Lotus Eletre vs Volkswagen Golf

What's the difference?

This is a Lotus - but it’s not like any Lotus you’ve ever known.

In fact, forget everything you know about Lotus, the British brand previously famous for small, lightweight sports cars is now evolving into something very different. Very, very different.

Under the control of Chinese automotive giant Geely since 2017, Lotus will shed its past and focus its future on all-electric, luxury vehicles like the Eletre we’re testing here.

The Eletre is a full-size luxury electric SUV designed to take on the likes of the Audi SQ8 e-tron, BMW iX and Mercedes-AMG EQE on the electric side, while also trying to lure buyers away from the likes of the Bentley Bentayga and Lamborghini Urus.

So, how does this radically different Lotus measure up to the brand’s reputation and stack up against its would-be competitors? Read on to find out…

Eight generations over more than half a century qualifies the Volkswagen Golf as an automotive icon, standing on the shoulders of its original beetle-shaped ancestor.

It remains one of the world’s favourite cars and this 110TSI Life version is the entry-point to the local model line-up, the latest ‘8.5’ version of which arrived here just over 12 months ago.

It sits in a hotly contested small-car category, appealing to those with a preference for a conventional hatch and pure internal-combustion power.

In an automotive world now dominated by increasingly electrified SUVs, we spent a week behind the wheel to see how it shapes up as an urban specialist with occasional open road ability.