Taking a look at Lucid

[segbrk]

You hit on an important thing for me, heat pump. Do any of the models have a heat pump in them?

Only the Sapphire has a heat pump currently. I suspect it will be coming to the rest in the future, but no news yet that I'm aware of.

 

[Osprey22]

All trims/configurations come with adaptive cruise control. You need DreamDrive Pro to get Highway Assist, which is just automatic lane keeping. It is geofenced so you cannot activate it except on highways without traffic lights (in theory). There's no automatic lane changing, passing, highway exiting, or anything else like that currently. Other features are coming Eventually, but you know how that goes. There are no subscription features currently, DreamDrive Pro is a one-time purchase. I believe partway through 2023 Lucid started actually rolling cars off the line without all the sensors for DDP, prior to that any car could have DDP turned on in software. Make sure you look for that if you're buying inventory or used.

I'll also agree with a comment above, one of my only regrets about this car is that I didn't get the GT. Mainly just for the massage seats. They're extremely comfortable in the Touring, but man, I could use that extra pampering.

So if I am understanding this correctly, for "highway assist" aka cruise control, I cannot use it on the highway? Forgive me lol.

 

[segbrk]

So if I am understanding this correctly, for "highway assist" aka cruise control, I cannot use it on the highway? Forgive me lol.

Maybe confusing wording there. You can use it on highways that don't have intersections with traffic lights. It just isn't programmed for cross traffic. The same is supposed to be true for Tesla Autopilot, it just doesn't enforce that.

 

[hmp10]

You hit on an important thing for me, heat pump. Do any of the models have a heat pump in them?

Not yet. The Gravity SUV is going to have a heat pump, and it will be introduced to future Airs but not retrofitted to current Airs. (As @segbrk said, it's already in the Sapphire.)

 

[Osprey22]

Not yet. The Gravity SUV is going to have a heat pump, and it will be introduced to future Airs but not retrofitted to current Airs. (As @segbrk said, it's already in the Sapphire.)

Well I will have to check out how quickly the car heats up then this weekend, not a deal breaker but it would be nice to have one.

 

[hmp10]

Well I will have to check out how quickly the car heats up then this weekend, not a deal breaker but it would be nice to have one.

Mu guess is that resistance heating will heat the cabin as quickly as a heat pump. The real difference is that resistance heating draws much more power from the batteries than a heat pump, thereby reducing range more.

The advantage of resistance heating is that it can provide more heat in very low temperatures than a heat pump. When Tesla first introduced heat pumps there were complaints that the cabins could not be heated sufficiently in really cold weather. There were reports that Tesla addressed this by adding backup resistance heating to augment the heat pump when required. However, I never found out whether that was rumor or fact.

 

[joec]

Well I will have to check out how quickly the car heats up then this weekend, not a deal breaker but it would be nice to have one.

It's pretty damn cold here in Boulder. And I never have an issue heating up the car. The seats and steering wheel are hot in less than a minute. The rest of the car gets plenty warm after that.

Heat pumps are great, but they come at a cost of weight and complexity. Tradeoffs. I probably would have included one myself, but I don't really miss it during the winter. I still get better range than any other car without it.

My guess is now that Gravity and Sapphire both have heat pumps, one will be added to Air whenever they do the next refresh. But it's not a big deal in the meantime.

 

[segbrk]

Well I will have to check out how quickly the car heats up then this weekend, not a deal breaker but it would be nice to have one.

You made me curious, so I just switched the heat on via the app and timed it. About 8:30 to get from 30F to 62F, then it slowed down significantly. With the seat/wheel heaters the car is comfortable to me with ambient temperature anywhere above about 40. I just switch it on as I'm packing up to leave wherever I am, and it's always perfectly fine by the time I get to it. Takes maybe 2% off my battery (Touring, smaller battery than the GT) to do that.

 

[Osprey22]

You made me curious, so I just switched the heat on via the app and timed it. About 8:30 to get from 30F to 62F, then it slowed down significantly. With the seat/wheel heaters the car is comfortable to me with ambient temperature anywhere above about 40. I just switch it on as I'm packing up to leave wherever I am, and it's always perfectly fine by the time I get to it. Takes maybe 2% off my battery (Touring, smaller battery than the GT) to do that.

So 8 minutes and 30 seconds? That is not bad at all. Much better than I thought.

 

[Tâm]

- What are your biggest complaints using Lucid as a daily driver?

Since I also come from Tesla, my biggest complaints are software features: No browser, too hard to set Cruise/Highway Assist with multiple steps (only one pull of the stalk or push of a button for Tesla)...

-The 500 mile range is extremely attractive to me...

This is the primary reason I bought Lucid: It has the longest EV range in the US, and I couldn't wait for the Tesla 620-mile Roadster.

