First day with my AGT

BradSholl

Active Member
Verified Owner
Joined
Feb 19, 2022
Messages
323
Cars
AGT, R1S, M3
I thought I’d post my first day experience. To some of you, this is old hat. To others, your hopefully near future.

I got a call and text earlier this week from Alex at the Short Hills, NJ studio that the car would be ready 9/10. I asked about home delivery, since it’s 110 miles from me and was told “We don‘t do that any more”. I realize it was an unsustainable model, but they really should have set a date, after which orders would not qualify for home delivery. To promise it and then later decline, doesn’t add to the luxury experience Peter said he’s striving for.

They did send a Lyft for us. Our driver was friendly, but spoke only Spanish, listened only to Mexican dance music and was evidently a prior dirt track racer. Again, not so luxurious.

We arrived alive and 15 min. late. Billy greeted us and took us up to the top level of the mall parking garage to see our car. I did the perfunctory inspection. Thanks to all who contributed to the checklist. Issues were relatively few. The weather stripping on the top of the driver’s door bulged outward a bit, the top and bottom panels behind the front wheels didn’t meet as cleanly as I would have liked and the plastic liner at the driver’s side of the frunk near the hinge was loose. (We later found the accent lighting in the passenger door wasn’t illuminating) All were promised to be fixed.

Billy gave us a nice rundown of functions and features. Having been on this forum since Spring, I was pretty familiar already. A wave of the pen and it was ours. I had requested the wheels be modified by removing the aero covers and installing the hub caps and lug covers as others have done, but was told that would be handled by service at a later date. Also, no tire inflator yet, despite requesting it. We did get a nice tote bag, Lucid hat and water bottle. Ok, time to drive this beast…

The mall parking garage has one of those tight spiral exit towers. Having never driven an EV before (can you say leap of faith…?) I set it in standard regen, hold, smooth and inched my way down. I could just imaging accidentally lurching forward and grinding my brand new car against the concrete wall. Once I made it to terra firma, things improved. The nav system performed well, I managed to get Spotify playing some classic tracks from Heart, and we made it to I-78. That’s where I started to feel at home in the vehicle. Despite being surrounded by Jerzey drivers intent on my demise, the car felt solid and composed. I didn’t have to try to accelerate…it just happened effortlessly. I had to fine tune my steering wheel and seat positions a bit to see the blind spot images, but otherwise, visibility was quite good. The larger than normal front pillars are noticeable in close, slow speed maneuvering, but the 360 camera more than makes up for them. I did a few hard dashes around trucks, just because I could. Hopped off the highway prematurely and took a very rural back route for the final 15 min of the drive. Equally satisfying.

Arrived home and parked her in the garage spot formally reserved for my wife’s Audi A8. Tested out the level 2 charging, to make sure both the car and the circuit worked. Yup.

A few friends stopped by later for a little wine event. Got the obligatory oohs and ahhs. Good day…
 
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The puddle seems like just water. A/C condensation….I hope!
 
I thought I’d post my first day experience. To some of you, this is old hat. To others, your hopefully near future.

I got a call and text earlier this week from Alex at the Short Hills, NJ studio that the car would be ready 9/10. I asked about home delivery, since it’s 110 miles from me and was told “We don‘t do that any more”. I realize it was an unsustainable model, but they really should have set a date, after which orders would not qualify for home delivery. To promise it and then later decline, doesn’t add to the luxury experience Peter said he’s striving for.

They did send a Lyft for us. Our driver was friendly, but spoke only Spanish, listened only to Mexican dance music and was evidently a prior dirt track racer. Again, not so luxurious.

We arrived alive and 15 min. late. Billy greeted us and took us up to the top level of the mall parking garage to see our car. I did the perfunctory inspection. Thanks to all who contributed to the checklist. Issues were relatively few. The weather stripping on the top of the driver’s door bulged outward a bit, the top and bottom panels behind the front wheels didn’t meet as cleanly as I would have liked and the plastic liner at the driver’s side of the frunk near the hinge was loose. (We later found the accent lighting in the passenger door wasn’t illuminating) All were promised to be fixed.

Billy gave us a nice rundown of functions and features. Having been on this forum since Spring, I was pretty familiar already. A wave of the pen and it was ours. I had requested the wheels be modified by removing the aero covers and installing the hub caps and lug covers as others have done, but was told that would be handled by service at a later date. Also, no tire inflator yet, despite requesting it. We did get a nice tote bag, Lucid hat and water bottle. Ok, time to drive this beast…

The mall parking garage has one of those tight spiral exit towers. Having never driven an EV before (can you say leap of faith…?) I set it in standard regen, hold, smooth and inched my way down. I could just imaging accidentally lurching forward and grinding my brand new car against the concrete wall. Once I made it to terra firma, things improved. The nav system performed well, I managed to get Spotify playing some classic tracks from Heart, and we made it to I-78. That’s where I started to feel at home in the vehicle. Despite being surrounded by Jerzey drivers intent on my demise, the car felt solid and composed. I didn’t have to try to accelerate…it just happened effortlessly. I had to fine tune my steering wheel and seat positions a bit to see the blind spot images, but otherwise, visibility was quite good. The larger than normal front pillars are noticeable in close, slow speed maneuvering, but the 360 camera more than makes up for them. I did a few hard dashes around trucks, just because I could. Hopped off the highway prematurely and took a very rural back route for the final 15 min of the drive. Equally satisfying.

Arrived home and parked her in the garage spot formally reserved for my wife’s Audi A8. Tested out the level 2 charging, to make sure both the car and the circuit worked. Yup.

A few friends stopped by later for a little wine event. Got the obligatory oohs and ahhs. Good day…
Don't know how old your A8 was....I've had 2 and loved both...curios for you to compare with the Air in terms of build/ride quality etc.

