Lotus Emeya | Test Drive

24 March 2025 Redazione News, Tested

Until now I would have had no useful reference to understand that I was at the wheel of a Lotus. It is the redefinition of the brand, a new chapter that for the entire time I drove it was so valid that I did not even think once about the thrills that the various Elise and Exige have given me over the years.

Words Alessandro Marrone / Photos Jay Tomei

“Simplify, then add lightness” – is one of the many famous quotes carved into the history of motoring and left to us as a legacy by Colin Chapman, visionary founder of Lotus, creator of some of the greatest sports and racing cars of all time. A mantra that probably reached its peak with the Seven, that is the link between man and machine, capable of transmitting sensations that once resurrected from its anorexic cockpit would rewrite your vision of performance forever. Elise and then Exige have evolved a similar concept, offering a roof over the head, real doors and the semblance of a car as most people understand it. With the right proportions, the magic that comes once at the wheel has incredibly remained intact, but unfortunately it seems like something that the world of tomorrow will miss once and for all.

Leaving the Evora and the more recent Emira out of the equation, the interest of enthusiasts – once turned to Hethel – focuses on the two models that represent what Lotus has in mind for the years to come. The Eletre SUV and the Emeya sedan are all-new products, not only because of the extra doors and seats, or for an infotainment system that on previous Lotus was superfluous science fiction, but because they forgo petrol in favour of a discharge of electrons that promises to make these two giants incredibly fast in their movements. That’s all? Not quite, that’s why I went to Turin to see our friends of Gino Lotus.

I arrive at the new showroom dedicated to the Lotus and Caterham brands and am immediately greeted by a not bad view. The display is a riot of colors and shows the entire range of the two aforementioned makers: from the small Caterham that remains faithful to the spirit of Chapman, to the contemporary Lotus. Emira, both V6 and 4-cylinder turbo, but above all Eletre and Emeya, those two models that to really understand them you have to touch first hand, drive and then analyze with full knowledge of the facts, because we do not always have what we would like, but what we actually need. And if a 2 and a half ton SUV, perhaps 100% electric, is no longer an oddity, the fact of having that yellow/green badge upsets the perception of reality quite a bit, inevitably allowing a whole series of prejudices to come into play.

There is only one way to clear your mind, erasing the design that has taken shape and sweeping away those residues of impressions that remain there like so many small rubber debris after having disintegrated every trace of what our subconscious of enthusiasts has materialized in front of the five meters of the Emeya. I intentionally tried not to document myself too much, at least before my test, so as to come here with a white palette ready to be colored with the sincere sensations that I would experience while driving. There it is, a gigantic black object, with dark 21-inch 10-spoke wheels, tinted rear windows and a design that although it takes up the stylistic traits introduced with the Eletre, are even softened, probably in order to make this sedan more in harmony with a type of customer that therefore differs from those who will prefer an SUV.

The two are closely related and for once we do not bother with the top of the price list, but we aim for the first step, the 102 kWh Emeya, the one with 612 horsepower and about 450 real km of range with a full tank of energy. I underline real and I also highlight that the charging procedure can happen rather quickly, given that Lotus declares that the system works at 800 volts and is able to receive up to 350 kWh. 100% in the battery pack positioned very low, all in favor of a center of gravity and a balance of the masses that rewards both a seating position close to the ground and a precision that we will explore in more detail shortly, once we get out of the Turin traffic of a random Thursday. The Emeya presents itself with an enviable aesthetic package. It is a bit reminiscent of the Lamborghini Estoque concept, but remains more faithful to the roundness of the Hethel family feeling, with an angular front made decidedly sporty by the double “L” headlights, a sinuous side profile and a soft tail that allows itself one of the many aesthetic and functional innovations, such as the slits useful for optimizing grip and reducing aerodynamic resistance. Yes, the same one that is rewarded by the active opening and closing system – petal-shaped – of the front splitters. In short, the Emeya is not here by pure chance.

Life on board is something exceptional. The system is responsive, precise and among the fastest currently on the market. The large central screen is a 15.2” touch display, which allows you to adjust the various parameters of the car, including satellite navigator, audio and climate control, in the latter case fortunately supported by a series of physical controls that simplify temperature regulation. No gear lever, but a wheel with a P button. In front of my eyes there is a thin display that shows the basic information, while the head-up display is absurdly complete, yet clear and never intrusive. And then there is the steering wheel, that fantastic steering wheel in mixed leather and Alcantara, the perfect tool for a comfortable grip during long journeys, but with the ideal diameter and shape when you decide to call into question the power at disposal. The paddles also rotate with it, which obviously are not used to change gear, but to increase or decrease regenerative braking (the one on the left) and the available driving modes (the one on the right).

