2024 Lotus Eletre R Review: £162,000 And You'll Never Guess What Doesn't Work...

[@JayEmmOnCars]

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[@JCviggen1]

Some say, that on a quiet night you can 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳 these depreciating.

[@steadfastandyx4947]

In space you can hear this car depreciating.

[@taipizzalord4463]

... and that he has a driver’s license in every country All we know is its *not* the Stig..., but it is the Stig's Voice Assistant cousin.

[@brandonfromlondonuk3484]

🤣

[@JayEmmOnCars]

You really can

[@chris_not_larson]

Yeah, especially because these run around $250000 USD (yikes)

[@RegenTonnenEnte]

A new Lotus broke down and took 4 months to get fixed? So it is a *real* Lotus!

[@destrozar]

I concur with the cycling. I live in France, TDF coming to your village? New road surface.😊

[@peterjones596]

Ooh, painfully accurate!

[@alexprost7505]

its land rover

[@christopherrumantono2384]

Lots of Trouble Usually Serious

[@Taylor40667]

This car has depreciated £180.52p in the 26 minutes of this video Oh dear

[@mickc7388]

It's just a Geely with Lotus badges.

[@ChosenHandle117]

[@DavidBrown-bs7gg]

That's why you lease. Was £500 pm

[@pierredebug17]

@@DavidBrown-bs7gg depreciation is incorporated in the terms…somehow,somewhere, someone is taking the depreciation, and my guess is that this is not the lender.

[@glassfullofmilk]

Nothing like an EV-SUV to really embody the simplify and add lightness mantra. Definitely made for the Chinese market.

[@nakoma5]

It would have been more respectful to have made their suv based on that mantra but instead they made the same suv everyone else is already making.

[@glassfullofmilk]

@nakoma5 it literally looks like a parts bin special from BYD (especially the rear) and the like.

[@the80386]

I wouldn't be too fast to blame it on the chinese market/people. crossovers spread like wildfire due to manufacturers' arms race where no company wants to 'fall behind'. at its core, the crossover push was/is based on a one-sided idea of safety, that only considers the occupants at the cost of everyone else (and the environment).

[@jack14kd]

I've delivered a few of these when I did a car delivery job. They are absolutely massive. How they put a lotus badge on this baffles me If u go to bca in Milton Keynes there is 100s n 100s parked up there doin nothing

[@willum223]

It's not a Lotus, it's a Geely wearing the flayed skin of Lotus as a trophy. Similar applies to MG

[@Beer_Dad1975]

Except new MG's are at least cheap and reliable, have decent after sales support, reasonable depreciation rates, and don't weigh as much as a small neutron star.

[@RemoteViewr]

Yep: just another Geely group sanitary pad wagon

[@Xaid0nTT]

2.7 tonnes?! Almost need a C1 licence to drive it lmao. Over half a tonne heavier than an empty Transit.

[@06dpa]

And more than 3x as much as the OG Elise

[@musicmaker99]

Simplify, then add lightness.

[@ColinCarFan]

If you add 4 passengers an some luggage you will be very close to the 3500kg limit. Towing would be out of the question.

[@floatingonairandwater]

I just drove home in a Lotus tonight. Esprit V8. The Eletre weighs twice as much and is twice as high as my Esprit. I think my Esprit sounds better too. Erm looks better. Light, nimble and much better steering. Oh, and finally, it was actually built by Lotus in Norfolk UK.

[@jondonnelly3]

Be simp and add shiteness. Lotus.. ​@@musicmaker99

[@ashleyseaton7422]

You could power the factory that thing was built in with how much Colin Chapman is spinning in his grave over this

[@MysteriousMatt89]

Comment of the year right there

[@john1703]

It is rediculously large and only its mother thinks it is beautiful.

[@Carrera-gp9od]

The spinning of chapman is louder than the washing machine motor in this abhorrent Chinese monstrosity.

[@skwdenyer]

Chapman was trying to get an S-Class Mercedes rival up and running when he died. If he thought there was money to be made, he'd have been right behind this product.

[@peterjones596]

Ooh, you beat me to the Colin Chapman spinning in his grave gag by three hours!! I said he was spinning in his grave to drill himself out and replace some panels with cardboard sprayed silver... Hehe! 2.7 tonnes is most definitely not adding lightness!

[@liamgell]

Looks just as horrendous now as it did upon launch.

[@LynGriffiths70]

It's not a Lotus, it's a Chinese tumble dryer.. just like Volvo.

[@AWMJoeyjoejoe]

At least Volvos are still mostly built in Sweden.

[@__-fm5qv]

Eh, I'd say at least Volvo has still retained their identity for the most part with the new cars. And as a C30 owner I do like that they finally were able to move to their own platform and try and do their own thing instead of reworking a Ford.

[@tobias_dahlberg]

Most Volvo's are made in Sweden and Belgium, with also a factory in the US for the big EX90 SUV. They also have a factory in China which supplies the Chinese market, nothing wrong with that. Along with this they do their own platform development. SPA1, SPA2 and future SPA3 is not shared with anyone but Polestar. CMA platform was developed in Gothenburg and is shared with some brands in the Geely umbrella such as Lynk & Co. Geely is barely involved with Volvo Cars. Volvo has a lot more autonomy than a lot of people seem to think.

