The difficulty with constructing your model round a strict set of values is there’ll inevitably come a time the place you’ll have to compromise on these rules. Take Lotus, for instance – the corporate that constructed the featherweight Seven and Elise, designed round Colin Chapman’s maxim of “simplify and add lightness,” and so on.

Now below the possession of Geely, Hethel has now deemed that, after 76 years of constructing solely sports activities automobiles, it’s essential to constructed an infinite two-and-a-half-tonne electrical SUV to outlive. Purists could balk on the thought, however the truth is that consumers are naturally gravitating in direction of these automobiles, for higher or worse. And there’s no disgrace in making them – simply ask Ferrari and Aston Martin.

The truth that a Lotus might be talked about in the identical breath because the Purosangue and the DBX is proof the brand new Eletre is so necessary for the revitalised model. Launched in Malaysia final April, the automobile is actually highly effective sufficient to compete, obtainable with as much as 905 hp and 985 Nm of torque within the Eletre R.

This isn’t that automobile, nonetheless – the one we examined was the Eletre S, and regardless of carrying an additional letter, it’s no extra highly effective than the bottom automobile, its twin motors churning out a still-impressive 605 hp and 710 Nm. That’s sufficient for it to get from zero to 100 km/h in 4.5 seconds on its strategy to a prime velocity of 258 km/h.

The much less gutsy motors additionally allow the S to extract extra vary – a spherical 600 km on the WLTP cycle, the truth is – from its 112 kWh battery. Because of an 800-volt structure, the Eletre can assist as much as 350 kW of DC quick charging, topping up the battery from 10 to 80% in 20 minutes.

The Eletre is a far cry from Lotuses (Lotii?) of the previous, with a natural, “porous” design impressed by the Evija electrical hypercar, in addition to a modern, minimalist cabin that’s dominated by a large 15.1-inch OLED touchscreen (which, by the way in which, folds flat when not in use). You get a five-seater format as commonplace, however it’s also possible to spec an opulent four-seater cabin (not proven right here) with an eight-inch centre touchscreen.

The S badge denotes a better degree of normal package in comparison with the bottom Eletre, together with an energetic rear spoiler, 22-inch alloy wheels, soft-close doorways and a 23-speaker, 2,160-watt KEF Reference Audio sound system. It additionally comes with a full suite of superior driver help methods and a battery of retractable lidar sensors claimed to allow Degree 4 autonomous driving through a future software program replace.

All this doesn’t come low cost in fact – the Eletre S retails at RM698,000 on-the-road with out insurance coverage, and that doesn’t embody a number of the expensive choices. How is it wish to drive? Watch Hafriz’s evaluate within the video beneath to seek out out.

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