Used Lotus Cars for Sale from £56,740

Looking to buy a used Lotus? Get a full car history check

Used Lotus cars overview

Lotus is, of course, one of the most storied names in all of motoring history. Set up by the mercurial genius that was Colin Chapman, Lotus dominated the Grand Prix tracks of the 1960s and 1970s, taking on and beating the likes of Ferrari and McLaren, while its road cars — the Elan, the Esprit, the Elise — became legendary.

Also legendary is Lotus’ unreliability, but that record has improved in recent years.

Popular used Lotus models

The Lotus car lineup is essentially divided in two right now, between the mid-engined Emira sports car (which you can think of as a traditional Lotus) and the new Chinese-designed electric models, the Eletre and the Emeya.

Used Lotus Emira

The Lotus Emira is still a fairly new car, so we’re not quite sure how reliable or unreliable it might be. The good news is that not only was the Emira developed with cash backing from the vast Geely Group — the massive Chinese car maker that now owns Lotus — but the Emira also uses V6 and turbocharged four-cylinder engines from Toyota and Mercedes, increasing the chances of decent reliability. The gorgeous styling makes the Emira look like a bargain Ferrari, and it has that traditional Lotus brilliance in its steering and handling.

Used Lotus Eletre

The Eletre is Lotus’ first SUV, and its first all-electric car. It’s massive, by Lotus standards, able to stare a Porsche Cayenne in the eyes, while its electric motors can provide more than 900hp if you go for the range-topping R model. There’s decent battery range too, although we can’t tell yet if it’s a truly reliable car or not. The excellent quality of the cabins (not usually a Lotus trait) bodes well, though.

Used Lotus Emeya

You can think of the Emeya as a low-slung version of the Eletre. It’s a big, but sleek four-door saloon — Lotus’ first since the famous Lotus Carlton of the 1990s — with that same 900hp+ potential, and improved range compared to the Eletre thanks to sleeker aerodynamics. Like the Eletre, it’s too new to talk about reliability for now, but it has a beautifully-made cabin which is a good sign.

FAQs

Is a Lotus a reliable car?

Traditionally, no. Lotus was always famous for producing fragile cars that broke down a lot. That started to change in the 1990s with the Elise, and more recently things have improved even more thanks to an influx of Chinese cash. A Porsche still feels more solid, but Lotus is improving.

Do Lotuses hold their value?

The old Elise was always a car that hung on well to its original value — indeed, good original 1990s cars are now starting to appreciate. The new Emira seems to be following in those footsteps, with as much as 70% retained value after three years, but the outlook for the electric Eletre and Emeya is less good, as the used market still doesn’t quite trust electric cars.

Are Lotus Cars still made in the UK?

Yes, the Emira is still made in Lotus’ traditional home of Hethel, in Norfolk alongside the super-rare Evija 2,000hp electric hypercar. The Emeya and Eletre, though, are Chinese-designed cars and are built in China.