Lotus Eletre R electric vehicle – New Zealand review
Lotus is back yes they’re being reborn as an all electric luxury brand and this is the fruits of their labor it is the all electric Electra and it’s available in two flavors there’s the range friendly Comfort friendly version which is $265,000 and that’ll give you $600ks per
Charge but then there’s this this is the fancy one this is the goast model it’s the r model and this one well it’ll set you back starting at 315k for that you get 450 K per charge but you get a Z to 100 time of 2.9
Seconds and a whole lot more there’s so much to cover let’s crack into it and we’re off and I got to say the last time a Lotus made a positive impression on me was when Roger Moore drove one out of the sea as James Bond that was an epic scene and Roger Moore
Is the best James Bond and that’s just a fact and even though I may be about as cool as socks and sandals I feel pretty cool driving this thing it really is it’s a nice feeling driving this thing but now let’s talk tech specs and this car well everything about it from from
The dimensions to the battery to the performance to the spec sheet it’s all big it’s a very big big car starting with the motor output first out it has 675 KW with two electric motors and 985 torquing Isaacs that’s almost 1,000 new M of torque in a car that weighs
2.7 tons told you it’s big and part of the reason for that is its battery 112 KW of battery capacity under this car that is quite possibly the largest battery pack in any car I’ve driven that’s staggering it’s also I think the most powerful car I’ve ever driven but
You wouldn’t know it by driving it cuz it’s so docile it’s crazy but even though it’s docile here on the streets of ockland once you put it into sport mode it becomes a rabid Beast putting it into sport mode is easy I can use the Flappy paddles on the right hand side of
The steering wheel or it once to go far out whereas the paddles on the left hand side can control Cy let me take it out of sportman control the regen braking I put it up to Max regen okay here’s a red light let’s see if the regen braking will allow me to
Come to a complete stop o o o is it going to no it’s got creep mode so it acts like an automatic on a combustion car but it does almost have complete one pedal driving that’s pretty cool on the subject of speed let’s talk charging speed and it has an 800 volt
Architecture which it’s not revolutionary but it does mean that you can charge this car at a peak charging rate of 350 KW which means if you can find a 350 KW charger this car would charge from 10 to 80% in 20 minutes oh and on the subject of speed the reason this thing
Can get to 100K an hour in 2.95 seconds is because it has a two-speed gearbox on the rear axle that’s a really unusual thing it means it maximizes that 0 to 100 time but then when you’re on say the auto barns of Germany it means that you
Can fly along at 200k an hour effortlessly without straining the motor too much seriously driving this thing around ockland with this much power at my disposal I feel kind of Godlike I’m a pretty humble Spud but this much Prestige this much power if this is what
It feels to be rich I kind of want to be rich this is nice but before I get delusions of grandeur and maybe start smiting people i’ better do a deep dive into what makes this car tick and well we don’t have too much time I can’t do a
Real deep dive I’ll do a knee high dive like you know imagine Miami in 30 years that kind of dive starting with comfort and let’s start with these these seats are adjustable in 20 different ways they are effortlessly comtable they’re also heated yes it has seated Heats in both
The front and passenger seat and if you opt for the package you can get cooling as well in both seats and the same goes for the freeloaders in the back Heating and Cooling is an available option both the driver seat and the passenger seat can be made available with massaging
Functions and of course the ca pster can be an either Nappa leather from the finest nappies or if you’re more like me you can go with the recycled material option which is largely made of discarded fabric from clothing Industries and that’s good because I identify as your trash Comfort wise
Though it’s just a very nice place to be and kind of a difference from the outside which looks kind of sci-fi whereas inside is much more calming it’s a really inviting place I mean look at the detail every in inch is covered in soft materials let’s talk space though
And this car has loads of it because it’s massive like if I stand outside the car and walk alongside it it’s 5 m long look how long it is it is stupidly long deceptively long cuz in the photos it doesn’t look that big but once you’re actually standing in front its presence
It’s like Cy this is a monster this is Titanic on Wheels but that means that you get a lot of interior space starting with the Fartman up the front yes it has a Fartman or front compartment that is 46 L that’s pretty good then in the boot
Yes it has 611 l in there which is more than enough room for an elderly potato Enthusiast plus if you drop those rear seats down look how much room you’ve got 1,532 L of space it is monstrous as for the interior yes there’s heaps of room
