Motortrend | Lucid Gravity vs. Cadillac and Volvo for EV SUV Supremacy: Only One Is Truly Ready for Prime Time

Spoiler - Lucid folks won’t like this one.
 
I agree with the conclusion, they can only review the cars in the current state of what they are, and the GT is the worse baked and value at $125K. I have driven them all, the Cadillac is actually the worst, but it's the most baked, has good service network. The 2026 Volvo will have NACs and 800V and most of its bugs will be squashed too. The Gravity Touring on All-seasons is actually the right comparo for this group and its head and shoulders above once the glitches get resolved, and they may need to update the 2nd row seat stuff.
 
Consumer Reports also did their review and said the same thing about things being baked, yet they are still going to buy a Gravity for long-term test.
 
Huh? Did you read the review? It is about the issues they had with the Gravity, the things that shouldn’t be present in a new car, and why they preferred the other two over it. What is about the past? Of course, no review is going to be 100% neutral because of reviewer preferences, but you can’t say it is biased if it doesn’t rank Lucid #1. That’s a Trumpian complaint.
 
My CliffsNote :
If we can equate the cars to the current NBA players, Volvo is the current 62 year old Michael Jordan. Vistiq is the Michael when he was playing in the NBA. Lucid is the Michael when he was 5 years old.

With proper parenting and mentoring, the 5 year old Michael is going to be the g.o.a.t again when he joins NBA.
 
but sometimes it feels they are just trying to find things to hate on. saying the steering wheel "thumb pads" are not intuitive is weird? it controls exactly what you would expect.
 
Lucid needs a redesign, especially the touch points. Door handles and indicator stalks feel so cheap! And yes, software sucked when they released it. And why not place a durable cover over the middle seat mechanism? Who likes to see that every time you fold the seats?
 
The Gravity's 2nd row is a bit of a sore thumb when the rest of the car is so good. I get they are kind of nitpicking and looking for things to criticize, but the 2nd row will get touched and used A LOT. So between the noise of the motors, the gap underneath and it's a bit wonky returning to upright that is the only real thing. Trust me the Vistiq just gets worst the more you go back in the car, it's easy to find cheap plastic, it's only a 6 seater, you can't get tow package on the 7 seat trim, the 23in wheels do not ride well in the 2nd and 3rd row, plus no frunk and only one lower powered outlet.
 
I feel like a lot of these review controversies boil down to whether the reviewers are looking for where the car is above par vs. the competition, and where it's below par. And so much of the praise/criticism then stems from whether you care more that it excels in a bunch of things, or that it's absolutely solid in everything. For some categories like supercars, the former matters a lot more; it seems like for now anyway, more reviews care about the latter for 3-row EV SUVs.

The thing is, if you're Lucid, you can't just produce a by-the-numbers new SUV that's "very good" across all categories like the Vistiq or the EV9. You're the new guy, burning billions of dollars to try to establish a foothold; you have to lead with a bunch of features (like the range motors, space, frunk, etc.) to make a name for yourself since you don't already have the brand, the manufacturing maturity, the component and asset depreciation that the traditional manufacturers already have to their advantage. None of that excuses Lucid for some of the shortcomings of the Gravity, but I'm not sure they could have done things differently.
 
No surprise at the critique and comparison if range is of no concern. It is easy to find fault with anything, but the entry problem is not easy to excuse. I do not own a Gravity nor have I driven one so have to pass on Gravity specific evaluation. For those of us early AGT adopters who have endured various fixes to the UI but have also enjoyed the dynamic and otherwise superior attributes fo it to EV sedans, it has been worth the effort. Too bad that the MT problems noted exist, but I am confident that they will be fixed sooner rather than later. I feel bad for those who buy EV's with limited range and slow charging for they will grow quickly to regret their decision on their first road trip.
 
Lucid needs a redesign, especially the touch points. Door handles and indicator stalks feel so cheap! And yes, software sucked when they released it. And why not place a durable cover over the middle seat mechanism? Who likes to see that every time you fold the seats?
I've seen this same comment on multiple threads now, FYI. Honestly, the touch points don't feel cheap to me at all. Different strokes for different folks (nobody is forcing anyone to get a Gravity), so don't want to downplay other's opinions (and they are just that, opinions), but I just disagree with that assessment. I've been very impressed with the overall build quality of my GGT. For what it's worth, everyone that has ridden in my Gravity has also been thoroughly impressed. There are other options on the market if people prefer different things.

A cover over the middle seat wiring wouldn't hurt, but it's not visible other than when folding seats back up.
 
