8 Days, 945 Miles

[copper]

I would have posted my impressions earlier, but I‘m having too much fun.

TL;DR:

1. I absolutely love this car.
2. It is pretty much everything I’d hoped for.
3. The only issues so far have been very minor.
4. I seek out every single flimsy excuse to drive that I can come up with.

The Full Shebang:

Performance

The good:

• This car rips. Every drive mode is an immediate well of torque, and sprint just flies in ways that reliably induce giggles.
• Acceleration is much more intense at speed. Going from 60->omfglolfast feels significantly more exciting than a standing start. I <3 long on-ramps.
• I’ve found I have to restrain myself from going much faster than I’m used to in normal driving (our other car takes much more encouragement to pick up the pace). It has taken time to recalibrate my motor neurons that control the accelerator.
• As I’ve settled in, the handling continues to impress more and more. Even on the 19’s I’ve found myself very happy with carving down back roads; understeer only rears its head if you come in too hot, so decelerate early into a turn and then use the neutrality of the suspension to your advantage as you power out.
• Interestingly, the high regen mode has been an excellent way to drive 7/10ths on back roads. Brakes are rarely used, but very solid when needed with little fade.
• The car inspires so much confidence when driving that I’ve had to make a conscious effort to not get over confident!
• Coming back to the wheels, I really have to say the 19’s are a joy to drive on. Highway cruising is super smooth, it takes potholes beautifully well, and my wife loves to ride in it. She was skeptical of taking road trips in it until we drove together and now she’s converted.

Gripes: none, nada, zip, zero

Note: The turning radius is not too large for the size of the car, but is larger than you think based on the handling. Before making a tight U-turn try it on an empty road a few times to get a feel for the space required. If you don’t you may have to 3-point a busy road while being totally embarrassed.

Comfort

The good:

• I love the seats. There are better ones (S-class for example) but not by much. We often perceive seats as being better due to softness of leather or more organic lines, but the reality is the Lucid’s adjustability more than closes the gap. If you really must have plush, then don’t get the Air. If you want great comfort, support and adjustment range, the Air is your car.
• The massage is excellent, especially the deep setting.
• Thigh support goes out a long ways and is a huge deal for me. I’m very happy with it (this is one thing my E-class did very poorly)
• The headrest has a surprisingly large range in/out (though not up/down). It is adjusted via software and can be saved to your profile.
• That huge windshield is something I thought I’d dislike, but…I like it. I am very light sensitive but the tinting cuts the glare down massively and I’ve not once found myself getting eye strain. This was a big surprise!
• Also, the windshield has virtually zero UV (I physically verified this) and doesn’t transmit heat that much. While the interior can get fairly warm in the sun, I’ve never felt the glass made me uncomfortable - only the air temperature.

Gripes:

• I do wish the lumbar support was a bit more aggressive and I’d swear the steering wheel on the pro-production DE-P in Valley Fair mall had further extension out.
• The air vents take a bit of use before you know how to get a lot of airflow on your face during a hot day. That aside, no complaints.

Infotainment

The good:

• On day one I set up the mobile key and never looked back. Only a few times have I ever had the handles not present promptly, and it turned out that my RFID blocking wallet was the culprit (it sits between my phone and the outside of my pants pocket). Adjusting so the phone isn’t blocked means the handles usually present within a moment of walking up.
• The pilot panel is very responsive and controls are snappy. I’ve gotten fairly used to the layout and it requires little attention to use even while driving.
• The glass cockpit (upper screen) is very clear, but slower to act when I switch apps (nav to music for example).
• TTL (time to load) is decently quick if you put your foot on the brake when you get in. I‘ve rarely found myself waiting for it to catch up, and usually only 10-15 seconds after I’m ready to go.

Gripes:

• I wish the nav would remember the zoom, 2D and north-up settings for both screens. I hate hate hate 3D heading-up…though I‘ve grudgingly accepted it for now.
• The upper screen really does need a speed boost. Switching apps it too slow, but once in the app you selected it is nicely responsive.
• The design mechanic of swiping between screens I find unnecessary and overthought. Frankly, I’d like to have nav up top and music below, or vice-versa. It isn’t bad per se, just not ideal.
• Mirror cameras take a moment to come on when you turn on the indicator. I’d like these to come on faster but it doesn’t pose an issue.
• I would love to have a map screen on the right hand side of the gauge cluster at all times. My E-class and this and Ioved having a way to see the road and traffic at all times no matter what else was going on.

The App

The good:

• The iOS app is clean and very easy to use
• There’s an Apple Watch app! It’s very well done too
• When the car is connected and awake actions happen very quickly. The frunk opens in only a moment for example and it responds like the key fob is controlling it.
• I use the climate control all the time to warm the car in the morning and cool down in the afternoon.

Gripes:

• The car takes a long time to wake from sleep and any Siri Shortcuts or actions will time out unless the car is awake. If the car is asleep, the Apple Watch app simply says “unable to connect to vehicle” - callbacks and timeouts are a pain, but this should be fixable.
• (Forgot to add before posting) The app command to open the frunk can take a bit of time, even when the handles have presented. This is the only time I’ve ever considered going to the fob - I’d love to see the app use BTLE instead to open the car when mobile key has connected.
• You have to open the climate control in the app to see the internal temp, but can see the outside temp in the main screen. Why?
• Turning on the climate control will sometimes take a few tries if the car has just woken up (ie: press the button a few times until you see the climate is on)
• Unless I’m missing it, you cannot set the climate control to be on for a longer duration in the app, ala Dog Mode. There’s no countdown to tell you how long the climate will be maintained and you can’t see what is active from the main screen.

