Lotus is ready to serve U.S. shoppers holding out for the Eletre SUV. The battery-electric family ride comes in two flavors for our market, entry-level and R, both in dual-motor configuration powered by a 111.9-kWh battery and 800-volt architecture for primo fast-charging performance. The mid-range Eletre S available in some markets is skipping the U.S., likely because luxury makers focus on a stout level of standard kit for our buyers, and work up from there. The prices before destination:
- Eletre: $107,000
- Eletre R: $145,000
The former makes a combined 603 horsepower and 710 pound-feet of torque, able to hustle its roughly 5,500-pound heft from standstill to 62 miles per hour in 4.5 seconds and on to a top speed of 160 mph. The latter makes a combined 905 hp and 985 lb-ft., goading its roughly 5,820 pounds to 62 mph in 2.95 seconds, terminal velocity slightly up at 165 mph. When a driver needs to scrub off all that speed, the base model gets six-piston calipers clamping the front discs, the R gets 10-piston calipers. The minimum spec includes seven configurable interior screens, KEF audio, an adaptive suspension, and an ADAS suite powered by Nvidia chips processing information from 12 cameras, 18 radar units, and four LIDAR arrays.
We wrote in our First Drive, “After a couple days behind the wheel of the Lotus Eletre, we’re left with almost as many questions as we started with.” This pricing only adds another layer of intrigue. The Lotus becomes the third sports-focused SUV in this broad MSRP segment, joining the Porsche Macan 4 EV ($79,000 to $105,300) and the Maserati Grecale Folgore (no official price yet, but around $110,000), or the fifth competitor if you want to include the Audi Q8 Sportback E-Tron ($94,000 to $100,000) and the truly dark horse Genesis Electrified GV70 ($68,000 to $75,000). The rest of the meager competition at the moment is either focused on luxury or off-road capability, that being the Mercedes-EQS SUV ($106,000 to $181,000), Hummer EV SUV ($96,550 to $140,295) and the Rivian R1S ($74,900 to $92,000). Lucid’s expected to join this club before the year is out with the Gravity. Early 2025 is going to see some highly anticipated comparison tests.
