2024 Lotus Eletre Review: A Lotus Like No Other

[@shingoose6197]

Bloatus

[@monopolybillionaire5027]

🤣🤣🤣

[@Theworldsboro]

🏆

[@kamsunleong6648]

Yup. Can't afford one either. So let's scoff at it. Makes us feel better.

[@davedixon2167]

@@kamsunleong6648 People can dislike a thing without being envious of it, man. When the Lotus mantra has been 'simplify, then add lightness' for decades and decades, and then this comes out, completely devoid of that Lotus philosophy, it's going to get a bad reaction.

[@kamsunleong6648]

Nruh. If the Chinese did not come in and change their Chapman philosophy, they would have joined their founder in the grave. It's a business and it needs to make money. Period.

[@claudiobizama5603]

"Complicate, then add heaviness" -Lotus, probably

[@1991pony]

Colin Chapman is spinning in his grave like a whirling dervish.

[@Kacpa2]

@@1991pony I absolutely loathe what is happening to automotive industry right now... not only we got increasingly detached and worse feeling cars and manual transmissions killed off in every single super car brand and then spreading lower across sports car segments, it's so bad that R35 GT-R which was already an excessive computer on wheels in 2007 is considered "analogue" just because everything else have gotten so awful and bland. Seeing Lotus make something like this is just ridiculous insult to injury...

[@jonathansrouji3692]

came to say exactly this

[@stevemikels4926]

This thing is a mess.

[@lukefrahn8538]

from lotus to lie-to-us

[@onefacex8375]

Doug is the type of guy who brings a ruler to bed to see how long he sleeps.

[@LtNduati]

This has to be the best one I’ve seen in awhile 😂😂😂

[@Nanovor4444]

You win

[@markm0000]

Internet champion for the next duration of an attention span.

[@jayedrafi2153]

😂😂😂

[@rjkora]

This is the best yet!! 👑

[@carypyke935]

That wirring sound is Colin Chapman spinning in his grave..

[@kamsunleong6648]

He's gone and forgotten. The auto industry has moved on. Without the Chinese money, the brand would have followed its founder to the grave. So be realistically not dream of the by gone days.

[@ssnjr1299]

@@kamsunleong6648 are you a geely employee?

[@ssnjr1299]

@@sidesauce you forgot to switch your account

[@03focussvt943]

Youre incredibly ignorant about Colin.

[@daweigo6851]

😅😅😅

[@GriffinJeffers-wo8nw]

I hate it, it’s against all of lotus’s rules

[@muhidnaveed2617]

i agree so much but we've tragically seen porsche, lambo and ferrari do the same thing. mclaren is next up. it unfortunately has to be done.

[@davewebster5120]

You do not go to lotus for an suv.

[@gluttonousmaximus9048]

@@muhidnaveed2617 If they end up nailing the eventual electric lotus supercar, no harm done really. has anyone here actually bought a lotus?

[@rxdawg75]

Well, Lotus is owned by the Chinese company Geely. And we all know how well the chinese follow rules.

[@sleepy77790]

because its just chinese ev with british package

[@spinxings]

As much as I hate it, I can't say it doesn't make sense in today's market. But it certainly hurts seeing yet another performance brand go down this path.

[@jackinralph1]

I agree but Porsche started it with the Macan which outsells all Porsche models combined and it ain't even close. After that you saw the Urus that outsell all other Lamobos and its not going to stop. I do not think we will ever see Hyper car brands do this lol

[@SonOfTamriel]

Lotus was nearly bankrupt, nobody bought a Lotus. They made some smart moves with this revamp and Chinese money. Isht happens for a reason

[@MikeKayK]

They should've built an SUV a decade ago, they'd be swimming in money by now instead of being nearly dead.

[@ShaiyanHossain]

@@jackinralph1 except lotus isnt big as porsche and they're going full EV while Porsche still keeps an ICE 911. pretty sad

[@robgriffin4801]

Yeah, the hyper conformity of all these SUVs is truly confusing given everyone in America fashions themselves as a rugged individualist. Trucks too.

