Lucid Gravity 5,000 Mile Review! The Best Driving SUV Crippled By Software Annoyances

[HC_79]

Here's another one......

 

[prgarg]

I know it's diff industries and products, but one thing Amazon is known for is for delivering a great and seamless user experience. When it comes to software, they have 2 Dev teams, one focused on big innovation items (one-click buy, the concept of the Buy Box, etc) and another one working on what Jeff Bezos calls "paper cuts", meaning things that are not a deal breaker but really annoy customers.
The Gravity's software issues includes many "paper cuts" (I'm talking about you, Arctic Blast!). I know it's easier said than done, but taking care of them first would greatly improve the UX and would allow Lucid to focus on fixing the bigger issues and develop some of the long promised features.

 

[j4gates]

Summary was you have to be a team player to buy one of these now as you're buying a vehicle still in the development process. Then closes that he wants to add one to his fleet.

 

[hmp10]

This video tracks our experience with our two Gravities more closely than anything else I've seen thus far.

It's just such a damned shame that Lucid's solidifying and deserved reputation for engineering brilliance has been completely unwound by this software fiasco . . . and by the disastrous marketing decision to bring it to market so half-baked.

 

[eelpout]

it was already delayed and it's still not done. yep, a shame.

a bit interesting that Kyle said he averaged around 2.8-2.9 kWh/mi and Tom M. got ~3.3 in his 70 MPH test. though Kyle drives with a heavier foot I'm sure and I think there is a 5 vs. 7 seater difference as well.

 

[AlignTrex]

What else is new? Same with Air. Software still needs improvement 4 years later. I would bet their midsize model will also have software issues taking away from the user experience.

 

[HC_79]

it was already delayed and it's still not done. yep, a shame.

a bit interesting that Kyle said he averaged around 2.8-2.9 kWh/mi and Tom M. got ~3.3 in his 70 MPH test. though Kyle drives with a heavier foot I'm sure and I think there is a 5 vs. 7 seater difference as well.

Recent road trip to SF doing about 80 MPH on 21/22's yielded about 2.5 kWh/mi in about 50 degree weather.

Kyle's summary says it all. Unless you're a Lucid enthusiast who is on the "don't worry, they're going to fix it" train in its current form, the cars issues are unacceptable and Lucid released a beta product into a luxury market where competitors have it more dialed in.

 

[hmp10]

What else is new? Same with Air. Software still needs improvement 4 years later. I would bet their midsize model will also have software issues taking away from the user experience.

As much damage as I think the recent Engineering Explained video did to Lucid's reputation, I am still perplexed by it. Our early-production Air Dream Performance was a software nightmare for the first 10 months. But once UX 2.0 came along with its succession of OTA updates, the car's software quickly fell into place, and we now drive that car almost every day with very few software issues. New issues will occasionally crop up before disappearing with the next update, but that is no different from our experience with driving Teslas for almost 10 years.

I cannot even guess why a car built four years later with more advanced computer hardware would have had such problems. Did Fenske's clumsy use of factory resets contribute to the problems? Was his car just a lemon?

 

[electric]

Kyle's summary says it all. Unless you're a Lucid enthusiast who is on the "don't worry, they're going to fix it" train in its current form, the cars issues are unacceptable and Lucid released a beta product into a luxury market where competitors have it more dialed in.

Apparently DE stands for Development Edition. They should make badge stickers of a bear banging on keyboard, writing software.
On a serious note, Kyle talks to Emad directly and doesn't want to burn bridges, yet releases this 100% honest, but brutal review of Lucid's flagship product.
It tells me that software fixes are already number one priority for everyone at Lucid, all the way down to janitors.

 

[electric]

Somewhere inside Lucid's software development office

 

[Bdr100]

Apparently DE stands for Development Edition. They should make badge stickers of a bear banging on keyboard, writing software.
On a serious note, Kyle talks to Emad directly and doesn't want to burn bridges, yet releases this 100% honest, but brutal review of Lucid's flagship product.
It tells me that software fixes are already number one priority for everyone at Lucid, all the way down to janitors.

