On the lookout for a long-range luxurious EV that’s a real Tesla different? Welcome to the Lucid Air

On Californian roads, Tesla SUVs are ten a penny. Mannequin X and Ys are in all places and there’s a good smattering of Cybertrucks too. In distinction, Tesla’s all-electric rival Lucid is a uncommon groove and its first product – a svelte and aero saloon – is a surprisingly sensible one (as we’ll clarify later).

Lucid’s on-road rarity makes any driver of 1 really feel fairly particular. The Air is fairly to gaze upon too. Not in a ‘take a look at me’ sense, however with a smooth-surfaced exterior authority that’s subtly good. This slickness of floor partly explains the Air’s frankly superb 0.197 Cd drag coefficient, which in flip improves how far it might journey earlier than requiring a recharge. The mid-model Air Touring we examined has a 406-mile vary, whereas the Grand Touring claims a whopping 512 miles.

This doesn’t imply the Air is an ‘eco bore’ although. The Touring mannequin provides 620hp and might obtain 0-60mph in a supercar-fast 3.4 seconds, whereas the top-end Air Sapphire – retailing at round 1 / 4 of 1,000,000 {dollars} – slashes that already speedy time all the way down to a hypercar-whipping 1.89 seconds. However though the Air can bullet away from the lights with ease, its inside design atmosphere encourages a calmer and extra thought of method.

The Air’s cabin is clear and uncluttered with a wise mixture of bodily and digital switches. The driving force show ‘floats’ pleasingly above the dashboard’s high and is supplemented by a big portrait-shaped display throughout the centre console space, that deploys downwards or slides away on the contact of a button.

The inside is huge with limo ranges of rear legroom, however the area feels even larger nonetheless, as a consequence of its two-piece panoramic roof and elongated windscreen that stretches again above the motive force’s head, with solar visors constructed into the glass. It is a very cool characteristic and one usually reserved for idea vehicles.

Baggage area can also be enormous for a saloon, with a deep 283-litre compartment on the entrance supplementing the spacious 626-litre boot with additional under-floor area on the rear. On our take a look at, three massive ‘maintain’ and 4 compact ‘carry-on’ plane baggage have been stowed away, no downside.

Driving the automotive is a serene course of round city, with the potential for ultra-rapid progress on the freeway. Of the three driving modes – Clean, Swift and Dash – the primary mode was the one we employed more often than not, regardless of occasional challenges on the street from (primarily) petrol-engined automotive drivers who had possibly heard of the Lucid’s velocity, however who have been rapidly and simply dispatched.

Recharging was additionally a breeze. By Lucid’s cope with the almost 900-strong Electrify America US charging community, a circa 500-mile journey from San Francisco to Los Angeles was managed by way of two snug stops and will have been managed in a single. Every time, the automotive simply must be plugged in, a number of buttons pressed on the charging publish and electrical energy begins to movement (no apps or downloads required). And from the extensively prevalent super-fast 350-kilowatt chargers on that route, the Air Touring obtained from 20-80 per cent in about half an hour, including some 240 miles within the course of.

When it comes to tech, the automotive’s personal navigation and infotainment system is surprisingly good, though Apple CarPlay compatibility is normal if most well-liked, mirroring to the smaller higher right-hand a part of the motive force show.

Much less good are the huge A-pillars that little doubt assist roll-over safety however can prohibit driver imaginative and prescient, particularly on twisty roads when you must look diagonally forward. And when reversing or encountering a possible hazard, the fowl’s eye view takes over the primary display for a lot too lengthy after you’ve moved on, or any hazard has been recognized. However these are small quibbles.

Lucid’s traders would most likely like its merchandise to be extra commonplace on the street than they at the moment are – and there may be nonetheless no launch date for right-hand drive international locations together with the UK – however meantime Lucid autos stay a breath of recent air in a sea of Teslas (particularly given the questionable political-meddling and infrequently distasteful outbursts of that model’s CEO). And do you have to need extra space nonetheless, Lucid is because of open the order books for its seven-seat, however nonetheless glossy, Lucid Gravity SUV in early November 2024.