[@MrSkiller15]

Doug: Praises the car's handling, and how its even better than teslas Also Doug: Gives the exact same score to a tesla in that same category

[@Caleb-bu5co]

Sad to see what lotus has became

[@RichardJones-et5we]

You mean what the market has become...

[@Real_MisterSir]

@@RichardJones-et5we The market is still there for lightweight and focused experience sports cars. Brands just realized greed is more convenient than passion and lower roi.

[@davenz000]

Colin died in 1982.

[@fireballchaser]

@@davenz000 And he's rolling in his grave with vehicles like this.

[@faheemabbas3965]

It’s a Chinese EV sold in the US. Something the US government didn’t want.

[@cayboy420]

Maybe they fixed it, but when Harry‘s garage reviewed it in the UK recently he found out it didn’t have a battery heater, which is a pretty major omission, and it meant that the range was reduced when the temperature dropped.

[@cbotten106]

Preconditioning of the battery for charging or a heat pump?

[@travelguy78]

It did very well in Norway winter charging test 6months ago. So if it can handle Norwegian winter it should manage well in the UK :)

[@carmadme]

@@cayboy420 it has a battery heater and heat pump just hadn't been enabled In software yet The control system was over-senseative and kept giving errors

[@mcmoose64]

My first thought when i saw the thumbnail , "so when did the Chinese buy Lotus ?".

[@becoolenough]

So you obviously don't know much about the history about Lotus lol

[@will4688]

Ahhh, a British electric car. May the spirit of Lucas stay far, far away.

[@jacksongatens2419]

Chinese and British, like asking an Irishman to be your personal chef

[@alpenjodel24]

nothing british about this

[@jasonknight5863]

Ahh combined Chinese and British techniques and technology…. What possibly could go wrong after 15 months of living with that electric Golf Cart …

[@jasonknight5863]

If you think Range Rovers are serious problems… Lotus says …hey Hold my Beer 🍺 Rover.

[@Chr.Monika6469]

Feels chinese to me

[@gemaskerdebeuker8511]

20:49 That depends on what colour you choose to get. The yellow logo is also available still.

[@ChaosTheoryArchitecture]

Really odd possible case of parts sharing here: I believe that center armrest is almost the exact part, style on the sides, the pull out cup holder and everything, that my Volvo v90 has....

[@bwofficial1776]

Geely owns Volvo, Lotus, and Polestar and this car rides on a common platform.

[@ChaosTheoryArchitecture]

@@bwofficial1776 I understand but still of all the parts this one is funny to me haha. Especially given how much feels actually special in this car .

[@ScathingMobile]

Lotus using parts bin bits for the interior is the most Lotus thing about this barge.

[@MrGabrieleferrini]

I think most of you making comments did ever try this car seriously. It handles better than any ev in the market, it is impressively top quality finishing in any details. I perfectly understand this is not a lotus in the proper heritage but it is for sure the best suv in its class beating for sure Cayenne,Urus Q8 ( all the same chassis ) and taking the spot to Ferrari Purosangue with 1/4 of the price. But changes are never been accepted easily . I drive BMW IX , and Ferrari daily by the way. That’s way I am so impressed by Eletre.

[@Excessive03]

All those cars you mentioned have brand cachet with the general public. Lotus does not. Enthusiast like Lotus and this is the most un-Lotus vehicle possible.

[@chemjam92]

Is it just me or was sound cutting in and out at the beginning?

[@gracegrace2107]

a lotus in badge only

[@p.informatico1320]

It was designed by Lotus... so no.

[@gracegrace2107]

@@p.informatico1320 It's a Chinese electric car. Designed by lotus? Look at it. It's a Chinese electric car. If lotus paid for any of the design process it's not visible in the end product... which looks like a Chinese electric car. (to clarify: the design is fine- just has naught to do with lotus.)

[@maxshuty]

I need to check this one off my Lotus bucket list

[@SunshineSailing84]

My English is a little rusty, you mean ‘don’t add to bucket list’ right?

