Lotus Evija review - Our fastest ever road test - 0-217mph in under 1km!
video description
Date: 2025-08-02
Related videos
Comments and reviews: 20
GeordieAmanda
I suppose it's ironic that the quietest of supercars has the quietest of reviews, but please Autocar, lift your audio levels. Perhaps someone in the edit suite wants to avoid excess compression, but really, you are using radio mics (although you may take the audio from a built-in storage card, depending on the model of radio mic you use) and so the sound already has some compression in it. Start with knocking in 6dbs and seeing how you like it. we would, then perhaps you could consider a few more: )
Matt Prior is a superb road tester and reviewer, has a great voice too. But, he is naturally a quietly spoken chap (similar to the legendary Steve Sutcliffe in some ways) and Autocar's insistence on a low level audio track is simply annoying. Possibly the easiest 'fix' available to an editor, too.
reply
I suppose it's ironic that the quietest of supercars has the quietest of reviews, but please Autocar, lift your audio levels. Perhaps someone in the edit suite wants to avoid excess compression, but really, you are using radio mics (although you may take the audio from a built-in storage card, depending on the model of radio mic you use) and so the sound already has some compression in it. Start with knocking in 6dbs and seeing how you like it. we would, then perhaps you could consider a few more: )
Matt Prior is a superb road tester and reviewer, has a great voice too. But, he is naturally a quietly spoken chap (similar to the legendary Steve Sutcliffe in some ways) and Autocar's insistence on a low level audio track is simply annoying. Possibly the easiest 'fix' available to an editor, too.
reply
richardmoss3868
This is the sort of thing a lot of car people would draw if they were to draw a drop dead gorgeous super/hyper car - gorgeous curvy flowing lines and a cab forward wedge effect. You can't fault lotus for the design, capability and execution of this EV. Yes, it took time to come to market and may have lost a lot of customers due to the downturn in demand for EVs, but it is here now and I am sure the customers that have stayed will be gobsmacked by how it looks in person (especially with that orange/purple flip flop paint) and how it drives. I would now like to see it re-engineered to be a high revving Turbo v8 or V6 Petrol - Slight rear carbon tub and body panel re-design (might lose the see through rear lights/air guides) and GMA T50 has a driving dynamics (if not exactly aurally) competitor!
reply
This is the sort of thing a lot of car people would draw if they were to draw a drop dead gorgeous super/hyper car - gorgeous curvy flowing lines and a cab forward wedge effect. You can't fault lotus for the design, capability and execution of this EV. Yes, it took time to come to market and may have lost a lot of customers due to the downturn in demand for EVs, but it is here now and I am sure the customers that have stayed will be gobsmacked by how it looks in person (especially with that orange/purple flip flop paint) and how it drives. I would now like to see it re-engineered to be a high revving Turbo v8 or V6 Petrol - Slight rear carbon tub and body panel re-design (might lose the see through rear lights/air guides) and GMA T50 has a driving dynamics (if not exactly aurally) competitor!
reply
colin5577
A multi million pound EV that has to be road tested at the factory, because Lotus haven’t been able to make one work properly for more than a few consecutive minutes yet. Every time one leaves Hethel, apparently it’s a disaster. A recently departed Lotus engineer described the Emira to me as being for indoor use only’. As for the SUV The only impressive thing about it is its depreciation. Went out in my brother’s Elise S2 the other day and we both wondered how hard it is for Lotus to make a business case for itself when Caterham and Morgan seem to manage it just fine. I’ve had two new Lotus over the past decade. Sad to think I’ll never have another now that they just rebrand Geeley EV platforms.
reply
A multi million pound EV that has to be road tested at the factory, because Lotus haven’t been able to make one work properly for more than a few consecutive minutes yet. Every time one leaves Hethel, apparently it’s a disaster. A recently departed Lotus engineer described the Emira to me as being for indoor use only’. As for the SUV The only impressive thing about it is its depreciation. Went out in my brother’s Elise S2 the other day and we both wondered how hard it is for Lotus to make a business case for itself when Caterham and Morgan seem to manage it just fine. I’ve had two new Lotus over the past decade. Sad to think I’ll never have another now that they just rebrand Geeley EV platforms.
reply
johnmuzic3475
Something must be wrong with that track or with the tires or with that Lotus, because here in the USA on warm tires that are proper tires, this Lotus has been seen doing 0 to 60 in 1. 5 seconds, and just in general is much faster than the same car in the UK, so something odd is going on. Almost all supercars and hypercars seem to post much faster numbers here in the USA, and most people thought it's just because we have much more lenient exhaust and Emissions rules, but this is an electric car, so still wondering what is going on.
