Lucid Air Grand Touring review

Lucid entered the world of EVs with a bang by introducing a powerful sedan called the Air with great styling and luxurious interior. It enjoys tremendous interest from the public and excellent reviews from customers and media alike. However, the high price tag and limited availability so far prevent the Lucid Air from matching the popularity of the Tesla Model S back in the day.

Table of Contents:

• Exterior
• Interior
• Storage & practicalities
• Driving experience
• Tech features
• Ride comfort
• Cabin noise
• Acceleration and braking
• Consumption
• Charging speed
• Competition
• Verdict

Nowadays Lucid is expanding into new markets and producing more vehicles than ever. The company recently expanded to the lucrative European market, bringing its cars to millions of customers on the Old Continent.

The model we are testing today is the Lucid Air Grand Touring, which is the middle variant. Despite not having the most powerful motor in the Air lineup, it outputs 819 hp and 885 lb-ft, which is more than even some supercars offer.

However, the Lucid isn't a sports car, but rather a luxury vehicle that just so happens to accelerate unfathomably quickly. This lets it target the likes of Mercedes EQS, BMW i7, and Tesla Model S, which all offer a modern take on the traditional executive sedan. Stay with us as we assess how good the Air stacks up to its rivals!

Lucid Air Grand Touring 2021 -

• Dimensions: 195.9 inches x 76.3 inches x 55.5 inches, 116.5 inches wheelbase.
• Drivetrain tested: Grand Touring - AWD 611 kW (819 hp), 885 lb-ft, 112 kWh total battery capacity
• Other drivetrains: Sapphire - AWD 908 kW (1234 hp), 1,430 lb-ft, 118 kWh total battery capacity
• Charging: 300 kW CCS
• Range: 521 miles WLTP
• Weight: 5,022 lb unladen
• Other features: Retractable screen, dual color leather, OTA updates.

Exterior

The exterior of the Lucid Air is understated, yet undeniably stylish. The fine lines and smooth surfaces enable an impressive 0.197 Cd drag coefficient. It isn't a flashy vehicle with many vents and scoops, but a true executive sedan that serves in silence and the Air masterfully completes the task.

The front of the Lucid Air is clean and simple. The hood is sleek with a massive chrome line connecting the headlights being the only thing of note. On this line we see the Lucid name instead of a logo and right beneath the line are the headlights.

They are very narrow, but the modern LED technology allows them to illuminate the road up ahead perfectly. They complete the understated look up front perfectly and give the Lucid its characteristic low–hanging light signature.

Lucid's side profile is typical sedan affair, except when you opt for the contrasting colors option like on our test car. The roof and its pillars look as if floating above the rest of the body, making the Air appear lower and wider. It is a costly option at $4,000, but completely changes the look of the Air so definitely worth it.

There is an even costlier "stealth" option, which removes the chrome from the exterior of the Lucid Air, if you prefer to go even more understated.

The door handles are flush with the body when the car is in motion to improve air resistance, but that makes entering and exiting slightly less convenient.

The B-pillar between the doors incorporates a not-so-hidden camera that is part of the 360-degree camera system, but also works as a dashcam in case of an accident.

The C-pillar is in contrast to the body color as we previously mentioned and incorporates a plaque with the model name and trim level. Behind the pillar we see the rear glass curving even further into the trunk, creating a unique silhouette looking at the Air from the rear three quarters.

The wheels on our test Lucid Air are the optional 21-inch Aero Blade model. Those wheels don't have plastic covers to improve aerodynamics, focusing on looks instead. If you are after improved efficiency and range you are better off opting for the smaller 19-inch wheels anyway.

The rear of the Lucid Air doesn't have many distinct features either. It has a giant rear LED bar running the whole length of the trunk, which many modern vehicles incorporate. Having the Lucid nameplate printed instead of a logo is also making it harder to distinguish the Air. Especially in the case of Lucid and its unique bear logo, it would make the outside much more recognizable, but the company decided to go with the latest design trends anyway.

The Air incorporates a subtle ducktail spoiler that becomes slightly bigger in the Sapphire edition, but in general all trims of the Air look vastly understated for a car with that much power.

For some the restricted looks of the Lucid Air are a breath of fresh air in today's world of overdesigned cars. Others will find it too boring to serve the purpose of a status symbol. Perhaps Lucid should consider some flashier editions with extra trim pieces on the exterior if it wants to cater to that latter group.

Interior

There are a few options to make the interior of the Lucid Air stand out, the most notable one being the two-tone color where the back seats are a different color from the front ones. Our test car came with a fully black interior, which is the far more traditional option.

