The Drive Review: "Best-Driving Three-Row Money Can Buy"

[Smorgasbord]

2026 Lucid Gravity Review: The Best-Driving Three-Row Money Can Buy

Software teething issues aside, Lucid has created a dynamic benchmark.

www.thedrive.com

Reinforced Lucid's decision to sell the car with buggy software.

standard pricing undercuts every single competitor, gas- or electric-powered, that comes close to this kind of performance. The as-tested price closes that gap and puts the Gravity squarely in kissing range of the Rivian R1S Quad, but still, as tested, is about $40,000 less than the slower and less-powerful Porsche Cayenne Turbo E-Hybrid. Rough. We’ll see what the Cayenne Electric costs when it arrives next year.

It charges faster, goes further, rips harder and quicker, and costs less than anything that comes close. It does all that while running circles around anything that dreams of competing on pavement.

 

[socktucker]

it didn’t reinforce the decision? He had a whole paragraph about how annoying and worthless the software was. It’s unbelievable they released it in such a state.

Sick car tho.

 

[jered]

"The D-pads on the steering wheel look like they are touch sensitive, but thankfully are not and require force to be pushed as they are buttons."

Looks like he didn't play with the UI enough -- the D-pads are touch sensitive too. (The overlay of different functionality for swipe vs press is a little confusing at first, but overall I think the UX on the Gravity is very well done except for quirks called out elsewhere, like unclear activation state on soft buttons with the grey-vs-black differentiator.)

 

[rodagoca]

2026 Lucid Gravity Review: The Best-Driving Three-Row Money Can Buy

Software teething issues aside, Lucid has created a dynamic benchmark.

www.thedrive.com

Reinforced Lucid's decision to sell the car with buggy software.

I have actually turned off the PAAK for my Air, and have been using the keyfob as a keyfob. The only time there was an issue was a short delay while parked in the city garage basement. The Tidal interface sucks, and sending destinations from android and iPhone stopped working, but still a luxury car to drive

 

[hmp10]

Reinforced Lucid's decision to sell the car with buggy software.

I don't quite get why you think that.

The headline itself contained the phrase "Software teething issues aside . . . ."

Then a 3-paragraph litany of software issues began with "But for as noteworthy and astonishing as the Gravity’s dynamics were, the software experience was just as noteworthy for mostly the wrong reasons. It’s full of bugs and teething issues."

And the article concluded with the observation that Lucid needs more time with "buttoning up software, but the Gravity holds promise . . . ." The phrase "holding promise" clearly connotes a product that is not yet fully-fledged.

Rather than vindicating Lucid's decision to bring the Gravity to market with the morass of software issues almost every reviewer and many customers have experienced, this article joined the chorus of praising the engineering bones of the car but concluding it is still an immature product for what most people expect in a utilitarian vehicle -- especially an expensive luxury one.

 

[HC_79]

"The D-pads on the steering wheel look like they are touch sensitive, but thankfully are not and require force to be pushed as they are buttons."

Looks like he didn't play with the UI enough -- the D-pads are touch sensitive too. (The overlay of different functionality for swipe vs press is a little confusing at first, but overall I think the UX on the Gravity is very well done except for quirks called out elsewhere, like unclear activation state on soft buttons with the grey-vs-black differentiator.)

Yeah when I read the comment about the D-pads I was like, here's yet another person who is reviewing products for a living and not having a clue about what they're talking about. Heck, the car even has a video pre-loaded on how to use said touchpads