Lucid locks another review out of thier car..."I Drove a 2026 Lucid Air Touring for a Week. Here's My Honest Review"
Posted by ikilledtupac@reddit | cars | View on Reddit | 80 comments
banned_from_r_cars@reddit
You can get the base model like 2 years old under 15k miles for $40k these days with almost 400mi of range.
I would pull the trigger but I live 5hr drive from a service center, being in Upstate NY, and it sounds like you need to be able to go to one a lot.
solidkiller88@reddit
Service center will ALWAYS find a way either to bring service to you or they will tow it and provide a loaner!
No-Weakness4448@reddit
In 3.5 years or owning a lucid I had to visit a service center only once… lease one and give it a try. If anything mobile service will come to you. Best driving experience I ever had.
strongmanass@reddit
Unreliability isnt every car having problems. It's a higher percentage of cars having problems than the industry standard. It's still more likely that an owner selected at random will have few to no problems because no product with over half its units being seriously problematic ever makes it to market.
All that is to say that you and most other owners can have a trouble-free experience and it'll still be true that a Lucid is a horribly unreliable headache of a car.
No-Weakness4448@reddit
I know 15 owners in my close circle, and around 20 others we socialize during meet up. Only 1 had an issue that required lengthy repair. Thats good enough stat for me. All have different years and trims, but all are Air people.
Tonyn15665@reddit
Your close circle has 15 Lucids??? Lmao. Is your circle positioned at the HQ of Lucid? You dont even know how to make up a believable story dude.
The auto press is notorious for shilling and most with some miles have experienced multiple problems, that tells you how bad it is. It seems even worse than Land Rover and Jaguar
No-Weakness4448@reddit
Sadly not, maybe would have been drying a gravity if I was at Lucid. Me and most or my friends or neighbors adopted EV tech a long time ago, and some or us who got into Lucid early made others switch. If you would have driven one, you would have known that there is not much out there that delivers the same driving experience. Before shitting on something, test drive it first or go to a local lucid owners meet up and talk to them.
But you can believe whatever you want.
walnut100@reddit
I mean, I've gone on three test drives and the cars couldn't even start for two of them.
They're great cars when they work but I'd rather pay the higher Panamera/Taycan price for a similar experience and better day to day reliability.
No-Weakness4448@reddit
How did they bring you a non drivable car for a test drive?… 3 dealerships I’ve been to always bring a car to a front entrance for a test drive. All your test drives died right before you set in them? Must be something wrong with the aura 🤣 but yeah Cool story. You could have definitely written a better GoT ending.
Taycan wise, my next door neighbor is in his second tycan and going through the lemon law. Die hard Porsche fan who said will never step a foot into a Porsche dealership.
strongmanass@reddit
That's fair. No car is perfect and we all pick our poison as it were. I've accepted the possibility of a random $3-5K bill for a BMW. But the stories I've heard about Lucid make me stay away.
slamminalex1@reddit
Are the stories first hand or do you read about them online? My dad hasn’t had any serious issues with his, and he has one of the first 500 that were sold.
Realistic_Group_4152@reddit
Wait all this and you don’t actually own one?
strongmanass@reddit
A Lucid? God no. When the test drive car has problems it doesn't inspire confidence.
Dino_Juice_Extractor@reddit
I generally agree with you but I hope you are the irony in getting onto someone for using anecdotal evidence and then in the next reply making a reference to anecdotal evidence.
banned_from_r_cars@reddit
I'd do it but I even posted looking for other people's experience on /r/upstate_new_york and the only owner responded saying he was waiting 3 weeks for his first ever mobile service appointment.
I have 2 little kids and 0 time for BS. At least Tesla and Rivian have like 3 Upstate locations each within 2hrs of me, both within 1hr.
If I lived within 1hr of a service center I'd honestly do it.
ikilledtupac@reddit (OP)
Lucid is not the car for you then. Especially with kids in a car notorious for locking people out
No-Weakness4448@reddit
Locking people out? 🤣
cocoagiant@reddit
Yeah based on the Engineering Explained YouTube guy's experience where they had to lemon law his lease and then also take back his long term review car doesn't seem to make sense to get one unless you are constantly going to be followed around by a backup car.
The_Berry@reddit
I just picked up a gt for 41k. Granted it needed new tires and has a lotta miles on it. But feels like the deal of the decade
hutacars@reddit
I rented a GT that I ended up returning early due to noticing the cords showing on the front tires. Owner told me he goes through a set every 2k miles. I get that renters are often gonna beat on the car, but that's insane! Hopefully yours last a little longer.
