Just got so lucky with my order

[ken43]

Hi everyone,

I’m new to the forum so this is my first post. I wanted to give an account of my experience and ask a couple questions.

So, I drive a lot, 3x a week, 50+ miles to work and back. My 2017 chevy volt started to slow down, and I decided to go and get a new car. The lucid caught my eye. I am a professor and I felt that something like a taycan would be very flash, and turn too many heads for my taste. The lucid is luxurious, but not in your face. Has a certain subtlety which I value in a car. As a younger man, I had a couple of sports cars (Nissan 200sx) but recently I have been driving economy cars. I felt the lucid might bring back some of my lost love for cars and would be practical for me and my family.

So I go to test drive a lucid, liked the car very much. So much room, feels like a fighter jet. More like a cockpit than any plane I have ever been on. It’s also very zippy, which is have missed in the past 10 years. My 16 year old son who just got his license was also very impressed. Now because I drive so often, I was especially interested in dream drive pro and the glass canopy. I was very impressed, with the luxury and driving dynamics.

I was in the car with my son, speaking to my now sales advisor about possibly doing a lease. I was very sad to find that there were no air touring cars available with the dream drive pro package. As she says this my son bursts out that he found one, A grey air touring with every option I wanted. I immediately placed my pre-order and decided to lease the car. We are picking it up next weekend from San Francisco, and driving it home to LA.

Sorry for the long rant, now for some questions I have.

1. Does the touring drive like a sports sedan, or does it feel far heavier? I have driven my friends BMW M3 Competition and I really like that sporty stiffness, handling and acceleration which it offers. I obviously don’t think it will be he same but in sprint, is it similar?

2. Is it an easy to drive car. I have a 16 year old (previously mentioned) who would probably also drive the car occasionally (and get his head taken off if he scratches it). I was wondering if I should let him drive it, or if it’s a bit too much car for a new driver?

Any help would be greatly appreciated, and I look forward to joining the community!

I think you will find the Air drives and handles wonderfully, probably not like the M series, but still great. It is also easy to drive, so your son would no doubt find it 'easy', but I wouldn't let easy be the criteria for letting your son behind the wheel by himself. It is just way too easy to go fast in this car, and I doubt there are many 16-year-olds who could avoid the temptation to do so. I'd find a nice used Toyota or Honda with 150 HP to get your son into.

 

[newlucidguy]

it's a hard car for a new driver to drive imo .. and an expensive one to repair and just expensive in general. it's big and fast .. I've been driving for a long time and it's taken me an adjustment period. my opinion is that it's too much car for a 16yo driver.

 

[borski]

I’d also prefer to learn/teach on an ICE car.

 

[illopp00]

Totally agreed.

To be clear, if I have kids they’re learning on a used civic lol.

My dad had one paramount rule when teaching me to drive: do not surprise other drivers.

My daughter will be getting our CR-V in 5 years . It's at a point now where it can handle abuse without me worrying about it.

 

[Goblyhoo]

Thank you for everyone’s responses. I think that I will definitely keep the driving supervised for a bit. Yesterday my kid drove my buddy’s supercharged bmw m3. It has about the same horsepower (625hp) and far less torque. I thought for sure it would be too much car for him to handle. But he drove it very well. I have a video where he was being slightly jerky with the gas pedal, but he was just having some fun. He had a smile on his face. To be honest I am going to have to explain to him that driving this car is not the same as the honda fit, and that he can far easily get into trouble. If deemed responsible I’ll allow him to take it out occasionally. One scratch and he’s lost his privileges (and maybe his life .

 

[californiaboy935]

View attachment 27466

Thank you for everyone’s responses. I think that I will definitely keep the driving supervised for a bit. Yesterday my kid drove my buddy’s supercharged bmw m3. It has about the same horsepower (625hp) and far less torque. I thought for sure it would be too much car for him to handle. But he drove it very well. I have a video where he was being slightly jerky with the gas pedal, but he was just having some fun. He had a smile on his face. To be honest I am going to have to explain to him that driving this car is not the same as the honda fit, and that he can far easily get into trouble. If deemed responsible I’ll allow him to take it out occasionally. One scratch and he’s lost his privileges (and maybe his life .

