Road test Lotus Eletre R, driving the fastest SUV in NZ
The 675kW/985Nm model is more powerful and quicker to 100kph than a McLaren F1, Matthew Hansen reports.
Experiencing a quick car can do all sorts of things to the body. The G-forces can push you right back into your seat. Nailing a manual gear shift at redline or hearing the loud crack of a dual-clutch automatic, that can serve up a dollop of dopamine. Fear, anxiety, thrill – they can all appear when the adreneline’s pumping.
Whilst driving the new Lotus Eletre R in a spirited (and entirely legal, I may add) manner, my body experienced something new from the confines of the driver’s seat … nausea. Much like the Eletre’s acceleration, the status of my innards went from zero to 100 very quickly, requiring an emergency allwindows-down drive and a heap of fresh air to ward off the feeling. Not for the faint of heart, or faint of stomach, this thing.
We tested the Lotus Eletre S last December, and in many ways we loved it. The traditionalist Lotus-loyalist speed bump that hobbles the very idea of the Eletre – the brand’s first EV and first SUV – became a bit of a non-event when we discovered just how well executed, how surprising, and how fun the Eletre was to spend time with.
R, as is standard in carland, signals that this is the fast one, with the price doubling down on the fact. Whilst the Eletre S starts at $265,000, the R starts at $315,000. Barring Porsche’s Taycan Turbo models, this is the most expensive electric vehicle on sale in New Zealand.
It’s also one of the quickest. Lotus has added in a bigger rear motor, resulting in a 225kW gain and adding up to a total output of 675kW/985Nm. This shaves more than a second and a half from the huge SUV’s 0–100kph time, dropping it to just 2.95 seconds. That’s three-and-abit tenths quicker than a Lamborghini Urus Performante or Porsche Cayenne GT Turbo, making this the quickest accelerating SUV on the market today (the Tesla Model X Plaid would take the crown, but they don’t sell it here).
We won’t talk too much about the Eletre’s cabin and endlessly long list of tech as much of it carries over from the S, other than to say that it continues to blow us away that this is the brand’s first tilt at making a luxury model. The bespoke look and feel of everything inside is hugely impressive. This feels every bit like the interior of a 300-something thousand dollar luxury car.
The bevy of moving bits does have me a little concerned with longevity, admittedly. The four retractable lidar sensors, the delicate origami-esque front grille shutters, the active rear spoiler … it’s a lot of moving electric bits from an unproven, relaunched brand. The trade- off is that, in the case of the lidar stuff, the Eletre is one of the most autonomous-ready SUVs available. In theory, anyway.
As far as the exterior goes, there isn’t a lot to report here either. In this lighter Kaimu Grey hue, you can see a lot more of Lotus’ intricate aero work – all the different little apertures and vents and creases, all designed to make this big shape as slippery as possible (with a hint of downforce generation, too).
Not much has changed, then, but it isn’t just a case of lumping in a bigger motor, either. The Eletre R also gains a two-speed transmission, not unlike what Porsche has in its Taycan. The twospeed and beefed up rear motor work in tandem to cure the off-the-line lag we observed in the Eletre S. There’s almost none of that here – hit the throttle from a standstill and the response is violent and immediate (and evidently sometimes a little sickening if repeated).
The R also gets Lotus’ previously optional
Dynamic Handling
Pack as standard, meaning it gets an excellent four-wheel steering system, a Track Mode setting, and Intelligent Active Roll Control. The latter comprises a 48-volt anti-roll bar set-up, essentially enabling the Eletre to react and adapt super quickly to cornering forces and pitch changes, before disengaging and ensuring a smooth ride when you’re on roads more cruisy.
In practice, all of it works very well. Track Mode is suitably stiffer and more pointed than Sport, but still feels fairly comfortable on a typical chip seal Kiwi backroad. As in the S, the R’s abilities with sudden direction changes are uncanny. In the case of the R, with its extra 225kW under the throttle pedal, you do need to pay extra attention with your throttle mannerisms. It can be overwhelmed on occasion, with a lower threshold than the S.
As a luxury car with a knack for necksnapping performance, the Eletre is a bit of a knock-out. The only thing really holding it back, really, is the propensity for those who want a vehicle this fast, silly, and expensive to gravitate to big brash V8s instead. This might be quicker than a Urus or Cayenne GT, but whether it’s more enthralling and dramatic is another question entirely.