The Lotus Emira always felt like a good car with a great one trapped inside, trying to crowbar its way out. Can this new Turbo SE liberate the Emira’s untapped potential? Daily-driving one for a few weeks will provide an answer…
The ‘Turbo Special Equipment’ badge is an evocative one for Lotus enthusiasts (and I count myself among them). First sported by the 1989 Esprit Turbo SE, it meant the fastest Lotus road car ever at the time, complete with swoopy side skirts, a fixed rear wing and 268hp from a turbocharged and intercooled four-cylinder engine.
Today’s Turbo SE is also powered by a forced-induction four, this time shipped to Norfolk in a crate by Mercedes-AMG. There’s no bolt-on bodykit, but the Emira doesn’t need one; it already resembles an eight tenths-scale supercar. Indeed, with the possible exception of the £2 million Evija, it’s the best-looking Lotus since the Esprit. How apt.
Magic in the middle?
A bit of context before we get behind the wheel. This 406hp, £89,500 Turbo SE is the new middle rung in the model range, positioned between the entry-level 365hp, £79,500 Emira Turbo and the flagship 406hp, £96,500 Emira V6 SE.
Eagle-eyed readers will have spotted the Turbo SE and V6 SE have identical power outputs. In fact, the two cars are quite distinct in character, with one key difference being the option of a manual gearbox in the V6. Both the Turbo models – which deploy versions of the same 2.0-litre AMG engine – use an eight-speed dual-clutch auto transmission.
The Turbo SE’s other vital statistics are 354lb ft of torque, 0-62mph in 4.0 seconds, a top speed of 181mph, 208g/km of CO2 and a kerb weight of 1,446kg. The latter, incidentally, is exactly twice the 723kg quoted for the Elise at launch in 1995 (automotive nerds take note: this figure applies to early Elises with the innovative metal matrix composite brakes).
If near-as-dammit 1.5 tonnes sounds lardy for a Lotus, it’s worth noting that the Emira targets the more mainstream, less masochistic end of the sports car spectrum. Standard equipment includes 12-way heated electric seats, climate control air-con, a 10.2-inch touchscreen, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity and an excellent KEF audio system – not to mention adequate sound deadening and a proper roof. The Turbo SE also comes with the Lotus Drivers’ Pack, adding sports suspension, cross-drilled brake discs and launch control.
Bend it like Becker
The price paid for the Emira’s wedgy, shrink-wrapped styling is a lack of luggage space. There’s no ‘frunk’ whatsoever, and the slot-shaped boot behind the engine holds a mere 151 litres. It’s also disappointing to see the AMG motor hidden beneath a grey plastic cover. In the (Toyota-powered) V6 version, you can at least glimpse the supercharger through the rear window.
Matters improve when you step inside, however, not least because you get another 208 litres of storage space (for coats, squashy bags or similar) on a narrow shelf behind the seats. Unlike its Esprit ancestor, there’s also enough headroom and legroom for taller folk to travel in comfort, with plenty of adjustability for the seat and steering wheel.
Staring through the steeply raked screen at the raised ‘Becker points’ atop the front wings – named after legendary Lotus test driver Roger Becker, who advocated them to help judge a car’s width – the Emira feels snug, low-slung and special. Despite the central touchscreen, its major controls are mostly physical switches – a marked, but welcome, contrast with the minimalist, tech-focused cabins of the Lotus Emeya saloon and Eletre SUV.
Equally, while the electric vehicles are made in China, the Emira takes shape in Hethel, Norfolk: the home of Lotus Cars since 1966. The Chapman Production Centre, opened in 2022, now assembles around 5,000 Emiras a year and quality is top notch. A closer inspection reveals tight body shutlines, lustrous paint and neatly stitched leather.
Even the few bits of Volvo switchgear inside the Turbo SE are well made and neatly integrated. My only gripe, as something of a tedious Lotus purist, is with the Lamborghini-esque ‘bomb switch’ cover for the engine start button. Company founder Colin ‘Simplify, then add lightness’ Chapman would never have countenanced something so needlessly ornamental.
Driving the Emira Turbo SE
The use of AMG’s ‘M139’ engine came about because Lotus’s parent company, the Chinese automotive conglomerate Geely, owns a 10 percent stake in Mercedes-Benz. Mounted transversely in a bespoke aluminium subframe, it’s essentially the same unit used in the AMG A45 S hot hatchback, along with the new AMG GT43 coupe.
