One Year of Ownership Today - some thoughts particularly if you are thinking about getting a Lucid.

petergottlieb

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25' Air Pure
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So, a year ago today I picked up my white 2025 Air Pure at Tysons here in Virginia. The only option I talked myself into was the 20-way massaging seats (no regrets on that - amazing and worth every penny). Looking back on the last year I have some thoughts to share - particularly for people who wonder what they might really be getting themselves into by leasing or buying a Lucid.

So, first, my regrets are few. I'd definitely do it again.

That said, here are some things to know if you are wondering whether to go down this road.

These cars are gloriously fun to drive. This goes for all the trims. I have never driven a vehicle that is so smooth, powerful and effortless. I still look forward to getting into my car a year later. I would add that while you definitely get bragging rights and the fun of face meltingly fast 0-60 times with the GT and the Touring, more people should drive the Pure and honestly ask themselves if the difference is going to be meaningful to them. If I had to do it again, and after spending about a week each with Touring and GT loaners (more on that later), I don't regret getting the base car at all. I especially think the GT makes no sense unless money is no object to you, or you have a use case where gargantuan range isn't just nice to have, but a must have. That said, if money was no object to me, yes, I would have a Sapphire. Of course I would have a Sapphire. That is different.

You will probably need to take it into the service center a couple of times. My car has been back four times. Twice for warranty repairs (Frunk adjustment and upholstery repair), once to get another key fob programed (it took a week!), and once when I bent a rim on a twisty back country road. Tysons has been great - though like all Lucid service centers these days, it takes months to get anything that isn't an emergency taken care of.

Efficiency, which is definitely part of what attracted me to Lucid, can be disappointing. I don't really think this is Lucid's fault. The EPA tests are established. They do offer an apples-to-apples comparison point with other cars. YMMV (literally) but after almost 10k, my lifetime efficiency is 3.86 miles/kwh. Freeway efficiency on a summer cross country road trip was around 4.2. Winter efficiency will be under 3.5. Yes, I have taken off the aero covers from my car's 19" wheels. To me they look a lot better, and the efficiency loss is worth it, but that's me.

Road tripping a Lucid is awesome. I found the process of driving across country with mine much easier than I expected. Fast charging just worked for me, and really is fast. My standard stop was a half hour two or three times a day. I would just line these up with meals and take no more time than I would driving a ICE vehicle mile-for-mile. The car is so relaxing to drive that I did my customary three day journey in two long days. While Dream Drive Premium doesn't do everything I want (can we add Lane Centering, Lucid???? It's Christmas!?), it still helps a ton with lowering the mental work of driving and the adaptive cruise is trustworthy in all kinds of traffic.

Software is not as robust (you will get to know that word) as it should be. Most of the gremlins are small. My car sometimes forgets to move my drivers seat back to my position without me manually telling it to do so. Internet music services sometimes don't work right (though it's hard to tell whose fault that is). Along that line, album artwork doesn't always display in the pilot panel. In winter when there is salt and ice on the roads, I sometimes get ghost sensor failure alerts. The cool "send location" feature from the app to the car doesn't work most of the time. Lucid voice assistant isn't worth the trouble. One of the car's radars tells me every few months that it isn't working and I should see a service center, and then immediately goes back to working normally. Probably one time out of ten, the doors don't open on the first try. They should be fixed and probably can be fixed (though I am not holding my breath about the doors). Things do get fixed and my car has much better software now than it did when I got it a year ago. Still, for some people these are the sorts of things that get under your skin and will drive you nuts. If that's you, Lucid will probably drive you nuts.

