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Air Pure vs Grand Touring in 2026

droodman

droodman

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Air Pure
We're almost halfway through a 39-month lease of a 2025 Air Pure with 19" wheels. I just had it serviced for the first time (we were at ~7500 miles when I made the appointment) and my loaner was a tricked-out Air Grand Touring, I think with 20" wheels. So I got to experience the GT for 10 days. Of course, it should not have taken 10 days to do routine service and a recall; it would have been a few hours at Toyota. But that's another story, and probably a familiar one at least for my fellow DC residents.

Usually when we ask whether to go for the more expensive thing, it's a tradeoff between features and money. I was struck by how, even leaving money aside, there are tradeoffs. I came away quite happy with our Pure.

The downsides (or limited upsides of the GT) for me:
* I noticed the whine of the front motor. The Pure is distinctly quieter, which I enjoy. It adds to the magic of driving it. I'm probably more sensitive to noise than most.
* The GT is less efficient, which matters if like me you're obsessed with living lightly on the earth. (We're getting 4.5 mil/kWh overall from our Pure.)
* The floor in the back seat is higher because of the extra batteries. Maybe not a big deal; I didn't sitt back there.
* The greater range is nice, but I think in the last year or so, at least on the east coast , fast chargers have gotten plentiful and reliable enough that the difference between ~400 and ~500 miles matters less than it used to.
* Similarly, while I noticed and enjoyed the extra power, the Pure still has plenty enough to surge when I want.
* Broadly, I don't care what material the seats are covered in.
* The glass roof did nothing for me. I hardly noticed it when driving. And I believe what I've read about how it can problematically add to the cooling load, not to mention repair costs.
* The massage seats felt funny . But my wife liked them. (They're available for the Pure too.)
* It does cost a lot more.

I did also notice and appreciate the better handling of the GT when going fast around curves, the feeling that the car is biting the road and pulling me through the turn. That's what I'll miss most--but not enough to regret the choice of the Pure.
 
Similar feelings living with a 26 Touring loaner that’s nearly fully loaded over my nearly base 24 Pure for a month. Yes it’s nice having more power and a few more goodies, but they don’t fundamentally change the car enough for me to justify the price tiers.
 
I believe the Pure or even the Touring are the smarter, more practical choices. However, I’ve rationalized that if I’m going to spend a ridiculously stupid amount of money to get from Point A to Point B, why not make an extra ridiculously stupid decision and go all the way on features that cannot pass any reasonable cost-benefit muster?

I use Gemini Pro nearly daily for research and analysis of various topics. It knows me pretty well—i.e., it has the information necessary to “understand” that I am fiscally conservative, environmentally conscientious, obsessed with efficiency, and… like nice things when it’s the “right” (practical) nice thing.

Gemini says quite conclusively I should get the Pure, but I’ve order the GT instead. Gemini has now decided that I’m an idiot, and it’s difficult for me to defend that sentiment. LOL!
 
bcjenkins said:
I believe the Pure or even the Touring are the smarter, more practical choices. However, I’ve rationalized that if I’m going to spend a ridiculously stupid amount of money to get from Point A to Point B, why not make an extra ridiculously stupid decision and go all the way on features that cannot pass any reasonable cost-benefit muster?

I use Gemini Pro nearly daily for research and analysis of various topics. It knows me pretty well—i.e., it has the information necessary to “understand” that I am fiscally conservative, environmentally conscientious, obsessed with efficiency, and… like nice things when it’s the “right” (practical) nice thing.

Gemini says quite conclusively I should get the Pure, but I’ve order the GT instead. Gemini has now decided that I’m an idiot, and it’s difficult for me to defend that sentiment. LOL!
Click to expand...
You’re gonna love it. Also, consider switching to Flash 3.7 unless you really need the greater intelligence. It’s *really really* fast, and really good.

(Full disclosure: I work at DeepMind)
 
I chronicled my recent experience with a stripped down Touring loaner when my 25 Pure was in for service. Similar conclusion as OP. It was definitely fun having that extra power to really put the chassis to the test and see how well the car is engineering in that way. However, I was not disappointed in any way to return to the Pure as I thought I’d be because it truly is lighter, nimbler, quieter, and still with significant power. I wouldn’t be opposed to taking a Touring for a 3 year lease don’t get me wrong, but the Pure is not a compromise, it’s an entirely different drive that some may actually find “better.”
 
