Lucid Air GT vs Mercedes EQS 580

[yashuneel]

I have Lucid Air GT Silver/Tahoe reservation which I need to confirm in next few weeks (before June 30th 2022). I just got a call from a local MB dealer in Seattle who has EQS 580 (fully loaded, similarly priced as Lucid GT) with 5K dealer markup and September delivery. I have not driven either but based on reviews, I am torn on which one to finalize. Any guidance will be really appreciated.

 

[Sandvinsd]

If they are priced similarly, I would get the Lucid if delivery time is not critical.

 

[LuciPearl]

I have a confirmed order on an Air GT and am wait listed (Sept 2021) to order the 580. As a retiree I have had tons of time for research and decision making. My conclusion: Both are excellent choices, choose the one you like best.

For me the overriding factor was the Air bi directional charging. I am in Texas and and experienced last years freeze. Since then I’ve added solar, battery backup and will add the Air. Even outside of Texas I believe we cannot count 100% on the grid. But that is my bias.

Secondary reasons for me in favor the Air are range, exterior styling, interior simple elegance and storage. In retirement wife and I enjoy road trips, hence range and storage rank high on important features….that may not be applicable for you.

In favor of the 580 for us is the local dealer. We are long time S Class buyers and have an excellent relationship with people at that site. If we went with the 580 it would because it is comforting to know excellent service is literally 10 miles away rather than the Lucid 250 miles (or a mobile unit) away. There is also comforting to believe that fit and finish issues should be minimal with a legacy manufacturer.

Simply go with what you like best and fits your needs. Good luck!

 

[Bunnylebowski]

Having owned a Mercedes and now the Lucid, you’ll be happier with the Mercedes navigation and software in general over Lucid intermittent glitchiness, but the Lucid drives better, has better range, looks better, and while it has less frills/bling, it ironically wins on style by a mile. I was pleasantly surprised to find the Lucid’s steering in Swift mode is every bit as point-and-shoot as Mercedes AMG. It feels like the car just squats down and locks into this level of control and precision I’ve never felt in a car this large/heavy. Non AMG steering/suspension is too floaty/understeer for me. The Lucid also charges stupid fast, I’ve gotten 301kw at an EA charger. I also think the EQS hyperscreen is going to give you serious eye fatigue on any long drives. I’ve road tripped the Lucid and personally like the simplicity of Lucids interface. Mercedes service is excellent but so is Lucid’s, I feel like Lucid service is even more thorough. Also I think the EQS is ugly and the Lucid looks amazing, but that’s personal preference not objective. The Mercedes likely has a cushier back seat. I also think the Mercedes auto-open/close doors is a great idea, when I’m carrying a couple coffees to bring home it would be nice to just step on the brakes to close the door and not have to fumble with two over filled coffees then reach for the door.

In summary, I’m sure the EQS is a great car based on my prior MB experience, but the Lucid is a much more special car and given how it drives and the excellent space and flexibility of the vehicle, I’ll never go back to MB even though I was happy with them.

 

[thecodingart]

I just sold my EQS 580 for a Lucid, feel free to ask away about my EQS experience.

 

[Grnr92663]

I have Lucid Air GT Silver/Tahoe reservation which I need to confirm in next few weeks (before June 30th 2022). I just got a call from a local MB dealer in Seattle who has EQS 580 (fully loaded, similarly priced as Lucid GT) with 5K dealer markup and September delivery. I have not driven either but based on reviews, I am torn on which one to finalize. Any guidance will be really appreciated.

My neighbor isnt so thrilled with his Lucid GT - most have to do with software issues (hence I defer taking mine for a bit more). But if he's about to buy an EV sedan again, he said he would still get the Lucid! Like me, he enjoys driving and has tried all EVs extensively (Porsche, EQS, Audi, Ford) and also currently owns a Tesla MYP.

