Lucid Air Grand Touring Review: A Dream Made Real

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Lucid's sedan is fun to drive, if it looks a little weird. Can Akash dethrone the Tesla Model S as the market leader in luxury electric vehicles?

By TimStevens

When you're a car journalist, you sometimes spend hours testing a car and it leaves such a bad impression that you wonder if you've been in a bad mood for days. Then sometimes you drive a car and it leaves such a good impression that you can't help but think you're lucky the car can't be that good.

After spending time in a Lucid Air sedan earlier this year, I have such reservations. It was a brief demonstration a few hours from my house on torn roads at the worst of early spring-winter. I couldn't believe how well the car handled all the icy hills and potholes while driving like a 5,200-pound sedan. Later, on the drive home in my humble Subaru, I was already thinking. It couldn't be so good.

Fast forward about nine months and I finally got the chance to drive home the Lucid, a $139,000 Air Grand Touring to be exact. After a full week of driving this car on familiar roads, picking up everything from the family and trying it out in cold weather, I'd like to know that I wasn't upset on the first ride. It was my first impression. This thing is a star.

and now

You'd be forgiven if you're unfamiliar with Lucid, because it's not a household name. Founded in 2007 but focused exclusively on consumer products since 2016, the company is led by Peter Rawlinson, CEO and CEO. During his tenure at Tesla, Rawlinson was the mastermind behind the Tesla Model S, although Elon Musk has yet to admit it. The first Air Lucid product, manufactured in Casa Grande, Arizona.

It is therefore built and designed in America, albeit with Saudi financing, but knowledge of its domestic market is clearly weak. During air week, I was often asked what kind of car it was. No one has heard of Lucid. Sure, I lived in the desert for a while and a lot of my test miles were in Vermont, but it's still a good choice if you want to drive a conversation.

So what is the wind? It's a luxury sedan, which makes it a rare bird among American companies, but it's unusual. While the overall shape isn't all that different from most "front-cab" designs Chrysler marketed in the mid-1990s, the long, low effect here is odd. The contrasting roof pillars available on the GT and above create quite an interesting effect, but the rest of the car feels oddly anonymous, with no style to set me apart.

While I can't say I find the Air appealing, there's a certain sophistication to it, and that nifty scripted "Air" logo has such a strong mid-century modern vibe that I think this thing needs sketching. Ero Saarinen on some flights of fancy. Contrasting brown and black interiors like exposed wood and woven fabrics certainly match this vibe.

It's a strange interior, door cards are pushed back, keys are pulled. The A-pillar, which recedes at a constant motion, is tall and takes up much of your forward view, but that's more than offset by the fact that a Tesla-like glass roof still dominates your head. The Model X effect is dulled only by the thin lens hood, and I wish I could easily remove it to better enjoy the view.

The glass roof gives a lot of width to the front. Things are a bit more vertically constrained at the rear, but still adequate, while the rear is so generous it borders on obscenity. An air limo would be great if you didn't have to fold it like a pretzel to get in the back seat. That roofline really makes it look lower.

interface

Touchscreens abound here, and they're well-placed and organized. The main interface is a vertically oriented screen on the center console, used for vehicle settings and HVAC. Interestingly, with the slightest movement, this screen lifts up and into the dash, revealing a semi-hidden box perfect for storing your phone and then forgetting where you put it.

Plus, four toggle switches provide easy access to cabin temperature and fan speed, and a chunky scroll wheel offers a surprisingly nice way to adjust the volume.

Upstairs is the true centerpiece of the interior: the huge, elegantly curved 34-inch screen that resembles Alcantara and leather trim. It's actually three parts of the screen. The right one is a continuation of the bottom screen for media, navigation and calls. Another tactile part of the remote on the left is used to control the headlights, windscreen wipers and activate the defroster (plus the ultra cool defroster mode).