Range

The good:

• So far I’ve been averaging 3.5mi/kWh or better on most runs when I’m not going “punch it, chewie!” for every onramp on the 280, but still driving relatively quick at ~80mph on the freeway.
• If I’m out having fun it’s more like 2.8. Or worse if I’m having a lot of fun. Worth it.
• I’ve had over 4 multiple times and feel I could manage that on a road trip at <75mph if I really chill out for the drive.

Gripes: none!

Stereo

My original impressions stand, with one notable exception: when delivered I had almost no bass. I did a full restart of the car and it mostly fixed it. After running some measurements I think there is a slight issue in the system and will be holding off on further testing or impressions until after service takes a look. Once fixed I’ll note here.

Still rocks though.

Quality Control & Other Issues

Thankfully I’ve had only a few problems. The Millbrae team will be fixing these after my car is done with PPF in a week or so.

• The front driver side door and rear passenger side door were slightly off alignment at delivery
• The trunk panels protrude a small amount out from the rear fenders
• As noted, the stereo seems to be missing something in the bass region. My suspicion is likely a DSP reflash or other software issue.
• The front left turn signal would at times throw an error only to clear a few minutes later. However, it came on again and has not gone away.

Yeah, ok this was a lot, but what does it all mean?

I am at this point incredibly happy to have the Air. I’ve been aching for a driver’s car for several years, and now it is here. I‘m dead serious I look for any flimsy excuse to drive (my wife just rolls her eyes at me and tells me to “go play”). Yes, I really did put 945 miles on it in eight days!

The Air is definitely an excellent car for almost any driver. If you must have plush, get an EQS. If you have to have the latest and greatest tesla software features or the supercharger network, get a Model S. If you really need that extra few bits of handling, get a Taycan. Otherwise, get an Air and once you have it you won’t look back.

If Lucid can continue to execute well on their strategic vision even half as well as they executed on this car, they’ll be unstoppable.

I, for one, believe that is more likely to happen than not.

 

[Pete44]

I would have posted my impressions earlier, but I‘m having too much fun.

TL;DR:

1. I absolutely love this car.
2. It is pretty much everything I’d hoped for.
3. The only issues so far have been very minor.
4. I seek out every single flimsy excuse to drive that I can come up with.

The Full Shebang:

Performance

The good:

• This car rips. Every drive mode is an immediate well of torque, and sprint just flies in ways that reliably induce giggles.
• Acceleration is much more intense at speed. Going from 60->omfglolfast feels significantly more exciting than a standing start. I <3 long on-ramps.
• I’ve found I have to restrain myself from going much faster than I’m used to in normal driving (our other car takes much more encouragement to pick up the pace). It has taken time to recalibrate my motor neurons that control the accelerator.
• As I’ve settled in, the handling continues to impress more and more. Even on the 19’s I’ve found myself very happy with carving down back roads; understeer only rears its head if you come in too hot, so decelerate early into a turn and then use the neutrality of the suspension to your advantage as you power out.
• Interestingly, the high regen mode has been an excellent way to drive 7/10ths on back roads. Brakes are rarely used, but very solid when needed with little fade.
• The car inspires so much confidence when driving that I’ve had to make a conscious effort to not get over confident!
• Coming back to the wheels, I really have to say the 19’s are a joy to drive on. Highway cruising is super smooth, it takes potholes beautifully well, and my wife loves to ride in it. She was skeptical of taking road trips in it until we drove together and now she’s converted.

Gripes: none, nada, zip, zero

Note: The turning radius is not too large for the size of the car, but is larger than you think based on the handling. Before making a tight U-turn try it on an empty road a few times to get a feel for the space required. If you don’t you may have to 3-point a busy road while being totally embarrassed.

Comfort

The good:

• I love the seats. There are better ones (S-class for example) but not by much. We often perceive seats as being better due to softness of leather or more organic lines, but the reality is the Lucid’s adjustability more than closes the gap. If you really must have plush, then don’t get the Air. If you want great comfort, support and adjustment range, the Air is your car.
• The massage is excellent, especially the deep setting.
• Thigh support goes out a long ways and is a huge deal for me. I’m very happy with it (this is one thing my E-class did very poorly)
• The headrest has a surprisingly large range in/out (though not up/down). It is adjusted via software and can be saved to your profile.
• That huge windshield is something I thought I’d dislike, but…I like it. I am very light sensitive but the tinting cuts the glare down massively and I’ve not once found myself getting eye strain. This was a big surprise!
• Also, the windshield has virtually zero UV (I physically verified this) and doesn’t transmit heat that much. While the interior can get fairly warm in the sun, I’ve never felt the glass made me uncomfortable - only the air temperature.

Gripes:

• I do wish the lumbar support was a bit more aggressive and I’d swear the steering wheel on the pro-production DE-P in Valley Fair mall had further extension out.
• The air vents take a bit of use before you know how to get a lot of airflow on your face during a hot day. That aside, no complaints.

Infotainment

The good:

• On day one I set up the mobile key and never looked back. Only a few times have I ever had the handles not present promptly, and it turned out that my RFID blocking wallet was the culprit (it sits between my phone and the outside of my pants pocket). Adjusting so the phone isn’t blocked means the handles usually present within a moment of walking up.
• The pilot panel is very responsive and controls are snappy. I’ve gotten fairly used to the layout and it requires little attention to use even while driving.
• The glass cockpit (upper screen) is very clear, but slower to act when I switch apps (nav to music for example).
• TTL (time to load) is decently quick if you put your foot on the brake when you get in. I‘ve rarely found myself waiting for it to catch up, and usually only 10-15 seconds after I’m ready to go.

