Considering a 2022 Lucid Air Grand Touring

[romeodunn]

I am Massachusetts based and considering a Lucid Air Grand Touring (2022). Currently I drive a 2022 Lexus ES 250 AWD and I have been wanting to upgrade for some time as the car is quite slow and I would like a better audio system than the stock 10 speaker system I have. I have a large two car garage and home charging would be set up if I bought an EV.

Initially, I was considering upgrading to the new Lexus ES500e (338 horsepower, 276 miles of range, NACS dual-voltage vehicle-charging cable for 120V (Level 1) or 240V (Level 2) outlets. However, used Lucid Air Grand touring trims are available at cheaper prices than a brand new Lexus and are honestly superior as EV vehicles. There is also the Lexus ES350h (244 horsepower, hybrid power train, 17 speaker Mark Levinson system).

I test drove a Lucid Air two weeks ago and loved it. The car was a former demo vehicle, so technically I would be the first owner, and the price is $8000 less than the Lexus. I fell in love with the massaging seats and the car truly drives great.

My biggest fear is the future of the company, I am a Lucid investor and I still have faith that the company will bounce back (hopefully with the Cosmos and the Earth), but I wonder what would happen if the company folded, I would assume I would still be fine with my car. The Lucid is the better EV but is Lexus the safer choice?

Would you guys recommend the Lucid over the Lexus 350h?

 

[borski]

Lexus is definitely safer (as an asset; I bet Lucid is the safer vehicle in terms of safety). Lucid will also be fine, though. Someone will buy the assets and technology and service it. Even the original Fisker Karma is still serviced.

 

[socktucker]

Lexus was the most boring car I ever had. Nice sure; but unremarkable in every way.

 

[knewman]

Fisker is probably the best example of a worst-case scenario if Lucid were to shut it's doors. Like Borski said it's more likely that a third party would swallow Lucid and service our cars. Personally I think Lucid's investors have deep enough pockets and patience that neither scenario will come to pass over at least the next decade or so. But we're all just guessing.

As far as Air vs. 350h, you should understand that the Air is very much "bleeding edge." Do you have the tolerance for such a product? I'm an early adopter and I'm generally fine with weird technical issues cropping up. If that doesn't sound like you, I'd say stick with the Lexus.

The Lucid is the better car with a major but... just take a stroll through the forums to get a taste of that but.

 

[borski]

Lexus was the most boring car I ever had. Nice sure; but unremarkable in every way.

Precisely. Everything works, everything feels just a little dated, and everything is mostly fine. It just doesn’t make me feel literally anything. And I can’t point to anything wrong with any Lexus I’ve driven or owned other than “they make me very bored.”

 

[martinjlm]

I am an engineer by training and spent most of my career in areas involving benchmarking, competitor intelligence, and technology readiness. A Lucid is right up my alley. The engineering is amazing. This car is the best or in the top three in segment for everything that it does. That's an engineer's / benchmarker's dream.

At the same time, some of the areas where it (to quote my mother) "shows it's ass" can be quite frustrating for some people, just something else to work out for others. I am one of the latter. If you are one of the former, Lucid Air might not be for you.

I bought my car with a year of bumper-to-bumper warranty left on the car, five on the battery and drive components. I am purposefully looking for things-gone-wrong so that I can get them addressed within the warranty period. If you are not getting at least a year of warranty on the 2022 I'd suggest looking for something that does have some warranty left.

 

[SaratogaLefty]

If you can find one I'd suggest paying a little more for a Dream Edition Performance. They were all essentially built by hand (yes some machines were involved) but the care taken with these 520 vehicles was over the top.

 

[LucidJim]

What kind of warranty would Lucid be giving you on the 2022? That may be another factor for you to consider.

It seems wild to me that Lucid is only now selling a model year 2022 demo. Have they been using the vehicle as a demo model for the last four years? Or perhaps it was used as a loaner but they're calling it a former demo?

 

[Macrocosmcwh]

EVEN WITH The insanity of ownership... hahaha THE LUCID IS THE MOST MAGICAL CAR I HAVE OWNED. PERIOD. Buy it.... Then join us here to complain and praise it all the time!!!! It is strange and wonderful.

But NOT FOR THE WEAK OF HEART.... hahaha But it will fill the your heart when you get it! BUY A WARRANTY!

 

[socktucker]

What kind of warranty would Lucid be giving you on the 2022? That may be another factor for you to consider.

