Out Of Spec Lucid Air ADAS Review--Not great, Bob.

[MGRMLN]

I got my AGT because it was far more of a driver’s car in every way than a Model S Plaid. The Tesla D is is better than the HA on my AGT, at least for now, but that’s a secondary use case, not my primary. For me, the car has to reward the act of driving. That is when my AGT shines. And for the times I must make an office commute, HA works very well for me on my mostly unchallenging highway, bumper to bumper traffic slogs. And I use ACC for the secondary streets. But when I want to drive, it has proper feedback, steering feel and the balance I expect of a high end sports sedan. Yes, the fact that the LIDAR complains when it rains is annoying. Yes, they aren’t using anywhere near the capability of all the cameras and sensors, but I know they will.

 

[illopp00]

I just finished an 850-mile two-day road trip and used HA for most of the trip with no problems. It functioned very well where the road markings were faint or worn nearly completely on RT 95. The rain for most of the second day reduced visibility but there was no problem with the center of lane tacking. The easiest part was the frequent stoppages for construction on RT 95. HA allowed me to monitor the stop-and-go conditions flawlessly without actually driving (I never took my hands off the wheel), as it came easily to a full stop and gently resumed as the traffic began moving. Much of the trip was in narrowed lanes bordered by Jersey barriers. Lots of 18-wheelers throwing up spray but the Air is stable and always felt safe. Yes, the set distance, even at one bar on adaptive cruise control, allowed some folks to cut in front of me for no apparent benefit to them, but the car slowed safely and gradually.

I love to drive the AGT, but it is good to get relief safely from the tedium of highway driving. I do not find fault with the lane change function in HA, as some have reported. If I were to review the AGT I could find trivial flaws, but they mostly involve subjective judgments. The HVAC did not clear the fogging when the dampness increased at about 35-40 degrees outside, requiring me to start the front and rear window defrosters for a few minutes. That was a inconvient, but tolerable. I find the seating position, support and comfort far better than the Porsche 18-way seats either in the newer 911s or the Panamera. Entry and exit for my 5'11"' frame is not as easy as an SUV, but hey, this car is more like a sports car than a large sedan. The view through the rear window is a bit restricted and the exterior rearview mirrors are a bit small, but otherwise, the driving position is extremely good for highway, local, or canyon driving. I never expected FSD. As we have seen with software improvements to HA since it was introduced, I expect further refinements to it and other functions in time. The Air, including ease of charging, is by far the best car that I have owned and is a pleasure to drive.

I just did a 140-mile roadtrip from Michigan back and it worked surprisingly well. It was raining, foggy, misting the whole way back with visibility about 5-8 car lengths. Was definitely helpful to keep distances and speeds lower since you couldn't see what was going on ahead. I was mostly surprised because it usually would complain perpetually about LIDAR needing to be cleaned due to stuff in the way, but it was just rock steady. I also think in the test, there are some conflicting settings in the DD Pro. I always run the car in the most 'defensive driving' settings, IE farthest follow distance and middle/normal reaction time. I noticed he had everything set to late notice. It definitely struggles a bit on curves that are tighter, and you don't keep some torque on the wheel, but I just rest my hand on the lower left of the wheel and gently nudge to keep in the middle of the lane on curves.