[@adriaanserrao2016]

As someone who has worked on the new and ford era Volvo's the ford era was much better built and felt much more premium​@@__-fm5qv

[@heiner71]

Yeah, this is a Chinese designed and built car. Lotus supplied the name and perhaps a bit of guidance on how to do suspension properly.

[@arigato7788]

What a surprise, the Chinese made an anti-Lotus and slapped a Lotus badge on it, how could anyone have seen it coming???

[@ajcgolf69]

It may make 900bhp and do 0-60 in under 3 seconds, but it still looks like a Renault

[@amaj7313]

Espace?

[@Al_Lergic]

More like a Buick Envista.

[@tedarcher9120]

Like a Xiaopeng X3

[@davethetaswegian]

KIA EV6

[@peterjones596]

Oh, very good, you're spot on! I hadn't noticed until you said it.

[@Mike_Bitcoin_X]

"Complicate, then add weight".

[@peterjones596]

Meee-ow! Good shot, Sir!

[@rikmargetts362]

There is an issues with camera door mirrors no one seems to address. The cost of repair or replacement. I am a HGV class 1 driver, in my company we have trucks with traditional mirrors and 1 truck with cameras. Damage a mirror, the cost to replace is less than £200, the cameras £2000, and it has to go to a main dealer. There is little to no depth perception, and can flair out at night if the vehicle behind has high beam on or especially bright headlights, and rain, forget it if you get rain drops on the lens, complete distortion making them useless. They are tech for the sake of trying to appear cutting edge. Oh if you use glasses for reading, you need to use your glasses to look at the screen, but not to drive.

[@baronvonhoughton]

Me too. I also miss being able to lean forward and back to change the viewing angle.

[@viktorianas]

And Tesla wants to make robotaxis based solely on cameras input... let THAT sink in...

[@azhaganvivekanandhan2089]

The mirror on my car was 1.7 euros.

[@jafooli]

Cars these days are just too expensive. Can get a used M4 in DCT or Manual for 20k. Why would I buy any of these new cars for 100k plus

[@stu4181]

These cars are for executives who are in the 50% tax bracket, who can write the car off against tax basically making it half the price. They want a new and expensive car for the status.

[@fredmercury1314]

It's not _for_ you. Once your democracy has finished banning all the cheap alternatives, you'll be confined to your 15 minute city, where you belong, like the serf you are. -- Keir Stalin, WEF puppet

[@johnblack9037]

162,000 what a joke these prices are simply INSANE! Another brand on the death pile.

[@brandonfromlondonuk3484]

lets hope so

[@junichirokato896]

James, this is not a 160k car. That is the retail price. It is actually a Chinese 40k car, but they try to make you pay 4x that for the privilege of them glueing a Lotus badge on it.

[@AdminAbuse]

Indeed

[@rhesarozendaal]

Obviously 160k is ridiculously expensive,but 40k sounds too low. the 112kWh battery, at $150/kWh would already be $15k. no idea what that sweet Kef sound system would cost, but probably more than $5k. Dual motors also not cheap. I don't think you can buy the rest of the car bits for $20k.

[@Beer_Dad1975]

@@rhesarozendaal The rate it is depreciating at, it'll be 40K in no time at all anyway.

[@philipcrossley1279]

Yeah. They should've stuck a blue and white propeller badge on it. Hey Presto everyone swoons.

[@KRAMITDFROG]

​@@philipcrossley1279 Except BMW would never do something like this. That's probably why they swoon. BMW builds BMWs, not rebadged Geelys.

[@nicholas5281]

The only thing Lotus about it are those 5 letters in that order

[@DavidBrown-bs7gg]

Well, that and the reliability (or lack thereof)

[@lorddoobsworth144]

"Simplify, then add lightness" 👀

[@archonix]

simplificate

[@SDK2006b]

Simplify, then add energy efficiency 💡⚡️👍🏻

[@eugenux]

@@SDK2006bno, lightness!😉

[@SDK2006b]

@@eugenux- yeah, very few people actually wanted those light Lotus cars. Lotus have sold more of these in less than a year, than the last 20 years of Lotus sales combined

[@mipmipmipmipmip-v5x]

you can reach any random sales targer you want when the CCP wants it. Probably went straight from the factory to some field.

[@D1ARBO]

I think we can add Lotus to the Nissan/ VW/ Stellantis pile…

[@AmosDohms]

Don't forget Jag!😂 Lots of companies in dire straits right now. Makes you wonder if Sergio was right all along.

[@D1ARBO]

@@AmosDohms Blimey - completely forgot about Jaaaaag. That was quick.

[@AmosDohms]

​@@D1ARBOHonestly, Jaguar is probably in the worst shape of all of them. I think Lotus is toast in the US as well.

[@davidemartorana4708]

​@@AmosDohms Its sad becouse Lotus and Jaguar were good cars. But no One bought them

[@BRAINFxck10]

​@@D1ARBO​​ Chinese Lotus and Indian Jag 🤮 Mitsubishi is in the same boat with Nissan.. I wouldn't put VW in this pile they actually have a decent lineup and massive resources

[@Hali88]

Why would Niall or anyone pay £160k for a badge engineered Chinese EV? If it was £60k I would kinda understand, but not 6 figures

[@dman5640]

His job probably subsided it I would imagine.