- Porsche and Audi are super fun to drive but have a laughable range. Very high build quality. Horrendous software as well.
- The EQS has a horrible brake experience and drives like a Buick. Super high build quality & decent software. The range is ok.
- The Tesla S drives fantastic & great software. Great range. But the yoke is competing with the build quality to see which is more pathetic.
- The Lucid drive as well as the Tesla, if not better. Amazing range. Decent build quality. Horrible software.

We both decided to stick with the Lucid because we both believe that software issues would be eventually addressed via OTA - by then the car would be "our" perfect EV. Moreover, the V2G capability of the Lucid is the KEY differentiator that leads to our pick for the car. I saved $30K on the powerwall with the Lucid.

 

[thecodingart]

My neighbor isnt so thrilled with his Lucid GT - most have to do with software issues (hence I defer taking mine for a bit more). But if he's about to buy an EV sedan again, he said he would still get the Lucid! Like me, he enjoys driving and has tried all EVs extensively (Porsche, EQS, Audi, Ford) and also currently owns a Tesla MYP.

- Porsche and Audi are super fun to drive but have a laughable range. Very high build quality. Horrendous software as well.
- The EQS has a horrible brake experience and drives like a Buick. Super high build quality & decent software. The range is ok.
- The Tesla S drives fantastic & great software. Great range. But the yoke is competing with the build quality to see which is more pathetic.
- The Lucid drive as well as the Tesla, if not better. Amazing range. Decent build quality. Horrible software.

We both decided to stick with the Lucid because we both believe that software issues would be eventually addressed via OTA - by then the car would be "our" perfect EV. Moreover, the V2G capability of the Lucid is the KEY differentiator that leads to our pick for the car. I saved $30K on the powerwall with the Lucid.

I mean, just for clarity, the 580 EQS has better range than Teslas in real world performance (I was averaging 340-350 miles on 80mph high way driving), but yeah.. the braking is completely laughable. I would still hands down say the EQS software is better than Tesla’s as well. That’s ignoring Tesla’s absent CarPlay integration and other features. Tesla’s also dont drive well.. like at all. Their steer, turn handling, suspension, wheel tightness have all been compared and measured. Teslas offer instant torque and speed, but for driving enthusiasts everything falls short. That’s what a Porsche is for. My hope is for my Lucid to bridge the ground between the interior quality of a Mercedes, the driving of a Porsche, and eventually the software of Mercedes + Tesla with high range. There’s also the stupid fast charging that Lucid is offering in which the only real competitor is the Taycan for. Teslas have a piss poor bell curve for their charging fall of rate.

 

[Dr_B]

I drove the EQS at an industry event.
Main takeaways:

Back seat is too small.

Of all the media outlets covering the EQS launch, only NYT Autos mentioned this problem. If you’re over 6ft your head will hit the ceiling in the back seat. Car is a non-starter as an airport limo for folks my size. MB claim it’s similar to an “S” class interior, but that’s total BS.

Suspension is too soft.

If you like sports car handling, you’ll hate the EQS. Even in sport mode it drives like a boat. Note: there is a pothole detection feature on some models; it doesn’t work. Apparently it uses the cameras to see imperfections in the road, but it does jack shit. (And believe me, where I live there’s some serious potholes).

Lots of vestigial controls:

There a shifter, but there no transmission. Why do you need a shifter?

There’s a start button, but there’s no engine to start. Why do you need a start button?

Over and over, MB copied controls wholesale from ice models. (This was also a problem with early versions of the Audi e-tron. ) Really unfortunate that MB user interface designers didn’t do a better job adapting EV interfaces. Everything from the feel of the regen to the buttons makes you believe that whoever designed the EQS had never owned an EV before.

There’s no frunk:

Added to the relatively small trunk, the lack of storage makes it a non-starter for suburban shopping trips.

It’s long:

Seriously, it’s like a foot longer than a normal car. Goodbye garage space. Parking in the city is going to be a nightmare. And for what? Maybe a longer car gives you “prestige,” but it’s a real pain as a daily driver.

Hope that’s helpful. I did like the build quality of the Mercedes. And full disclosure, they gave me a free hat.

