Yahoo Autos Lucid Air Review: High-tech, engineering tour de force is one of the most interesting cars on the road
Pros: BIG power; incredible range, efficiency and charging speeds; spacious, functional and high-tech interior
Cons: Software glitches; questionable reliability and build quality as first-time carmaker
If you’re the type of person who loves talking about the state-of-the-art (blank) you just brought home, who eagerly answers questions like, “That’s so cool, what is it?” and the stream of inevitable follow-ups, boy are you going to love the Lucid Air. Not only will its classy, futuristic exterior draw attention everywhere you go, but there’s so much about this revolutionary electric car that’s cool, different, game-changing and just plain-old special that you’re bound to have more answers than questions. Indeed, there was too much to share in our Lucid Air first drive review, so we dug even deeper in a separate piece about its impressive engineering.
So, what exactly is a Lucid? It’s a new, independent car company whose chief engineer previously directed engineering at Tesla, and whose chief designer previously worked at Audi and then Mazda when both were making their best-looking cars. Lucid is headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, and the cars are built in Arizona. So yeah, it’s an American car.
Its most impressive engineering element is its motor unit. It’s shockingly compact, freeing up interior and cargo space. It’s shockingly powerful, with versions ranging from “just” 480 horsepower all the way up to, ahem, 1,234 horsepower in the berserk, limited-production Lucid Air Sapphire. And yet, it’s shockingly efficient. That same 1,234-hp Sapphire returns an EPA-estimated 32 kWh/100 miles or 105 miles-per-gallon-equivalent, which is roughly the same as a Hyundai Ioniq 6 AWD. The base Air Pure achieves 137 mpg-e, which is considerably better than a humble, 201-hp Kia Niro. Basically, imagine exotic sports car performance with Prius fuel economy. That efficiency, combined with state-of-the-art battery packs (and a lot of them) result in range that doesn’t just beat other EVs, but most gasoline tanks. The worst range estimate is comfortably above 400 miles, while its best crests 500.
Then there’s the adept suspension and steering tuning, the interior that’s richly detailed and elegantly designed, the in-car tech that’s in abundance, yet not the sole focus in design or functionality, and the generous passenger space and twin cargo areas that better the capacity of many SUVs. As we said, we could be here for a while. Basically, the Lucid Air is quite a thing. It's also a very expensive thing, and since it’s so new, don’t be surprised if there are some software glitches, reliability issues and imperfect fit and finish. We’ve experienced them all during multiple test drives. Nothing was what we’d consider serious, but this certainly seems like the peril of buying something from a new carmaker. Oh, and fielding lots and lots of questions.
Interior & Technology | Passenger & Cargo Space | Performance & Range
What it's like to drive | Pricing & Trim Levels | Crash Ratings & Safety Features
What's new for 2024?
The model lineup is simplified for 2024 and prices are lower. The entry-level Air Pure is now rear-drive/single-motor only, making the Touring the entry point for dual-motor/all-wheel drive. At the same time, equipment availability is now largely equal amongst the Pure, Touring and Grand Touring – this lowers the price of entry for the upper trims, increases options for the Pure, and provides more customer choice. In particular, you can now get the popular heated, ventilated and massaging seat option on all trims, while all now come standard with PurLuxe simulated leather upholstery for those who’d rather not adorn their car with cow. Speaking of upper trim levels, the top-of-the-line Sapphire goes unchanged, but the Grand Touring Performance is being discontinued. We’ve been told the standard Grand Touring will adopt some of the Performance's higher, um, performance elements, but output remains unchanged. If you want an Air that crests 1,000 horsepower, the Sapphire is now your only choice. Oh darn. We can also least report that the Grand Touring’s standard glass roof/windshield combo is now optional, meaning people interested in max power and luxury won’t have to permanently have their heads baked on sunny days.
What are the Lucid Air interior and in-car technology like?
Given that it starts just over $70,000, you’d hope a luxury car would have a special interior, and the Lucid Air at least looks the part. Materials quality has been strong in the four test cars we’ve sampled and we very much appreciate the design motifs inspired by different places in California. Build quality can be inconsistent, though. A 2024 Pure we tested had a squeaky steering wheel and its PurLuxe simulated leather (pictured above in gray) doesn’t exactly feel like the real stuff, and it definitely doesn’t smell like it – indeed, the entire cabin’s aroma wasn’t indicative of a luxury car. The leather-lined Touring and Grand Touring (pictured above in black and beige) we’ve previously tested were A-OK in the olfactory department. At the same time, PurLuxe doesn’t require cows to die, and from an aesthetic standpoint, it looks good and everything about the beautiful, accompanying gray cloth distributed liberally elsewhere in the cabin says “expensive!” Maybe the seats should be covered in the stuff, too.