[@brandonfromlondonuk3484]

brain dead , insane , blind , stupid , a moron , idiot , ev evanglist , take your pick

[@stu4181]

With tax incentives it’s about half price

[@AI-qd4vb]

It looks cool, its unique, spacious, its a lotus,... Plenty of reasons. Id rather take a risk with one of these instead of the generic Cayenne, Q8, X7, etc... Its also not a badge engineered car either. Im not sure you know what that means. The car is built from the ground up for Lotus. Its been set up at the Lotus research center in Raunheim were they still develop and upgrade them daily. Its a proper international effort.

[@Beer_Dad1975]

@@AI-qd4vb Nah, it's literally built on a variant of the Geely SEA architecture. Lotus of course designed the look, and no doubt had input into the fitout, twiddled with the suspension, driveline, brakes and steering etc - but they didn't "engineer" any of it - it's mostly Chinese, or at least more Chinese than British.

[@ColinCarFan]

Most appealing feature of the car is the colour, closely followed by the number plate. Strongly suggest transferring both to a different car.

[@brandonfromlondonuk3484]

😆

[@mgutkowski]

Why on earth didn't he reject the car for a full refund?

[@Choloo-jf7fw]

Because he was clueless enough to buy it in the first place

[@nakoma5]

Does the UK have a lemon law?

[@mannyc19]

I know a Ford and a Porsche dealer employee, both tell me EVs from both are not selling, moving at a snails pace,at best.

[@TheJohn8765]

One look at the deappreciation trends on higher-end EVs should tell you to walk away and buy something else. Taycan's are losing something like 40% in their first YEAR. Crazy. You might as well pile up your money and light it on fire...

[@johnwilson5743]

Yes, that's because Ford's EV's and even Porsche, do not make good EV's. Why not try Tesla, BYD, Geely, Xping, Leap, Zeeker and many others?

[@fredmercury1314]

@@TheJohn8765 You don't need to light it on fire. Just leave it in the car and wait for it to light itself on fire...

[@fredmercury1314]

@@johnwilson5743 Tesla, who's battery range is 26% shorter than the claimed figure...

[@dimsum2001]

Cheapest on Autotrader is £77k with 4688 miles…. And there are lots available! 😮😮😮😮

[@SDK2006b]

The cheapest R (The model in this video) is £95k

[@yano.moraes1492]

2.7 ton chinese made electric ""Lotus"" SUV... C'mon...

[@jamzergt]

What could go wrong..🙈

[@spitfires1979]

167,000 for a heavy SUV shitbox that looks like some random Kia? This is the product of a thousand bad decisions, the car companies are all going to bankrupt themselves at this rate. Utterly depressing.

[@fredmercury1314]

All by design.

[@SDK2006b]

Tell me you haven't sat in, or driven it, without tell me ! Once you have, then you know it's nothing like a Kia !

[@michaelpegasiou4531]

I thought we were trying to save the planet,these monsters contain more materials than the old petrol cars and are so fat the brakes are working overtime to stop them and generate a bit of electricity back so the brake dust is wrecking the planet so badly you can easily measure it.

[@SkorobyNightfall]

Excellent and honest review, as always. I'm struggling to think of a more loathsome vehicle from a brand that should know better, maybe Alfa's Junior is even worse, but this car basically represents everything that is wrong with the car industry. It's deliberately offensive and alienates the brand's customer base, it's ugly, heavy, impractical, inefficient, unreliable and expensive.

[@JayEmmOnCars]

Yep, and the new owners don't care

[@joshuanishanthchristian5217]

Might I ask why you find the Junior worse?

[@SkorobyNightfall]

@@joshuanishanthchristian5217 I guess one big reason for me is the looks, which are very generic and ugly, without any of the typical Alfa Romeo strange beauty. Looks are subjective to be fair, but I also don't like how it's an SUV without any exciting engines and feels very contrived and soulless. It may be a better car than the eletre, I just feel it still doesn't represent the brand we are used to and love.

[@christopherfanshawe1425]

"I have a BMW convertable, I converted it myself, from a Cortina." I know it's old joke but that is not a Lotus, it's a Chinese EV SUV converted into a Lotus by sticking badges on it. It's got Chinese technical build quality to boot.

[@luckie79]

Oh dear, British automotive industry is really getting lost. What’s next? 3t electric Morgan SUV with 5000 horsepower? Lotus has so much heritage to keep on doing well in ev era, by making what is , or was, in their dna , small lightweight sport cars. Everyone and their mother is producing these ridiculous suv monsters and with the Chinese in the game, no one can tell them apart any more. Not everyone however can make what lotus was best at. Well said in the beginning they should fix quality and customer service, that’s all they need to be successful.

[@15bit62]

Even here in Norway they have only sold 53 of them in total. I've seen 2. It's truly a bad sign if you can't sell your EV even in Norway

[@hTyKn1]

I was in Norway on holiday this summer and you have a lot of electric cars on your roads. Presumably your cheap electric is a big incentive unlike the UK who have some of the most expensive energy in the world

[@rhesarozendaal]

It's too big for norwegian roads.

