- Joined
- Oct 27, 2024
- Messages
- 110
- Reaction score
- 179
- Location
- Hunterdon County, New Jersey
- Cars
- Air Grand Touring
I am actually shocked by today's turn of events. Back on 11/6/24 I test drove the Pure and the Touring at the Short Hills, NJ Studio. I significantly preferred the driving feel and handling of the Pure to the Touring. And whenever you can spend less money on a car and like it more? Well, that's a very good thing! I detailed the "why" behind that in another thread, but long story short, that evening I ordered a Pure in Fathom Blue with all of the options including Santa Cruz Leather. I was thrilled that I would get to drive the most efficient car ever built. I settled in for the 2-5 month wait for Lucid to build my car.
Well, as many of us do, I have been constantly reading this Forum and came across an available 2022 Grand Touring that was spec'd with all of the options I wanted for my car, but was obviously a GT (and Red, a color I also loved). I reached out to the owner (a Forum Member) who was just fantastic and I got to thinking, why not test drive a GT on the off chance that I like it enough to buy a used GT and save myself a boatload of money? I assumed that it was probably going to be a waste of time since I preferred the ride of the Pure to the Touring and I imagined that I would like the GT even less (even more weight to get tossed about). So, I braved Black Friday Traffic Hell and the 45 minutes it took to find a parking spot and test drove a 2025 Grand Touring and also test drove the Pure again.
Boy am I glad that I did!
I drove the GT first and really expected to not like it, in which case I would be done for the day and go home content to wait out my new car build. WOW was I wrong. This thing just felt incredibly drivable and hugely planted on the road. It is (at least as of this writing), the single finest all around driving car I have ever sat in. True, when I pushed hard through a set of downhill S-curves the weight of the additional batteries and additional motor in the front end made it very clear that this is a sports SEDAN, not a flat out performance car, BUT since I never blaze through S-curves with tires screeching these days, it probably makes a heckuva lot more sense to care about he the car drives the way it will be driven 99% of the time!
Going back to the Pure, the front end DID feel lighter and the steering a tad more responsive, BUT, other than that I preferred everything else about the GT. Gulp. Was I really prepared to spend another nearly $40k for it though? The one thing I really did NOT prefer about the GT (other than the price!) was the floor of the back seat. It definitely is less comfortable than the backseat of either the Pure or the Touring. However, I will be sitting there almost never and when my wife and I road trip, I am the only driver (she does not drive on the highway), so those massage seats sure are an added plus!
In the end, the incredible power of the GT, rock solid road feel and elimination of the (to me) rather intrusive front motor whine due to revised engine mounts along with the ability to get 512 miles of range had me driving back to the studio to find that there was ONE 2025 GT in the entire country available with the specs I'd want (still at the factory in Arizona):
Fathom Blue
Santa Cruz Leather
Dream Drive Pro
Surround Sound Pro
Platinum with Aluminum Roof
19" Range Wheels
I immediately placed a deposit on it and, rather unbelievably (to me even), I find myself at this moment with an assigned VIN for a 2025 Grand Touring with an expected delivery within the next two weeks. I am awaiting the finalization of Lease paperwork (the $7500 credit was too good to pass up!) and then off to the races we go!
Well, as many of us do, I have been constantly reading this Forum and came across an available 2022 Grand Touring that was spec'd with all of the options I wanted for my car, but was obviously a GT (and Red, a color I also loved). I reached out to the owner (a Forum Member) who was just fantastic and I got to thinking, why not test drive a GT on the off chance that I like it enough to buy a used GT and save myself a boatload of money? I assumed that it was probably going to be a waste of time since I preferred the ride of the Pure to the Touring and I imagined that I would like the GT even less (even more weight to get tossed about). So, I braved Black Friday Traffic Hell and the 45 minutes it took to find a parking spot and test drove a 2025 Grand Touring and also test drove the Pure again.
Boy am I glad that I did!
I drove the GT first and really expected to not like it, in which case I would be done for the day and go home content to wait out my new car build. WOW was I wrong. This thing just felt incredibly drivable and hugely planted on the road. It is (at least as of this writing), the single finest all around driving car I have ever sat in. True, when I pushed hard through a set of downhill S-curves the weight of the additional batteries and additional motor in the front end made it very clear that this is a sports SEDAN, not a flat out performance car, BUT since I never blaze through S-curves with tires screeching these days, it probably makes a heckuva lot more sense to care about he the car drives the way it will be driven 99% of the time!
Going back to the Pure, the front end DID feel lighter and the steering a tad more responsive, BUT, other than that I preferred everything else about the GT. Gulp. Was I really prepared to spend another nearly $40k for it though? The one thing I really did NOT prefer about the GT (other than the price!) was the floor of the back seat. It definitely is less comfortable than the backseat of either the Pure or the Touring. However, I will be sitting there almost never and when my wife and I road trip, I am the only driver (she does not drive on the highway), so those massage seats sure are an added plus!
In the end, the incredible power of the GT, rock solid road feel and elimination of the (to me) rather intrusive front motor whine due to revised engine mounts along with the ability to get 512 miles of range had me driving back to the studio to find that there was ONE 2025 GT in the entire country available with the specs I'd want (still at the factory in Arizona):
Fathom Blue
Santa Cruz Leather
Dream Drive Pro
Surround Sound Pro
Platinum with Aluminum Roof
19" Range Wheels
I immediately placed a deposit on it and, rather unbelievably (to me even), I find myself at this moment with an assigned VIN for a 2025 Grand Touring with an expected delivery within the next two weeks. I am awaiting the finalization of Lease paperwork (the $7500 credit was too good to pass up!) and then off to the races we go!
