know what a Becker point is.
The Elise was such a success as it went back to Lotus' roots: Light and agile. The 'restomod' Elise takes that to an extreme! Actually, Lotus tried to go upmarket before, with the Elite II and Espirit. That did carve out a new niche, then they went back to their roots with the Elise. Successor to the Elite I and Elan. The Emira is really a replacement for the Espirit. They need an Elise / Exige / Europa II / VX 220 replacement.
I really hope that the Lotus SUVs and Saloon will be a success so they can be around to produce proper sports cars. I’m one of the person they mention in the video that keep an old Lotus alive instead of buying a newer one. The S1 Sport 135 isn’t used for the daily commute to work, highway and heavy traffic is no fun in the Elise. But as an alternative to a motorbike on fun roads, it’s perfect. The daily commute is done in a used EV with a small battery. Good comfort and driver supports in the boring commute. But still consider a range extender for longer weekend drives, a V8 saloon car might be a good alternative.
I think you guys missed the point of the AA Elise, it's a chance to own a brand new super Elise (spec is way beyond Elise S1 Sport 190). Of course you can buy an old S1 Elise for a lot less but it will be up to 25 years old. For those people who prefer the S1 Elise over any other car (including later Elises) this is the only way to buy one effectively new so rightly should cost a lot more.
apart from the fact that they are making about 60k on every car that they do!!!!!
It's nice, don't get me wrong, but the car isn't new. One could buy a shed-ornament low miles S1 Elise for £40k, spend £30k on it and have essentially the same thing.
I essentially did the same thing to my S1 Exige, bare nut and bolt rebuild. Pretty much just made it a brand new car under the skin, kept it looking stock but just built the engine to be stronger and a bit more.... well.... more. I can see how paying a company to do that would cost a whole bunch.
Was this written by the CFO
@@LotusEliseNZ True, but not everyone has the skills you do. Others have a multiple car garage, with a lot of money and no time and wish to have an - as new as it gets - Elise. This is where AA comes in.
See... this is what I don't understand about Autocar....
Their content has gotten MUCH better over the years, but now they're back to the unbelievably septic format which highlights the worst in Matt Prior...Why? How can you manage to make your content this boring again?
I own an Exige 410. Will never sell it. The car defines the old company ethos of simplify and add lightness. Direction for the new Lotus cars seems to be complicate and add weight. It's a company that doesn't know what it is any more.
£100k is a lot for an Elise. Maybe a second hand standard one is better? (value for money). One mod is to add the Pilbeam carbon chassis?
To me the Eletre is horrendous. It could be any Chinese or Korean SUV. I’d take a Q8 e-tron all day every day. Or a pre-owned Hyundai and a pre registered Emira for the same money
The one you have there weighs less than a third of the electric thing
Again. 2 middle aged bored men in-car footage. Appalling.
An Elise with a bad gearshift? So... basically an Elise, then?
The Chinese car is no way a Lotus, the Lotus we knew were great sports cars, the monstrosity EV is a car which the manufacturer decided to stick a Lotus badge on, okay the Chinese bought the lotus outfit but it’s not a Lotus, what is being produced now is a vehicle which is a characterless EV. MG has gone a similar way, decades of making great sports cars, now look at what the MG badge is stuck on
I think Jaguar went in the right direction, if you create normal car people will judge you by normal Car standards
at 100k for the Elise? Harry Metcalf bought his MSO 650S for 107k - a McClaren or Elise?
Oh dear. How can Autocar which is a publication for car enthusiasts get excited about a 2.5 ton EV. It is poles apart from the magnificent Lotus ICE Elise and Exige which worked because of their lightness, agility and innovation. Most importantly they have a soul. The customer base for these EVs is totally different. I doubt the future is really about very heavy cars with enormous batteries. These cars are not good for the environment and have very poor efficiency in the real world re KWH per mile - see Harry Metcalfe’s test of the Eletre. Come on Autocar - car enthusiasts deserve more honesty when reviewing these EVs.
Pricey interior, manufactured and fitted by cheap chinese labour
Lotus Elise 😍😍😍😍😍
2 cars that will lose half their value as soon as they are registered haha
Biggest mistake Lotus made was making their cars EVs. Should've known better.