 

[hydbob]

I drove the EQS at an industry event.
Main takeaways:

Back seat is too small.

Of all the media outlets covering the EQS launch, only NYT Autos mentioned this problem. If you’re over 6ft your head will hit the ceiling in the back seat. Car is a non-starter as an airport limo for folks my size. MB claim it’s similar to an “S” class interior, but that’s total BS.

Suspension is too soft.

If you like sports car handling, you’ll hate the EQS. Even in sport mode it drives like a boat. Note: there is a pothole detection feature on some models; it doesn’t work. Apparently it uses the cameras to see imperfections in the road, but it does jack shit. (And believe me, where I live there’s some serious potholes).

Lots of vestigial controls:

There a shifter, but there no transmission. Why do you need a shifter?

There’s a start button, but there’s no engine to start. Why do you need a start button?

Over and over, MB copied controls wholesale from ice models. (This was also a problem with early versions of the Audi e-tron. ) Really unfortunate that MB user interface designers didn’t do a better job adapting EV interfaces. Everything from the feel of the regen to the buttons makes you believe that whoever designed the EQS had never owned an EV before.

There’s no frunk:

Added to the relatively small trunk, the lack of storage makes it a non-starter for suburban shopping trips.

It’s long:

Seriously, it’s like a foot longer than a normal car. Goodbye garage space. Parking in the city is going to be a nightmare. And for what? Maybe a longer car gives you “prestige,” but it’s a real pain as a daily driver.

Hope that’s helpful. I did like the build quality of the Mercedes. And full disclosure, they gave me a free hat.

Well, pretend you didn't get the free hat to sway your opinion, share with us how you really feel.

 

[thecodingart]

I drove the EQS at an industry event.
Main takeaways:

Back seat is too small.

Of all the media outlets covering the EQS launch, only NYT Autos mentioned this problem. If you’re over 6ft your head will hit the ceiling in the back seat. Car is a non-starter as an airport limo for folks my size. MB claim it’s similar to an “S” class interior, but that’s total BS.

Suspension is too soft.

If you like sports car handling, you’ll hate the EQS. Even in sport mode it drives like a boat. Note: there is a pothole detection feature on some models; it doesn’t work. Apparently it uses the cameras to see imperfections in the road, but it does jack shit. (And believe me, where I live there’s some serious potholes).

Lots of vestigial controls:

There a shifter, but there no transmission. Why do you need a shifter?

There’s a start button, but there’s no engine to start. Why do you need a start button?

Over and over, MB copied controls wholesale from ice models. (This was also a problem with early versions of the Audi e-tron. ) Really unfortunate that MB user interface designers didn’t do a better job adapting EV interfaces. Everything from the feel of the regen to the buttons makes you believe that whoever designed the EQS had never owned an EV before.

There’s no frunk:

Added to the relatively small trunk, the lack of storage makes it a non-starter for suburban shopping trips.

It’s long:

Seriously, it’s like a foot longer than a normal car. Goodbye garage space. Parking in the city is going to be a nightmare. And for what? Maybe a longer car gives you “prestige,” but it’s a real pain as a daily driver.

Hope that’s helpful. I did like the build quality of the Mercedes. And full disclosure, they gave me a free hat.

The EQS has a massive hatchback trunk… it’s pretty darn big. The soft car handling though was a massive turn off for me (as someone who likes sportier cars). It honestly just doesn’t feel good to drive at all. The lack of a frunk is also a terrible miss on their end. I do not understand the trend where legacy manufacturers are trying to back pedal that area, but it is not cool. I missed my frunk more than I thought I would.

The back seats have tons of space (this has been measured and tested by tall people on numerous YouTube channels), but there is an absurdly weird dip in the back seats for child seats (I think) which is a tad awkward if you don’t sit in it “correctly”. The sunroof also has a small clearance overlap with the back glass and doesn’t really have that big of an opening. Not a big deal, but I found it odd.

The start/stop button is also something I HATE and seems to be an unfortunate trend with legacy maker EVs. Seriously, it’s annoying and should go away. The finger print and facial recognition help mitigate this by less friction to get going, but still.

