Lotus Elan Reviews

You can thank/blame (take your pick) Scottish engineer James Watt for the confusing way we measure engine performance in cars. He was the person that came up with the bright idea of measuring power based on a horse.

Many so-called “all-new” models aren’t all that new. In fact, a sizeable chunk are reskinned versions of what came before, with fresh sheetmetal over the same general hard points.

Ask Toyota — the world’s biggest carmaker — and two brands are enough.Yes, Toyota makes trucks under the Hino brand and also has the minnow Daihatsu in its stable, but it is essentially Toyota and Lexus and that’s it.Part of Toyota’s success in Australia is it sells a vehicle for everyone, and every occasion.Lexus rarely steps on its big brother’s toes, with a clear premium divide separating the two.Now Chinese behemoth, Geely, is gearing up for an assault on the Australian market.It has a strong toehold Down Under with Volvo and Polestar, but after that is where things get murky.It also has Lotus, Smart, Zeekr and its home brand Geely to forge ahead with in 2025.Volvo and Polestar have clearly positioned themselves in the luxury space, but Geely, Smart and Zeekr are chasing the same mainstream buyers.All three are electric only, and are launching with semi-premium compact and mid-size SUVs.They are essentially the same vehicle underneath a slightly different styled skin. But electric cars all have similar looks, honed for aerodynamics, which gives them all a same-same-ness despite a tweaked non-grille or headlight treatment.The brands all share motors, batteries and tech features, which helps amortise costs, but can be a challenge when attempting to stand out from the crowd.Geely recently merged two of its brands, Zeekr and Lynk and Co, to reduce internal competition.According to Reuters, Geely boss Gui Shengyue said the integration would make the company more competitive."If we don't integrate , we must face issues such as internal competition ... and redundant investments in many aspects such as R&D, sales, which is stupid," he said according to Reuters.Geely isn’t alone in crowding its own space.The huge Volkswagen Group has Volkswagen, Skoda and newcomer Cupra all lobbing cars in a similar price bracket.The big difference is only Cupra is new, the VW Group isn’t attempting to launch three new brands in the space of 12 months that sell effectively the same cars.It’ll be a challenge for these three Chinese brands to stand out.They also face a wave of competition following them across the sea. GAC, Aion, Xpeng, Skywell, Leapmotor and Deepal are all planning to launch or have launched into the same market space as their compatriots.Not to mention established brands such as BYD, Chery, GWM and MG already with a group of loyal buyers and brand cache.It is starting to feel like China’s car industry is replacing the building industry responsible for towering ghost towns as its biggest economic driver and they need to find export markets quickly to keep the production lines open and the steel mills firing.Australia is a prime target with its lack of tariffs and relatively close proximity to the Chinese mainland.There are storm clouds brewing on the edge of the Australia new car market, though.Electric cars still only make up about 8.3 per cent of new cars bought through the first 11 months of 2024. More EVs have found homes this year than last, but less than 10 per cent is still relatively niche.Private buyers — generally the ones snapping up EVs — are stepping away from new car purchases at an alarming rate.Double digit drops in private buyers in each of the past four months compared to the year before is a worrying trend according to the head of the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, Tony Weber.“This is a disturbing trend which illustrates how cost of living pressures are impacting households,” he said.Only time will tell if these brands can make it work, but it’ll be a tough slog in 2025.

Lotus has announced it will adopt hybrid technology as the brand joins a growing list of automakers in watering down its plans to go fully electric.

Lotus has ushered in a new era under Chinese ownership, introducing three new models. We've driven the first two (the Emira sports car and Eletre electric SUV) and now we get to the final member of this trio - the Emeya sports sedan.We find out how this electric four-door stacks up as a challenger to the likes of the Audi e-tron GT and Porsche Taycan.

Lotus was once famous for making lightweight sports cars, but since being taken over by Chinese auto giant Geely the British brand is facing a very different future.We drive the new Lotus Eletre S, an electric SUV with a focus on performance and luxury, to see if this reinvented car company can become a serious rival to BMW, Mercedes-Benz and more.

Lotus was once Great Britain's answer to Ferrari, but its future is electric. However, it has one more petrol-powered sports car in it - the Emira. We drive this Porsche 718 Cayman rival to find out if it lives up to the legacy of the brand's iconic sports cars while also laying the foundations for the brand's future.

Lotus has announced a revised line-up for its two-door Emira sports coupe, with the new Turbo SE variant becoming the brand's most powerful four-cylinder to date.

Lotus has whipped the covers off its new Porsche smashing concept car.

The booming Chinese electric vehicle industry could be the key to Lotus reinventing itself as a luxury brand.