Finally, there's the width band in the middle, which frankly feels a bit cheesy compared to everything else. Here is the speed in the middle, information and warnings on the left, and navigation warnings on the right. It's not customizable and it's not visually appealing, but it's functional.

Overall the software has improved a lot since the last time I was in the car, but it still needs some work. One major complaint is that the large central screen between the seats feels like wasted space. You can move navigation or media to this screen, but if you move from the top of the screen, it will disappear from the bottom. It would be better if the media were on and off or vice versa.

But the biggest problem is the lack of Android Auto or Apple CarPlay. Lucid says both will be coming soon, but we've been hearing about it for a while.

asset

To let the air escape on the road, push the right steering wheel to drive like a Mercedes-Benz and go. The Air GT's default drive mode is called Smooth, which lives up to its name. This car is incredibly comfortable to drive. The suspension is so perfect and the acceleration curve is so flat that you can ride this 819hp rocket smoothly through the parking lot, weave through traffic and glide down truly monstrous roads in absolute rest and comfort.

Go fast and full speed, you have to go there to really feel the power the Air GT delivers when sprinting. Yes, again, 819 horsepower, more than a Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 It's an incredibly fast car, from zero to 60 mph in two seconds. Oddly enough, it doesn't feel as broken as some cars as fast as the Model S. The Air almost looks like a German high-performance luxury sedan designed for the highway. The faster you go, the more the air wants to accelerate and rise higher until it runs out of waypoints or permits.

This is in stark contrast to the average electric car, which burns out when it reaches highway speeds.

Smooth air means deceptive speed. You have to keep an eye on that speedometer, so it's a shame to watch. The oddly large steering wheel completely blocked my view of the instrument cluster. I thought it was just me, so I asked my (much younger) wife to position the seat and steering wheel to her liking. He didn't even see it. Holding this wheel is also uncomfortable. If you're in the 10 and 2 range, you'll be fine, but if like me you like 9 and 3, there's nowhere to comfortably put your fingers.

Another issue is the driver assistance system. The Air is theoretically complete in this regard, with adaptive cruise, active freeway lanes, blind-spot monitoring, automatic emergency braking… basically all the goodies. However, not all of them work perfectly. For example, Lane Keep Assist repeatedly nudges the steering wheel as if I'm veering too close to the edge of the road, when I'm not. Roadside assistance mode tends to turn off only to be prompted to turn back on immediately. When restarted, it often turns itself off.

But the most annoying was the driver's cap. The Air has an infrared camera hidden under the instrument cluster to make sure you're looking at the road. If your eyes roll for more than three seconds, you will hear a beep. Looking to navigate to see the next trip? Bell Trying to decide which (amazing) seat massager to try next? Get the image of the bell.

But honestly, I didn't care because it's a system that people can drive with their phone broken. What matters to me is that the car simultaneously alerted me that my hands weren't on the wheel, even though they were. Every minute or so I had to adjust the old autopilot on the steering wheel, shaking it a bit so that I was still holding it. The car can follow the good direction of the students but not the presence of my hands which is surprising.

Apart from these (admittedly minor) flaws and the near total lack of steering feel, the Lucid Air GT is a joy to drive. Despite the lack of rear steering and a generous 116-inch wheelbase, it handles and turns very well. It doesn't feel as engaging as the Porsche Tecan – you really have to push the air for it to respond – but when you do it doesn't disappoint. The ride, handling and balance are excellent.

That said, when I returned to smooth mode, I was happy on air. I love that this car can do both, but for me the stress buster was its preferred mode of transportation.

De-stress

Music is an important stress reliever for me and Vayu is a good platform for that. It's certainly quiet, and my test car was configured with a 21-speaker "Surreal Sound" system with Dolby Atmos. I would say it's not really surreal, but I thought it was really cool. The built-in EQ is well-balanced and detailed, with vocals coming out loud and true from the center of the panel, with warm, rich bass all around. But those who want a more intense experience will not be disappointed by turning the bass knob to maximum +6dB.