The internal assistant system is trash and a gimmick btw. Do not pay for it… it doesn’t really work 90% of the time or add value.

The drive was definitely the worst part of the EQS next to its questionable jellybean appearance. The breaks are terrible for the weight. Testing the breaks on I4 with a 4 car distance, both me and the self driving feature cannot come to a full stop at 80 miles an hour with 4 car space ahead of us (the max distance for adaptive cruise control). This almost got me into an accident a few times where I had to swerve and is the first car I’ve owned where this has happened to me.

There’s one innovation on the Taycan I honestly wish all EVs had now. The Taycan has dual charge ports on each side of the vehicle. This is something I wish was a standard . The EQS has a single charge port in the back mimicking that if an ICE vehicle. I’ve come to realize this position bites…

The charge fall off in the EQS is really good (not as good as the Taycan but far better than something like a Tesla). The average real world range was 340-350 miles (this is me stress testing it on long drives multiple times) which was pretty amazing to be frank. NOTHING I’ve had has actually hit that yet, so as far as I’m concerned Mercedes has the farthest driving performance EV, besides potentially Lucid, on the market.

The EA integration and experience was great, the map software filters for charge stations needs work. The mobile app is wonderful, but they are missing a proper phone as a key system for the EQS which bites.

There are some settings here and there that aren’t persisted between drives. This has become a norm for some new EVs, but is a bullish trend with legacy automakers not understanding the market. The most obvious example is regen strength. I’m unsure why anyone would think a user wants to consistently change the regen amount and it’s senseless to consider this as such, but having to set strong regen each time bites. The paddles make it far easier than others (like the button on a Porsche), but it’s still just not good.

Tying into software, CarPlay on the hyper screen is pretty darn godly. Mercedes has gone over and beyond with their integration and ensured to implement hooks to display directions from CarPlay on the driver screen. Small touches like this are huge improvements to the experience.

Lastly, I have a controversial opinion as being a first time Mercedes owner, but the crowd attracted by owning a Mercedes and the people at the dealership were not company I wanted to keep. I felt like a premium gangster to be frank and that’s not what I’m going for. This could be tied to my location in Orlando FL, but the experience left a bad taste in my mouth and drew the wrong attention.

 

[MPawelek]

At 80 miles per hour you are supposed to maintain a 8 car distance, not 4.

 

[thecodingart]

At 80 miles per hour you are supposed to maintain a 8 car distance, not 4.

I’m actually referencing the max distance configuration settings for the adaptive cruise control. It very well might have been 8 in the end. The breaks are absolutely horrid though.

 

[ctonylee]

I haven't driven the EQS but parked next to one a few days ago. Hate to say it but the build quality in Lucid is much nicer than the Mercedes (don't roast me for saying that, it's subjective). There's a plastic, sorta cheap vibe with the Mercedes. The guy who was parked next to me let me sit in it for a few minutes. The screen real estate is pretty impressive, but does one need all that? I guess that's subjective as well.

 

[thecodingart]

I haven't driven the EQS but parked next to one a few days ago. Hate to say it but the build quality in Lucid is much nicer than the Mercedes (don't roast me for saying that, it's subjective). There's a plastic, sorta cheap vibe with the Mercedes. The guy who was parked next to me let me sit in it for a few minutes. The screen real estate is pretty impressive, but does one need all that? I guess that's subjective as well.

The plastic air vents and chrome plastic trim is what got me the most.. like really?

 

[ctonylee]

The plastic air vents and chrome plastic trim is what got me the most.. like really?

Yeah I noticed that as well. I mean Mercedes? Wasn't impressed.

 

[Steveinarizona]

I have a confirmed order on an Air GT and am wait listed (Sept 2021) to order the 580. As a retiree I have had tons of time for research and decision making. My conclusion: Both are excellent choices, choose the one you like best.

For me the overriding factor was the Air bi directional charging. I am in Texas and and experienced last years freeze. Since then I’ve added solar, battery backup and will add the Air. Even outside of Texas I believe we cannot count 100% on the grid. But that is my bias.

