Spent some time w/ Lucid Air this morning… impressions

[daveo4EV]

while at the dealership this morning I had some time to kill. Sales manager knows I'm an EV guys - walked me over to a Lucid Air and handed me the keys and suggested I check it while they dealt with some paperwork…

I was with a buddy so we decided to check out the Lucid…I did not drive it cause I was not interested in purchasing it - but did open/close/poke/prod/investigate almost everything I could with out driving it…

Highs

• spacious back seat
• software that is fast, usable, simple and across the board fantastic - way way way better than PCM
• best 3D surround view performance, quality, feature set I've seen in any vehicle - it was truly amazing how well they've done this aspect of the vehicle
• the main dash is a thing of functional beauty - big, bright easy to read, great features and display choices
• excellent massage seats - back and seat - good choices, good pressure - better than Porsche massage seats.
• seat comfort was ok - material colors/choices/mixture of textures/colors really really not my vibe.
• I didn't drive it - but I'll spot them it drives ok and has excellent industry leading range.
• 40 amp EVSE included with the vehicle
  • NEMA 14-50
  • 9.6 kW - has not been nerfed to 4.8 kW
  • smaller than PMC+/PMCC
  • lighter than PMC+/PMCC
  • apparently doesn't overheat or melt
• not really a "high" but the trunk is ok - but not great - but doesn't deserve to be in the "low" category

Lows

• it's even uglier in person than in photos - my opinion
• couldn't inspect the frunk - it wouldn't release
• you could NOT give me this car
• here is no way I'd spend Porsche money for this car, and it's not even Porsche cheap - it's more expensive than a Taycan
  • I wouldn't even spend Lexus/Acura money on this car - it's just so bad…
• it had 8,000 miles on it - dec. 2021 build according to the door sticker - vin #21xx
  • and the broken touch elements, knobs, dials, buttons etc's - were all loose, broken, dysfunctional or simply poorly design
• all the motorized elements (window shades, door handles, center screen retraction) were all wonky or disfunctional
• the key FOB has no obvious mechanism to operate it
• it took us 10 minutes to get the door handles to present - and we still don't know what we did to make it work
• the design pallet motif (colors, materials, textures, mixture) is an unmitigated disaster - OMG so bad
• build quality of the body panels - please stop giving Tesla crap - they are actually really good
  • and please please please don't tell me Tesla's are crap and then tell me you're buying a Lucid Air instead - you will lose _ALL_ credibility - it just means you hate Tesla (which is fine) but don't try and come up with a factual reason and then choose this piece of crap
• friend with me was appalled at the overall feel and quality - really really unfavorable impression
• many many elements of the car were worn/functional to a point that it seemed like the car had 150,000 miles on it - it only had 8,000 miles
• I just don't see how/why anyone would choose this car over: Taycan, BMW I7, Mercedes EQS, or Tesla Model 3 or Plaid
• it was traded in for a Cayenne Hybrid

after trade in - while sitting on lot for sale - it developed a leak - dealership sent vehicle to Lucid Service near Redwood City - it came back 4 weeks later - leak was supposedly "fixed" - started leaking again - back to the service shop - they have yet to fix it - asked dealership to take the car back while they wait for instructions/parts from Lucid (cause they are swamped) - but have no idea how to fix it - but it's a known issue and they are working on it - no ETA at this time.

I had a much better impression of Lucid Air before my time with an actual car this morning - I am no longer positive on the vehicle.

and I'm utterly confused by anyone that would swap a Taycan for this particular vehicle - I really don't see the appeal and while Taycan is not perfect - ummmm this is not the answer in my opinion.

if you don't like your Taycan - great - sorry to hear that - but I get ya - not yet perfect want something different - great - it's why we have choices - get rid of the Taycan and find something else - totally get it - right there with you! But your choice is Lucid Air? Now I'm confused - really really confused.

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[ciaranob]

Good to get an unbiased viewpoint on this car - have not bothered viewing as TBH I also cannot get past the exterior but this review puts a nail in it for me! Thx for sharing.