Materials inside the Air are fantastic and the build quality is sensational. Even when applying great force, none of the panels squeak. Materials feel amazing to touch and show no wear and tear despite the car's high mileage and rough life as a test vehicle.

Once you climb into the Lucid Air you see an understated steering wheel that has some buttons on it and only two giant spokes. It doesn't in any way channel the sporty ambitions of the Air, but feels great to touch and the buttons are easy to operate and feel pleasant to touch. They control the multimedia and autopilot intuitively.

The doors are solid and well-made, but what's interesting is the door handle from the inside, which is reminiscent of a gun trigger. It is a fun solution that is easy to operate, unlike some weird buttons some brands incorporate when having electric door releases. Of course, there is a hidden door handle inside the door pocket for emergencies.

A fantastic piece of design is the windshield, which extends all the way to the end of the front seats. It looks amazing and adds a lot of visibility and light into the interior. However, the mandatory driver and passenger sunshades look rather poorly on it, disrupting the clean look.

Sadly, you cannot control what is being displayed on the gauge cluster. Despite it being a display, there is only one layout and you are bombarded with information all the time. You cannot change the interface, nor the data displayed, which is a shame.

Flowing from the gauge cluster is the main multimedia screen, which is quite small by today’s standards of luxury vehicles. The overall size is quoted at 34", but the majority of that size is taken up by the gauge cluster and the little display to the left of it, between the steering wheel and the door.

That little display incorporates plenty of useful features - the lights, wipers and window defrosters can be operated from it, but this is also where you lock/unlock the vehicle from the inside, open the frunk (front trunk) and the charge port. Quite a lot of features are packed into this compact screen, but it compromises usability, particularly while driving.

Below the main screen there is a line of sleek buttons that control the temperature and fan speed inside, which is very convenient, eliminating the multi-step process of entering menus to go to the climate settings for a simple task.

In between them is the audio volume control.

There is a secondary center screen, which helps control the main settings of the vehicle, but also doubles as an expansion of the multimedia screen.

Its main party trick, however, is that with a press of a button it folds back into the center console, revealing a whole hidden compartment for storing objects you want out of sight.

The entire center console is optimized for storage and has a deep pocket with two wireless charging pads, as well as two cup holders. Sadly, they only fit a specific cup size and every other one sits loosely and spills at every corner. Most manufacturers install clamps to allow for more sizes to fit correctly.

If you prefer a console with a cleaner look you can add a cover above. It appears to be made out of a solid piece of wood, yet it retracts magically in a very tiny space. It exudes great attention to detail and clever design.

The center console has a magical decklid.

The armrest is very practical with great depth and width. There is a tray that fits on top of it to add a place for smaller items on top. It also has a California bear logo to remind you what car you're in.

The rear seats of the Lucid Air are spacious and comfortable. Our reviewer is 1.95 m (6'4") and sits with plenty of space left for both his legs and above the head. The seating position is not the best, since the batteries are big and the seats sit low, causing the knees to lift slightly upwards, but compared to other EVs it's much less noticeable.

Tall adults have no problem fitting in the rear of the Lucid Air.

There are also some neat amenities for the rear passengers, including heated seats, climate controls and electric sun blinds. It isn't excessively luxurious in the rear, but there is nothing major missing.

Rear occupants get some nice luxuries in the Lucid Air.

Storage & practicalities

Storage space in the Lucid Air Grand Touring is great for the segment and more than most competitors. The trunk opens very wide and with a flat loading floor, which is easy to use, but makes parking on a hill a risky decision. With its 22.1 ft³ cargo volume, the Lucid Air can comfortably go on long trips.

There is some space beneath the main trunk floor, which is handy for stuff you don't want rolling around.

With the seats folded you can carry massive objects, as long as they are narrow enough to fit into the trunk opening.

The frunk (front trunk) is a good addition to the practicality of the Lucid Air and its size of 10 ft³ allows for some pretty big items fit.

The frunk even has two levels.

Driving experience

The understated looks don't predispose as to how great the Lucid Air is to drive. The luxury sedan is usually a land yacht that leans into corners in the name of comfort and leaves most of its available power untapped. Step on the gas though and you realize the Lucid Air is a fantastic car to drive, handling corners as well as some sports cars do while also keeping all of its passengers in great comfort.

Ironically, Lucid Air is lightweight for its class, where even ICE cars are now getting fatter and less focused. Depending on the options, the Air weighs about 5,071 lb, which is less than the new BMW M5 and Porsche Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid. These vehicles were once pinnacles of driving prowess in the segment, but have lost a vast portion of what made them great, while also accelerating slower than the Air Grand Touring.

