Impressions after my first 1,000 miles

[Bobby]

I had very poor range today, it also rained all day. I attributed it to the abs working round the clock but it also dropped to 53° so maybe that too.

Those factors are tiny compared to average speed and severity of acceleration.

 

[hmp10]

Lol true. If I could get 4.5 with my DE P, that would be super.

That would be more than super. The DE-P (with 21" wheels) is EPA-rated at 3.9 m/kWh. Our DE-P (21" wheels) does about 3.1-3.2 miles/kWh when driven at 80mph steady state on road trips in mild/hot weather with A/C and audio running. That's still over 3 hours of driving if we keep SOC between 20% and 90% -- well beyond the limits of our bladders and more than we could get out of our Tesla Model S Plaid even if we used 100% of its battery capacity.

 

[openball]

Those factors are tiny compared to average speed and severity of acceleration.

I was on active cruise 90% of the time (highway assist wouldn't work on my routine route were it usually does), set at 70 mph, but traffic put me between 50 and 65 most of the time. I drove 150miles, and had about 24% left. 3.0KW/hr - I've always averaged 3.7 driving at a faster speed.

 

[PaulC]

AT/19"/smooth over 5 hours driving /ACC 65-70 /4.4mi/kwhr

 

[Tom]

Remember, aerodynamic drag increases with the square of speed. So speed itself is a significantly larger factor than drag coefficient.

I like to think that the laws of physics apply to every EV equally. Besides, who would want to be caught dead in any EV other than the Air…?!

 

[Chandi23]

I also see LiDAR blockage message when driving in rain. Looks like there is nothing that can be done during rain.

 

[openball]

I also see LiDAR blockage message when driving in rain. Looks like there is nothing that can be done during rain.

I've never seen that message. Are you on the most recent sw version?

 

[BobFM]

I've never seen that message. Are you on the most recent sw version?

There is another thread that discusses this issue. I get that error message during light rains but not heavy rains. Hopefully will be resolved in future OTA.

 

[arun.sharma787]

I also see LiDAR blockage message when driving in rain. Looks like there is nothing that can be done during rain.

I’ve seen that message coming up… and if I remember correctly it wasn’t raining buckets that day.

 

[victoryroad]

I do not get anywhere close to some efficiencies noted. 3.2 overall in 11,000 miles in 8 months, half of which were those with temperatures in the 30s to 40s. First 2000 miles in milder weather and averaged 3.6. I have 19s and keep the pressure at spec. Rarely go above 75 even when that is the speed limit. Lately driving in Swift although most of my miles have been in Smooth. Could only get to 4 mi./hWh with HAVAC off. Lately getting in the low to mid-3s in 80-degree weather. I do not have range anxiety, even on a 2000-mile cross-country drive, as EA stations were easily accessible at Walmarts near the Interstates--and they all worked fine.

 

[openball]

I do not get anywhere close to some efficiencies noted. 3.2 overall in 11,000 miles in 8 months, half of which were those with temperatures in the 30s to 40s. First 2000 miles in milder weather and averaged 3.6. I have 19s and keep the pressure at spec. Rarely go above 75 even when that is the speed limit. Lately driving in Swift although most of my miles have been in Smooth. Could only get to 4 mi./hWh with HAVAC off. Lately getting in the low to mid-3s in 80-degree weather. I do not have range anxiety, even on a 2000-mile cross-country drive, as EA stations were easily accessible at Walmarts near the Interstates--and they all worked fine.

Its probably your terrain, driving style or outside temperatures (either too hot or too cold). I average 4.2 miles driving modestly on 19's, with AC on (AC doesn't seem to affect my range). I usually get 4.5/4.8 miles heading out and on my way back it drops to 4.2. heading down/up hill is my guess. Driving as regular me, puts me at 3.8

 

[racerx2095]

Awesome! The EPA is done at 55mph I believe

I can’t drive 55!!

