Question to Lucid owners; has your opinion on range anxiety changed after owning the Lucid Air?

[DreamPaloAlto]

Lucid charges fast. I haven’t had the anxiety. ESP knowing there are EA stations all over me.

 

[Bunnylebowski]

EA quality seems to depend on your location. There is only one location in our neglected state of Rhode Island, which used to be unreliable on the 350kw but ok on the 150kw, and was utterly non functioning for the Lucid last time I tried. But there’s a free Chargepoint 62kw 1/4 mile from my work, and an excellent EVGo 350kw not far, so if I needed a DCFC then I can go there. On road trips, I’ve had 100% success charging at EA stations. It’s worth pointing out however that some are bizarrely slow for no reason, and I’ve had 350kw ones say the power was limited by the station and only pull 90kw, so that’s when I feel bad for those with less range/slower charging cuz they have to wait even longer, and the slow stations mean there’s a line cuz it takes each owner longer to charge! But sometimes I’ve gotten lucky and got 301kw off of one EA charger, so again, it’s just a crapshoot whether you’re gonna end up near a good site or a bad site.

The best plan for road trips is to check out your locations on PlugShare and see if there’s a L2 charger at or near wherever you’re staying. Two hotels I stayed at had a L2 charger or 14-50 outlet, so it was great as I didn’t have to stop anywhere to charge and just plugged in for free overnight and woke up to a full battery, did the same on night two after driving around everywhere all day, then made it home never having to DCFC the car at all, which is better for the battery and actually range too since you’re not burning efficiency using the fans to regulate battery temps as much after DCFC. As The Mandalorian and @hydbob would say, This is the Way.

 

[the1sen]

Range anxiety for me in my location is worse with the Lucid than with my Tesla.

Tesla charging network is solid. I would jump in my MXP right now and drive across country without a full charge because I am not anxious about their network.
EA network is in disrepair. I am told they will be addressing it within a year's time. I hope that's the case.

 

[borski]

Range anxiety for me in my location is worse with the Lucid than with my Tesla.

Tesla charging network is solid. I would jump in my MXP right now and drive across country without a full charge because I am not anxious about their network.
EA network is in disrepair. I am told they will be addressing it within a year's time. I hope that's the case.

You don’t have to use EA; you can use chargepoint, evgo, or nearly any other network.

I have no range anxiety in my Lucid, and I did in other EVs.

 

[nasilemak]

Range anxiety for me in my location is worse with the Lucid than with my Tesla.

Tesla charging network is solid. I would jump in my MXP right now and drive across country without a full charge because I am not anxious about their network.
EA network is in disrepair. I am told they will be addressing it within a year's time. I hope that's the case.

where is the source of your information about "addressing EA's issues within 1 year"?

 

[the1sen]

where is the source of your information about "addressing EA's issues within 1 year"?

 

[the1sen]

where is the source of your information about "addressing EA's issues within 1 year"?

He and several other electric car guru's are all touting that EA is R&R'ing their point of sale charging gear with new federal grants

 

[TCGT]

I recently completed a 3400 mile road trip from Saint Paul, to Arlington, and back up through Asheville, and Louisville. Used EA exclusively (mostly 150kw), with only a couple of times having to switch pumps due to a fault. Charging on 350's is only useful when you've drawn down to around 20% as the efficiency curve flattens out quickly and they end up closer to pulling the same as 150's - usually in the 120kw range.

On my last day I met an EA tech who said the 2 pumps are there for redundancy, and only one will work at a time (met some frustrated folks who didn't know that either, when they tried charging next to me). He said the EA chargers were designed in Italy, and they use independent contractors to install, with many messing up the wiring, causing many them to become unusable. Thankfully, I rarely had that experience.

I had range anxiety with my M3 going to Sioux Falls, which is only 200 miles away. Range anxiety on the Lucid is non-existent.

 

[Coltonw011]

I recently completed a 3400 mile road trip from Saint Paul, to Arlington, and back up through Asheville, and Louisville. Used EA exclusively (mostly 150kw), with only a couple of times having to switch pumps due to a fault. Charging on 350's is only useful when you've drawn down to around 20% as the efficiency curve flattens out quickly and they end up closer to pulling the same as 150's - usually in the 120kw range.

On my last day I met an EA tech who said the 2 pumps are there for redundancy, and only one will work at a time (met some frustrated folks who didn't know that either, when they tried charging next to me). He said the EA chargers were designed in Italy, and they use independent contractors to install, with many messing up the wiring, causing many them to become unusable. Thankfully, I rarely had that experience.

I had range anxiety with my M3 going to Sioux Falls, which is only 200 miles away. Range anxiety on the Lucid is non-existent.

Yea, the 2 cables are only there to provide a plethora of vehicles to charge as charge port locations are not universal.

 

[nasilemak]

He and several other electric car guru's are all touting that EA is R&R'ing their point of sale charging gear with new federal grants

thanks for sharing!

 

[EKu]

Appears we’re from same ‘neck of the woods’ Michael.
I took delivery end of June and currently have 12,877 miles. I’ve installed a level 2 and no longer use any of the local EA chargers you referenced. Coming back from Denver trip I used Boise EA and then Ellensburg which I recall only had one 350 functional.
My range experience is a low of 3.1 M/KWH from Wall SD to Worthington MN. On this leg drove 85. My best range was 4.7 M/KWH from Tomah Wi to Gaylord Mi. On this leg drove around 60 as I needed the range (465 miles).
Given the option of chargers on any route, I tend towards maximizing range and doing the 100% charge as I find the longer wait fits well getting a bite to eat and in route snacks.