The_Berry@reddit
I think i just bought it from a terrible used car dealership. They only replaced one tire that had a bubble, but the tire shop said there was another with a bubble. Who only replaces 1 tire, and not at least two (front/rear set together)?!
If you are consistently using all the horsepower this has to offer, you can absolutely burn through tires.
ctzn4@reddit
Whaaaaat? That's insane. I'm mostly seeing 2023-24 Pure RWD trims going for high $30s low $40s, and the GT trims are quite a bit more. Even consideri all of the software problems, I'd say $41k is great for a 500+ mile EV that goes 0-60 in the 2.x s and handles like a BMW of yesteryear.
tehota@reddit
Why would you buy a car that you need to take to a service center a lot?
Bonafideago@reddit
Same reason people still buy Stellantis products.
Thomas_633_Mk2@reddit
Because it's cheap for the price?
DaBanninator@reddit
If you think they're cheap now just wait for the bankruptcy 🤣
costafilh0@reddit
The real question is:
How is the path to profitability?
ikilledtupac@reddit (OP)
Is zero a number?
strongmanass@reddit
No. It is a state of nothingness, much like Lucid's profitability.
cue angry mathematicians and physicists
crshbndct@reddit
ugh
closes tab
strongmanass@reddit
It's a big premium sedan. That's par for the course. It's only 10% heavier than the E-class.
hutacars@reddit
400 lbs lighter than an M5 🤷♂️.
JJMcGee83@reddit
This is a problem that keeps cropping up when you have people that have mainly worked in tech in software switching to working on hardware. In tech it's common to ship things even if they are broken with the attitude of "We will fix it in the next release."
Cars aren't like that.
oskymosky@reddit
Lucid is a shoddy company, everyone hypes up the engineering that is nonexistent
yobo9193@reddit
As someone who really enjoyed Savagegeese’s video on Lucid, their review was almost entirely on the driving dynamics and didn’t touch on what it was like to live with. It’s entirely possible for a car to have sublime driving dynamics and shoddy reliability (ever heard of Lotus?)
NotRustyShackleford_@reddit
What part of the Lotus is bad? Shouldn’t be the engines.
AcanthaceaeNo948@reddit
Brah, Lotus didn’t always use Toyota engines, that’s a relatively recent thing.
yobo9193@reddit
Literally every other part
collapsedcake@reddit
There seems to be a lot of chatter online about reliability lately. I’m curious as to whether something has changed or not: mine has not decreased in reliability since I got it
ItselfSurprised05@reddit
Jason Fenske (Engineering Explained) put up a video recently saying Lucid was buying back his car. He gets a lot of views.
tujuggernaut@reddit
Just watched this. While any car could be a lemon, the Gravity he got sounded just as bad. Can't blame him for moving on. A lot of his issues seemed very software-centric which is concerning because that's not a random hardware failure which are going to happen. Maybe he hit some edge cases, but the frunk mechanism not working after having it open 10-minutes is pretty bizarre and seems like it would happen to all vehicles with that software update.
IAmWellBehaved@reddit
I was curious about this too. Maybe it was just off my radar but anecdotally I just seem to see a lot of talk/articles on Lucid reliability in the last, idk, year or so? Not suggesting there's a conspiracy I just noticed it too.
Tonyn15665@reddit
They started to deliver significant more cars just a year ago. And now the deliveries are for normal people not the first crop who are super enthusiastic and are willing to accept issues.
IAmWellBehaved@reddit
Oh that makes sense, thanks!
No-Weakness4448@reddit
And most of this chatter from people who does not even have a lucid.
Bored__Lord@reddit
Most of this chatter from the same small handful of people who don’t have a Lucid. u/ikilledtupac constantly spams and amplifies negativity about Lucid.
truthlesshunter@reddit
It's so strange. I've been vocal about my issues with lucid despite having one but lately it feels like a slew of posts slamming the company.
I don't think people are trying to manipulate anything necessarily but it does feel like something fishy is going on.
If you look at the lucid owner forums, you have a few people with major issues, some with minor issues, and a fair amount with no issues. I feel this is the case with most cars, for the most part.
I think the issue is the expectations are quite high because of their target market and price tag and they (or us in my case) will be less tolerant of software bugs, despite being one of the best EVs hardware/driving-wise
turb0_encapsulator@reddit
But look how sexy it looks! And the range! And the acceleration! And the handling! And the interior room! And the storage!