Gripes:

• I wish the nav would remember the zoom, 2D and north-up settings for both screens. I hate hate hate 3D heading-up…though I‘ve grudgingly accepted it for now.
• The upper screen really does need a speed boost. Switching apps it too slow, but once in the app you selected it is nicely responsive.
• The design mechanic of swiping between screens I find unnecessary and overthought. Frankly, I’d like to have nav up top and music below, or vice-versa. It isn’t bad per se, just not ideal.
• Mirror cameras take a moment to come on when you turn on the indicator. I’d like these to come on faster but it doesn’t pose an issue.
• I would love to have a map screen on the right hand side of the gauge cluster at all times. My E-class and this and Ioved having a way to see the road and traffic at all times no matter what else was going on.

The App

The good:

• The iOS app is clean and very easy to use
• There’s an Apple Watch app! It’s very well done too
• When the car is connected and awake actions happen very quickly. The frunk opens in only a moment for example and it responds like the key fob is controlling it.
• I use the climate control all the time to warm the car in the morning and cool down in the afternoon.

Gripes:

• The car takes a long time to wake from sleep and any Siri Shortcuts or actions will time out unless the car is awake. If the car is asleep, the Apple Watch app simply says “unable to connect to vehicle” - callbacks and timeouts are a pain, but this should be fixable.
• (Forgot to add before posting) The app command to open the frunk can take a bit of time, even when the handles have presented. This is the only time I’ve ever considered going to the fob - I’d love to see the app use BTLE instead to open the car when mobile key has connected.
• You have to open the climate control in the app to see the internal temp, but can see the outside temp in the main screen. Why?
• Turning on the climate control will sometimes take a few tries if the car has just woken up (ie: press the button a few times until you see the climate is on)
• Unless I’m missing it, you cannot set the climate control to be on for a longer duration in the app, ala Dog Mode. There’s no countdown to tell you how long the climate will be maintained and you can’t see what is active from the main screen.

Range

The good:

• So far I’ve been averaging 3.5mi/kWh or better on most runs when I’m not going “punch it, chewie!” for every onramp on the 280, but still driving relatively quick at ~80mph on the freeway.
• If I’m out having fun it’s more like 2.8. Or worse if I’m having a lot of fun. Worth it.
• I’ve had over 4 multiple times and feel I could manage that on a road trip at <75mph if I really chill out for the drive.

Gripes: none!

Stereo

My original impressions stand, with one notable exception: when delivered I had almost no bass. I did a full restart of the car and it mostly fixed it. After running some measurements I think there is a slight issue in the system and will be holding off on further testing or impressions until after service takes a look. Once fixed I’ll note here.

Still rocks though.

Quality Control & Other Issues

Thankfully I’ve had only a few problems. The Millbrae team will be fixing these after my car is done with PPF in a week or so.

• The front driver side door and rear passenger side door were slightly off alignment at delivery
• The trunk panels protrude a small amount out from the rear fenders
• As noted, the stereo seems to be missing something in the bass region. My suspicion is likely a DSP reflash or other software issue.
• The front left turn signal would at times throw an error only to clear a few minutes later. However, it came on again and has not gone away.

Yeah, ok this was a lot, but what does it all mean?

I am at this point incredibly happy to have the Air. I’ve been aching for a driver’s car for several years, and now it is here. I‘m dead serious I look for any flimsy excuse to drive (my wife just rolls her eyes at me and tells me to “go play”). Yes, I really did put 945 miles on it in eight days!

The Air is definitely an excellent car for almost any driver. If you must have plush, get an EQS. If you have to have the latest and greatest tesla software features or the supercharger network, get a Model S. If you really need that extra few bits of handling, get a Taycan. Otherwise, get an Air and once you have it you won’t look back.

If Lucid can continue to execute well on their strategic vision even half as well as they executed on this car, they’ll be unstoppable.

I, for one, believe that is more likely to happen than not.

Great review. Agree with almost all your comments. I tend to open the app on my way to the car so it wakes up when I get there. I had the left turn signal problem that kept coming and going. They came to my house and fixed it in 5 minutes. It had to be reseated.

 

[copper]

Great review. Agree with almost all your comments. I tend to open the app on my way to the car so it wakes up when I get there. I had the left turn signal problem that kept coming and going. They came to my house and fixed it in 5 minutes. It had to be reseated.

Glad you enjoyed!

Good to know about the signal - figured it could be an easy fix.

For the app, I’ll try that next time. When leaving home I usually have already woken it to set the climate, but yesterday when I hit up the butcher (Pape Meats in Millbrae) o had to stand there for ~30sec for the app to connect and open the frunk, even though the handles had presented. Minor annoyance, but fixable.

 

[Bunnylebowski]

I would have posted my impressions earlier, but I‘m having too much fun.

TL;DR:

1. I absolutely love this car.
2. It is pretty much everything I’d hoped for.
3. The only issues so far have been very minor.
4. I seek out every single flimsy excuse to drive that I can come up with.

