The 2024 Lucid Air Pure Is Modernist Design Perfected

Earlier than World Conflict II, design in America was influenced closely by Victorian-era sensibilities that emphasised the expression of wealth over livability. In America’s post-war increase, this ornamented, stuffy model fell in favor of modernism, which had its origins within the Weimar German Staatliches Bauhaus faculty. The Bauhaus rejected pointless ornamentation, and as a substitute sought to unify all design underneath one common precept: Kind follows operate. 

The place Victorian structure featured intricate craftsmanship and dimly-lit rooms with darkish woods and deep tones, Bauhaus centered on clear strains and open, ethereal areas. In its finest implementations, the Bauhaus has influenced timeless design and tasteful luxurious: Mid-century trendy Eames chairs, the Helvetica font, and the Worldwide-Model UN World Headquarters in New York Metropolis all have roots within the Bauhaus. 

The Lucid Air—particularly in its most-attainable, most-efficient type, the brand new Pure RWD— deserves to be added to this record. 

At a look, the automotive market is chock-full of makes an attempt at modernist simplicity. Brushed aluminum, and flat dashes uninterrupted by bodily buttons are commonplace, particularly in luxurious EVs just like the Lucid Air. Many of those screen-centric minimalist interiors, nonetheless, are irritating to make use of. Key functionalities are hidden in menus, hid after they’re wanted most. Essential info goes undisplayed within the title of cleanliness. These automobiles frustrate drivers as a result of, regardless of the modernist aesthetics, operate has nonetheless taken a backseat to type, similar to a Victorian-era fainting sofa.

The Lucid Air’s cabin is really modernist; regardless of a minimalist look, it focuses on usability first. 4 buttons (fan and temperature controls for driver and passenger) and a stereo quantity knob are the one bodily controls. All the things else is managed through a wrap-around 34-inch instrument/infotainment cluster paired with a middle retractable display screen Lucid calls the Pilot Panel. Whereas driving the Air, I by no means wanted to look multiple menu deep for any performance apart from syncing a cellphone for the primary time. Because of this, I felt as if I’d mastered its cabin inside an hour. 

Whereas in prior years, Lucid’s software program was laggy and buggy for our reviewers, updates have cured these woes. I skilled no issues or lag in my Air Pure’s interface. Wi-fi Apple CarPlay, absent in earlier fashions, can also be now customary on all Lucids, together with the bottom Air Pure. With music filling the cabin, I discovered the check automotive extremely snug. The Pure shares the identical clever drivetrain packaging as the remainder of the Lucid lineup, which implies it has a gargantuan 45.4 inches of entrance legroom and 37.6 inches of rear legroom. Leather-based upholstery has been swapped for a faux-leather various, however that’s the solely actual distinction from the remainder of the Air lineup.

My sole grievance with the Air Pure’s cabin is that the trademark panoramic glass roof is changed by a standard aluminum one. This may not be a noticeable loss—the cabin stays considerably cooler—however the one headliners out there for the Pure trim are coated in darkish cloth. It makes the huge inside really feel cramped. This oppressive colorway is the only real place the Air Pure fails the Bauhaus give attention to ethereal design. 

Execs: Wonderful Dealing with, Comfy Cabin, World-Beating Effectivity

Outdoors the cabin, the Air does a improbable job prioritizing operate to create a pleasing type. Its efficiency-forward design provides the Lucid a 0.197 Cd, making it probably the most aerodynamic street automotive ever put into manufacturing, save for GM’s futuristic two-seater EV1. This leads to the Air Pure RWD’s world-beating 137 MPGe (when outfitted with 19-inch wheels), far forward of its full-size luxurious rivals (the BMW i7 and Mercedes-Benz EQS don’t crack triple digit MPGe rankings). Regardless of possessing the smallest battery pack Lucid presents (88 kWh), the Air Pure RWD achieves 419 miles of EPA-rated vary. That is extra vary than any non-Lucid in the marketplace, and offers it a market-topping 4.76 miles per kWh. 

If effectivity doesn’t excite you, worry not: it’s nonetheless a lot fast. A rear axle motor producing 430 horsepower and 406 pound-feet of torque catapults the sedan to 60 in 4.5 seconds. It isn’t neck-snapping like larger trims, nevertheless it’s arguably the most effective driver’s automotive within the lineup, because of being the lightest by far. The Air Pure RWD weighs in at 4,506 kilos (round 800 kilos lighter than a twin-motor, long-range Grand Touring), and the burden loss feels noticeable in movement. 

My check drive looped via California S.R. 84 and 35—Skyline Drive, among the best driver’s roads in America—and the Pure was a lot enjoyable. Regardless of missing the front-wheel torque vectoring of the remainder of the Air lineup, I discovered turn-in sprightlier than in all-wheel-drive trims. The steering rack is variable-ratio, however it’s intuitive, correct on-center, and I not often wanted to make corrections mid-corner. The physique of the Air Pure by no means pitched or rolled excessively in tight corners, and but it remained snug when cruising. 

Sadly, like different Air fashions, the Pure RWD lacks the flexibility to show off regenerative braking. Meaning  driving spiritedly requires intense dedication to the throttle. This lack of ability to protect momentum simply, compounded with an indecisive-feeling brake pedal that fails to mix regeneration and the six-piston entrance calipers easily, signifies that really driving arduous is just not pleasing. Regardless of the light-weight rear-wheel-drive trim, the Air stays a 5/10ths automotive, not a ten/10ths one. That mentioned, if it’s laid-back commuting and street tripping you’re after, it’s arduous to think about being dissatisfied with the Air Pure’s driving expertise.

Cons: Darkish Inside Colorways, All the time-On Regen, Inconsistent Brake Pedal

Given its wickedly aggressive beginning value—$71,400 after vacation spot, undercutting the BMW i7, Audi E-Tron GT, and Mercedes-Benz EQS by roughly $30,000—the Air Pure RWD presents unbelievable worth. The one option to get extra vary in an EV is to purchase a higher-trim Lucid Air, and there merely is not any automotive in the marketplace that turns electrons into distance extra successfully. 

It prioritizes the proper issues in an EV—usability, vary, effectivity—and regardless of the very fact the Pure is the most affordable Lucid you will get, it by no means feels punitively stripped of performance. Minimalism, when carried out correctly, permits the aim of a design to shine via clearly. Stripping the Air all the way down to its purest necessities has resulted in Lucid’s best automotive but.  

Photographs: Victoria Scott for Motor1

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