Secondary reasons for me in favor the Air are range, exterior styling, interior simple elegance and storage. In retirement wife and I enjoy road trips, hence range and storage rank high on important features….that may not be applicable for you.

In favor of the 580 for us is the local dealer. We are long time S Class buyers and have an excellent relationship with people at that site. If we went with the 580 it would because it is comforting to know excellent service is literally 10 miles away rather than the Lucid 250 miles (or a mobile unit) away. There is also comforting to believe that fit and finish issues should be minimal with a legacy manufacturer.

Simply go with what you like best and fits your needs. Good luck!

Excellent post. I have the same feeling about my BMW dealership but in my case, while the dealership is only about 2 miles away, the Lucid service center is only about 11 miles away. So both are accessible. The IX is a terrific BEV (I have test driven it) but it is so $%RE$R^T ugly. At this point the Lucid is still my first choice (I have reserved a Pure but might upgrade to a Touring if they have figured everything out by then).

 

[borski]

Yeah I noticed that as well. I mean Mercedes? Wasn't impressed.

I had this exact reaction. It felt extremely cheap, for a very expensive car.

 

[titanrook]

I just sold my EQS 580 for a Lucid, feel free to ask away about my EQS experience.

I have an EQS 580 and am looking to sell it for a Lucid Touring. Would like to know your thoughts. I haven't had a chance to drive a Lucid yet. What I like about the EQS are: (1) great Car Play integration; (2) great suspension; (3) solid charging; (4) fairly intuitive infotainment software. What I don't like: (1) brakes; (2) exterior appearance; (3) disappointing rear seats.

Thanks!

 

[LuciPearl]

I owned the AIR GT for 3-4 months, then sold it for an EQS SUV. My reason for selling was I am just too big to be climbing in and out of it with my bad back. Agree with all your positive points on the EQS, however, after experiencing the AIR charging speed I wish the EQS charged faster. Not a big deal since most of my charging is done at home.

A bigger EQS miss for me is lack of bidirectional charging.

I did have an AIR service that could not be done at my house, so Lucid flat bedded it 250 miles. It was there a couple of weeks due to parts availability. If I have a problem with the EQS the dealer is 10 miles away. So consider that. I have no idea on parts availability.

I like both vehicles. Very different but both very nice. Very clear and obvious differences so it comes down to personal choice.

I am on the GRAVITY list. When called I will likely say no only because my wife loves the EQS SUV. My decision would be the GRAVITY assuming I like the looks and sight lines when driving. However, happy wife, happy life. So get your significant other opinion before proceeding.

Bidirectional charging is important to me so when MB comes out with it we will probably buy another EQS SUV. However, we will visit a Lucid showroom to try out the GRAVITY.

 

[thecodingart]

I owned the AIR GT for 3-4 months, then sold it for an EQS SUV. My reason for selling was I am just too big to be climbing in and out of it with my bad back. Agree with all your positive points on the EQS, however, after experiencing the AIR charging speed I wish the EQS charged faster. Not a big deal since most of my charging is done at home.

A bigger EQS miss for me is lack of bidirectional charging.

I did have an AIR service that could not be done at my house, so Lucid flat bedded it 250 miles. It was there a couple of weeks due to parts availability. If I have a problem with the EQS the dealer is 10 miles away. So consider that. I have no idea on parts availability.

I like both vehicles. Very different but both very nice. Very clear and obvious differences so it comes down to personal choice.

I am on the GRAVITY list. When called I will likely say no only because my wife loves the EQS SUV. My decision would be the GRAVITY assuming I like the looks and sight lines when driving. However, happy wife, happy life. So get your significant other opinion before proceeding.

Bidirectional charging is important to me so when MB comes out with it we will probably buy another EQS SUV. However, we will visit a Lucid showroom to try out the GRAVITY.

It’s hard to use bidirectional charging as a selling point for Lucid when they still dont actually support it yet..