Advertising The Lucid Air, Touring, Pure, Dream, take your pick, is the product of a clean-sheet obsession with precision, an American answer to the dominant forces of Munich and Palo Alto, drawn not with bombast but with detail. This is no me-too e-sedan. It’s what you’d get if a team of engineers holed up in a wind tunnel and whispered among themselves, Let’s make something Bentley-quiet, AMG-fast, and Range Rover-plush... but don’t tell marketing until it’s done. And they did it, mostly. But as one new owner shared in an unfiltered Reddit post, sometimes even the greatest machines can be undone by the smallest frustrations. Hi all! First of all, just want to say thank you to everyone here who answered questions prior to me pulling the trigger. I ended up going from a '22 M3LR to a Zenith Red Stealth Air Pure. Warning, this will be long. Some numbers first in case it will help: I leased the Pure and my monthly payments are ~660/mo. Zero down, 10k/36mo, excellent credit, and did not roll taxes in. The configuration is nearly all base, with the exception that it includes the C&C package. I owed ~20k on my Tesla, and KBB through Lucid offered ~16k (which was on par with Carvana, CarMax - it had some scratches and dents). With Lucid's 4k Tesla trade-in offer, I essentially came out even! I also combined the on-site (2k) and Studio select (2k) offers. Now on to my impressions as I approach 1 month with the car. Note that much of my opinions will stem from comparing the Lucid to my previous experience with the Tesla. Some of you may be coming from other luxury cars, and thus your perspective will be different, so make sure to do a demo drive! Let's start with what I like: The driving experience is phenomenal. I can't get over how smooth it is - it feels like driving on a cloud. My M3LR had the acceleration boost but the Pure, despite being bigger and heavier, offers just as great of a punch (more on this later). Extremely comfy seats. Even the headrest is comfortable (the M3 felt so stiff). And because the car is just that much smoother, I feel like I can actually rest my head there! The Cabin is very spacious. You just have to get inside one to experience. The screens are snappy and high definition, just like in my old Tesla. There is a lot of storage. And I love how useful they made the trunk and frunk wells - groceries stay nice and contained. C&C package is super nice with the soft-close doors. I know some people complain about having to apply a lot of force to shut the doors, but I find that even closing the doors with normal force will often bypass the soft-closing. I have toddlers, so the shades also help the sun not get in their eyes. Be aware that on the Pure, the C&C package does not include the power frunk. I have the basic audio package, and honestly, it's adequate. I think they have done some improvements with updates, and you can also look around for people's suggested EQ settings. I love that I can program the car to save my garage door opener signal via HomeLink. Every time as I arrive or leave home, the screen prompts me with the menu for opening or closing the garage. It would be further amazing to have a setting to trigger this automatically on approach. They already use some sort of geo-fencing to present you the menu. Love the 360 camera views! Before we move on, I want to emphasize that, hardware-wise, this car is a fantastic piece of engineering. I think Lucid hit a grand slam and struck the right balance when it comes to driving dynamics, comfort, handling, and quality. Which are really the points you want well-done in a car? Everything else is extra in my opinion. Let's get into the "room for improvement" section - most of it has to do with software: First, the thing that bugs me the most (and I need to do a proper dive into if others experience this), is the inconsistent power delivery upon pressing the gas in sprint mode. I understand the different drive modes change the acceleration dynamics, but on sprint mode, I want immediate power delivery, I want the car to be somewhat jumpy. Now, I have been testing this a bit, and it seems like this behavior happens only when the car is below 30 mph. Above that, I have no complaints; the car jumps and jumps, and even at 60, 70 mph, the car still jumps. But I have had several instances where I'm turning onto a main street, straighten the car, floor it, and the car slowly accelerates. Sometimes, even immediately depressing the gas and punching it again also fails to produce a "jump". Now, when the car goes above 30ish? Boom, it jumps. Has anyone else experienced something like this? I heard some people saying this could be related to traction control, but the car does this even with traction control fully off. Self-presenting door handles. They work really well with the fob. They work ok with the phone. Definitely had a couple of frustrating experiences but I don't think this is entirely Lucid's issue. With my Tesla, for the first couple of years the car would unlock immediately on pulling the handle. Then for whatever reason this changed, for both me (iPhone) and my wife (Android), where 50% of the time we had to have the phone unlocked or awake for the doors to unlock. This said, 90% of the time with the Lucid it works well, and the other 10% I never had to wait more than 5 seconds. Why only one USB-C port in the center console? Why