Miami_Lucid_Man said:
I chronicled my recent experience with a stripped down Touring loaner when my 25 Pure was in for service. Similar conclusion as OP. It was definitely fun having that extra power to really put the chassis to the test and see how well the car is engineering in that way. However, I was not disappointed in any way to return to the Pure as I thought I’d be because it truly is lighter, nimbler, quieter, and still with significant power. I wouldn’t be opposed to taking a Touring for a 3 year lease don’t get me wrong, but the Pure is not a compromise, it’s an entirely different drive that some may actually find “better.”
Click to expand...
Well said. The Pure and the Grand Touring look exactly the same, but are really different cars. Moreso than most Brand / Trim discussions. I'll use one of my other cars as an example.

In 2017, I bought a 2017 Camaro SS Convertible. At the time Camaro was available in
  • LS - 2.0T 4 cylinder (Pure) $25 - 30k
  • LT - 3.6L V6 (Touring) $28 - 45k
  • SS - 6.2L V8 (Grand Touring) $38 - 56k
  • ZL1 - 6.2L Supercharged V8 (Sapphire) $65 - 80k
Prices ranged from @$25k up to about $80k. About a 3x spread. For cars that look very similar, except to the trained Camaro owner's eye, but have dramatically different personas.

Once you get past some of the boy racer appearance stuff on the two top trims (spoilers, chin splitters, aggressive grille treatments, model specific wheels) the appearances are very similar, but the use cases are dramatically different. And some of the options available on the top two trims are not available on the lower two trim. Heated ventilated seats, for example. Larger nav screen, top end stereo, for example.

The LS and LT look great and are great cars for weekend drives, daily driving, letting the kids use to drive a cool car to prom, and displaying at car shows. They are not the cars that you take to the drag strip or the road course or rev at the traffic light when there is a Mustang, Charger, or Challenger sitting next to you.

Conversely, the SS and especially the ZL1 are not your typical daily driver. The SS can be, provided you don't mind paying 91 - 93 octane prices for sub 20 mph fuel economy on a daily basis and are very careful about where you park it. SS and ZL1 were engineered for drag strip and road course use and GM even honored warranty for powertrain, brake system, and cooling system issues encountered during track use. People who drive a ZL1 as a daily are comparable to people who drive a Sapphire as their daily driver. Unicorns.

Pure --> Sapphire is $80k --> 250k. A 3x spread.

Other than Sapphire, you cannot tell at a glance what trim an Air is when it drives past you. Even for trained Air owners, that is a difficult (and quite frankly pointless) task. I guess if it has a glass canopy you kinda know it's not a Pure. But if it doesn't you still can't say for certain it is a Pure. Could be AT or GT. No spoilers, chin splitters, unique wheel treatments. And they have dramatically different personas. With that perspective the trim name PURE makes even more sense to me now. It's the lightest, it's the most nimble, it's the most efficient, it's the quietest. It's the clean sheet of paper. The starting canvas.

Touring starts to color in some additional personality. It's got more power. But weight is a trade-off. It's got more available luxury appointments. But price and weight are tradeoffs. It is probably the best trim level for truly making the car your own. "I'll have the Convenience & Comfort package...don't need the glass canopy but yeah, I'll check the box for the DreamDrive Pro and the Tahoe interior". This is the Starbucks order trim.

Grand Touring is the car for people who don't like making decisions. And for those who just want it all. I fall in the latter camp. Angus burger, all toppings, please. Next question.

I think when considering an Air, most buyers will find themselves in the position of asking themselves "Do I want the lightest, most nimble, most energy efficient, most cost efficient version (Pure) or do I want to make it my own flavor (Touring)?"
 
Miami_Lucid_Man said:
I chronicled my recent experience with a stripped down Touring loaner when my 25 Pure was in for service. Similar conclusion as OP. It was definitely fun having that extra power to really put the chassis to the test and see how well the car is engineering in that way. However, I was not disappointed in any way to return to the Pure as I thought I’d be because it truly is lighter, nimbler, quieter, and still with significant power. I wouldn’t be opposed to taking a Touring for a 3 year lease don’t get me wrong, but the Pure is not a compromise, it’s an entirely different drive that some may actually find “better.”
Click to expand...
Peter R always said the pure was the “truest expression of the Air vision,” so it shouldn’t be surprising people love it. :)

That said, he had LOTS of fun whipping his Sapphire around, so... :p
 
martinjlm said:
Grand Touring is the car for people who don't like making decisions. And for those who just want it all. I fall in the latter camp. Angus burger, all toppings, please. Next question.
Click to expand...
Who’s the DE for?! I’m dying to know! :p
 
I definitely have relatively frequent regrets that I took Lucid up on an in-stock Touring that had all the features I had chosen on the Pure that I ordered, in order to get delivery three months sooner. (I was eager… you know the feeling!)