There too look at all the headro I’ve got look the leg room I’ve got and it extends into the back seats as well look how much leg room and look how much Headroom I’ve got as a passenger back there and those rear seats they are adjustable plus also if you go for the
Four- seat option yes there’s an option you can get which makes this five-seater a four seater then the rear has a console in the middle which means that you’ve basically got much more adjustable seats it’s more like being chauffeured around in a limousine than it is in a Lotus let us now talk
Exterior design and while I’m no artlist I have read that cars cannot by definition be artart because art has to be self-serving and cars serve a purpose and that that may be the most intelligent thing that’s ever fallen out of my mouth but there are things in this
Car there aspects that I think could be considered art for example that front grill look how it’s active and it opens up that is a work of art you can’t deny it then of course you get that light strip around the back also I think because that’s not entirely necessary
But it does still still serve a purpose I think that’s a real piece of art I’m impressed what do you think do you disagree I think that’s art but that being said I’m not sure I like this particular part of the car that rear section there I think the car is just so
Big the designers didn’t quite know what to do with it so it’s just a big sheet of metal but all that considered it’s still a really good looking car it is slicker than a greased snail it’s the best analogy I can come up with but it’s a really slick looking car and let’s
Move into the interior of where I’m sitting right now and this well that is really quite something there’s a lot to go on here I mean look at every section here is there’s so much attention to detail in every little part of this car let’s start with the top I guess and
Work our way down starting with that massive sunroof above my head it’s great lets a lot of lighting but it’s also intelligent you can adjust it or make it opaque in 10 different shades which means that you can actually get some privacy this is something that I think
Tesla and byd need to introduce as an option because it just gives you so much more privacy and it also means the car is not going to be an absolute oven in the hot summer days let’s move down now to the interior upholstery and you’ve
Got a lot of options yes sure it’s all gray but amongst that gray there’s a lot of color options we’ve got start with a seat belt black and yellow that’s very low toy a little bit of green in there as well yeah keeping it load as themed
We’ also got these sort of bronzy highlights here Goldy bronze highlights here which I like look at the speakers look how they pop that’s insane of course we got this lovely F line feel here gold accents on the steering wheel it’s a little bit of liberar all wrapped
Up in a high performance package the steering wheel is also pretty cool look at this hexagonal steering wheel and look at the the stitching in this car it is clinically precise it’s one of those cars where so much attention to detail has been paid to every single aspect
From the way the handles feel to these Jewel likee effect on the beveled edges of the cup holders it’s one of those cars where no expense has been spared and that is why it costs so much money but now let us talk about gadgets and there is a lot to cover here starting
With this 15.1 in central display which controls everything in the car however there is also a passenger display in the back for Backseat passengers yes they get to see where you’re going they can control the air conditioning all that sort of stuff very neat speaking of displays it utilizes this with its 360°
Bird’s Eye camera system and the definition in that is amazing and you’re going to need that cuz this is a very big car that makes it really easy to park as does the four-wheel steering yes it has active four-wheel steering which I’ve felt turn on a couple of times and
It’s surreal you have to experience it to describe it but it just it gives you that slightly floaty experience when you go around a gentle corner it’s a little bit odd one Gadget I’m not sure I’m keen on however is this passenger display here which is touchcreen which means
That it’s a bit too far to reach myself but it means that if you got kids they can just reach out there and change the music with that that’s annoying I don’t think you can turn that off either that’s kind of annoy you might have to
Just strap your kids and tight in the seat another cool Gadget this car has is the interior lighting the entire car is bathed in whatever color light you like and even this bronze strip around the car that changes color as well depending on the driving mode you have it set on
Or also maybe just the battery state of charge there’s a few different things that can affect the chat the color and you can turn that on and off if you like but I think it’s really neat I’d leave that on the car also has inbuilt satellite navigation with realtime
