Lotus Emeya 900 vs Porsche Taycan Turbo GT: Best EV Super Saloon?

Lotus Emeya 900 vs Porsche Taycan Turbo GT

There is more than one recipe for an exceptionally rapid electric saloon. In fact, there are two established approaches. You can adopt the Porsche Taycan formula: keep it low, light and athletic. Or take the Tesla route – insofar as anyone currently wants to ‘do a Tesla’ – by making it comfortable while fitting enormous motors, so it can still disappear towards the horizon from rest in next to no time.

Now there is a third option: the Lotus position. It is a four-door car that pledges the qualities we expect from Norfolk – sharp dynamics, serious speed and performance – alongside attributes we decidedly do not, namely first-rate fit and finish and luxury extending beyond optional carpets.

Has Lotus therefore created a car capable of eclipsing the Taycan and taking the Best EV Super Saloon crown? Jack, over to you.

Jack Rix: I admit it: the Lotus badge made me nervous, so I decided to bring the most formidable Taycan on offer. This is a car that combines genuine handling polish and finesse with a dumper-load of power. The Turbo GT, remember, holds a 7m 07.55s ’Ring lap – the production EV record.

It appears to have arrived dressed as a zebra today, or perhaps a barcode, which is not easy to pardon. Still, it has as much as 1,092bhp and reaches 0–62mph in 2.2secs, which goes some way towards making amends.

Ollie Marriage: Hmmm, I have 905bhp. I had not anticipated being so thoroughly outgunned. Anyway, this is the Emeya 900. It was formerly called the Emeya R, but Lotus evidently felt the power output was worth advertising. Until you appeared, it certainly was.

It has a 102kWh battery, a tri-motor arrangement with two motors on the rear axle, and bodywork that could have been styled by Lamborghini. Its wheelbase is vast too, so there is plenty of rear accommodation. How much reclining room does yours offer?

JR: Loads, because there are no rear seats.

OM: Then what exactly are the rear doors for?

JR: Polishing the carbon fibre, or simply misleading people. On that subject, how British is yours?

Lotus Emeya 900: British heritage, global production

OM: What are you getting at? It is covered in Colin Chapman’s initials, so it is plainly Britishness personified. It is built in Wuhan, slightly east of Norwich. All right, all right: this Lotus is a Geely product, and it does not feel as though it was designed specifically for Britain. Its outlook is more international than that.

The issue is whether that is important. It nevertheless feels like a Lotus inside, with pleasingly firm contact points and a crisp, uncomplicated layout – it is an appealing cabin. It is also well assembled, the screens function properly, and there is no smell of glue. I do seem to be looking over your roof, though.

JR: Yes, it does seem rather tall for a Lotus. The Porsche is virtually on its belly, and that impression is immediate. It has a highly clever active suspension system, able to lean the car into corners for comfort and raise the nose under heavy braking, but that is for track use.

I have selected Sport Plus, which keeps everything low, firm and level. There is no engine noise or gearshifting, but it lacks neither body control nor as much thrust as your eyeballs can endure. It is brutally quick, yet strangely composed and assured. With the Stig driving, it was also 0.5secs quicker around the TG track than a 992 GT3 RS – we verified it, just in case – recording 1m 14.3s.

Porsche Taycan Turbo GT performance and price

OM: We also held a drag race, and the Emeya was beaten. It did, however, comfortably defeat both an Audi RS7 and a BMW M5. That is not bad for 2,650kg. It needs a little more Hethel tuning, though. At full throttle, the diffs pull so aggressively that it seems to crab along the road. Yet I do like it: the steering is alert, the ride is composed, turn-in is strong, it behaves itself and it can handle its power.

It is just slightly forgettable from the driver’s seat, and that is the final trait a Lotus ought to have. Particularly one priced at £129,990. As usual, the entry-level £84,990 Emeya 600 appears to be the version to choose.

JR: Er, my Taycan with the Weissach pack – which removes a modest 70kg – costs £186,300. This example also has a few extras, including the £8,000 barcode wrap, taking the as-tested price to £199,305.

OM: Is Porsche challenging buyers to avoid its limited-edition specials, or what? Do not tell me you regard it as the range’s best car.

JR: No, but it is the best car here.

OM: Fine, I accept that it is quicker and handles better than anything else here, although it is being fairly liberal with the definition of ‘saloon’.

JR: I would see it the other way round. Rather than viewing it as a go-faster saloon, regard it as another nail in the coffin for Porsche’s Mission X EV hypercar concept. It is as quick as anyone could realistically wish for, and you can even skip the Weissach weight reduction to retain rear seats and a boot. Mark this down as a victory for the zebra.