This comes off almost as a paid review. I'm seeing several new Vistiq reviews like this. Wasn't seeing this enthusiasm for it earlier in the year. The way she sounds *horrified* about seeing "the guts" of the seat when folding back up borders on being childish. It's like they were looking for reasons to sandbag the Gravity and praise the Vistiq.

It's apparent when it came to driving dynamics. I've never seen a Gravity review that didn't RAVE about how it handles and drives, but these guys found ways to criticize. It's the opposite with the Vistiq. Earlier reviews found the driving nothing to write home about at the most. These guys are praising it. Again, seems almost like a paid review.
 
My whole family rode in the back of the Vistiq 2nd row and 3rd seats as we alternated test drives. On the 23in low profile tires it rides like a pre-facelift Model Y and that is not a compliment.
 
Lucid is clearly on the right track. The company has mastered the toughest aspects of building a truly exceptional EV: range, charging speed, battery performance, interior space, and ride quality. At the moment, no other automaker has achieved this level of balance in a single vehicle.

Lucid’s target market isn’t chasing Toyota-like reliability or Tesla’s tech-centric approach. It appeals instead to those who dream of driving Porsches, Ferraris, or Bugattis but often end up behind the wheel of BMWs or Mercedes. Historically, no American brand has embodied that image—until Lucid.

The next midsize model needs to be perfect in every dimension. The design should be stripped to its essentials to achieve that goal but without compromising on range, charging capability, battery technology, space, or driving dynamics. It should be priced strategically so the AMP2 lineup sells out instantly across the Middle East, while also attracting strong demand in the United States, Asia, and Europe.

After extensive real-world testing and refinement—once 99% of potential issues are resolved—Lucid could then release its other luxury or L4+ midsize models.
 
This comes off almost as a paid review. I'm seeing several new Vistiq reviews like this. Wasn't seeing this enthusiasm for it earlier in the year. The way she sounds *horrified* about seeing "the guts" of the seat when folding back up borders on being childish. It's like they were looking for reasons to sandbag the Gravity and praise the Vistiq.

It's apparent when it came to driving dynamics. I've never seen a Gravity review that didn't RAVE about how it handles and drives, but these guys found ways to criticize. It's the opposite with the Vistiq. Earlier reviews found the driving nothing to write home about at the most. These guys are praising it. Again, seems almost like a paid review.
It also seemed to me that
I've seen this same comment on multiple threads now, FYI. Honestly, the touch points don't feel cheap to me at all. Different strokes for different folks (nobody is forcing anyone to get a Gravity), so don't want to downplay other's opinions (and they are just that, opinions), but I just disagree with that assessment. I've been very impressed with the overall build quality of my GGT. For what it's worth, everyone that has ridden in my Gravity has also been thoroughly impressed. There are other options on the market if people prefer different things.

A cover over the middle seat wiring wouldn't hurt, but it's not visible other than when folding seats back up.
why did the review at around 9:13 say “to get to the third row you obviously need to fold down the swing row”? They are implying it’s required ingress and egress to the third row. Therefore look at all these wires under the second row you going to see all the time.

It’s the only review I seen where the reviewers think they have to drop the second seat to get to the third row
 
It also seemed to me that

why did the review at around 9:13 say “to get to the third row you obviously need to fold down the swing row”? They are implying it’s required ingress and egress to the third row. Therefore look at all these wires under the second row you going to see all the time.

It’s the only review I seen where the reviewers think they have to drop the second seat to get to the third row
Yeah, you don’t need to fold down seats to get to 3rd row. Just hit button to scoot seat forward. It’s only visible when you lay completely flat and then have to fold back up.
 
This comes off almost as a paid review. I'm seeing several new Vistiq reviews like this. Wasn't seeing this enthusiasm for it earlier in the year. The way she sounds *horrified* about seeing "the guts" of the seat when folding back up borders on being childish. It's like they were looking for reasons to sandbag the Gravity and praise the Vistiq.

It's apparent when it came to driving dynamics. I've never seen a Gravity review that didn't RAVE about how it handles and drives, but these guys found ways to criticize. It's the opposite with the Vistiq. Earlier reviews found the driving nothing to write home about at the most. These guys are praising it. Again, seems almost like a paid review.
Yes, when we compared the Vistiq (and Escalade) before getting the Gravity, we thought the Vistiq was nice, but when I opened up the hood to see frunk storage and all that was under there was.....a mess of wires and components. Not even a cheap plastic cover over it and no storage. They didn't bother to call the Vistiq out on their wires but Gravity on its wires you don't even see but once in a blue moon....
 
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