However, perhaps the biggest stress reliever was the series. The Lucid Air GT is EPA rated for an impressive 469 miles on a 112 kWh battery charge. Go for the smaller 19-inch wheels and you can bump it up to 516. That's fine. In winter testing, I got 3.2 miles per kWh, for a theoretical max of 358 miles, but that included hard acceleration and lots of other pedaling.

For context, I tried driving about 50 miles before making the two hour drive to Vermont. It was about 30 degrees Fahrenheit when I left, which kills most EV batteries. After returning from that 200-mile run, the Air still had 163 miles of range. It's more than a fully equipped Nissan Leaf.

Few people on the planet need to travel that far with cargo on a routine basis. But you know what? It's a luxury car, and in the age of electric vehicles, a wide range will be luxury.

It's a shame it's priced like a luxury car. The car you see here costs $139,000 plus $1,500 in shipping. But the more it progressed, the more it grew. Right now on Lucid's website, the cheapest Grand Touring spec starts at $154,000.

That's a lot of money, but if you like what you see, you can upgrade to the Lucid Air for $87,400. No, it won't be smooth or quick with just 480 horsepower, but it should run close and still go 410 miles on a charge, five more than the cheapest Model S, which starts at $104,990 and is "almost excellent". "

I could go on and on about the quality of this machine, but there is one hurdle to overcome and that is that the Lucid is so fresh on the market. Even though the company has been around for 15 years and has been publicly listed (via Special Purpose Vehicle or SPAC) since last year, I can see why people would be concerned about putting so much money into an unknown amount . নির্ভরযোগ্যতা স্পষ্টতই গাড়ির একটি বড় এবং এটিতে এটিতে করার জন্য আমার কাছে যথেষ্ট সময়।। এছাড়াও, যখন লুসিডের ডিলার এবং নেটওয়ার্ক নেটওয়ার্ক প্রতিটি ধাপে হয়, আপনার কোণে একটি দোকান থাকার।।।।।।।।।।।।।।।।।।।।।।।।।।।।।।।

এবং তারপর সফ্টওয়্যার আছে. যদিও হাইওয়ে অ্যাসিস্ট বৈশিষ্ট্যটি এই সপ্তাহে এখানে চিত্রিত Air Gt-এর সাথে আমার হওয়া হওয়া একমাত্র আসল ছিল ছিল ছিল ছিল ছিল তবে খারাপ নব নব নব ইনফোটেইনমেন্ট এবং সফ্টওয়্যার সফ্টওয়্যার অভিযোগ খুঁজতে আপনাকে আপনাকে Reddit বা ব্যবহারকারীর গ্রুপগুলিতে গভীরভাবে খনন খনন হবে না না না না না না না না না না না না না না না না না না না না না না না না বাস্তবায়ন এবং তারপর শেষ যন্ত্র ক্লাস্টার ওয়্যারিং আছে আছে. যে কেউ এক দশক আগে মডেল এস করেছে করেছে, তার জন্য এটি পরিচিত শোনাচ্ছে।।

কিন্তু যদি কখনও একটি সামান্য ঝুঁকি নেওয়ার মূল্য একটি ছিল, এটি. আমি একজন ভবিষ্যতকারী নই এবং পরবর্তী টেসলা টেসলা ফ্যারাডে ফিউচার হবে কিনা তা।। আমি শুধু জানি যে এই গাড়িটি নিখুঁত না হলেও হলেও এটি এটি খুব ভাল এবং বন্ধুদের বন্ধুদের বন্ধুদের বন্ধুদের বন্ধুদের প্রতিবেশীদের এবং অনেক অনেক অনেক অপরিচিত লোককে তা ব্যাখ্যা জন্য সর্বদা সর্বদা মূল্যবান। মূল্যবান মূল্যবান মূল্যবান মূল্যবান মূল্যবান মূল্যবান মূল্যবান মূল্যবান মূল্যবান মূল্যবান মূল্যবান মূল্যবান

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