Although the 3.5-litre V6 heads up the Emira hierarchy, the four-pot engine in Turbo models is equally muscular and far more sophisticated. Technical highlights include a twin-scroll turbo, forged pistons, two-stage fuel injection, variable valve timing and a motorsport-style closed-deck crankcase.
For all its firepower, though, the Emira Turbo SE sounds distinctly disappointing when you fire it up. The impatient growl of an idling A45 S is muted here; only when you really work this engine does it start to gnash its valvetrain and build to a snarling crescendo. Turbocharged noises also come to the fore when you accelerate hard (a breathy whoosh) or back off the gas (chirps and chattering from the wastegate).
If its soundtrack is a bit underwhelming, the Emira’s performance is way more… whelming. A combination of short gear ratios and plentiful turbocharged torque mean its engine is always bubbling and ready to boil. The supercars it looks like (Ferrari 488 GTB, anyone?) might boast twice the cylinder-count and twice the power, but 400hp-ish feels like a sweet spot for performance cars. Frankly, on UK roads, anything more becomes a game of diminishing returns.
Emira: Steer from the rear
The Emira Turbo SE also delivers in the dynamic department. Like McLaren Automotive, Lotus has opted to retain hydraulic power steering, rather than switch to a fuel-saving electric system (adopted almost universally elsewhere). And any dent in the car’s efficiency seems well worth it: the Emira’s steering is a delight. Quick and beautifully weighted, it relays messages from the road with cut-glass clarity. The chunky, Alcantara-wrapped wheel is very tactile, too.
Find a flowing B-road and the Lotus changes direction with the lack of inertia only a mid-engined sports car can offer. Unlike many other vehicles with AMG engines, it’s precise and serious-minded rather than a wayward, tyre-smoking hooligan. You can point the Emira’s angular nose at an apex, then trim its line with the throttle. There’s plenty of grip from the Goodyear Eagle F1 tyres (stickier, albeit less winter-friendly Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2s are a £400 option), the brakes inspire confidence and the rear e-differential works effectively.
The Turbo SE comes as standard on Sport suspension, which was fitted to my test car. However, I’d switch to the (no-cost) Touring option if buying an Emira primarily for road use. The stiffer setup feels a bit restless and occasionally gets discombobulated by crumbling or uneven surfaces. A bit more pliancy would reinforce the traditional Lotus ‘flow’ – and make the car more comfortable for daily use.
I also have to take issue with the Emira’s gearbox. For starters, you have to very deliberately pull the lever twice every time you want to engage drive or reverse, which makes manoeuvring a faff – particularly if your foot isn’t applying sufficient pressure to the brake, in which case the gear simply won’t engage. The action of the paddle shifters also feels more digital than mechanical, and the transmission doesn’t always respond with the whip-crack immediacy you’d expect from a DCT. While not a deal-breaker, it doesn’t feel like a fitting foil for the wonderfully sharp chassis.
Verdict: Lotus Emira Turbo SE
There’s much to love about the Emira Turbo SE. Despite some misgivings, it burrowed deeper into my affections every time I drove it. And – road test cliché alert! – I really did take the long route home on a couple of occasions.
For many, the biggest stumbling block will be the Emira’s price. When it was launched in 2022, the V6 First Edition cost £75,995 and Lotus confidently promised a four-cylinder version for ‘under £60,000’. Four short years later, an Emira Turbo SE with a few choice options can set you back six figures (my car was £105,995), which pushes it into Porsche 911 Carrera territory.
The Porsche, as you’d expect, is a more rounded and capable car. But not everybody wants to drive a 911 (or indeed a Cayman), and the Lotus will certainly turn more heads and earn more approving nods. Whenever I posted photos of it on social media, for instance, the number of ‘likes’ easily outstripped any modern 911. The fact that Lotus is a British brand, albeit Chinese-owned, resonates with me as well. Buying a sports car isn’t a rational decision, after all.
The Emira stops short of true greatness, yet its flaws do lend it character, just like the Lotuses of old. We keep saying it, but cars like this really don’t have long left. And here is one you could keep and cherish, long after the new-car market has gone EV-only. In terms of choosing between the V6 and Turbo SE, it’s a close call, but I’d err towards the V6 with a manual ’box. Either way, your journey home might be longer and more circuitous than Google Maps or Waze suggests. The Emira is that kind of car.
PRICE: £89,500
POWER: 406hp
0-62MPH: 4.0 seconds
TOP SPEED: 181mph
FUEL ECONOMY: 30.8mpg
CO2 EMISSIONS: 208g/km