Even on the 2025 Touring with the motor-mount dampening, the front motor whine is very present, and like the OP, I’m rather sensitive to noise. Yes, I’ve gotten used to it, but I still often wish it wasn’t there. I’m also an efficiency freak, so I miss the 10-15% efficiency boost I would have gotten with the Pure.

The one benefit/justification for the Touring in my case, is that having AWD will definitely help a lot if/when I sell it up here in Maine. And I figure there may be some edge case moments in either snow or rain when the AWD comes in handy for me too. (I believed the Natick sales folks when they said the RWD is fine in coastal New England snow, thanks to the weight—not to mention the fact that plowing is so efficient that there’s hardly ever more than a couple inches of snow on the roads, even during a storm—but for many buyers up this way, not having AWD would be a deal killer).

I’m still a happy camper, but if I could do it again, I would wait for that Pure to be built.
 
jedwin said:
I definitely have relatively frequent regrets that I took Lucid up on an in-stock Touring that had all the features I had chosen on the Pure that I ordered, in order to get delivery three months sooner. (I was eager… you know the feeling!)

Even on the 2025 Touring with the motor-mount dampening, the front motor whine is very present, and like the OP, I’m rather sensitive to noise. Yes, I’ve gotten used to it, but I still often wish it wasn’t there. I’m also an efficiency freak, so I miss the 10-15% efficiency boost I would have gotten with the Pure.

The one benefit/justification for the Touring in my case, is that having AWD will definitely help a lot if/when I sell it up here in Maine. And I figure there may be some edge case moments in either snow or rain when the AWD comes in handy for me too. (I believed the Natick sales folks when they said the RWD is fine in coastal New England snow, thanks to the weight—not to mention the fact that plowing is so efficient that there’s hardly ever more than a couple inches of snow on the roads, even during a storm—but for many buyers up this way, not having AWD would be a deal killer).

I’m still a happy camper, but if I could do it again, I would wait for that Pure to be built.
Click to expand...
If I still lived in the northeast or in the DC area, AWD would be a requirement for me too. I have seen too many beautiful RWD Porsches spin out on the highway :)
 
droodman said:
...I did also notice and appreciate the better handling of the GT when going fast around curves, the feeling that the car is biting the road and pulling me through the turn....
Click to expand...
A good part of this could have been the difference between 19" wheels with narrow contact patch all-season tires, compared to 20" wheels with wider-patch summer-only tires.
 
DeaneG said:
A good part of this could have been the difference between 19" wheels with narrow contact patch all-season tires, compared to 20" wheels with wider-patch summer-only tires.
Click to expand...
In my experience everything else equal the wider patch summer only tires will provide the best handling and cornering experience. I am constantly amazed that the narrow 19" tires on my AGT handle as well as they do. Then I remember the low center of gravity due to the heavier battery. I fully expect that an AGT with 20" summer tires will handle and corner considerably better than my AGT on 19" all seasons.
 
jedwin said:
I definitely have relatively frequent regrets that I took Lucid up on an in-stock Touring that had all the features I had chosen on the Pure that I ordered, in order to get delivery three months sooner. (I was eager… you know the feeling!)

Even on the 2025 Touring with the motor-mount dampening, the front motor whine is very present, and like the OP, I’m rather sensitive to noise. Yes, I’ve gotten used to it, but I still often wish it wasn’t there. I’m also an efficiency freak, so I miss the 10-15% efficiency boost I would have gotten with the Pure.

The one benefit/justification for the Touring in my case, is that having AWD will definitely help a lot if/when I sell it up here in Maine. And I figure there may be some edge case moments in either snow or rain when the AWD comes in handy for me too. (I believed the Natick sales folks when they said the RWD is fine in coastal New England snow, thanks to the weight—not to mention the fact that plowing is so efficient that there’s hardly ever more than a couple inches of snow on the roads, even during a storm—but for many buyers up this way, not having AWD would be a deal killer).

I’m still a happy camper, but if I could do it again, I would wait for that Pure to be built.
Click to expand...
I actually see slightly better efficiency numbers on this 26 Touring over my 24 Pure. Guess that heat pump made a difference.
 
Cabonzhp said:
I actually see slightly better efficiency numbers on this 26 Touring over my 24 Pure. Guess that heat pump made a difference.
Click to expand...
Interestingly, the Lucid Tracker stats show the Touring with higher overall efficiency as well, which I find surprising, of the numbers are relatively representative.
 

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doubletwist said:
Interestingly, the Lucid Tracker stats show the Touring with higher overall efficiency as well, which I find surprising, of the numbers are relatively representative.
Click to expand...
People drive differently.
 
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