The Full Shebang:

Performance

The good:

• This car rips. Every drive mode is an immediate well of torque, and sprint just flies in ways that reliably induce giggles.
• Acceleration is much more intense at speed. Going from 60->omfglolfast feels significantly more exciting than a standing start. I <3 long on-ramps.
• I’ve found I have to restrain myself from going much faster than I’m used to in normal driving (our other car takes much more encouragement to pick up the pace). It has taken time to recalibrate my motor neurons that control the accelerator.
• As I’ve settled in, the handling continues to impress more and more. Even on the 19’s I’ve found myself very happy with carving down back roads; understeer only rears its head if you come in too hot, so decelerate early into a turn and then use the neutrality of the suspension to your advantage as you power out.
• Interestingly, the high regen mode has been an excellent way to drive 7/10ths on back roads. Brakes are rarely used, but very solid when needed with little fade.
• The car inspires so much confidence when driving that I’ve had to make a conscious effort to not get over confident!
• Coming back to the wheels, I really have to say the 19’s are a joy to drive on. Highway cruising is super smooth, it takes potholes beautifully well, and my wife loves to ride in it. She was skeptical of taking road trips in it until we drove together and now she’s converted.

Gripes: none, nada, zip, zero

Note: The turning radius is not too large for the size of the car, but is larger than you think based on the handling. Before making a tight U-turn try it on an empty road a few times to get a feel for the space required. If you don’t you may have to 3-point a busy road while being totally embarrassed.

Comfort

The good:

• I love the seats. There are better ones (S-class for example) but not by much. We often perceive seats as being better due to softness of leather or more organic lines, but the reality is the Lucid’s adjustability more than closes the gap. If you really must have plush, then don’t get the Air. If you want great comfort, support and adjustment range, the Air is your car.
• The massage is excellent, especially the deep setting.
• Thigh support goes out a long ways and is a huge deal for me. I’m very happy with it (this is one thing my E-class did very poorly)
• The headrest has a surprisingly large range in/out (though not up/down). It is adjusted via software and can be saved to your profile.
• That huge windshield is something I thought I’d dislike, but…I like it. I am very light sensitive but the tinting cuts the glare down massively and I’ve not once found myself getting eye strain. This was a big surprise!
• Also, the windshield has virtually zero UV (I physically verified this) and doesn’t transmit heat that much. While the interior can get fairly warm in the sun, I’ve never felt the glass made me uncomfortable - only the air temperature.

Gripes:

• I do wish the lumbar support was a bit more aggressive and I’d swear the steering wheel on the pro-production DE-P in Valley Fair mall had further extension out.
• The air vents take a bit of use before you know how to get a lot of airflow on your face during a hot day. That aside, no complaints.

Infotainment

The good:

• On day one I set up the mobile key and never looked back. Only a few times have I ever had the handles not present promptly, and it turned out that my RFID blocking wallet was the culprit (it sits between my phone and the outside of my pants pocket). Adjusting so the phone isn’t blocked means the handles usually present within a moment of walking up.
• The pilot panel is very responsive and controls are snappy. I’ve gotten fairly used to the layout and it requires little attention to use even while driving.
• The glass cockpit (upper screen) is very clear, but slower to act when I switch apps (nav to music for example).
• TTL (time to load) is decently quick if you put your foot on the brake when you get in. I‘ve rarely found myself waiting for it to catch up, and usually only 10-15 seconds after I’m ready to go.

Gripes:

• I wish the nav would remember the zoom, 2D and north-up settings for both screens. I hate hate hate 3D heading-up…though I‘ve grudgingly accepted it for now.
• The upper screen really does need a speed boost. Switching apps it too slow, but once in the app you selected it is nicely responsive.
• The design mechanic of swiping between screens I find unnecessary and overthought. Frankly, I’d like to have nav up top and music below, or vice-versa. It isn’t bad per se, just not ideal.
• Mirror cameras take a moment to come on when you turn on the indicator. I’d like these to come on faster but it doesn’t pose an issue.
• I would love to have a map screen on the right hand side of the gauge cluster at all times. My E-class and this and Ioved having a way to see the road and traffic at all times no matter what else was going on.

The App

The good:

• The iOS app is clean and very easy to use
• There’s an Apple Watch app! It’s very well done too
• When the car is connected and awake actions happen very quickly. The frunk opens in only a moment for example and it responds like the key fob is controlling it.
• I use the climate control all the time to warm the car in the morning and cool down in the afternoon.

Gripes:

• The car takes a long time to wake from sleep and any Siri Shortcuts or actions will time out unless the car is awake. If the car is asleep, the Apple Watch app simply says “unable to connect to vehicle” - callbacks and timeouts are a pain, but this should be fixable.
• (Forgot to add before posting) The app command to open the frunk can take a bit of time, even when the handles have presented. This is the only time I’ve ever considered going to the fob - I’d love to see the app use BTLE instead to open the car when mobile key has connected.
• You have to open the climate control in the app to see the internal temp, but can see the outside temp in the main screen. Why?
• Turning on the climate control will sometimes take a few tries if the car has just woken up (ie: press the button a few times until you see the climate is on)
• Unless I’m missing it, you cannot set the climate control to be on for a longer duration in the app, ala Dog Mode. There’s no countdown to tell you how long the climate will be maintained and you can’t see what is active from the main screen.

Range

The good:

• So far I’ve been averaging 3.5mi/kWh or better on most runs when I’m not going “punch it, chewie!” for every onramp on the 280, but still driving relatively quick at ~80mph on the freeway.
• If I’m out having fun it’s more like 2.8. Or worse if I’m having a lot of fun. Worth it.
• I’ve had over 4 multiple times and feel I could manage that on a road trip at <75mph if I really chill out for the drive.

Gripes: none!

Stereo

My original impressions stand, with one notable exception: when delivered I had almost no bass. I did a full restart of the car and it mostly fixed it. After running some measurements I think there is a slight issue in the system and will be holding off on further testing or impressions until after service takes a look. Once fixed I’ll note here.

