Review of sapphire by MKB

[hmp10]

DMV Lucid Owners

Just saw this thread. Been pretty busy trying to meet some other deadlines lately. I probably won't be able to join another meet up until after June.

lucidowners.com

Most beautiful car color ever!

Was in the Tysons Galleria studio to see the Gravity (which is instead at Tysons Corner) but the SA showed me a Sapphire he had sold but had fallen through. It is simply the most beautiful color car I have seen. Photos don’t come close to capturing it. The car is spectacular in every way. I’ve...

lucidowners.com

If it's real and not the latest edition of "rep BS," both of these would back that up (and they were also at the same location).

I have a feeling someone might have mistaken the Alcantara seating surfaces for "vegan leather" and the dark porous wood trim for carbon fiber. I've had more than one car salesman be utterly confused about what was in a car he was selling, and a lot of customers might not know what "vegan leather" or carbon fiber actually are.

 

[Tim-in-CA]

I have a feeling someone might have mistaken the Alcantara seating surfaces for "vegan leather" and the dark porous wood trim for carbon fiber. I've had more than one car salesman be utterly confused about what was in a car he was selling, and a lot of customers might not know what "vegan leather" or carbon fiber actually are.

Aren’t all cows vegan?

 

[hmp10]

I’m perfectly happy with my DE, and while I’d love to upgrade to the Sapphire, the glass roof alone is enough for me to stick with the DE. As a daily driver, it’s perfect.

Throughout my career I always preferred to live in semi-rural settings and consequently dealt with long commutes. I have done the same in retirement, and our nightly dinner and social outings routinely mean 40-mile-plus round trips. So most of my car purchases over the years have been in pursuit of the perfect daily driver.

For the most part, that meant German cars. No one car is perfect in every regard, but each new generation of cars moved the combination of power, handling, ride, room, and features a few notches forward, meaning the overall balance of the best cars on the market got progressively closer to my ideal "daily driver".

For me, the Air Dream Performance brought me to the pinnacle of daily driving perfection. It is ferociously powerful. It has more range than daily driving ever demands. Its driving dynamics better some of the sports cars I have owned. It seats four adults in comfort. It is quiet and structurally solid. It has an open, airy vibe like no other car I've been in. It's sleek and stylish. The dual-tone Santa Monica color palette is the most handsome I've ever seen in a car.

Ironically, some of the very things that help make the Sapphire the pinnacle of automotive performance -- and are probably necessary to make the car safe in deploying its extraordinary power -- are also the very things that back it off a notch or two from being the pinnacle of daily drivers.

The thing -- the only thing -- I like better about our Plaid is that extra "friskiness" the power-to-weight ratio of the tri-motor Model S brings to the party in maneuvering through traffic. This is something different from the raw acceleration that the Plaid does not handle well (or even safely when pressed). And it is for this reason that I would have loved to see an Air Dream Edition with a tri-motor option, giving it that extra punch in dynamic situations along with the handling finesse of the true rear torque vectoring that the Sapphire deploys but that Tesla does not.

In fact, my great hope for future Lucid models is that they have two tri-motor options at the top of the trim levels: one a Dream Edition for people who want a car tricked out with all the luxury attributes Lucid offers, and one a Sapphire that puts a harder racing edge on the car for buyers oriented more in that direction.

Another way to put it . . . something akin to the difference between a BMW Alpina and a BMW M Series.

 

[Bill55]

What would be a s reason?

Changing from Bluetooth to LF is not just a matter of a new fob. The radios and sensors as well any number of wiring harnesses would have to be redone. Designing, testing, sourcing, and new software would be a significant effort.

Attached are some photos of a Toyota Supra we are converting into a race car. Gives you some idea of the number of interior modules and wiring in a modern car.

 

[RM-S8]

...what "vegan leather" or carbon fiber actually are.

Simple. Vegan leather you can chew, when very hard time comes, carbon fiber, you can't.

 

[RM-S8]

@hmp10 and @borski.
Please DO NOT test drive the Sapphire.
Once you do, consider yourself tainted.
For me, it was a huge leap of faith purchasing the Sapphire (no test drive) while having a GT-P. Now, i can't wait for my wife's lease end (Tesla 3), so I can dump the GT-P on her lap and drive the Sapphire year around, given Michelin's winter tires arrive soon enough.

 

[xponents]

so I can dump the GT-P on her lap

Finally, you're getting rid of that old crapbox!

What is your take on the differences between the two? I would assume the Sapphire ruined your perception of the GT-P...

 

[NoseyReporter]

@hmp10 and @borski.
Please DO NOT test drive the Sapphire.
Once you do, consider yourself tainted.

If they would let test drive one, they'd hell of time cleaning the driver seat afterwards.

 

[NoseyReporter]

Changing from Bluetooth to LF is not just a matter of a new fob. The radios and sensors as well any number of wiring harnesses would have to be redone. Designing, testing, sourcing, and new software would be a significant effort.

Attached are some photos of a Toyota Supra we are converting into a race car. Gives you some idea of the number of interior modules and wiring in a modern car.

Motec going in!

