Hyundai Iload vs Lotus Emira

What's the difference?

The iLoad remains one of the most competent all-rounders in the business. This highlights the excellence of its original design, as it hasn't changed much since it launched here more than a decade ago.

However, it's starting to show its age a bit, particularly in terms of safety compared to HiAce and Transit Custom rivals which have aggressively raised the mid-size van benchmark to a five-star standard that rivals most sedans and SUVs.

We hope Hyundai will soon do the same with the iLoad, because apart from increasingly outdated safety it's pretty hard to fault. We're sure its army of loyal customers would agree.

If this really is the final petrol-powered Lotus sports car then it’s a sad day for fans of the brand and its history. But it’s also worthy of celebration because they have made a car that is genuinely impressive.

It may not be perfect, and it will have to fight hard to lure buyers away from Porsche, BMW and co. but for anyone who enjoys a dynamic, engaging and incredibly fun sports car the Emira should be on your short-list.

Alternatively, if you’ve always dreamed of buying a traditional Lotus sports car and haven’t got around to it until now, this is your last chance so don’t wait too long.

The iLoad is 5150mm long, 1920mm wide and 1935mm high with a 3200mm wheelbase. That height means it can access underground and multi-storey carparks, in which it's also easy to manoeuvre with a relatively compact 11.22-metre turning circle.

No doubt a big factor in the rear-wheel drive iLoad's enduring appeal is its simplicity and ruggedness, combining MacPherson strut front suspension with rack and pinion steering, leaf-spring live rear axle and four-wheel disc brakes. A sliding door on each side of the cargo hold come standard. The large tailgate window, equipped with a wiper/washer and demister, provides the rear-view mirror with a relatively clear picture of what's behind even with the cargo barrier and clear plastic covering on it.

The cabin environment is bright and airy with a tasteful mix of light and dark grey surfaces. The light grey cloth seats with their colourful striped inserts look sharp but we reckon they would also show some grime pretty quickly in a working role.

Our only criticisms are that, like the new HiAce, there's no fold-down inboard armrest for the driver. We don't know why Australia's top two mid-size vans do not have this simple feature, because it's standard issue in numerous rivals and creates a more relaxed driving position.

Our other gripe is the centre passenger seat, which shares the outer passenger's base cushion but has a separate backrest which can be rotated forward through 90 degrees to reveal a handy storage tray and dual drink holder on the back of it.

However, passenger comfort and safety are compromised as the seat is too narrow for an adult, the backrest has no head restraint, there's very limited leg room and only a lap seat-belt. And to make matters worse, the belt's buckle digs firmly into your right butt cheek when it's clicked in. This ‘seat' should be for emergency use only and, if you must, only for short distances.

As mentioned earlier, the Emira is meant to be a bridge between Lotus’ past and its future - combining elements of its previous sports cars while also laying the visual tone for future models.

The design does a good job of that, because there’s clearly a link to the Exige and Evora of the recent past, but it also takes heavy influence from the limited-run Evija hypercar.

In turn, this new design language will spread out across the all-new electric models, including the Eletre SUV and Emeya sports sedan.

The styling does a good job of making the Emira look and feel like a premium sports car, without the need for any flashy wings or similar. It’s a simple, compact but stylish sports car.

This trend carries over to the cabin, with the more premium finish with the carpets, leather and good quality switchgear, as well as the digital instrument display and 10.2-inch multimedia touchscreen. Gone are the days of a Lotus having a minimalist, exposed aluminium interior with only the bare necessities. This is a proper premium sports car.

The iLoad's 2062kg kerb weight and 3160kg GVM results in a genuine one tonne-plus payload rating of 1098kg and up to 125kg of that can be carried on roof racks. It's also rated to tow up to 1500kg of braked trailer and with a GCM rating of 4660kg (or how much you can legally carry and tow at the same time), that means you can do it at maximum GVM.

In other words, it can legally carry more than a tonne while towing 1.5 tonnes. Those numbers make the iLoad a very practical and versatile workhorse, well suited to a variety of trades and other working roles beyond the usual delivery chores.