 

[Steveinarizona]

Remember, aerodynamic drag increases with the square of speed. So speed itself is a significantly larger factor than drag coefficient.

100% agree and 100% don't care!

 

[Todd]

I've had my Touring for about 1 month and have driven it about 1,000 miles. I love the way the car drives - it feels solid, fast, smooth, quiet, very comfortable and luxurious. Now that I've become familiar with the screens layout, I really like how the various functions are laid out. And I have zero complaints about quality, whether paint, fit and finish, etc. The car gets lots of compliments on how striking it is. While overall, it has been nearly trouble free (I haven't called Lucid Service yet), there are a few items I wonder if other owners have experienced:
- Whenever I drive the car in the rain, I get a warning on the screen that the Lidar is not functioning and to check possible blockage.
- I have an Android phone and my wife has an iPhone. We have our profiles set up but even when I get in the driver's seat with my key fob in my pocket, it typically goes to her profile. I think that CarPlay overpowers every other profile setting. I've heard the same from other non-Lucid car owners. Also, I find it odd that I have to set up the garage door opener for each profile.
- The distance at which the key fob unlocks the car varies considerably and there have been a few times where I had to push the key fob button to unlock the car, and once I had to push the button multiple times to unlock the car.
- The number one concern I have with the car is range. This is my first EV and I've read that the range of all EV's is noticeably reduced at higher highway speeds. My Touring seems to do well, close to predicted range, at 65 mph. The range drops of fairly quickly at 75 mph. So on a trip, when we are driving at what the typical speed is on the open highway, i.e. 75 mph+, I expect my range will be quite lower than the 382 it's rated at. Given that the Lucid Air has the lowest drag coefficient, I thought that the range would be less impacted than other EV's but that doesn't seem to be the case. I haven't done a long road trip yet, but will be curious about the charging frequency and experience.
Concerns/issues aside, I love the car and have zero regrets, so far!

A couple of thoughts on range:

1. Yes, speed will dramatically decrease your mileage in any vehicle.
2. Cold weather will have a profound, negative effect on your electric vehicle range.

 

[Volund]

A couple of thoughts on range:

1. Yes, speed will dramatically decrease your mileage in any vehicle.
2. Cold weather will have a profound, negative effect on your electric vehicle range.

Last year I got a 3.0 average during one of the coldest winters we've had in over 20 years.

I've now taken my aero caps off and am averaging 3.2-3.8 depending on how I drive

But seems I'm mostly a 3.0-3.2 all year kind of guy

But I usually don't go below 80mph

 

[nototrader]

Just drove from nyc to Montreal. Impressions. The car drives great. The navigation is terrible. I gave up and just used Waze. HA is like 10 years behind Tesla autopilot. It just pings from side to side. Super weird. Didn’t want to update to new version before we left just in case something bad happened so not sure if the Waze alerts leading to no or low music sound is fixed. The car is a little overstepping in terms of nanny behavior. A couple of times I’m driving with two hands on the wheel and looking straight and the car starts buzzing with the red car icon on the dash telling me to hold the steering wheel. No driving assist activated during these warnings. I even purposely swerved slightly back and forth to show the car I was holding the steering wheel and it still took like 10 seconds for the warning to stop buzzing. I’m not sure how everyone else drives, but I’m at like 2.4 miles/kw for the trip. Is everyone going 55? Overall, the car didn’t break down and is super fun to drive at high speeds. Very planted and stable with the 21” wheels. Charging was ok. No reflection on the car except the 350 chargers maxed at 200 and dropped down to 115 after a couple of min. As stated many times, 40% of the chargers were out of service at both my stops. Hopefully all works well on the way home as well!

