A Colorado Road Trip with the Lucid Air Grand Touring
A Colorado Road Trip with the Lucid Air Grand Touring
Words by Ben Brewster, Creative Director, The Cuff
Photography by Liz Aquilino & Ben Brewster
From a technical perspective, the Lucid Air GT sounds like science fiction. A 512-mile range, fast-charging to 200 miles in 12 minutes and a max horsepower of 819 (!!) all push the limits of what we’ve come to expect from performance EVs. Did I mention 0-60 in 3 seconds? I took the Air Grand Touring from Denver to the Rocky Mountains and to say it delivered an exceptional drive would be an understatement.
Lucid combined cutting edge technology, functionality and luxurious details to create a futuristic and stylish, yet practical car. The exterior is expectedly sleek and minimal, but the real magic is on the inside. Being 6’3 I’m always weary of interior cabin space, but the sedan is surprisingly spacious and offers plenty of leg room, even in the back seat. The trim I tested came with massage seats, which were a nice touch for those long stretches of Interstate 25, and the display features a digital dashboard and large hide-able touch screen in the center console that comes in handy for controlling settings during the drive. Lucid designed the interior with a tasteful mix of fabrics and textures; my trim featured a combination of smooth leather, suede and what looked like a linen blend fabric for added textural contrast.
Driving the car was about the most fun I’ve had on a test drive. Whether cruising to save power in Smooth Mode or testing the acceleration in Sprint Mode, the car morphs to be as relaxing or invigorating as you prefer. The range was certainly impressive and charging stations were easy to find but definitely plan to stop at Hyper-Fast Electrify America chargers to save (quite a bit of) time when juicing up. This was my first time driving an EV and the regenerative braking technology was a definite highlight. The convenience of mostly driving with one pedal was easy to get used to and seeing the battery actually increase when descending the mountain roads near Westcliffe was quite cool. I already can’t wait to get behind the wheel of Lucid’s new SUV offering: Gravity.
Lucid Air Grand Touring from $110,900, lucidmotors.com.
