Lucid Air or BMW i5

[Steveinarizona]

I came to EVs from a BMW 5 series PHEV. I test drove the I4 and IX and they both drove very, very well. They were the only BMW EVs at the time. I considered both of them but ultimately decided that I just couldn't handle the appearance. I was on the waiting list for a RWD Pure but grabbed a Genesis GV60P instead when it became available and the specs of the RWD Pure were still imaginary.

All of these are great vehicles. They have different positives and negatives. But, IMHO, it is great that we now have real choices on electric vehicles and users can determine which best meets their needs.

 

[no gas]

A friend just bought an i5 several days ago. Knowing I've owned EVs for years, he asked if he could come over for a lesson in chargers & charging since he was in the market for a L2 charger. I had not yet seen an i5 in the wild, so it was an interesting experience. I thought the car looked surprisingly nice in the blue-green color he selected (really better than in the pix and better than I remember in the showroom). Interestingly my wife preferred her i4, saying it seemed sportier to her. The interior is certainly reminiscent of the i4, but with an upgraded look and a few more bells & whistles. During the 5 minute ride to the EA chargers to show him the ins & outs of L3 charging, the i5's ride seemed quite familiar to me, not unlike the i4.

This is his first EV, having had Audis prior. He's actually a classic case of someone who wanted a familiar design, yet wanted to venture into the EV waters. IOW he's a classic case of why I think BMW's initial approach to EVs was the correct one. Although it's early in his ownership experience, he's head over heels in love with the car.

Any EV without a large frunk is a failure in my book, lazy cheap engineering…..now add to that poor range, ugly front end….

 

[Lucken]

Any EV without a large frunk is a failure in my book, lazy cheap engineering…..now add to that poor range, ugly front end….

My i4 easily gets over 300 miles on the highway in nice weather, beating the EPA estimates. Yes, my Lucid beats that, but I wouldn’t call that poor range.

You seem to be really angry about these cars. Are you sure you weren’t beaten up as a kid by some BMW EV?

 

[no gas]

My i4 easily gets over 300 miles on the highway in nice weather, beating the EPA estimates. Yes, my Lucid beats that, but I wouldn’t call that poor range.

You seem to be really angry about these cars. Are you sure you weren’t beaten up as a kid by some BMW EV?

No, not beaten up, BMW compromised with their EVs, not a good EV! No frunk? What’s the point? Transmission tunnel? What’s the point? Poor range, poor efficiency, handles much worse. But hey, it will keep your butt nice!

Savagegeese just said Lucid Air Pure is the electric E39 M5…..I rest my case!

 

[no gas]

My i4 easily gets over 300 miles on the highway in nice weather, beating the EPA estimates. Yes, my Lucid beats that, but I wouldn’t call that poor range.

You seem to be really angry about these cars. Are you sure you weren’t beaten up as a kid by some BMW EV?

BMW makes good ICE vehicles that look ugly and bad EVs that look ugly ….in my humble opinion.

 

[DBV]

Any EV without a large frunk is a failure in my book, lazy cheap engineering…..now add to that poor range, ugly front end….

I think the i5 looks good all around. If it had better range, I would probably get one, as I like BMW iDrive and typically favor BMW. I think BMW has really good build quality, paint jobs, etc. My wife’s 2018 BMW X5d still looks brand new and is built like a tank.

I rarely use my frunk, so no big deal to me, but still agree they should have one. Looking forward to their next gen EV’s

 

[Lucken]

No, not beaten up, BMW compromised with their EVs, not a good EV! No frunk? What’s the point? Transmission tunnel? What’s the point? Poor range, poor efficiency, handles much worse. But hey, it will keep your butt nice!

Savagegeese just said Lucid Air Pure is the electric E39 M5…..I rest my case!

What’s the point? The point is, no gas! The point is electrification, not ticking off every box on your wishlist. It’s not a good EV in terms of what you’re looking for. However it is a good EV in terms of what many long term BMW buyers are/were looking for. BTW, I’ve never used the frunk in any of my many EVs that had one. Not once. I’d bet not having one is not a deal breaker for most shoppers. Again, a 300 mile range is not considered ’poor’, especially when you beat EPA estimates. My Lucid does not beat its EPA estimates, does yours?

No, I think BMW actually sized up many of their buyers correctly. You are very obviously not one of them, but that’s OK, you were never their target audience. They are now moving on to a radical change in their design philosophy (which you’ve conveniently ignored throughout this discussion). They’ve given many of their typical buyers a transitionary period to adjust to the new world of EVs. Makes perfect sense to me, obviously not to you.

Hey, you could always join BMW’s design team!

 

[Pragmatic]

Their market is isolated cars with mediocre driving dynamics. That is not what I'm looking for in a car. But many people are and their current lineup of EVs are a great opening salvo of what should be a good marketing/sales campaign. If they can beat Hyundai/Genesis/Kia at EVs they should due well.

 

[Bobby]

Any EV without a large frunk is a failure in my book, lazy cheap engineering…..now add to that poor range, ugly front end….

I agree but must admit I rarely use the frunk. I wish the cable storage were there. I’d actual rather another battery pack or two up there as a longer-range option.

 

[Ampere]

I'd gladly sacrifice the frunk for an extra 50 real miles (preferably 100 miles) of range.

 

[xponents]

I agree but must admit I rarely use the frunk. I wish the cable storage were there. I’d actual rather another battery pack or two up there as a longer-range option.

I'd gladly sacrifice the frunk for an extra 50 real miles (preferably 100 miles) of range.

