Hey everyone!
@Denali_Dane and I "just" got back earlier this month from the most epic Fourth of July Road trip in one of my 2022 Lucid Air Grand Touring's. Even though this is a little belated, I got tied up with things, I couldn’t not share our story and amazement at how well the vehicle performed! Further, my buddy was hosting a huge fireworks blowout at his ranch in Mountain View, AR, which couldn't be missed. Feel free to check out the video of his home fireworks show here.
So here is a bit of a play by play, with pictures where I took them. We left our home in the LA/Riverside area at about 10:30, with two of us and 150+ pounds of luggage. The car was charged to 100% (which displays as 482 miles of range on the display when at the full SOC), and my Odometer was at 66,011. We set the cabin temperature to a perfect 72°F while the car was still charging on our LCHCS to cool the car down without eliminating any range, Apple CarPlay (for me) and Android Auto (for @Denali_Dane) handled our tunes, and Lucid’s Drive Assist steered me hands-free for about 75% of the drive. Over 3,242 miles round-trip. Using a combination of the in-car maps and some pre-planning I did via "A Better Route Planner", which should be a go-to resource for those of us road tripping. We made five outbound EA charging stops and four on the way back (all free, thanks LUCID!), never spending much more than 40 minutes at a charger except when we paused to explore or grab a bite. It felt less like “testing an EV” and more like a ICE road trip where the car just faded into the background.
That was until locals in small towns spotted it, their jaws dropped, and we handed out some of @Denali_Dane ’s homemade stickers while they peppered us with questions.
“What is a Lucid?” “Oh Lucid? Who makes that?”
Honestly, I think I'll just document the first trip from LA to Arkansas for now because it's a ton of info to put in one post, but if anyone has more questions, we'd be happy to answer them!
First Stop - Kingman, Arizona at Electrify America
202 mi on 36 % → 68 % in 17 min
Honestly, this was the worst stop of the entire trip. And made it seem like it was going to take forever. We arrived with a long line at the charger, and everyone was charging to 100% so taking forever. We had the Rally number on from the fun Lucid event at EV fest hosted in Long Beach, which got the car a lot of attention.
Luckily, once we finally did get a charger, it was super fast and easy with the Plug and Charge feature. Worked seamlessly!
Second Stop - Winslow, AZ EA
268 mi on 10 % to 82 % in 39 min
Initially, we got off to a slow charging start, so much so that I contacted @AirDoll to ask her for the 411 (she put my mind at ease, thankfully)! Luckily, the charging speed eventually increased, and we got out of there with the required charge. Don't do the Pizza Hut there, it was nasty... inside and out. Other than that, Walmart was clean, lol.
Third Stop - Albuquerque, NM
277 mi on 10 % → 97 % in 58 min
We ducked into the Love’s truck stop next door for spotless restrooms. The coffee wasn’t quite up to @AirDoll 's (or my own) standards, but the caffeine and on par iced tea got us rolling again. We also took this oprtunity to smoke the first Cigar of the journey, little Italian style Toscano. Tasty with the terrible coffee, lol.
Fourth Stop - Amarillo, TX
265 mi on 10 % → 75 % in 32 min
Still amazed at the range of this vehicle, even after all these years. Racing against the wind!
Fifth Stop - Oklahoma City, OK
359 mi on 10 % → 99 % in 54 min
Well about this time I had to check in with @Halodde to see how his high score was coming along... and turns out I had surpassed his score! We ended up having some lunch at a local eatery (where I unfortunately left my Lucid Hat that came with my vehicle!!)
DESTINATION!!!
We made it in about 1 day and 4 hrs, which I think would have been the same time if we had taken a ICE vehicle!!
With 54% remaining! The trip was an absolute dream. Couldn't ask for anything more!
Hope you enjoyed the little story and pictures!! I'll try and answer any questions people have about range and efficiency as they come. If you made it this far thanks for coming along for the ride!!