This is the picture of how far I went before I stopped to charge and rest: 396.6 miles in the hot summer with HVAC. The car still has 11% more to go.

-I have looked at the financials for this company and find them a bit concerning, mainly the fact that they seem to be struggling to find their place in the market (hint low cost EV that is not luxury based, but I digress), does anyone else share this concern referencing long term support for their car?

Tesla was in the worst shape with its first production: Lots of broken cars, short of money, it was a private company and didn't have access to the stock market money.

 

[hydbob]

Since I also come from Tesla, my biggest complaints are software features: No browser, too hard to set Cruise/Highway Assist with multiple steps (only one pull of the stalk or push of a button for Tesla)...


This is the primary reason I bought Lucid: It has the longest EV range in the US, and I couldn't wait for the Tesla 620-mile Roadster.

This is the picture of how far I went before I stopped to charge and rest: 396.6 miles in the hot summer with HVAC. The car still has 11% more to go.

Tesla was in the worst shape with its first production: Lots of broken cars, short of money, it was a private company and didn't have access to the stock market money.

Setting cruise is also 1 button if you leave it in cruise/HA mode from your previous drive. Otherwise it is, *GASP*, 2 button pushes! THE HORROR!

 

[new owner]

This is the primary reason I bought Lucid: It has the longest EV range in the US, and I couldn't wait for the Tesla 620-mile Roadster.

This is the picture of how far I went before I stopped to charge and rest: 396.6 miles in the hot summer with HVAC. The car still has 11% more to go.

Nice
So Approximately 430 mi real range or 400 mi till need to charge
very nice to have indeed

 

[DeaneG]

...So Approximately 430 mi real range or 400 mi till need to charge
very nice to have indeed

Freeway range will vary with speed and conditions, but that's roughly right in my experience (GT with 19" wheels).

 

[Volund]

You made me curious, so I just switched the heat on via the app and timed it. About 8:30 to get from 30F to 62F, then it slowed down significantly. With the seat/wheel heaters the car is comfortable to me with ambient temperature anywhere above about 40. I just switch it on as I'm packing up to leave wherever I am, and it's always perfectly fine by the time I get to it. Takes maybe 2% off my battery (Touring, smaller battery than the GT) to do that.

I always set my heating to 86F on the climate control to get max heating capabilities. And then I'll judt turn off the climate when it hits the temperature I want

I wonder if that makes a difference on time

 

[par11768]

Overall very happy with the car's driving, range, efficiency and level of "luxury". Having also owned a Tesla for 6 years, the software updates are not close to what Tesla offers - there are "major" releases once or twice a year and minor updates more frequently with minimal changes. There are many buggy features, slow to respond screens, slow apps and at times hesitant to unlock door handles. There are work arounds, e.g. turn the feature off but not fixes. Tesla also has its share of features that also do not work, auto wipers, summon, auto park.... but their updates and new features are extensive with each minor release. This is something Lucid really needs to focus on. They are targeting the driver enthusiast and losing sales to the tech feature enthusiast. In terms of the company's future, you can lease a Lucid at very attractive rates with a purchase option at the end of the lease to mitigate this risk. With the current stock price, they are essentially out of the capital markets for future raises.

 

[Haggy]

Morning all,

For starters (do not shoot me) I own a Model 3 and with the let down that is the CyberTruck (please do not hate me) I find myself looking for a more "comfortable" ride and that has lead me to Lucid. I had a few questions if you would humour me (I have done my research to the maximum extent possible but some questions remain and seeing as individuals here have Lucid it made sense to ask):

-How frequent (best guess) are updates to the User Interface (UI) on the Lucid cars? I have watched quite a few videos and like it for the most part, but as we all know continued software support is as important as mx minders

I've had a Model S since 2014. I had a Model 3 from early on (VIN 553) until shortly after I got my Lucid. I saw Tesla go though growing pains and saw bugs with early versions of both cars. Lucid seems to be in better shape with software than Tesla was early on, but I carry a fob. If I try to rely on the phone, I have the same sorts of issues that I had with the Model 3 in 2017. I solved those by getting my wife a fob for the Model 3. Some people have good luck using the phone as a key, but unlike Tesla with the Model 3, Lucid didn't charge me for fobs.

Overall, I like the Lucid much better. There are a few things that took Tesla years to get right, such as the Homelink interface. It was close to a decade before Tesla got it right. Lucid still needs to fix a few things for the ergonomics of it. Overall, Lucid got the ergonomics much better. The Model 3 didn't originally have blind spot cameras. Lucid not only has them, it has the displays in the right place, the indicators on the mirrors where they belong, the red shadow that Tesla is supposedly about to copy from Lucid, as well as lots of sensors so you get rear pedestrian/cross traffic protection, etc. But Tesla has better trip computer features, and for navigation, Lucid lacks an address book/history. It gives a history of addresses, but doesn't let you edit them. So if you want to save Bob's address, you can't look for Bob. Those things that relate more to driving are better than Tesla on balance.