[@15bit62]

@@hTyKn1 Yes. Many years of solid and genuinely valuable incentives has tipped the balance. Annual sales are now well over 82% fully electric and over 25% of cars registered on the road are EVs. There are actually more EVs than petrol cars here (though diesel still wins in overall numbers). To get to that point took a decade and commitment to policy by successive governments. Good luck getting that in the UK

[@horvathr95]

@@15bit62 Only 53? Considering its not a big market, and that its only been for sale for at max 1 year, its not bad

[@15bit62]

@@horvathr95 They've sold 26 in 2024. For comparison, in 2024 Audi has sold 877 Q6 e-trons, BMW has sold 1036 iX's and Mercedes has even sold 125 EQS's.

[@Aliens_Gonna_Get_Ya]

Depreciation will be awesome!!! 💵💵💵🔥🔥🔥🤣🤣🤣

[@badcommando4219]

Met one of the interior designers talking about using ‘porosity’ on the interior trim panels to create the feeling of lightness. No amount of ‘porosity’ can hide the kerb weight of any EV. Feels completely polar opposite to the Colin Chapman ethos imo.

[@JayEmmOnCars]

Yeah and carbon in an EV always feels a bit daft for that reason

[@badcommando4219]

@ marginal gains and all that.

[@AI-qd4vb]

A model 3 is lighter than a gas powered 3 series... Theres plenty of light EVs out there, but it kinda ruins your narrative.

[@rosstee]

@@AI-qd4vb A model 3 might be light for an EV, but it's far from a light car. Most modern cars are bigger and heavier than ever, that's why I care about very few of them.

[@AndySnap]

Essentially, the Eletre is a £30k Geely SUV isn't it, redesigned by Lotus...? You got to admire the patience of the owner, as the car could so easily be rejected as not fit for use, and get a refund. I hate to think of the depreciation, if even Porsche Taycans are going half price after a year or two...

[@Dr.Dawson]

It used to be, back in the day that is, that the USA made big huge heavy beasts of cars that were sport models and all and Europeans would laugh knowing what a real sports car was. Now Europe is starting to flood with these massive heavy rigs like those across the pond during our save the planet day and age. This move to electric rides would be better served if they weren’t so massive and heavy imo Great review J. Been waiting for you take on one of these.

[@alanmacaskill6121]

Just me or does it look like every other electric SUV. Skôda Enyaq 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@brandonfromlondonuk3484]

worse

[@geztaylor]

iPace looks nice but it's old now relatively speaking 2018 design.

[@MrMacroJesseSky]

what on earth are they smoking to think this could sell well at this price?

[@brandonfromlondonuk3484]

fentanyl

[@Parakeet-pk6dl]

I’d be very pleased when this whole shame of a project spectacularly fails…

[@BenJones-jt9hw]

Whatever they smoke in china they can keep it

[@pierredebug17]

Lusso V12 with 10k miles is probably cheaper

[@AI-qd4vb]

@@Parakeet-pk6dl Give your head a good wobble lad. You think Lotus will be better of being constantly on the edge of bankruptcy?

[@paulzon]

A little side point: When a car manufacturer like Lotus claims their car has a 2 kW hi-fi in it, divide that figure by at least 4 to get something more like a real (RMS continuous) rating. When Lotus says the hi fi in that Eletre is 2Kw, it's really around 250-500 watts.

[@phillipevans9414]

Yeah, they all quote the "PMPO" figure, which is nowhere near the actual sustainable output or "RMS" - divide by 4 rule is about right...but often still overestimates the real performance. Cheers!

[@fteoOpty64]

If one can afford this car, go for the Lambo Urus!. This car is made by Gelly so it is priced lower in my country, Malaysia, rm450k, the Urus is cost more than double of that here!!!. In the UK 162k quid, urus is 200k.😅

[@Parakeet-pk6dl]

Another giant, expensive and way too heavy car that nobody’s cares about…

[@Fredcat-6]

Looking on a valuation site it has lost £70,000 in just one year.

[@Biggus_Dickus_Incontinenta_Btx]

How do you work that out? As Jay says the R starts at £130k, the cheapest R on AT is £95k. I can’t stand the things but that’s not a loss of £70k.

[@DavidBrown-bs7gg]

Had a choice of the Eletre R or an i7 as a company car.. having owned 7+ Lotus in the past I was sorely tempted by the Eletre and then I read owners' experiences on the forums.. like one guy whose Eletre has been bricked for 8 weeks with no sign of it being fixed. The BMW was the right move

[@Calilasseia]

Before I watched this video, I looked at the title, and the first word that came into my head was "suspension". The ONE PART OF A CAR that you expect Lotus of all people to be good at, but I sensed that they had cocked up. I wasn't that far out when I watched the video ... But then, my thought when this was announced, was "Oh no ... Lotus of all people are building an SUV". That was IMMEDIATELY filed under the heading "BAD MOVE". Admittedly, I thought the same when I was told that Ferrari of all people were building an SUV, but [1] I don't think they cocked it up, and [2] given what Ferrari would charge for the end product, they had better bloody well get it right. But the real killer is that price tag. A HUNDRED AND SIXTY GRAND for a car with Windows 95 level bugs? One whose own dealer network can't maintain properly? I'm sorry, but HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA ... are Lotus taking the piss? Does anyone else here think that Geely are using Lotus as their beta testers (and by extension, Lotus customers), so that they can bring out an electric SUV that WORKS, under a Chinese brand name for a third of the price two years later? Which is the REAL intended end user for that mega capacity factory? If I hadn't watched this car being driven by an actual human being, I'd have dismissed it as vapourware. Thought it was bad enough when Ford decided to stick the Capri name on an SUV. That was a travesty of epic proportions. This, on the other hand, strikes me as well into Götterdämmerung territory.

