KEF speakers have been around for over 60 years. They made their name as studio monitors. Obscure works such as "Dark Side of the Moon" and "Bohemian Rhapsodies" were mixed down with KEF monitors (pronounced usually "kef" as a word not k.e.f.)
I'm shocked he'd never heard of KEF, He's got plenty of random nice audio gear in the back of his MKBHD videos so it's clear he's got some exposure to the good stuff.
9 месяцев назад
KEF is an amazing brand. Honestly, Lotus made a nice impression here.
I use KEF speakers for my home cinema setup. Their uniQ drivers are beautifull and sound incredible. I've always wanted to use some in a car. I'm glad Lotus have used a British speaker brand instead of the usual Harman stuff. Harman markets its products under various brands, including AKG, AMX, Arcam, Bang & Olufsen Automotive, Harman Kardon, Infinity, JBL and several others. I Iove your content and really apreciate the effort you and your team put in to create the finest stuff on the internet.
@@Clarity520 Just because Samsung owns Harmon doesn't mean it's bad. JBL is still great, and so is Infinity and the rest of them. They still operate under their own staff, so nothing has changed about them.
The Lotus Emeya is the first car that feels like it has everything, unlike today's cars which lack at least one feature. This one seemingly does not have any shortcomings. I was super-impressed!
I don’t normally get really excited about the look of a car but the Emeya is an absolutely gorgeous. I actually said “oh wow” when you first showed it!
Looks great and can’t wait to see one in person. Given the Lotus reliability record I would be concerned about all those moving parts. However, their latest owners may have fixed it. Either way it looks sweet.
Trust me these new ones have exactly nothing to do with Lotus, they're made in China now. I'm sure it's sold there too under a completely different name. Such a shame they've made another generic suv crossover because it goes against everything Lotus used to be. Don't get me wrong I love the car, but it just has the wrong name
Lotus might have worse reliability record than Alfa Romeo so I'd definitely prefer as little as possible things that could go wrong. That being said, as @CromusXBL said, this 'Lotus' is a Lotus in name only so it could go either way... Except Chinese manufacturers are known for everything but quality-built vehicles, too...
@@Tr2w I test drove an Emira before I bought my BMW M4C and loved it, there was just too much of a mark up on it and Lotus dealerships are another story. Now my question is this, is the Eletra and Emeya manufactured by a separate company from the Emira or is Lotus entirely owned by a Chinese company now? Thanks.
@@zwerko goes to show you have no idea what you're on about. Lotus is owned by Geely the manufacturer behind Volvo, Polstar, Lynk & Co. They are one of the leading manufacturers of EVs. Go watch reviews of how bad those cars are built then come back here and rant about how Chinese manufacturers doesn't know how to build quality cars /s. Made in China Tesla M3s are actually more sort after than Made in Fremont Teslas due to quality issues in the early days.
Lotus is a driver-centric brand. I have experienced that first hand in the Lotus Evora. They are among the greatest in suspension architecture, driving dynamics, and drive-train engineering. These new vehicles are definitely vastly different from their previous productions, especially when it comes to the interior design. They’ve definitely moved away from simple, driver-centric physical controls.
Dude KEF is very well known. The KEF LS 50s are one of the most popular small speakers on the market. I’d be shocked if nobody on your staff has a pair.
Well it's a Lotus in logo only. Instead of British it's Chinese. Instead of having the lightest weight and tiny size, now it's the heaviest and gigantic. Instead of motors it's now all EV. Someone just paid to use the Lotus name, it's like if you and me bought the rights to call ourselves Destiny's Child and released an album
@@Daniel_Capitalnot just buy the logo, Chinese company geely owns lotus now, the same company also owns Volvo and polestar, and is the major shareholder of Benz and Aston Martin.
@@mrdylaninthebox That said, I'm guessing they have some "old" DNA in there and some input in what and how they make stuff in the UK design wise. It really is sad how everything is being bought off by Chinese megacorps and no car manufacturer respects your privacy, not even the traditional ones (there was a story about it recently from Mozilla foundation). I can't even imagine what these do with your data, videos, calls etc.
