Once I drove the range-topping, limited-run Lucid Air Dream Version final yr, I used to be enamored by the automotive however skeptical of how the lower-end fashions would really feel. The Air’s attraction lay in its luxurious design and implausible efficiency – would it not nonetheless be nearly as good with out four-digit energy and fancy accouterments? I needn’t have anxious, as the brand new mid-range Touring trim distills all the Air’s goodness into an easier-to-swallow worth.
The Air Touring’s twin motors put out 620 horsepower and 885 pound-feet of torque, 199 hp down from the Grand Touring however matching it in twist. (The Grand Touring Efficiency trim has 1,050 hp and 921 lb-ft.) The Touring comes normal with launch management, simply activated when in Dash mode by urgent your ft on each pedals after which releasing the brake. An icon of a blue bear waving a flag signifies when the automotive is able to launch, a nod to Lucid’s new Sapphire efficiency mannequin.
| Fast Stats | 2023 Lucid Air Touring |
| Motors: | Twin Everlasting Magnet Motors |
| Output: | 620 Horsepower / 885 Pound-Toes |
| 0-60 MPH: | 3.4 Seconds |
| EV Vary: | 384 Miles (w/20-in wheels) |
| Trim Base Worth: | $109,050 |
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Lucid says the Touring will hit 60 mph in 3.4 seconds, matching the Mercedes-AMG EQS and beating the Porsche Taycan GTS by a tenth of a second. The Air GT and GT Efficiency are four-tenths and eight-tenths of a second faster, respectively, however the Touring continues to be a lot speedy. Acceleration at freeway speeds and from nook exits is the place the Air’s powertrain actually shines; flooring it at 50 mph and the Air surges in direction of triple digits, all the time with immediacy and no discount of pressure as speeds improve. Lucid additionally doesn’t use any synthetic sounds or noise enhancements, with the electrical motors producing loud whirrs that sound fabulous.
The Touring’s battery pack is smaller, making 92.0 kilowatt-hours as a substitute of 112.0 kWh like within the Grand Touring, and its 425-mile max vary is 91 miles shy of the costlier trim. The Touring additionally has slower charging capabilities – as much as 250 kilowatts as a substitute of 300 kW – however that also is nice sufficient to achieve 200 miles of vary in quarter-hour. Lucid says the Touring has one of the best power effectivity of any Air mannequin, and its 0.20 drag coefficient is the bottom of any automotive you should buy within the US.
Essential to the Air Touring’s goodness is the chassis {hardware}, which is all equivalent to what you get in a Grand Touring Efficiency. There’s no air suspension, rear-wheel steering, energetic anti-roll bars or some other fancy tech, and actually the Air doesn’t want it. Journey high quality is supple even over tough asphalt, with minimal dive and physique roll. The digital energy steering was benchmarked in opposition to the Porsche 911 GT3, and it’s tremendous exact with the right quantity of weight and a shocking degree of suggestions.
The Touring I’m driving is supplied with the usual 20-inch wheels fitted with Michelin Pilot Sport EV tires, sized 245/40 up entrance and 265/40 within the rear. (The Touring can be out there with 19-inch wheels designed for higher vary or extra-cost 21-inch wheels with Pirelli P Zero PZ4s.) Even when pushing onerous in corners the tires by no means squeal, solely making the occasional whoosh below load, and I’m by no means left wanting for extra grip. The Touring is round 250 kilos lighter than the Grand Touring, and it feels extra nimble.
Essential to the Air Touring’s goodness is the chassis {hardware}, which is all equivalent to what you get in a Grand Touring Efficiency.
Just one a part of the Touring’s exterior design differs from the opposite Air fashions – a very good factor, as a result of the Air’s attractive type is simply as impactful just a few years after its debut. The Touring is the primary variant of the Air to come back normal with a steel roof, offering extra headroom and fewer warmth within the cabin, although you may possibility the tinted panoramic glass roof again in for $4,500.
Personally I am keen on the pano roof, particularly with the windshield that flows into the roof panel, however because it has no sunshade I get why others hate it. The steel roof comes completed in physique coloration, and I feel the Air wants the contrasting Platinum end of the roof to essentially take advantage of the design. There’s a brand new Stealth look pack that darkens all the outside trim for $6,000, and whereas it’s not my factor it does look sinister.
Except for utilizing barely lower-end supplies on some surfaces, the Air Touring’s cabin seems equivalent to the higher trims as properly. The inside mixes a pair several types of leather-based with alpaca wool, aluminum, and actual wooden trim, and construct high quality appears improved over earlier Air fashions. Lucid neatly eliminated the undesirable battery cells from the rear footwells and flooring, leading to a way more snug rear-seat expertise. The bench cushion isn’t as angled and the ground is decrease and extra spacious, so occupants’ knees now not sit awkwardly excessive within the air.
Whereas I didn’t expertise any enter lag or software program glitches in my day with the Air, the infotainment system does have loads of annoyances. Stunning because the curved 34-inch higher display screen seems, the scale of the right-hand touchscreen part is simply too small and the side ratio is unusual, particularly for viewing the navigation map. The big decrease display screen controls local weather, car settings and different ceaselessly used capabilities, although I want it was much more utilized.
You’ll be able to swipe down on the decrease display screen for a full view of the map or a music app, however you may’t combine and match – for example, if nav is on the highest display screen, you may’t scroll Spotify on the decrease display screen. There’s no solution to customise the controls on the decrease display screen or take a look at a favorites menu, and numerous options are buried within the system. I want the gauge cluster was additionally extra configurable, and Lucid nonetheless doesn’t provide Android Auto or Apple CarPlay.
The Air’s out there driver-assist tech additionally lags behind the competitors. Each Touring has options like adaptive cruise management, automated emergency braking, blind spot monitoring, lane departure warning, parking help and cross-traffic alert, all of which work simply high-quality. However the $10,000 DreamDrive Professional bundle provides freeway steering help and lane-centering which can be overly delicate and cancel out with even the smallest correction I make, and hands-free driving is just not but provided.
The Professional pack additionally provides a surround-view digicam system and a digicam in both sides mirror that shows a blind-spot view while you sign, and the digicam high quality isn’t nice. Like with the infotainment annoyances, these options may very well be improved by way of over-the-air updates, and the Professional pack comes with 32 sensors and different {hardware} that make the automotive prepared for future autonomous tech.
Lucid has already begun deliveries of the Air Touring, which begins at $109,050 together with a $1,650 vacation spot cost – that’s $30,600 lower than the Air Grand Touring, and it doesn’t really feel like a downgrade. The Touring can be about the identical worth as a Taycan 4S or EQS450 4Matic, to not point out hundreds cheaper than the efficiency variations of these opponents, and it comes normal with objects which can be relegated to choices packages by the Germans. Regardless of its teething points, the Lucid Air Touring is a critically nice luxurious sedan that’s a delight to drive.
