Lotus Eletre 2023 electric SUV review, UK price, pictures UK

The Lotus Eletre has a UK starting price of £89,500

(Image credit: Lotus Cars)

published 9 August 2023

This “jet-fighter cool”, 2.5-tonnes “monster” is Lotus’s first SUV and first all-electric car, said The Daily Telegraph. Entering a hotly contested market when it goes on sale this year, the Eletre is claimed to be “the world’s best all-electric hyper SUV”. There are three models to choose between: the base (£89,500) and the S (£104,500) both have a single-speed, dual motor 603bhp drivetrain, and can do 0-62mph in 4.5secs, with a top speed of 160mph and a range of 373 miles. The top model R (£120,000) has 892bhp through two-speed transmission, and can do 0-62mph in 2.95secs with a 304-mile range. But of course, the more you select from the options list the more these prices “spin up”.

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“Unless you insist on supercar performance, the base model is the best buy of the bunch,” said Car magazine. All versions get an 800-volt system, with a potent 112kWh lithium-ion battery, which charges from 10% to 80% in 20 minutes when connected to a 350kW force feeder. Powerful and rapid, this car is “a fuss-free precision tool” with “the stopping power of a guillotine”.

It may not look like a traditional Lotus, but with “great steering”, “class-leading” brakes and a “supremely well-controlled yet soothing ride”, the Eletre certainly feels like a Lotus, said Auto Express. And it’s not just entertaining to drive. It is also “extraordinarily well made”, with an intuitive and distinctive hi-tech cabin featuring a brilliant 15-inch touchscreen, with Apple and Android connectivity, a great new satnav system and apps galore. There’s plenty of leg- and headroom and acres of space in the rear and the boot. It seems that “out of nowhere, Lotus has nailed it with the Eletre”. From £89,500.