When we ordered our beautiful 2023 Air Touring last spring after seeing one on a James Bond film, we couldn't wait for the delivery. Anticipating a "better than Tesla" experience, in a much more beautiful car inside and out. Our now 10 year old 2014 Tesla Model S P85D, nearly flawless in every way was the measuring stick for the new Lucid, and we fully expected the stick would not be long enough for what we would find.
After the Lucid delivery, we immediately had issues with profiles, keys (both mobile and fob) and numerous user interface problems. So, I did as I always do...hit the forums to find out the pulse of these things. What I found was a general reluctance among several posters to tell it like it is. Often an unwary new post which was critical of the car was flamed incessantly. I suspect that the flamers were concerned that the fledgling Lucid company was too fragile to survive an onslought of criticism, constructive or otherwise. I have to admit, I shared their concern, just having spent $110K on an untested vehicle. I desperately wanted this car to perform as spectacularly as it looked. Alas, after many home visits by the friendly Lucid tech, I feel compelled to tell it like it is, not to enrage the fanboy flamers, but to protect perspective new Air buyers from what I now consider my mistake.
This car is the most frustrating car we've ever owned. Not because it doesn't function, or because it's a shop queen. Its not. It's frustrating to see such a beautifully engineered drivetrain, unequalled looks, spectacular driving dynamics, and the quietest ride I've ever driven, burdened with the most disappointing electronics package ever devised. It's as if Lucid spent every last drop of R&D money on the stuff that works and makes us proud, but forgot to budget even enough money for a rudimentary user interface that works. The screens are beautiful, but its all form over function.
Our 2 installed family profiles don't recognize who is driving, despite both fobs and mobile keys being programmed by the Lucid tech. When I sit down with my fob, it often thinks my wife is in the drivers seat. Then I have to manually select my profile, which takes up to 30 secs or more to change. In the interim, I wait with the seat and mirrors wrong until it resets. My wife suffers the same fate. If only one of us drove it, I'd imagine it would be ok but who knows. The Apple CarPlay integration is terrible. When I want to listen to music or a podcast on my iPhone using CarPlay, the entertainment system often doesn't recognize it. So, I then revert to a simple bluetooth connection. Nope, that doesn't work either. Really Lucid? Any $20K Kia works just fine with bluetooth music! My now 10 year old Model S has never once failed to recognize which driver is sitting in the seat and always connects perfectly to bluetooth. Nor has my 2018 Ford F150 ever failed to recognize who is driving, and CarPlay always works in the truck as designed.
The self driving? Our 2014 MS first generation Tesla autopilot still does more and is more accurate than this brand new Lucid autopilot which was promised as FSD. Who on this forum actually thinks that Lucid FSD will be a reality in the next 2 years? I did when I bought the car, but I was duped. Even Ford's autopilot seems more sophisticated than the Lucid. The door handles on the Tesla present themselves before we even arrive at the door, while I stand and wait for several seconds outside our brand new Lucid for it to unlock.
Lucid engineers! Why didn't you just go buy a Tesla and make sure your electronics design would be at least as good as theirs? I'm not asking for better...just equal. Does the Lucid open garage doors with Homelink when the vehicle nears the garage door? Why not? Do the mirrors fold in automatically when in the garage? Why not? When in the garage, does the Lucid leave its doors unlocked like the setting on the Tesla? Why not? Can I select the Lucid's charging amperage at home like Tesla? Why not? And, what have you been doing for the last ten years since we bought the Tesla. All these things worked on our S the day it was delivered in 2014.
When my P85D was delivered in 2014, a 100% SOC was 249 miles. 10 years later, 100% still yields 238 after 65000 miles. Our Lucid? The promised 420 is fantasy. Even at 100% SOC, it only shows 374 miles range, and we never even get close to that in practice. We live in Florida with flat smooth roads and warm temps, so please don't try to use that or driving technique as an excuse. In ten years with 65000 miles, our Tesla has lost only 5% of its range at 100% SOC. The Lucid after only 18 months and 14000 miles, has never delivered close to its promised range...no matter how or where we drive. I don't think the range has degraded with time, I think 420 was a fantasy number when it was brand new. Lucid can find no technical reason for the lack of range, and has offered no solution. The Lucid tech privately told me that he wished they wouldn't have promoted such a high number, and it is the most prevalent complaint he deals with.
Is the old Tesla perfect? No, but nearly so. We could have purchased another Model S in 2023. But we didn't. We wanted instead for the Lucid to be the more beautiful Tesla with an even better electronics package, advantaged by 10 full years of electronics improvements. And instead, we got an over promised, under delivered, spectacularly looking car, where its designers forgot to use and test the electronic interfaces and where the only consistent facet of the car is its electronics inconsistency.
For perspective new Lucid owners, I don't think we bought a lemon because the tech can't find anything wrong. I think we bought a car in which the electronics were woefully under engineered. If you don't care that the things described above won't work well, then buy this car. It's great fun to drive, and better than Tesla is many ways and looks amazing. But like me, if you expect things to work as described in the owner's manual and as promised in the sales process, caveat emptor.
