Considering Used 2022 Lucid Air GT... Qs about performance

[jbawden]

To the OP, if you're primarily focused on 0-60 and HP metrics, you might be asking the Air to be something it isn't. I thought the Model 3 Performance was a real hoot but didn't take long to establish more than a cursory measure of a vehicle and wished for more range, refined interior, and great driving dynamics. The Air is a grand touring saloon, as good as it gets in the EV world.

 

[Rogue]

Just some notes. There is reduced power when cold (already mentioned), loss in traction reduces power delivery (slower ramp-up), and launch mode gives the best off the line times (sprint mode, press the brake, press the accelerator, wait for the bear, release the brake).

I don't care what the numbers say and actual differences, but even the difference in the GT-P vs GT power delivery makes the GT feel like a slug. The Plaid will make it feel even worse back to back. There's just no going back after adjusting or an extended period of respite from a faster car.

 

[borski]

Just some notes. There is reduced power when cold (already mentioned), loss in traction reduces power delivery (slower ramp-up), and launch mode gives the best off the line times (sprint mode, press the brake, press the accelerator, wait for the bear, release the brake).

I don't care what the numbers say and actual differences, but even the difference in the GT-P vs GT power delivery makes the GT feel like a slug. The Plaid will make it feel even worse back to back. There's just no going back after adjusting or an extended period of respite from a faster car.

I will say there is a marked difference, if I’m paying attention, to the acceleration of the DE-P vs the GT. It’s still plenty, but I notice it every time I have a GT loaner.

 

[bosbrucec]

To the OP, if you're primarily focused on 0-60 and HP metrics, you might be asking the Air to be something it isn't. I thought the Model 3 Performance was a real hoot but didn't take long to establish more than a cursory measure of a vehicle and wished for more range, refined interior, and great driving dynamics. The Air is a grand touring saloon, as good as it gets in the EV world.

I am not asking it to be something it isn't, though I admit I am somewhat spoiled by the Plaid S in the power department. In reading/watching car reviews of ALL new EVs (I've owned 8) it is mostly only the numbers you can count on as everything else is subjective though of course enough opinions combined to correctly (verified by my driving sensation) show Taycan as best handling, Tesla S as worst (outside of track mode where clearly it handled well to get that Nurburgring record beating the Taycan Turbo S record), and Lucid Air somewhere in the middle which is why I'm considering it (that, the range, and the luxury features, and the incredible used car market values).

I started this thread because I felt like the '22 Lucid Air GT I drove actually felt slower (for sure much less immediate power delivery) in Sprint mode than the used Taycan GTS I drove (mostly in Sport + mode) immediately before it. As I mentioned, when I kept on the accelerator pedal long enough on the highway, it STARTED to feel like maybe it was giving me more than the middling 550+ hp on the Taycan GTS but power came on almost as gradually as the 500 hp AWD Lyric which I would have expected maybe for the middle or most chill/efficient driving mode.

Which brings up another line of thought here : Is it possible the prior owner (or dealer) has it set to some valet/child mode? I don't think so as it let me get to around 90 mph but is there such a thing like on Teslas such that even selecting Sprint Mode it might limit your power?

I love that a former Tesla employee has produced both a more luxurious and a more powerful product than Elon... Just trying to figure out if the car I drove had an issue or the tuning of the Air GT (non-P, but with summer only 21" tires) in general makes it more like a Lyriq or Mercedes EQS in power delivery than somewhere between the Taycan GTS and Plaid S as I expected/hoped.

 

[marsarbu]

S Plaid is on a different planet compared to AGT. I had the Plaid for a few days and it feels 30% faster at all times than the AGT.

 

[borski]

S Plaid is on a different planet compared to AGT. I had the Plaid for a few days and it feels 30% faster at all times than the AGT.

This is what I keep saying. The comparison would be a DE-P or GT-P, and that wouldn’t leave you wanting.

A DE-P literally has >35% more HP, and a GT-P has >28% HP.

