Lotus is changing - and it's high time our perception did, too
New Lotus Emeya is nothing like an Elise – and that's perfectly fine
New 'lifestyle' Lotus EVs don't need to live up to the Elise; they're impressive in their own right
This must be just about the point where we can start to discuss Lotus’s new-age electric cars in isolation from the weighty heritage attached to the emblem they bear.
Lotus Technology is in essence one of many new Chinese electric car firms with a range of tech-heavy SUVs and saloons primed for global roll-outs over the coming years; it just so happens it has the privilege of operating under a name we know and revere, much like SAIC’s MG Motor.
*New 2024 Lotus Emeya electric saloon revealed with 905bhp*
Acknowledge that distinction and the company’s plan to achieve mammoth sales figures with a line of luxurious, capacious EVs becomes a much easier pill to swallow. And even easier still when you consider just how attractively styled and specified these EVs are.
In one fell swoop, the new Lotus Emeya saloon has outpaced, out-ranged and out-teched some of its most formidable rivals, and if it’s as likeable and competent to pilot as the Lotus Eletre SUV, it looks a nailed-on contender for class supremacy.
It's not a Lotus in the traditional sense, maybe, but it's almost certainly bound for venerability comparable to the lithe two-seaters that the brand has always done best.