Just wondering how the heater performs for those in the North East especially with a glass canopy roof. Is the cabin comfortable or do you have to crank it way up to get warm since it's a resistance heater? Wondering if the 2024 Grand Touring will incorporate a heat pump like the Sapphire.
Cold Weather and heater comfort
- Thread starter Reactor
- Start date
A lot use steering wheel plus seat heaters as they are way more efficient. The 2024 GT will not have a heat pump, from what I understand
- Joined
- Aug 17, 2022
- Messages
- 1,557
- Location
- Harrisburg, PA
- Cars
- Lucid Air Touring
- Referral Code
- 2BFU7LV3
I keep my thermostat set between 70 and 72 but I keep the fan speed set no higher than 2. I leave the rear settings turned off and use my seat and steering wheel heaters.
When you put it on 70 or 72 is the cabin actually that temperature? Just concerned about this article https://www.motortrend.com/reviews/...long-review-update-1-cold-weather-range-test/ . However, I'm sure this forum would have been all over this if it was a problem.
- Joined
- Aug 17, 2022
- Messages
- 1,557
- Location
- Harrisburg, PA
- Cars
- Lucid Air Touring
- Referral Code
- 2BFU7LV3
It's comfortable in the cabin at those temp for me. I should have noted that my car is usually parked in a garage whether for work or at home so when I get in the car, rarely is it after sitting in the outside elements for hours.
Halodde
Active Member
Just my experience/observations here. But, it's adequate. I cover a good portion of upstate NY and have driven over 25k miles in my car and loaners since March. Several things to consider about my experience though. 1. I shave my head so no hair to keep me warm up top. 2. I live in Buffalo so it's often colder than most places in the country. 3. Since I drive so much and long distances in a single trip, I prefer to drive without my jacket or coat on. So, given those things, my arms and head tend to get chillier than I might otherwise which is odd considering that I'm often much warmer than people around me. Yes, you will want to use the seat heater and heated steering wheel. But, like me, you may end up turning up the heat more than you would in another vehicle. The flipside of that is that the more you turn it up, the more it affects your driving efficiency. So, if that's a concern, keep some gloves and a hat in the car like I do
I'm in a snowy climate and the heater works fine with the glass roof. On particularly cold days the key for me is to turn on the rear hvac so the entire car is being heated, which helps considerably. This unfortunately has to be done manually whenever you depart, but it's only one button press. I also typically use the app to pre-heat the car 10 mins before departing in winter due to not having a heated garage.
Halodde
Active Member
A friend sent me a link to a different MT article regarding range for multiple EV's. They tested a Touring (presumably on 21" wheels and no aero covers) but only got 279 miles out of a 95% charge at a constant 70 MPH when the EPA range for that setup is 384 (per MT). That seems exceptionally low to me. I have a Touring with 19" wheels and aero covers and I have driven it close to 380 on a charge as well as driving well over 300 and having 15-20% battery left on multiple occasions. Now, this article's test was not in cold weather so I am not suggesting that you can compare these results. However, it does make me question MT's testing reliability in the real world. As luck would have it, I have 2 long drives tomorrow and Thursday with one on state roads and one on the interstate. I will leave my house at or close to 100% and I plan to set my cruise at 70 (so 68 MPH actual) on the thruway. I'll report back with my results if you or anyone else is interested.
Halodde
Active Member
That is correct. And a glass roof. I believe the heating system functions the same in both vehicles though. And it should impact cabin temp (and range) similarly in both vehicles but with obviously more overall range in the GT. I had a GT loaner for almost all of December so I can make pretty good comparisons even in cold weather. Basically, my opinion is that you just can't believe a lot of what you read or at least have to take it with a grain of salt until you have some of your own experiences to compare.
I don't feel like the glass roof has any negative impact in the cold, though it did get toasty in summer. I also have a touring, but as said, this should all be the same between Touring and GT.
The heater does a fine job of warming up my car from freezing to comfortable. It never feels like the hot blast in the face I'm used to from some other cars with max heat, but I'll typically preheat (from below freezing outside temps - I don't have a garage) for 5-10 minutes before getting in and it's perfectly comfortable. The cabin is exceptionally well air sealed, so you don't lose as much heat while driving as with some other cars. Also, like others have said, the seat heaters and steering wheel heat are plenty for me while driving. It's not a sacrifice in the name of efficiency, my heater legitimately just doesn't run all that much while I'm driving in below-freezing outside temps and I (and more importantly, my temperature-challenged girlfriend) stay plenty warm.
The heater does a fine job of warming up my car from freezing to comfortable. It never feels like the hot blast in the face I'm used to from some other cars with max heat, but I'll typically preheat (from below freezing outside temps - I don't have a garage) for 5-10 minutes before getting in and it's perfectly comfortable. The cabin is exceptionally well air sealed, so you don't lose as much heat while driving as with some other cars. Also, like others have said, the seat heaters and steering wheel heat are plenty for me while driving. It's not a sacrifice in the name of efficiency, my heater legitimately just doesn't run all that much while I'm driving in below-freezing outside temps and I (and more importantly, my temperature-challenged girlfriend) stay plenty warm.
I had a '22 refreshed Tesla Model S with a heat pump prior to my Lucid and I still found it to be drafty feeling in the winter...which I don't in the Lucid. There are other advantages to having a dedicated heat pump but I oddly didn't like it as much for actual heating...or maybe the Tesla just felt drafty due to seals, etc.
- Joined
- Jan 31, 2021
- Messages
- 2,292
- Location
- Long Island
- Cars
- Lucid Pure, BMW i4
- Referral Code
- 97KPWDUB
Aside from providing a more comfortable interior temperature, preheating the car at home has the added benefit of increasing your range.
- Joined
- Nov 19, 2021
- Messages
- 6,855
- Location
- Cupertino, CA
- Cars
- Air DE-P, ZR, 21"
- DE Number
- 241
- Referral Code
- Q1BTN5Y3
The heating and climate across all trims of the Air is exactly the same, with the exception of the sapphire.
Halodde
Active Member
FWIW I just drove 163 miles using 52 kWh (3.2 mi/kWh) with cabin temp set to 68° on auto and cruise set to 70 mph on the highway for 95% of the trip. Outside temp was below freezing between 26° and 31°. Also I used the heated steering wheel and rear defrost. As stated above, slightly chilly as I drove in short sleeves.
Similar threads