Speaking of nuts, the Lucid internet (here and Reddit) is a strange place. My own working theory is that for all kinds of reasons Lucid has a user and fan base that often feels like one part is gaslighting the other, but from the outside it's hard to tell which is which. There are lots of people who love Lucid and their Lucid vehicles. Then there are lots of people who think the company is going to die tomorrow and deserves it for releasing half-baked products. Many of these people have their own experiences to back up their positions (though there are also the folks who are shorting Lucid's stock and are talking their book, particularly on Reddit). My own take is that Lucid is kind of in the mid-adopter space at the moment. Most owners are happy with their cars (the only datapoint I have ever seen on this was a survey of Lucid Air owners on Reddit - end result was something like four out of five Air owners would get another one). Other owners have bad experiences. Stuff doesn't work. The software doesn't do what it promises (see above). The service center doesn't take care of them. At the end of the day, I think everyone is telling the truth. YMMV. I also think that a lot depends on what your initial expectations are. Lucids are not Toyotas or Hondas, where their limited feature set and old/tested engine design is stable and almost always works. On the other hand, they do all kinds of things Toyotas don't.

So, would I/will I get another Lucid? Probably. It's a beautiful and unique car that's fun to drive. They aren't problem free but they are getting better. My hope and expectation is that Lucid is at the beginning of its run as a car company, and it's fun (at least to me) to be one of the smallish group of people to be part of their story on the early side.
 
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I bought my AGT 6 months ago after spending several months researching the car on this site (I never drove one before buying). I was expecting the car to have some problems based on the many negative opinions and experiences posted here. However my car has been flawless. It is an awesome ride.
 
I bought my AGT 6 months ago after spending several months researching the car on this site (I never drove one before buying). I was expecting the car to have some problems based on the many negative opinions and experiences posted here. However my car has been flawless. It is an awesome ride.
Yes. After a year of hanging around and hearing what's said, I think more people have good experiences than bad ones, by a lot, but it's sometimes hard to tell online... this isn't to discount the bad experiences. People definitely have those, and some of those are really Lucid's problem. But I'd hate for people to just hear the noise, or maybe a better way to put it is to have a skewed impression of what their "likely" experience would be because people don't generally go to forums to post how great everything is going... :)
 
I'm just over a year in on my '24 Pure, and agree with literally everything Peter wrote about the car! Only reason I'd upgrade to Touring would be to get the glass canopy; wish that was an option on the Pure.
 
View attachment 35412So, a year ago today I picked up my white 2025 Air Pure at Tysons here in Virginia. The only option I talked myself into was the 20-way massaging seats (no regrets on that - amazing and worth every penny). Looking back on the last year I have some thoughts to share - particularly for people who wonder what they might really be getting themselves into by leasing or buying a Lucid.

So, first, my regrets are few. I'd definitely do it again.

That said, here are some things to know if you are wondering whether to go down this road.

These cars are gloriously fun to drive. This goes for all the trims. I have never driven a vehicle that is so smooth, powerful and effortless. I still look forward to getting into my car a year later. I would add that while you definitely get bragging rights and the fun of face meltingly fast 0-60 times with the GT and the Touring, more people should drive the Pure and honestly ask themselves if the difference is going to be meaningful to them. If I had to do it again, and after spending about a week each with Touring and GT loaners (more on that later), I don't regret getting the base car at all. I especially think the GT makes no sense unless money is no object to you, or you have a use case where gargantuan range isn't just nice to have, but a must have. That said, if money was no object to me, yes, I would have a Sapphire. Of course I would have a Sapphire. That is different.

You will probably need to take it into the service center a couple of times. My car has been back four times. Twice for warranty repairs (Frunk adjustment and upholstery repair), once to get another key fob programed (it took a week!), and once when I bent a rim on a twisty back country road. Tysons has been great - though like all Lucid service centers these days, it takes months to get anything that isn't an emergency taken care of.

Efficiency, which is definitely part of what attracted me to Lucid, can be disappointing. I don't really think this is Lucid's fault. The EPA tests are established. They do offer an apples-to-apples comparison point with other cars. YMMV (literally) but after almost 10k, my lifetime efficiency is 3.86 miles/kwh. Freeway efficiency on a summer cross country road trip was around 4.2. Winter efficiency will be under 3.5. Yes, I have taken off the aero covers from my car's 19" wheels. To me they look a lot better, and the efficiency loss is worth it, but that's me.