@Denali_Dane and I "just" got back earlier this month from the most epic Fourth of July Road trip in one of my 2022 Lucid Air Grand Touring's. Even though this is a little belated, I got tied up with things, I couldn’t not share our story and amazement at how well the vehicle performed! Further, my buddy was hosting a huge fireworks blowout at his ranch in Mountain View, AR, which couldn't be missed. Feel free to check out the video of his home fireworks show here.
So here is a bit of a play by play, with pictures where I took them. We left our home in the LA/Riverside area at about 10:30, with two of us and 150+ pounds of luggage. The car was charged to 100% (which displays as 482 miles of range on the display when at the full SOC), and my Odometer was at 66,011. We set the cabin temperature to a perfect 72°F while the car was still charging on our LCHCS to cool the car down without eliminating any range, Apple CarPlay (for me) and Android Auto (for @Denali_Dane) handled our tunes, and Lucid’s Drive Assist steered me hands-free for about 75% of the drive. Over 3,242 miles round-trip. Using a combination of the in-car maps and some pre-planning I did via "A Better Route Planner", which should be a go-to resource for those of us road tripping. We made five outbound EA charging stops and four on the way back (all free, thanks LUCID!), never spending much more than 40 minutes at a charger except when we paused to explore or grab a bite. It felt less like “testing an EV” and more like a ICE road trip where the car just faded into the background.
That was until locals in small towns spotted it, their jaws dropped, and we handed out some of @Denali_Dane ’s homemade stickers while they peppered us with questions.
“What is a Lucid?” “Oh Lucid? Who makes that?”
Honestly, I think I'll just document the first trip from LA to Arkansas for now because it's a ton of info to put in one post, but if anyone has more questions, we'd be happy to answer them!
First Stop - Kingman, Arizona at Electrify America
202 mi on 36 % → 68 % in 17 min
Honestly, this was the worst stop of the entire trip. And made it seem like it was going to take forever. We arrived with a long line at the charger, and everyone was charging to 100% so taking forever. We had the Rally number on from the fun Lucid event at EV fest hosted in Long Beach, which got the car a lot of attention.
Luckily, once we finally did get a charger, it was super fast and easy with the Plug and Charge feature. Worked seamlessly!
Second Stop - Winslow, AZ EA
268 mi on 10 % to 82 % in 39 min
Initially, we got off to a slow charging start, so much so that I contacted @AirDoll to ask her for the 411 (she put my mind at ease, thankfully)! Luckily, the charging speed eventually increased, and we got out of there with the required charge. Don't do the Pizza Hut there, it was nasty... inside and out. Other than that, Walmart was clean, lol.
Third Stop - Albuquerque, NM
277 mi on 10 % → 97 % in 58 min
We ducked into the Love’s truck stop next door for spotless restrooms. The coffee wasn’t quite up to @AirDoll 's (or my own) standards, but the caffeine and on par iced tea got us rolling again. We also took this oprtunity to smoke the first Cigar of the journey, little Italian style Toscano. Tasty with the terrible coffee, lol.
Fourth Stop - Amarillo, TX
265 mi on 10 % → 75 % in 32 min
Still amazed at the range of this vehicle, even after all these years. Racing against the wind!
Fifth Stop - Oklahoma City, OK
359 mi on 10 % → 99 % in 54 min
Well about this time I had to check in with @Halodde to see how his high score was coming along... and turns out I had surpassed his score! We ended up having some lunch at a local eatery (where I unfortunately left my Lucid Hat that came with my vehicle!!)
DESTINATION!!!
We made it in about 1 day and 4 hrs, which I think would have been the same time if we had taken a ICE vehicle!!
With 54% remaining! The trip was an absolute dream. Couldn't ask for anything more!
Hope you enjoyed the little story and pictures!! I'll try and answer any questions people have about range and efficiency as they come. If you made it this far thanks for coming along for the ride!!
can't count how many times I've played that game.