Still rocks though.

Quality Control & Other Issues

Thankfully I’ve had only a few problems. The Millbrae team will be fixing these after my car is done with PPF in a week or so.

• The front driver side door and rear passenger side door were slightly off alignment at delivery
• The trunk panels protrude a small amount out from the rear fenders
• As noted, the stereo seems to be missing something in the bass region. My suspicion is likely a DSP reflash or other software issue.
• The front left turn signal would at times throw an error only to clear a few minutes later. However, it came on again and has not gone away.

Yeah, ok this was a lot, but what does it all mean?

I am at this point incredibly happy to have the Air. I’ve been aching for a driver’s car for several years, and now it is here. I‘m dead serious I look for any flimsy excuse to drive (my wife just rolls her eyes at me and tells me to “go play”). Yes, I really did put 945 miles on it in eight days!

The Air is definitely an excellent car for almost any driver. If you must have plush, get an EQS. If you have to have the latest and greatest tesla software features or the supercharger network, get a Model S. If you really need that extra few bits of handling, get a Taycan. Otherwise, get an Air and once you have it you won’t look back.

If Lucid can continue to execute well on their strategic vision even half as well as they executed on this car, they’ll be unstoppable.

I, for one, believe that is more likely to happen than not.

Agree with all of that 100%, accurate assessment. Now I just want mine back from service since I probably caused the leak they were checking out all by my own dumb self.

 

[copper]

Agree with all of that 100%, accurate assessment. Now I just want mine back from service since I probably caused the leak they were checking out all by my own dumb self.

Hey, now we all know to be careful about that! You’re doing us a service…

My car will be out for a week for PPF starting Monday and then in for several days at service right after I get it back. I’ll have almost two weeks without a lucid…those will be dark days.

 

[digiboxer]

Glad you enjoyed!

Good to know about the signal - figured it could be an easy fix.

For the app, I’ll try that next time. When leaving home I usually have already woken it to set the climate, but yesterday when I hit up the butcher (Pape Meats in Millbrae) o had to stand there for ~30sec for the app to connect and open the frunk, even though the handles had presented. Minor annoyance, but fixable.

Love your enthusiasm!

 

[MorganB]

Thanks for the great review!

 

[Drendino]

Very enjoyable review. Thank you.

 

[Demosthenes]

Great review thank you!

 

[hydbob]

Glad you enjoyed!

Good to know about the signal - figured it could be an easy fix.

For the app, I’ll try that next time. When leaving home I usually have already woken it to set the climate, but yesterday when I hit up the butcher (Pape Meats in Millbrae) o had to stand there for ~30sec for the app to connect and open the frunk, even though the handles had presented. Minor annoyance, but fixable.

So instead of just pushing the trunk button you wanted to do it through the watch app?

 

[Bill55]

I would have posted my impressions earlier, but I‘m having too much fun.

TL;DR:

1. I absolutely love this car.
2. It is pretty much everything I’d hoped for.
3. The only issues so far have been very minor.
4. I seek out every single flimsy excuse to drive that I can come up with.

The Full Shebang:

Performance

The good:

• This car rips. Every drive mode is an immediate well of torque, and sprint just flies in ways that reliably induce giggles.
• Acceleration is much more intense at speed. Going from 60->omfglolfast feels significantly more exciting than a standing start. I <3 long on-ramps.
• I’ve found I have to restrain myself from going much faster than I’m used to in normal driving (our other car takes much more encouragement to pick up the pace). It has taken time to recalibrate my motor neurons that control the accelerator.
• As I’ve settled in, the handling continues to impress more and more. Even on the 19’s I’ve found myself very happy with carving down back roads; understeer only rears its head if you come in too hot, so decelerate early into a turn and then use the neutrality of the suspension to your advantage as you power out.
• Interestingly, the high regen mode has been an excellent way to drive 7/10ths on back roads. Brakes are rarely used, but very solid when needed with little fade.
• The car inspires so much confidence when driving that I’ve had to make a conscious effort to not get over confident!
• Coming back to the wheels, I really have to say the 19’s are a joy to drive on. Highway cruising is super smooth, it takes potholes beautifully well, and my wife loves to ride in it. She was skeptical of taking road trips in it until we drove together and now she’s converted.

Gripes: none, nada, zip, zero

Note: The turning radius is not too large for the size of the car, but is larger than you think based on the handling. Before making a tight U-turn try it on an empty road a few times to get a feel for the space required. If you don’t you may have to 3-point a busy road while being totally embarrassed.

Comfort

The good:

• I love the seats. There are better ones (S-class for example) but not by much. We often perceive seats as being better due to softness of leather or more organic lines, but the reality is the Lucid’s adjustability more than closes the gap. If you really must have plush, then don’t get the Air. If you want great comfort, support and adjustment range, the Air is your car.
• The massage is excellent, especially the deep setting.
• Thigh support goes out a long ways and is a huge deal for me. I’m very happy with it (this is one thing my E-class did very poorly)
• The headrest has a surprisingly large range in/out (though not up/down). It is adjusted via software and can be saved to your profile.
• That huge windshield is something I thought I’d dislike, but…I like it. I am very light sensitive but the tinting cuts the glare down massively and I’ve not once found myself getting eye strain. This was a big surprise!
• Also, the windshield has virtually zero UV (I physically verified this) and doesn’t transmit heat that much. While the interior can get fairly warm in the sun, I’ve never felt the glass made me uncomfortable - only the air temperature.