[@TheJohn8765]

Even Lotus can't hide the immense mass. Can't cheat physics. Just like the new M5, these bloated cars can't go around a corner to save their life. No thanks... I'll buy a used ICE car and bank the savings. 160k? Lolololol.

[@sweetpo1]

I've just got back from Shanghai, and it all makes sense. Lotus has these exclusive hyper posh little boutique dealers right next to Louis Vuitton and Balenciaga, etc. They even have doormen as if you entering a luxury hotel... seriously. Cheely needed something with a high class feel to stand out amongst all the other super high tech EVs, so they've gone for British royalty, so to speak. This is not car for Europe.

[@andrewmoorhouse687]

“Simplify, then add lightness” is the famous Colin Chapman quote. Now we have: “Complicate and add weight”. Colin must be on the red line in his grave. I wanted to hate it and I wasn’t disappointed. 😂 Thanks James for just saving me £160,000. I wonder what it’s worth now at 1 year old? Must be in five figures and not six I’m guessing. That’s definitely going to smart a bit. Slightly more seriously, I just wonder if we’re starting to see the end of the road for the car? Most new cars now are too expensive, too complicated, too big, too heavy. Then there’s too much traffic on our roads, there’s the environmental concerns, there’s government legislation wanting us to move to electric vehicles that many don’t want or try and then go back to internal combustion, many young people don’t view cars in the way previous generations did; it’s not an aspiration to own a car in the way that it was. Even as a car lover, I’ve used quite a bit of public transport or simply walked, because for what I was doing and where I was going it was more convenient. Like many businesses and areas of life that seem in decline recently, it’s not one thing dealing the death blow for the car, it’s more like death by a thousand cuts.

[@SaintKimbo]

Well said, the other thing is, that most younger people are far more savvy about financial matters, when I bought my house in the early '90's, no one talked about interest rates, now if the interest rate moves it's national news ! Cars are increasingly becoming known for the financial disaster that they represent, and in these times high cost of living, for many people, the pleasure of having a shiny new car just cannot be justified purely on the basis that you are making a negative investment.

[@benzinapaul7416]

One word sums this car up for me: Pointless

[@brandonfromlondonuk3484]

dont forget UGLY

[@brandonfromlondonuk3484]

overpriced also

[@brandonfromlondonuk3484]

and stupid

[@1FXC]

Made in China. That's all you had to say.

[@JayEmmOnCars]

It does not automatically mean "made badly" anymore. As if Lotus made in Britain was built like a tank

[@heiner71]

@@JayEmmOnCars , true but I suspect it was also designed for the most part in China by Chinese engineers, and not by Lotus engineers.

[@mipmipmipmipmip-v5x]

​@@JayEmmOnCars ok then buy one

[@AI-qd4vb]

@@heiner71 Well, you suspect wrong, and even if it was true, no shame in it. Chinese engineers have proven more in the past 10 years than english ones in the past century. Theres not been single decent mass manufacturer in the UK for decades now.

[@heiner71]

@@AI-qd4vb , I am not saying that the Chinese engineers don't know what they are doing but they don't have the Lotus heritage/experience. If you give a bunch of them the task to design a new Ferrari, it will not have all the Ferrari specific tweaks and features, people expect from a Ferrari. Many characteristics are based on experience and tribal knowledge within a company. You can't just expect a different company to pick that up and run with it.

[@DlStreamnet]

I just realised you are a Michael McIntyre X Jonnie Vegas crossover episode. Love you man

[@furryrug5998]

Lotus should bring out a retro-modern take of the Esprit powered by ICE. It’s a no-brainer!

[@heiner71]

Nobody bought the original ones, what makes you think people would buy a warmed over version? There are not enough enthusiasts out there to keep the light on. They need to cater to the mass market to survive.

[@floatingonairandwater]

@@heiner71i bought six of them during the 1990s and early 2000s, still have my V8, but i recognise they can’t build an entire market around just me ;-)

[@mcihs2]

I miss my Esprit from back in the day…..fantastic car……unlike this monstrosity…..

