Handling between 3 models impressions?

[mikecronis]

With the Touring, you can only get 20-Way with the PureLux I believe currently.

 

[AirPlur]

With the Touring, you can only get 20-Way with the PureLux I believe currently.

Surely subjective but I'd have the fake leather option any day over the leather. Much more pliant and soft, and based on my purelux pure vs comparably driven GTs (15k miles or so), it seems to wear better as well, which i don't think is uncommon for HQ vinyl. Plus vinyl sounds better.

 

[borski]

Surely subjective but I'd have the fake leather option any day over the leather. Much more pliant and soft, and based on my purelux pure vs comparably driven GTs (15k miles or so), it seems to wear better as well, which i don't think is uncommon for HQ vinyl. Plus vinyl sounds better.

It’s subjective for sure. I do love the PurLuxe material, but there is zero chance I’d ever give up my Santa Monica leather in favor of PurLuxe

 

[HariK]

In swift mode 0 to 60 in my pure awd is same as your corvette.

 

[HariK]

Over time all leather seats do wear out. I must say that cloth seats in My 84 Camry still looked good after 14 years and were easy to clean compared fancy leather seats on 98 Lexus LS 400 I had for 14 years. The non leather seats in pure look just fine after 1yr 10 months compared to GT loaner I just returned.

 

[lucidtouringman]

Touring on 20" owner here...I've commented on this before..to me the GT feels just a tad bit too heavy... touring hits the spot for me...Also, my rear passengers surprised me by saying they missed the slightly more comfy back seat on the touring..

 

[mikecronis]

Over time all leather seats do wear out. I must say that cloth seats in My 84 Camry still looked good after 14 years and were easy to clean compared fancy leather seats on 98 Lexus LS 400 I had for 14 years. The non leather seats in pure look just fine after 1yr 10 months compared to GT loaner I just returned.

I think it depends on a lot of factors. Most folks aren't like me such that I will add leather conditioner to the both my cars' seats every week or so. My C6 is a 2012 and they look new. My 2018 CT6 seats are also buttery smooth and supple. Some car companies may use poor leather quality, or some people don't park in garages and their seats get abused by the environment, or are just generally negligent on cars in-general. I myself am over-obsessed and in love with cars. I always make sure the interiors are clean and detailed weekly for the love of it. I don't make passengers or myself take extra care when entering or exiting, however. The cars are USED as cars, but within a day or so I'll make sure they're tip-top polished inside-and-out with no fuss. Dirt happens. Dust happens. I take care of it though. I fight entropy and it fights me.

 

[Lucken]

Surely subjective but I'd have the fake leather option any day over the leather. Much more pliant and soft, and based on my purelux pure vs comparably driven GTs (15k miles or so), it seems to wear better as well, which i don't think is uncommon for HQ vinyl. Plus vinyl sounds better.

I’d agree on the softer and more comfortable aspect of PurLuxe, but I know some of us, myself included, have had material separations requiring repair or replacement. After over a year of ownership, I’ll be making my first visit to the SC in November for a replacement of the seat back material due to a separation.

Other than that one area on the driver’s seat back, the seats look like they did on day one. Given a choice, I’d unquestionably stick with PurLuxe based on softness & comfort. Most people I’ve had in the car think the material is a very fine leather.

 

[Wolfman]

Excellent responses, thank you! Lots of common-sense here, which is why this forum and the people on it are so awesome!
I've owned 3 EVs before, a Cadillac ELR and a Gen1 and Gen2 Chevy Volt (not quite hybrids because power only comes from the battery, the engine only provides electricity to the battery packs, so the State of Colorado classifies it [and charges for] EV tax [pun intended]). I found all 3 to be lively and quick in comparison, with smart and sharp turn-in and crisp acceleration. The Lucid I drove felt sluggish on all counts, though I was in "smooth" mode.

I FELT that my 0-35 mph in my Corvette is faster, easily, especially if in launch-mode than the GT.
At faster speeds, by my "butt-dyno", I found them to be "similar". My C6 with the Stage 3 supercharger 0-60 is 3.4 sec. repeatable, +/- 0.2 mph, and my 0-100 mph is 6.9 sec (on paper, I've only got 7.2).
The GT supposedly gets 0-60 in 3.0 seconds (probably also in launch-mode, which I didn't try, so probably closer to 3.4 sec. in "smooth") and 0-100 mph in 6.2 sec. (again probably in launch-mode, but I was in smooth so maybe a tad slower again).