Gripes:

• I do wish the lumbar support was a bit more aggressive and I’d swear the steering wheel on the pro-production DE-P in Valley Fair mall had further extension out.
• The air vents take a bit of use before you know how to get a lot of airflow on your face during a hot day. That aside, no complaints.

Infotainment

The good:

• On day one I set up the mobile key and never looked back. Only a few times have I ever had the handles not present promptly, and it turned out that my RFID blocking wallet was the culprit (it sits between my phone and the outside of my pants pocket). Adjusting so the phone isn’t blocked means the handles usually present within a moment of walking up.
• The pilot panel is very responsive and controls are snappy. I’ve gotten fairly used to the layout and it requires little attention to use even while driving.
• The glass cockpit (upper screen) is very clear, but slower to act when I switch apps (nav to music for example).
• TTL (time to load) is decently quick if you put your foot on the brake when you get in. I‘ve rarely found myself waiting for it to catch up, and usually only 10-15 seconds after I’m ready to go.

Gripes:

• I wish the nav would remember the zoom, 2D and north-up settings for both screens. I hate hate hate 3D heading-up…though I‘ve grudgingly accepted it for now.
• The upper screen really does need a speed boost. Switching apps it too slow, but once in the app you selected it is nicely responsive.
• The design mechanic of swiping between screens I find unnecessary and overthought. Frankly, I’d like to have nav up top and music below, or vice-versa. It isn’t bad per se, just not ideal.
• Mirror cameras take a moment to come on when you turn on the indicator. I’d like these to come on faster but it doesn’t pose an issue.
• I would love to have a map screen on the right hand side of the gauge cluster at all times. My E-class and this and Ioved having a way to see the road and traffic at all times no matter what else was going on.

The App

The good:

• The iOS app is clean and very easy to use
• There’s an Apple Watch app! It’s very well done too
• When the car is connected and awake actions happen very quickly. The frunk opens in only a moment for example and it responds like the key fob is controlling it.
• I use the climate control all the time to warm the car in the morning and cool down in the afternoon.

Gripes:

• The car takes a long time to wake from sleep and any Siri Shortcuts or actions will time out unless the car is awake. If the car is asleep, the Apple Watch app simply says “unable to connect to vehicle” - callbacks and timeouts are a pain, but this should be fixable.
• (Forgot to add before posting) The app command to open the frunk can take a bit of time, even when the handles have presented. This is the only time I’ve ever considered going to the fob - I’d love to see the app use BTLE instead to open the car when mobile key has connected.
• You have to open the climate control in the app to see the internal temp, but can see the outside temp in the main screen. Why?
• Turning on the climate control will sometimes take a few tries if the car has just woken up (ie: press the button a few times until you see the climate is on)
• Unless I’m missing it, you cannot set the climate control to be on for a longer duration in the app, ala Dog Mode. There’s no countdown to tell you how long the climate will be maintained and you can’t see what is active from the main screen.

Range

The good:

• So far I’ve been averaging 3.5mi/kWh or better on most runs when I’m not going “punch it, chewie!” for every onramp on the 280, but still driving relatively quick at ~80mph on the freeway.
• If I’m out having fun it’s more like 2.8. Or worse if I’m having a lot of fun. Worth it.
• I’ve had over 4 multiple times and feel I could manage that on a road trip at <75mph if I really chill out for the drive.

Gripes: none!

Stereo

My original impressions stand, with one notable exception: when delivered I had almost no bass. I did a full restart of the car and it mostly fixed it. After running some measurements I think there is a slight issue in the system and will be holding off on further testing or impressions until after service takes a look. Once fixed I’ll note here.

Still rocks though.

Quality Control & Other Issues

Thankfully I’ve had only a few problems. The Millbrae team will be fixing these after my car is done with PPF in a week or so.

• The front driver side door and rear passenger side door were slightly off alignment at delivery
• The trunk panels protrude a small amount out from the rear fenders
• As noted, the stereo seems to be missing something in the bass region. My suspicion is likely a DSP reflash or other software issue.
• The front left turn signal would at times throw an error only to clear a few minutes later. However, it came on again and has not gone away.

Yeah, ok this was a lot, but what does it all mean?

I am at this point incredibly happy to have the Air. I’ve been aching for a driver’s car for several years, and now it is here. I‘m dead serious I look for any flimsy excuse to drive (my wife just rolls her eyes at me and tells me to “go play”). Yes, I really did put 945 miles on it in eight days!

The Air is definitely an excellent car for almost any driver. If you must have plush, get an EQS. If you have to have the latest and greatest tesla software features or the supercharger network, get a Model S. If you really need that extra few bits of handling, get a Taycan. Otherwise, get an Air and once you have it you won’t look back.

If Lucid can continue to execute well on their strategic vision even half as well as they executed on this car, they’ll be unstoppable.

I, for one, believe that is more likely to happen than not.

• When the car is connected and awake actions happen very quickly. The frunk opens in only a moment for example and it responds like the key fob is controlling it.

Maybe you use the car differently than me, but I mostly want to unlock the car or open the frunk or trunk when the car is asleep. The app sucks for this. My experience is whether using the fob, or a phone, the Fob from a Kia I rented last week is better than the Lucid. Insert Honda, Toyota, GM, Ford, Hyundai, BMW, VW…….

 

[copper]

So instead of just pushing the trunk button you wanted to do it through the watch app?