[@LordDaveKoresh]

If Elon could make an electric Elise, god knows why lotus didn’t…

[@energiam880]

Lotus doesn't want traditional Lotus buyers No one wants traditional Lotus buyers. Traditional Lotus buyers aren't numerous or profitable enough to sustain a company, and leads to financial ruins. That's how Lotus got into this goddamn mess in the first place. It isn't built for the British market. Too small, irrelevant, and shrinking. There's no growing middle class. Infact you could say the middle class is collapsing. The Eletre is pretty competitive in its market segment. It's much better than the BMW IX M60, and the new Macan EV. Especially as a luxury car. The entry Type-S 620hp model is the best pick, with a decent range. And it could be had for £74k in China. Though personally, I'd buy a Zeekr 7X over it, and still have enough left over for a BMW M2 (just saying, not that I'd ever buy a European car anymore)

[@michaeljarvis6672]

I'm calling it. I'm officially old. These new cars just leave me cold. A car tells me a lorry is in the road... great... Dumb (or is that smart) SUV's, hypercars with a gazillion pound service bill, others with screens and electronic gizmos that fit in with the increasingly vapid world. I remember seeing a Lotus, Ferrari or Lamborghini that would make my adrenalin soar. Posters on walls and dreams in Biology class. Now they are a disgrace to the brands.

[@Matthew-ll9ke]

This is not a Lotus, it is a geely built in china with some lotus badges stuck on.

[@chriscrossan8034]

Looks like another anonymous e-mobile

[@welles28]

Lotus died with Colin Chapman.

[@timpecker2527]

So when it was defrauded?

[@15bit62]

No it didn't. It changed name to "Caterham"....

[@richardwoollaston3650]

No. Some very brave people kept the company going despite disruptive changes in ownership. We had the development of the Esprit, the Elan M100, then the Elise, Exige and Evora.

[@Laser100man]

The 2nd part of the video is precisely why I wouldn't want a new car and especially an EV. Perfectly put James.

[@En_Joshi-Godrez]

The guy that owns this dersereved everything that happened to them. Unfortunately, some never learn even after swift correction.

[@Biggus_Dickus_Incontinenta_Btx]

Learn to spell if you are going to have a go at someone you don’t know.

[@thegees]

why?

[@En_Joshi-Godrez]

@thegees I ask the same question...

[@ourcrazyjourney1694]

Was a pleasure meeting you good sir. Didn’t realise I wasn’t subbed. That’s been corrected. KZbin must like you, been watching your vids for years thusly my presumed sub. The interrupting sat reminded me of a classic Clarkson Mercedes review and he’s not bad.

[@markwood7045]

In before the bots (I hope). JayEmm , what a brilliant review - you really are the thinking person's replacement for TopGear. On the Lotus, I think we really need to accept that the whole car industry has turned on its head. Lotus are making this because there is a market for it. It looks good, it goes fast, and handles reasonably well for what it is. Yes Colin Chapman would turn in his grave on the weight side of things, but this is common to all in the segment. My point is, we are where we are today. If this keeps Lotus alive as a brand name, and it allows them to make the more exciting hyper, and 'junior' supercar stuff, then more power to them.

[@archonix]

Is there a market for it, though? BEV sales have collapsed in the last year.

[@plugsocket9432]

People aren't accepting the change to BEVs, private buyers don't want them and it's Governments fault for pushing them on the public and their Net Zero nonsense.

[@arslan479]

@markwood7045 totally agree love James’s Wit & attention to detail.

[@thomasvullings97]

EVs aren't going to be light regardless of their use case. There is no future for lotus.

[@thomasvullings97]

Your toxic positivity is insipid and gross

[@En_Joshi-Godrez]

The men and women of lotus should hold their heads in disgrace.

[@markdance574]

To be fair Iv seen 9 of these on the roads lately and in comparison Iv only ever seen 1 Aston Martin suv and I’d much rather seen Lotus survive than the total dog shit that Jaguar are trying to sell everyone

[@BuffaloDoctor]

Lotus did an amazing job with this car of managing to build-in SO MANY annoyances and downsides into one vehicle. Truly spectacular

[@richardsmith5249]

Remarkably reminiscent of the MG HS that I've been enjoying for the last couple of weeks. It's a petrol turbo, not an EV, but it's a dreadful, dreadful car. I've previously thought that touch screens have no place in a motor vehicle. Now that I have hands-on experience of the wretched things, I'm utterly convinced. In a real car, you can adjust the heating by twisting actual knobs after a quick glance. In this thing, you have to swipe left, jab "HVAC" (repeatedly), and stare in befuddlement at the result, while the car shakes the steering wheel because you're veering off the road. I could go on. It's a truckload of gimmicks, chimes, needless alerts, and fatuous pictograms. Happily, it goes back to the hire company tomorrow. I feel for you (and Niall) having to cope with those video mirrors. Surely there must be a delete option? Anyway, I'm unlikely to be buying one: my tacho card is about to expire...

[@richardjeffery5594]

No James. Yet another pointless over expensive EV with no real world use. I’m sure it’s performance is unusable in the real world, it’s range is equally not practical. What makes it better than my 230hp diesel Volvo estate with its 600+ mile tank range?