He'll love it! And you will too.

 

[RMSko]

View attachment 27466

Thank you for everyone’s responses. I think that I will definitely keep the driving supervised for a bit. Yesterday my kid drove my buddy’s supercharged bmw m3. It has about the same horsepower (625hp) and far less torque. I thought for sure it would be too much car for him to handle. But he drove it very well. I have a video where he was being slightly jerky with the gas pedal, but he was just having some fun. He had a smile on his face. To be honest I am going to have to explain to him that driving this car is not the same as the honda fit, and that he can far easily get into trouble. If deemed responsible I’ll allow him to take it out occasionally. One scratch and he’s lost his privileges (and maybe his life .

The other thing that takes getting used to is the “one pedal” driving (you can turn this off though)

 

[midelectric]

A feature I'd like to see is a key-linked driver profile that limits power and speed with a geo-fencing alert. I have a teen getting to driver age who's learning on my car as it's the only car I have, but I absolutely can't see letting him drive it unsupervised when he gets his license.

 

[Goblyhoo]

A feature I'd like to see is a key-linked driver profile that limits power and speed with a geo-fencing alert. I have a teen getting to driver age who's learning on my car as it's the only car I have, but I absolutely can't see letting him drive it unsupervised when he gets his license.

I personally thought about getting one of those apps that tracks speed and location which could be useful. However this wouldn’t prevent breaking the rules only notify me. To be honest I fully expect him to speed, in the lucid or in an underpowered honda. The goal is for him to do it safely and within reason. Going 10 over on an empty highway is very different than going 40 over weaving through traffic. When he’s with me he drives quite safely with the occasional spurt of spirited driving. It’s different for every parent but I think with a bit of extra precaution it can be done. If I survived this long so can he. If that trust is broken then so is his privilege to operate such an expensive machine.

 

[chazglenn3]

@Goblyhoo I feel I must point something out here. You said in your first post that you drive 300 miles per week. Make sure that you get additional miles as part of your lease package or you will surely exceed the allowable lease mileage, usually 10K per year. I paid extra to get 15K per year on my Polestar 2 lease because I drive a lot myself. At the usual 25 cents per mile, the overage costs can add up quickly! And, I also in my youth owned a Nissan 200SX Turbo. Great car!

 

[AlDente]

To address your question regarding the way the Air will feel vs. the M3. The M3 will feel lighter and more direct. The Lucid will feel heavier and ride much better, as well as be much quieter and handle bumps much more deftly. It won't turn in as immediately. The video looks like an older M3, maybe most likely when they still had some handling magic, although who knows how well that suspension has held up. I drove a 2017 for a day, and that thing rode like an oxcart, (and I've gravitated towards performance vehicles my whole life).

The only way you will be disappointed in how the Air drives is if you want a very light sports car feel, or if you miss the drama and emotion of an ICE vehicle. Otherwise, the chassis is a top sport sedan choice ICE or electric.

 

[PhotoEye]

Strongly suggest reconsideration of regular, unsupervised driving of a Lucid by any teenager, whose neurological development (cognitive function, emotional management, signal processing) is not yet complete. Being great at tennis, basketball, soccer, or even chess is certainly helpful in contributing to prudent risk assessment and judgement (along with some high school physics).

I am sure you love your teenage son, without reservation. Consider all the learning you acquired, driving and otherwise, since being 16, that have informed your driving skills today. Give him a chance, too.

 

[PhotoEye]

Strongly suggest reconsideration of regular, unsupervised driving of a Lucid by any teenager, whose neurological development (cognitive function, emotional management, signal processing) is not yet complete. Being great at tennis, basketball, soccer, or even chess is certainly helpful in contributing to prudent risk assessment and judgement (along with some high school physics).

I am sure you love your teenage son, without reservation. Consider all the learning you acquired, driving and otherwise, since being 16, that have informed your driving skills today. Give him a chance, too.

Some background: https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/pub... to Know 1,7 7. The teen brain is resilient.

 

[Amster]

I remember some of the driving I did as an 18 year old. It was good that I had a Plymouth Arrow with a top speed of 100. Although I might have gotten grounded less often if I could have gotten home quicker by driving at 150mph.

