If you’re in the market for a fast electric vehicle, you’re in luck. Throw your money at pretty much any carmaker and they will have something that fits that description. This becomes a problem for high-end car brands, because, how do they distinguish themselves from the rest?
What I’m saying is, it is quite easy to make a quick electric vehicle these days. Heck, even MG offers a seriously fast option and priced from just $60k, with the MG4 XPower. So what is a company like Lotus supposed to do?
It has just launched a brand-new sports sedan called the Emeya, and it’s available in Australia in three trim levels including the base, the S, and the top-spec R version which offers a whopping 675kW. But if you want that you need to spend up big.
For this preview review we had a quick drive of the mid-level Emeya S, featuring a 102kWh battery and twin-motor setup, shared with the base model.
2024 Lotus Emeya S: Specifications
Battery: 102kWh, 800V
Output: 450kW / 710Nm
Gearbox: One-speed front axle, two-speed rear
Drive type: All-wheel drive
Wheels: F: 21×9.5, 265/40 R: 21×11.5, 305/35
ANCAP: Not tested
Weight: 2550kg
Official range: 498-609km
Charging: 22kW AC, 350kW DC
0-100km/h (claimed): 4.15 seconds
Starting price: $209,990
2024 Lotus Emeya S: How much does it cost?
Prices start from $189,900 for the 450kW base model, $209,990 for the 450kW S, and $259,990 for the 675kW Emeya R (excluding on-road costs). These are some steep figures, and the problem is, if you only look at the 0-100 times and power output, you’d feel a bit over-charged.
But, there is more to the Emeya than just acceleration. It promises record-breaking charging thanks to an advanced 800V battery, along with an interior that looks like it comes straight from 2035.
2024 Lotus Emeya S: Interior & packaging
Fortunately, Lotus has done a fantastic job with the interior. This is unique, it feels and looks exotic, with excellent attention to detail and build quality – this is certainly not what you get in any budget-friendly EV.
All of the dash is coated in either leather or a soft, suede-like material, with exquisite speaker grilles and ‘turbine fan’ detailing. Speaking of speakers, so to speak, the Emeya comes standard with an epic 22-speaker KEF audio system. It is unbelievably good.
Every variant also comes with an arty 15.1-inch touch-screen infotainment system and a 12.6-inch digital gauge cluster. I say ‘arty’ because the graphics on the main screen offer some artistic merit in my opinion. It doesn’t just present a list of menus and functions.
However, pretty much all vehicle functions are operable through the screen, which doesn’t seem very ‘Lotusey’ to me. This is a brand known for creating driver’s machines, not computerised capsules. And, most of the time, this feels like the latter.
Most of the switchgear has a proper quality vibe to it, with some hidden or secret switches, such as the metal lever integrated into the steering wheel button to toggle on/off the head-up display. It’s all very nice and you can tell a great deal of attention has been concentrated on making this feel special.
Passenger space is great, with a flat floor in the back opening up copious legroom. You also have two boots, with the rear offering 509L and expanding to 1388L when configured in five-seat form. Going for the four-seat arrangement drops that to 426L (rear seats don’t fold down). The front boot, or ‘froot’ offers 34L.
2024 Lotus Emeya: Powertrain & handling
With an advanced 102kWh battery offering 800V charging at up to 402kW, the Emeya has held the record for the fastest charging times. It recorded a 10-80 per cent charge in just 14 minutes. That was using a super-hectic fast-charger though, not available in Australia.
In Australia the fastest chargers available to the public are 350kW. And this can take that, easily. It’ll do 10-80 per cent charge in 20 minutes, which is almost as quick as filling petrol, taking a dump, ordering and waiting for a coffer. So if you regularly do this stuff when you stop to fill up, this isn’t going to be a delay.
Of course, 350kW chargers are few and far between. So, in reality, you’re more likely to be charging up for an hour or so just like the guy next to you in the 40-grand MG.
We only had a short (20 minute) drive in this S example, but from what I could gather, it is very smooth with an exceptional ride thanks to the standard air suspension, with very low wind and motor noise. The big 22-inch rims (optional, as fitted to this orange test car) do echo and howl a bit.
Acceleration seems brisk, as you’d expect. However, off the line it doesn’t really catapult away like other EVs. Instead, it progressively builds speed, and keeps building with big top-end momentum and g-force. There is no reason to doubt the 0-100km/h claim of 4.15 seconds.
Around the few bends we got to drive along, the handling seems solid and sure-footed, with communicative steering, in a modern, EPS kind of way. There’s a nice weighted feel as well providing a premium, secure characteristic.
We’re aiming to do a full test and review soon, including performance testing.
2024 Lotus Emeya: Video
