2022 Lucid Air Hands-On: 5 Things That Stand Out About the Luxury EV

Location, location, location. It’s a simple lesson Lucid obviously understands.

We’re in Toronto’s Yorkdale Mall, ahead of the EV company opening up its second Canadian studio, and first in Ontario. It’s not lost on us that this was one of the earliest spots Tesla carved out for itself, a space it still maintains elsewhere in Canada’s third-largest mall. Yet the Tesla connection runs deeper.

Lucid CEO Peter Rawlinson was the chief engineer on the original Model S, and the Air is, at least partially, borne out of that experience. More accurately, it’s meant to surpass it. “We’ve all had those experiences in our lives where we say ‘gosh if i could do it over again, what would i do differently? this is that, this is his do-over,'” explains Lucid product PR manager Dave Buchko.

The on-paper stats certainly suggest a step-change here. The Lucid Air has more power, more range, and a whole host of clever tech befitting a top-end luxury car. Numbers can only take it so far, however, so we poked around a pre-production Grand Touring model, as well as the entire studio itself, to learn how the Lucid Air could shake up the game this year. Here’s what we found.

Let’s get back to those headline figures. The Lucid Air Dream Edition Performance packs a faintly believable 1,111 horsepower. The Dream Edition Range, meanwhile, is capable of up to 520 miles (837 kilometers). And they’re both already sold out.

The Grand Touring sitting in the new studio does essentially the same feat as the latter, however, ringing in at an EPA-certified 516 miles (830 km). At 800 horsepower it’s 133 down from the Dream Edition Range, but you’re still looking at one of the most powerful EVs on the market, and the one with far and away the most range. Yet the Air’s battery pack isn’t enormous. 112-kilowatt-hours is big, sure, but Buchko stresses the focus on efficiency. The in-house design of the motor and battery enables a specific efficiency of 4.6 miles (7.4 km) per kWh, a measurement that doesn’t get enough attention. Sure, a company can throw a battery the size of a Honda Civic into an EV, but then that’s sort of applying yesterday’s thinking to tomorrow’s problems, isn’t it?

Lucid is also proud of the fast-charging nature of its 900-volt architecture. Buyers in America will get three years of free charging from Electrify America, while buyers in Canada get two. Use one of the 350-kW DC fast chargers and you could conceivably add 217 miles (350 km) back into the reserves in just 15 minutes.

Even though electric vehicles have been propagating like Oryctolagus cuniculus, there still aren’t a whole lot of truly high-end luxury models. With the Pure’s starting price of $78,900 ($107,300 CAD), and stretching to nearly double that for the Grand Touring, the Lucid Air is firmly in this category, and its interior goes a long way towards justifying that outlay.

The view ahead of the driver has a distinct Taycan feel to it, thanks to the curved glass display floating ahead of the steering wheel. The display itself is a crisp 5K setup, and a short dive through the menus shows promise. There’s a pleasantly low learning curve here, so folks don’t need to memorize sub-menus within sub-menus to handle most actions. There aren’t a lot of physical buttons, but mercifully they do exist for common climate controls. There’s a bit of theater when the center console display folds up and into the dashboard at the touch of a button, too. It remains just poking out from there, so you can tap the screen to bring it back down. Not the tidiest setup, but it will no doubt wow guests.

The exterior of the Air might be all low height—especially that supercar-like nose—but you’d never know it from inside. This is a beautifully airy cockpit, in no small part due to the jaw-dropping glass canopy, making for one huge daylight opening (DLO) from the base of the dashboard right to the front headrests. Two slim sun visors break up the space, while a slim spine runs from the sensor array in the center of the windshield back through the headliner. It also houses the ambient LED lighting. It’s a bit like the Bugatti Chiron, which is pretty rarified air to share.

The second row offers positively enormous amounts of legroom. That’s good, because the longer-legged amongst us may find the low-set seating slightly lacking in thigh support. This writer and his Calvin-esque 29-inch inseam had no such qualms, however. Lucid’s interior design team has carved out the space around the seats, too. The curvature between the back cushion and the door panel resembles a lounge seat, allowing back-seat riders to tuck into the corner if so inclined. There’s also a subtle tonal shift in the materials from front to back, making the second row more intimate.

We’re singling out the door handles because this seems to be where every EV wants to reinvent the wheel … er, handle. Electric-actuation handles are all the rage, but they can often feel unnatural, and confuse guests. Not only that, but there are safety concerns should the EV end up in an accident.

The handles in the Air resemble little triggers built into the armrest. A light pull opens the doors as usual, but pull further back and the mechanical failsafe is activated. No need to search for a cable to pull should the worst happen.

Almost more important than the car itself is the buying process. As we’re in a mall, it’s clear Lucid is taking a modern approach, with “studios” instead of traditional dealerships. Judging by the sheer number of people that stop to peer through the glass at the event, it’s a smart idea.

Lucid wants to “get folks who are already driving luxury sedans, and provide them with a car that is so compelling, they feel comfortable making that transition,” explains Buchko. We would go further, as the appeal here is long-term: not only does it target would-be buyers, but it can plant the seed of desire in someone who may be a few years away from ownership.

To that end, the studio is set up to take folks on a guided tour of would-be Lucid Air ownership. A display near the entrance covers the brand’s proprietary motor, battery, and charger tech—it helps to understand the tech when it’s visible, says Buchko. Further in, buyers have the traditional color palette displays, for both the exterior paint and interior themes. Fun tidbit: all three of the interior layouts are inspired by certain places in the US, at certain times. They also all correspond with existing vehicle names from other OEMs. Coincidence, surely!

There’s also an in-depth virtual reality setup. Drop into the seat, put on the goggles, and you can get a sense of “your” Air in a way no flat screen could accomplish. The default scene is the same San Francisco-based location as Lucid’s online configurator, but it’s possible to select different ones. Not only that, prospective buyers (or simply fans) can get up and walk around the car, checking out digital details.

It’s this sort of interactive experience that Lucid is counting on to forge a bond with luxury car buyers.

We won’t sugarcoat it; there are some slight fit and finish issues dotting the exterior of this pre-prod unit. The charge port didn’t sit flush with the body. Trim didn’t align around the pillars. Shut lines were inconsistent, especially around the trunk area. Lucid has taken an unusual approach to storage here, with an ultra-wide opening that spans pretty much the entire width of the car. Not only that, but it sliced away at the sides of the rear section. A company spokesperson says this is to make it easier to drop something into the trunk from beside it instead of only directly behind. More practically, it means less angling to get wider items in and out, like the fabled multiple golf bags we all use as the default measurement.

A pull-out tray extends storage space further downwards. A small cubby on the driver’s side houses the charge cable pack, with a clever passthrough built in. The rear seats fold 40/20/40, so skis will slide right in, too.

That’s the question we keep asking, too. Understandably, Lucid is focusing on getting cars into the hands of buyers as it continues to open more studios like this one. That’s especially crucial after the company readjusted its 2022 sales targets from between 12,000–14,000 units, down from 20,000.

Nonetheless, we’re optimistic we’ll get behind the wheel soon enough. Deliveries are happening, and the company is realistic about its goals. From what we learned of the Air during the day, it offers multiple compelling reasons for buyers to consider switching from their establishment ICE vehicles to this low-slung, long-range EV. The 2022 Lucid Air packs in unmatched efficiency, a smart post-luxury interior, and a considered, holistic buying experience. Can’t forget the prime real estate, too.

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