Traffic and it does have Android and Apple coming soon that’s coming in an update an overthe update so that is already been booked it’s been paid for it will arrive and it’s going to be Wireless too so no cables in your beautiful lutus next Gadget is leadar
And this car has no fewer than four leadar sensors scanning 200 m in all directions of this vehicle and Lead great it’s better than cameras in low light or in rain or rainy low light plus it also has an army of cameras aiming in all directions plus a tally photo lens
Aiming fors 500 m in front plus of course with ultrasonic sensors it means that you’ve got a barrage of Safety Systems scanning constantly to make sure you don’t hit anything it’ll identify cyclists it’ll identify people on scooters even it’ll identify people walking and it’ll break automatically to stop you hurting anyone that’s brilliant
Now I know what you’re thinking all of those leaders that could just be a recipe for disaster you’re going to have to clean them all the time and rain in New Zealand well not so fast they’ thought of that each leader has a little water jet system that squirts detergent
Head it to keep it clean how sweet is that bottom line is this car has a lot of tech in it more than I can cover in one video the video would be like 3 and 1 half hours long and no one would watch it but if you are concerned about all
The technology involved because let’s face it Lotus it’s a British company and I own a British car and the electronics are a little bit crap then I can put your mind at ease what I’m going to tell you next is going to really upset the traditionalists but reassure the
Realists and that is that this entire car platform is running on the gy sea platform Yep this car is made in China that means that you’ve got all the Lotus gadgetry you could ever want but it’s going to start every day it’s going to run more like a Toyota Corolla and less
Like a Lotus until you put your foot down then it’s a Lotus I mean all of that’s really nice but let’s face it we’re driving a car that’s designed to go fast and to have fun on the corners in Oakland traffic doing 46k an hour
Where’s the fun on that so let’s hit the highway we’re on the motorway now it’s a good time to turn on the adaptive cruise control which I Do by pressing the button select my maximum speed I’m going to select 100 and now the car is driving
For me now it does have believe it or not it does have with all its radar and leadar and Sonic transducers it has the capacity for level four autonomous driving now most cars have level two autonomous driving that’s where it’ll do the braking and the steering and the
Acceleration but youve got to keep your hands on the wheel this has the capability of level four which means you could sit in the back and drive if you got that package and if it was legal in New Zealand the thing is though as far as I can tell autonomous cars are
Technically legal in New Zealand only because the legislation was written like 50 years ago so yeah you could possibly get away with it but I think your friendly local Constable would disagree with you as for ride field I have the car set to eco mode and the air
Suspension set to light so it’s all absorbing all those bumps it’s riding along like a cloud however one complaint I do have is that the cabin noise is louder than than I expected for for such an expensive upmarket vehicle I think maybe they could improve some of the
Noise deadening especially in the wheel archers because when you go over a bump that noise translates into the cabin not a fan of that let’s talk range though and this car has a wltp range of 450 K per charge now that’s okay the wltp cycle however is a little bit flawed I
Find in New Zealand you take that figure take 15% off and that’s your real world figure so your real world figure is going to be somewhere in the late 300s I reckon however if you’re just doing City driving alone then yeah you’ll get that 450 K per charge no worries speaking of
Efficiency this car’s official efficiency is 24.2 KW hours or units of electricity per 100ks and that’s kind of high for electric car at least it’s still very very cheap to operate in fact it uses the equivalent of a car that uses about 2.8 L of petrol per 100K that’s how much
It costs in electricity alone to run this that’s to put that in perspective that is less than a 50cc vestel per 100K you can’t go wrong with that plus with this there is no tailpipe emissions and if you run this vehicle on ecotricity electricity and that’s the power that I
Use then it’s climate positive that’s because ecotricity is New Zealand’s only certified climate positive electricity provider yes all the power is from wind Hydro solar no gas no coal nothing dirty nothing expensive that’s how it’s certified by toy2 as being climate positive so why not sign up at
Ecotricity doc. NZ but now let us carry on South to a little secret driving Road I have and then we’ll put this thing through its Paces starting with the 0 to 100 time see you there and it’s time for the 0 to 100 time let’s drop the car
Into sport mode there we go all right I’m going to drop the suspension to its lowest setting can feel it going okay so I’m just going to mash the accelerator I haven’t done this yet so brace yourselves the road is clear 0 to 100 time I’m a bit
