Please, would you jump in with my baggage?

Bdr100 said:

Reliability of automobiles is directly related to the tech and features they have as well as the new innovation being implemented. If you want reliability, go buy a base Toyota Camry. It is a very reliable but very boring car. Toyota keeps their reliability high by sticking with tried and true basic tech, is very slow to roll out new innovations and updates its models on an every decade schedule.

Click to expand...

This! I'm nine months in with my Lucid, and frustrated with some issues that I've never experienced in 50 years of owning cars (none of which I've bothered to post about, FWIW). But the positives are wonderful, and although I am also impatient by nature, I do not regret my purchase at all.

I've only been driving a BEV for 3-1/2 years, so others may have more experience, but I would never have a BEV as my only vehicle right now. (we have a BEV and a hybrid). There are just too many challenges. Unless you love the adventure, go ICE or hybrid.

I've had my Air AT for a little over a month, and I like it more every day. It even looks better to me now than it did when I picked it up. The key fob is most certainly not up to par, but otherwise, it's been fantastic. After all the reading I did on the car, and with the reality being that I knew that I was "taking a chance" on a newer car maker, I believe I was hyper vigilant about the quirks and potential problems in ways that I wasn't when beginning to drive a new car from a legacy automaker. Any little thing felt like "uh oh, here we go." Or "I read about this online." I've driven Audis, Mercedes, Volvos, and Genesis, and read tons of reviews before making any car purchase, but honestly, I never really spent as much time in their forums as I did with the Air. I think that also plays a role in how many people experience the car; you're set up to be looking for the quirks. Once I stopped "test driving" it every time I got in and just enjoyed my car, it's been the best driving experience I've ever had.

SteveF said:

I’m about to go for a second test drive of an Air AT and am seriously interested. But I have three issues:
1 - My wife no longer drives and we just sold her Audi. Our only car is my ‘19 BMW 540iMSport. So the Lucid would replace this as our sole car.
2 - The nearest service center is in Short Hills, 45 min away on a GOOD day. And
3 - I’m not a man blessed with great patience. Reading the forum extensively leads me to believe that might be quite a problem.
Please, help me with some advice. Should I jump in or stand pat?

Click to expand...

The 2025’s are much improved. Go for it!

L-Dude said:

I've only been driving a BEV for 3-1/2 years, so others may have more experience, but I would never have a BEV as my only vehicle right now. (we have a BEV and a hybrid). There are just too many challenges. Unless you love the adventure, go ICE or hybrid.

Click to expand...

With Tesla access coming, it’s not that much an issue. You can even rent a ICE car for those once a year long trips.

1 I have a 2025 - 6 months in. Spectacularly good car. Service in Florida and in Chicago attentive - and east coast experience including 2200 miles through back country Fl to Ct to Chicago. Little issues with rapid service response. A: 2025 may mark a really improved hardware and firmware. B: my previous cars were all top tier Porsche, Rover, Audi , BMW and MBZ. All had more issues and more service time than my AGT.

Does this translate to your location? All I can say that on any day an issue pops up, I still go to bed grateful that Lucid produced such a great car.

PS: the combination of charging speed and range AND the info on plugshare app (re function of chargers) allowed us to plan charging. Relying just on the onboard navigation program alone does not avoid charging frustrations on the road. ( even the electrify app is limited) Our 10 years owning EV’s helps strategizing - multiple apps help - and necessary charging stops far fewer than other EV’s require and fewer than most require for rest rooms . ( Often planned while waiting for my wife to finish her thing at a rest stop. As a sailor, and a surgeon, i have lots of experience strategizing -makes it second nature - but it is different from just turning a key. There is also an indirect benefit: it is good to keep your brain active at any age).

I’ve had my at over 2 years and am 6hrs from nearest svc location, but a) have only had to go there once and b) looked forward to the trip cuz I was driving the lucid and got a lucid loaner!! Bottom line is mobile service can handle most issues (90%?) in ur driveway/garage.
This is my first ev so some concern in single pedal driving and range anxiety, but quickly became a single pedal fan, and with the range of the air and plugshare app, no anxiety here. I totally understand some folks feel like that’s too much effort… ymmv.
My $.02 - If u enjoy driving, jump in

Another thing to keep in mind is, the car you buy today is not the same car you own down the road. Lucid is constantly improving and updating their vehicles that will eventually work out most of our problems. They’ve come along way since the launch of the air, so once midsize comes out the UX should be well refined and improved.

To echo the comments of others, 40-45 minutes to the nearest service center is totally doable. That’s exactly what I am from KOP and between infrequent need for service, and a smattering of mobile service calls, I’m quite pleased owning my ‘22 Grand Touring. And yes, OTA updates are wonderful…and a bit like Christmas every few weeks…

I’ve only had my 25AT for a couple months. It’s so much fun to drive with the great luxury feel. I haven’t had any of the typical issues you hear others mention in the forums. Be happy you are close to a service center. my closest service center is 250 miles away. Good luck on your decision.

I love my Lucid and have never previously thought this way about a car. The luxury and driving experience is heads and shoulders above anything I've experienced. I'm glad we also have a Rav4 and would probably choose it if we had to go down to one car due to its versatility. That said, most of the time, I'm still using the Lucid to go grocery shopping and running other routine errands because of how much I enjoy driving it.