only one side with Wi-Fi charging in the phone pocket? Driving profiles. Coming from a Tesla where pretty much every single setting was saved for each driver profile, it is a missed opportunity that Lucid only saves seat and steering wheel positions. My preferences are super different than my wife's. Would love to see a future update to allow the following to be saved to each driver's profile: Driving style - every new ride starts with the car in "Smooth" AC settings Hold, Creep, Roll settings Heck, every setting! Easy entry. I like it, my wife doesn't. Screen "usefulness" and Software. I love the screens; they're great quality, responsive, etc. But Lucid has room to make a lot of QoL improvements here. Please let me access the music menu on the lower screen! I can see they may have thought this would be a safety issue for the driver to be looking down, but if I have a passenger (or am charging), they have to use the top screen to use the music menu. But it gets worse.. when you do access any other menu on the top screen, you lose the navigation on both the top and lower screens. The only redeeming part here is that you still get text, turn-by-turn navigation on the main dash, next to the speedometer. One more point on the music menu - if you have your phone connected, there's no option to access the CarPlay music menu from the music icon on the top screen. I mean, even my Mazda does this (when CarPlay is on, the music button goes to the CarPlay music menu) Side camera display on the turn signal. I get why it is the way it is. The steering wheel gets in the way. But why not just show the footage in the center, on top of the speedometer? It's just for a few seconds... Navigation. I really like that I can see navigation info on both screens, there are a few features missing. I can't choose a setting to avoid tolls, for example. If using CarPlay or Android Auto, I can't see any navigation info on the lower screen! Why, Lucid!? I dislike that some drive settings are kinda hidden in the menus. Why have driving settings in one place, and more driving settings in another place (DreamDrive menu). Getting in and out of CarPlay is a bit of a pain. CarPlay sometimes starts automatically, and sometimes it doesn't. When it doesn't, you have to go through a bit of a hidden menu in the lower screen's profiles section to activate it. If you have it on and get out of it during a drive, you have to navigate again to that menu in the lower screen and press the tiny CarPlay button, which can be pretty dangerous. If the car is connected to the phone, I want a quick way to go back to CarPlay from the top or lower screens. Missed opportunity with not allowing video recording with the cameras. Come on guys! The screen to the left, with some car functions like opening charge port, could use a button to open the trunk. I know the trunk button is on the center lower screen, but why only show the frunk opening button there? The rear shades take 2-3 button presses to come up. Easy-entry goes too far back. I do like it that my seating profile activates if I put on the seat belt, but we could use a feature to set the easy entry distance. This is especially important in cases where you have car seats in the back - the seat can push the car seats during easy entry movement. Since we have the facial recognition, why not use that to activate the seats to move up to my setting? Some buttons do feel cheap but not horrible. Please Lucid, allow me to do either of the following so the rear climate is more comfy for the kiddos: (Acceptable) Allow me to select an option to tell the car I have car seats in the back, and thus want rear AC to turn on for every ride. Or even save the AC settings to my profile! (Best) Change the seat sensitivity so that it detects the weight of toddlers and thus activate rear AC. I hate having to turn them on every time my kids are in the car. I think the app is generally well done, but I have a few points of feedback. Why does it take so long to "wake" the car? Why not allow people to perform actions, and then send them to the car once it is awake? I have to wait 5-10 seconds sometimes just to be able to turn on the AC. Why can't my partner use the app unless I reach out to Lucid? I think I'm done for now, lol! Bottom line is, I love the car and would have gotten it in a heart beat again. I think a lot of these issues can be fixed with software updates. Lucid focused on the right things by making a super comfortable and fantastic driving experience. Happy to answer any questions.” Advertising That testimonial, posted by Reddit user michaelsawyerlinus, is less of a review and more of an owner's manual written in real time. He transitioned from a 2022 Tesla Model 3 Long Range with the acceleration boost, arguably one of the better do-it-all EVs on the market, to a Zenith Red Lucid Air Pure, leased at $660/month with zero down. Lucid Air Touring: 200-Mile Boost in Under 16 Minutes on High-Power DC Chargers On public high-power DC chargers, the Air Touring can add approximately 200 miles of range in just 16 minutes, a standout in its class Using the standard Lucid Mobile Charging Cable on a typical NEMA 5‑15 household outlet, it adds around 40 miles per hour, while the optional Lucid Connected Home Charging Station (Level 2) boosts that to about 80 miles of range per hour In everyday overnight home scenarios