Is Lucid styling the problem?

[allenmhc]

I'm not saying it looks BAD per se, but most reviews constantly harp on the 'minivan-esque' styling.. not a problem for me, but im saying the more younger, single folk who "want to be seen" or identify with a certain brand/lifestyle, eg G-wagen, Range rover, Urus, Cayenne, X6 etc, these cars sell in bigger numbers, and if you want to be successful in the higher price tiers, those are the kinds of buyers Lucid will eventually need to court, not just those looking for the most efficient vehicle. A lot of times those expensive purchases are more emotional, and while the Gravity may look good, it doesnt have that kind of "presence" that you might expect on a 6 figure vehicle. If ultimate utility were the case then Toyota Siennas would sell for $100k.

especially nowadays, a lot of these EV's are adopting the same light bar across the front of the car

And i also agree that brighter colors and wheel combos might help, at least give it a nice Red or blue hue.

That doesn't make sense, for two reasons.

1. All those cars are built by established companies, with established brands that took them decades to build up. You can say the same thing about the best-looking Korean or Chinese car, that they don't have the "presence" of a 6-figure vehicle—by which you actually mean they don't have the branding and cachet of established luxury brands, because…they're newer. Of course they don't.
2. No car maker can rely on the influencer "market" for the bulk of their sales. Younger, single people aren't the audience for 6-figure cars, so there's no real business case to cater to this segment of the population for the sake of a few YouTube likes.

 

[socktucker]

That doesn't make sense, for two reasons.

1. All those cars are built by established companies, with established brands that took them decades to build up. You can say the same thing about the best-looking Korean or Chinese car, that they don't have the "presence" of a 6-figure vehicle—by which you actually mean they don't have the branding and cachet of established luxury brands, because…they're newer. Of course they don't.

I think the "threat" of BYD is massively exagerated in the USA. Nobody here is buying a Chinese car. VINFast failed, Kia and Hyundai took decades to be taken seriously too.

 

[dbsb3233]

I'm not saying it looks BAD per se, but most reviews constantly harp on the 'minivan-esque' styling..

I know that many of those comments (and I'd venture to say it's probably 80% of them) come from the army of Tesla fanatics on social media that are just taking a dig at Lucid (or more precisely, anything that's not a Tesla). And if it weren't about the "minivan" shape, it would be about "can't drive itself!", or something else from column B or C. It's basically their job to slam anything non-Tesla.

Personally I take it as a compliment that they're saying it's as roomy and spacious as a minivan (even though they don't intend it that way).

 

[illopp00]

I submitted to a Cards and Bids discussion as one of the greatest sleepers ever The joke about cars being slower than Honda Odyssey's takes a new light if you are saying a Gravity is a minivan beating everything...

 

[Lycra]

The Cayenne EV is stupidly expensive.

In Germany the Lucid is not much cheaper, full spec gravity gt ist 150.000 €, and i can get the cayenne for that money as well

 

[Lycra]

with tax in germany.
That is 176.000 $ by the way.

 

[Macrocosmcwh]

My car is a hot piece of ass!

Yes... I think some new colors would be helpful.

I do agree with most in the software is lame category... but that is being fixed good 3.0 UX is coming....

But my car is stunning... and I got Sapphire wheels coming....

 

[Bdr100]

I think the "threat" of BYD is massively exagerated in the USA. Nobody here is buying a Chinese car. VINFast failed, Kia and Hyundai took decades to be taken seriously too.

Don’t dismiss BYD. I was in Jordan a couple months ago (left a couple days before Trump started his little war). Since Jordan is not oil rich, EVs are very popular and heavily supported. I saw tons of BYDs. Probably the most common new (less than 3 year old) car that I saw on the roads. The only reason BYD is not making inroads in US is 100% tariffs. Also, with China’s control of its industries with regards to spying, etc. I would never trust a BYD. As soon as things go south on US/China relations, then BYDs suddenly start self driving off cliffs. But BYD will provide serious competition for Lucid in Europe and the Middle East where they are not as heavily taxed.

 

[Pragmatic]

Looked their transit buses a decade ago, hard pass. But I'm sure they've improved since then.

 

[Macrocosmcwh]

Don’t dismiss BYD. I was in Jordan a couple months ago (left a couple days before Trump started his little war). Since Jordan is not oil rich, EVs are very popular and heavily supported. I saw tons of BYDs. Probably the most common new (less than 3 year old) car that I saw on the roads. The only reason BYD is not making inroads in US is 100% tariffs. Also, with China’s control of its industries with regards to spying, etc. I would never trust a BYD. As soon as things go south on US/China relations, then BYDs suddenly start self driving off cliffs. But BYD will provide serious competition for Lucid in Europe and the Middle East where they are not as heavily taxed.

I will add to this.... I can bet with 100% AS WE SPEAK China is trying to make a play to bring these cars into the US. If that happens.... Lucid and many others will be in trouble.

 

[gaskiller]

G

no, it looks great. People love it, both of them.

You compare Lucid's tech features like HUD, Ambient Lighting, convenience features, and Audio to Mercedes and BMW and you quickly realize Lucid is not even in the conversation with the big guys. Same with build quality and some choices like the wonky 3rd row, bad keyfobs, etc. Lucid is still a company sorting their bugs out and it shows.

Not to mention the software is still really buggy and their cars can be a hassle to own and service is spotty at best. I think Lucid will still appeal to wealthy gearheads that don't mind if the owner experience is a bit cumbersome because the car rips. But for a buyer who expects a luxury experience for the money like a G Class or a Range Rover, 7 series, S class....Lucid isn't it. There is also a severe lack of refinement, which is no acceptable at that price point. For example, the random "ZEN" word that is on the screen in the gravity, for some mode that doesn't exist/isn't active, and it just there because its a year old software error that has never been fixed. That simply wouldn't happen in a legacy manufacturer's luxury offerings.