[@duncanstirling6643]

Great content, I drove the Eletre S and R models in Thailand. I found the controls over complicated, but what kills this vehicle for me was it's the limited range.

[@Adamlllllllllllljjjljljjjjj]

You can’t blame lotus, this is a car that is likely just to keep lotus alive. Like if people remember the Porsche Cayenne, no one like that, yet it saved Porsche

[@lucacamilleri4215]

the roof LIDAR makes you look like a taxi

[@cbotten106]

Yeah, with proper lighting you'd be ready to pick up a fare.

[@ShawnWillis-w3w]

Did they benchmark the camry trd for the interior?

[@graysonwolf1216]

Lotus used the black badge in 1968 when racing driver Jim Clark was killed. It's made reappearances since then. Either this is to commemorate the death of the simple and light Lotus ethos or it just looks cooler than the yellow and green.

[@ChosenHandle117]

I saw my first one in the wild today, parked at the Bluewater mall in Kent... green and by Brit standards, MASSIVE!

[@kaileysweeney4240]

There was a day when Porsche began selling SUV’s and sedans. This enabled the company to be profitable and bring sublime cars like the GT3 to market. It’s easy to be skeptical of a Lotus SUV, especially an electric one (especially one that is Chinese built.) I do this car will die or live based on its own merits and pricing structure. My wish is for it to succeed and for Lotus to remember it’s past well enough to build a lightweight (electric) sports car in the future, perhaps developed and built in Great Britain.

[@EvoraGT430]

Well said.

[@KierEcklund]

Great point! This is the way Lotus can survive to make more great sports cars. By the way, it was really developed for the Chinese market primarily…

[@KierEcklund]

Great point! This is the way Lotus can survive to make more great sports cars. By the way, it was really developed for the Chinese market primarily…

[@heethsurana7065]

Colin Chapman is rolling in his grave.

[@evangray79]

According to lotus it does have 4 USB c ports in the interior. 2 front and 2 in the back. They may be in the rear armrest. There is also an option with an upgraded rear armrest that has cup holders like the front and a screen.

[@Nabilllllll]

Basically a Geely underneath the skin, it shows how advanced China has become in the automotive industry.

[@bwofficial1776]

Only because they stole everything they could get their hands on.

[@benjaminsmith2287]

The Geely SEA platform was cheifly engineered by Kent Ove Bovellan, an ex-Saab Swedish engineer.

[@evanleo7633]

@@bwofficial1776how did China steal things other countries don’t even have, oh wait that’s called invention

[@SH57578]

BYD makes extremely competitive cars. I don’t know as much about Geely but have heard it’s similar.

[@RapperGMarket]

​@@bwofficial1776 various national industries throughout the world have developed and learned from others. That's called learning, not stealing. Stupid anti-China rhetoric.

[@matheus991.2]

Doug, I believe that someone's already asked this question, or stated this point: Wouldn't it be better if, instead of filming your face for 5 minutes straight - from 25:44 to 30:41 - you film the cabin view using a camera positioned slighlty behind of the front seats, like in the middle? It would give us an interesting view of the car when moving. Your video is complete, being this the only part I miss when watching it.

[@chandreshbisht3523]

People will have a hard time digesting that lotus has made an electric suv but the thing .. they made the best one!

[@swagmalone8092]

The interior quality looks exquisite, overall a good effort from the Chinese.

[@benjaminsmith2287]

Just because it is owned by Geely doesnt mean that it was designed or worked on by Chinese. It's an English car funded by the Chinese which uses a very modified version of a platform provided by Geely that was actually engineered by a Swede. This car is not from a Chinese manufacturer. It is from an English manufacturer with a Chinese parent company. A Chinese car, like a Geely Galaxy, is quite different in details,.

[@subieasunayuuki]

​@@benjaminsmith2287 They do have alot of control over Lotus though..

[@benjaminsmith2287]

@@subieasunayuuki Geely doesn't exercise control over their acquired brands. Those brand operate under the Geely Group umbrella and may have a budget, but the decisions made are by people in the brands, not made by Geely.