I still can't believe you're getting such good efficiency. My car has 7k miles on it now, and according to the trip computer I've averaged 2.9 m/kwh since day 1. I'm not a crazy driver and drive a pretty healthy mix of local and HWY miles.

 

[Jeanwoodie]

Wow, surprising per my experience.

I have 13,197 as of today and was the first 12,000 service performed by Seattle Service Center (last Tuesday).
I did not retain the total mileage on my trip computer, however “Trip B” has 6,470 miles with a 4.1 m/KWH average.
Today I did 11.3 mile round trip to Cle Elum Safeway with a 4.8 m/KWH
(“Trip A”) all on secondary roads.
Going to Arizona next week and will record mileages between charges, speed (dependent on needed range), and m/KWH.

 

[victoryroad]

I am on a less steep learning curve but yes the initial range was disappointing. After three weeks and 1800 miles at 3.5 mi/kWh I am calibrating my expectations more confidently on range and do not have anxiety.

 

[nasilemak]

Wow, surprising per my experience.

I have 13,197 as of today and was the first 12,000 service performed by Seattle Service Center (last Tuesday).
I did not retain the total mileage on my trip computer, however “Trip B” has 6,470 miles with a 4.1 m/KWH average.
Today I did 11.3 mile round trip to Cle Elum Safeway with a 4.8 m/KWH
(“Trip A”) all on secondary roads.
Going to Arizona next week and will record mileages between charges, speed (dependent on needed range), and m/KWH.

I am on a less steep learning curve but yes the initial range was disappointing. After three weeks and 1800 miles at 3.5 mi/kWh I am calibrating my expectations more confidently on range and do not have anxiety.

interesting data points. did a paperback math and the lucid EPA range is about 4.6mi/kWH.

 

[Nyc10069]

I’ve driven the car on 200 mile trips each way and I’ve had enough charge to return. This is my first EV. I love it but admittedly I do get nervous that I’m not going to find an EV charging station with a working pump—that is what frustrates me is that the charging pumps don’t always work.

I’m that person who hates stopping for gas so I just need to be a little more planful if I need to charge.

 

[DougB]

I have "charger" anxiety. Will there be any working stations when I get to the next location.

My sentiments exactly! I use EA in the 3 nearby locations (Union City, East Bay area). My issues are unavailable charging stations: fully occupied or out-of-service. I could charge at home, but why use my power when I have 3 years free charging. Being retired, I've learned there are better times than others to ensure an open station.

 

[Tesla2.0]

For the time I drove Tesla in the past, I had range anxiety. It’s not because I’m afraid unable to reach to charging station, but afraid to wait in line in charging station. On weekend of 10 stalls, usually there is line of 4~5 queued. Houston to Dallas trip is 4 hours, but I had to stuck 3 times in supercharging stations. With Lucid AGT, twice I get there in 1 shot without charging. But Dallas EAs are not as smooth as Houston EAs in my experience.

 

[Slam08]

For the time I drove Tesla in the past, I had range anxiety. It’s not because I’m afraid unable to reach to charging station, but afraid to wait in line in charging station. On weekend of 10 stalls, usually there is line of 4~5 queued. Houston to Dallas trip is 4 hours, but I had to stuck 3 times in supercharging stations. With Lucid AGT, twice I get there in 1 shot without charging. But Dallas EAs are not as smooth as Houston EAs in my experience.

It seems like EA is worse than Tesla! Lol. I’m having trouble trusting either for this coming Wednesday. Have a 300 mile and have to stop halfway to charge the model y. I’m worried that all the chargers are going to be full the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.

 

[Bbq9]

I wanted to get owners opinions on range anxiety before and after owning a Lucid Air. How is the experience with charging the car with 3rd party fast chargers? Do you find yourself stopping less on trips because of the range? Does this save you time on trips? How is regularly commuting with the increased range? Do you charge significantly less at home if at all? Would love to hear your opinions!

I was a first time EV owner, and although we had some times of anxiety - eg finding an EA charger the wrong side of a locked gate at 2am (we eventually found a way in via the car park)
I would say the anxiety was caused by us being new to EVs. two roadtrips later (bay area -> scotsdale / bay area -> bend) very happy with the range... and as others have mentioned it is as often us wanting to stop.
unlike many, I have not had EA issues, yes I've seen some out of action, but there has always been capacity - we've also used chargepoint and evgo - and others - all successfully pretty much first time.

NOW, I'm interested in the impact of COLD temperatures, but tahoe is only 225 miles away, so have no doubts it will be a non-stop trip. I think my only anxiety is ride height in deep fresh snow (but then again I also need to look into non-21" wheels)

 

[Tesla2.0]

It seems like EA is worse than Tesla! Lol. I’m having trouble trusting either for this coming Wednesday. Have a 300 mile and have to stop halfway to charge the model y. I’m worried that all the chargers are going to be full the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.

Tesla Supercharging stations usually have 6~10 stalls along highway but ridiculous wait list. EA has 4~6 stalls only and some not working. EA need to expand its network. Tesla know this their range anxiety, now in process of adding 20~40 stalls in all Buccee super gas stations around Texas Highway. Texas asserted making grants to have charging station every 40~50 miles gap in all highway next 2 years. Hopefully, it gets better here.

Use A better Route Planner for Thanksgiving driving to know all possible charging stations out there. Start with 100% SOC in cold weather, and 35% SOC start looking for charging station.