When Lucid representatives offered a one-week driving experience in a Lucid Air Touring EV, I expected it would look cool, ride comfortably, and accelerate quickly. The Lucid delivered on those expectations. Fair enough, but a $105k vehicle should live up to its promises.
There were also two welcome surprises: the effectiveness of the optional Stealth Package and Lucid’s dynamic response, which helped me avoid a near-certain, serious collision. More on both below.
Meet Lucid Motors and the Lucid Air Touring
The only Lucid Motors EV you can buy today is the Lucid Air luxury performance sedan, available in four grades. The Lucid Gravity SUV, another luxury performance EV, is expected in the 2025 model year, but specifics such as price, power, and range aren’t available.
Maximum range per charge is the first talking point about the Lucid Air, followed by power, acceleration, and fast charging time. The four Lucid Air models all have estimated ranges greater than 400 miles. Here’s a quick breakdown of the Lucid Air lineup:
| Lucid Air model | Pure RWD | Touring AWD | Grand Touring AWD | Sapphire RWD |
| Maximum power | 430 hp | 620 hp | 819 hp | 1,234 hp |
| 0-60 mph | 4.5 seconds | 3.4 seconds | 3.0 seconds | 1.89 seconds |
| Estimated range | 410 miles | 411 miles | 516 miles | 427 miles |
| Charge to 200 miles | 17 minutes | 15 minutes | 12 minutes | 15 minutes |
| Starting price with destination fees | $71,400 | $79,400 | $110,400 | $250,500 |
The Lucid Air Touring loaner included $24,900 of options for a total MSRP of $104,300, including destination fees. The options included Stealth with Glass Canopy, DreamDrive Pro, Air Touring Luxe Tahoe interior, Surreal Sound Pro, 20-inch Aero Lite Stealth wheels, and a Comfort and Convenience package.
Lucid Air Touring: Undercover EV
I was most surprised by the lack of comments and questions I received while I had the car. Maybe the Lucid’s Stealth options helped. The Stealth appearance package includes polished and painted accents and trim instead of brighter aluminum. The loaner also had 20-inch Aero Lite Stealth wheels. The exterior was black and gray, common in north central Connecticut.
I didn’t expect many comments when I drove to the library and grocery store, but even at lacrosse games? I went to two high school lacrosse games during the week, plus a well-attended regional lacrosse tournament on Saturday. Plenty of people were at the games and parking lots, but not one person commented or even seemed to notice the Lucid. The only person who asked about the Lucid was an attendant at a charging station — he asked about the driving range.
A Lucid Air, especially with Stealth options, is probably a good choice for someone who wants an EV but would rather not attract attention.
Lucid Air Touring: Performance
I was on my way to one of the weekday lacrosse games mentioned above when the Lucid’s responsiveness came into play. I was driving about 55 mph (the legal limit), coming around a sweeping curve on a secondary road, when I noticed a red Accord sedan parked on the right shoulder with its right turn signal blinking.
Just before I passed the Accord, the driver turned out in front of me, making a slow U-turn to go in the opposite direction in the other lane. I reflexively slammed on the brakes, turned right hard, and accelerated out of the lane onto the shoulder and back onto the road. I swung around the Accord and kept going like it was no big deal. Except that it was.
I’ve been in a few accidents, including one where an oblivious driver ran a red light and crossed in front of me at an intersection, an incident totaled both cars, including my beloved late 80s VW Vanagon. Many lesser cars wouldn’t have handled the situation with the Accord as quickly, well, and confidently as the Lucid.
The Lucid Air Touring has three driving modes. Smooth mode is for everyday driving. Swift mode is for when you’re feeling sporty and want more responsive steering, braking, handling, and power. Switching to Sprint mode, which includes launch control, presents a warning on the console display that it’s for advanced drivers only.
In my roughly 350 miles of driving, I was in Smooth mode about 80% of the time, Swift mode about 15% of the time, and Sprint mode at most 5% of the time. The car is a bit noisier with more road feel in Sprint mode, and braking and throttle response are noticeably faster.
The most important performance factor for me was that the Lucid delivered when I needed fast braking, acceleration, and sure, confident handling.
The Lucid Air Touring is fast, regardless of mode. With smaller EVs, acceleration can be dramatic, but the Lucid is a larger car with tons of power. Acceleration with the Lucid is immediate, smooth, and quiet. If you can imagine entering warp speed in an intergalactic transporter, that’s what it feels like when you push the Lucid.
It was easy to get used to regen one-pedal driving in Smooth mode. The car slows to a full stop with no braking necessary. Regen is configurable with extensive software that’s accessible through the console and dashboard displays. I didn’t experiment with the optional DreamDrive Pro self-driving software.
Lucid Air Touring: Final thoughts
The two most commonly reported obstacles to buying an electric car are high vehicle cost and range. The basic Lucid Air sedan starts at about $70,000, but it’s a luxury sedan, so that’s not out of line. The Air Touring $104,300 list price, with destination fees, is a good chunk of change. Compared to Mercedes-Benz vehicles, BMWs, and Audis of similar size and performance, though, Lucid’s pricing isn’t out of line. Lucid’s most obvious comparison is the Tesla Model S, which starts about $10k less than the Lucid Air Touring.
Sedans can be a hard sell when most buyers want SUVs or trucks. However, the market for luxury performance sedans still exists for certain types of drivers and for applications such as car services. In that competitive group, the Lucid Air more than holds its own, especially with its generous range.
