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The SUV version of the Lucid Air could become the quiet luxury pick for owners who need to haul seven passengers in an efficient, tech-laden EV.
Lucid has spent yearsworking on its second EV — a plushy van - like S.U.V. designed to be the category killer that could take market place share from the likes of other opulence EV and internal combustion people haulers like the Rivian R1S , Cadillac Escalade IQ , BMW X7 , and Audi Q8 .
TheSaudi - backed company’saim was to make an SUV without compromise — a lofty goal other automakers have try and bomb at before . After a first drive in the EV , which has a starting terms of $ 96,550 , it ’s percipient the party did more than just focalise on gilded touches . Although there are plenty .
The Lucid Gravity may just be over - engineering at its secure . The EV is charge with technical school and rise from its predecessor , the Lucid Air sedan . Peter Rawlinson , the former Lucid CEO and CTO , who stepped apart in February , may no longer be at the company , but his technology fingerprints are all over the Modern Lucid Gravity .
And while customers may never see the tech under the proverbial lens hood , they will experience it .
The Lucid Gravity has up to 450 miles of EPA - grade range , a zero to 60 miles per hour time under 3.5 seconds , and tear times that are unheard of for current electron volt . The Gravity can charge up to 200 nautical mile in just 11 minutes on DC fast charging , harmonise to the company , thanks to a young encouragement musical mode that leverages the rear motor as a transformer to boost charging .
All of this sumptuousness , technical school , and spaciousness do come with a price . The vehicle ’s cost rag ranges between $ 96,550 for the two - run-in Grand Touring trim to $ 99,450 for the three - run-in version . A “ cheaper ” $ 81,550 Touring model is expect to go far afterwards this yr .
Lucid Gravity’s tech guts
railroad engineer working on Gravity took what they learned fromLucid Air Sapphireand the Lucid Air to produce the company ’s fresh Gen 2 system of rules that underpins the SUV . That include a newfangled battery developed in partnership with Panasonic ( which Lucid says offer a 40 % charging swiftness improvement over the competitive Seth ) , a fresh drive social unit , a young caloric system , and a new charging system .
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Specifically , engineers created a organization that allows the Lucid Gravity to charge at 225 kW on 500 - V architecture ( which underpins Tesla ’s V3 chargers ) battery charger and at up to 400 kW on 1000 - V chargers ( which underpins Tesla ’s new V4 chargers that are due to roll out this twelvemonth ) .
To do this , engineer used the Gravity ’s motor and inverter as a transformer to advance 500 - volt charging to the battery ’s required voltage without tally extra hardware . They also implemented chew - and - bearing for the organization so that owners do n’t have to niggle with requital and accusation induction at sealed charger .
EV charging innovation
The changes are part of Tesla ’s North American Charging monetary standard that came out last class . The announcement of the monetary standard came at a fourth dimension when the ontogeny of the Gravity was nearly complete .
The updated standard involve a significant rethinking of the underpinnings of the Gravity when it was rough 70 % developed in previous 2022 and early 2023 , according to Emad Dlala , the senior frailty president of powertrain at Lucid .
“ When I join in 2015 , 400 - V was state of the art , ” Dlala said . “ Quickly , we gain that we require to take it to the next grade , ” he go on , “ so we developed a new technology that enabled charge through a legacy 500 - volt charging computer architecture through a future 1000 - volt charging computer architecture . What we learned from Air in 2021 has been wholly changed . ”
The team behind Gravity also made a number of ironware changes to add in redundance , affirm its infotainment system , and allow the society to eventually add more machine-controlled driving features to its modern driver assistance system .
The fellowship is using Nvidia ’s Orin - X central processing unit for AI perception and video processing for its advanced equipment driver aid system , Qualcomm ’s Snapdragon 8295 for infotainment , and Infineon TC397 for fomite kinetics and body ascendency .
Today , the Gravity put up what is recognise as Level 2 automate drive , a organisation that automates some of the drive , but still requires the number one wood to pay attention . Lucid is get to finally offer Level 3 , or L3 , which typically offers hands - off , oculus - off drive on the highways in certain conditions .
Its approaching Dream Drive 2 Pro , an upgrade to its ADAS , is coming soon , according to the company , and will propose features like visualisation of up to five lane of dealings , veer speed controller , lane alteration assistance , curb rash alert , and automate parking .