reply
Something must be wrong with that track or with the tires or with that Lotus, because here in the USA on warm tires that are proper tires, this Lotus has been seen doing 0 to 60 in 1. 5 seconds, and just in general is much faster than the same car in the UK, so something odd is going on. Almost all supercars and hypercars seem to post much faster numbers here in the USA, and most people thought it's just because we have much more lenient exhaust and Emissions rules, but this is an electric car, so still wondering what is going on.
reply
CiberRepublica
really the only way to do a better EV high performance than nevera R is by having active aerodynamic, maybe the wing of the W1 in conjunction with a extendable diffuser and active front splitter. but still cornering would be the same, tires are limited by load, ok that you would be able to have more downforce at lower speed, but it doesn't make all that difference.
still a dream would be a v10 hybrid van with 3000hp
reply
really the only way to do a better EV high performance than nevera R is by having active aerodynamic, maybe the wing of the W1 in conjunction with a extendable diffuser and active front splitter. but still cornering would be the same, tires are limited by load, ok that you would be able to have more downforce at lower speed, but it doesn't make all that difference.
still a dream would be a v10 hybrid van with 3000hp
reply
malfunction8165
That's an impressive acceleration, it's a shame it's only once, and that's all EV's have to offer, acceleration, nothing else, plus it's basically, a kia, a tesla, a BMW isore or any other EV brand, just a bit quicker and in a different dress. It's a waste of money and resources. They should have called it Ernie, it being the fastest milk float in the west, it's only rival being a two ton tesla from Teddington.
reply
That's an impressive acceleration, it's a shame it's only once, and that's all EV's have to offer, acceleration, nothing else, plus it's basically, a kia, a tesla, a BMW isore or any other EV brand, just a bit quicker and in a different dress. It's a waste of money and resources. They should have called it Ernie, it being the fastest milk float in the west, it's only rival being a two ton tesla from Teddington.
reply
Hazdazos
Booooooring.
Oh, and you can tell when reviewers are biased toward a brand and want to spin a negative to sound like a positive, they'll use words like honest when describing the lack of regen braking. No, that's not honest, that's just lazy. Or it is incompetence on the part of Lotus because there are plenty of other brands who have figured out how to blend friction braking with regen.
reply
Booooooring.
Oh, and you can tell when reviewers are biased toward a brand and want to spin a negative to sound like a positive, they'll use words like honest when describing the lack of regen braking. No, that's not honest, that's just lazy. Or it is incompetence on the part of Lotus because there are plenty of other brands who have figured out how to blend friction braking with regen.
reply
Andrew-vx2ls
Thank you for a full review.
I'm not in the market for a hypercar but now we can now how this works.
The Evija does seem to be a design exercise to excite those who have to buy an expensive Mom truck for biz use.
Meanwhile, over at Toyota, they have a wonderful 3cyl hybrid turbo with 300 bhp and 4WD just waiting to be eased into a Lotus.
reply
Thank you for a full review.
I'm not in the market for a hypercar but now we can now how this works.
The Evija does seem to be a design exercise to excite those who have to buy an expensive Mom truck for biz use.
Meanwhile, over at Toyota, they have a wonderful 3cyl hybrid turbo with 300 bhp and 4WD just waiting to be eased into a Lotus.
reply
Bucketroo
This car is absolutely terrifying. It accelerates like it's going to hyperspace, like it's going to lightspeed. Not even the Rimac feels as fast off the line.
Full disclaimer: I only drove a virtual one in GRID: Legends on PlayStation 4. I've played racing games since before Pole Position. This car scared the crap out of me.
reply
This car is absolutely terrifying. It accelerates like it's going to hyperspace, like it's going to lightspeed. Not even the Rimac feels as fast off the line.
Full disclaimer: I only drove a virtual one in GRID: Legends on PlayStation 4. I've played racing games since before Pole Position. This car scared the crap out of me.
reply
georgeseaton67
The whole spiel about how lotuses usually ride well is hilarious. Maybe it’s because I’ve had sport pack dampers on both my Elise’s, but genuinely I’ve never been in any car that rides as badly as a modern Elise! Incredible steering and body control at speed, but at low speed the ride is like a bicycle
reply
The whole spiel about how lotuses usually ride well is hilarious. Maybe it’s because I’ve had sport pack dampers on both my Elise’s, but genuinely I’ve never been in any car that rides as badly as a modern Elise! Incredible steering and body control at speed, but at low speed the ride is like a bicycle
reply
adrianmorrow9882
Great video. Impressive car. Before I watched this I had no
Interest in electric cars. This video has made me think again. My only negative comment is why the interfering percussive background noise during the discussion of the cut away car Please reprimand your sound engineer with immediate effect.