But the design is great, they look good.

Rangerovers reliability is horrendous, Mercedes SUVs start creaking after 3 years…..I’ve been around and Lucid makes a much better vehicle. This is just more noise put out by those few who have had issues. Reality is very different from r=these few posters who had valid issues.

 

[drb3333]

Don’t dismiss BYD. I was in Jordan a couple months ago (left a couple days before Trump started his little war). Since Jordan is not oil rich, EVs are very popular and heavily supported. I saw tons of BYDs. Probably the most common new (less than 3 year old) car that I saw on the roads. The only reason BYD is not making inroads in US is 100% tariffs. Also, with China’s control of its industries with regards to spying, etc. I would never trust a BYD. As soon as things go south on US/China relations, then BYDs suddenly start self driving off cliffs. But BYD will provide serious competition for Lucid in Europe and the Middle East where they are not as heavily taxed.

 

[gaskiller]

Yup. Mercedes uses the Burmester brand liberally, from "ordinary" mid-tier systems to the mega ultra premium class like Bowers & Wilkins and AKG Studio Reference. (FYI, AKG Studio is crap.) By contrast, Porsche uses Burmester for their ultra premium systems and Bose for mid-tier.

I am casting a pretty wide net for my next car. The short list will likely be driven mostly by what is actually available at the time I need to pull the trigger. Here are my personal assessments based on the styling and related comments above. None of my options are perfect, so the choice will come down to what I can get and what compromise can I live with.

Car​	Blockers​	Dependability	HUD​	Exterior Styling​	Interior Styling​	PaaK​	Audio​	Luxury Support​	ADAS​
Polestar 3		Average	Average	Good	Good	Yes	Spectacular	Average	Hands-on
R2	Availability	TBD	Average	Good	Good	Yes	Good	Average	Hands-free
iX3	Availability & Audio	TBD	Advanced	Funky	Stark	Yes	Crap	Full Lux	Hands-free
Gravity	Fob & Software	Below Average	Below Average	Very Good	Very Good	No	Good	Below Average	Hands-on
EX60	Availability	TBD	Average	Good	Good	Yes	Spectacular	Average	Hands-on
GLC EV	Availability	TBD	Average	Good	Gorgeous	Yes	Good	Full Lux	Hands-on
Macan EV	No OPD	Average	Advanced	Gorgeous	Gorgeous	No	Very good	Full Lux	Hands-on
Lyriq V	Software & Audio	Below Average	Advanced	Very Good	Very Good	Yes	Crap	Below Average	Hands-free​

No driving dynamics?

 

[gaskiller]

I think the "threat" of BYD is massively exagerated in the USA. Nobody here is buying a Chinese car. VINFast failed, Kia and Hyundai took decades to be taken seriously too.

I was just in a Kia EV6, horrible ride, plastic interior.

 

[ke2]

From the side view the Gravity looks gorgeous. Clean lines, looks fast just sitting there. I've had a couple of people comment to me on this. So from an exterior standpoint I think Lucid has done a good job.

Now if you say "here's an SUV how does it look?" I think many/some folks would instantly go "that's not an SUV it isn't boxy". This is something that Rivan doesn't have to battle as you look at their cars and instantly it says SUV (R1S) or pickup truck (R1T, although a bit of an odd duck on the pickup).

 

[dbsb3233]

I will add to this.... I can bet with 100% AS WE SPEAK China is trying to make a play to bring these cars into the US. If that happens.... Lucid and many others will be in trouble.

That's what their plans for a Mexico plant are likely about. They'd have to change some elements to meet USDOT regulations for US sales, but that's doable.

But they don't make ICE/hybrid, so they wouldn't have a huge impact in the US for some time anyway. We're still overwhelmingly an ICE/hybrid market, and that's not likely to change nearly as quickly or dramatically as some predict (those predictions of rapid EV adoption were already proven wrong the last 5-10 years). We may not even hit 40% BEV market share till 2035.

Eventually, yes, BYD will likely be a big player here, but I think it's quite some years away. By then, the bigger disruptor may be robotaxis anyway, gradually chipping away at the personal car market.

 

[joec]

Design is subjective. Personally, I love everything Lucid has introduced so far, and from what I can tell with Cosmos, it'll be along the same lines, which, again, I think is great.

Not everyone would agree, of course. This is true of ANY car.

For me, I find just about every other car on the road, particularly in the EV space, pretty hideous. With exceptions, of course. (Still love what Porsche, Lamborghini, Aston Martin are putting out there, for instance.) But to me, the vast majority of other brands are the ones who are putting out uninspired, meh designs. Or overly masculine, hyper aggressive compensation machines.

Lucid may not be for everyone. Nothing is. But it's a unique look. It's a brand that is consistent, elegant, and well thought out.

And as far as young vs old goes, every one of my young nephews and nieces think my car is badass. So I disagree with the "skews older"

In other words, of Lucid's many problems, I think design is decidedly NOT one of them.

 

[deemz]

View attachment 38791with tax in germany.
That is 176.000 $ by the way.

View attachment 38792

Given those prices, have you ordered the Cayenne yet?

 

[illopp00]

Yeah I mean every BMW model line has a different sized and shape of bucktooth grill at this point. You can tell it's a BMW but none has accused any of them of looking beautiful.

 

[Macrocosmcwh]

Given those prices, have you ordered the Cayenne yet?

I work for Porsche.... at a dealership.... We only have a few orders so far... But it will pick up... We are having a party here soon to show off the car.