Lucid Gravity: Cargo and passenger space
The Gravity was designed to be broad for occupier and their cargo . And engineers and designers achieve that goal . The inside is cavernous inside with a thumping 120 cubic feet of interior quad , which Lucid says is 40 % more than the close challenger .
It turns out an effort to avoid fuses avail them get there .
The company wanted to find a way to not utilize fusee since they take to be regularly accessed and replaced when they blow , and they tend to take up precious interior space that could be used for cargo and passengers , according to Jean - Philippe Gauthier , the head of software engineering at Lucid .
rather , Lucid decided to use diffusers in the Gravity , which are essentially electronic switches . These diffusers readjust mechanically when the car is cycle off , respond faster to shorts in the scheme , carry off the potential wrongdoing of install a fuse with the wrong amperage during replacement , and allow the fuse box to be lay to rest deeper inside the vehicle instead of encroach on interior distance . diffuser also can power down unneeded systems and reduce parasitic losses in the vehicle .
To demonstrate the Gravity was roomier than its competitor , the EV maker lined up a Cadillac Escalade IQ , Mercedes - Benz EQS SUV , Rivian R1S , and BMW X7 on helping hand at an event in Los Olivos , California . reporter were challenged to take boxful that fill up the Gravity ( including its wide frunk ) and stack them into the EQS SUV .
It was an impossible job and with no other close competitor on paw . One fellow diary keeper who chance to be 6 - foot , 6 - column inch was able to lie down in the behind of the Gravity comfortably and exit the rear hatching without any issues .
Lucid Gravity on the road
The Gravity is big and measures a whopping 198.2 inches in length and 87.2 inch wide . That puts the EV SUV slightly below the Chevrolet Suburban in size . Still , the fomite is massive , which helps encourage the interior space .
Typically , full - size SUVs with that form of footprint tend to be boomy inner and elephantine rollie - pollies on the route , making them uncomfortable to hustle , especially on winding route .
Not so with the Lucid Gravity .
I ram the Gravity from Nipomo , California on the Central Coast along Cuyama Highway and Tepusquet Road , a steep , one - lane , sharply wind road , to Los Olivos for my test drive and it was astonishingly gratifying and , presume I say , fun to drive .
The Gravity is grave ( 6,000 - plus pound in the three - row pick I drove ) . I did feel some of that weighting on the route . However , once I place the fomite in its comfort setting known as “ Smooth , ” it handle highway cruising and blanket sweepers with ease .
I toggled it up to Swift for Tepusquet Road , and the adaptive dampers and air spring run through up the rough undulations and curves without unnerve the fomite , or aim nauseatingly rolly at any spot . It was so smooth on that winding route in the Swift pose that my passenger fell benumbed .
The Gravity arrest rearward - wheel steering when outfitted with the Dynamic Package ( which add together around $ , 2900 to the foundation cost ) , which gives you an extra 3 - degrees of rear - wheel steering — both in phase and out of stage , reckon on how chop-chop ( or easy ) you ’re move .
That rear - wheel bullock increase the agility of the vehicle and take up less of the road as it drives on single - lane spate roads and even dirt track , which I did try out at a local spread where Lucid place up a rally cross experience for us .
Even when pushed ( and sliding ) through the dirt , the Gravity stayed signally two-dimensional and prosperous . And yes , you could do some very short off - roading with the Gravity as it gets 7 - inch of background headroom that can go up to 9 - plus inch of clearance when raise .
One of the surprising thing that I liked the most about Gravity was the so - called “ squircal ” steering steering wheel . Having driven other vehicles with ( dumb ) yoke , the squared - off circle rack makes the Gravity sense even more agile and responsive , and the electrically - assisted wheel and pinion steering is set to be absolutely spot on : where you point the wheel , the vehicle goes without any mushiness .
Lucid also tune up one pedal drive to be so intuitive that I did n’t have to touch on the brake once on the winding roads around Los Olivos .
All in , it ’s clear that after more than four class in development , the seven - passenger all - electric SUV deliver remarkable range and efficiency , legerity , and functionality for a moneyed buyer looking for an “ American - made ” fomite that is n’t a Tesla .
