EV Review: 2021 Lucid Air

Photo Credits: Lucid Motors, InsideEVs

Luxury Has Never Looked So Good

Overview

Performance: 113-kWh battery pack, electric motors, 480 horsepower; 620 horsepower; 800 horsepower; 1,080 horsepower

Mileage estimate: 406 to 520 electric miles

Price estimate: $69,900 to $161,500

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Warranty: 4 years / 50,000 miles

Drivetrain Warranty: 8 years / 100,000 miles

High-Voltage Battery Warranty: 8 years / 100,000 miles to 70% capacity

Corrosion Warranty: 10 years / unlimited

2021 Lucid Air Review

Intro

Heading into the new year, perhaps you haven’t heard of Lucid Motors. If that’s the case, trust me, its anonymity will soon pass.

Headquartered in the Bay Area (Newark), Lucid Motors is a startup automotive company that claims it wants to go head-to-head with the electric vehicle leader – Tesla. If everything is true regarding its prototype vehicle, Lucid Motors should arrive later this year as a strong Tesla competitor.

Still in production, the 2021 Lucid Air is a performance-laden, luxury sedan that seats five passengers and has many appealing aspects. It has incredible range, charges extremely fast, features a gorgeous exterior and state-of-the-art, roomy interior. The Air also welcomes its owner by automatically unlocking the doors, extending a handle, and setting the pre-established interior lighting.

Exterior Style

From a visual standpoint, the Lucid Air has an intriguing, sleek-looking exterior that features a framed satin-finish aluminum, a glass canopy roof that spans the entire cabin, and has no visible seams on its front or rear. The vehicle’s length is reportedly just a bit smaller than the Tesla S.

Interior Space

Equally appealing is the Lucid Air interior, an upscale, spacious cabin that incorporates darker colors up front and lighter ones in the back. Lucid says the design is as small as possible, allowing for more passenger and storage space. The result is ample head and leg room up front and a large back seat that should comfortably accommodate three adults. The Air has a large trunk (26.1 cubic feet) and a 10 cubic-foot front trunk (frunk), the largest of any existing EV.

Features and Technology

As one would expect, the sedan employs cutting-edge technology. There’s a gigantic 34-inch curved glass dashboard in front of the driver that has vehicle controls on the left, driving information in the center, and navigation and media functions to the right that are easily accessible for both driver and passenger.

Set up properly, the Lucid Air will allow for Alexa voice commands and the voice-recognition software has an artificial “assistant” that learns the user’s climate change and music preferences.

Standard safety features include lane-keeping assist, forward-collision warning, automated emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring, and rear cross-traffic alert.

Performance and Speed

For car buyers who crave pure speed, the all-wheel drive Dream Edition is available with a dual-motor and has an incredible 1,080 horsepower. It can travel 0-60 mph in 2.5 seconds and has a top speed of 168 mph. The base model comes with 480 horsepower, the mid-range Touring model gets 620 horsepower and the Grand Touring has 800 horsepower. Note that all but the base model comes standard with AWD.

The Air offers tremendous performance and also delivers impressive handling. It tightly grips the road around challenging corners and the ride is smooth, thanks in part to its low center of gravity. Optional autonomous driving requires the driver to be ready to assume control when the car is moving. It’s made possible by 32 different cameras, sensors, and radar.

Battery and Charging

In terms of charging, Lucid claims it has discovered a method to charge its 113-kWh battery pack at a faster rate. DC charging can deliver 300 miles of range in an impressive 20 minutes. Another anomaly is Lucid says its charging and battery system can also be used to power a house.

To be fair, Tesla started the new year selling four fantastic EVs at fairly reasonable sticker prices. The Tesla S is roughly $8,000 less than a comparable Lucid Air base model that will likely cost $77,400 (minus a $7,500 tax credit). The Porsche Taycan Turbo S is another highly acclaimed EV that will be another competitor for the Air.

Right now, Lucid Motors’ calling card is supplying batteries to Formula E race cars. But that will soon change. The company says it will be opening 20 Lucid Studios in North America and they will be more like a lounge than a traditional dealership. Sales will be aided by virtual reality headsets that allow prospective buyers to do a virtual tour where they can explore and create their vehicle of choice.

Lucid says the base model Air might not be available until 2022. However, two of its other models – Touring and Dream Edition – will be available. A fully-refundable deposit starts at $1,000 and the Air should be available by spring 2021.

Range

The base model Air has a range of 406 miles, which would make it the highest range of any existing electric vehicle, capable of going from San Francisco to Los Angeles with miles to spare. The Air’s premium trim model (Dream Edition) will supply an additional 100-plus more miles of range than the base model, traveling a whopping 517 miles. The Tesla S has a range of 402 miles, the most of any EV currently on the road.

Conclusion

If the 2021 Lucid Air is as good as advertised, Tesla definitely will have some competition for its seat atop the EV world.

—  J.W.

User Video Review: 2021 Lucid Air