Dream Edition 4dr All-Wheel Drive Sedan
2022 Lucid Air
MENLO PARK, Calif. – A new car from a new company breeds a certain degree of skepticism. One expects a few rough edges, both literally and figuratively, with a few haphazard choices here and some janky elements there. Something probably won’t work. Something will almost certainly be borrowed from the parts bin of another manufacturer. The Lucid Air manages to erase that skepticism very quickly. You climb into its driver seat to find an environment that seems perfectly familiar, and not because the switchgear and tech interface were done by some other, familiar company (they were not). There are screens aplenty, but their placement and control layout are largely similar to what you’d find in a traditional button-strewn interior. The screen to the left of the instruments in the 34-inch curved display panel controls things like lights and wipers, while the large touchscreen bridging the console and lower dash does the stuff buttons on the console and lower dash have traditionally done such as climate and drive controls. The screens are also nicely laid out with large, clear icons and easily identified menus. In short, it’s easy to use and has the potential to improve thanks to over-the-air updates. You’d think someone who used to work for Apple was in charge of it. Oh wait, he was and his name is Mike Bell. There are still some buttons in the cabin, and they look and move with a richness that often gets missed by smaller luxury automakers (see Aston Martin). The rest of the cabin is then a treat for your eyes and fingers, with familiar elements like soft leather, faux suede and open pore wood mixing with novel elements like alpaca wool textile and a two-tone color scheme that sees the front and rear seats in different-color leather. As they say, the devil is in the details, and at least in the cars we sampled, Lucid has nailed them. This is a very expensive car, and the cabin looks and feels the part. The primary complaint? The vast glass windshield that goes up and over the front seats, with another panel in the rear, that don't have shades. They're tinted, fine, but our local star is a rather powerful thing. You shouldn't need to wear a hat in a car. Like some other electric cars, there’s no start button. There are no buttons on the key fob, either. Approach the car, the door handles pop out, climb in and put your foot on the brake to tell the car you’re ready to go. The transmission selector is an electronic column shifter comparable to Mercedes’ design, but with Lucid’s own piece of hardware. The car defaults to its “Smooth” drive mode, but will remember which of the two levels of brake regeneration you last used: Standard or High. This is the first electric car I’ve tested where the maximum regenerative brake mode was actually too strong. It was difficult to finesse the throttle enough to avoid a queasy, yo-yo tendency …
Full Review
MENLO PARK, Calif. – A new car from a new company breeds a certain degree of skepticism. One expects a few rough edges, both literally and figuratively, with a few haphazard choices here and some janky elements there. Something probably won’t work. Something will almost certainly be borrowed from the parts bin of another manufacturer. The Lucid Air manages to erase that skepticism very quickly. You climb into its driver seat to find an environment that seems perfectly familiar, and not because the switchgear and tech interface were done by some other, familiar company (they were not). There are screens aplenty, but their placement and control layout are largely similar to what you’d find in a traditional button-strewn interior. The screen to the left of the instruments in the 34-inch curved display panel controls things like lights and wipers, while the large touchscreen bridging the console and lower dash does the stuff buttons on the console and lower dash have traditionally done such as climate and drive controls. The screens are also nicely laid out with large, clear icons and easily identified menus. In short, it’s easy to use and has the potential to improve thanks to over-the-air updates. You’d think someone who used to work for Apple was in charge of it. Oh wait, he was and his name is Mike Bell. There are still some buttons in the cabin, and they look and move with a richness that often gets missed by smaller luxury automakers (see Aston Martin). The rest of the cabin is then a treat for your eyes and fingers, with familiar elements like soft leather, faux suede and open pore wood mixing with novel elements like alpaca wool textile and a two-tone color scheme that sees the front and rear seats in different-color leather. As they say, the devil is in the details, and at least in the cars we sampled, Lucid has nailed them. This is a very expensive car, and the cabin looks and feels the part. The primary complaint? The vast glass windshield that goes up and over the front seats, with another panel in the rear, that don't have shades. They're tinted, fine, but our local star is a rather powerful thing. You shouldn't need to wear a hat in a car. Like some other electric cars, there’s no start button. There are no buttons on the key fob, either. Approach the car, the door handles pop out, climb in and put your foot on the brake to tell the car you’re ready to go. The transmission selector is an electronic column shifter comparable to Mercedes’ design, but with Lucid’s own piece of hardware. The car defaults to its “Smooth” drive mode, but will remember which of the two levels of brake regeneration you last used: Standard or High. This is the first electric car I’ve tested where the maximum regenerative brake mode was actually too strong. It was difficult to finesse the throttle enough to avoid a queasy, yo-yo tendency …
Hide Full Review
Hide Full Review
Retail Price
$169,000
MSRP / Window Sticker Price
| Engine | |
| MPG | 110 City / 111 Hwy |
| Seating | 5 Passengers |
| Transmission | 1-spd auto |
| Power | 804 @ rpm |
| Drivetrain | all wheel |
Smart Buy Program is powered by 