 

[Volund]

Just drove from nyc to Montreal. Impressions. The car drives great. The navigation is terrible. I gave up and just used Waze. HA is like 10 years behind Tesla autopilot. It just pings from side to side. Super weird. Didn’t want to update to new version before we left just in case something bad happened so not sure if the Waze alerts leading to no or low music sound is fixed. The car is a little overstepping in terms of nanny behavior. A couple of times I’m driving with two hands on the wheel and looking straight and the car starts buzzing with the red car icon on the dash telling me to hold the steering wheel. No driving assist activated during these warnings. I even purposely swerved slightly back and forth to show the car I was holding the steering wheel and it still took like 10 seconds for the warning to stop buzzing. I’m not sure how everyone else drives, but I’m at like 2.4 miles/kw for the trip. Is everyone going 55? Overall, the car didn’t break down and is super fun to drive at high speeds. Very planted and stable with the 21” wheels. Charging was ok. No reflection on the car except the 350 chargers maxed at 200 and dropped down to 115 after a couple of min. As stated many times, 40% of the chargers were out of service at both my stops. Hopefully all works well on the way home as well!

Navigation They use HERE, which is a step behind Google, but carplay fixes that.
But I've had no navigation issues except for a few times a couple updates ago.

The HA recently got updated to ping pong because they allow you to move slightly within the lane during lane centering. Bad move imo and I and many others don't like it. I think they'll adjust it and fine tune it.

Tesla is vision based only and many of us who own Tesla's would rather have Dream Drive than the phantom breaking nightmare especially on road trips.

Geolocking to highways is more of a mature and grown up move than allowing you to put others at risk on normal streets, at least that's been my experience with the Model 3.

Overall though agree with everything else you mentioned. But you bring on 21", you will have lower efficiency. I'm on 19" and don't drive below 80 mph and I average 3.5

 

[hydbob]

The steering wheel warning is torque based not capacitive. Holding the wheel steady won't trigger the warning to stop, but slightly wiggling the wheel will stop it.

 

[nototrader]

Two different warnings. I believe the one you are talking about is while HA is on. I’m talking about the car yelling at you to grab the wheel while you are just driving on your own and looking straight ahead with one or two hands on the wheel. No cell phone. No danger. No anything weird. I just found it a bit odd and overstepping.

 

[getafix]

I've had my Touring for about 1 month and have driven it about 1,000 miles. I love the way the car drives - it feels solid, fast, smooth, quiet, very comfortable and luxurious. Now that I've become familiar with the screens layout, I really like how the various functions are laid out. And I have zero complaints about quality, whether paint, fit and finish, etc. The car gets lots of compliments on how striking it is. While overall, it has been nearly trouble free (I haven't called Lucid Service yet), there are a few items I wonder if other owners have experienced:
- Whenever I drive the car in the rain, I get a warning on the screen that the Lidar is not functioning and to check possible blockage.
- I have an Android phone and my wife has an iPhone. We have our profiles set up but even when I get in the driver's seat with my key fob in my pocket, it typically goes to her profile. I think that CarPlay overpowers every other profile setting. I've heard the same from other non-Lucid car owners. Also, I find it odd that I have to set up the garage door opener for each profile.
- The distance at which the key fob unlocks the car varies considerably and there have been a few times where I had to push the key fob button to unlock the car, and once I had to push the button multiple times to unlock the car.
- The number one concern I have with the car is range. This is my first EV and I've read that the range of all EV's is noticeably reduced at higher highway speeds. My Touring seems to do well, close to predicted range, at 65 mph. The range drops of fairly quickly at 75 mph. So on a trip, when we are driving at what the typical speed is on the open highway, i.e. 75 mph+, I expect my range will be quite lower than the 382 it's rated at. Given that the Lucid Air has the lowest drag coefficient, I thought that the range would be less impacted than other EV's but that doesn't seem to be the case. I haven't done a long road trip yet, but will be curious about the charging frequency and experience.
Concerns/issues aside, I love the car and have zero regrets, so far!

Any car when it is driven fast get less range as the down force increases the weight and hence reduces gas average or in ev range.