 

[Bill55]

Throughout my career I always preferred to live in semi-rural settings and consequently dealt with long commutes. I have done the same in retirement, and our nightly dinner and social outings routinely mean 40-mile-plus round trips. So most of my car purchases over the years have been in pursuit of the perfect daily driver.

For the most part, that meant German cars. No one car is perfect in every regard, but each new generation of cars moved the combination of power, handling, ride, room, and features a few notches forward, meaning the overall balance of the best cars on the market got progressively closer to my ideal "daily driver".

For me, the Air Dream Performance brought me to the pinnacle of daily driving perfection. It is ferociously powerful. It has more range than daily driving ever demands. Its driving dynamics better some of the sports cars I have owned. It seats four adults in comfort. It is quiet and structurally solid. It has an open, airy vibe like no other car I've been in. It's sleek and stylish. The dual-tone Santa Monica color palette is the most handsome I've ever seen in a car.

Ironically, some of the very things that help make the Sapphire the pinnacle of automotive performance -- and are probably necessary to make the car safe in deploying its extraordinary power -- are also the very things that back it off a notch or two from being the pinnacle of daily drivers.

The thing -- the only thing -- I like better about our Plaid is that extra "friskiness" the power-to-weight ratio of the tri-motor Model S brings to the party in maneuvering through traffic. This is something different from the raw acceleration that the Plaid does not handle well (or even safely when pressed). And it is for this reason that I would have loved to see an Air Dream Edition with a tri-motor option, giving it that extra punch in dynamic situations along with the handling finesse of the true rear torque vectoring that the Sapphire deploys but that Tesla does not.

In fact, my great hope for future Lucid models is that they have two tri-motor options at the top of the trim levels: one a Dream Edition for people who want a car tricked out with all the luxury attributes Lucid offers, and one a Sapphire that puts a harder racing edge on the car for buyers oriented more in that direction.

Another way to put it . . . something akin to the difference between a BMW Alpina and a BMW M Series.

I don’t find the Sapphire to be as edgy as an M car. I find the Sapphire is almost both Alpina and M in one car. Alpina like, in smooth mode and M like in Sapphire mode. Yes, I have owned both.

In smooth mode I find the ride in the Sapphire to be virtually the same as The DE P. With the edge going to the Sapphire being a little smoother, probably due to the 20” vs 21” front tires.

I also find the seats in the Sapphire to be equally comfortable and I like the extra support.

The leather steering wheel of the DE is arguably nicer at times for a daily than the grippy alcantara of the Sapphire, but the steering feel is much improved in the Sapphire.

There are times in the Sapphire I miss the glass roof, there is also a significant amount of time when I am very happy with a solid roof.

Brakes as a daily the carbon ceramics of the Sapphire offer no real difference over the very good brakes of the DE. As a daily I rarely use the brakes anyway due to the excellent regen of the Airs.

My wife prefers the solid roof, if I show up in the DE she will ask “where’s the Sapphire?”

I find the Sapphire virtually identical or better to the DE as a daily, the tri motor sometimes evident in Smooth and the Sapphire button always available to take it 11s.

 

[Bill55]

Motec going in!

The Motec would be great, buts adds a weight modifier.

 

[Bill55]

That's an interesting comment from someone who owns a 911 Turbo. A fully tricked-out Taycan costs more than a Sapphire, indicating where prices might be heading for the best production performance cars. The Sapphire might not long be as much a price outlier as a lot of people think.

Given how well the interior is holding up and how solid the body structure remains on our early Air Dream Edition, a used Sapphire in a couple of years could look like a good deal . . . assuming anyone will let got of one.

I can’t even get myself to let go of the DE P.

 

[xponents]

I can’t even get myself to let go of the DE P.

A question... why not? (other than it being limited, which I understand!)

Also, is there a certain class/series you are looking to put the Supra in? I thought you already had a GT4 Supra!

 

[NoseyReporter]

The Motec would be great, buts adds a weight modifier.

Sorry this is very tangential.

You are keeping the stock ecu? Or doing some kinda flash like Cobb or ecutek? I guess the right question is what series that supra is going to run in.

 

[Bill55]

Sorry this is very tangential.

You are keeping the stock ecu? Or doing some kinda flash like Cobb or ecutek? I guess the right question is what series that supra is going to run in.

I’m running a GT 4 Supra currently. It is a pretty expensive car to run. Building a street production Supra to run in a General Production Class.

The GP will be cheaper to run and provide a good training platform for drivers preparing for their first door to door racing.

Running in a lower class in multi class racing helps with developing 360 degree awareness.

ABS controller needs to be stock to avoid a modifier. Engine there is more that is open.

Final build is still being discussed.

 

[cgm9999]

It was Brownleee who included his experience with getting into the car in his review, thus bringing it into a discussion about the car and his review. As Brownlee does not mention it, there is no indication he knew the history of how fast some of the fobs burn through batteries. All he was experiencing was a battery going dead in a key fob, something that happens to every key fob in the industry that uses replaceable batteries. Thus I found it odd that he chose to include it in his review. But there it is in a review that is approaching 1 million reviews.