I'm not yet a Lucid owner, waiting in the queue for Gravity Dream Edition. I've been an early adopter, making the transition from gas to electric in steps that made sense at the time.
* 2008 Ford Escape Hybrid
* 2013 Ford CMAX Energi PHEV
* 2018 Tesla Model X
* 2023 Wife got Mustang Mach-E GT Performance
* 2025? Replacing X with GDE

When we found out about Lucid Gravity, we did a deep dive into videos and reading. We were grabbed by the engineering and testing. We wanted a 7-seater (My X is a 5-seat version). We rented an AGT and drove 800 miles one weekend in the mountains north of Phoenix. We loved the ride and handling, and quiet.

I've driven coast to coast and border to border in both my X and the Mach-E, solo and with my wife. Charging does take more time than gas...but often we could combine stops with food, restrooms, etc.

The one thing I would caution about: you need good home charging, especially if this (any EV) is your only car. But with home charge, you'll never have to waste time at the gas pump. And unless you do long trips frequently, your lack of patience will be rewarded every time you go to drive your car with a full charge--because you never need to wait for it to charge...it's charging while you sleep. And costing 1/3 what gas costs...or less, when charging at home.

Jump in, the water is fine.

I

marsarbu said:

I'm in the same situation with the service. It sucks because there are small things that I would like to get fixed, but having to drive for 1-hr, not having a loaner available (or wait 2 months for the next availability), it makes me suck it up and just live with it as is.

Also, if you're short on patience, I would stay away. If Lucid requires one thing is patience.

The car is a blast to drive overall, but these little things can add up. Sure, other forums are full of negative things as well, but my gut feeling is that the Lucid's ratio of complaints to overall number of owners is not in its favor. It's one thing if you get 10 complaints on Hyundai's forum, and a completely other matter if you get the same number of complaints on Lucid's forum.

TLDR: owning a Lucid is a great experiment, as long as you know what you're getting into.

Click to expand...

I love my 2025 GT. And I agree 100% with your analysis. More details on my reasons why can be found on my Lucid Air site: https://lucidair.info

I guess that I am extremely lucky because in coming up on 18 months of driving my '23 air GT I have not had any issues that required any servicing, in fact I have done no servicing. the only thing that needed attention on the car is the tire pressures and windshield washer fluid filling.
My service center isa 2.5+ hour drive away so 45 minutes to me is a casual ride.

2.7 years on my 2022GT and I've only taken it in for the two scheduled annual services. Been driving EVs since 2011 with Leaf #594 in the USA, then a Kia Soul EV, Tesla Model 3 Performance, Volvo XC40 EV, and now the Air GT.

We've been EV-only, with two cars, for over four years. It's been worthwhile, with much less maintenance and no time spent driving to gas stations. My technophobe wife prefers her EV to dealing with a gas car as well. The only downside is the need for a little planning ahead on long road trips - but this is improving.

It depends how much minor issues bother you. I live 10 minutes from the service center and have never visited except to buy swag, but have had mobile service twice in 2+ years to do the yearly maintenance and fix the minor issues. So far no significant problems in 37000 miles. That said, I would never have an EV as my only car. The charging infrastructure, while significantly better than 2 years ago, still isn't where I'd feel comfortable without an ICE vehicle for road trips. I don't have patience for 30+ minute pit stops.

Lucid Airs are fantastic vehicles and i enjoy driving mine more than my prior MB S Classes or Audi A8L's.

I went though this recently as well. I live 6 hours from the service center and was very concerned about the "service model". Some things are worth the gamble. Four months in, and I do not regret my decision. For the most part, my '25 AGT ownership has been flawless. Small issues that are mostly software related were resolved through reboots or calling the service center and having them walk me through some things. There would have to be a lot more issues for me to be unhappy with this car. Truly fantastic.

The car is truly spectacular in what it offers. There is a philosophy to their design that is consistent throughout the aesthetic and the user interface of the software. I've really come to appreciate that throughout 12+ months of ownership. Every other car I've driven during that time has felt like a massive step down. Yes, there have been inconveniences and a few quirks, but to say the pros outweigh the cons would be putting it mildly. The car does whatever you reasonably (or unreasonably, in many cases) ask of it. If you can visualize a line, there's a good chance the car can drive it. If you need a quick overtake or heroic levels of braking....the car can do it, and then some. I do not say those things lightly.

So, if you're the sort of person who cares about any of that, then I suspect it'll be positive experience because the ride is absolutely sublime.

I just took older extended family members for a ride the other day...neither of them cares one bit about 'performance' in the strict sense. What they DID care about was "how smooth it was...", "how effortless it seemed," and "how quiet it was." Keep in mind, I have the '22 GT which has motor whine that doesn't exist in the newer models due the addition of noise isolation mounts for the front motor. So, the newest model should have better fit and finish, tighter gaps due to refined production techniques and be objectively quieter due to the reduction of noise from the front motor.

If you do pull the trigger, be sure to actually get to know the car. Your ownership experience will improve greatly if you spend some quality time in your garage/driveway going through EVERY single screen...slowly. Practice approaching the car and locking/unlocking through various means. If you get up to speed on how it all works, I suspect that will maximize your chance of a positive experience. I say that because there's a reddit thread with someone complaining how bad the lane centering ability was in Drive Assist and that it was "bouncing from side to side," only to later learn that they didn't even have the mode engaged. That speaks to the need to know what the hell you're doing with the car to get the most out of it.