Nervous 3 2 1 how was it oh and we’re done that’s bad oh I just want to try that one more time okay okay here we go ready like this open in 3 seconds we never heard that before 3 2 1 oh my word oh look at that it’s over
Just like that far out that’s mental all right now we’re in the corers we’re at speed let’s see what it’s like now right now I have the sport suspension set up to lowest possible settings that’ll lower it Center gravity even more it’s got active anti- roll barss working hard it’s got four-wheel
Steering when needed the air suspension helps as well of course it’s nice and it’s quite rigid now and of course it’s also got track mode if you’re feeling daring I am not going to try track mode I don’t have the driving ability for that sort of thing I’ll just stick to
Regular sport mode which oh my God this is mental this is lunacy oh my head you just push the accelerator far out what a beast it’s great it’s fun on the corners but my advice to you is save it for the track this car is not for the roads and on
That note let’s do the Spud score starting with performance and 10 out of 10 this machine is faster than just about anything else on New Zealand’s roads handlings next and seven spuds there it manages its extreme weight excellently on the corners thanks to its brilliant suspens system what about
Comfort well I’m giving it 9 out of 10 potatoes because when you put the suspension into sponge cake mode its ride quality is on par with rollsroyce seriously experience this if you can as for efficiency I’m giving it 4 out of 10 it eats a lot of electrons but for its
Size and weight it’s not too bad Gadget trees next and it gets 9 out of 10 it’s got almost everything except vehicle to load that means you can’t plug a device into it and use its massive battery like a power station and a power cut at least
Not yet is it good value though well no it’s $315,000 so I’m giving it two spuds but let’s be honest if you can afford this piece of magnificence you’re not going to worry about how it compares to a budget EV charging is next and I didn’t
Have the time to test it’s claimed 350 KW Peak charging speed but if it’s accurate then it gets 10 potatoes as for style there are many things I love and don’t love about this vehicle but style subjective and with a face like mine I’m far too ugly to car Stone so I’m giving
It 6 out of 10 but is it fit for purpose well this is a simple question with many answers but all of them are yes I mean do you want to go stupidly fast it’ll do it do you want to turn heads it’s guaranteed do you want to just cruise
And spacious Comfort easy you want to tow your big boat on the weekends we’ll do that too so I’m giving it nine out of 10 tubers and lastly is PSC and I’m a little embarrassed to admit I couldn’t for the life of me figure out how to
Open the glove box but despite that it’s still held an impressive 68 potatoes being just one short of the Tesla Model wise PSC so I’m giving it 7 out of 10 which gives the Lotus Electra r a total Spud score of 73 and that is the Spud
Score for the Lotus ala it’s done really well especially in power and specs and gadgetry but it’s not the power and the gadgetry that has really blown me away with this car it’s what’s left me really impressed is how I feel driving it I feel kind of elevated like more
Confident like I could maybe start a business or something like that I can imagine the sort of buyer that buys this that must be how they operate every day it’s kind of intoxicating that being said if you are a person of means who happens to have a bit of taste and those
Two things they’re not as common as you might think together yeah then this might just be worth a test drive
Lotus is recreating itself as an all-electric, luxury vehicle manufacturer and the battery-powered Eletre is their latest model. It’s loaded with gadgets, it’s stupidly fast, and its style is head-turning.
But… at $315,000 for the R model (that’s the one that goes really, really fast) and with a fairly normal range of 450 km/280 miles per charge it’s going to appeal to a limited, but wealthy audience: buyers who want to impress both passengers and passers-by.
So, join Gav as he takes this 2.7 tonne car for a blast around the streets of Auckland and if you get a kick out of the video please scroll up and press that little “Like” button! It keeps Gav reviewing cars and prevents him from going back to OnlyFans. Well, except on Friday’s when he offers 90% off…
And if you’re keen on cutting your carbon footprint, come and join us at Ecotricity, which is now New Zealand’s only climate positive electricity provider! That means by switching today, you’re actually turning back the clock on Climate Change, while saving money in the process.
Sounds too good to be true, right? Well, it’s not! Ecotricity is real, with really affordable electricity, thanks to it being purely renewable.
Head to www.ecotricity.co.nz and chuck in your address to see how much money & carbon you can save right now. It’s that easy and it makes a real, positive difference for the next generation.