Not exactly "smoked" but significant enough, and in smooth, non-launch-mode is similar. I can only attest to my dyno and trap times on my C6 "The Julie Newmar" and butt-dyno in "smooth" on the GT.

None of this really matters as the Lucid Air GT is "quick" regardless.

Handling is another matter. I found steering was heavy and resistant. Because steering is "fly by wire" this was dialed-in by Lucid and artificial and has no steering "feel". A Lotus Elise is manual steering and is "all the feel, all the time". You literally feel a pebble through the steering column. It's punishing and rewarding at the same time. I found anything over 100 miles travel to be fairly exhausting with all the analog, tactile input. The Lucid feels to be the opposite of that by my one-time driving experience.

I have an opportunity to "Turo" rent an Air Touring in-town so I'll give it a shot. The GT felt like steering a Spanish Galleon, though arguable perception and reality are disconnected.

I'll try the Air Touring to see if it's more "lively" as lateral-g's are closer to my CT6 Cadillac (0.88g) which is acceptable at 0.91g's (closer to a Pontiac Firehawk WU6 or SS Camaro of the early 2000's).

Wish there was a "coast-mode" as I found the grabby deceleration in the softest setting to be aggressive and dangerous on ice, potentially. The Tesla S-Plaid and Model 3 are just the worst on that front and completely unacceptable. I also found Teslas to be more like a home appliance and sitting in a dentist's waiting room. Blah. The Volts and ELR were not as grabby and some coding updates smoothed-out the transition between brake-pad and regen transition feel. The Lucid's is notchy and separate and distinct and you can feel when the brake pedal engages the pads distinctly and quite obviously. I think some programming can smooth that out too.

It looks like you want performance with the EV. The experience will just be a different one than you had with a performance ICE, like the SC Corvette. The butt dyno on an EV is just deceiving (the Smooth mode notwithstanding). You may get the rush of the torque but the speedometer accelerates quicker without feeling that fast. And when I said smoked, I meant that. The difference to 100mph you mentioned equals 6 car lengths.
ICE cars just feel faster while being slower I can say that because the BMW M8 Comp is a sub 3 second car yet will lose because one needs perfect operating conditions while you just stomp on the pedal in the EV and have near optimal performance (optimal performance means a full and warm battery). Yet the GT should just be viewed as a sports sedan. Unlike the Sapphire, it doesn't have any performance treatment (suspension, seats, etc.); it's just a quick car.
I hope that you can just drive a GT on the road to see if an EV (and a Lucid) is for you. Our Lucid dealer just gave us the key, said "have fun and be back before we close". The car was also not speed restricted

 

[koflo]

Yes you do need those 20-way seats, I got them in the Touring mostly beacause I wanted ventilation, but you can get a snug fit quite well wit the adjustable bolsters, thigh and tilt.

Ehh within reason. I am 90% sure they have revised the seats since my DE-P (based off loaners) but I am a very thin dude and the side bolsters do not get even close to hugging me. One of the few other places the Taycan excels.

To OP, I tend to agree with your evaluation of the handling. The car is very heavy and it shows its weight. Sure it handles better than majority of EVs but I do think there are some EVs that handle better. Or at the very least, hide their weight a lot better. The Air is an amazing overall package (in fact, probably the best overall package) but its still a luxury car first over sports car. So even though you may have been able to inch out some extra performance from changing driving modes, I still think you are going to be unhappy with the Air overall as the weight "feel" will always be there.

 

[illopp00]

I think it depends on a lot of factors. Most folks aren't like me such that I will add leather conditioner to the both my cars' seats every week or so. My C6 is a 2012 and they look new. My 2018 CT6 seats are also buttery smooth and supple. Some car companies may use poor leather quality, or some people don't park in garages and their seats get abused by the environment, or are just generally negligent on cars in-general. I myself am over-obsessed and in love with cars. I always make sure the interiors are clean and detailed weekly for the love of it. I don't make passengers or myself take extra care when entering or exiting, however. The cars are USED as cars, but within a day or so I'll make sure they're tip-top polished inside-and-out with no fuss. Dirt happens. Dust happens. I take care of it though. I fight entropy and it fights me.

Glass Roof does leather no favors for longevity...