[@ouner-699]

​@@benjaminsmith2287 "that was actually engineered by a Swede" - According to open sources (Wikipedia), the designer/creator of the Eletre Hyper-SUV is Ben Payne. Doesn't it seem like a bit of a strange name for a Swede?! 😜

[@benjaminsmith2287]

@@ouner-699 The SEA platform. Who was the cheif engineer of the SEA platform?

[@clarissimastella]

For the clarity This car literally has no cheap materials at all - everything you touch is alcantara, carbon, real metal, nappa leather Another huge thing is its infotainment, if you notices it doesn’t lag and provides at least 60Hz smooth image on a 3k display. German, British, Italian carmakers still to this day can’t do a decent system that wouldn’t lag Also the built quality, if you have a chance of sitting in one, just try to pull or push interior details to test the build quality, you will be amazed. And then look at the latest Mercedes and Audi models, the interior quality has really went down recently And if you consider these and other things Doug surprisingly didn’t pay enough attention to, you can easily realize the price is not even that high Model X plaid is like an empty can compared to this, but the price is almost the same So this particular review was a very weak one by Doug

[@DJw00w]

10:43 what a quality hahaha

[@jamesxo]

saw a nice white one recently and it rocketed away at the lights onto a slip road. very nice looking

[@gregorytolson1648]

Doug, the kind of guy whose channel has transitioned into reviewing quirks and features on touch screens

[@chippsdubbo89]

Underrated comment

[@crouchb15]

the car that turns Colin Chapman into the undertaker

[@ETr4d3]

The Cayenne has an EV version, well a PHEV, a 2.0 petrol + 50-70km EV range. And its made in China like this thing here. A family member has one, and I recently drove it 2000 km, first 700-800 did 5.8L/100, which is impressive, then the juice in the battery ran out and the rest of the trip did about 8.1L/100. Compare that to an Audi A6, I usually use for long trips, 10.5L/100, or A8L 12-15L/100 (it has a great sound in Sport mode, and I floor it a bit more often, and getting 15+L/100 on most trips)

[@TasteTheRambo]

The interior lighting is really beautiful.

[@Chr.Monika6469]

Colin Chapman would be more than disappointed

[@Skylancer727]

I mean, I'd never buy it, but I do love that pearlescent paint job it has. The white to red looks really nice.

[@FrankieProkop]

It sure is a... thing.

[@plvt0n1vm]

All of those opening triangles will fail within 10k miles lol

[@blissfularrogance]

I test drove an Electre yesterday, it has 2x USB C ports on the front side of the rear seats.

[@bipolaryx]

The color is SO good

[@chickenleg505mc]

they had to add so many lotus logos just to try and convince people this is a lotus

[@doug1485]

Surprised you didn’t mention the color at all. Looks kinda different. Also, what about the little “pods” on the back of the front fenders. What are they?

[@ishmeet316]

Idk bout yall but I love it

[@LouisEguchiWale]

Doug the kind of guy who uses a stop watch in the bath.

[@cbotten106]

That's efficiency right there. Using a stopwatch on the actually toilet is "not recommended" though, just fyi.

[@unloveableandre]

Super well done EV. Attention to details. And luxury to a T. Amazing.

[@EatSleepEmpire]

It looks both so Chinese-EV-like, but also like a generic 2014 suv.

[@shroomyesc]

For everyone crying about Lotus making an electric SUV, please remember that we wouldn't have Porsche anymore had we not been cursed with the first Cayenne. We're lucky Lotus was able to give us the Emira and this existing doesn't take anything away, you can still buy an Emira if you want. But you most likely won't.

[@marshallney3885]

The car community loves to complain Everyone in the comments is a lotus lightness die hard because they watched 3 Elise reviews on KZbin.

[@Toy0w0ta]

As someone who lives in Norfolk, UK, the home of Lotus. I've already seen multiple of these driving about. Whereas seeing Lotus sports cars is still a fairly rare occurrence. It is unfortunate that they have to stoop to this to make sales, but it's clearly working and will only mean for more money investment into better sports cars in the long run!