KEF is really the brand currently you just cannot go wrong with for speakers. Coming from a guy who sold the most high-end stuff, KEF always does price to performance best.
I have actually heard the KEF system in the new Lotus and it is very good and just about the best before you get into silly systems in high end expensive cars (the Naim for Bentley system is amazing but you are looking at a couple of hundred thousand for the car and $7,000 for the Naim upgrade, so not really comparable). I guess Geely, who also on Volvo, Polstar and half of Smart, just threw a load of money at KEF to make system for the new electric cars as one of the stand out features as things like silly acceleration is pretty much a given.
He mentioned the car wow stick of truth! As someone who recommended mkbhd to top gear I’m really happy he’s acknowledging other car journos too, nice 👌🏽
As a huge Lotus fan (own an 80s Esprit, and have toyed with getting an Emira lately), I'm excited for the the Eletre and Emeya (and Lotus plans on releasing 3 more EVs in the next 3 years). I'm really glad Marques liked this. I'm 5 years into ownership with my Model 3, and I'm keeping my eyes open for what's next (I have a deposit down on the Silverado EV, but I'm not really sure). A lot of people in the Lotus community hate the move to EVs, they see it as offensive and that Lotus should continue to make ICE cars (which we all know isn't very future-proof). I'm all in. Lotus has struggled for so long, it would be nice to see the brand get elevated (even though it's owned by Geely now).
I’m not against an all electric Lotus, as long as it’s still a Lotus. I feel like all of the moving parts remove some of the Lotus-ness that the cars should have
I don't think it's the move to EVs that is worrying people, it's the additional weight they bring. And jesus christ, all those servos and additional electronics must be adding even more. So... while the Lotus brand very much brings a level of prestige, I think the original "add lightness" brand dies together with the Elise chassis. Not to say that this new brand (direction) can't be great and build a new philosophy for itself.
You're misinterpreting the issue. These are massive luxury cars that completely and totallt go against the lightweight nature of Lotus. If these sedans were massively lighter than the competition people would be ok, but they just are not.
This is the most beautiful car I've seen in a very long time. Bmw and Merc use to make cars that were this beautiful and interesting.. don't know what happened
I really appreciate the effort they've put into the infotainment. Too many car companies blow it off as an afterthought, just take a look at recent Ferrari's. Using unreal engine and OLED panels, and making sure it's butter smooth - huge.
I wish this channel got more production priority, it would be amazing to see more in-depth on the tech of the interior and performance aspects, with the editing of your team for your main channel. But I still enjoy this a lot and I am happy to see you are enjoying cars as well because they are fun : D
Marques specifically keeps the production value on these low. He shoots on an iPhone and keeps animations and slick editing down to a minimum in order to focus on the product a bit more. Also partly to inspire others as anyone with a phone can make a similar style of video.
If you've never heard in home KEF speakers, find a Best Buy with a Magnolia section or a high end home theater store. KEF is no joke. Recently got my first set of KEF speakers and they are amazing and have no regrets. I literally will jusy sit in my living room just to listen to music. So I'm happy to see KEF is getting into car audio. As soon as I saw the tweeter, I was wondering if it was KEF. I can not stress how great their speakers sound
Great video! thank you so much to you and Lotus for your opportunity to take a practical peek! I'm an '06 Elise owner, I am excited to (hopefully in the future) see them return to sub-$50k MSRP vehicles for the masses. I agree with your take on the vents, maybe if they moved some version of an on/off touch switch to each individual vent in my opinion, even if still able to control from the GUI.
KEF is a really old and excellent speaker brand. It used to be much better known 40 years ago. Gorgeous car. Everything looks great. Long term reliability migt be a question mark.
If someone can afford a Lotus I suppose they can afford the upkeep on all the moving parts. Like the tactile buttons on the steering wheel so you never have to look down at the controls. Really interesting seeing all the various and novel design and engineering choices car manufactures are making in their step towards EVs.
lotus is not only know for providing the original tesla its chasis, but it's also know for its great heritage from racing in formula 1 and winning championships with the legend, jackie stewart.