Road tripping a Lucid is awesome. I found the process of driving across country with mine much easier than I expected. Fast charging just worked for me, and really is fast. My standard stop was a half hour two or three times a day. I would just line these up with meals and take no more time than I would driving a ICE vehicle mile-for-mile. The car is so relaxing to drive that I did my customary three day journey in two long days. While Dream Drive Premium doesn't do everything I want (can we add Lane Centering, Lucid???? It's Christmas!?), it still helps a ton with lowering the mental work of driving and the adaptive cruise is trustworthy in all kinds of traffic.

Software is not as robust (you will get to know that word) as it should be. Most of the gremlins are small. My car sometimes forgets to move my drivers seat back to my position without me manually telling it to do so. Internet music services sometimes don't work right (though it's hard to tell whose fault that is). Along that line, album artwork doesn't always display in the pilot panel. In winter when there is salt and ice on the roads, I sometimes get ghost sensor failure alerts. The cool "send location" feature from the app to the car doesn't work most of the time. Lucid voice assistant isn't worth the trouble. One of the car's radars tells me every few months that it isn't working and I should see a service center, and then immediately goes back to working normally. Probably one time out of ten, the doors don't open on the first try. They should be fixed and probably can be fixed (though I am not holding my breath about the doors). Things do get fixed and my car has much better software now than it did when I got it a year ago. Still, for some people these are the sorts of things that get under your skin and will drive you nuts. If that's you, Lucid will probably drive you nuts.

Speaking of nuts, the Lucid internet (here and Reddit) is a strange place. My own working theory is that for all kinds of reasons Lucid has a user and fan base that often feels like one part is gaslighting the other, but from the outside it's hard to tell which is which. There are lots of people who love Lucid and their Lucid vehicles. Then there are lots of people who think the company is going to die tomorrow and deserves it for releasing half-baked products. Many of these people have their own experiences to back up their positions (though there are also the folks who are shorting Lucid's stock and are talking their book, particularly on Reddit). My own take is that Lucid is kind of in the mid-adopter space at the moment. Most owners are happy with their cars (the only datapoint I have ever seen on this was a survey of Lucid Air owners on Reddit - end result was something like four out of five Air owners would get another one). Other owners have bad experiences. Stuff doesn't work. The software doesn't do what it promises (see above). The service center doesn't take care of them. At the end of the day, I think everyone is telling the truth. YMMV. I also think that a lot depends on what your initial expectations are. Lucids are not Toyotas or Hondas, where their limited feature set and old/tested engine design is stable and almost always works. On the other hand, they do all kinds of things Toyotas don't.

So, would I/will I get another Lucid? Probably. It's a beautiful and unique car that's fun to drive. They aren't problem free but they are getting better. My hope and expectation is that Lucid is at the beginning of its run as a car company, and it's fun (at least to me) to be one of the smallish group of people to be part of their story on the early side.
This is an incredibly honest and useful review. Thank you for posting this.

I agree with every iota of what you wrote, top to bottom, except one thing: my DE is definitely worth it over a Pure. For me. ;)
 
While Dream Drive Premium doesn't do everything I want (can we add Lane Centering, Lucid???? It's Christmas!?), it still helps a ton with lowering the mental work of driving and the adaptive cruise is trustworthy in all kinds of traffic.
Close to three years in (2023 AT) and my experience is the same as OP, including all the good stuff and the holiday wish for Lane Centering with DD Premium. Drove to and from LAX today in the pouring rain and the car performed flawlessly, from windshield wipers to defrost to ADAS.
 
This is an incredibly honest and useful review. Thank you for posting this.

I agree with every iota of what you wrote, top to bottom, except one thing: my DE is definitely worth it over a Pure. For me. ;)
Heh. Well to me a DE is Sapphire Adjacent. I’ll allow it…
 
I just love driving;
me being the pilot in command. I think Peter gets it, and that was his vision.

The Lucid Air is a driver's car.

It can zoom. and corner . It has a soul. It sometimes scares me = reminds me I'm human. I'm often going way faster than I intended. The car is like: "...no worries..."

It's not for everyone... seems like most here would rather have a faultless computer
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we few ... we happy few.
 
I agree with you about the pure. It’s really an amazing package for the price. About nine months into mine the only thing I could use is just a bit more power so I’m considering a touring the next go around, but I still have two years left.
 
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