The cargo hold, with its 2375mm length, 1620mm width and 1340mm height, offers a total load volume exceeding 4.4 cubic metres and is accessed through sliding doors on each side or via the single-lift tailgate. The load floor with its protective vinyl mat has a total of 10 load anchorage points.

There's no full-length roof lining like the new HiAce but the cargo hold walls and doors are lined to hip height and there's one internal light at the rear. The load floor length and 1272mm between the rear wheel housings means the iLoad can theoretically take two 1165mm-square Aussie pallets (without the cargo barrier installed).

However, loading these could be an issue if fitted with the single-lift tailgate, as it blocks forklift access when opened. And the 870mm side door opening (even less with the cargo barrier fitted) is not wide enough to allow a pallet to pass through it, so do your homework on the iLoad's suitability for your loading requirements.

The cabin has storage bins and bottle holders in each door, plus a shallow tray in the centre dash-pad, two different-sized gloveboxes, a cubby near the gearshift for small items like chewy etc and a pop-out dual cup/bottle holder in the centre console. The centre seat backrest also folds forward to reveal a large open storage tray and two small bottle/cup holders.

While it’s a more luxurious Lotus, it remains a compact and impractical sports car - and that’s very much on brand. In terms of storage inside the cabin, there are two cupholders and a small lidded console box, but the size of the cabin means everything is quite narrow and feels a little tight for space.

There is a decent sized, although not very deep, shelf behind the seats, so you can put smaller, softer items there and hope they don’t slide around too much.

In terms of actual luggage space, there isn’t much. There’s a small boot behind the engine, and while deep, it’s pretty narrow so you’ll only get soft bags in there if you plan on taking your Emira on a road trip.

In terms of size and price, the Emira lines up almost directly against the Porsche 718 Cayman, which is a formidable adversary, but also the likes of the BMW M4. Notably, it’s significantly cheaper than anything offered by the likes of Ferrari, Maserati and McLaren.

The MY24 Emira range begins at $155,900, before on-road costs, for the entry-level model but stretches up to just over $206,000 for the i4 First Edition we’re driving here.

The Emira has been designed as a more premium and luxurious sports car compared to the stripped down and basic models of the recent past, such as the Elise and Exige, so it gets a range of items not previously seen on many Lotus models - such as carpeted floors and the choice of either Nappa leather or Alcantara trim.

Also included are LED headlights, climate control, keyless ignition, cruise control, rear parking sensors, a premium sound system and a 12.3-inch digital dashboard.

It's worth noting the MY25 Emira line-up was detailed earlier this month. You can read all about it, including pricing and specification, here.

The iLoad's 2.5 litre four-cylinder DOHC 16-valve turbo-diesel is a refined and proven performer with Euro 5-emissions compliance (so no AdBlue needed), common rail direct injection (CRDi) and variable vane turbocharging with impressive flexibility. It produces a class competitive 125kW at 3600rpm and peak torque of 441Nm between 2000-2250rpm, but there's ample throttle response and pulling power on tap either side of those figures.

The five-speed torque converter automatic is an equally robust and proven transmission, although most rivals have updated to closer ratio six-speed units. Even so, the iLoad delivers crisp and smooth shifts in auto mode, with the option of sequential manual shifting if required. The transmission's gearing and 2.92:1 final drive ratio provide a good compromise between stop-start city delivery work and economical highway driving.

The MY24 Emria first arrived in Australia with the same Toyota-built 3.5-litre V6 engine Lotus had used in recent years in the likes of the Exige and Evora. However, this new AMG-built four-cylinder provides a fresh choice.

Importantly, while built by Mercedes-AMG, the tuning and calibration is unique to Lotus (but we’ll discuss that in detail later).

That means the 2.0-litre unit is tuned to make 268kW/430Nm, which is less potent than AMG offers in its 310kW/500Nm A45 hot hatch, although a more potent version of the four-pot Emira has been confirmed for MY25.