 

[masmole]

Great review. I too had a favorable impression of Lucid, but mostly based on shills on youtube, etc., and also from a short chat with an owner at an EA charging station who literally just picked it up a few days earlier. I always thought it was so damn ugly - like deal-breaking catastrophically ugly, but still held it in high regard because I incorrectly made the assumption that all that ugliness would be made up for by better engineering, better build quality, and better refinement than Tesla. I guess that’s not really the case. So that sadly leaves it with absolutely nothing left going for it…. I still hope they sort it out and survive as a company. Competition is always ultimately good for us, the consumer, and for the development of technology in general.

 

[andrewket]

I recently sold my Lucid position at a loss. They have some good tech bits - including market leading power:weight ratio with their motors, but the overall car isn’t compelling. It’s a shame. I hope they get bought out before they go bankrupt.

 

[daveo4EV]

Good to get an unbiased viewpoint on this car - have not bothered viewing as TBH I also cannot get past the exterior but this review puts a nail in it for me! Thx for sharing.

few if any people would call me "unbiased" - but this review is my opinion from sitting in a stationary vehicle that was traded in with no consideration of how well the previous owner treated the vehicle - it might have been abused.

I still believe Lucid's core engineering is excellent (motor, batteries, electronics) - maybe even world class…

however their overall package left me deeply underwhelmed - and this particular vehicle was a shambles in my opinion - as to how/why it got that way I have no idea - but a trade @ 8,000 miles is also quite telling in my opinion.

in any case I encourage people to make their own judgements - I sometimes focus on the wrong things - but in this case for me personally Lucid is not on the list of EV's I'd consider replacing my Taycan with…

 

[Redhot2474]

Owning a lucid is a wildcard, not to mention it looks like a Buick - no thanks

 

[ciaranob]

few if any people would call me "unbiased" - but this review is my opinion from sitting in a stationary vehicle that was traded in with no consideration of how well the previous owner treated the vehicle - it might have been abused.

I still believe Lucid's core engineering is excellent (motor, batteries, electronics) - maybe even world class…

however their overall package left me deeply underwhelmed - and this particular vehicle was a shambles in my opinion - as to how/why it got that way I have no idea - but a trade @ 8,000 miles is also quite telling in my opinion.

in any case I encourage people to make their own judgements - I sometimes focus on the wrong things - but in this case for me personally Lucid is not on the list of EV's I'd consider replacing my Taycan with…

No, you specifically addressed the aesthetics interior and exterior so entirely on point for me - I too have read extensively on their engineering and battery design innovations etc which indeed are impressive but the other has to be present for me to ever consider it as an option and a number of other reviews have mimicked your insights to the point that it really is off the table for now.

 

[whan]

Yeah, have to say the looks of the Lucid was a big factor initially for me not heavily considering one. Was surprised at the number of reviewers who said it was a very good looking car. Front isn’t bad but the rear proportions aren’t good. It does look premium from the exterior (unlike the EQS) but still, not a good looking car

But I’m not surprised about the build quality issues - turns out that the actual manufacturing part of cars is difficult, especially when scaling up from nothing to build a clean-sheet design car. People are also reporting that Rivians are having some QC issues too.

 

[Torv]

while at the dealership this morning I had some time to kill. Sales manager knows I'm an EV guys - walked me over to a Lucid Air and handed me the keys and suggested I check it while they dealt with some paperwork…

I was with a buddy so we decided to check out the Lucid…I did not drive it cause I was not interested in purchasing it - but did open/close/poke/prod/investigate almost everything I could with out driving it…

Highs

• spacious back seat
• software that is fast, usable, simple and across the board fantastic - way way way better than PCM
• best 3D surround view performance, quality, feature set I've seen in any vehicle - it was truly amazing how well they've done this aspect of the vehicle
• the main dash is a thing of functional beauty - big, bright easy to read, great features and display choices
• excellent massage seats - back and seat - good choices, good pressure - better than Porsche massage seats.
• seat comfort was ok - material colors/choices/mixture of textures/colors really really not my vibe.
• I didn't drive it - but I'll spot them it drives ok and has excellent industry leading range.
• 40 amp EVSE included with the vehicle
  • NEMA 14-50
  • 9.6 kW - has not been nerfed to 4.8 kW
  • smaller than PMC+/PMCC
  • lighter than PMC+/PMCC
  • apparently doesn't overheat or melt
• not really a "high" but the trunk is ok - but not great - but doesn't deserve to be in the "low" category