[@JayEmmOnCars]

For you I suspect nothing, but it is worth trying these things

[@energiam880]

It's not really built for you though. The British market is tiny and shrinking. There's no growing middle class (you can say it's shrinking, at an alarming rate). Neither does the UK have the infrastructure to make EVs all that viable for most people. It's too big for UK roads. It looks so out of place in the Bedfordshire countryside (I know the area, I was a Ph.D student at Cranfield for over 6 years). It's a different story in China though... I saw a few in Shanghai, Hangzhou, and Nanjing (I'm a Brit living/working in China) and they look pretty stunning in a hypermodern urban landscape. The Type-S is the best pick with a reasonable range. They start from 720k RMB (around £78k). It outclasses the BMW IX M60 and the Porsche Macan EV. The IX, which is considered one of the best EURO EVs is struggling in China so much that BMW dealers will sell you one for as low as 620k RMB. And they STILL struggle to sell. But I agree that the Eletre is too expensive, even for the Chinese market. They already slashed the price by 100k RMB from 2023. But even at 720K RMB, it's a terrible value proposition. Because Geely themselves could sell you a Zeekr 7X for 290k RMB. It's quicker than the lotus, much more compact, interior quality/materials and build is honestly far better than any Mercedes/Audi/BMW product, and has the world's most advanced battery (the lotus uses last generation CATL battery) that can charge from 10-80% in 10 mins. You could buy one and have enough left over to buy a BMW M2, for the price of a single eletre Type-S It needs to offer much more to sell in the only market where it has any kind of chance (China & Scandinavian countries) I can bet you Lotus dealers will slash prices even further. Expect 620-650k for a Type-S in a few months.

[@kevinbarry71]

A car manufacturer with a long history of electrical problems makes an electric car. Sounds great

[@brandonfromlondonuk3484]

[@pereldh5741]

Basically a Zeekr 001 in new clothes. Which in turn has a lot of Volvo genes

[@chrisnic8894]

At least the old Lotus saying can be reinstated!

[@RandallSlick]

Lots Of Tonnes. Usually Sino.

[@d8o8m8]

I spotted one in my local Morrisons carpark and its size is unreal. Truly enormous. It was parked across two disabled spaces and used all the space.

[@invisiblekid99]

How do you know you're a petrolhead? When a silent drive off at the start of a JayEmm video makes you want to buy an Aston Martin from 3 days ago.

[@amgguy4319]

At least she does it with a pleasant British accent!

[@venom5809]

If my car died the first day you are taking it back and giving me my money back.

[@edu4818]

great content, hate that car

[@EleanorPeterson]

Yep. There's nowt wrong wi' a bit of honest hate. I hate lots of things: poverty, injustice, famine, disease, wilful ignorance, Ego Muskrat, garlic, Donny Trumphole, gods, religion, blind faith, rare meat, ch**se (🧀🤮), lithium battery chemistry, KZbin's AI censorship algorithms which don't get British humour, the list goes on...

[@ikhoonyejelem2967]

@@EleanorPetersonwtf is this comment

[@JackCarsonite]

​@ikhoonyejelem2967 Apparently, someone hates President Trump, amongst quite a few things. 😂

[@brandonfromlondonuk3484]

the car hates the car

[@daniel-ino]

Honestly, as a person with lower income, i lost interest in cars although i really like them and I wanted to buy a nice convertible. I am reluctant to change my current car with 200.000 km because a) current new cars are very expensive and more importantly: You don't know if the tech will be supported or can be maintained in a few years. Already some independent mechanics refuse to service my simple hybrid because of insurance worries. If you are a state employee or other well protected person or lease this may not affect you so much

[@thegees]

tell you something about their marketing/poor sales figures, as an intermediate car person i didn't even know this had released

[@peterjones596]

My god, 2.7 tonnes! Colin Chapman must be spinning in his grave, trying to drill himself out and replace a few panels with cardboard sprayed wih silver paint. (Yes, he really did this on a race car)

[@simonmatthews7512]

So it's absolutely nothing like a Lotus apart from being completely unreliable? Brilliant work Geely. Brilliant.

[@psircos]

A bit of self realisation and modesty goes a long way! Even the most disinterested in how a car handles person, would know that Geoff Capes will never move like Bruce Lee. This car is a huge mistake, as are all these SUV sized monstrosities. EV are meant to be town cars, small, nimble and with a 130-150mile range, which in any city would last for 3 days! (Taxis aside) The world's gone mad

[@SabotsLibres]

My L322 full fat Range Rover officially weighs about 2.6 tonnes - I can get 500 miles from a tank of fuel…

[@LynGriffiths70]

I think they've made a massive mistake, this thing is hideous ! Who needs a 900hp truck ? Lotus should build 400hp sports cars.. electric ones if they have to, every manufacturer makes cars this shape now (big and ugly) At least Lotus built in lots of faults to make traditional Lotus owners feel at home. Great review by the way.

[@TimLemonn]

I’m currently in Malaysia and saw one of these on the road last week, which was a big surprise!

[@fuzkek9135]

I had a very very similar experience with an MG 4 Xpower. That car had a year of endless problems, before I gave up and sold it. I'd guess That 'that' isn't a Lotus and is a 'Geely'. In the same way my MG wasn't an 'MG' it was a 'SAIC'.

[@basmca1]

2.7 tons. A Lotus. 2.7 tons. A Lotus.

[@Ian-oe9wp]

makes me think what a tvr suv would have been like absolute insane i imagine

[@ricatiman]

As much as I admired Lotus back in the halcyon days of Jim Clark, I used to think that I would never own another. My first problem was in 1970 with a camshaft failure in my 6K mile 1970 Lotus Cortina...on start up one morning - bang! Since then I tortured myself with a Europa S2 R16, then a Turbo Esprit, then a V-8 Esprit before I fully realized they built crappy cars. Now I watch the auctions for that perfect Elan Plus 2 S... will I never learn? Although a really properly sorted Europa S2 or Twincam could tempt me. I always loved that S2. It was the only Lotus that never left me stranded on the roadside.