with Level 1 charging, reviewers observed around 33 miles added over 7.7 hours, though a Level 2 system is recommended for full overnight recharges Owners report rapid initial charging rates, typically around 70–80 kW initially, tapering down to ~50 kW as battery fills. On one occasion, a user saw charging start just above 100 kW at an Electrify America station That’s not a bad trade, especially when you consider the Lucid’s material quality, ride comfort, and sheer visual presence. The seats are actual furniture, not bolted-in yoga mats. The ride is “like a cloud,” he says. And the power? Smooth and stately, more Rolls-Royce Wraith than Silicon Valley spacecraft. Where the Lucid diverges from Tesla most dramatically is in its drivetrain philosophy. As one Reddit commenter, Lando_Sage, put it: “Teslas are pokey at low speeds but drop off on the highway. Lucid went the other direction, highway passing power is their jam.” It’s a very European choice. Home Charging with Lucid Mobile Cable Lucid prioritized sustained, usable speed, consistent torque delivery at 70, 80, even 90 mph, over drag-strip gimmickry. But this choice can confuse first-time owners expecting their car to leap off the line like a Model S. Below 30 mph in Sprint mode, our Redditor noted the car occasionally hesitated, failing to deliver the jolt he expected. Above that? “Boom, it jumps.” And it does, with the poise of a V8 grand tourer and none of the drama. This is where the Air Pure’s brilliance begins to glow. The chassis is magnificent, delicate without being soft, taut without being harsh. It’s the kind of ride-and-handling compromise that most manufacturers spend decades trying to nail, and Lucid just... got it. Owners like michaelsawyerlinus and others on Lucid forums praise the car’s balance, its uncanny silence, its vault-like cabin. Redditor dawnsearlylight compared it favorably to his Polestar 2, noting Lucid’s superior infotainment responsiveness and more thoughtful ergonomics. But even among praise, a pattern emerges: the hardware is world-class, but the software sometimes gets in its own way. The infotainment interface, in particular, remains a work in progress. Navigation lacks basic features like toll avoidance. CarPlay sometimes launches automatically, sometimes requires a trip into a sub-menu that feels hidden in plain sight. Driving profiles save seat positions, but not AC or drive mode preferences. The result? A car that greets you like a valet with amnesia. The hardware is all there, snappy screens, high-res graphics, quality materials, but the experience can feel oddly inconsistent. “Why can’t my partner use the app unless I contact Lucid?” one comment asked. A good question, and one of many. The bones are there; the skin needs polish. To their credit, Lucid appears to be listening. Commenters referenced the upcoming 3.0 software update, which will debut on the Lucid Gravity SUV and promises to clean up many of the interface issues. This is a company with engineers at the wheel, not marketers, and that means product evolution will likely be logical, not flashy. Tesla needed years to find its rhythm; Lucid has had just three. Considering where they’ve started, with a cabin more refined than anything under $100,000 and a drivetrain that could make a BMW engineer blush, there’s every reason to believe the rest will come. That patience is what defines the early Lucid owner. You buy the car for what it is now, not what it might be next quarter. And what it is now, even in its most basic Pure form, is an astonishing achievement. It lacks the power frunk of higher trims, but it’s still practical. Lucid Air Rapid Charging Curve: 70–100 kW Peak Rates and Taper Patterns Dual-motor, all-wheel drive system delivering a robust 620 hp and 885 lb-ft torque from a 92 kWh battery; achieves a brisk 0–60 mph in ~3.4 sec. EPA‑estimated up to 406 miles per charge; supports rapid charging (≈200 miles in ~16 minutes); topping up ~33 miles per hour using Level 1 home charging. Wheelbase 116.5", overall length ~195.9", width 76.2" (mirrors out), height ~55.4"; curb weight ~5,009 lbs on 19" wheels. Exceptionally low drag coefficient (≈0.197 cd); reaches top speed of ~140 mph. There’s storage everywhere. The doors soft-close. The seats coddle. And the kids don’t get sunburned thanks to rear window shades. This is the kind of attention to detail that used to come from Stuttgart, not Silicon Valley. And at $660/month? It borders on absurd value. Built with intention and depth, it’s the spiritual successor to the kind of American luxury we haven’t seen in decades, not flashy, not overstuffed with screens or gimmicks, but quiet, poised, and purposeful. Its few frustrations are not failings of ambition but rather the growing pains of a company focused on the long game. As michaelsawyerlinus put it: “Lucid focused on the right things.” He’s right. And that’s a welcome return to form in a world of half-baked hype machines and perpetual beta. Image Sources: Lucid Media Center Noah Washington is an automotive journalist based in Atlanta, Georgia. He enjoys covering the latest news in the automotive industry and conducting reviews on the latest cars. He has been in the automotive industry since 15 years old and has been featured in prominent automotive news sites. You can reach him on X and LinkedIn for tips and to follow his automotive coverage.