Looking for a long-range luxury EV that’s a true Tesla alternative? Welcome to the Lucid Air

On Californian roads, Tesla SUVs are ten a penny. Model X and Ys are everywhere and there’s a fair smattering of Cybertrucks too. In contrast, Tesla’s all-electric rival Lucid is a rare groove and its first product – a svelte and aero saloon – is a surprisingly practical one (as we’ll explain later).

Lucid’s on-road rarity makes any driver of one feel pretty special. The Air is pretty to gaze upon too. Not in a ‘look at me’ sense, but with a smooth-surfaced exterior authority that is subtly smart. This slickness of surface partly explains the Air’s frankly amazing 0.197 Cd drag coefficient, which in turn improves how far it can travel before requiring a recharge. The mid-model Air Touring we tested has a 406-mile range, while the Grand Touring claims a whopping 512 miles.

This does not mean the Air is an ‘eco bore’ though. The Touring model offers 620hp and can achieve 0-60mph in a supercar-fast 3.4 seconds, while the top-end Air Sapphire – retailing at around a quarter of a million dollars – slashes that already rapid time down to a hypercar-whipping 1.89 seconds. But although the Air can bullet away from the lights with ease, its interior design ambience encourages a calmer and more considered approach.

The Air’s cabin is clean and uncluttered with a sensible mix of physical and digital switches. The driver display ‘floats’ pleasingly above the dashboard’s top and is supplemented by a large portrait-shaped screen within the centre console area, that deploys downwards or slides away at the touch of a button.

The interior is massive with limo levels of rear legroom, but the space feels even bigger still, due to its two-piece panoramic roof and elongated windscreen that stretches back above the driver’s head, with sun visors built into the glass. This is a very cool feature and one normally reserved for concept cars.

Luggage space is also huge for a saloon, with a deep 283-litre compartment at the front supplementing the spacious 626-litre boot with extra under-floor space at the rear. On our test, three large ‘hold’ and four compact ‘carry-on’ aircraft bags were stowed away, no problem.

Driving the car is a serene process around town, with the potential for ultra-rapid progress on the highway. Of the three driving modes – Smooth, Swift and Sprint – the first mode was the one we employed most of the time, despite occasional challenges on the road from (mainly) petrol-engined car drivers who had maybe heard of the Lucid’s speed, but who were quickly and easily dispatched.

Recharging was also a breeze. Through Lucid’s deal with the nearly 900-strong Electrify America US charging network, a circa 500-mile trip from San Francisco to Los Angeles was managed via two comfortable stops and could have been managed in one. Each time, the car just needs to be plugged in, a few buttons pressed on the charging post and electricity starts to flow (no apps or downloads required). And from the widely prevalent super-fast 350-kilowatt chargers on that route, the Air Touring got from 20-80 per cent in about half an hour, adding some 240 miles in the process.

In terms of tech, the car’s own navigation and infotainment system is surprisingly good, although Apple CarPlay compatibility is standard if preferred, mirroring to the smaller upper right-hand part of the driver display.

Less good are the wide A-pillars that no doubt aid roll-over protection but can restrict driver vision, especially on twisty roads when you have to look diagonally ahead. And when reversing or encountering a potential hazard, the bird’s eye view takes over the main screen for far too long after you’ve moved on, or any hazard has been identified. But these are small quibbles.

Lucid’s investors would probably like its products to be more commonplace on the road than they currently are – and there is still no launch date for right-hand drive countries including the UK – but meantime Lucid vehicles remain a breath of fresh air in a sea of Teslas (especially given the questionable political-meddling and often distasteful outbursts of that brand’s CEO). And should you want more space still, Lucid is due to open the order books for its seven-seat, but still sleek, Lucid Gravity SUV in early November 2024.

Lucid Air Touring from $78,900, Grand Touring from $110,900, LucidMotors.com, @LucidMotors