[@jabberthebut]

This car deserves a promotion ad like the recent Jaguar one!

[@MerkJacobus]

It's a Zeekr for people who prefer to pay more.

[@HerewardTheW]

Nice bit of Hideo Kojima there, sir! A man of culture.

[@LordG1963]

£162000 for a 2.7 ton EV behemoth it needs 900 hp to get to the end of the road ! . Buy a used Taycan or RS etron for 50 grand and an RS 6 and you will still have 40 grand left. As we say in Yorkshire Sithee

[@andrewhutchinson8025]

This is a lotus!!! It's literally the opposite of everything lotus has ever done . It's not compact or light and definitely not simple. It's just another bloated not interesting overly complicated and overpriced SUV . Wouldn't want to be the person whose buys one of these only for it to lose tens of thousands a year in depreciation . Also I would imagine it will be in and out of the dealership being repaired constantly especially with electrical gremlins.. Also I disagree it looks like every other SUV. I mean Lamborghini's look amazing but the urus still looking like a SUV and that's supposed to be one of the best looking SUVs this certainly isn't better looking it's boring. To be fair nothing is as terrible as the new ford "Capri" that is shameful.. SUVs are just boring especially in electric only guise. Unfortunately the future looks bleak not bright and will be full of soulless dreary appliance's.

[@cognitive_minority]

The uglification of everything.

[@Shannon-c2c]

Add Lightness....to your wallet

[@brandonfromlondonuk3484]

Legend has it that if you peel the Lotus badge off there is a B.Y.D badge underneath ! 🤫

[@martynrollinson]

It's a Geely? Not BYD...

[@ElLowEl]

"Simplify and add lightness" - Colin Chapman

[@ERDoc741]

Their inspiration was “Complicate… then add Heaviness”

[@amcluesent]

AFAIK Lotus have recently rowed back from all EV future and are going hybrid.

[@JemaKnight]

It would be wrong for Lotus to have anything but contempt for SUVs and crossovers. Perhaps there's more ideological purity left in them than it seems.

[@Sevastous]

If I had to summarise British sports brands trajectory in the last 15 years or so. It's complete spiral into irrelevancy. Like we were joking about Aston only kept afloat by F1 midfield clout and Craig-Bonds success. but what about the rest? New Social media generation are only eyeing Hellcats-GT3 RS'es, M5-3's and Supra-GTR's. British are completely spiraling in the whirlpool of irrevelancy. Lack of sales, lack of reception. lack of performance or price offerings. the lot.

[@caelumincola]

Lotus: light, balanced, fragile, viscerally performing, beautifully handling sports cars. This isn’t a Lotus. Chapman would have never allowed something that weighs 2.7tons to wear the Lotus badge. A crying shame and an insult to the legacy of a once revered car brand. £160k+ too…. Where did it all go so wrong? I own a Cayman and seriously considered an Emira, until the price increases made them much less desirable. I honestly don’t know what Geely are thinking of using the Lotus name to push this overweight, numb and absolutely alien car type (for the brand) onto a niche market that really does know better than to choose this over a Range Rover, Porsche, Maserati, Tesla or basically anything else that actually makes a modicum of sense. Sorry…. I ranted a bit there. I guess I’m just a bit fed up of overweight, huge, unnecessarily complicated, soulless electric cars, especially when they are badged as something which is the exact antithesis of that. I’ll go back to my cave and whittle some sticks now.

[@hungrysurfer9471]

I love an engine, manual handbrake, no driver interfering tech like steering or brakes. I prefer clutch and manual gears. With Lotus handling, steering feedback and a narrow width 175cm or less so i can park easily. Less than 1200 kg please.

[@EvoraGT430]

You need an Exige or Elise, then.

[@hungrysurfer9471]

@EvoraGT430 thanks. I think you are right. Is the Exige bigger than an Elise ? Im 186cm tall, unfortunately I could not get into an Elise years ago when I tried to. I think need about 10cm more leg room.

[@rosstee]

@@hungrysurfer9471 If you don't fit in an Elise you wouldn't fit an Exige either, they're the same platform so very similar interiors.

[@laser-sj]

Waiting for James thoughts on JaGuar 😂

[@TwoDollarGararge]

I get it, lotus wants that sweet porsche cayenne or bmw x5 money printer, a small and very fickle crowd like uncomfortable 2 door sports cars larger groups by comfy gt's and suvs that are fast.

[@Dreddingbath]

You would have thought adding lightness would be a recipe for success in an electric age but it seems adding luxury is the chosen way. Feeling a little sad that reinventing a British brand seems to always involve moving ridiclously up market.

[@TheJohn8765]

Adding lightness is impossible in an EV unless you want to halve its range. And then no one wants a sports SUV with 275km range (quite reasonably).

[@INTEL-REDACTED]

la-li-lu-le-lo, a metal gear reference. i see you truly are a man of cultrue james.