Lucid Air review

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The Lucid Air is not just Another New Electric Car. It's the most efficient car the world has ever seen. And it's really rather good to drive

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Stationary traffic isn’t typically an environment to leave you gawping in wonder at your surroundings.

But when that traffic is downtown Manhattan and you’re driving a Lucid Air, you only need to look up to do a bit of sightseeing, because the Air’s striking windscreen runs all the way back into the roof to give you a panoramic view of the city and the sky above from a unique perspective.

The Air itself comes with a unique perspective of its own. Its maker Lucid is determined to do things differently as it creates truly premium if not luxurious electric cars way above Tesla in their positioning and with an eye as much on Bentley as Mercedes-Benz or Audi.

Lucid started life back in 2007 as a battery and electric drive unit supplier but set its sights on becoming a car maker in its own right in the middle of the last decade. The Air is its first model.

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DESIGN & STYLING

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lucid air 2023 review 010 design

The Air looks like nothing else on the road. It’s not as big as it might appear in pictures (it’s just under five metres long, so a smidge more than a BMW 5 Series), and it has a modern sci-fi look that is not shouty, garish or ostentatious. Cool – that’s the word. It doesn’t seek to shock but will turn heads with its sleek, low-slung and atypical proportions. I think it will age well, too.

Much of the technology in the Air is Lucid’s own work. It is built on the firm’s own skateboard electric architecture that is designed to allow for the best packaging possible to maximise interior space above. The compact twin electric motors are of Lucid’s own design, with the transmission, differential and inverter all integrated within the motor. 

There have been starring roles for the Air in the US TV shows Goliath and Succession.
Mark Tisshaw
Editor

Combined, these motors produce 808bhp and 885lb ft, which are quite remarkable figures that explain the 3.0sec 0-60mph time in spite of the all-aluminium Air’s 2360kg kerb weight. If that power output in our four-wheel-drive Grand Touring model isn’t enough, Lucid also offers a Performance version, which has 1036bhp and a 0-60mph time of 2.6sec.

The focus of the Air is not only on performance but efficiency, too (indeed, it's the most important thing of all for EVs, as ex-CEO Peter Rawlinson told us). The battery, again designed in-house by Lucid, is a vast 112kWh, which gives it a range on the US EPA testing cycle of up to 516 miles, depending on the model. The battery can also be replenished as quickly as almost any EV yet seen, thanks to its 300kW charging speed. Find a 350kW DC charger and 300 miles of range can be added in just 21 minutes.

Lucid has focused obsessively on maximising efficiency to achieve that range, not only through its battery chemistry but also through giving it a slippery shape, optimised aero and, as the car’s designer Derek Jenkins says, “reducing and minimising absolutely everything”.

Examples include the headlights, which at just 27mm tall are the lowest in the industry, and the fact that the Air sits around 4cm lower than a typical saloon, which is a by-product of the compact design of the drivetrain. The result of all this work is a drag coefficient of just 0.2 – another remarkable figure in this most intriguing of cars.

INTERIOR

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Lucid Air 2025 review driving 52

Like the exterior, the interior has a really refreshing feel to it. There’s an excellent mix of craftsmanship and technology, the former coming from trim and materials that include nappa leather, alpaca wool, Alcantara and carbon oak. Perceived quality is high, with none of the iffy panel gaps we found in the early-build cars we'd previously driven.

There is also great distinction in the colour palette between the front and the rear, the former being sportier and darker, while the latter is lighter and even more luxurious feeling. It’s what Lucid calls the ‘Tahoe’ interior colour scheme, and it feels both concept car-like and coherent. It’s a resounding success.

It’s a shame the sun visors look almost like an afterthought, cheapening slightly what is otherwise a remarkable spectacle of the glass roof.
Mark Tisshaw
Editor

While Tesla pushes for minimalism by seemingly compressing the entire interior of its cars onto a single touchscreen, and the German brands go for all-out showiness and technology, the Air sits somewhere between the two.

Running across the dashboard is a slim, curved 32in ‘Glass Cockpit’, which is used for a driver display and infotainment screen, all in 5K resolution. This works with, and is largely controlled by, a lower centre console-mounted tablet-style touchscreen (with haptic feedback), which is able to disappear back into the console with a swipe for a bit of extra theatre.

The graphics are slick, the layout is nice and it all works well, with none of the lag we experienced in those early cars – although Apple CarPlay connectivity was intermittent. Pleasingly, physical buttons remain for the temperature and fan controls.

There are Mercedes-Benz S-Class levels of leg room and comfort for passengers in the rear (an 88kWh entry-level Air Pure model gets even more rear room than our Grand Touring test car, because the latter’s extra battery cells are built up in the rear footwells).

It’s a further benefit of the clever cab-forward packaging that unlocks extra interior space. Despite being further forward, there’s still room for a decent ‘frunk’ storage area and a large boot with a super-wide opening that will even swallow a 7ft surfboard.

It's worth noting that in warmer weather, all of that skyward-facing glass has a greenhouse effect on the cabin, forcing the air conditioning to work a bit harder.

ENGINES & PERFORMANCE

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lucid air touring pan jh 9

You get a hint of the performance potential at low speeds just from the amount of torque the Air clearly has in reserve. Find an empty road, and you can reveal the Air’s extraordinary performance.

It’s as fast an EV as we have ever experienced outside of more rarefied exotica, stunning and shocking in just how quickly it can cover ground.

What the Air has in common with most EVs is that sense of calm refinement from the drivetrain, only here there’s a far nicer environment in which to sit back and enjoy it.
Mark Tisshaw
Editor

The force of the acceleration never seems to relent as the speeds climb and traction refuses to break. As a showcase for what Lucid can do with electric drivetrains it is pretty mighty, if ultimately a bit pointless in a car like this, and it actually makes you – and your passengers – feel a little nauseous after a while. I’m sure even 500bhp would have been plenty, and we could happily do without the slightly intrusive and irritating artificial whine that goes with the acceleration.

