Lotus Emira vs BMW M2

What's the difference?

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.

Proving good things still come in small packages, the pint-sized M2 remains my pick of the BMW M range. It's not the perfect daily drive, but I reckon the fun outweighs the foibles.

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.

There have been mixed reviews of the design of the BMW M range, but I reckon this one looks pretty damn good. In fact, I've always thought this kind of hyper-aggressive styling looks better on smaller cars than it does on big ones.

And it certainly is aggressive, right? From the huge bonnet bulges to the meshed out grille and angry rear diffuser, to the staggered alloys and flared wheel arches, to the blocky rear end with its four massive exhaust exits.

But my favourite exterior item has to be the blacked-out carbon roof, which helps shrink the M2 visually, and makes the whole car look more potent.

Inside, it's plenty sporty feeling, with hard-backed sports seats, lashings of carbon-fibre-look trimmings and the bright red M buttons on the steering wheel.

It's nice, but some of the touch points – like the hard plastics on top of the doors, where, if you're like me, you rest your elbow when driving – feel less than premium.

Still, all the tech is present and accounted for, with its digital dash and huge centre screen, and there's no shortage of spaces to connect or charge your phone.

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.

The M2 pocket rocket measures just over 4.5m in length, just under 1.9m in width, and just over 1.4m in height, and it rides on a 2747mm wheelbase. That makes it longer, wider and lower than the model it replaces.

Remember that 'lower' bit, as it will come up again in a moment.

Up front, you don't feel cramped, and there's the requisite cupholders, door pockets and hiding holes, as well as wireless device charging and USB connections.

But remember, this is a two-door, four-seat affair, which cuts into the practicality a little, or a lot.

Swing open the wide front doors, and push the front seat-back forwards, and the entire chair will slide forward automatically.

It does help create more room to climb into the back, but it's still a slightly embarrassing challenge to make getting back there look anything like graceful.

Once there, it's tight. I'm 175cm and my head was firmly pressed into the roof.

You do get your own vents and temp controls, but that's about it. Even the pull-down divider only gives you access to the 390-litre boot, rather than extra cupholders.

You do get two sets of ISOFIX attachment points, though, and let's be honest –  if you're buying this to make Bunnings runs, you've probably got it wrong.

First, the bad news. The M2 has only been getting more and more expensive over the years, and this new-generation model continues that charge.

Fun fact: When we first tested this model way back in 2016, you could get the Pure grade for less than $90K with a manual transmission.

Or you could spend just under $100K for the full-fruit version. This one, though, lists at $121,700, before on-road costs.

So, a little less bang for buck, but there's still a whole lot of bang on offer here.

You'll find staggered 19- and 20-inch lightweight alloys, while standard performance kit includes an 'Active M Differential', 'Adaptive M Suspension', 'M Compound Brakes' (with blue calipers), 'M Sport Seats' up front and, for the first time, a lightweight 'M Carbon' roof.

Elsewhere, there's adaptive LED headlights, a 12.3-inch instrument display and a 14.9-inch multimedia screen, a head-up display, a Harman Kardon 'Surround Sound' audio system and Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connectivity.

You'll sit on leather seats that adjust electrically and are heated up front. There's three-zone climate control, along with a heated steering wheel, wireless device charging and ambient interior lighting.

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.

Besides, this is what we're really here for, isn't it? The M2 gets the 'M TwinPower' 3.0-litre twin-turbo inline-six engine, producing a sizeable 338kW and 550Nm, sending that power to the rear wheels via an eight-speed auto or six-speed manual.

BMW says this engine is very, very close to the engine that powers the M3 and M4, and says it will rocket the M2 from 0-100km/h in 4.1 seconds, and to 200km/h in either 13.5 seconds in the automatic, or 14.3 seconds in the manual.

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.

A small fly in the ointment is fuel use, with the M2 said to use 9.7L/100km on the combined cycle. It also drinks 98 RON premium, and is home to a 52-litre fuel tank. Your theoretical driving range is around 540km.

Now, be warned, you'll be bored stiff if you drive it in the way that's required to get it that low. When we were being gentle, we were somewhere between 10.5 and 11.5 litres per hundred kilometres.

Emissions are pegged a 220g/km of C02.

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.

Let's be totally up front here: the BMW M2 isn't the most comfortable vehicle to live with. In fact, I recently climbed out of the M3 Touring, and found that to be more comfortable on broken city streets.

The M2 is fitted with adaptive suspension, but even in its most comfortable settings it can feel rough, bumpy and jarring on bad roads (of which Australia has lots), and unless you're gentle with the accelerator, it can feel a little jumpy when first taking off – a by-product of its prodigious power.

Now, let's be totally up front again: I don't care. The M2 is fun, plain and simple, and for mine, the above is a fair price to pay for something that brings so much joy.

The steering is lovely, the power immediate and the soundtrack intoxicating, and it's the kind of car that's fun no matter where, how far or how fast you drive it.

In fact, fun seems to be the very centre of the M2 proposition, which definitely doesn't take itself too seriously.

For evidence, look no further than the 'M Drift Analyser', buried in a hopelessly busy multimedia system that will have you praising the CarPlay and Android Auto gods.

It will rate your best drift out of four stars, measure it for distance, and basically give you a pat on the back for doing your best hooligan impression (not on a public road, of course).

Fun, then, is the order of the day here. And I bloody love it.

The BMW M2 hasn't been assessed by ANCAP, but it arrives with six airbags, as well as all your usual traction and braking aids.

Elsewhere, you'll find lane change and lane departure warning, active cruise control, front and rear parking sensors, tyre pressure monitoring, and AEB with pedestrian detection.

There's also blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert and lane centring assist, as well as a tyre-pressure monitoring system.

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.

The BMW M2 is covered by a five-year, unlimited kilometre warranty, and servicing is 'condition based', in that the vehicle will tell you what maintenance is required, and when.

You can prepay your service costs at the time of purchase for all BMW vehicles, covering the first five years of ownership, for $3480 (which means $695 per service).