This makes the Lucid Air Grand Touring one of the greatest driving sedans out there. Thanks to its low center of gravity, big size and large footprint the Air sticks to the ground like a sports car and handles corners fantastically. It stays balanced even in tight corners at higher speeds and the body almost doesn't lean. Not bad for a sedan comfortably fitting a family of five.

What most ICE sedans are losing when gaining all of that weight is the balance and the refined movements in corners. The Lucid Air brings back a forgotten experience of superb handling and great road feedback.

The steering of the Lucid Air is heavily electronically assisted in daily conditions, but when you push the car to its limits it dials back and gives you precise information about what is going underneath the vehicle. The Air feels like some great old sports sedans and that is so refreshing to see in a world where the fun is less and less important part of driving.

The driver modes are a game-changer for the Lucid Air Grand Touring and you can select from smooth, which is another word for comfort, where the Air drives like the luxury limousine it looks like. Swift is the sporty setting, which stiffens up the ride and increases responsiveness. Sprint is the hardcore mode that allows for the best acceleration, makes everything more responsive and the ride very harsh. It is a fun mode, but one we don't see getting too much use. Steering feedback is controlled separately.

Maneuvering, however, is rather poor on the Lucid Air. It needs vast amounts of space to make a U-turn and squeezing it through tight city spaces is nowhere near as comfortable as some rivals. Some brands offer rear-wheel steering to make their vehicles feel smaller when parking, while others just allow for a greater angle of the front wheels to turn, but the Air gets neither and is thus a chore to handle in the busy city centers.

As all modern vehicles, the Lucid Air comes with a plethora of driving aids and luckily most of them are not that intrusive. The lane-keep assist is subtle and easy to override, whereas the speed-limit assist is not too annoying when you go above the speed limit it has detected.

Turning off those assistants requires a few steps if you want them or others gone from your driving experience and for most of them the procedure must be conducted with every start of the vehicle.

Tech features

The on-board technology of the Lucid Air is tremendous, especially given the fact it is a startup with no previous history or knowledge of producing cars. The plethora of screens may even be too overwhelming for some, but their integration is intuitive and user-friendly.

The 34-inch screen floats from the dashboard and incorporates three individual displays.

However, only the right one can be configured and the gauge cluster and control panel to the left remain unchanged all the time.

The center screen has most of the controls and settings for the multimedia and the screen itself has an irregular shape. The apps and menus are adapted to that shape, but Apple CarPlay looks bad and wastes a lot of the screen size. It is also the only thing that cannot be transferred to the lower, bigger screen for more clarity.

The navigation and music controls are also up, but if you want better visibility they can be expanded, giving you extra functionalities.

You can drop down menus for better visibility from screen to screen.

The lower display controls all of the programmable settings on-board. It can show the trip data, all kinds of statistics and different apps that are available to download.

You can also control the doors, trunk and frunk and the charge port opening from there, as well as turning on the massage function and setting the ambient lighting inside the vehicle.

The lower screen has more capabilities in the Lucid Air.

The climate controls are also part of the lower screen, but as we mentioned the most common functions are controllable through physical buttons above that screen.

The on-board camera system is phenomenal and even tells you the exact distance you have before hitting an obstacle. It is a wonderful integration we wish to see in more vehicles in the future.

Continuing the theme of cameras, when you turn on the indicator, the camera in the B-pillar activates and shows you an image of your blind spot in that direction to ease merging. It is a great safety feature we found very useful.

Ride comfort

The Lucid Air Grand Touring is an executive sedan that has comfort as one of its main priorities and manages to do its job in a fantastic way. Sure, it is no match for the high-end luxury models like the Mercedes S-Class or the BMW 7 Series, but it is also placed in the segment below where some roughness is tolerated. Small bumps and potholes are the Air’s arch-nemesis, whereas the chassis absorbs bigger ones pretty well. The air suspension works well and is one of the reasons for the great handling, but it also ensures comfort in most cases, falling behind only in the minor dents and potholes where it doesn’t have enough time to absorb them.

Cabin noise

The cabin of the Lucid Air is well isolated and barely any noises make it to the passengers. It scores among the best we've ever tested and even with the speeds rising it continues to be a quiet place. Tire and wind noise are reduced to a minimum even at high speeds, making the Air a fine choice for cozy cross-country travels.

Sound level tests are carried out with a specialized sound level meter placed in the car's cupholders. The test is conducted with air conditioning and radio off and while maintaining a steady speed.

