One Weekend with Lucid Gravity Dream Edition #319 (Former Model X Owner)

[Ron_Burgundy]

After driving a Tesla for 13+ years (S, X and Y at various times) and a Rivian R1S, I feel like the Gravity is super luxurious! I know it’s all relative, but I feel like it reminded me what I was missing when I didn’t have an ice car (luxury) and includes insane driving dynamics to make me feel as if it IS the perfect car.

Okay, enough love for now.

 

[nm835]

Many cars today have an intermediate turn signal position, from which it immediately auto-returns, but which flashes the turn signals 3-4 times.

I assume it auto closes once you start driving, right?

I put our Gravity order in about a week ago. Long-time EV owner (still have my Roadster from 2011), have also had an early Model Y and now on our second leased Model X. Some questions:

• Will the Gravity charge using our existing Gen 2 Tesla Wall Connector? And if so, at what power level (we have 240 volts and up to 80 amps available)?
• What should I expect from Dream Drive, both pro and con?
• With the Teslas, road tripping is straight-forward as it auto-chooses SuperCharger stops for you, which you can override pretty easily, especially since the stations are show-able on the map. What are Gravity owners doing?
• Is CarPlay available yet? And when it is, how will finding SuperChargers while in Apple's Maps app work?

FWIW, we haven't hated our Model X's like some here. FWDs have always worked, although front seat riders do have to co-ordinate their closing to not get hit. Worst thing is probably that the Model X's cabin always sounds like a window is not rolled fully up, even though they are. OK, maybe worst thing is the location of the horn and turn signal buttons.

The charging port close on our GDE appears to be 100% manual, kinda a down grade.
Our turn signal do just flash for a few times and stop, and continue if pressed further .

 

[Ron_Burgundy]

The charging port close on our GDE appears to be 100% manual, kinda a down grade.
Our turn signal do just flash for a few times and stop, and continue if pressed further .

All Gravity charging ports are manual. Some like it, some don’t.

 

[Smorgasbord]

The only annoying thing - and it's very slight - on our Model S's automatic charge port door is that the car isn't instantly ready to be plugged in when it opens. You have to wait a second, maybe a second and a half. Lucikly, it makes a sound when it's ready. Our older Model 3 had a flimsy tiny automatic charge port door that was unreliable for some owners.

 

[JoeSchmo]

I had the 6-seater too, and you're right—I opted for it because it felt like easier ingress/egress into the 3rd row, but I didn't realize that I was making a tradeoff in cargo space and the captain chairs layout is unreasonably spartan. My daughter ended up preferring to squish into the 3rd row over the 2nd row because at least then she had a place to lean against.

If I have to summarize all of it, I think Tesla's minimalist design looks good in photos and makes for a great first impression, but it falls down on ergonomics and wears itself out over time. Of course, I haven't had the Gravity long enough to know whether that'll prove to be true with it in the long term, but I didn't realize how many things I was missing until I explored the interior in one of the test drives.

For those that have/had a six seater model X, how many were disappointed that the same wasnt offered with the gravity, atleast not yet?

 

[Smorgasbord]

I have no doubt Lucid (a much younger company)

Just to be clear, Lucid was founded in 2007 (as Atieva), Tesla in 2003.
From what I've heard from ex-Lucid employees, Rawlinson was not on-board with modern software development practices. Hopefully, that has long since changed.

 

[JoeSchmo]

I know you are correct with Atieva starting in 2007 BUT i wouldnt say they were a car company from the start or company was built from the ground up with the plan in mind. I dont believe we have ever heard that stated, correct me if im wrong. But i believe from scratch, because i think they got serious when they brought rawlinson on, they were a good 9 years behind Tesla in time period and brought a car to market even about the same number of years after starting. Because while the roadster was first, i wouldnt consider it a match because i think it was just a limited production run.

Software is a topic that can easily be over simplified at times. Its not novel or a different approach that any other app architecture. Atleast it shouldnt be. Scaling has the same concerns. Development has the same concerns; Testing has the same concerns. (Car software isnt the only software created that affects peoples lives, think your IV in hospital that controls flow rate). Software is software, and WILL have the same problems. Bugs get put in the backlog for the current sprint based on company needs and priorities. They dont have unlimited money to bring on devs and even if you did, the age old analogy is true. Getting 9 devs doesnt shrink the time to release by 9 any more than 9 mothers can reduce the delivery date for a pregnancy.

Software in a vehicle is the new norm, almost every new car to market has an OS and has features available for the car. Software will have bugs, its just the way it is.

 

[borski]

I know you are correct with Atieva starting in 2007 BUT i wouldnt say they were a car company from the start or company was built from the ground up with the plan in mind. I dont believe we have ever heard that stated, correct me if im wrong. But i believe from scratch, because i think they got serious when they brought rawlinson on, they were a good 9 years behind Tesla in time period and brought a car to market even about the same number of years after starting. Because while the roadster was first, i wouldnt consider it a match because i think it was just a limited production run.

Software is a topic that can easily be over simplified at times. Its not novel or a different approach that any other app architecture. Atleast it shouldnt be. Scaling has the same concerns. Development has the same concerns; Testing has the same concerns. (Car software isnt the only software created that affects peoples lives, think your IV in hospital that controls flow rate). Software is software, and WILL have the same problems. Bugs get put in the backlog for the current sprint based on company needs and priorities. They dont have unlimited money to bring on devs and even if you did, the age old analogy is true. Getting 9 devs doesnt shrink the time to release by 9 any more than 9 mothers can reduce the delivery date for a pregnancy.