reply
Great video. Impressive car. Before I watched this I had no
Interest in electric cars. This video has made me think again. My only negative comment is why the interfering percussive background noise during the discussion of the cut away car Please reprimand your sound engineer with immediate effect.
reply
Alessandro---
Evija board, Evija board, Evija board
Would you help me
Because I still do feel
So horribly lonely
Would you, Evija board
Would you, Evija board
Would you help me
And I just can't find
My place in this world
(Lyrics by Morrissey for how. not relevant is this car)
reply
Evija board, Evija board, Evija board
Would you help me
Because I still do feel
So horribly lonely
Would you, Evija board
Would you, Evija board
Would you help me
And I just can't find
My place in this world
(Lyrics by Morrissey for how. not relevant is this car)
reply
henryviii6341
doesn’t matter. There is no engine sound because there is no engine therefore there is no heart no soul to this vehicle. It’s just a machine a very fast milk float.
can’t love that horrible electric vehicle sound which is completely soulless.
gimme a V8 V12 any day.
reply
doesn’t matter. There is no engine sound because there is no engine therefore there is no heart no soul to this vehicle. It’s just a machine a very fast milk float.
can’t love that horrible electric vehicle sound which is completely soulless.
gimme a V8 V12 any day.
reply
planespeaking
This is an amazing car, and I think much better looking than the Rimac which is also almost 400kgs heavier. The performance is very similar too both have top speed (limited) of 217mph. It's crazy expensive though and honestly you wouldn't park it anywhere other than in Monaco.
reply
This is an amazing car, and I think much better looking than the Rimac which is also almost 400kgs heavier. The performance is very similar too both have top speed (limited) of 217mph. It's crazy expensive though and honestly you wouldn't park it anywhere other than in Monaco.
reply
rdeh1678
We need a drag race between this lotus and the new Rimac R as the Rimac has the world record right now i bet money the Rimac R would destroy the lotus as the Rimac does everything better 0-60 mph in 1. 66, 1/4mile in 7. 9 sec and top speed of 268mph and 0-400-0 in 24 secs
reply
We need a drag race between this lotus and the new Rimac R as the Rimac has the world record right now i bet money the Rimac R would destroy the lotus as the Rimac does everything better 0-60 mph in 1. 66, 1/4mile in 7. 9 sec and top speed of 268mph and 0-400-0 in 24 secs
reply
dash-ryan
I'll put dollars to donuts that within 5-10 years GM will come out with an EV variant of the Corvette (alongside an ICE powered C9) that will be just as fast. It doesn't need to be faster because it will be 10the price, making this car and even the Rimac irrelevant overnight.
reply
I'll put dollars to donuts that within 5-10 years GM will come out with an EV variant of the Corvette (alongside an ICE powered C9) that will be just as fast. It doesn't need to be faster because it will be 10the price, making this car and even the Rimac irrelevant overnight.
reply
johnmuzic3475
Rimac has the newly updated Nevera which is called the Nevera R, and has even more power than this Lotus. so we need these two to go head to head on a track, and in a drag race and on an empty Highway from a roll over 2 miles or more, to see who really is the fastest.
reply
Rimac has the newly updated Nevera which is called the Nevera R, and has even more power than this Lotus. so we need these two to go head to head on a track, and in a drag race and on an empty Highway from a roll over 2 miles or more, to see who really is the fastest.
reply
SoFloDamien
Great review. Car really looks great from the front and side. Rear is a bit boxy. Carbon work is exquisite but a bit curious if you can order some color pop within the weave cause the black and grey is played out to me. Price is looney tunes so is it really worth it
reply
Great review. Car really looks great from the front and side. Rear is a bit boxy. Carbon work is exquisite but a bit curious if you can order some color pop within the weave cause the black and grey is played out to me. Price is looney tunes so is it really worth it
reply
urbanstrencan
This is what Lotus should be making niche sports and hypercars under Geely umbrella and not big heavy SUVs. Geely has other brands to do that. Evija looks simply stunning and the performance is insane, I would love to see a direct comparison test with Rimac Nevera
reply
This is what Lotus should be making niche sports and hypercars under Geely umbrella and not big heavy SUVs. Geely has other brands to do that. Evija looks simply stunning and the performance is insane, I would love to see a direct comparison test with Rimac Nevera
reply
conor7154
Chinese junk. Absolutely no one is interested in this thing and production has been a disaster. It was supposed to be delivered like 4 years ago. I’m unaware of any that have been delivered. Especially funny now that people have soured on EVs even more since.
reply
Chinese junk. Absolutely no one is interested in this thing and production has been a disaster. It was supposed to be delivered like 4 years ago. I’m unaware of any that have been delivered. Especially funny now that people have soured on EVs even more since.
reply
Add a review, comment
Other channel videos
