Lotus is ready to sell you a super EV SUV. What is it, and can it be a winner?
The Lotus Eletre R is an electric SUV with 900 hp (671 kW), a curb weight of approximately 5,820 lbs (2,640 kg), and a six-figure sticker price. If you’re a longstanding fan of the British brand—look around, is there a small model of a race car within sight or Colin Chapman biography on your bookshelf?—that opening sentence likely causes some distress. If you are like most Americans, however, a mention of “Lotus” is just as likely to conjure up thoughts of gardening as grands prix.
Therein lies the puzzle for a company that is in phase one of a total reinvention. Lotus cars have never sold particularly well, but for seven decades now if you bought one you knew what you were getting: a minimalist sports car with a focus on extreme weight savings. Folks, the Eletre R ain’t that.
I think it’s more important to ask if this Lotus is any good, rather than arguing about whether or not it’s a “real Lotus.” The EV revolution may be underway in earnest, but it’s not as though we’re awash in quasi-exotic electric SUVs with outrageous power outputs and challenging design language. Brand aside, what does this car compete with, and does it have a chance to win?
After a few hours behind the wheel of a pre-production unit—US-spec Eletre will arrive next year as 2025 model-year vehicles—I can report that the Eletre R is extraordinarily fast, with excellent grip and control on curved roads and above-average manners on the highway. It isn’t as roomy as more traditionally upright SUVs with the same footprint, but certainly has enough space to serve as a daily driver for singles, couples, and proprietors of small families. And the estimated range of 311 miles (500 km) stacks up extremely well against most other high-power EVs.Advertisement
Critically, the Eletre also has a price tag that is out of bounds for people who, as my father-in-law loves to say, “work for a living.” Lotus has yet to announce official pricing but told me that a “very well-equipped” R spec car will cost $150,000. That kind of cash will put you in some fascinating machinery, but, weirdly, it’s also sort of a value considering the Lotus’ performance and, dare I say, “cool factor.”
Let’s start over at the Porsche lot, where Lotus has been waging a cold war with 911s and Boxsters from time immemorial. Unfortunately, the German automaker hasn’t yet rolled out the upcoming Cayenne EV, which will likely be a direct competitor for Eletre. However, one could certainly consider the long-roof Taycan Turbo Cross Turismo a worthy opponent. The Porsche’s 670 horsepower (500 kW), 3.1-second 0-60 time, and 233 miles (375 km) of range are all worse than the Eletre R figures. The German wagon also holds about 13 fewer cubic feet (368 L) of your stuff, and it starts at $163,400 before you add any (always-expensive) Porsche options.
You could step up to the $194,900 Taycan Turbo S Cross Turismo, which increases the output to 750 hp (560 kW) and drops the 0-60 to 2.5 seconds—beating the Eletre R’s 2.95-second run to 62 mph—but now you’re starting to talk real money. There’s a lot more brand cachet, history of quality, and likely residual value in making the Porsche buy, but on paper it’s a tough case to make.
A direct comparison with Tesla’s nearest comp, meanwhile, is straight-up murder for the Lotus. Whether you stand Elon or find him reprehensible, it’s hard to argue with the value proposition offered by his company’s Model X Plaid. That vehicle is really close in terms of overall size—2.6 inches (66 mm) shorter from bumper to bumper and 1.9 inches (54mm) taller from ground to roof—yet manages to weigh nearly 500 pounds (227 kg) less. It’s also the only direct SUV competitor that outguns the Eletre R, with a massive 1,020 hp (760 kW) and a 2.5-second run to 60.
And lest we forget, Tesla has been slashing its prices all year long. Today the starting price for the Model X Plaid is just $94,990 before any incentives are factored in. You’ll also pay less to run the X, as its range of 333 miles—even if likely to be a bit overrated—speaks to its higher level of efficiency overall.
Now, the Model X’s days of being “cool” are numbered if they aren’t over already, so as a statement piece you’re likely to get more attention in the Lotus than the Tesla. Just be prepared to pay for it.Advertisement
Audi, BMW, and Mercedes all make high-performance SUVs that are roughly the same size as the Eletre R, and all quite a bit cheaper, but with performance a full grade down. The Audi SQ8 Sportback e-tron is also the only one of that trio that isn’t, well, pretty ugly.
Audi’s offering is also the least expensive with an MSRP of $92,600. But the e-tron’s range (253 miles/407 km), power (496 hp/370 kW), and acceleration (a paltry 4.2-second 0-60 time) are all worse than Eletre’s. What’s more, somehow the Audi manages to be one of the few vehicles in this already beefy segment to cross the 3-ton mark, with a 6,118 lb (2,775 kg) curb weight. Woof.
The BMW iX M60 and Mercedes-AMG EQE SUV are also slower and less powerful—but substantially cheaper. As competitors to the base 603 hp (450 kW) Eletre they make a lot of sense, especially as the BMW offers almost 300 miles (482 km) of range. But clearly, Lotus has done its homework to stand out in this micro niche.
In the real world, where people care a lot about money and not very much about what car writers call “segments,” there are non-SUVs and gas-powered vehicles that would be interesting here, too. Aston Martin makes a very nice truck in the DBX that’s fast enough for a gasser, with a more upscale cabin and a sexier, better-known British brand on the key fob. Lucid’s Air Grand Touring Performance smokes the Eletre R on every numerical measure, even price by a whisker, but is obviously a capacious sedan and not an SUV. Neither are directly comparable, but both would make fine additions to an enthusiast driver’s garage.
Automotive anoraks, myself included, will always look at cars like the Elan, Europa, and Elise as the perfect expression of Lotus as a carmaker. And while the Eletre is kin to those cars in name more than DNA, it is also positioned to be more commercially successful than anything from Lotus in quite a while.