Software in a vehicle is the new norm, almost every new car to market has an OS and has features available for the car. Software will have bugs, its just the way it is.

Correct. They renamed it Lucid much later, specifically because they had decided to produce vehicles rather than just produce components. That was new. You don’t need a massive factory in AZ to produce components, and that didn’t start getting built until much later than 2007.

 

[TahoeMichael]

...
Neither of my two Xs were like that when I drove them off the lot new, but a year or two into the ownership experience, the squeaks and creaks crescendoed and despite many service visits, they were never quieted. If anything, they got worse.
...

To be fair to Tesla, we'll have to see how many creaks a Gravity has once they have a year or two of driving in them. Not that I'm expecting Gravity to age the way you're describing you experienced with the X.

 

[TahoeMichael]

The only annoying thing - and it's very slight - on our Model S's automatic charge port door is that the car isn't instantly ready to be plugged in when it opens. You have to wait a second, maybe a second and a half. Lucikly, it makes a sound when it's ready. Our older Model 3 had a flimsy tiny automatic charge port door that was unreliable for some owners.

This is probably a sign that I'm an old fart who hasn't adapted to modern conveniences, but I mostly don't get the appeal of everything being motorized in a vehicle. If it genuinely adds utility, great. But flipping open a gas/charge door by hand has always struck me as no big deal. I also don't know why I need a motor to open/close the frunk. Motorized 2nd row window shades I get, because manually operated would require me to stop the vehicle. I also don't understand why so many people view the plug-and-charge functionality as being so important. I've never thought it was a big deal to swipe my CC at a gas station. Going back to motors: gratuitous motors just seem like more things to break. As a person who tends to keep cars long past the warranty period, I'd rather have simple and reliable.

 

[bryway]

Just to be clear, Lucid was founded in 2007 (as Atieva), Tesla in 2003.
From what I've heard from ex-Lucid employees, Rawlinson was not on-board with modern software development practices. Hopefully, that has long since changed.

Didn't think I needed to be so pedantic. Please forgive the oversimplification (if there was one).

While I understand the technicality you've raised, my intent was simply that Tesla has been mass producing cars + the in-vehicle and mobile app software to control them (they pioneered this space), much longer than has Lucid. I consider Tesla's true mass production start to be the original deliveries of Model S, which I think began sometime in 2012, and Lucid's to be deliveries of Air, which I think began sometime in 2021. There's a yawning nine-year gap between the two.

 

[bryway]

To be fair to Tesla, we'll have to see how many creaks a Gravity has once they have a year or two of driving in them. Not that I'm expecting Gravity to age the way you're describing you experienced with the X.

In both instances the majority of noise came from the FWDs so, sure, we'll see.

 

[borski]

To be fair to Tesla, we'll have to see how many creaks a Gravity has once they have a year or two of driving in them. Not that I'm expecting Gravity to age the way you're describing you experienced with the X.

While you’re obviously right that it remains to be seen, my Air DE is still entirely creakless, and I think @hmp10, despite his plagued cars, would say the same?

 

[hmp10]

While you’re obviously right that it remains to be seen, my Air DE is still entirely creakless, and I think @hmp10, despite his plagued cars, would say the same?

I would.

Our Model S Plaid was squeaking and groaning in its hind quarters by 10,000 miles. Driving the same roads in our Air, we're over 42,000 miles with a dead quiet body structure.

 

[JoeSchmo]

An interesting sidenote for creaks and road noise is concrete vs asphalt. Asphalt is widely considered quieter for road noise but obv can be a bad ride (read: potholes) in some climates due to nature of temp changes over time.

 

[TahoeMichael]

While you’re obviously right that it remains to be seen, my Air DE is still entirely creakless, and I think @hmp10, despite his plagued cars, would say the same?

Yeah, the positive experience that people have had with the Air is going a long way to instilling my faith that buying a Gravity is a good idea.

 

[Smorgasbord]

i wouldnt say they were a car company from the start or company was built from the ground up with the plan in mind.

All I'm addressing is making excuses for poor software. Lucid has been around long enough and the vehicles are priced high enough that the software should be great. Just like owners expect the driving dynamics and luxury to be great, so they should expect the software to be great.

Not perfect - just great.

 

[borski]

All I'm addressing is making excuses for poor software. Lucid has been around long enough and the vehicles are priced high enough that the software should be great. Just like owners expect the driving dynamics and luxury to be great, so they should expect the software to be great.

Not perfect - just great.

One thing people forget is there is a lot of software that lives beneath the surface. Lucid’s 1000Hz TCS? Software. All of their suspension dynamics? Software. Charging / inverter Magic? Software. And so on.

What people complain about is infotainment. When you’re building motors and battery packs for other manufacturers, you don’t have to worry about infotainment software.

So, a better argument would be that “Atieva’s software” is pretty great. Lucid’s software has lots of room to grow.

 

[Smorgasbord]

In both instances the majority of noise came from the FWDs so, sure, we'll see.

Our current Model XLR creaks in the body, somewhere near the back.

What's worse is that when driving it sounds like a window in the front is cracked open. But, they're fully closed, there's just a ton of wind noise from the door seals.

 

[iorchii]

Agreed with the whistling window - haven't spent $150k for our 2016 P90D - it really was "cool" with the FWDs, moving the captain's chair forward to let passengers into the 3rd row, helicopter cockpit & only electric SUV at the time. After 9 years, you figure they would get it right or a complete refresh.