Lotus Emeya review

Driving position 

A proper Lotus cockpit should be raucous, well-thought-out and engaging, and we’re glad to report the Emeya’s does just this and won’t make you want a sofa 10 minutes into every drive. 

The seats themselves are effortlessly comfortable, yet supportive enough for more spirited driving, with the seats automatically hugging you when in Sport or Track mode. 

There’s plenty of adjustment in the driving position, with electronic controls to change everything, and to make you feel even more relaxed, there are heated, ventilated and massage seats. 

The steering wheel has lots of electronic adjustment, and because it’s wrapped in a soft Alcantara, it’s comfortable to hold. 

Our only gripe is the flimsy steering wheel controls, which are a bit ‘clicky clacky’, though they look cool. 

Tech and features 

Unlike any other Lotus before it (excluding the Electre SUV), the Emeya actually comes with some tech to play with, like every other modern car, but taken to the next level. 

In the centre of the unique-looking dashboard is a 15.6-inch OLED display powered by ultra-fast processors, meaning it’s very smooth, crisp, and the graphics look superb. 

It has a bespoke Lotus infotainment system, which we found to be easy to navigate. It comes with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto as standard, of course, as well as built-in Spotify and TIDAL – a music programme you’ll want to make the most of with the immersive 15-speaker KEF sound system. 

On either side of this display are two more screens – one thin passenger display where they can change song, and one 12.6-inch driver’s display for your speed, range, drive modes etc. 

Unfortunately, no matter how impressive this interior is, we can’t get over the fact that the rear-view camera is sub-par. For a car costing more than £140,000 and with 13 exterior cameras, you’d think it would look better than a PlayStation 2 game – MINIs at a fraction of the price are far better. 

Electric motors and power 

Above all else, performance is what the Emeya is all about, especially in its top-spec 900 Sport Carbon trim (previously badged 'R'). 

What this gets you is a dual-motor setup with a total power output of 905hp, giving you a mind-boggling 0-62mph time of just 2.78 seconds, and even in the (very) wet, it’ll do it in less than four seconds. 

It helps put this power down via a two-speed automatic transmission (like its Porsche Taycan rival) and via a set of Michelin EV tyres on our test car. 

Thanks to the instant torque, you just need to tickle the throttle to be travelling at near-national limit speeds, though you can reign it in a bit using the various drive modes: Range, Tour, Sport, Individual and Track. 

Is it too fast? Yes. There’s no denying that nobody needs a 905hp family saloon car, but look at it this way, you can drive around most of the time knowing you have the fastest thing within a 10-mile radius, and brag to your mates down the pub, or local driving range. 

Handling and ride comfort 

On the (legal) limit is where you can start to pick at the Emeya’s flaws, however. 

It’s very quick and can compose itself at speed, but when you approach a corner, it goes all soft and gooey like a marshmallow left in the fire too long. 

It lacks the steering feel and agility of a more traditional Lotus, such as the Emira or Elise at higher speeds, and is the one area of the car that you lose confidence in. 

Having said that, for 99% of drives, you’re going to be on the road at sensible speeds, and we’re glad to report it handles this with ease. 

The steering is light and easy to use, and the ride quality is superb. Thanks to its all-round air suspension, the Emeya glides over bumps and potholes, and makes motorway journeys really rather pleasant. 

Boot space 

Upon first inspection, the boot looks massive in the Emeya. It goes far back and is very wide, but when you start using it, it suddenly becomes much smaller. 

The total capacity is 509 litres (429 litres in four-seat versions), but it’s not very deep, meaning larger items are much closer to smashing through the rear glass lid, and no one wants that. 

Though if you have longer items such as a bicycle, we found folding the rear seats unveils a total of 1,388 litres of space, and that’s plenty for most use cases. 

Then, at the front, there’s 46 litres of space in the froot (front boot), which is just about enough for some charge cables and nothing more. 

Need more space? You should probably get a Lotus Electre or Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo instead. 

Rear seats 

We were pleasantly surprised by the rear-seat space. The usual state of affairs in a saloon car is limited legroom and next to no headroom, but adults over six foot can comfortably sit back there with no issues at all. 

This is in part thanks to the electronically adjustable seats, but also due to the panoramic sunroof, which offers a tad more headroom. 

Though there is a hump in the centre of the cabin, which isn’t normal in an electric car because there’s no need for a transmission tunnel, but this will just be due to the battery and motor placement. 

Right in front of the middle passenger’s knees is a touchscreen controlling the seats, music and climate control, which is handy. 

You could quite easily be chauffeured in the Emeya, just let your driver know about the rapid acceleration... 

Storage solutions 

So, as a family car, you need to have lots of clever storage solutions, and the Emeya is good but could be better. 

The door bins are rather narrow and therefore most water bottles are best kept to the cupholders (also quite narrow) or compartment under them. 

The central armrest cubby is big enough for things such as a phone, wallet, keys etc, but not much more. 

Its motorised glovebox is fairly big, but again, nothing to write home about, and it’s a similar story in the back, though you do get a central armrest with two more cupholders. 

Safety 

The Emeya, like every other new car, comes with more safety features than you could ever have hoped for, including a comprehensive Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS), with a nifty section to manually disable certain functions, should you wish. 

It's also one of the few cars out there with LiDAR – a system that uses lasers to read the road ahead. While full LiDAR isn’t available in the UK, we do get phase two, which gets you adaptive cruise control and lane-keep assist. 

Range and charging times 

On paper, the Lotus Emeya is very impressive in the battery and charging department. All cars get the same 102kWh battery pack with up to 379 miles of range in the base spec 600 trim. 

Our top-spec 900 Sport Carbon car gets a claimed 270 miles of range, and in our testing, it stayed true to this claim. 

But even if it didn’t, you’d be absolutely fine thanks to its ability to charge from 10-80% in just 14 minutes, if you can find a 400kW charger – a challenge in the UK with the fastest we could find being a 360kW one. 

Reliability 

Being so new, it’s hard to comment on the reliability of the Lotus Emeya, but being electric (fewer moving parts than a combustion engine) means it should be much more dependable. 

Plus, every new Emeya comes with a five-year/120,000-mile warranty as well as an eight-year battery warranty.