Unlike you, most of the "dorks" who are talking about the key fob are actual owners of Lucid Airs who have grappled with key fob issues and have every right to discuss it on a "Lucid Owners" forum when a prominent car reviewer draws attention to it.

I own a 2024 Touring, thanks. I'm not sure why you assumed I didn't own a Lucid. In fact, here's my first post:

New Owner - Car Enthusiast is Exuberant!

Hello all! Just wanted to introduce myself as a new owner (well, as of next Tuesday) of a 2024 Fathom Blue Touring. Be forewarned, this will be a long post as my wife doesn't share my car enthusiasm and I have basically no one to talk cars with. So... TLDR version: The car is an incredible...

lucidowners.com

No one said you didn't have a right to discuss your opinion of the key fob on the forums. I just thought doing so in a thread that had nothing to do with the key fob was dorky, or, possessing the qualities of a dork. Then again, my recollection of Bentham's and Kant's position on car forum rights is a bit rusty, so maybe I'm the idiot.

As an elder millennial that's been on car forums since they've existed, my development from child to adult has corresponded in lockstep with the internet's. As a result, I'm pretty well versed in internet etiquette. Much like table manners, there's no "rule book" on internet etiquette, but it's generally accepted that derailing (i.e. "highjacking") the topic of a thread to discuss a different topic is a faux pas, hence my comment. Doubly so since the topic was derailed to discuss the old chestnut, "The Lucid Fob sucks!"; a topic that's been covered so many times that a typical pre-flight safety demonstration prior to takeoff is comparatively fresh.

 

[hmp10]

I own a 2024 Touring, thanks. I'm not sure why you assumed I didn't own a Lucid.

Yes, I am aware that you ordered a Touring. In fact, if you check you will see that I was one of the "likes" on your original post. I did not assume you didn't own a Lucid. I assumed you weren't among the "owners of Lucid Airs who have grappled with key fob issues" (read my post more carefully, maybe). Not all Air owners have had problems with their fobs, you see.

However, to avoid confusion on the part of others you might want to list the Lucid among the cars you own in your profile and also apply to a moderator to be certified as a "Verified Owner".

As for your illuminating lecture on internet etiquette, I see you rather conveniently omit that calling other posters "dorks" is not the best form.

As for "derailing" the topic of the thread, the topic was Marquess Brownlee's review of the Sapphire. His review included his experience with the key fob. If you go back to my post that first went in this direction, it was not a rehash of why the fob has problems. The points it made were contextual to the Brownlee review: (1) Brownlee is a very heavily-followed reviewer; (2) the number of incidents journalists have had with Air key fobs has created lasting repetitional damage to Lucid; and (3) with so much hanging on the success of the Gravity, Lucid desperately needs to avoid a repeat of the fob issue with the Air, as Gravity buyers are likely not going to be as heavily-weighted as Air buyers toward early adopters who tend to be more tolerant of such teething pains.

 

[hmp10]

@hmp10 and @borski.
Please DO NOT test drive the Sapphire.
Once you do, consider yourself tainted.
For me, it was a huge leap of faith purchasing the Sapphire (no test drive) while having a GT-P. Now, i can't wait for my wife's lease end (Tesla 3), so I can dump the GT-P on her lap and drive the Sapphire year around, given Michelin's winter tires arrive soon enough.

Has anyone reported problems insuring a Sapphire? Our first Dream Edition was totaled in a wreck. Both I and the other driver were insured through State Farm. The other driver was deemed 100% liable, but his insurance limit was $100K. State Farm paid the remainder of the claim by levying against my collision coverage on what they assured me would be a "no fault" basis. But I've been nervous at each subsequent renewal for our replacement Dream Edition that I would suddenly get a "decline to renew" notice. (Maybe the fact the our house, umbrella liability, and other cars are all bundled has saved the day, but I've been hesitant to poke a stick at the dog by asking.)

Having already had one large claim for a wrecked Lucid -- even if not at fault -- I've wondered whether I would be accepted for coverage on a car such as the Sapphire.

 

[hmp10]

Doubly so since the topic was derailed to discuss the old chestnut, "The Lucid Fob sucks!"; a topic that's been covered so many times that a typical pre-flight safety demonstration prior to takeoff is comparatively fresh.

By the way, as a new member you might not realize that the virtues of the Sapphire have been discussed to death on this forum along with the fact that almost everyone who test drives it raves about it. In the Brownleee review there is not a single new observation or one that has not already been rehashed many times over on this forum. By your rules of etiquette and exacting standard of what's allowable discussion, this thread never should have been opened.

Frankly, what really seems to rub you the wrong way in your exuberance as a new owner is any discussion uncomplimentary to Lucid. In the long run, Tesla has not been well served by its uncritical and intolerant fanboys. Neither will Lucid be.

 

[hydbob]

I’m running a GT 4 Supra currently. It is a pretty expensive car to run. Building a street production Supra to run in a General Production Class.

The GP will be cheaper to run and provide a good training platform for drivers preparing for their first door to door racing.

Running in a lower class in multi class racing helps with developing 360 degree awareness.

ABS controller needs to be stock to avoid a modifier. Engine there is more that is open.

Final build is still being discussed.

This is off topic, but I hope you add this to your build.