What's new
By:

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

illopp00 said:
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.
Click to expand...
CR purchases cars for tests based on a perceived need for reviews, not based on whether they think it is a great car or a terrible car.
 
Lucidicrous said:
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.
Click to expand...
All true! To me the driving pleasure of the AGT surpasses that of the recent model Porsche 911 Turbo S and Panamera GTS, and that is saying a lot. Of course, that is with a far different visceral experience than the Porsches deliver, but the compensating attributes of the AGT more than make up for those factors to ms.
 
Gravity shouldn’t have been released in such a state. It’s embarrassing.

That is probably why the engineer and head of Quality doesn’t work there anymore. Time will tell if they are scapegoats or if the real problem is something else.
 
Lucidicrous said:
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.
Click to expand...
Exactly. As much as we can complain about the user-facing software bugs, the foundational work of engineering the physical aspects of the vehicles are something Lucid should use as a point of pride. You can't use AI or software to fix foundational, physical engineering issues. AI and whatever is the current buzzword is like step 99 out of 100
 
socktucker said:
Gravity shouldn’t have been released in such a state. It’s embarrassing.

That is probably why the engineer and head of Quality doesn’t work there anymore. Time will tell if they are scapegoats or if the real problem is something else.
Click to expand...
Dno, I've loved driving it since January. 🤷‍♂️

Zero embarrassment as I pass everyone else on the road with what seems like my entire house in tow 🤷‍♂️
 
borski said:
Dno, I've loved driving it since January. 🤷‍♂️

Zero embarrassment as I pass everyone else on the road with what seems like my entire house in tow 🤷‍♂️
Click to expand...
No no not the customers, I mean Lucis I’m sure wanted it to be smoother. That’s what I mean. People love looking these cars I’m not at all embarrassed to drive it!
 
gaskiller said:
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?
Click to expand...
How often do you fold down the 2nd row flat?? If you're just getting into the 3rd row, the seat automatically moves forward and tilts to give plenty of space to enter the 3rd row. I am rarely making the car a full flatbed with 2nd and 3rd rows folded. But maybe you're doing this frequently??
 
PCorkett said:
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
Click to expand...
Agreed. they didn't actually do their homework, and probably never even went into the 3rd row to find out! I didn't see any pictures of them back there. Highly suspicious they even tried.
 
socktucker said:
No no not the customers, I mean Lucis I’m sure wanted it to be smoother. That’s what I mean. People love looking these cars I’m not at all embarrassed to drive it!
Click to expand...
Since you and Borski—and honestly, a bunch of others—love your pricey Lucids, it’s clear the company did something right. They filled a gap no one else could, even if the cars aren’t perfect.

Give them some time. Even long time legacies like Porsche are hitting rough patches right now—with the CEO out, stock prices slipping, and sales targets missed.
 
No way, bro! It totally reminds me of that wild love-hate thing Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton had going on—in The Taming of the Shrew and in real life too. Pure drama, but kind of fun to watch.
 
I agree with those who have said the door handles seem cheap. I don't have an issue with the stalks, they seem beefy and nice to me, but the door handles and the charger cap should not have been made out of plastic IMO. The way the handles are electronically actuated makes the plastic worse, and some of my doors are funnier to open than others. My passenger door in particular is fussy, which I hear about every time my wife gets in. And although I don't necessarily mind that the charge cap is manual, it should have been aluminum IMO. It's quite large and so as you close it you feel the plastic flexing. Given the build quality of many other parts of the car, these feel like significant cheap-outs IMO.
 
allenmhc said:
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.
Click to expand...
I think part of the problem is that vehicle reviews generally, but definitely this review, are fundamentally subjective. And when a reviewer starts to encounter glitches, it can shift them from a generous frame of mind to a critical frame of mind. I think the Gravity has too many glitches, and it's apparently easy to get caught up on them and fail to fully appreciate the vehicle's strengths as a result.
 
RajD said:
How often do you fold down the 2nd row flat?? If you're just getting into the 3rd row, the seat automatically moves forward and tilts to give plenty of space to enter the 3rd row. I am rarely making the car a full flatbed with 2nd and 3rd rows folded. But maybe you're doing this frequently??
Click to expand...
I do this frequently with my current vehicle. My default position is to keep the 2nd and 3rd rows both folded flat, but then I frequently raise up the 2nd row as need arises.
 
It would be nice to see a more in-depth comparison of the Vistiq to the Gravity. Especially now that the Gravity Touring is available for $80k.

Doug DeMuro just released a Vistiq review:

"pretty compelling" is says at the beginning. He does mention the Gravity as competition, but doesn't include it in his comparison table at the end.

Lots of lighting effects on the outside, kinda cool I have to admit.
Has that same wide cluster display, which is shaped just like the Gravity's.
GM doesn't/won't support CarPlay/Android Auto.
Second/middle screen is small and for climate only.
Nice to have the rear-view mirror alternatively be a video feed from the rear camera.
Has GM SuperCruise for premapped highways
Second row (actually Captain's chairs) not as spacious as Gravity.
Second row has another screen for Climate, and includes a standard 110 volt power outlet (extra cost on Gravity)
No frunk!
"Driving experience is really excellent, really."
Quiet interior.
 
The Gravity checks so many boxes in a relatively small package that it really has a fairly large comp set. BMW iX, Cadillac Vistiq, Cadillac Escalade IQ, Rivian R1S, Tesla Model X, Volvo EX90, Porsche Cayenne EV, Mercedes EQS SUV, etc. It'd be nice to see more comparison videos.

I also wish EVs weren't solely compared to other EVs. With EVs pushing 400 miles of range, you're really not making a sacrifice by choosing them instead of ICE vehicles. Far more people could and should be cross shopping EVs with ICE vehicles. I think when put in direct comparison, it's really tough to choose an ICE vehicle unless we're talking two-door sports cars, and unfortunately most people don't know that.
 
Smorgasbord said:
...GM doesn't/won't support CarPlay/Android Auto...
Click to expand...
Since the Vistiq has native Google maps and other Android apps available for installation in its app store, most Android users will feel no need to mess with Android Auto. It's superfluous IMO.

iOS users might feel the same once Apple writes native AAOS apps for Maps, Music, iMessage. It may happen someday.
 
TahoeMichael said:
I think part of the problem is that vehicle reviews generally, but definitely this review, are fundamentally subjective. And when a reviewer starts to encounter glitches, it can shift them from a generous frame of mind to a critical frame of mind. I think the Gravity has too many glitches, and it's apparently easy to get caught up on them and fail to fully appreciate the vehicle's strengths as a result.
Click to expand...
We all have our biases and features that we think are absolutely necessary and some that are desireable. We also have features we are convinced we don't want. Some of our feelings are stronger than others.

For example, I want real buttons and switches for anything that I might want to use while on the road. Seat controls, AC controls, radio controls, light controls, turn signal stalks, etc. And I want real buttons, not haptic. I can expect and accept the absence of them in a mainstream car but not in a luxury car. So if I were reviewing that would be very important. But for others it is not so important, or they don't even agree with me, so the absence of such controls will not bother them if they are doing the review.
 
I also think that with the Cadillac Vistiq and Volvo EX90 both having the same starting price ($80k) as the Gravity Touring, it's time to stop referring to the Gravity a "pricey" or "expensive." It's right there in the market and considering what you get for the money, it's the better buy for some/many.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top