After covering the first few kilometers in Tour mode, I engage Sport and the suspension reduces the ground clearance. The steering wheel response becomes noticeably stiffer and tickles the curiosity of those who can’t wait to show their cards and finally understand if the Emeya is not only an excellent (electric) car, but also an excellent Lotus. Here they are, the curves. Those shapes that join one point to another in the way that every Lotus driver craves and needs to keep alive the flame of passion for driving involvement. Aware that I’m carrying a cargo compartment in which you could fit an Elise S1 (509/1,388 l) and just over 2 and a half tons, I put my right foot down and start to squeeze the steering. A loud hiss insinuates itself into the cockpit and I’m pressed to the seat as if I had ended up by mistake in a place called Cape Canaveral.

There is a minimal movement along the body of the car, perhaps due to the still wet asphalt, then the Emeya bites the road with all four wheels and shoots me with a different violence than usual. I mean, 4.2 seconds do not do justice to how you move horizontally from 0 to 100 kph, because it seems to do it in much less. But what surprises me most is that the thrust manages to be brutal and comfortable at the same time and trust me that there is nothing relaxing when you push a sedan costing over one hundred thousand Euros in a continuous push and pull that barely affects the residual range. I try again and I understand that the calibration adopted by Lotus is deliberately to combine the side of a very high-level sedan with the performance guaranteed by 710 Nm available in the precise moment in which the throttle kisses the floor. So I try to put my thoughts in order and after other attempts I put it down again and longer, realizing that the gentleness in acceleration was perhaps due to the fact that I let go too soon. The Emeya is a plane ready for takeoff and if the road allows it, it flies without caring about weighing as much as three Elise S1.

But the most fun part is not the simple speed on the straight, much less the lightning-fast acceleration to which the most powerful electric cars have now accustomed us. For that, the 918 horsepower R variant would be even better. What satisfies and at the same time surprises me the most is how engaging the Emeya is between bends. With a road surface that is not perfectly dry and often even covered with mid-autumn foliage, I launch myself from one curve to the next taking advantage of the impressive torque capable of eliminating mass and weight of a five-seater sedan that we didn’t know we needed. Even in the maximum setting, the braking regeneration is never invasive, to the point of making single-pedal driving possible, but less elastic than for example with a Tesla or a Taycan, the two possible rivals, at least for the moment. In favor of Lotus we have a better interior feel, the use of superior materials and the perception that it is no longer a brand to be considered as it has been done up to now – for better or for worse – but something that does not intend to stand by and watch its cousins at Bentley, just to name one with similar origins. In mixed conditions, the Emeya is precise but less sharp than the Model S and Taycan, thus balancing again the pros and cons that differentiate the three models, so different and yet so close, at least as a concept of an electric car that does not prevent an enthusiast from having fun behind the wheel.

You get in tune almost immediately and you forget the large dimensions of the car, certainly not the splendid triangular key, which seems to have come out of an episode of Star Trek. Between carbon fiber and soft Nappa leather, if they were to hide the brand logo, up until now I would not have had any useful reference to understand that I was on a Lotus. It is the redefinition of the brand, a new chapter that for the whole time I drove it was so good that I didn’t even think once about the thrills that the various Elise and Exige gave me over the years. After all, we humans are melancholic and romantic creatures, sometimes too much. And we all agree that the vast majority of those who read our pages do not necessarily need such luxury, comfort and even power in order to be happy. The point is that the world is constantly evolving and we do the same with it. Change is part of life and electrification is the direct consequence of a planet that is far too thirsty for fossil fuel. We could discuss it for months and in the end I would agree with you, there is nothing capable of beating the emotions of a superlight that crackles between the bends of a mountain road, that is real driving for most of us. The electric future of Lotus has finally arrived and it does so in a surprising way, to the point of allowing us to hint at a smile of gratitude under that tear that says goodbye to an era.

We thank the Gino Group, Lotus official dealer, for giving us the opportunity to drive the Lotus Emeya first hand.