 

[Goblyhoo]

Strongly suggest reconsideration of regular, unsupervised driving of a Lucid by any teenager, whose neurological development (cognitive function, emotional management, signal processing) is not yet complete. Being great at tennis, basketball, soccer, or even chess is certainly helpful in contributing to prudent risk assessment and judgement (along with some high school physics).

I am sure you love your teenage son, without reservation. Consider all the learning you acquired, driving and otherwise, since being 16, that have informed your driving skills today. Give him a chance, too.

Yes I don’t think that letting him drive unsupervised would be a good idea. He has had his license for about 6 months and proven himself to be at least competent at driving. As you can maybe see in the video he definitely had his fun in the car. But speeding and driving recklessly is very different in my opinion, and the latter is the problem.

Going 10 over in an empty street is almost deemed normal and is unlikely to get you in legal trouble. What I have been seeing more and more here in Los Angeles is this culture of reckless speeding on the highway, cutting in between traffic. As a neuroscientist, the relationship between free will and decision making fascinates me.

Risking one’s own life and others in the pursuit of adrenaline seems to me a silly risk to take, but these individuals justify the risk by way of social validation (either through social media or people in the vehicle with them). To me, a 50 year old man, the risk is not worth the reward, but to others (more specifically younger people) the opportunity of fame is worth the great risk that comes with driving in this manner.

I hope as all parents do that my son will make the right decisions. It’s my job and responsibility as a parent to ensure his success and happiness. It’s also far more expensive to add him onto the insurance, because the car is so powerful and fast. He like many teenage boys his age has expressed interest in automobiles and I like to think driving this car would help him along his journey with cars.

He is very privileged and in a position where I can have this car and I like to spoil him a bit. He’s an amazing student (has straight A’s, wrote and published a paper on finance, completed many highly competitive summer programs/internships etc.) and I think driving this car would make him more happy then it could ever make me. I’m going to keep the driving supervised for a month, and then allow him to take short trips with it. If he wants to go to the gym or something like that I think that driving the nicer car would elevate the experience and be a nice treat. I don’t expect him to go 10 under and take a 5 second stop at every stop sign. I expect him to enjoy the car responsibly where applicable. He’s shown a level of maturity beyond his years.

I see where you’re coming from, and I agree with much of what you are saying. From his past actions and occurrences I deem him to be responsible enough to handle the car mentally. It will take time for him to have the skill necessary to really push the car, but lucky for me we live in LA where there is no room to push the car (I understand it accelerates blisteringly fast but areas for sustained high speeds are more rare).

With all these things in mind I feel allowing him to drive the car to be applicable, and the added safety features the car has may make it far easier to drive in the day to day. Let me know what you think. Your input is much appreciated.

 

[Goblyhoo]

To address your question regarding the way the Air will feel vs. the M3. The M3 will feel lighter and more direct. The Lucid will feel heavier and ride much better, as well as be much quieter and handle bumps much more deftly. It won't turn in as immediately. The video looks like an older M3, maybe most likely when they still had some handling magic, although who knows how well that suspension has held up. I drove a 2017 for a day, and that thing rode like an oxcart, (and I've gravitated towards performance vehicles my whole life).

The only way you will be disappointed in how the Air drives is if you want a very light sports car feel, or if you miss the drama and emotion of an ICE vehicle. Otherwise, the chassis is a top sport sedan choice ICE or electric.

I’m curious to see how it feels compared to my old 200SX, the Lamborghini Gallardo I rented a couple years ago, the corvette Z06 I rented last summer, and my friends supercharged M3 my friend has. Obviously won’t handle like a sports car, but if it has some of that character, it would make me very happy. I guess we will have to wait until Saturday and see.

 

[Goblyhoo]

@Goblyhoo I feel I must point something out here. You said in your first post that you drive 300 miles per week. Make sure that you get additional miles as part of your lease package or you will surely exceed the allowable lease mileage, usually 10K per year. I paid extra to get 15K per year on my Polestar 2 lease because I drive a lot myself. At the usual 25 cents per mile, the overage costs can add up quickly! And, I also in my youth owned a Nissan 200SX Turbo. Great car!

I am on tenure next year and won’t drive nearly as much.