Acceleration and braking

Lucid is renowned for its power even in the base versions, but as we are testing the mid-level Grand Touring variant, with some properly impressive power figures. Accelerating from a standstill to 62 mph takes just 3.29 seconds, which borders on supercar territory. What is even more impressive is that the acceleration doesn't stop being impressive up until about 137 mph and the 62 mph to 124 mph acceleration takes 6.7 seconds. Those numbers are phenomenal, even from this middle version.

Braking is also great in the Air, albeit not as impressive as the acceleration. Full stop from 62 mph comes after 36 m (118'2"), which is good, yet not on the level of some top ICE models. The bonkers Sapphire version of the Air comes with 16.4-inch carbon-ceramic brakes, which should really make a difference, but for the other models you have to rely on regular steel brakes. Also, one thing that isn't great with the brakes is that the transition between recuperation and regular brakes is quite noticeable in normal driving and makes for a shaky experience when coming to a full stop.

Acceleration and deceleration are measured with a RaceBox device inside the car. Testing is done with a single person inside the car, with air conditioning and traction control off.

Consumption

Lucid has optimized the Air for efficiency and even though our test unit had huge wheels and the heavy glass roof, it still showed fantastic energy consumption and proved how well it can handle long distance travels, which is a concern for many EV adopters-to-be. Obviously, if you push the Air Grand Touring a lot and make use of its 819 hp, the battery drains quickly and the consumption can easily spike over 2.1 mi/kWh. For our detailed thoughts on the consumption of the Lucid Air Grand Touring please check out our dedicated range test.

We measure consumption by driving at constant speeds on an identical test route during the day. Testing is conducted with air conditioning, all safety systems and radio on. The data comes from the vehicle's board computer. Specific testing parameters such as ambient temperature are mentioned in the text on a case by case basis.

You can use the widget below to find out the Lucid Air Grand Touring's range in every combination of speed and temperature you might need. We've used our real world tests and a complex model to provide an estimate that should be as close to the actual performance as possible.

Charging speed

Lucid claims the Air charges from 10 to 80% in just 19 minutes, and we can confirm that fact as we saw it charging with speeds of up to 300 kW. Naturally, we don't advise using this charging ability on a daily basis, but it's great to have the option on longer trips. Of course, 300 kW charge ports are not that common yet, but even at lower powers the Air charges fast and you can be on your way in minutes.

Competition

Large executive sedans are becoming less relevant, but still manufacturers use them as their halo cars to showcase their luxurious capabilities. As we see it there are two close rivals it faces.

The first is obviously the Tesla Model S. Despite its aging platform and controversial present of the company, the Model S is one of the pioneers of electric mobility and a staple of performance and innovation. The Tesla is way more minimalist, whereas the Lucid Air utilizes a more traditional approach to luxury and is more versatile in its capabilities. Both vehicles have similar sizes and offer some of the quickest accelerations in the world, but the Model S is really starting to show its age at this point and the recent refresh was just too minor considering the advancements the competition has made.

Then there's the Porsche Taycan. A dedicated sports car turned luxurious offers superb handling and sports prowess, but also great luxury on the inside. However, the Lucid Air offers much more practicality and interior space, as well as more understated looks. Both vehicles offer modern styling, so you must consider how important utility is for their lifestyle.

Tesla Model S Long Range 2025 - • Porsche Taycan Turbo S Cross Turismo 2021 - 2024

Verdict

Lucid is a startup that wants to compete with the very best from the get-go. The Air targets a historically demanding and proven segment of premium sedans with sporting prowess, where many others have failed. The Lucid Air is a fabulous electric alternative to the established ICE and hybrid rivals, which impresses in every category and has virtually no major weaknesses.

For the spirited drivers that love pushing their cars to the limit, the Lucid Air in its Grand Touring variant we tested is a wonderful proposition. It has more than enough power to propel it through traffic in no time, but also offers unrivaled stability in corners and high speeds. However, with the press of a button, it can transform into a calm cruiser to spend time in.

Lucid first debuted the Air five years ago and in some regards it's also starting to show signs of aging, but the overall impression is for a modern and focused vehicle that can comfortably compete with the very best in its class. The startup status and uncertainty for the future can definitely scare off some, but for those that are willing to gamble on it, they will receive an outstanding product that will put a smile on their faces every time they get behind the wheel.

Pros

• Distinctive and elegant styling.
• Great material choice and assembly.
• Comfortable ride.
• Big battery for long range even in the base model.
• Sublime handling.
• Tremendous acceleration.
• Spacious and comfortable interior.
• Non-invasive driver aids.

Cons

• Small main screen with little readouts.
• Sub-par maneuverability.
• Not configurable gauge cluster, despite being a display.
• Way too understated for modern standards even in the sportier variants.
• Non-securing cup holders.