It shouldn’t be surprising that the Model S Plaid felt faster than a GT. It is.

As for the Taycan, that one shouldn’t. That means it was likely just too cold, etc. It’s also fairly well known that Lucid optimizes for battery longevity (perhaps too conservatively) and Porsche very much does not, so it’s possible that in cold weather the Porsche just kicks harder, but once warmed up the GT should slay the Porsche.

 

[bosbrucec]

This is what I keep saying. The comparison would be a DE-P or GT-P, and that wouldn’t leave you wanting.

A DE-P literally has >35% more HP, and a GT-P has >28% HP.

It shouldn’t be surprising that the Model S Plaid felt faster than a GT. It is.

As for the Taycan, that one shouldn’t. That means it was likely just too cold, etc. It’s also fairly well known that Lucid optimizes for battery longevity (perhaps too conservatively) and Porsche very much does not, so it’s possible that in cold weather the Porsche just kicks harder, but once warmed up the GT should slay the Porsche.

And I keep saying I'm not really interested in DE-P or GT-P and the comparison was more with the Taycan GTS (which, by all numbers is SLOWER than Air GT) than with Plaid S. I know the fact that I own and drove the Plaid S to test drive both Taycan and Air GT had some impact but Taycan GTS felt like the 60% as powerful beast it was, while Lucid Air GT felt more like 50% as powerful as the Plaid when I expected to feel it was quicker than the Taycan.

Anyway lots of useful advice from folks here and I'll attempt to drive again on a warmer day, driving my Plaid S in SPORT mode (which should be about the performance of Lucid, close to 11 second 1/4 mile). But either this Lucid Air GT doesn't have close to 800hp/885lb-ft torque specs indicate, or Lucid performance (battery? traction control?) is far more impacted by cold weather than Porsche/Tesla are.

 

[borski]

And I keep saying I'm not really interested in DE-P or GT-P and the comparison was more with the Taycan GTS (which, by all numbers is SLOWER than Air GT) than with Plaid S. I know the fact that I own and drove the Plaid S to test drive both Taycan and Air GT had some impact but Taycan GTS felt like the 60% as powerful beast it was, while Lucid Air GT felt more like 50% as powerful as the Plaid when I expected to feel it was quicker than the Taycan.

Anyway lots of useful advice from folks here and I'll attempt to drive again on a warmer day, driving my Plaid S in SPORT mode (which should be about the performance of Lucid, close to 11 second 1/4 mile). But either this Lucid Air GT doesn't have close to 800hp/885lb-ft torque specs indicate, or Lucid performance (battery? traction control?) is far more impacted by cold weather than Porsche/Tesla are.

Sorry, I didn't mean for it to sound like I was repeating myself to you! I hear you, and am not trying to correct you or anything!

I just meant that that is how I feel about the differences in power between the two, so my intent was simply to underscore that.

 

[Cosmo Cruz]

I'm surprised at how many drag-racers post here. I would think the Lucid to be boring to drag race = same time / no driver skill.

 

[Steveinarizona]

(2) Understood, but after 2 years of having the fastest car I've ever seen on the road that isn't another Plaid S (not yet seen a Sapphire, Nevera, or Taycan Turbo GT next to me ) I no longer feel the need to scratch that itch, so I'm willing to lose 200 hp but I just need to feel I'm actually getting something faster than my old Model 3P which this GT did not feel like. I'm mostly interested in used Lucid/Taycan because you can get a nearly new car with multiple years warranty remaining for half the price of new at this point and but I may keep the Tesla (though I'd love to distance myself from Musk these days).

I agree with you. You want to be quick off the line at a red light but not in a competitive way; you want to be able to pass slower drivers and enter holes in traffic; you are not going to track the car.

Be aware that while the Lucid is still essentially the same car, so buying used you are just buying a slightly older and used version; the new Taycan is exactly that: a real major rework. So if you buy a used Taycan you are buying a first and prior generation car.