[@mathewjones7663]

All the LIDAR hardware is the car equivalent of clickbait. I will eat my shoe if a compatible self-driving program ever becomes available.

[@cbotten106]

It's the same sort of vaporware that Musk has been pushing for years. Some form of self driving will be available, I'm guessing they'll overpromise just like pretty much everyone else.

[@wapted]

Yep, there is absolutely zero chance they've included all the compute hardware required for fill self driving

[@enochthewitness-2023]

the side panel just ENDS abruptly at the front and the front side panel just bulges out. Why did they not make it flow together?

[@chri5467]

i LOOOOOVE how things like 'drive mode' and 'brake re-gen' that seldomly get changed are at your fingertips, but something like HVAC are like a side-quest in a video game. I'm never buying a new car - no thanks to having to replace a $5k screen so i can access my ball-warmer or having to pay $700 to replace the motorized mechanism that opens the glove box when I need to show cops my registration. 🚩

[@beatrix-persephone]

A perfectly suitable luxury EV that also happens to spit in the face of everything people know Lotus for, and boy is there no one more nationalistic about their country's cars than the British. Hey, as long as it's making Lotus enough money to put towards the British-made cars they actually want to make, I'm all for it.

[@danieljensen329]

If we're not supposed to look at this as a Lotus, then the premium price tag also isn't justifiable. Sure, a Cayanne Turbo GT is about $50k more, but it's also 500 pounds lighter, a well-established model that's reliable, has a large dealer network, is styled more like a premium SUV, is more family friendly, and has physical buttons. This looks remarkably similar to the Kia EV 6, which means we should actually compare it to cars like the Ioniq 5 N. In which case, you can get an EV with virtually the same 0-60, similar handling, and an engine sound for 30-100k less (and looks better and weighs much less). It's very hard to see who will buy this.

[@davec8921]

You lost me at Porsche reliability

[@ultrablue2]

The antithesis of a Lotus, Lotus. All I see are future broken features that no one will want to pay to have fixed. I think any future badmouthing of the M100 Elan should evaporate.

[@turbointegra82]

Another dishwasher. Is that a Bosch?

[@davidmccourt6139]

I can't be the only person who saw the thumbnail and wondered why Doug was reviewing the Mach-E again.

[@frankierodriguez8661]

It's very nice indeed. about chargers on the back, isn't is a charger the flat pad inside the arm rest? at least it looks exactly like one. All in all, modern and the external design is very attractive. However I think if I had the budget I would go for something else, even that new KIA EV superfast or even the one I really love the most despite you can say is an inferior kind of car which is the Hiundai Ionic 5 in particular the N model with more than 600 horses, I'm really in love with that artifact 😂

[@damnsnowflakes2403]

wait till all these screens break on all these new cars

[@BobC59]

What’s the big deal? It’s not like they control everything the car does… er … oh yeaaahhh 😬

[@CarsonDouglas]

I just seen Pretty Woman at 42. When i seen the 1996 lotus esprit, i knew the movie was going to be good. Product placement. 💁🏾‍♂️

[@ofirs5830]

13:50 nice E34 BMW in the background

[@grantyost170]

use me as an "I don't like this car"

[@Ghost_7761]

On a mother note now that Porsche 718 cayman going electric supposedly lotus theoretically doesn’t have to kill off the emira.

[@saultknutz1166]

Beautiful paint and wheels!! I also see a few features from Tesla in the interior, nice!!

[@Neofolis]

I don't understand why people would have a problem with this. If this is what brands need to do to survive, they still have other more Lotus like models, whereas, if they don't survive, there won't be the other Lotus models.

[@S-T-E-V-E]

If Lotus did an electric version of the Esprit with Cyberpunk/Ghost in the Shell style looks it would sell like hotcakes!

[@rodneyking4183]

I like how the base model costs more than my house. The high one is 2 of my houses. Where are the $30,000 or less vehicles Doug? Review those. I want to see cars and SUVs that I can actually buy.