I’d actually prefer to use Siri. My E-class wagon had a hands free lift gate and I loved that, and two armfuls of Trader Joe’s bags makes it a bit of a pain

 

[copper]

• When the car is connected and awake actions happen very quickly. The frunk opens in only a moment for example and it responds like the key fob is controlling it.

Maybe you use the car differently than me, but I mostly want to unlock the car or open the frunk or trunk when the car is asleep. The app sucks for this. My experience is whether using the fob, or a phone, the Fob from a Kia I rented last week is better than the Lucid. Insert Honda, Toyota, GM, Ford, Hyundai, BMW, VW…….

Agreed that the app is way too slow when the car is asleep. I frankly haven’t done enough shopping over the last week to decide if the app slowness will overcome my reluctance to use a fob.

 

[Tesla2.0]

I would have posted my impressions earlier, but I‘m having too much fun.

TL;DR:

1. I absolutely love this car.
2. It is pretty much everything I’d hoped for.
3. The only issues so far have been very minor.
4. I seek out every single flimsy excuse to drive that I can come up with.

The Full Shebang:

Performance

The good:

• This car rips. Every drive mode is an immediate well of torque, and sprint just flies in ways that reliably induce giggles.
• Acceleration is much more intense at speed. Going from 60->omfglolfast feels significantly more exciting than a standing start. I <3 long on-ramps.
• I’ve found I have to restrain myself from going much faster than I’m used to in normal driving (our other car takes much more encouragement to pick up the pace). It has taken time to recalibrate my motor neurons that control the accelerator.
• As I’ve settled in, the handling continues to impress more and more. Even on the 19’s I’ve found myself very happy with carving down back roads; understeer only rears its head if you come in too hot, so decelerate early into a turn and then use the neutrality of the suspension to your advantage as you power out.
• Interestingly, the high regen mode has been an excellent way to drive 7/10ths on back roads. Brakes are rarely used, but very solid when needed with little fade.
• The car inspires so much confidence when driving that I’ve had to make a conscious effort to not get over confident!
• Coming back to the wheels, I really have to say the 19’s are a joy to drive on. Highway cruising is super smooth, it takes potholes beautifully well, and my wife loves to ride in it. She was skeptical of taking road trips in it until we drove together and now she’s converted.

Gripes: none, nada, zip, zero

Note: The turning radius is not too large for the size of the car, but is larger than you think based on the handling. Before making a tight U-turn try it on an empty road a few times to get a feel for the space required. If you don’t you may have to 3-point a busy road while being totally embarrassed.

Comfort

The good:

• I love the seats. There are better ones (S-class for example) but not by much. We often perceive seats as being better due to softness of leather or more organic lines, but the reality is the Lucid’s adjustability more than closes the gap. If you really must have plush, then don’t get the Air. If you want great comfort, support and adjustment range, the Air is your car.
• The massage is excellent, especially the deep setting.
• Thigh support goes out a long ways and is a huge deal for me. I’m very happy with it (this is one thing my E-class did very poorly)
• The headrest has a surprisingly large range in/out (though not up/down). It is adjusted via software and can be saved to your profile.
• That huge windshield is something I thought I’d dislike, but…I like it. I am very light sensitive but the tinting cuts the glare down massively and I’ve not once found myself getting eye strain. This was a big surprise!
• Also, the windshield has virtually zero UV (I physically verified this) and doesn’t transmit heat that much. While the interior can get fairly warm in the sun, I’ve never felt the glass made me uncomfortable - only the air temperature.

Gripes:

• I do wish the lumbar support was a bit more aggressive and I’d swear the steering wheel on the pro-production DE-P in Valley Fair mall had further extension out.
• The air vents take a bit of use before you know how to get a lot of airflow on your face during a hot day. That aside, no complaints.

Infotainment

The good:

• On day one I set up the mobile key and never looked back. Only a few times have I ever had the handles not present promptly, and it turned out that my RFID blocking wallet was the culprit (it sits between my phone and the outside of my pants pocket). Adjusting so the phone isn’t blocked means the handles usually present within a moment of walking up.
• The pilot panel is very responsive and controls are snappy. I’ve gotten fairly used to the layout and it requires little attention to use even while driving.
• The glass cockpit (upper screen) is very clear, but slower to act when I switch apps (nav to music for example).
• TTL (time to load) is decently quick if you put your foot on the brake when you get in. I‘ve rarely found myself waiting for it to catch up, and usually only 10-15 seconds after I’m ready to go.

Gripes:

• I wish the nav would remember the zoom, 2D and north-up settings for both screens. I hate hate hate 3D heading-up…though I‘ve grudgingly accepted it for now.
• The upper screen really does need a speed boost. Switching apps it too slow, but once in the app you selected it is nicely responsive.
• The design mechanic of swiping between screens I find unnecessary and overthought. Frankly, I’d like to have nav up top and music below, or vice-versa. It isn’t bad per se, just not ideal.
• Mirror cameras take a moment to come on when you turn on the indicator. I’d like these to come on faster but it doesn’t pose an issue.
• I would love to have a map screen on the right hand side of the gauge cluster at all times. My E-class and this and Ioved having a way to see the road and traffic at all times no matter what else was going on.

The App

The good:

• The iOS app is clean and very easy to use
• There’s an Apple Watch app! It’s very well done too
• When the car is connected and awake actions happen very quickly. The frunk opens in only a moment for example and it responds like the key fob is controlling it.
• I use the climate control all the time to warm the car in the morning and cool down in the afternoon.