Although in theory that would be a good idea, I’d wager that it would mess up weight distribution as well as crash safety. Our EV has a frunk very similar to what you would want (cable storage) and although the floor in the trunk is SLIGHTLY lower thanks to it, the frunk is now completely useless. As they say, you never know what you have until you lose it… I would much prefer being able to put a couple of carry ons or an office briefcase in it than charging cables. I’d also think it would be very convenient to put groceries in it when you don’t want them rolling around and making a mess of the trunk!

 

[Wolfman]

Their market is isolated cars with mediocre driving dynamics. That is not what I'm looking for in a car. But many people are and their current lineup of EVs are a great opening salvo of what should be a good marketing/sales campaign. If they can beat Hyundai/Genesis/Kia at EVs they should due well.

BMW's have/had some of the best drive dynamics in cars that I know. Auto journalists kept on asking what happened to the company over the years as their cars got heavier, more electronically complex all while loosing their feel of the road but I guess they just listened to their customers and build cars they wanted. Most buyers don't care much for drive dynamics and desire comfort, luxury and bells & whistles. One reason why BMW is selling more cars than ever before and have increased their prices for their respective models all while other EV makers do the opposite. The 5 series has definitely been cheaper in the past.

That said, I am not a fan of their design language although I appreciate that they have their own unique designs and are sticking to it. The 3/4 Series have grown on me and I love our M8 design. We are driving an IX50 and the car is well build, very quiet and drives very well. Much better than a Model Y Performance. Low points is the brake modulation but that is strictly software and can be updated as time passes. Everything works reliably. It's just not that much fun to drive but then neither are most SUV's, ICE's or otherwise.
Not a fan of the design of the IX (back looks nice though) and I am hoping that our upcoming Lucid will be as solid as this one. Savagegeese reviews have been very well balanced lately and I appreciate the pros/cons listed.
They love Lucid for what their engineers are trying to embody in their cars. Optimize what EV's can bring to the cars while preserving what driving cars is all about. I am looking for a great sports sedan. Better yet I am really hoping for someone to build a great EV coupe or convertible...

 

[Pragmatic]

I use the frunk constantly. Cooler, weekend luggage and boot bag when going to Vermont. Trunk is for skis/poles and luggage/skis of other people I'm driving.

 

[Pragmatic]

BMW's have/had some of the best drive dynamics in cars that I know.

Key word is "had". Chasing volume and trying to cover all segments has lead to SUVs and bloated over weight cars. The current 3 series is as large as the original 7 series. The public wants soft isolated rides and to please the public BMW delivered. At least when Porsche chased the SUV money they kept their cars true to their original philosophy.

 

[gavram]

I agree but must admit I rarely use the frunk. I wish the cable storage were there. I’d actual rather another battery pack or two up there as a longer-range option.

Same here Bobby. When I had my Model S I used the frink all the time as it had a hatch so I'd put take out food etc in the frunk so I didn't stink up the cabin. The Model S (refresh) had a small awful frunk that was sloped so pizza etc couldn't lay flat in it and I remember thinking how much I was going to enjoy having the Lucid frunk. Fast forward to a year + of ownership and I've only used it once or twice due to the car having a proper deep trunk. I actually preferred the Model S hatchback for practicality, but their frunk layout was really bad.

 

[xponents]

Key word is "had". Chasing volume and trying to cover all segments has lead to SUVs and bloated over weight cars. The current 3 series is as large as the original 7 series. The public wants soft isolated rides and to please the public BMW delivered. At least when Porsche chased the SUV money they kept their cars true to their original philosophy.

That size comparo is an exaggeration and you know it. The E23 was around 191 inches long in its shortest form, and the G20 is 186 inches long

 

[Wolfman]

Key word is "had". Chasing volume and trying to cover all segments has lead to SUVs and bloated over weight cars. The current 3 series is as large as the original 7 series. The public wants soft isolated rides and to please the public BMW delivered. At least when Porsche chased the SUV money they kept their cars true to their original philosophy.

Again, have and had. The matchup against the M8 and Lucid GT certainly had the BMW win. As far as size, a Honda Civic now much larger than the early bigger Accord models; its just the way this goes for virtually all manufacturers.
All true with Porsche but they are a niche manufacturer unlike BMW or Mercedes.

 

[Steveinarizona]

Key word is "had". Chasing volume and trying to cover all segments has lead to SUVs and bloated over weight cars. The current 3 series is as large as the original 7 series. The public wants soft isolated rides and to please the public BMW delivered. At least when Porsche chased the SUV money they kept their cars true to their original philosophy.

Not really.

1977 BMW 7 series: 191" X 71" wide
2024 BMW 7 series: 212" X 77"

1977 Porsche 911: 169" X 63.4"
2024 Porsche 911: 179" X 74"

But I do agree that cars have become bloated...including BMW and Porsche. Personally, I prefer a small vehicle.

 

[terrycs]

How can the new concept BMW be a "Driver's Car" if the interior is super minimalist like Tesla's? That thing seems to be configured to take passengers from point A to point B ... ideally autonomously.

 

[Lucken]

Their market is isolated cars with mediocre driving dynamics. That is not what I'm looking for in a car. But many people are and their current lineup of EVs are a great opening salvo of what should be a good marketing/sales campaign. If they can beat Hyundai/Genesis/Kia at EVs they should due well.

Mediocre driving dynamics? In what world is that true? We really do have some BMW haters here. Fascinating.