[@brianhoefer7148]

3:01 Because it mimics emergency and patrol vehicle lights.

[@LukeCai]

Putting aside the fact that its an electric Lotus SUV made in China, it's actually a pretty decent sporty SUV with some cool tech features.

[@PTBoehlke]

A lot of people don't understand that Lotus needs a mass-market, profitable SUV to continue making their awesome other cars.

[@WayApp]

Pure elegance and innovation

[@wondermaid6452]

I give those triangles 12 months max, of course down south with no winter

[@msm4445]

Thatnks for the great review. I just want to make a correction. The back seats do have 2 charging USB-C ports under the mid seat of the back seat. I have an Eletre and I know it. For the Doug score, I was surprised that you gave it only 5 for the handling, just as the Tesla, while you said it yourself that it handles much better than a Tesla especially on the curves. For the quality I disagree, I find its quality better than the Porsche Cayenne and the BMW X5.

[@fairyeater]

if you told me this was a lotus when i was a little kid with all of my diecast europas and exiges i probably would’ve killed myself. i loved this brand…

[@Shotis]

Assuming that all of this stuff works throughout the lease period, I can't see why this thing wouldn't sell!!

[@TheDutchRabbitMafia]

Doug was the type of kid to only wear his favorite shirt and have a tantrum when it was in the washer

[@squidrblxpro6821]

Haven’t Doug been speaking faster in this video?

[@seanlee3863]

Lotus need a need a money maker mass market (high end) vehicle to keep producing good sport cars. I get that and it's cool. Lotus has been bleeding money for way too long with so many strong competitors in that segment primarily dominated by Porsche

[@kekene719]

If the brand continues to make sports cars also I don't have a problem with it personally. Interior is nice. Looks like a Kia from the front tires back

[@mikehunt-zx8tr]

Spilling something in the cupholders would be annoying especially if it's a sugary drink

[@guillermoperezsantos]

The paint is really cool

[@alargefarva4274]

I guess those triangles up front like getting blasted by snow plows!

[@James-kg7rv]

This seems like a smart gamble considering the ev market is exploding. Worth a shot

[@erwinc.9117]

Yeah yeah, for a lotus this is sacrilegious, but they gotta survive somehow, and this is definitely one of the best looking cars in that segment currently. It may not be a traditional lotus, but it's at least a good car.

[@guilhermetavares4705]

I hate this new trend of cars without sunshades. It's terrible in hot places. Lotus, Volvo, BYD and others need to put the good old sunshade back.

[@philcarrizzi]

That color is beautiful.

[@gtb5]

Biggest complaint is the black badge on steering wheel, why not the yellow?

[@audioa41]

These are cool. But I miss manual car and tactile buttons.

[@DaBombDiggidy88]

How does the US have turn signal regulations but nothing for headlights being 10 foot off the ground blinding everyone?

[@denalisiomontpellier4064]

the bmw ix mirror the car and the car in the screen in the same way

[@robert-vh6qi]

thats not a lotus. Thats a damn Daisy.

[@Iskandarko]

Paying for LiDARs in a card that wouldn't even know what to do with them - great idea 👍

[@Pajaa37]

the ultimate vehicle quirk: sorcery!😂😂😂

[@timo4639]

That rear wing just looks like a manta ray i promis look it up😂😂

[@dbeckMSP]

Shout to the USA getting that same turn signal but red and also illuminating the brake light 😑

[@spehammond]

I really don’t understand this trend of electronic interior door openers, they always add a mechanical one in case anyway so why not just use that?

[@400millionbymonday6]

This Lotus model used so many of Teslas features: Big Touch Screen Light across dash Door handle button But sweet car nonetheless

[@Mindblazter80]

Its very good u can see the turnlights blinking on the screen.. sooo uuuu knoooow its blinking.. 🤦🏼‍♂️

[@suzi4723]

Lotus has produced a rear seat car before the Eletre. The Lotus Omega was a 4 seater car. But it had no charge ports either. 🤫