Lotus Eletre debuts as the brand’s first SUV

The Lotus Eletre is the sport car brand’s first venture into the trending SUV segment. This EV promises to imbibe the traits of the nimble Lotus sports cars and pack it all into a practical SUV.

Eletre means “coming to life” in some Eastern European languages. This SUV comes to life on Lotus’s new Electric Premium Architecture platform. Building on this, the Lotus Eletra flaunts a design similar to the Emira sports car, albeit tweaked for the SUV silhouette. No complaints here as the Eletre does look handsome, just like the Emira. The grill design on the Eletre is not just for show. It houses active aero elements that open and close, facilitating optimum airflow to cool the motors, battery, and brakes.

The edgy design carries itself into the interior. The digital instrument cluster and a passenger-side screen are positioned to look like a long strip that runs the width of the dashboard. Right in the middle of that, a 15.1-inch touchscreen sits, handling all infotainment duties. If these are not geeky enough, a HUD with augmented reality support is also on offer. Adding on to the tech fest, there are four lidar sensors around the car. In markets where regulations allow them, the mirrors are replaced by cameras. Lotus claims “end-to-end autonomous driving” capability for the Eletre which supports over-the-air updates.

Lot of weight-saving measures have been done such as the black elements are all made of carbon-fibre, while the rest of the body is constructed with lightweight aluminium. Even the upholstery is covered in wood-blend fabric, which they claim weighs 50-percent less than regular leather.

The electric components of the Eletre include a motor on each axle. The total output is 600 hp which takes the SUV from 0 to 100 kph in less than 3.0 seconds. The top speed the Eletre can hit is a respectable 260 kph. As an EV, the range is of paramount importance. The Lotus Eletre scores here too, with a WLTP range of around 600 kms. Juicing up is easy as well, with the support for up to 350 kW charging that can fill in 400 km worth of charge in just 20 minutes.

It is not going to be a Lotus if the handling is off. To make the dynamics spot on, the Lotus Eletre uses active ride height adjusting air suspension. It adds active anti-roll bars and rear-axle steering to this.