Well before reaching Wuhan to experience the Lotus Eletre, I already know the answer to one question. This is undoubtedly the most radical road-going Lotus of all time, even by the high standards of this innovative company.
Even 10 years ago, the idea of a Chinese-built electric SUV wearing Lotus badges would have been inconceivable. Now Chinese customer deliveries have started and I’m driving a near-finished European-market example.
The Eletre sits on Lotus’s all-new Electric Premium Architecture, which will soon underpin two more cars, these a sleek saloon and a smaller SUV. There’s plenty of room in the Eletre’s shadow for a more compact sibling, it being 5103mm long and weighing about 2400kg.
Other brand firsts include four-wheel drive (thanks to a motor on each axle), air suspension, active rear steering and support for higher-level autonomy.
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