Somebody mentioned ping ponging with Dream Drive. I haven't found that after the latest software update. Although automatic lane change isn't there yet (Tesla doesn't have it in the base Autopilot) where Tesla really screwed up is requiring torque to let the car know that you are holding the wheel AND using torque to disengage autosteer. Lucid will let you steer to correct the steering, or change lanes (if you signal it won't try to correct for lane departure) and it will go back to lane centering on its own when it recognizes that you are in a lane. So you can't screw it up by putting on too much pressure or tugging too hard, you can't disengage it by mistake, and once you get used to it you'll be glad that you don't have the frustration of Tesla's version.

I don't have experience with high speed chargers for the Lucid because I have so much range that on a recent road trip when a valet offered to charge my car, I told him not to bother. With the Tesla, I would have taken him up on it. I've looked at the maps to figure out where I might have wanted to charge hypothetically, and EA alone isn't very good. A lot of Lucid owners got free EA charging so they might not look at every CCS charger out there when they look to charge. So reports of problems might be overstated compared to having access to all CCS chargers. You really need to look in the areas where you will drive.

Tesla's Supercharger network is good, but until they have V4 chargers in place with 1000V support, they won't do much good compared to faster CCS chargers. This is one that you will really have to look into on your own, because I wouldn't say that getting an adapter at some point will be a magic cure. As far as charging at home, it's easy to find an adapter to use your existing equipment.

There's far too much to say about the car to cover in a post and test driving it is a must. You can expect a better, more comfortable and quieter ride, and the rest depends on the trim and features.

Nobody is going to fault you here for having a Tesla. Plenty of us do, and even though I like the Lucid better, Tesla still makes good cars, but with a different emphasis.

 

[borski]

and for navigation, Lucid lacks an address book/history. It gives a history of addresses, but doesn't let you edit them. So if you want to save Bob's address, you can't look for Bob. Those things that relate more to driving are better than Tesla on balance.

I learned from @LucidDropkick the other day that if you edit a contact to have an address, you can pull up the contacts in the Lucid and hit the navigate button to send navigation there. So while you can't save an address as Bob directly in the Lucid, if Bob's contact on your phone has his address you can totally navigate to it.

 

[Steveinarizona]

Setting cruise is also 1 button if you leave it in cruise/HA mode from your previous drive. Otherwise it is, *GASP*, 2 button pushes! THE HORROR!

The alternative: HA is automatic and the driver has no choice to activate it. Personally, I opt for choice.

 

[hydbob]

The alternative: HA is automatic and the driver has no choice to activate it. Personally, I opt for choice.

Just changed it to ACC instead of HA then...there's choice.

 

[hmp10]

Hi Osprey,

I just got the Air Pure last week, from a model 3 LR. The car drives like a dream - made me realize how rough the 3 suspension was.

My brother has a 2018 Model 3. He remains a Tesla fan, though his ardor is cooling. He had been planning to move to a new Model Y but was determined to wait for two things to appear in the Y: the single-casting and an air suspension. He had been assuming that a single casting would increase torsional rigidity and that an air suspension would soften its pounding ride. (He lives in central Atlanta which has turned into a pothole farm in recent years.)

Then, when we visited Atlanta in our Air Dream P (on 21" wheels no less), he was astounded at how much better it rode than his Model 3 with its higher aspect ratio tires. I had already told him how our Model S Plaid -- with air suspension -- rode much more stiffly than our coil-sprung Air (both on 21" wheels). He didn't really quite believe it until our Atlanta visit.

Many people assume coil springs ride harder than air springs. That's not necessarily so. The real difference lies in how the chassis engineers tune the suspension system for what purpose. In general terms, a coil suspension can be tuned for more precise responses than an air suspension due to the hysteresis lag inherent in air suspensions. About the only real advantage of an air suspension is ride height adjustment.

Air springs were first deployed in aircraft, as they can handle more weight than coils. From there they moved to the trucking industry. But second thoughts are developing. A few years ago a major trucking firm tested air suspensions against coil springs. They found that the coil suspensions reacted more quickly and precisely to changes in road surface and, surprisingly, that the coil-sprung trailers experienced less freight damage.

The only real advantage of air suspensions in automotive applications is ride height adjustment. This is why the Gravity SUV will have an air suspension, a feature I'm not exactly excited about. (The promo materials mention an optional "zero gravity" air suspension. I'm hoping that means an option to the standard coil suspension, and not an upgrade from a standard air suspension to one with additional adjustment features. I wouldn't ever drive the Gravity where ride height would be an issue.)