Tom Suddard
Director of Marketing & Digital Assets
11/8/23 8:30 a.m.
More than $80,000. More than 5000 pounds.
Longer than a new BMW M5.
Wider than a new Camaro. The Lucid Air is a big car, but it’s an even bigger moment in automotive history.
We spent a week and 600 miles in one to answer a simple question: Does Lucid’s Air represent the future of…
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Tom Suddard
Director of Marketing & Digital Assets
11/8/23 10:16 a.m.
To be fair, I didn't weigh this particular car since I was 1000 miles away from my scales. Car and Driver weighed theirs at just under 5000 lbs, while I've seen around 5200 quoted elsewhere. Lucid doesn't publish a weight on their site.
I will say that this car honestly doesn't feel that heavy, instead choosing to simply violate the laws of physics.
Definitely seems like a "if you have the means, why not?" sort of car.
TR7
Reader
11/8/23 11:00 a.m.
Love these things. A neighbor has one and its awesome, far and above any Tesla I have been in.
Duke
MegaDork
11/8/23 11:05 a.m.
In reply to TR7 :
I have seen 2 in the metal. It is a fairly handsome animal.
If I had the money, I'd buy one.
They do look nice. Seems likely to go the way of Fisker (ie, out of business). They lost $516k per car they delivered this quarter. Seems fairly unsustainable, given they haven't been improving that, and the production is going down.
I like the Polestar 2 dual motor more than any Tesla, even though the acceleration isn't even remotely close to that of the plaid.
The Lucid Air is a Mercedes compared to Telsa's fast Buick.
In reply to NorseDave :
So come Barrett Jackson 2068 one will fetch 7 figures?
There's a Lucid dealer right near my work and I see them prowling around lower Seattle regularly. It genuinely looks like a background car from RoboCop in that setting. It's such a massive presence that seems to float down the street. Beautiful cars. Not for me though.
Mndsm
MegaDork
11/9/23 10:09 a.m.
I like how nearest I can tell the CEO isn't a supervillain.
I have heard nothing but good things about these, especially compared to Tesla; however, it's hideous. Looks shouldn't matter, but they do.
Mndsm said:
I like how nearest I can tell the CEO isn't a supervillain.
No, but most of the money is coming from Suadi Arabia.
I test drove one earlier in the year when my neighbor was ordering his. drove around the undulating, twisty roads around Great Falls, VA and man, it feels way lighter and more agile as you're hustling it than it's actual mass would indicate. And the interior is very nice.
I'd love one with that interior and this exterior:
350z247 said:
I have heard nothing but good things about these, especially compared to Tesla; however, it's hideous. Looks shouldn't matter, but they do.
Yeah, looks matter and I think they are friggin' gorgeous, with a real presence going down the road.
With the release of the RWD Pure and the rave reviews, I test drove a AWD Pure today and the E39 M5 comparison is quite accurate. This is the first EV I was looking forward to driving and enjoyed driving. The RWD Pure will not only be cheaper, but about ~600-700 lbs lighter than the AWD one. I sort of feel like I have something to look forward to if Lucid (assuming they survive with Saudi help) or legacy manufacturers start trying to make "driver EVs" and not computers on wheels.
Tom Suddard said:
To be fair, I didn't weigh this particular car since I was 1000 miles away from my scales. Car and Driver weighed theirs at just under 5000 lbs, while I've seen around 5200 quoted elsewhere. Lucid doesn't publish a weight on their site.
I will say that this car honestly doesn't feel that heavy, instead choosing to simply violate the laws of physics.
Did they weigh it with a full battery or a half-charge?
Rodan
UltraDork
3/1/24 7:12 p.m.
The original Fisters were 5500 pounds, but I think they had internal combustion charging engines on board as well; they looked awesome, though.
Everyone has rated the Lucid as awesome in tests across the board. For that, one should hope they survive. Not enough attention has been focused on the engineering within however, and that is where/why they should survive, if only as a firm that designs and makes amazing things for other OEMs . . .
Harvey
SuperDork
3/28/24 2:09 p.m.
Was looking around at new cars and this one popped up on my radar. Good looking vehicle. I think once the charging infrastructure is figured out and I'm not throwing $90k at the thing I'd love to have one.
Duke said:
>5,000 lbs?
Yikes, though.
Hail Satanists!
Honestly, not bad for an EV. The Polestar 2 I keep looking at weighs almost the same as my Land Rover Discovery at 4800 pounds. Even the Tesla Model 3 weighs around 4000 pounds.
84FSP
UberDork
3/28/24 4:02 p.m.
Very interesting review. The Lucid team has done an immense amount of work around composite materials for weight reduction and structural rigidity. This seems to show in your chassis and handling commentary. They are the first to develop direct coolant on the E-Motor stator translating to massive efficiency improvement in design etc.
Despite their current financial teething/growth issues they are radically more stable than others like Fisker and Rivian due to enormous Saudi government investment into them. They are going to be one of the companies that succeed.
Well I know one of the Lucid vehicle dynamics engineers races a vintage Formula Ford very well, so he might know something about vehicle dynamics.....