LOTUS ELETRE S
Autocar UK|July 12, 2023
Big, heavy, ultra-powerful, electric SUV seemingly violates every principle on which the Lotus legend was built. Does that matter?
MATT PRIOR
LOTUS ELETRE S

TESTED 6.7.23, OSLO, NORWAY ON SALE AUGUST PRICE £105,805

Remember when Chinese car-making giant Geely bought Volvo? It went quiet for a few years, then came launch after launch. The same is now happening with Lotus, and its new generation starts with the Eletre - a big car in every sense.

They call it a hyper-SUV, because it's a 4x4 with at least 603bhp. A coupé-ish saloon will follow, then a smaller SUV, all on the same platform and all made in China. Only after that will there be a two-door sports car built in Norfolk, electric like the rest. The Emira petrol sports car and Evija electric hypercar feel a bit incidental to what's coming.

The Eletre's Electric Premium Architecture, of which 47% is high-strength steel and 43% is aluminium, shares some basic ideas but "almost zero components" with anything used elsewhere in the Geely empire.

The Eletre has a length of 5.1 metres, a height of 1.6 metres, four or five seats and pricing that ranges from £90,805 to £121,305.

Between the base car and the R is the £105,805 S, tested here. It has the same 603bhp as the base car via two 302bhp motors, one at each end, with open differentials. The R gets a bigger rear motor with 603bhp for a 905bhp total.

Every version has a 109kWh battery under the floor, running at 800V and able to charge at rates of up to 350kW.

The generous 373-mile WLTP range is aided by a competitive aerodynamic rating of 0.26Cd.

Air springs are standard, while rear steer and 48V active anti-roll bars are options fitted to our S test car (they are standard on the R).

And if none of that hardware sounds like the 'simplify and...' school of Lotus, wait until I tell you the kerb weight is 2520kg.

Also remarkably un-Lotus is the interior. Bar the smell, there's nothing in here that an existing Lotus owner would recognise but it's none the worse for it.

This story is from the July 12, 2023 edition of Autocar UK.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the July 12, 2023 edition of Autocar UK.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM AUTOCAR UKView All
The venomous nature of the Cobra
Autocar UK

The venomous nature of the Cobra

Last week, Matt Prior drove a totally new kind of AC Cobra. This is a car with one of the strongest allures of all - but also an incredibly complex and controversial history.

time-read
3 mins  |
October 23, 2024
SKODA KAMIQ
Autocar UK

SKODA KAMIQ

A long getting-to-know-you trip to Spain reveals all

time-read
2 mins  |
October 23, 2024
THE SEVEN-YEAR TITCH
Autocar UK

THE SEVEN-YEAR TITCH

Outgoing baby Jag is plush, practical and now eminently affordable

time-read
2 mins  |
October 23, 2024
'Our time has come'
Autocar UK

'Our time has come'

Honda may be late to the EV party, but a barrage of bold new battery-powered cars is on the way. JAMES ATTWOOD speaks to boss Toshihiro Mibe at its R&D base to find out what's in store

time-read
8 mins  |
October 23, 2024
Lion kings
Autocar UK

Lion kings

Plush, powerful four-door cars are an endangered species - and now Peugeot has called time on its latest, the 508 PSE. STEPHEN DOBIE compares it with its most significant ancestor, the 505 GTI

time-read
6 mins  |
October 23, 2024
VOLKSWAGEN GOLF
Autocar UK

VOLKSWAGEN GOLF

Wolfsburg gives the lesser-known Golf PHEV a big-impact refresh

time-read
7 mins  |
October 23, 2024
PORSCHE PANAMERA GTS
Autocar UK

PORSCHE PANAMERA GTS

Stuttgart's latest 'bahnstormer targets driver appeal over outright punch

time-read
2 mins  |
October 23, 2024
MERCEDES-AMG GT 63 PRO
Autocar UK

MERCEDES-AMG GT 63 PRO

Hardcore variant of V8 sports car engineered with track days in mind

time-read
3 mins  |
October 23, 2024
TESLA REVEALS ROBOTAXI
Autocar UK

TESLA REVEALS ROBOTAXI

Firm unveils Cybercab coupé and 20-seat Robovan in autonomy push

time-read
2 mins  |
October 23, 2024
DACIA PLOTS AMBITIOUS EXPANDED EURO LINE-UP
Autocar UK

DACIA PLOTS AMBITIOUS EXPANDED EURO LINE-UP

Firm teases something different’ ahead of impending C-segment reveal

time-read
2 mins  |
October 23, 2024