The engine is paired with an eight-speed dual-clutch auto transmission, which you can either leave in automatic mode or change gear manually using the F1-style paddles on the steering wheel.

Hyundai's official combined figure of 8.8L/100km seemed realistic at the beginning of our road test which included a variety of roads and payloads, from near empty to three-quarters of a tonne. So we were impressed to see near-identical numbers after crunching trip meter and fuel bowser readings. Needless to say, that's great economy for a one-tonne van and no doubt another reason for its enduring popularity. Based on our figures, you could expect a realistic driving range of around 870km from its 75-litre tank.

Given the Emira is a sports car, the four-cylinder turbo is tuned for performance over economy and that’s reflected in an 10.1L/100km return on the combined (urban/extra-urban) cycle. That’s not too bad for a sports car, but is relatively thirsty given the engine capacity and the overall size of the car.

The Emira is equipped with a 60-litre fuel tank, so it has a driving range of approximately 594km.

The iLoad has big grab handles on the windscreen pillars to assist entry and once aboard it's not hard for drivers of most shapes and sizes to find a comfortable position, thanks to the height-adjustable seat, height-and-reach adjustable steering wheel and decent-sized left footrest.

The instrumentation is easy to read and dashboard controls are clearly marked and intuitive to use. There's a clear eye-line to the left door mirror but given that there's no blind-spot monitoring, this mirror would benefit from the addition of at least a dedicated wide-angle lens.

In city and suburban driving the iLoad is surprisingly quiet for a van without a sealed bulkhead between cabin and cargo hold. However, tyre roar emanating from the rear wheel housings does become quite intrusive at highway speeds, particularly on coarse bitumen surfaces.

The over-driven fifth gear ensures the engine isn't working hard though, with only 1800rpm at 100km/h and 2200rpm at 110km/h, which contributes to good fuel economy on long hauls. The cruise control also works well and is a big improvement on the last iLoad we tested in 2017.

The 2.5 litre turbo-diesel and five-speed auto are well-honed for this working role. They provide ample performance in city and suburban driving, even though the gaps between five gears are more noticeable now given the increasing use of six gears in rival automatic vans.

Just to be clear right up front, the score for this section is heavily biased towards the car's dynamic attributes, because frankly the Emira can be hard to live with at times.

At urban speeds the powertrain feels like a dog straining at its leash, which can result in some awkward moments.

For example, there were multiple instances where the gearbox refused to change out of second gear when exiting a roundabout, letting the engine rev quite hard and likely annoying my neighbours.

Some of the gear changes can be clunky too, not slotting as sweetly as they should on a sports car costing in excess of $200K.

However, you forget all that when you get the Emira onto a stretch of twisty, winding open road (preferably smooth tarmac) and move it from the 'Tour' to 'Sports' mode. The car comes alive, revving hard, shifting with precision and feeling like a puppy running through a field in pure ecstasy.

Like the great cars to come before it from Lotus, the Emira is in its element carving through corners. The steering is incredibly accurate, direct and responsive - as good as any sports car I’ve driven in recent memory. The chassis responds to those inputs with immediacy, too, feeling nimble, agile and engaging.

This is Lotus at its best.

Sports cars are not typically beacons of safety, not that they’re dangerous but the priority is speed, not complex and often weighty safety technology. It’s part of the reason these types of cars are rarely crash tested by the authorities, as is the case of the Emira.

But this more modern and luxury focused Lotus comes with a raft of safety items including adaptive cruise control, an anti-collision system (Lotus-speak for AEB), fatigue alert, road sign information, a vehicle speed limiter, lane departure warning, rear cross-traffic alert and lane change assist.

Five years/160,000km warranty. Scheduled servicing every 12 months/15,000km whichever occurs first. Lifetime Service Plan includes capped-price servicing for first five scheduled services ranging from $356 to $506.

Lotus Australia offers a three year warranty, which is in line with Porsche's cover, so that’s competitive in the sports car market. 

However, the brand does not offer capped price servicing, so you’ll need to discuss with your local dealer how much regular maintenance will cost you. The service intervals are every 12 months/15,000km.