2022 Lucid Air Grand Touring Performance First Drive Review: Exactly as Advertised
The Lucid Air's top-level Grand Touring Performance trim stays true to its name with refined luxury, impressive range and a 1,050-horsepower punch.
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It's easy to get all starry eyed over the Lucid Air, especially the new top-of-the-line Grand Touring and Grand Touring Performance models. Lucid's streamlined EV boasts as much as 1,050 horsepower, the promise of 516 miles of driving range and absolutely killer design. But spend a lot of time with the Air Grand Touring and you'll learn it's also a bona fide luxury flagship -- albeit one with a couple of quirks.
The Air GT and GTP pick up where the small-batch Dream Edition left off. Lucid's original Air was limited to just 520 units and made a whopping 1,111 hp. But while the GT and GTP are less powerful, the mechanical bits, chassis tuning and interior refinement are all the same. This is effectively the series-production version of Lucid's initial Air; the company just wanted to reserve that highest power output for its privileged first-round customers.
Grand
The Lucid Air is stunning. It looks like the future but clearly draws inspiration from a midcentury modern past. The Grand Touring has the same two-tone treatment as the Dream Edition with a rounded roofline and silver cap, though the body's color palette is sadly limited to one handsome shade of dark red or a handful of monochromatic hues (for now).
The Lucid's proportions are low, long and wide, giving it big curb appeal, though in reality, the Air is roughly the same size as a midsize sedan (think Honda Accord). There's a lot of legroom for passengers front and rear, and the low roofline doesn't impede headroom as much as you might think. Personally, I'm torn on the clamshell trunk design, especially since the low load-in height is weird. But at least the trunk goes deep, with 22.1 cubic feet of storage space, plus an extra 10 cubic feet in the frunk under the hood.
Lucid has several interior color and material schemes named after different parts of California, where the company is based. The one in my test car is called Tahoe, with a two-tone black-and-tan Nappa leather get-up and carbon oak trim. The whole past/future design motif is apparent here, too, where the sophisticated cabin trimmings meet things like a continuous glass panel that makes up the windshield and roof, as well as a 34-inch curved housing that displays various car controls, the gauge cluster and the Air's infotainment system.
The Air's interior feels as good as it looks.
But here's where you'll encounter some weird choices on Lucid's part. The volume toggle on the right side of the steering wheel works fine, but the center button that mutes the audio is way too sensitive, so you'll end up inadvertently cutting the jams a lot. Also, the steering column and mirror adjustments are found on the iPad-like center control screen, which feels like a solution to a problem that didn't exist (have we learned nothing from Tesla?). Worse yet, the screen is sometimes laggy, so you'll overshoot the mirror and wheel positions more often than not.
Honestly, the whole multimedia interface is slow and buggy, though during a visit to Lucid's service center in Millbrae, California, the company showed me an update that'll roll out over the air which addresses some of those issues. Still no Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, however, though Lucid says those are coming, too.
Touring
The quickest route from Lucid's Bay Area HQ to Los Angeles is the part of California you won't see on a postcard. The trip down the 5 freeway is dull as dishwater: Semi trucks pack the right lane and oblivious drivers hog the left, all while the faint smell of nearby cow pastures lingers in the air. It's a slog, yet it's also the perfect place for a supple luxury car with massaging seats and a kickin' stereo to crack its knuckles and say, "Relax, buddy, I've got this." In the Air GT, it's a piece of cake.
Lucid absolutely nailed the Air Grand Touring's ride and handling balance. On 21-inch wheels wrapped in Pirelli P-Zero summer tires, the Air is super supple all of the time without sacrificing its surprisingly sharp reflexes (more on that in a minute). Lucid also did a great job quelling wind and road noise, which is especially important since EVs don't have the drone of an internal combustion engine to mask some of those unpleasantries. Throw in comfortable seats with heating, cooling and massage functions, a full suite of driver-assistance systems and instant electric torque for shooting past left-lane Prii, and that boring I-5 trek really isn't so bad.