It seems wild to me that Lucid is only now selling a model year 2022 demo. Have they been using the vehicle as a demo model for the last four years? Or perhaps it was used as a loaner but they're calling it a former demo?

factory is 4/50k bumper to bumper and 8 year battery and powertrain. It's pretty good warranty and I haven't heard of them denying it to any second owners.

 

[AZLucidGuy]

Fisker is probably the best example of a worst-case scenario if Lucid were to shut it's doors. Like Borski said it's more likely that a third party would swallow Lucid and service our cars. Personally I think Lucid's investors have deep enough pockets and patience that neither scenario will come to pass over at least the next decade or so. But we're all just guessing.

As far as Air vs. 350h, you should understand that the Air is very much "bleeding edge." Do you have the tolerance for such a product? I'm an early adopter and I'm generally fine with weird technical issues cropping up. If that doesn't sound like you, I'd say stick with the Lexus.

The Lucid is the better car with a major but... just take a stroll through the forums to get a taste of that but.

My view is that Lucid has already established a critical mass of a deployed fleet that even if there were a liquidation event for Lucid (which I highly doubt), there are enough cars on the road that someone would want to service them to make money. Parts may be a problem though. Also Hertz will be servicing the Gravity robotaxi fleet for Uber. I doubt Uber wants to be orphaned. Also, I am guessing (hoping) that Hertz will someday be an authorized Lucid service center for retail customers like us with Lucid Air/Gravity.

Per ChatGPT... "So Lucid has delivered roughly 20× as many vehicles as Fisker Karma sold. Even using the higher 2,450 built figure for Fisker, Lucid is already at about 16× that number. Notably, Lucid’s Q1 2026 alone — 3,093 deliveries — exceeded the entire original Fisker Karma sales run."

 

[martinjlm]

My view is that Lucid has already established a critical mass of a deployed fleet that even if there were a liquidation event for Lucid (which I highly doubt), there are enough cars on the road that someone would want to service them to make money. Parts may be a problem though. Also Hertz will be servicing the Gravity robotaxi fleet for Uber. I doubt Uber wants to be orphaned. Also, I am guessing (hoping) that Hertz will someday be an authorized Lucid service center for retail customers like us with Lucid Air/Gravity.

Per ChatGPT... "So Lucid has delivered roughly 20× as many vehicles as Fisker Karma sold. Even using the higher 2,450 built figure for Fisker, Lucid is already at about 16× that number. Notably, Lucid’s Q1 2026 alone — 3,093 deliveries — exceeded the entire original Fisker Karma sales run."

More importantly, Lucid has proven capability of engineering world class motors, batteries, and vehicles. If the company went bankrupt another company would swoop in to acquire the assets, intellectual properties and skilled people. In that case it would only make sense to also maintain the brand name.

 

[AZLucidGuy]

More importantly, Lucid has proven capability of engineering world class motors, batteries, and vehicles. If the company went bankrupt another company would swoop in to acquire the assets, intellectual properties and skilled people. In that case it would only make sense to also maintain the brand name.

The Fisker Karma was a disaster — it had a gasoline engine from GM so it was essentially a plug in hybrid. It also had a solar panel roof that was pretty useless. It was everything an EV should not be.

 

[Saksak]

[…] I test drove a Lucid Air two weeks ago and loved it. […] My biggest fear is the future of the company, […] The Lucid is the better EV but is Lexus the safer choice?

Would you guys recommend the Lucid over the Lexus 350h?

I also worried about the future of Lucid before purchasing my Gravity back in December. It’s been five months and all I can say is the worry vanishes. The driving experience is so fantastic I’m like a kid with my first car.

I owned a Lexus in the past and @borski and @socktucker described it well - safe and very boring. I drove the Lexus because I had to, not because I wanted to. I look forward to every drive with the Gravity.

You love the Lucid. Go for it because the driving experience will make your worry vanish. If you get the Lexus, you’ll constantly think about that Lucid test drive and what could have been.

 

[Aka-none]

Precisely. Everything works, everything feels just a little dated, and everything is mostly fine. It just doesn’t make me feel literally anything. And I can’t point to anything wrong with any Lexus I’ve driven or owned other than “they make me very bored.”

Try a KIA, there you shall be inducted into true boredom. Lasts forever, good economy but a bit soso

 

[drb3333]

Try a KIA, there you shall be inducted into true boredom. Lasts forever, good economy but a bit soso

100%. I got a Kia loaner and also a RAV4.

When driving the RAV4 I kept thinking "So this is the best selling car in the world for 2025? Why?"