Janitors are very busy cleaning up thousands of pages of code that are being tossed on the floor every day.

 

[AlignTrex]

Let’s not get ahead of ourselves with improving software when we don’t even have a CEO.

 

[RandomDesign]

Let’s not get ahead of ourselves with improving software when we don’t even have a CEO.

What does having a permanent CEO have to do with whether software improves or not?

 

[marsarbu]

As much damage as I think the recent Engineering Explained video did to Lucid's reputation, I am still perplexed by it. Our early-production Air Dream Performance was a software nightmare for the first 10 months. But once UX 2.0 came along with its succession of OTA updates, the car's software quickly fell into place, and we now drive that car almost every day with very few software issues. New issues will occasionally crop up before disappearing with the next update, but that is no different from our experience with driving Teslas for almost 10 years.

I cannot even guess why a car built four years later with more advanced computer hardware would have had such problems. Did Fenske's clumsy use of factory resets contribute to the problems? Was his car just a lemon?

Options:

1. They choose to underinvest in software.
2. Incompetence.

Is there something else?

 

[hmp10]

I can't think of a major automotive YouTuber who was more enthusiastic over as long a period about Lucid than Kyle Conner. You really need to watch his reviews of the Gravity from 11 months and 8 months ago -- before he could spend real time with it -- to understand just how excited he was about the Gravity debut, dubbing it the "most exciting SUV" of the year and pointedly hinting it was a real contender for SUV of the Year, an award of which he was a judge.

After watching other recent reviewers start digging a hole for the Gravity after experiencing its software, to see him feel compelled to take out his shovel to dig the hole even deeper is truly depressing. But, frankly, there is nothing in this video that did not warrant saying.

After all, the biggest shovel of all was the one Lucid pulled out of the shed themselves when they decided to launch the car in this state.

I still believe the software issues will ultimately be addressed or I wouldn't keep buying Gravities for all the strengths Conner still praises in the car. But I'm so worried the hole for the company will become big enough to hold its coffin by the time I'm ready for our next car, especially if they repeat this mistake with the Earth.

I'm still stunned at how the tone surrounding this car has so drastically changed in the past eight months -- and all around software issues.

 

[eelpout]

What does having a permanent CEO have to do with whether software improves or not?

uh, CEO's in any capacity can absolutely have a direct impact on development.

 

[Ron_Burgundy]

My “hope” with the mid market car is it uses 3.x.x and benefits from why I hope are significant improvements over the next year or so. That said, given the reputation they’re building at this point, and no more tax incentives, and delivering well after the R2 and other competing Mercedes, etc, the middle market Lucid will have a massive hill to climb.

Bummer because the Gravity is, by FAR, the best car I’ve driven and I absolutely love it. And, it’s the most frustrating car I’ve ever driven.

I’d still buy it again. Still choose it over our X and R1S daily. But, I am an enthusiastic early adopter…that’s not a deep TAM.

 

[socktucker]

My “hope” with the mid market car is it uses 3.x.x and benefits from why I hope are significant improvements over the next year or so. That said, given the reputation they’re building at this point, and no more tax incentives, and delivering well after the R2 and other competing Mercedes, etc, the middle market Lucid will have a massive hill to climb.

Bummer because the Gravity is, by FAR, the best car I’ve driven and I absolutely love it. And, it’s the most frustrating car I’ve ever driven.

I’d still buy it again. Still choose it over our X and R1S daily. But, I am an enthusiastic early adopter…that’s not a deep TAM.

Im not sure Lucid and Rivian are really competitors.

 

[outofspeckyle]

Thanks for sharing the video. Lucid tells me they are hard at work squashing bugs and improving robustness. I told them we’ll keep on top of the gravity story and update you all (and our viewers) as the car becomes more stable

 

[Smorgasbord]

"Software bugs could be its own video."