- Joined
- Aug 5, 2022
- Messages
- 333
- Cars
- Air Touring
I did a test drive last Friday at the Oakbrook, IL design center. Many thanks to Emma and the crew for their outstanding help.
The test vehicle was a black AGT with 19 in wheels and Santa Cruz interior.
Moments before the test drive I spent two hours in my BMW 5-Series so comparisons were very fresh.
Sitting in the Air had a bathtub, low sitting position, high sill feeling compared to tbe BMW which is distinctly more upright. Even so the Air was very comfortable and much easier ingress/egress than a true sports car. The driving position and steering wheel could be positioned just fine.
The nav system was good but did not recognize inputs of some commercial locations as well as Google Maps.
The surreal sound pro audio system was pretty disappointing. Substantially worse audio quality than even the basic BMW sound system. It obviously needs major recalibration.
The most important headline is acceleration. This is the fastest and punchiest car I’ve ever driven. The immediacy of the torque is massively impressive and exciting. The ride is very comfortable while being very sporting to drive and highly controllable especially for a 5,000 lb. vehicle. There was moderate whine from the electric motors, more than I expected, but not enough to be upsetting.
The car is fairly quiet, much quieter than the Tesla S at anything over 45mph, but not as quiet as my BMW. The tires had noticeable impact noise and harshness going over road imperfections. I think the higher tire pressure is responsible and suspension tuning itself cannot cure it. Perhaps reducing tire pressure a couple psi might make sense for city driving if maximum range is not required.
An interesting feature was the multiple driving modes and two regen settings for each mode. Smooth mode for around town driving had more invasive regen calibrations. The higher regen setting brought the car to a full stop as quickly as typical city driving braking would require. The calibration makes complete sense. In Swift mode the standard regen setting allowed for more coasting. That would make complete sense for highway driving. The suspension I think is tightened up a bit in Swift mode but not a huge difference.
The interior is very comfortable and enjoyable. Far nicer than any other EV I have experienced (i.e., Teslas). Not the same finish perhaps as German vehicles. But keep in mind the legacy car companies are not prepared to design their vehicles to optimize for ultra lightweight which EV’s require to maximize range. For example, the BMW i7 is approx 800 lbs. heavier than the Air. That is not the optimal path towards a next generation vehicle.
No vehicle is perfect. The Air sets a new standard for driving fun with the packaging of a large practical vehicle. The bar has been raised to anyone who wants to compete in the 800 horsepower sporting luxury sedan market segment. As a BMW owner, I would call the Air the Ultimate Fun Machine.
The test vehicle was a black AGT with 19 in wheels and Santa Cruz interior.
Moments before the test drive I spent two hours in my BMW 5-Series so comparisons were very fresh.
Sitting in the Air had a bathtub, low sitting position, high sill feeling compared to tbe BMW which is distinctly more upright. Even so the Air was very comfortable and much easier ingress/egress than a true sports car. The driving position and steering wheel could be positioned just fine.
The nav system was good but did not recognize inputs of some commercial locations as well as Google Maps.
The surreal sound pro audio system was pretty disappointing. Substantially worse audio quality than even the basic BMW sound system. It obviously needs major recalibration.
The most important headline is acceleration. This is the fastest and punchiest car I’ve ever driven. The immediacy of the torque is massively impressive and exciting. The ride is very comfortable while being very sporting to drive and highly controllable especially for a 5,000 lb. vehicle. There was moderate whine from the electric motors, more than I expected, but not enough to be upsetting.
The car is fairly quiet, much quieter than the Tesla S at anything over 45mph, but not as quiet as my BMW. The tires had noticeable impact noise and harshness going over road imperfections. I think the higher tire pressure is responsible and suspension tuning itself cannot cure it. Perhaps reducing tire pressure a couple psi might make sense for city driving if maximum range is not required.
An interesting feature was the multiple driving modes and two regen settings for each mode. Smooth mode for around town driving had more invasive regen calibrations. The higher regen setting brought the car to a full stop as quickly as typical city driving braking would require. The calibration makes complete sense. In Swift mode the standard regen setting allowed for more coasting. That would make complete sense for highway driving. The suspension I think is tightened up a bit in Swift mode but not a huge difference.
The interior is very comfortable and enjoyable. Far nicer than any other EV I have experienced (i.e., Teslas). Not the same finish perhaps as German vehicles. But keep in mind the legacy car companies are not prepared to design their vehicles to optimize for ultra lightweight which EV’s require to maximize range. For example, the BMW i7 is approx 800 lbs. heavier than the Air. That is not the optimal path towards a next generation vehicle.
No vehicle is perfect. The Air sets a new standard for driving fun with the packaging of a large practical vehicle. The bar has been raised to anyone who wants to compete in the 800 horsepower sporting luxury sedan market segment. As a BMW owner, I would call the Air the Ultimate Fun Machine.
