A garage attendant eased a fully charged car out of the parking lot.
‘My guy,’ he said, slowing to a stop beside me after threading the Lucid Air Grand Touring past a Rolls-Royce, a Land Rover, and a Mercedes-Benz.
‘This car is special.’
I agree. The Lucid Air is about as close to perfect as a car gets.
Lucid Motors is a California-based EV startup founded by former Tesla engineers.
Backed by Saudi and Uber investments and building its cars in Arizona, Lucid aims to take on legacy automakers like Mercedes and Audi — with Tesla-beating tech under the hood.
From the outside, the electric sedan’s understated body lines, elegant LED lighting, and athletic stance give it a quietly luxurious presence.
Inside, the windshield stretches up and over the driver’s head, uninterrupted by a roof seam until just behind the front-row headrests. The elongated window floods the cabin with light and emphasizes the car’s minimalist but refined interior.
The Lucid Air combines sleek lines, gorgeous detailing, and exceptional performance
The seats are deeply comfortable, especially in the near-cavernous rear row.
Rear passengers can adjust seat temperatures and climate controls through a center-mounted screen — one of many luxury touches that make the car feel like a private jet.
During my time with the Air, I pulled up next to BMWs in a grocery store parking lot.
Despite BMW’s long history of envy-fueled pedestrian glances, my car turned more heads. Lucid may not be a household name yet, but its design draws attention wherever it goes.
But the beauty only hints at what really sets the Lucid apart: its performance.
The company is, in many ways, an automaker built by engineering nerds.
Multiple top executives — including the longtime former CEO Peter Rawlinson — came from Tesla with a mission to build America’s most efficient EV.
The Air was their first mass-produced effort, and the goal was to exude competence. The result was a car that is hyper-efficient and manically fast.
Among the most impressive parts of Lucid’s offerings: it’s pristine back seat
Our Lucid Air Grand Touring tester came with premium paint colors and upgraded wheels
The Lucid Air just broke a world record after posting an over-700-mile trip on one charge
Our Grand Touring model was capable of reaching 60 mph in just three seconds — quicker than most Ferraris.
It’s not even the fastest Lucid shoppers can buy. Drivers craving even more speed can opt for the Sapphire trim, which packs more than 1,200 horsepower and rockets to 60 in just 2.1 seconds.
Lucid’s battery technology should also put even the most skeptical EV drivers at ease.
The Grand Touring delivers a jaw-dropping 512 miles of range — one of the longest of any electric vehicle on the road today — and can add over 200 miles in just 15 minutes at a fast-charging station.
The Air supports the CCS charging standard, meaning it works with most public fast-charging networks like Electrify America and EVgo.
Future Lucid models will be able to plug into Tesla’s Supercharger network with NACs plugs.
Once charged, the Lucid is able to sip that energy at record-producing rates. Last month, Lucid clinched a Guinness World Record after an Air Grand Touring drove 749 miles on a single charge during a test in Europe.
Still, as may be expected with its gob-smacking engineering prowess and genuine beauty, the Air suffers from the same premium problem that haunts most EV startups: price.
A base model Lucid Air starts at just under $70,000. The fastest version sells for $249,000.
Our tester, equipped with premium leather, an added color package, massaging front seats, and extra driver safety systems, carried a price tag of $134,200.
The Lucid Air Grand Touring isn’t just a pretty face and a good sprinter — it’s extremely well polished.
You’ll just need to drop the price of some home mortgages to get one.
