The Lucid Air Touring Delivers On Effectivity No Matter How You Drive It

Though the Lucid Air Touring impressed me in vary and effectivity after I drove it final winter by a stable Canadian polar vortex, it did not fairly carry out the best way I anticipated it to throughout quick charging. I additionally felt it was necessary to no less than strive the automotive once more throughout hotter climate, on Michelin Pilot Sport EV summer season tires and with the arguably extra enticing 20-inch wheels. So, the type of us at Lucid Montreal eagerly ready the Air accordingly so I may give it one other run over the course of three days.

I will be trustworthy. This was an excuse for spending extra time behind the wheel of a Lucid Air, however do not inform Lucid I stated that. Look, I fell in love with the Air after I first drove it, and never simply due to its prowess as an electrical automobile (EV). It is only a darn nice luxurious sedan. I used to be additionally within the thick of reviewing the extremely controversial BMW M5 whereas I borrowed the Air once more, which led to extra attention-grabbing revelations relating to Lucid’s pretty suspension tuning.

Seems the Air is extremely environment friendly, irrespective of the way you drive it, and provides the type of consolation we now not appear to get from German automakers. However somebody at Lucid wants to clarify to me why the automotive nonetheless cannot constantly fast-charge.

I Drove The Lucid Air Touring Usually

What I personally do not like in regards to the varied power effectivity and vary assessments carried out by some automotive media shops is how they drive the automobiles in a way that does not replicate actual life. Do not get me flawed, it is necessary to evaluate the most effective of what a automobile can do in optimum circumstances, and I’ve participated in severe effectivity evaluations in my profession, each for inside combustion engine (ICE) automobiles and EVs. The information collected from these assessments stays extremely priceless.

However let’s not child ourselves right here. Vitality effectivity numbers, both claimed by the EPA, an automaker, and even an automotive outlet that is testing the automobile in excellent California climate, do not signify what folks really do with their automobiles. That is why, identical to after I evaluated the Air final winter, I went out and drove it the best way a traditional, common individual would. Really, I will push the envelope a bit additional by stating that I drove it like an automotive journalist would.

What I imply right here is that the Air is not only about being environment friendly. It is also brutally quick, even in its extra humble Touring kind. It is geared up with a launch management sequence, handles extremely properly on a curvy backroad, and, properly, it is genuinely enjoyable to drive.

So, I figured it was necessary for me to bake in all of those nice qualities in my effectivity check, even when it meant ending up with common outcomes. This is a step-by-step roadmap of what I did with the automotive on a single cost over three days, with ambient temperatures ranging between 15 and 20 levels Celsius (59 and 68 levels Fahrenheit).

• I drove the Air from the Lucid Montreal studio at 100% cost to my home, which is an 83-mile (133 km) drive of principally freeway driving.
• I carried out two daycare runs, a mixture of freeway and metropolis driving, home windows down more often than not, no AC on.
• I headed out on my favourite backroad and drove the automotive exhausting at full throttle on some events, getting a really feel for its chassis and acceleration within the course of.
• I carried out two exhausting launches utilizing launch management.
• I drove the automotive again in the direction of Montreal (extra freeway driving) so far as I may, and stopped on the first out there public fast-charging station.

After I pulled up at one among Hydro Quebec’s 180-kW DC quick chargers, the Lucid Air Touring displayed a remaining vary of 32 km (or 19.8 miles). I had lined a complete of 417.5 km (259 miles) at a mean power consumption index of 5.2 km/kWh (3.2 miles/kWh). These are frankly stable numbers contemplating how I drove the automotive throughout that brief timeframe.

2025 Lucid Air Touring Actual-World Vitality Consumption And Vary (Regular And Spirited Driving)

Sadly, Quick Charging Wasn’t So Nice

Through the Air’s winter fast-charging sequence, it began off robust and shortly dipped after a couple of minutes and by no means pulled on the charger’s optimum efficiency. This might have had one thing to do with the battery not being heat sufficient beforehand. I had preconditioned it utilizing the Air’s guide override, however cold-weather fast-charging can usually give various outcomes, even when the battery is sufficiently warmed up.

Sadly, issues did not go any higher throughout warm-weather charging. Sure, because of its 900-volt structure, the Air can fast-charge at a charge of 300 kW on a suitable unit. However the quickest charger I had at my disposal on the time was a 180-kW stall from Quebec’s Electrical Circuit community.

Anyway, the automotive began charging exhausting, up there at a 178-kW peak. Issues have been off to begin. However it quickly dunked, and saved dropping steadily through the 31-minute session. On the finish of its charging run, the Lucid Air was barely pulling at 60 kW, which isn’t all that incredible. Take a look at the charging graph under:

So, yeah, not nice. Lucid responded to this by saying that my expertise was commonplace beneath the circumstances, and that preconditioning would doubtless have charged quicker for longer. I’ve personally by no means had to make use of preconditioning in hotter climate, however I’m studying one thing right here from Lucid’s claims. The automaker added that since every charging incident is exclusive, it’s troublesome to say particularly how preconditioning would have improved the charging velocity. I are inclined to agree. Charging curves will not be at all times constant, preconditioned battery or not. And I’ve skilled related points with EVs from different automakers.

2025 Lucid Air Touring Technical Specs

That every one being stated and accomplished, I’ll say that none of this negatively impacts the Lucid Air’s expertise as a serene and relatively pretty luxurious sedan. As a matter of reality, after driving the M5, I used to be flabbergasted by how gentle and comfortable the Lucid Air felt. Even with the bigger wheels, it absorbed highway imperfections with the utmost grace, negotiated corners like the most effective sports activities sedans on the market, and delivered a really stress-free driving expertise. In different phrases, fast-charging deficiencies apart, the Lucid Air remains to be a incredible automotive.