Lows

• it's even uglier in person than in photos - my opinion
• couldn't inspect the frunk - it wouldn't release
• you could NOT give me this car
• here is no way I'd spend Porsche money for this car, and it's not even Porsche cheap - it's more expensive than a Taycan
  • I wouldn't even spend Lexus/Acura money on this car - it's just so bad…
• it had 8,000 miles on it - dec. 2021 build according to the door sticker - vin #21xx
  • and the broken touch elements, knobs, dials, buttons etc's - were all loose, broken, dysfunctional or simply poorly design
• all the motorized elements (window shades, door handles, center screen retraction) were all wonky or disfunctional
• the key FOB has no obvious mechanism to operate it
• it took us 10 minutes to get the door handles to present - and we still don't know what we did to make it work
• the design pallet motif (colors, materials, textures, mixture) is an unmitigated disaster - OMG so bad
• build quality of the body panels - please stop giving Tesla crap - they are actually really good
  • and please please please don't tell me Tesla's are crap and then tell me you're buying a Lucid Air instead - you will lose _ALL_ credibility - it just means you hate Tesla (which is fine) but don't try and come up with a factual reason and then choose this piece of crap
• friend with me was appalled at the overall feel and quality - really really unfavorable impression
• many many elements of the car were worn/functional to a point that it seemed like the car had 150,000 miles on it - it only had 8,000 miles
• I just don't see how/why anyone would choose this car over: Taycan, BMW I7, Mercedes EQS, or Tesla Model 3 or Plaid
• it was traded in for a Cayenne Hybrid

after trade in - while sitting on lot for sale - it developed a leak - dealership sent vehicle to Lucid Service near Redwood City - it came back 4 weeks later - leak was supposedly "fixed" - started leaking again - back to the service shop - they have yet to fix it - asked dealership to take the car back while they wait for instructions/parts from Lucid (cause they are swamped) - but have no idea how to fix it - but it's a known issue and they are working on it - no ETA at this time.

I had a much better impression of Lucid Air before my time with an actual car this morning - I am no longer positive on the vehicle.

and I'm utterly confused by anyone that would swap a Taycan for this particular vehicle - I really don't see the appeal and while Taycan is not perfect - ummmm this is not the answer in my opinion.

if you don't like your Taycan - great - sorry to hear that - but I get ya - not yet perfect want something different - great - it's why we have choices - get rid of the Taycan and find something else - totally get it - right there with you! But your choice is Lucid Air? Now I'm confused - really really confused.

Just curious, what was the dealer charging for this low mileage, used Lucid?

 

[Mr.Smith]

Good luck to the dealer trying to sell that Lucid. I've only seen them sit on the dealer lots lots as trade Ins. Forget wholesaling it.

Latest wholesale is $135k for a Dream with half the Miles on it. Its a $170k car and was trading in the $180ks earlier this year.

I agree with most of your feedback, but I really wish they would survive, I just don't see it.
That technology they have will be well used with a VW group including Rimac.

I tell everyone to lease this car and put as little as possible out of pocket to hedge their bet.

 

[Redhot2474]

Will be interesting to see resale value of Lucid…

 

[daveo4EV]

it will be more interesting to see if people continue to accept them for trade

 

[daveo4EV]

i regret to inform you they will not survive - $1 bet they are in bankruptcy at or before 12/2024

i own no position in lucid or plan to initiate one - i don’t control the investments of funds i’m in - so i may have indirect positions

it will sadden me greatly for loss of competition pushing others in this space - we need alternatives and innovation

 

[Mr.Smith]

it will be more interesting to see if people continue to accept them for trade

The highest volume Mercedes dealer in the US, in the EV Meca of orange county had 3 of them collecting dust, no interest.

More concerning is this

https://insideevs.com/news/625692/l...dly-calling-canceling-clients-up-to-14-times/

 

[daveo4EV]

The highest volume Mercedes dealer in the US, in the EV Meca of orange county had 3 of them collecting dust, no interest.

More concerning is this

https://insideevs.com/news/625692/l...dly-calling-canceling-clients-up-to-14-times/

that data point also from this week - this is a company in panic mode - and no actual chance of getting out of the tail spin

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