Lotus Eletre review

Whether it’s Betamax, Blockbuster or another brand that doesn’t begin with a B, we can all think of companies that ran into trouble after failing to move with the times. The Lotus Eletre is designed to protect its maker from the same fate.

Lotus is best known for little lightweight sports cars of course, and the Eletre is definitely not one of those – it's an electric SUV that tips the scales at around 2.5 tonnes.

Sports cars sell in minuscule numbers while SUVs dominate the car market, so it's not hard to see why the Lotus line-up is being diversified. And for the first time in years, the company has money to spend because it's now owned by Chinese automotive giant Geely (which also owns Volvo).

Is the Lotus Eletre any good? Well, in this review we’ll be answering that question. Plus, we’ll tell you how we rate it against high-performance electric SUV rivals including the Audi SQ8 e-tron and Porsche Macan Electric plus some petrol-engined alternatives, including the Aston Martin DBX and Porsche Cayenne.

There are three versions of the Lotus Eletre, with the standard car and the Eletre S both producing 603bhp, and the range-topping Eletre R upping power to a scarcely believable 905bhp.

We drove the S and it’s undoubtedly fast, covering the benchmark 0-62mph sprint in 4.5 seconds. That said, when you ask for a burst of speed, it doesn’t pin you back in your seat with the same ferocity as a similarly-priced Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo 4S or a less expensive Tesla Model Y Performance.

Instead, you’re more likely to be impressed by the sheer relentlessness of the Eletre’s acceleration, with the rate at which it builds speed showing no sign of tailing off, even when we pushed the car hard at our private test track.

The Eletre also turns in to bends sharply and resists body lean well (particularly when you switch from Tour to Sport mode), but it doesn’t offer the sort of playful, rear-biased feel you get with an Aston Martin DBX or Porsche Macan Electric. Instead, it grips hard, but ultimately starts to slide from the front end, making the handling feel more reminiscent of the Audi SQ8 e-tron.

Fortunately, the Eletre is more comfortable than the SQ8 e-tron on motorways, where it soaks up imperfections and undulations without ever getting floaty.

It’s just a shame the ride rather falls apart at low speed, with urban bumps and potholes causing abrupt body movements that mean you’re often jostled in your seat. Indeed, all the Eletre’s key rivals are better at dealing with imperfections.

The sense of calm is further undermined by the excessive road noise the Eletre generates at higher speeds. If you need to speak to other occupants, you’ll find yourself raising your voice.

Whichever Eletre you go for, you get a 109kWh (usable capacity) battery, which is enough for an official range of up to 373 miles in the Eletre and Eletre S, while the R manages 310 miles.

For comparison, the Macan 4 Electric officially offers 380 miles, the Macan Turbo Electric is said to manage 367 miles and the SQ8 e-tron manages just 284 miles.

A maximum charging speed of 350kW means the Eletre's battery can go from 10-80% capacity in as little as 20 minutes.

The Lotus Eletre's interior is unlike anything else we’ve seen from the brand – and we mean that as a compliment. Construction seems rock solid and everything is bespoke.

Okay, the silver plastic air vent at the base of the centre console lets the side down a bit, but the other materials are very appealing, with most surfaces swathed in Alcantara, and various switches made from metal and operating with precision.

Similarly, the huge 15.1in infotainment touchscreen is of suitably high resolution for a car of this price. And while it’s a shame there are no physical buttons (the iDrive system in the BMW iX is easier to use while you're driving) it is highly responsive and its menus are thoughtfully arranged making it a pleasure to use. 

You can also control key systems such as the stereo, climate control and sat-nav via a voice-control system that recognises natural speech instead of requiring you to remember specific commands. We found it to be much more reliable than VW’s new ChatGPT voice assistance IDA.

By SUV standards, you don’t sit especially high up in the Eletre, but the driving position is fundamentally good. Everything lines up as it should, there's a wide range of electric adjustment and the front seats strike a great balance between comfortable and sporty.

Forward visibility impresses, too. And while over-the-shoulder visibility is somewhat restricted, there are numerous driver aids, including parking sensors, a 360-degree camera and a blind-spot monitoring system.

As well as the main infotainment touchscreen, there's a slim digital instrument panel and a head-up display that projects key information, such as the car’s speed, on to the windscreen in front of the driver. Meanwhile, the front passenger gets a small touchscreen for controlling the stereo.

Speaking of the stereo, one of the biggest incentives for stepping up to S trim is that you get a mightily impressive 2,160-watt, 23-speaker KEF sound system as standard (an expensive option on the base car).

The audio quality is properly cinematic, putting most rivals' so-called premium sound systems to shame. Indeed, the 21-speaker Burmester system in the Ferrari Purosangue sounds a touch flat in comparison.

The Lotus Eletre is more than five metres long and around two metres wide, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that it offers lots of interior space.

You won’t feel hemmed in up front, despite the presence of a chunky centre console that features two cupholders and a good-sized storage bin. Plus, even six-footers will find they have plenty of head and leg room to stretch out in the back – even more than you'll find in a Bentley Bentayga.

As standard, you get a three-person rear bench with a backrest that folds flat in a versatile 40/20/40 split. Alternatively, you can specify the reasonably priced Executive Seat Pack, which brings two individually adjustable rear seats that are separated by additional storage and another touchscreen.

At first glance, the Eletre’s boot looks a little shallow, but it’s deceptively large, with a 688-litre boot capacity, which beats that of the Aston Martin DBX (638l litres), Audi Q8 e-tron (569) and Porsche Macan Electric (540), and is only just pipped by the Porsche Cayenne (698 litres).

We managed to fit a whopping 10 carry-on suitcases below its parcel shelf, which is two more than we got in the back of a Q8 e-tron and BMW iX. 

We managed to fit seven carry-on suitcases in the Eletre’s boot. Or, alternatively, you should have plenty of room for a couple of sets of golf clubs.

The main boot is backed up by a small secondary luggage area beneath the bonnet, with this "frunk" big enough to take the car’s charging cables.

The Lotus Eletre is priced competitively with the Audi SQ8 e-tron and looks reasonably good value against the Porsche Macan Turbo Electric but costs more than a Tesla Model Y Performance.

Like its electric SUV rivals, it should cost less to run than petrol alternatives, especially if you can charge at home overnight, and will attract much less BIK tax if you get one as a company car than any non-electric alternative. You’ll need to budget for hefty tyre and insurance bills though.

Reliability is hard to assess at this stage, and not just because Lotus has traditionally sold too few cars to feature in the What Car? Reliability Survey. There’s also the fact that the Eletre is built in a new factory in China instead of alongside the company’s sports cars in Norfolk.

The independent safety experts at Euro NCAP haven’t assessed the crash worthiness of the Eletre yet, but it comes with lots of kit that’s designed to help you avoid an accident in the first place. That includes lane-keeping assistance, driver attention monitoring and systems that can prevent you from driving forward or reversing into the path of another vehicle.

Standard security equipment, meanwhile, includes an alarm that meets the top Category 1 standard of the independent assessors at Thatcham.

In addition, all Eletres come with keyless entry and start (including the option for the car to recognise you via your phone), a powered, hands-free tailgate, four-zone climate control, a premium audio system and wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay phone connectivity.

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