So if Lotus Electric SUVs are so fantastic, why isn’t the Eletre selling well? IMHO excessively high weight, poor efficiency, high vehicle price and meteoric depreciation may well be contributing to poor sales. We obviously hope Lotus does well, however the current product plans don’t bode well for the future (even with governments forcing EV on people as the sole solution).
Lotus had record sales last year about 70% of cars sold were electric,
Record sales overall yes, but Lotus continues to post a loss (£594m - $202 million for the second quarter of 2024). Sales largely achieved through unsustainable massive discounts (which will affect depreciation and brand value). Eletre also not seen as ‘best in class’ and selling less than expected.
No one talks about the Renault sports car
Unwatchable. Sorry.
Colin Chapman must be spinning in his grave. By any objective criteria all these massively overweight, over-powered EVs seem utterly pointless, and calling one a Lotus is an insult to a hallowed brand and memory.
I must say that those are the coolest seat belts I've ever seen
Unfortunately they are soon going to be black due to handling, Ditto the rest of that Ivory interior. Always looks nice when brand spanking new but not after a few years with a family tearing in and out of it
Lots
Of
Trouble
Usually
Serious
What went wrong with your Elise S1?
Yawn. Is this where people make juvenile acronyms like BMW= Boring Middle-Aged Wagon?
@blarkdexture8899 Have you ever owned a Lotus or are you just 'trotting out' the typical comment? I ran my Esprit S3 as a daily driver for 2+ years and never had any issues with it. Half the 'problems' with Lotus is that successive owners don't necessarily maintain them very well. This can happen with many 'prestige' cars as they age and depreciate - people buy 'cheap' and forget about the cost of maintenance (especially at main Dealer prices)
If it doesn't have seatbelts I'd be happy to be seen wearing I'm out.
Please try and put some effort in monotone dialogue is very boring had to switch off its an outdated presentation in this day and age
PS, not to mention the manipulation of their sewage and pollution discharge levels
What it will NEVER be is an EV.. 😂😅😂🤣
Chinese made 2.5 ton Lotus. Really? They have sold their soul. RIP Lotus. Going the same way as Jag. Probably long overdue to be honest. Can’t watch anymore.
Well that was quite dull.
Lotus is no more, they lost it's way, thay should stay niche manufacturer under Geely group making lightweight sports 2 seater cars and not 3 tone SUVs😢
The Emeya and Eletre are perfect examples of badge engineering. They have no link to the Lotus of old - with the possible (tenuous) exception of the Lotus Carlton saloon. If it takes looking at the badge to tell you what you're driving (as mentioned) you have your answer. They could easily be BYD or any other attempt at a luxury EV. That said, at least Geely have produced some cars under the Lotus brand (unlike the Jaguar rebrand..). Whether the company survives now depends on QC (there are plenty of poor Customer experience reports out there already..) and how many interested £100K+ buyers there are. I doubt they will be selling a huge volume of these EVs.
A comparison to an Emira might have made more sense (at least they're both current production models) than that ridiculously over-priced pimped S1 Elise. The Analog Automotive is a very 'single minded' conversion. Whilst 200+ BHP might be nice compared to stock, the rest of the car is simply to uncompromising for anything other than occasional track day use. The K-Series mechanicals were always a bit of a weak point. The later Toyota engine/gearbox cars are far more sophisticated and durable. I'd take a nicely maintained Supercharged Elise or 111R in preference and have half a chance of being able to enjoy it more frequently.
Well that big heavy yellow electric thing certainly isn’t 😒
this electric thing is absurd. The same thing awaits jaguar. It's sad to see British brands dying as a result of green propaganda.
Amen
It's not propaganda. It's scientific fact, no matter how much you don't like it.
no British brands would exist now it foreign companies hadn't saved them, lotus would have been gone decades ago
@@clintoncoker6 yeah, sure.
@@clintoncoker6 what scientific fact is that? The 'message' that EVs are 'better' for the planet is total nonsense. EV production has an equally high - if not higher - carbon footprint than existing ICEs. Not to mention strip mining rainforests etc. to extract Lithium (and other rare eath metals) to produce the batteries for these overweight creations is ravaging the planet. Running EVs is simply moving the harmful 'exhaust gases' from cars to over-burdened Power Stations (typically powered by fossil fuels). Don't get me started on so-called 'Sustainable Green Electricity'. Wind farms draw energy from the National Grid more often than they actually generate electricty in many countries