Last week, Kyle from Out of Spec Reviews got a chance to drive the upcoming Lucid Air Dream Edition Performance.
Specs and Numbers
The performance version of Lucid’s top tier Air comes in with a hefty $170,000 price tag. For that money one receives a 471 EPA estimated range, a 2.5 second 0-60 time, and 1,111 horsepower with a full battery charge. The particular model that Kyle drove was running at about half capacity, so power numbers weren’t quite what is advertised.
Initial Impressions
Taking the Dream out for a spin, Kyle began to test the regenerative braking under low speed conditions. This allows for a better feel of how competent the system is and if high levels of regeneration cause the braking to be harsh. For this test, The Lucid Air Dream was in Smooth Mode, one of three selectable driving modes.
Kyle noted that the regenerative braking was, in fact, smooth at low speeds and could bring the car to a full stop quite well. Acceleration was equally blended as Kyle moved the Dream from its complete stop. Overall this means that the Lucid Air Dream feels very polished and well calibrated while performing one pedal driving. The only thing Kyle noted was that he would have preferred the vehicle stopped sooner when placed on a slight downgrade.
Moving Swiftly
Switching into the second of three selectable modes, Swift Mode noticeably sharpened the throttle and handling of the Lucid Air. At this point in the review Kyle did note the increased cabin noise compared to other luxury vehicles in the same class, and that the NVH, or Noise, Vibration and Harshness, was primarily cabin noise at highway speeds
Using an unsuspecting Cadillac as a marker, Kyle tested the acceleration of the Lucid at highway speeds, and while still smooth, the viewer can obviously see that the car gains speed furiously, even above 50 miles per hour.
Finally, the off ramp was used as a test of the vehicle’s ABS system under intense braking, which Kyle states is well calibrated as it kicked in soon, allowing for the proper amount of rotation, and firmed up the brake pedal appropriately.
Sprint to the finish
The final selectable drive mode is aptly dubbed Sprint, as that’s exactly what it is meant to do. Kyle asked the team if he could try out the acceleration from a full stop, and it did not disappoint. Unfortunately, this pe-production version did not have a launch mode, but Kyle stated that it should be rectified by the time the vehicle is available for consumers. Without launch control the vehicle acceleration isn’t as immediate, but even at 50% battery capacity is still very quick.
There were no mountain roads to test the cornering capabilities of the Lucid, but Kyle took a quick moment to perform a slalom test on an open stretch of highway. He notes that the vehicle roll feels soft, but that the car composes itself nicely. Overall, it’s a smooth and comfortable ride.
A quick glance around the cabin and one can see that the Lucid Air Dream fits four adults comfortably and with ample leg room for all, because that’s exactly what they did. The team made comments about how much head room there is even with the deep slope towards the rear of the vehicle.
Final Thoughts
Kyle summed up his driving experience with three areas of impressiveness and three areas of improvement. He stated that the Lucid Air Dream has insane acceleration even at 50% capacity, and that the driver assistance features are tuned well. He states they would be excellent for long road trips. Additionally, Kyle was impressed with the low speed braking calibration, as it indicates a high level of attention to detail with that aspect of the vehicle.
Kyle did feel that improvements could be made to the noise, vibration, and harshness of the vehicle, as a luxury car of that class should not have that much cabin noise on the highway. He also noted that the steering wheel was very thick and seemed to take away from the driver’s connectedness to the road. Finally, the car was a bit soft on rotation, even in Swift and Sprint modes, which makes it seem geared more towards comfortable road trips than curvy mountain cruises.
