The car standing in front of me isn’t some unknown exotic, it is the Lucid Air, Lucid’s first-ever production car. I’ve been seeing them around Berkeley for four years, but have yet to get up close and personal with the model. In Berkeley’s sea of Teslas and Subarus, the Air stands out, on account of its large footprint and sleek presence (to appease the winds) and its unusual exterior ornamentation. (A large metal eyebrow blade that spans the hood and its roof is color-contrasting.)
Today is my chance to get familiar with the Air and with Lucid in general. I’ve just wrapped up a test drive of the newly released 2026 Lucid Gravity SUV, and now I’m slipping behind the wheel of the 2025 Air Grand Touring.
The Lucid Air starts at $71k for the Pure and works its way up to the $249k Sapphire. The Pure is a 430 hp RWD sedan, while the pricey 1234-hp Sapphire is an AWD three-motor missile with rear seats.
Today’s test is of the $115k Air Grand Touring, which gets an 819 hp AWD drivetrain, top-shelf interior materials, and an incredible EV range of 512 miles. It is the choice for buyers who want all of the luxury and all of the range, but can settle for 0-60 mph in 3.0 seconds over the 1.9 second sprint for the ludicrous Sapphire.
Slipping into the driver’s seat of the Grand Touring, I appraise the Air’s cabin.
A wide, wing-shaped glass panel sits immediately ahead of the steering wheel. The panel’s left tip reaches for the driver’s door and contains touchscreen buttons for the headlights, defrosters and more. Its right tip spans the center of the dashboard, offering infotainment features and Apple CarPlay, which my passenger can also reach and control. The center of the bent glass contains the digital instrument cluster, with the speed and battery information that is my responsibility.
(The Gravity also had an expansive curved instrument panel, but in the new SUV, a single LCD screen is behind the glass, whereas the Air uses three screens for the left, center, and right.)
The glass’s swooping wing shape recalls the hood’s eyebrow blade and is a motif that appears again and again in the cabin. It is in the arc of ornamentation that runs from the doors onto the dashboard. The two-spoke steering wheel has a bowing bridge of metal across its face, and the dashboard is scooped into a gentle D. All of the surfaces are covered in rich leather, wood and metal. It is a very appealing design.
In the center of the dashboard, near my right knee, there is a larger tablet-style infotainment screen. This display is close at hand and tilted up for easy use, and it contains the controls for the HVAC and vehicle settings. I can swipe the navigation maps from the instrument panel to the central display if I want more route details.
The driver’s seat under me is soft, squishy and oh-so comfortable. It is also gently kneading my back, as the Grand Touring’s massaging seats are active. I feel appropriately coddled for $115k.
Rear seat occupants get a different luxury, the luxury of space. The flat floor offers dedicated shoe space for the center passenger, and everyone has an enormous amount of leg room for stretching out. (Would the Maybach executive recliners fit back there?) The rear headroom isn’t as generous—this is a swoopy sedan, after all—but there is still plenty of clearance for over six-foot-tall adults like me.
When I get the Air out on the road, I appreciate the car’s ride quality. The Air Grand Touring uses magnetorheological shocks, similar to those found in a Cadillac, and they give the sedan a soft ride. I’m motoring in the Smooth drive mode, and the Air has good control of body motions and even offers a lovely hint of waft over bumps.
A comfortable ride is a joy in itself, but the Air Grand Touring has 819 hp that I can’t leave sleeping! On my straightaway of choice, I punch it for a 15 to 65 mph blitz. With the dual-motor AWD powertrain flexing its muscles, the Air ferociously piles on the pace. The acceleration comes in smooth and strong, building until 40 mph, at which point the Air sustains a wicked pace. (I chicken out before the Grand Touring loses its steam.) This model is so fast—I can’t even fathom the violence of the 1234 hp Air Sapphire!
(The Gravity Grand Touring SUV is 9 hp stronger than the Air Grand Touring, yet the Air is faster—the 5,200 lb Air is 700 lbs lighter than the Gravity. Lucid rates 0-60 mph in 3.0 seconds for the sedan and 3.4 seconds for the SUV. However, the Gravity had an alarming amount of torque steer in its full-tilt sprints, while the Lucid Air tracks straight and true while ripping towards the horizon.)
A key component in Air’s acceleration prowess is Lucid’s motor and battery technology. Lucid has developed its own highly compact and highly efficient motors, which let the company use smaller batteries (for lighter curb weights) while maintaining excellent range. The company’s 900V battery architecture quickly moves power into—or out of—the batteries, so the Lucid Air can “burn” electrons to accelerate like a supercar or gulp them to recharge at +350 kW. With the 19″ aero wheels, the Air Grand Touring has 512 miles of range on a full charge. Buyers who pick larger wheels are swapping miles for style; the 21″ wheels knock the range down to 446 miles.
I calm down and resume travel at the speed limit, soaking in the Air’s slow-speed nuances. My fingertips get a hint of road texture in the steering, but the steering is largely feel-free in calm driving on good roads. (There was less texture in the Gravity’s wheel.) The cabin is quiet, save for the pronounced whir of the electric motors when I squeeze the accelerator. (These motor noises were better shushed in the Gravity.) And I’m feeling expertly held by the driver’s seat and enjoying my massage.
As the road sweeps down to the ocean, I put the Air into its most aggressive Sprint drive mode. It’s bad timing on my part, because the pavement becomes rough and rumpled. Regardless, the Air maintains good ride comfort; I can tell that the suspension has tightened, yet the bumps and undulations aren’t abusing my backside. On this rough road, tire and suspension rumble are the predominant cabin sounds. (If there was a gas-powered engine humming under the hood, these quiet chassis noises might be overlooked.)
The Lucid Air is reportedly a fantastic partner for spirited driving on twisty roads. Sadly, today’s drive doesn’t offer canyons to carve. Would the Air’s steering come alive with information about the front tires’ work? Would the chassis exhibit neutral balance, and the AWD let me pivot the car’s tail with my right foot? I suspect the answers to all of these questions are yes, but I can’t confirm.
When I draw up to a stop sign, I notice that the car is robotically pressing the brake pedal to draw us to a smooth stop. Is the self-actuating brake pedal necessary for one-pedal driving? An electric motor’s regenerative braking power decreases as its rpm slows, so mechanical brakes are commonly used to shed those final mph. But, I find it unsettling that the brake pedal may not be where I left it on my last application!
At the conclusion of my test drive, I poke around the Air’s cargo areas. The Air has two trunks, one in the front and one in the back. The front trunk could hold a pair of roll-aboards, while the rear trunk could fit larger checked luggage and more. One practical oddity of the rear trunk is its clamshell opening: it slices down diagonally across the rear quarter panel and opens with an almost lipless entry. Loading heavy items into the Air’s rear hold should be easy.
I’m impressed by the Air Grand Touring’s smoothness, power, luxury and practicality. It is a sumptuous sedan, and one that I’d like to experience on the highway and in the hills. That said, the Gravity Grand Touring SUV tugged at my heartstrings a little harder. Its crisper lines and updated cabin technology show that Lucid is refining its designs and engineering.
I’m glad to have met the Lucid family, and hope to spend more time with them in the near future!
Mike's Steering Column 