In the high end audio world we pronounce KEF like" K(eff). They make really good speakers and quit dope looking too. 👌🏾 These are pretty exciting along with the Lucid Air Sapphire, and Gravity!
This car looks so sick. Interior and tech feels very well thought out, all those little details make it feel pretty special (if somewhat overengineered...). Physical temperature controls are awesome. The fact that you need a screen to redirect them is probably a one time thing for the driver, and passengers have both hands available so don't really see the problem. KEF speakers are also amazing, you should review them some time. Knowing Lotus it will have a very engaging and communicative ride as well.
Regardless of the fact that it's electric, that's besides my point right now. I understand Geely trying to penetrate the upscale luxury-sport market. But all these motorized external panels, glass roof, LiDAR, etc are the antithesis of a Lotus. Hopefully they make a trimmed down or base version
Making a light ev is missing from the market. I think lightness is more important with evs, since you gain so much range by going as light as possible. It would be a great way to offer something unique and also respect the brand heritage.
Customers don’t care about lightweight. Only people that care are journalists and extreme enthusiasts. Most people have never driven a super light car and can’t even differentiate between it. That’s why lotus was going out of business. They made incredible lightweight sporty cars and NO ONE bought them.. Porsche was damn near headed the same direction, until they launched a heavy assault cayenne, Panamera and macan.
@@lappu911 Well that might be true, but people certainly care about range and efficiency. With a light vehicle you could achieve a superior range and a cheaper price. I'm not sure whose gonna buy a Chinese Lotus EV anyways, since you can get almost the same car from Geelys other brands for half the price.
Great to see that Lotus has not let us down with the build of the new cars. I prefer the saloon but, I like how they have made the SUV drive well. I just hate how the world is being overtaken by big cars😭
@@johnsmith-cw3wo I’ve had my Tesla for a few years now and have had no issues. Tesla hasn’t been a “Service and Repair Disaster” in a decade. Secondly, name me one new car that hasn’t been a repair disaster in Year 1.
Nice review. The cars look great. As soon as I saw the tweeters of the speakers I knew it was KEF. KEF makes some of the finest high-end quality and still relatively affordable speakers.
You've never heard of KEF speakers ? Wow... Back in the 70's they were what everyone wanted for there audio systems. Still one of the best speakers on the market.
As an engineer, moving parts are a huge red flag to me. More moving parts, more servos, more software, more automation = more complexity and points of failure = more PROBLEMS.
I like it as a concept. But maintenance and fixing the moving parts are going to be a huge pain unless designed for, which I doubt it is. Though, for elderly and disabled individuals, this could genuinely be useful and nice to have. Specifically the powered doors. Honestly, my main trouble was the over design on the HVAC and moving aero bits.
Funny thing is how the EV architecture itself is incredibly simple and thus would have less points of failure, so manufacturers end up engineering in points of failure and passing them off as design features. I would have though an EV Lotus would go against this notion, but surprisingly not
This car looks absolutely sick, but hot take: we don't need to replace mirrors with cameras. Don't touch it if it's not broken. It's simply more electronics that, if broken, can provide a genuine safety concern
That’s the one move that makes sense. It’s a lot more aerodynamic. Higher end teslas will have them too. The blocky mirror makes a non-insignificant difference to range.
To the replies here that side with mirrors > cameras....just move here to the US, where we're ruled over by literal Dirt(s) in most major Offices therefore, laws probably won't catch up for another hundred years. :)
I'm going to be totally honest with you. They both look like stunning cars. But the first one looks like a premium subscription of a Toyota Camry 😭 which isn't bad it's just an observation I made
Why would Lotus not design a proper dashboard? Why in the god's name would you put a boring touch screen iPad into such beautifully designed cars. WHYYYYYY, LOTUS???
@@undefined69695 it was designed by Ben Payne, Head of Studio at Lotus Tech Creative Centre (LTCC) in Coventry, UK. designed in UK, built in China... you know... like Tesla.
Great episode, heres hoping you liked one of them enough to put down a deposit! Good to see them breaking out again, but this time with a fully developed product! Both cars are sweet! Well done Lotus!
