In 1987, David Williamson wrote a play about Sydney titled Emerald City in which one of the most famous lines was “The Emerald city of Oz. Everyone comes here along their yellow brick roads looking for the answers to their problems and all they find are the demons within themselves.”
The nickname for Sydney has stuck over the decades and aptly reflects the rich colour of Sydney Harbour and the environs that surround it. So, when I got my hands on the gorgeous Lotus Emira i4 First Edition there was only one place I wanted to photograph it and it happened to be at the end of a yellow brick road.
The Emira i4 could be considered that ‘light’ version of the two Emiras available as it’s “only” powered by a four-cylinder engine, but that’s the same turbocharged 2.0-litre ‘M139’ four-cylinder that powers AMG’s hottest hatch. This also means the Emira i4 is only available with AMG’s eight-speed DCT gearbox. The Emira’s gear lever feels a bit back to front to me as it takes two pushes up to engage reverse and drive is engaged with two pulls down and then to shift ‘manually’ you tap the gear lever from side to side. I much preferred to use the lovely metal wheel-mounted paddle shifters instead to change gears.
The maximum power available from donor AMG engine is 268 kW at 6,500 rpm and maximum torque of 430 Nm between 3,000 to 5,500 rpm. Officially the Emira i4 will do 0 – 100 km/h 4.4 seconds and on to a top speed of 275 km/h. Lotus claims the Emira i4 uses 9.2L/100km of fuel, but in the real world this is more likely to be low-teen numbers if the AMG is anything to go by. Sadly, the engine is covered by black plastic, so there’s nothing to show off when you stand around the Emira with your mates and regale stories of your track prowess.
The Emira i4 First Edition has three drive modes, Touring, Sport, and Track and Emira’s character incrementally changes depending on the mode chosen. In Touring mode, the Emira will mooch along at 100km/h at just under 2,000rpm, but switch to Sport mode and the exhaust becomes louder and the engine revs higher between gear shifts. The turbo whistle is prominent and lovely to listen to under hard acceleration, especially with the windows down. As there’s no shift lights, your ears will need to tell you when to shift up.
Track mode is fitted as part of the Lotus Drivers pack, and adds lively adhesion to the Emira’s playbook as the traction control is off and the ESC is in Track mode. The Emira’s broad backend will happily wiggle under hard acceleration and out of corners. The driver’s dash also becomes more focused with the rev counter at the top of the dash and gear selection emboldened front and sensor, with critical information such as tyre pressures also displayed.
This particular Emira i4 has the Touring tyre with Sports suspension and offers a firm ride regardless of the drive mode chosen, but it’s not unbearable. Even the road noise is not too bad on smooth roads, but I did find that the Emira tracked in the grooves of the road.
The broad door sill is carpet covered, so you don’t have to worry about scratching it as you get in and out. The design requires you to get in by sitting in the seat and carefully bringing your feet around in a ladylike manner. The First Edition comes with the Design Pack, which adds privacy glass, sports pedals, a black Alcantara headliner, dark chrome interior trim finishes, and Lotus-branded footwell mats.
The cabin smells really nice and feels sporty thanks to the black Alcantara seats with red stitching and black leather steering wheel. The driver’s seat has power adjustment for recline, forward/back, and seat height front and rear with 4-way lumbar support and two memory positions. The passenger seat is the same, but only gets one-way seat height adjustment and no memory positions and both seats are heated.
The single zone climate control works well and I like that there is a race car driver used to designate the mode selection for the system. The fighter jet style cover over the start/stop button on the other hand looks cool, but it’s fiddly to use. I also don’t like the gloss black used on the centre console as it shows fingermarks and attracts dust.
The 10.25″ touchscreen uses an operating system that was developed in-house by the Lotus team with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto integrated as standard. The Emira First Edition is also equipped with a KEF 10 channel sound system, this is the first automotive audio system designed by KEF, and utilises KEF’s Uni-Q speakers and a fresh air subwoofer.
Being the Emira is a small sportscar, storage is paramount, and Lotus have delivered with a small cubby under arm rest that is large enough for your phone/wallet and has one USB-A and one USB-C port. Storage in door cubby is only suitable for sunglasses and the two cup holders in centre console have grippy sides and one is higher than the other.
The cubby at the front of the centre console just fits my smart phone, but it does protrude out a bit, so spirited driving may cause the phone to fall out. It’s also a bit hard to get the phone in and out as the gear lever is in the way. As such, you are better off placing your phone under the centre console on the long storage ledge where there is another USB-A port.
There’s just enough storage behind the seats for your jacket and handbag, as the maximum weight allowed here is 20kg. The boot release is only on the key fob or a button in the cabin and the boot space would fit a small shop or some soft luggage bags for a weekend away with a maximum weight of 50kg allowed. The tyre repair kit is also located here.
The Emira i4 First Edition also comes standard with the Convenience pack, which includes a standard reversing camera with front and rear parking sensors, and it has auto lights and auto wipers. The Emira also comes with cruise control that is set using the non-descript buttons on the steering wheel and speed adjustment occurs in 5km/h increments.
All Lotus Emiras comes with a 3-year warranty/unlimited kilometre warranty and the service interval is every 12 months or 16,000km, whichever occurs first.
Buying a sports car may not be the answer to all of your problems, but it would certainly put a smile on your face if you saw the gorgeous Emira looking back at you in your garage, and if you are anything like me driving it is sure to help keep the demons at bay as well. The Lotus Emira i4 starts at $199,990 excluding dealer delivery and on-road costs. You can configure your Emira First Edition online or visit your nearest Lotus Centre for more information.
| Pros | Cons |
| Joyful sounding engine | The operation of the gear lever |
| It’s so good looking | The flip-up cover on start button is fiddly |
| The smell of the interior | No external boot release button |
Photographs by Driven Women Magazine.