SUVs are all about road presence – the word cute and pretty don’t apply to them. Its about looking butch and meaning the business. This is why when you have a SUV like the fully electric Lotus Eletre, you start wondering whether good looks are part of the business. Similar in size to a Mercedes S-Class, the Eletre looks big and purposeful. It is available in three variants, from the base with a 595 bhp single-speed version, and range of 600 kilometres to the Eletre R with the flagship 892 bhp dual-speed system and a maximum range of 490 kilometres. Torque figures are 710 and 985 Nm respectively, and the 112 kWh battery (for both) has a charging time (10%-80%) of just 20 minutes using a rapid charger.
The exteriors boast a beautifully aerodynamic 0.26Cd shape, and whilst there is no mistaking this is a SUV, the car looks low slung with the front windscreen steeply raked and the flowing roofline giving it a neat look. You have a front bonnet with plenty of scoops for air passage, and an electric air dam in the front lower part of the bumper takes care of air flow to the batteries. The LIDAR system pops up from the front on requirement and at the rear it neatly divides the high mounted spoiler so that the car keeps an eye out for you. The connected ribbon tail lights also give the Eletre a very nice look and the main rear spoiler, that which deploys at angles of 18 degrees and 32 degrees, and when fully deployed at 34 degrees, works like an air brake. It also gets rear-wheel steering, active anti-roll bars and air suspension. In fact you can manually lower the rear to lift bulky items into the boot. Those massive 22-inch wheels actually look quite sexy!
The Eletre is not only about performance, but the style it adds to that performance. Open the soft-close frameless doors, and a waft of pure leather hits your nose – something that has become scarce in today’s world, even in luxury automobiles. You can get an Alcantara roof-lining, which gives it a very rich finish. There is a large 15.1-inch screen that lies flat against the dashboard when the car is switched off and springs to life at a touch of the start-stop button. The driver gets a slim 30mm display in front with all relevant information, and a large heads-up display. The passenger too gets their own slimline display, similar to the driver on which a lot of information can be configured. You do get massage seats all around and even the rear seats are electrically adjustable. The infotainment system is a stonking KEF 2160-watt 23-speaker system with Uni-Q™ and 3D surround sound technology. You get partially exposed speakers in the doors, a technical execution and beautiful design feature. a 2160-watt 23-speaker system with Uni-Q™ and 3D surround sound technology. The KEF Reference option also features the Uni-Core™ technology, a pioneering new approach to speaker and subwoofer design that redefines size versus performance. Both KEF Premium and KEF Reference audio system options feature partially exposed speakers in the doors, a technical execution and beautiful design feature. Audiophile quality in a car at the next level, with Dolby Atmos standard. You also get a fixed electrochromic glass roof, whose transparency can be automatically switched between dark to transparent.
Let’s now come to the meat of the matter, performance. With 892 bhp and 905 Nm of torque at your disposal, you get a neck-snapping 0-100 kmph time of 2.95 seconds in the Eletre R, which can then storm upto 265 kmph. Even the ‘base’ Eletre can hit 100 kmph in 4.5 seconds – quite the feat. However, we urge you not to try this on public roads. The Eletre is onw of the world’s fastest SUVs and the fastest accelerating SUV in India. Nothing comes close to it and what matters is the fit and finish of the car which is better than most luxury cars in the market. It is a very impressive machine, and the most stylish way of going green.
Priced at INR 2.55 – 2.99 crore ex-showroom.