 

[doubletwist]

I’m curious to see how it feels compared to my old 200SX, the Lamborghini Gallardo I rented a couple years ago, the corvette Z06 I rented last summer, and my friends supercharged M3 my friend has. Obviously won’t handle like a sports car, but if it has some of that character, it would make me very happy. I guess we will have to wait until Saturday and see.

I haven't driven any of the others but it's quite obviously NOTHING like a 200sx. I mean even the Air Pure has 4x the power and weighs like 2.5 times more. It's a million times more plush and technologically advanced, including the suspension.

 

[Bunnylebowski]

I promise I’m not trying to be contrarian here, but I think the Lucid would be an excellent car to learn to drive on IF you have DDPro with all the cameras. A lot of driving is low speed avoidance of obstacles. The Lucid is excellent at this with the sensors and cameras. The visibility without those options is poor however. Most importantly I find the Lucid easier to control than any other car I’ve ever driven, in spite of its weight. It is very easy to drive slow, and also very easy to drive fast, and very easy to go from slow to fast in the blink of an eye. Most importantly the car is insanely safe. It will not roll over unless you literally roll down an embankment. The only Lucid accidents I’ve seen in which someone was harmed or killed were because the driver was doing what those blacked out Dodge Challenger fools do. No amount of safety tech can save you from your own recklessness.

I do think you definitely need another ICE or hybrid vehicle for your kid to learn on as well, but I think the Lucid has made me a better driver and I never am even slightly worried about the safety of the car, and I’ve got a 4 year old in the back seat a lot.

And @Borski’s suggestion of the home assistant integration speed alert is a great idea.

 

[PhotoEye]

Yes I don’t think that letting him drive unsupervised would be a good idea. He has had his license for about 6 months and proven himself to be at least competent at driving. As you can maybe see in the video he definitely had his fun in the car. But speeding and driving recklessly is very different in my opinion, and the latter is the problem.

Going 10 over in an empty street is almost deemed normal and is unlikely to get you in legal trouble. What I have been seeing more and more here in Los Angeles is this culture of reckless speeding on the highway, cutting in between traffic. As a neuroscientist, the relationship between free will and decision making fascinates me.

Risking one’s own life and others in the pursuit of adrenaline seems to me a silly risk to take, but these individuals justify the risk by way of social validation (either through social media or people in the vehicle with them). To me, a 50 year old man, the risk is not worth the reward, but to others (more specifically younger people) the opportunity of fame is worth the great risk that comes with driving in this manner.

I hope as all parents do that my son will make the right decisions. It’s my job and responsibility as a parent to ensure his success and happiness. It’s also far more expensive to add him onto the insurance, because the car is so powerful and fast. He like many teenage boys his age has expressed interest in automobiles and I like to think driving this car would help him along his journey with cars.

He is very privileged and in a position where I can have this car and I like to spoil him a bit. He’s an amazing student (has straight A’s, wrote and published a paper on finance, completed many highly competitive summer programs/internships etc.) and I think driving this car would make him more happy then it could ever make me. I’m going to keep the driving supervised for a month, and then allow him to take short trips with it. If he wants to go to the gym or something like that I think that driving the nicer car would elevate the experience and be a nice treat. I don’t expect him to go 10 under and take a 5 second stop at every stop sign. I expect him to enjoy the car responsibly where applicable. He’s shown a level of maturity beyond his years.

I see where you’re coming from, and I agree with much of what you are saying. From his past actions and occurrences I deem him to be responsible enough to handle the car mentally. It will take time for him to have the skill necessary to really push the car, but lucky for me we live in LA where there is no room to push the car (I understand it accelerates blisteringly fast but areas for sustained high speeds are more rare).

With all these things in mind I feel allowing him to drive the car to be applicable, and the added safety features the car has may make it far easier to drive in the day to day. Let me know what you think. Your input is much appreciated.

I have nothing but respect for your approach to sharing the joy and excitement of the Lucid with your son. He sounds like an amazing young man who already appreciates the privileges you provide (not all young people do at that age). Moreover, as a neuroscientist, you understand the concern I shared, which is a healthy counterweight to just handing over the fob and walking away!

Congratulations on the new addition to the family. You will LOVE the car every time you get in it.