Gripes:

• The car takes a long time to wake from sleep and any Siri Shortcuts or actions will time out unless the car is awake. If the car is asleep, the Apple Watch app simply says “unable to connect to vehicle” - callbacks and timeouts are a pain, but this should be fixable.
• (Forgot to add before posting) The app command to open the frunk can take a bit of time, even when the handles have presented. This is the only time I’ve ever considered going to the fob - I’d love to see the app use BTLE instead to open the car when mobile key has connected.
• You have to open the climate control in the app to see the internal temp, but can see the outside temp in the main screen. Why?
• Turning on the climate control will sometimes take a few tries if the car has just woken up (ie: press the button a few times until you see the climate is on)
• Unless I’m missing it, you cannot set the climate control to be on for a longer duration in the app, ala Dog Mode. There’s no countdown to tell you how long the climate will be maintained and you can’t see what is active from the main screen.

Range

The good:

• So far I’ve been averaging 3.5mi/kWh or better on most runs when I’m not going “punch it, chewie!” for every onramp on the 280, but still driving relatively quick at ~80mph on the freeway.
• If I’m out having fun it’s more like 2.8. Or worse if I’m having a lot of fun. Worth it.
• I’ve had over 4 multiple times and feel I could manage that on a road trip at <75mph if I really chill out for the drive.

Gripes: none!

Stereo

My original impressions stand, with one notable exception: when delivered I had almost no bass. I did a full restart of the car and it mostly fixed it. After running some measurements I think there is a slight issue in the system and will be holding off on further testing or impressions until after service takes a look. Once fixed I’ll note here.

Still rocks though.

Quality Control & Other Issues

Thankfully I’ve had only a few problems. The Millbrae team will be fixing these after my car is done with PPF in a week or so.

• The front driver side door and rear passenger side door were slightly off alignment at delivery
• The trunk panels protrude a small amount out from the rear fenders
• As noted, the stereo seems to be missing something in the bass region. My suspicion is likely a DSP reflash or other software issue.
• The front left turn signal would at times throw an error only to clear a few minutes later. However, it came on again and has not gone away.

Yeah, ok this was a lot, but what does it all mean?

I am at this point incredibly happy to have the Air. I’ve been aching for a driver’s car for several years, and now it is here. I‘m dead serious I look for any flimsy excuse to drive (my wife just rolls her eyes at me and tells me to “go play”). Yes, I really did put 945 miles on it in eight days!

The Air is definitely an excellent car for almost any driver. If you must have plush, get an EQS. If you have to have the latest and greatest tesla software features or the supercharger network, get a Model S. If you really need that extra few bits of handling, get a Taycan. Otherwise, get an Air and once you have it you won’t look back.

If Lucid can continue to execute well on their strategic vision even half as well as they executed on this car, they’ll be unstoppable.

I, for one, believe that is more likely to happen than not.

I agree with everything. This is the most comfortable fun drive I ever owned. I run errand for my brother around town all day last weekend, my wife was like, I’m just looking for excuses to go out. I cannot express how much I’m pleased with this car, and this is my first EV, after trying out every model of Tesla except Roadster in the past 3 years. What got me to buy this car is the range, the design. Now impressed mostly about comfort and handling I don’t find any EV on the road is good looking except Air and Model S. So instead of getting a SUV, I just reserve another AP for my wife as its back seat room feel just like SUV anyway. We may have to wait 1 year to get this trim arrive. That is ok. I am looking forward for Gravity.

 

[DJL]

Thanks for the detailed review. It really has upped my drooling as I patiently wait for mine to arrive. Sigh!

 

[Bbq9]

I’d actually prefer to use Siri. My E-class wagon had a hands free lift gate and I loved that, and two armfuls of Trader Joe’s bags makes it a bit of a pain

Have you tried the shortcuts?
if the car is awake these should be really quick (I am still creating a voice assistant habit - that I am not sure I want)

 

[copper]

Have you tried the shortcuts?
if the car is awake these should be really quick (I am still creating a voice assistant habit - that I am not sure I want)

Yep, I set up shortcuts for everything. The main issue is they’ll time out often when the car is asleep. If the car is awake it’s great, but it takes upwards of 20-30sec to wake and be able to respond to a request.

The current infotainment is running inside a VM on the in-car computer, so I’m hoping once it runs natively that waking can be much faster and thus commands won’t time out.

 

[hydbob]

How responsive are other cars from deep sleep? Tesla also takes 20 seconds+ to wake

 

[joec]

Yep, I set up shortcuts for everything. The main issue is they’ll time out often when the car is asleep. If the car is awake it’s great, but it takes upwards of 20-30sec to wake and be able to respond to a request.

The current infotainment is running inside a VM on the in-car computer, so I’m hoping once it runs natively that waking can be much faster and thus commands won’t time out.

Tesla's app had this exact same problem for opening the frunk, etc. when the car was asleep. (They still don't have real shortcuts, just a Home Screen widget.) But they did eventually fix it. So there's hope for Lucid to figure this out.

 

[Bbq9]

Yep, I set up shortcuts for everything. The main issue is they’ll time out often when the car is asleep. If the car is awake it’s great, but it takes upwards of 20-30sec to wake and be able to respond to a request.

The current infotainment is running inside a VM on the in-car computer, so I’m hoping once it runs natively that waking can be much faster and thus commands won’t time out.

I sure hope we are right that they are working on VM to Physical (or maybe “dedicated”) - heck containerised apps shouldn’t perform as poorly as this.

I only asked because I have found Siri / HomeBridge / Alexa all great - once the car is up n awake. But like you the time outs when it is waking suck, and have left me giving up on the watch / voice assistant for some features like opening the trunk / frunk.