Plus, the Lucid Air is one of the few EVs that can make the Bay-to-LA journey in one shot. The EPA estimates a 516-mile range for the Air Grand Touring on its base 19-inch wheels, or 469 if you go for the 21s. The more powerful (and heavier) Grand Touring Performance further reduces the range to 446 miles, though that's still a longer driving distance than any other new EV on sale today. Your bladder will require a pit stop long before the Lucid will, and since America's public charging infrastructure is still incredibly problematic, not having to deal with any of that crap is a luxury in and of itself.
The two-tone look is so cool, as are the Performance's unique 21-inch wheels.
When you do have to plug in, you can take advantage of the most powerful DC fast chargers out there, since the Air's 900-volt architecture allows for charging speeds up to 300 kW. Strong regenerative braking also lets you recoup some energy on the go -- a boon for the steep downhill section of the I-5 Grapevine heading back into LA.
Performance
I'm actually glad my little subhed pun forced me to save the Air's performance specs for last. They're impressive, sure, but this car's premium angle is way more important. That the Air is so good as a luxury car is what really sticks with me most. That it's quick as hell and fun to drive is secondary, though nevertheless worth discussing.
The standard Grand Touring uses a 112-kilowatt-hour battery pack while the Performance has 118 kWh of capacity, and both cars have a dual-motor arrangement enabling all-wheel drive. Lucid rates the Air GT at a maximum 819 hp and 885 pound-feet of torque, allowing it to hit 60 mph in 3 seconds. The GTP increases power to 1,050 hp and 921 lb-ft, enabling it to hit 60 mph in 2.6 seconds through launch control, which is exactly as thrilling as it sounds.
This iPad-like display is where you manage all of the Air's settings and controls, and you can tuck it into the dashboard when you don't need it, opening up a cubby for small objects.
An important disclaimer: Those power numbers are conditional. Specific to the GTP, when you're driving in the standard Smooth mode, the electric motors are putting out 754 hp and 737 lb-ft. Switching to Swift stiffens the adaptive dampers, adds some weight to the steering, and unlocks 799 lb-ft. But it's only in the full-on Sprint mode -- which requires an additional confirmation on the display before activation -- where you get 1,050 hp and 921 lb-ft.
Smooth, in addition to being a Grammy award-winning 1999 hit by Santana featuring Rob Thomas of Matchbox 20 off the multi-platinum album Supernatural, is going to be perfectly fine for 95% of Lucid Air GT use cases. But if you find yourself on a great road, like Skyline Drive in NorCal or Angeles Crest Highway near LA, hit up Swift or Sprint for a good time. Despite having a traditional suspension setup and no performance aids like torque vectoring or rear-axle steering, the Air freakin' scoots. The low center of gravity keeps it hunkered down with little body roll, and the weighty steering offers quick responses without darty tendencies. The Air is way more fun to drive than any Tesla, but the Porsche Taycan is still the benchmark in the class.
Comparing the GT against a GTP, the only real difference is acceleration, since the fundamental chassis tuning is the same. Do you need an extra 231 hp, 36 lb-ft and 0.4-second quicker acceleration time? Absolutely not. Do EV buyers like bragging rights? Holy crap, yes.
Electric or not, the Lucid Air is a great luxury car.
Premium car, premium price
The Lucid Air Grand Touring and Grand Touring Performance are available to order now, and as you'd expect, they aren't cheap. The GT starts at $154,000 and the GTP comes in at $179,000, not including federal tax credits or an unknown destination charge. That makes the base GT a little more expensive than the new Mercedes-AMG EQS and way pricier than the Tesla Model S Plaid. Less-expensive Lucid Air models are expected to arrive before the end of the year, including a standard Touring and sub-$100,000 Pure.
Yes, Lucid has some teething issues with the Air Grand Touring, specifically some tech troubles and build-quality inconsistencies (don't look too closely at those panel gaps). Still, Lucid is getting much more right than wrong at this early stage, and if the Grand Touring Performance is proof of what this company can do right off the bat, then I can't wait to see what's next.
Editors' note: Travel costs related to this story were covered by the manufacturer, which is common in the auto industry. The judgments and opinions of CNET's staff are our own and we do not accept paid editorial content.
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