The overall design is clean and modern, yet there are still physical buttons for the climate controls, window switches, gear selector and turn signals. Much of the car’s functions are operated through touchscreen controls, but rather than one jumbo screen as in most cars today, the Lucid splits functions between two interconnected screens integrated beautifully into the dash (rather than just bolting a big TV to the dash). A third touchscreen that controls lights and windshield wipers is located about where they’ve historically been, to the left side of the steering wheel. It’s a system that generally makes sense once you clue into the two center screens being connected, and Lucid has already released over-the-air updates for functionality improvements, so what we’ve experienced thus far isn’t necessarily permanent.
Speaking of which, those OTA updates have also addressed software glitches we experienced in earlier Air test vehicles. For example, the windshield wipers now work at a sufficiently quick clip, and the infotainment system no longer rebooted when it lost cell service going through a tunnel. This is a bit of a glass half-full/empty situation: it’s not great that the issues existed in the first place, but it is a good thing that remedies can so easily be applied. In that spirit, here are some requests: quicker load times for the app-based SiriusXM radio and some way to see the navigation map and radio options at the same time on the two central screens.
How big is the Lucid Air?
This is a big, full-size luxury sedan. However, because of unique packaging advantages of the Lucid’s compact motors and EVs in general, it’s even bigger inside than you might expect. Back seat legroom can be immense, and headroom is more generous than in a Mercedes EQS. We said “can be” because the Grand Touring’s extra battery packs basically fill the backseat footwell. This raises the floor, which leaves backseat occupants’ feet awfully close to the same level as their butts. It’s like sitting in an SUV’s third row, albeit with the front seats ahead miles away. We’d also caution against the optional “Glass Canopy” roof, as the tinting starts too low on the windshield, and there’s no shade to fully block the sun. You shouldn’t need to wear a hat while driving a sedan.
Cargo space is unique, to say the least. The trunk lid is like a great big clamshell on the back of the car that opens to reveal an unusual slot-like space that’s shorter in height than the typical trunk. A lot of bags won’t be able to sit on their sides. Literally dig deeper, though, and you’ll find a huge under-floor compartment big enough to hold a roll-aboard suitcase with room left over. There is then a similarly unique frunk, accessed by the power-operated hood. It first appears to be a wide, shallow space, but it too has a deep under-floor area that when the floor is removed allows for two roll-aboards. All told, we could fit all six bags from our standard luggage test between the two cargo areas, plus have room left over for an extra must-be-checked suitcase. That’s exceptional for a luxury sedan, though to be fair, it is similar to the Mercedes EQS and its hatchback trunk.
We should also point out that storage space is excellent in the cabin, with multiple compartments in the center console and useful door bins.
What are the Lucid Air’s range and performance specs?
Each Lucid Air model lineup has a different combination of power output, driven wheels and range.
The Lucid Air Pure has a single motor powering the rear wheels only. It produces 430 horsepower and hits 60 mph in a Lucid-estimated 4.5 seconds. Its 88-kilowatt-hour battery array (consisting of 16 battery modules/packs) is good for an EPA-estimated 419 miles. Its maximum DC fast-charging rate is 250 kilowatts, which is extremely rapid (few are better), theoretically recouping 200 miles of range in only 15 minutes. The max AC home charging rate of every Lucid is 19.2 kW, which greatly exceeds the capabilities of the typical home charger. The Air can also power your home or recharge another electric car.
The Lucid Air Touring adds a motor to the front axle, thereby providing all-wheel drive and increasing output to 620 hp. The 0-60 time falls to 3.4 seconds. At this point, we should mention that 0-60 times really don’t properly convey the amount of acceleration on tap with these absurd power levels. Ultimately, they are limited by the traction provided by tires. It gets an extra set of battery modules, which helps mitigate the Touring’s increased performance and weight, and keeps range roughly even at 411 miles. That’s with the standard 19-inch wheels, though. You can expect a drop of about 40 miles with 20- or 21-inch wheels.
The 2024 Lucid Air Grand Touring continues to produce 819 hp, but gets some of the enhanced cooling elements of the now-discontinued Performance for enhanced capability when driving enthusiastically for a prolonged manner. The Grand Touring stills get four extra battery modules that should continue to deliver up to 500 miles of range, but exactly figures weren't available at the time of this writing. Maximum DC fast charging also kicks up to 300 kW, which theoretically allows you to recoup 200 miles in 12 minutes.
