Not so long ago, the idea of a lotus flower An SUV, let alone an electric one, is like a bittersweet story. After all, the very nature of SUVs and EVs goes against the company founder Colin Chapman’s famous ethos of “Simplify, then add brightness.“Lotus’ Eletre, with all intents and purposes, has taken back that old ideology and brought it Ol’ Yeller’s treatment. While this is certain pee in the Wheaties of sports car purists around the world, I consider it necessary and good. Let me explain.
The Lotus Eletre 2024 is a two-row electric luxury SUV available with 603 or 905 hp dual-motor drive and a 112 kilowatt-hour battery pack with an estimated maximum range of 573 km on the WLTP cycle. Europe . In our more conservative EPA cycle, that will likely hit around 290 miles, which while not top-of-the-line will prove to be more than enough for most buyers.
As happened with most Lotus models throughout history, the powertrain here ranks from pretty good to good. That’s nothing special in a world where 1,200-horsepower sedans are prowling our streets. Also, as was the case with Lotus from time immemorial, the powertrain isn’t the star of the show. That honor goes to the chassis instead, but this is where Lotus has to confront some harsh truths about how it wants the driving public to perceive the Eletre.
During my time with the car, the people of Lotus wanted to drive home that the Eletre was a Lotus through and through. It is not, at least not in the classical sense. It’s a large heavy SUV with optional 23-inch wheels. It will never handle like a sports car. That’s not to say it isn’t impressive in its own right, but the classic Lotus ethos of a lively, ready chassis and engaging controls make you feel like you’re part of the vehicle. not here.
Eletre marks the first time Lotus has used electric power steering. Although this technology is now well established and has almost completely replaced hydraulic power steering system is the default technology, companies that have become really good at hard programming of systems have been doing that for a while. For example, Porsche, with its best-calibrated EPS system, has been iterative for over a decade. What that means for Lotus is that while the steering isn’t bad, and it feels relatively direct and very precise, it doesn’t feel as lively as I’ve come to expect from the brand.
The Eletre’s air suspension is a similar story. It’s really good overall. The ride is excellent, with plenty of compliance coupled with great body control, but it doesn’t feel particularly playful or engaging. Although, to be fair, with the car making its debut in Norway with an extremely low speed limit (seriously, how is it that nearly an entire country is restricted to the speed limit?) 40 mph?), I can’t exactly push the car to its limit.
Even during the “performance” part of the launch, where we were whisked into the Eletre R with a closed runway available to us, Lotus was keen to prevent us from trying too hard. Our launch control demo was limited to a top speed of around 100 mph, and there was a driver instructor in the right seat to enforce that. Similarly, for the slalom, we were not allowed to put it in an easier track mode for fear of the car getting out of control.
So while the Eletre doesn’t do the Lotus thing from a dynamics standpoint, that doesn’t mean it’s bad or boring. I actually found it to be a more polished product overall than I expected. The interior is superb, with really nice materials put together well and well thought out. My test car was wrapped in faux suede that was enough to suffocate a rhinoceros, and although I hate that, I realize it’s personal preference and the execution is admittedly beautiful. Good.
The central infotainment screen dominates the front-seat experience, which isn’t a bad thing, thanks to the super-responsive nature of the Android-based Lotus HyperOS system that controls everything. Connectivity is good with plenty of USB-C ports in the front and rear seating areas, and while the car I drive doesn’t have Apple CarPlay or Android Auto yet, I’m assured they will be available via translation soon. online service. -air update.
As a modern luxury SUV, there’s plenty of advanced driver assistance on board. This includes features like automatic high beams, adaptive cruise, blind spot warning, lane keep assist, etc. But the really fun part – and the part that sets the Eletre ahead of the rest – are the three deployable cap sensors that come with every Eletre. According to Lotus, these will make the SUV hardware-ready for Level 4 autonomous driving, which the company says will arrive at some point.
The deployable aspect of the sensors is interesting because it helps reduce wind resistance, which always works well, and if people don’t like how they look, they won’t see them when parking. . Speaking of reducing wind resistance, you may notice that Eletre’s body is rather spongy (to use Lotus’ language). The vents and shovels are all real and work to give this large SUV a super-slick drag coefficient of 0.26. For comparison, that’s just 0.1 cD more First generation Honda Insight and 0.3 cD better than one Ford Mustang Mach-E. While the look is polarizing (I happen to like it in person), the results are hard to argue with.
If you want a Lotus Eletre, you’ll be able to get it in three flavors: the top-end Eletre, Eletre S and Eletre R. The car that I spend the most time with is the Eletre S, which Lotus believes will be in large numbers. seller. The letter R was used on our runways and slopes. We don’t have US pricing yet, but we do have UK pricing, so we can make some wild guesses as to how much this thing will retail for when it makes the jump. leap.
The basic Eletre will retail for 89,500 GBP, which is about $114,000, but that price includes value added tax (VAT) that we don’t pay, so it’s 20% off immediately. There are other factors, but we’d like to polish the base Eletre at around $95,000. The Eletre S test car that I drove costs around $128,500, but it’s basically packed with every option. Theoretically, the Eletre R should start at around $122,000 before options.
Regardless of price, Lotus has some major hurdles to overcome if it wants to sell Eletre in bulk in the US. First, most non-car enthusiasts probably don’t know or understand what Lotus is, so talking about heritage makes no sense to them. Next, no one in their mind will call Lotus’ current dealer system is here “strong” and people will need physical locations to buy and serve these babies. The fact that the Eletre is made in China can be a problem for some buyers. Lotus isn’t the first to try and sell a Chinese-built car here – both GM and Volvo/Polestar have done this – but Americans haven’t always adapted the fastest to things like So. Ultimately, for those who know what Lotus is, getting them past the idea that the company can make a powerful, big, heavy, and electric SUV will also be a challenge. To address these issues, Lotus has ramped up hiring and, according to its marketing team, is working on solutions.
So considering everything I’ve discussed, I still think Lotus has The potential to really turn things around with Eletre. The company needed a mass car that appealed to the masses because sports car will not pay the bills, as it has been proven time and time again. The Eletre are weird looking, drive great, offer good range, and as long as they can keep the price tag below the $100k mark; it can be pretty good competition for things like Tesla Model X or BMW iX.
The Eletre is certainly flawed, but it’s a vehicle worth getting excited about because, honestly, the more Lotuses hit the road, the better and as a bonus, more money can be had. That means great things for automotive company sports, and that’s also worth the excitement.