All this has been experienced in the most sedate and power-limiting Smooth mode, with both Swift and Sprint unlocking full power and also performing the usual driving mode changes, such as firming up the steering and dampers. Sprint in particular alters the character in an ultimately unnecessary direction: more power and less comfort moves the Air away from what this car is all about. Smooth mode allows it to be enjoyed at its best on almost all roads and under most conditions.

RIDE & HANDLING

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Around town, it’s an easy car to place, drive and manoeuvre. It rides nicely, too, and there’s a precise lightness to the controls. 

The Lucid isn’t stupidly wide, either, like many cars have become, and it sits comfortably inside the dreaded two-metre mark that starts causing problems. One of Lucid’s goals for the Air was for it to be usable every day, and things such as a car’s footprint play a key part in that.

All of that glass makes visibility excellent, even if you do sit lower than you would in most similarly sized EVs.
Mark Tisshaw
Editor

As with so many electric cars, weight becomes the limiting factor when really pushing on in the Air. In the bends it feels like the big, heavy car it actually is, but the handling is always predictable and the steering is precise. It’s not especially fun or rewarding when really pushed, yet hold back a touch and it’s still an enjoyable car to flow through a series of corners. A Tesla Model 3 Performance remains a more engaging steer.

Our Air test car feels like something of a novelty, being ‘only’ on 19in alloys (up to 21in are optional) and 245/45 tyres. As well as helping to boost the overall range, they improve the ride too – and the Air’s secondary ride is particularly impressive. 

Surface imperfections didn’t unsettle the car or send shocks through its cabin. The Air uses double-wishbone suspension and adaptive dampers all round; air suspension remains in development.

So no nasty surprises in the way it handles, then, and we are left to drive back to the city along the interstate roads on which the Air is able to do what it does best: make quiet and quick progress in supreme comfort. In many ways this is reminiscent of the Mercedes S-Classes you would get with V12 engines but no Mercedes-AMG badging.

MPG & RUNNING COSTS

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The elephant in the room remains the fact that right-hand-drive Airs are for now not a part of the Lucid model plan, despite the conversion being a technical possibility.

Yet while possible, it is considered unlikely as the Air is of an asymmetrical design. The second Lucid model, the Gravity SUV, is of a symmetrical design and right-hand drive and a UK launch is considered more likely. The next wave of Lucids will be smaller and more affordable models, and are more likely again to be offered to British buyers in right-hand drive. 

Stepping away from the car for the first time can make you nervous, as you're unsure whether the Air is locked or not – it is one of those cars that does the locking, unlocking, starting and stopping for you as you enter and leave.
Mark Tisshaw
Editor

In the US, the Air starts from $69,990 (£55,500) for a 424bhp Pure and a 420-mile range. The 612bhp Touring has a 406-mile range for $78,900 (£62,500), with the bigger-battery 808bhp Grand Touring coming in at $110,900 (£88,000) and a 512-mile range. The range-topping model is the ballistic Sapphire with 1217bhp and a 0-60mph time of a barely believable 1.89sec. This comes fully loaded at $249,000 (£197,500). 

Efficiency is a coming battleground for electric cars, and Lucid is well placed to do well in it. Indeed, on the US test cycle, the Air is the most efficient car ever tested, and by some margin, a quite remarkable achievement for a car with its performance levels and luxury feel.

The 200 miles or so we covered on our test route dented the battery capacity by barely 50%, even with some hard driving within that.

VERDICT

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Lucid Air 2025 review driving 184

It’s easy to understand why Lucid has endeavoured to create a car that is as much high-performance GT as it is luxury saloon, and one you can use every day.

It is a new company, so it wants to make plenty of noise and show just how much it can do and how big its numbers can be.

Lucid Air news

Lucid aims for electric cars to achieve 6.2 miles per kWh
Lucid aims for electric cars to achieve 6.2 miles per kWh
Lucid primes £40,000 Tesla Model 3, Model Y rivals
Lucid primes £40,000 Tesla Model 3, Model Y rivals
New Lucid Gravity to receive exclusive, long-range Dream Edition
New Lucid Gravity to receive exclusive, long-range Dream Edition
Lucid Air electric saloon makes UK debut
Lucid Air electric saloon makes UK debut

The Air does its best work as a truly innovative, efficient and desirable luxury saloon, and this is the direction in which Lucid should hone the car – a bit like a BMW i7 you actually want to be seen in.

Electric power has always been ripe for this type of car, and Lucid is already well placed to exploit it with what is a hugely impressive debut offering.

The EV world is already a far more interesting and less homogenised place for having Lucid in it, and we hope that one day soon its cars will grace our roads in the UK, too. 

Mark Tisshaw

mark-tisshaw-autocar
Title: Editor

Mark is a journalist with more than a decade of top-level experience in the automotive industry. He first joined Autocar in 2009, having previously worked in local newspapers. He has held several roles at Autocar, including news editor, deputy editor, digital editor and his current position of editor, one he has held since 2017.

From this position he oversees all of Autocar’s content across the print magazine, autocar.co.uk website, social media, video, and podcast channels, as well as our recent launch, Autocar Business. Mark regularly interviews the very top global executives in the automotive industry, telling their stories and holding them to account, meeting them at shows and events around the world.

Mark is a Car of the Year juror, a prestigious annual award that Autocar is one of the main sponsors of. He has made media appearances on the likes of the BBC, and contributed to titles including What Car?, Move Electric and Pistonheads, and has written a column for The Sun.