Buying a Used Dream Edition Performance in 2024

[CoulombsCruiser]

Yeah it's no longer on the JS Autohaus website either so I suspect it's sold. Given the price - High 50s IIRC - I'm not surprised, it was a great deal if you didn't mind the miles (in the 30s I think so NBD)

That car found a new home with me in NC! Will share some observations from my 500 mile trek back home soon.

 

[scal_air]

View attachment 25046
That car found a new home with me in NC! Will share some observations from my 500 mile trek back home soon.

Congrats! It seemed like a great bargain
Ps sorry @xponents

 

[terrycs]

View attachment 25046
That car found a new home with me in NC! Will share some observations from my 500 mile trek back home soon.

Congratulations … if it’s a GT-P, you just bought a unicorn disguised as a panda.

 

[Cosmo Cruz]

I just posted as an owner of a GT-P... There is no difference in horsepower between smooth and swift.

OK that settles it. Time to drag race the various models in Swift mode. Theory will only take you so far.

I don't know what to think now. I was surprised to find out my GT in Swift mode is the same power as Smooth.

Never been in Sprint mode = already scared enough.

Oh heck who cares? The car is quite capable of scaring the horses in Smooth mode. As capable as this car is I find myself driving in the right lane in Smooth mode with adaptive cruse on anyway. I don't know why I'm stalking the DE-P ... maybe because I have been without my car for 5 months and counting.

What is Sprint mode like?

"Theory will only take you so far." Larry Livin'more.

 

[Cosmo Cruz]

It occurs to me I have not been clear about my question / inquiry on the power output of the various modes.
I know the motors / batteries / available power varies among the different models.
What I am trying to discover is: Are there different power levels in ALL THREE MODES ?

So far all I can determine is the power levels DO NOT CHANGE between Smooth and Swift modes on any model.
There are only two power modes for each model. Please correct me if I am in error. I thought I'd seen an article saying there are THREE levels of power on the Performance versions. I can't find this now, and have discovered that some of the early writing / reviews have factual errors or are misleading, or outright contradict others.

 

[xponents]

It occurs to me I have not been clear about my question / inquiry on the power output of the various modes.
I know the motors / batteries / available power varies among the different models.
What I am trying to discover is: Are there different power levels in ALL THREE MODES ?

So far all I can determine is the power levels DO NOT CHANGE between Smooth and Swift modes on any model.
There are only two power modes for each model. Please correct me if I am in error. I thought I'd seen an article saying there are THREE levels of power on the Performance versions. I can't find this now, and have discovered that some of the early writing / reviews have factual errors or are misleading, or outright contradict others.

There are three modes: Smooth, Swift, and Sprint.

Smooth and swift have the same “power,” but swift has more torque (which considering the weight of the car, makes a decent difference), stiffer suspension, and also stiffer steering. Regenerative braking is also minimized.

Sprint also has more power, although I believe it has the same torque as swift (I am not confident about this, so somebody please correct me). It again has stiffer suspension and steering, although it actually has slightly more regenerative braking than swift (as tested by @Adnillien , although braking has changed since then).

In summary, it depends on your definition of power. If you only consider the HP, yes, there are two “power modes.” However, if you consider torque (which I think you should), there are three!

 

[Hoosier Owner]

I received delivery of my DE (#137) on January 6, 2022. For the first 2 years it was hell. The car was toed to the Coldwater Michigan service center so often to fix issues, or a tech came to my home. At the end of 2023 I was unable to take the car thru a high-tech carwash as the car thought the frunk was open at the late stage of high flowing hot air to dry the car, and the car froze, shutting down the carwash until I could reboot the software and eventually move the car. Then in January, 2024, my car was again taken to the service center and a thorough inspection was conducted. They replaced the latches on the frunk which solved the car wash issue. And they replaced a number of other parts that I had not even noticed had an issue.

Since the car has been returned to me, I've had 0 issues. I again love the car. Range sucks relative to the stated 520 miles (I have the range edition, not performance). And in the cold it super sucks, recently getting only 2 miles/kWh. But right now the car is in the service center to replace the battery. I was told Lucid is conducting this swap for vehicles whose battery is degrading faster than expected. It is a refurbished battery, but I'm hopeful that maybe I'll get better range. We'll see.

 

[Cosmo Cruz]

OK I'm wrong again. I'm finding the posted info disagrees with the press info, which disagrees with the Lucid info. Do not trust the automotive press = they don't bother to fact-check, it would seem.

From Motor Trend: Motor Trend DE-R

"Lucid Air models have three drive modes, named Smooth, Swift, and Sprint. Smooth limits the motors to 670 hp and lb-ft, softens the dampers and the brake-pedal feel, and removes some heft from the steering. Lickfold said Swift mode allows 784 hp, and it firms everything up dynamically. Sprint is full-power mode, 933 horses' worth, with the dampers set to extra flinty. Also, Sprint does some sort of Tesla Plaid-like battery conditioning where you sit and wait while all 6,600 cells are cooled or heated to an ideal temperature. Our drive time was limited, and 784 horsepower seemed like plenty, so I left the Air in Swift mode."

But don't trust info from the press (looking at you, Kyle).