Thanks
 
Congratulations! Enjoy your car.
 
Congratulations, I’m glad to hear that the pickup is outside and not at the lucid chargers where the lighting is not very good.
 
Don't know how old your A8 was....I've had 2 and loved both...curios for you to compare with the Air in terms of build/ride quality etc.

Thanks
My wife’s A8 was an ‘07. We bought it 3 yrs used and she loved it. She doesn’t drive much…it only had ~90k miles on it when we sold it in May. It was a great trip car. You could cruise all day at 80-90 mph and feel very relaxed. Things started failing this last year. Had to replace ABS circuit board, both fuel pumps, some unspecified exhaust fitting, etc. It was time to move on to an EV. I haven’t had enough time in the Lucid to be completely comfortable yet, but I love it so far. Very tight and responsive, without feeling overly hash. And I haven’t even tried Swift yet, much less Sprint. Also enjoying the “ooh, what kind of car is that?!” looks.
 
My wife’s A8 was an ‘07. We bought it 3 yrs used and she loved it. She doesn’t drive much…it only had ~90k miles on it when we sold it in May. It was a great trip car. You could cruise all day at 80-90 mph and feel very relaxed. Things started failing this last year. Had to replace ABS circuit board, both fuel pumps, some unspecified exhaust fitting, etc. It was time to move on to an EV. I haven’t had enough time in the Lucid to be completely comfortable yet, but I love it so far. Very tight and responsive, without feeling overly hash. And I haven’t even tried Swift yet, much less Sprint. Also enjoying the “ooh, what kind of car is that?!” looks.
Congrats, and enjoy!
 
Thanks. Hearing your account of your initial drive down the garage exit chute, I felt a bit of a quiver knowing (hoping) I will be having the same initial experience with a Pure. You mention an issue with the larger pillars blocking your view which the 360 cameras helped. How bad is it? I ask because I don’t believe the 360 camera is available on the Pure. My Lincoln MKZ presents the same issue; the A pillars are quite thick because the roof had the option of a very large retractable portion of the roof, but the side and rear view mirrors together with the warning lights on the side mirrors are adequate compensation for lane changing, but I do have to double check my front right perspective when making a left turn at an intersection. I have found that a car can be hidden behind the thick A pillar that one might not see with just a quick glance.
 
Thanks. Hearing your account of your initial drive down the garage exit chute, I felt a bit of a quiver knowing (hoping) I will be having the same initial experience with a Pure. You mention an issue with the larger pillars blocking your view which the 360 cameras helped. How bad is it? I ask because I don’t believe the 360 camera is available on the Pure. My Lincoln MKZ presents the same issue; the A pillars are quite thick because the roof had the option of a very large retractable portion of the roof, but the side and rear view mirrors together with the warning lights on the side mirrors are adequate compensation for lane changing, but I do have to double check my front right perspective when making a left turn at an intersection. I have found that a car can be hidden behind the thick A pillar that one might not see with just a quick glance.
I can only chime in to say that it’s my understanding the Pure comes with the 360 cameras if you opt for the DD Pro. Can anybody else confirm or deny?
 
I initially felt the A pillars obstructed my view worse than I prefer. But I don't think they're measurably bigger than those in my Audi Q7. However, the Q7 has more glass (SUV vs sedan) so the pillars seem more onerous in the Lucid. As borski said, you get used to it quickly, and I'm just maybe 6% more cautious because of them (which is undercut by the car being 148% faster).
 
My wife’s A8 was an ‘07. We bought it 3 yrs used and she loved it. She doesn’t drive much…it only had ~90k miles on it when we sold it in May. It was a great trip car. You could cruise all day at 80-90 mph and feel very relaxed. Things started failing this last year. Had to replace ABS circuit board, both fuel pumps, some unspecified exhaust fitting, etc. It was time to move on to an EV. I haven’t had enough time in the Lucid to be completely comfortable yet, but I love it so far. Very tight and responsive, without feeling overly hash. And I haven’t even tried Swift yet, much less Sprint. Also enjoying the “ooh, what kind of car is that?!” looks.
Congrats! It’s a great car And you will love it on trips. Have used it on 3 so far, although all within the state of CA. But it works wonderfully.
 
Thanks. Hearing your account of your initial drive down the garage exit chute, I felt a bit of a quiver knowing (hoping) I will be having the same initial experience with a Pure. You mention an issue with the larger pillars blocking your view which the 360 cameras helped. How bad is it? I ask because I don’t believe the 360 camera is available on the Pure. My Lincoln MKZ presents the same issue; the A pillars are quite thick because the roof had the option of a very large retractable portion of the roof, but the side and rear view mirrors together with the warning lights on the side mirrors are adequate compensation for lane changing, but I do have to double check my front right perspective when making a left turn at an intersection. I have found that a car can be hidden behind the thick A pillar that one might not see with just a quick glance.
Like others have said, the A pillars are a bit thicker than most other cars, but you just have to realize that and glance around them, rather than assuming things are clear. Really not a huge deal.
 
. . . the plastic liner at the driver’s side of the frunk near the hinge was loose.

I had the same problem on my Air which was delivered over 8 months ago. In fact, the trim piece has had to be replaced twice because the rubber gasket became detached from it. I'm surprised this issue hasn't been addressed at the factory by now.
 
Like others have said, the A pillars are a bit thicker than most other cars, but you just have to realize that and glance around them, rather than assuming things are clear. Really not a huge deal.
Thanks. Given that I have adjusted to the MKZ, I don’t anticipate much of an issue then. By the way, Ahort Hills will also be my delivery site. I, too, will be reviewing the lists on this forum and also reading the owner’s manual to guide my orientation. Was your orientation pressed for time by staff?
 
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