2026 Lotus Eletre First Drive Review

In the late 1950s, the Lotus 7 weighed in at less than 350 kg (772 lb), truly exemplifying company founder Colin Chapman’s philosophy of first simplifying, then adding lightness.

That the high-performance 2026 Lotus Eletre Carbon tips the scales at 2,640 kg (5,820 lb) surely has the old Brit spinning in his proverbial grave. The fact it happens to be a big, complex, heavy and fully electric SUV is probably enough to have the brand’s fans readying their pitchforks.

But then those same people would do well to remember that Porsche purists were also up in arms over the introduction of the Cayenne more than two decades ago — a model that brought in enough prosperity to allow the brand to continue developing sports cars. And just about every other high-end manufacturer has followed suit in the years since, from Aston Martin to Ferrari and Lamborghini, which might be enough to make the rest of us wonder what the heck took Lotus so long.

All-Electric Bona Fides

Lotus, the celebrated British brand tied to seven constructor’s championships in Formula 1 racing — has always been a niche sports-car purveyor. It’s also been fraught with financial challenges from time to time, resulting in multiple ownership changes, with American, Malaysian, and now Chinese stewards of the marque. Current ownership under Geely has infused new life into Lotus, with the Emira and Evija generating lots of buzz for the brand.

The Geely company knows a little something about electric vehicles (EVs), with a portfolio of brands that includes Polestar and Volvo, the latter of which has pushed deep into electrification. The result is some very impressive battery specs for the Eletre, which uses an 800-volt architecture and a 112-kWh lithium-ion pack, providing life to a motor at each axle. With DC fast-charging capability, the Eletre can reach recharge speeds as fast as 355 kW, which should allow it to get from 10 to 80 per cent in only 20 minutes in ideal conditions. A 22-kW onboard charger allows for decently-quick AC charging, too.

Fully charged, the Eletre offers an estimated range of 460 km, which puts it well behind the Porsche Cayenne Electric and Lucid Gravity, two of the Eletre’s most obvious competitors, both of which deliver more than 500 km of range.

Lotus is offering Canadians the Eletre, Eletre Touring, and Eletre Sport this year. Each delivers the same 603 hp and 524 ft-lb of torque, promising brisk acceleration, but the Eletre Carbon tested here utilizes a pair of 675-kW motors to juice the output to a whopping 905 hp and 727 lb-ft of torque. It’s also good for a claimed zero-to-100 km/h time of less than three seconds.

Drives Like a Lotus

Our limited test drive took place downtown Toronto, making it impossible to put those claims to the test; however, accelerating between exits on the Don Valley Parkway proved that the Lotus is dizzyingly quick even with partial throttle application. While the Eletre Carbon will be available in Canadian dealerships next year, the company is making 24 special First Edition models available this year for those eager for all that monstrous power.

Despite its considerable curb weight, Lotus’s engineers sought to keep it as light as possible with suspension components crafted from aluminum. It’s a very complex underpinning, with air suspension, variable dampers, and active sway bars all helping to let this big SUV handle like, well, a Lotus. By seeking out the twistiest on- and off-ramps in the downtown area, we put the Eletre’s handling to the test as best we could, which was enough to confirm that it manages body roll and dive exceptionally well, keeping the broad 275-mm (10.8-in) front and 315-mm (12.4-in) rear tires in firm contact with the road. There are active aerodynamics at play with the Eletre as well, helping with high-speed stability.

The Eletre employs four-wheel steering which helps it feel much smaller than its 5,103-mm (201-in) length suggests. For reference, that’s longer than one of Land Rover’s fancy Range Rover models, yet the Eletre wheels around town like a midsize sedan, not a big sport utility. There’s even a modicum of steering feel transmitted through the suede-covered wheel, too, which is a rare treat in modern vehicles — especially electrified ones.

Still, when a performance machine is designed to hide its considerable mass, it means more stiffness, and that’s certainly the case here. We drove a few blocks each with the track and sport drive modes selected and wondered if Toronto’s pock-marked roads would force the Eletre to rattle its body panels loose. The giant 23-inch wheels require rubberband-like tires that have very little sidewall to soak up bumps, and in anything other than the touring mode, the Eletre is quite rough-riding.

Looks Like a Lotus

The brand’s stylists did a fantastic job giving this SUV enough visual cues to make it part of the Lotus family while still allowing it to have a look all its own. More impressive is the way the Eletre appears significantly smaller than it is, especially in photos. It’s not until walking up to the Eletre that its profile grows to such imposing proportions. Its lines are fluid with just enough aggression to look sporty rather than boxy, especially the way the rear haunches kick up toward the sloping roofline.

Our black test car was something Lord Vader himself would covet, but the bright Galloway green model on hand was stunning, especially with its grey wheels adding more contrast. Next to a Lamborghini Urus, the Eletre is more tasteful and elegant without being any less imposing. Look closer and there are countless small details — like the various vents and interesting grille textures — that make this Lotus look more exotic than most of its contemporaries.

The interior is no less impressive, with a modern design featuring a central dash that prioritizes a large touchscreen like most vehicles these days. But again, it’s the design details that bring in some greater subtlety, like the elaborate speaker grilles, or the small screen displays in front of the driver and front-seat passenger that present only essential information. The steering wheel has a pair of simple toggles, as well as paddles to adjust drive mode and regenerative braking level. In an era of information overload, the relative simplicity here is welcomed.

Leather covers most surfaces, but there are accents of metallic trim and carbon fibre, too. And in that gorgeous green model, the light-coloured seats were accented by seatbelts with classic Lotus colours of yellow, white, and green, adding a fabulously appropriate flourish.

Final Thoughts

Despite appearing so fresh and exciting, the Eletre has actually been around for a few years now. Lotus has gone through the considerable steps to ready the vehicle for sale in Canada just before the feds slapped a massive tariff on cars coming in from China. Now that trade is back on more agreeable terms and tariffs reduced, Lotus is ahead of the other Chinese manufacturers in bringing its cars to the Canadian market.

It was worth the wait, since Lotus is getting surprisingly aggressive with pricing as the Eletre starts at $119,900, with the Sport model ringing in at $129,900, and the Touring at $139,900. The First Edition and subsequent Carbon models will start at $179,900, putting them in a very competitive spot against the Porsche Cayenne Electric.

The half-dozen existing Canadian Lotus dealerships will be happy to take customer orders for the Eletre (or Emira, for that matter) now, with deliveries starting as soon as this summer. Lotus also expects the number of Canadian dealerships to double within the year, which bodes well for getting more Lotus models on our roads.

With interesting styling and exhilarating performance out of the top-trim model, the Lotus name is sure to become more prevalent in the Canadian premium SUV market.