"Imagine my horror the next day when Emad Dlala, Lucid's senior director of efficiency and energy technology, casually mentioned Swift mode was only about 69 percent (670 hp, same as Smooth) of the Air's total power output. Lickfold had made a mistake and quoted the Lucid Air Dream P model's Swift mode output, which is 784 hp. That said, I'm still blown away by how great the Lucid Air was at 75 percent power. (Swift does have more torque than Smooth.) Here's the whole power enchilada: In both Smooth and Swift, the Dream Edition R puts out 670 hp, and in Sprint that rises to 933 hp. For the Dream Edition P, the numbers are 804 hp in Smooth and Swift, and 1,111 hp in Sprint. Torque output in the three modes is 670, 738, and 885 lb-ft for the R and 738, 799, and 922 for the P. In Sprint mode with launch control, however, peak torque is 1,025 lb-ft for both R and P."

If this information is correct, and it's already contradicting, then POWER DOES NOT CHANGE BETWEEN SMOOTH AND SWIFT. This might be why the press only reports max power output = in a mode nobody uses. What I'm interested is in the power output of the various models in "SWIFT" mode, the mode "looking for some fun" drivers are most likely to use, as Sprint mode, the mode reporters love to cite, is insane in all the cars, and should only be used with summer rubber and on the track. I have a GT delivered with 19" A/S Perillis and I drive in Smooth mode. The 19" can barely hold it together when goosed. I went right out and bought a set of 21" factory wheels and tires after losing the tail in Smooth mode just getting on the road out of the neighborhood. (T-intersection with traffic gaps).

So why the press is so obsessed with the hp in Sprint, a mode the owner is unlikely to use or just rarely to "scare the horses", -- well I think that's misleading. Again, the business model of the press is to sell soap, not provide the facts. "1111 hp" is meaningless to me, but it attracts eyes. I'm not going to the drag strip.

I want to know what the various models offer in the modes I'm most likely to use daily. This info is hard to find and find confirmation. It looks like there is no difference between the Dream Edition R and the GT in Smooth and Swift modes. The DE-P offers 804 hp in Smooth and Swift. This is what I was looking for.


HOWEVER the torque changes with each mode ! Ah Ha! This is where I got confused. It would be nice to see torque and hp in each of the modes / each of the models: Pure, Pure AWD, Touring, GT, GT-P, DE-R, and DE-P.

 

[borski]

OK I'm wrong again. I'm finding the posted info disagrees with the press info, which disagrees with the Lucid info. Do not trust the automotive press = they don't bother to fact-check, it would seem.

From Motor Trend: Motor Trend DE-R

"Lucid Air models have three drive modes, named Smooth, Swift, and Sprint. Smooth limits the motors to 670 hp and lb-ft, softens the dampers and the brake-pedal feel, and removes some heft from the steering. Lickfold said Swift mode allows 784 hp, and it firms everything up dynamically. Sprint is full-power mode, 933 horses' worth, with the dampers set to extra flinty. Also, Sprint does some sort of Tesla Plaid-like battery conditioning where you sit and wait while all 6,600 cells are cooled or heated to an ideal temperature. Our drive time was limited, and 784 horsepower seemed like plenty, so I left the Air in Swift mode."

But don't trust info from the press (looking at you, Kyle).

"Imagine my horror the next day when Emad Dlala, Lucid's senior director of efficiency and energy technology, casually mentioned Swift mode was only about 69 percent (670 hp, same as Smooth) of the Air's total power output. Lickfold had made a mistake and quoted the Lucid Air Dream P model's Swift mode output, which is 784 hp. That said, I'm still blown away by how great the Lucid Air was at 75 percent power. (Swift does have more torque than Smooth.) Here's the whole power enchilada: In both Smooth and Swift, the Dream Edition R puts out 670 hp, and in Sprint that rises to 933 hp. For the Dream Edition P, the numbers are 804 hp in Smooth and Swift, and 1,111 hp in Sprint. Torque output in the three modes is 670, 738, and 885 lb-ft for the R and 738, 799, and 922 for the P. In Sprint mode with launch control, however, peak torque is 1,025 lb-ft for both R and P."

If this information is correct, and it's already contradicting, then POWER DOES NOT CHANGE BETWEEN SMOOTH AND SWIFT. This might be why the press only reports max power output = in a mode nobody uses. What I'm interested is in the power output of the various models in "SWIFT" mode, the mode "looking for some fun" drivers are most likely to use, as Sprint mode, the mode reporters love to cite, is insane in all the cars, and should only be used with summer rubber and on the track. I have a GT delivered with 19" A/S Perillis and I drive in Smooth mode. The 19" can barely hold it together when goosed. I went right out and bought a set of 21" factory wheels and tires after losing the tail in Smooth mode just getting on the road out of the neighborhood. (T-intersection with traffic gaps).

So why the press is so obsessed with the hp in Sprint, a mode the owner is unlikely to use or just rarely to "scare the horses", -- well I think that's misleading. Again, the business model of the press is to sell soap, not provide the facts. "1111 hp" is meaningless to me, but it attracts eyes. I'm not going to the drag strip.

I want to know what the various models offer in the modes I'm most likely to use daily. This info is hard to find and find confirmation. It looks like there is no difference between the Dream Edition R and the GT in Smooth and Swift modes. The DE-P offers 804 hp in Smooth and Swift. This is what I was looking for.


HOWEVER the torque changes with each mode ! Ah Ha! This is where I got confused. It would be nice to see torque and hp in each of the modes / each of the models: Pure, Pure AWD, Touring, GT, GT-P, DE-R, and DE-P.

I use sprint a lot

Swift is my smooth and Sprint is my Swift