Please Lucid fix your car so I can feel comfortable buying one!
ikilledtupac@reddit (OP)
The range is a lie
Lollygay13@reddit
Ugh I want lucid to not build lemons hopefully they can get this sorted out and really improve their software:/
Sindica69@reddit
The Air is a good car. If you’re interested in buying one, check the service history extensively. You can also see in the app what has been done to a car by inputting its VIN iirc.
If you find a solid one, you’re good. Airs have far less problems than the Gravity does.
HoldingForGenova@reddit
This feels like it should be the other way around. The Gravity should build upon what they've learned from the Air. I'm a big fan of Lucid, but it doesn't feel like they're trending towards fewer issues and an easier ownership experience.
turb0_encapsulator@reddit
my understanding is the the Gravity software recently got a big update that fixed a lot of the problems, btut that first year was bad.
Sindica69@reddit
Unfortunately that is likely the case.
turb0_encapsulator@reddit
how do I check the service history on a used one?
jackwinklebean@reddit
What are the things to look out for in the service history? I've had a used Air at the top of my list to replace our lease next year but like others mentioned in this thread, have been seeing a lot more buzz lately (past few weeks) about reliability.
Sindica69@reddit
Drivetrain/motor getting bricked, screens failing, and usual car issues like physical damage or accidents are the biggest things to keep an eye on.
crshbndct@reddit
its an ev? what service history? the tires and wipers?
Sindica69@reddit
Software and electrical fixes and replacements. For example you don’t want a car where the drivetrain has bricked twice and the screen has had issues of shutting down.
lordtema@reddit
I have a feeling that Lucids issues are the reason why they never hard launched in Norway. They did a press tour and brought over a few cars, and i know that there was at least one guy wanting to buy a Sapphire, but not even Tesla Bjørn has seemingly heard anything from them after his short test drive when the press tour was ongoing..
And if there is one export market that could have done decently well, it would have been Norway.
xlb250@reddit
Another possibility is that Norway’s car market is tiny and it’s just not worth the effort. There were only 180,000 cars sold in 2025.
DaBanninator@reddit
The vast majority of cars sold in Norway are EVs. I saw more Tesla model S running around Norway than the bay area.
lordtema@reddit
That would be a fair assumption if they hadnt done a whole ass press event and what not about it.
quattro-4wd@reddit
It would spill over though, other Europeans would at least become aware that Lucid exists. Which is a step up from now.
CashKeyboard@reddit
You can buy Lucid in Germany at least.
Gatortribe@reddit
I rode in a Lucid Air and saw a few on the road in Munich, was pretty surprised.
by_a_pyre_light@reddit
Lucid isn't a volume manufacturer, and they apparently thought the market made enough sense to bring cars over and make a show of it.
real_with_myself@reddit
I wouldn't expect a niche luxurious brand to look away from one of the wealthiest countries in Europe, especially when it has an EV registration rate of 95%.
teamgravyracing@reddit
Idk about Norway's percapita ev sales but Denmark is the county leading adoption. 60+ percent of registrations are electric.
Ithrazel@reddit
Denmark leading adoption only perhaps in the sense that Norway has already pretty much fully adopted.
JusSpringsteen@reddit
94,7 % in Norway in 2025.
https://www.ssb.no/transport-og-reiseliv/landtransport/statistikk/bilparken/artikler/nysgjerrig-pa-elbiler-i-norge-se-siste-elbilstatistikk-her
Sun_Aria@reddit
Lucid has great EV hardware. Now they need to focus on quality control and software. They've been in business long enough to where they shouldn't be having basic issues like these.
Marketing matters too. Tesla was able to maintain a silicon valley tech startup image for a long time. The perception for its customers was that the tech was "relatively new" so people generally tolerated bugs and hardware issues. This bought Tesla time to improve its manufacturing, delivery, and vehicle servicing.
Lucid doesn't have that. Lucid doesn't have a Musk. Lucid markets itself as an upscale brand which immediately raises customer expectations. How much of a turn off would it be driving a $100K car with failing door handles?
Competition has gotten fierce too. You can get a luxury EV from Cadillac, Mercedes, BMW, Audi, etc.
It's like Lucid only wants to do the fun stuff which is innovation and R&D while ignoring the boring stuff like quality control and vehicle servicing & delivery.
TheDustinash@reddit
Agreed. Nick Twork is aweful at his job. He does anti marketing.
And hiring an elevator salesman as a ceo and pulling guidance becuase he doesn’t understand the company or whatever excuse they gave is horrible investment optics.
That bleeds into consumer sales
Musk has eccentricity, but genius, ambition and business charisma.
This team seem like scammy sleazy manipulators who are more focused on grooming the company for PIF then anything else
coastal_ghost08@reddit
An “honest” review! Whew! Thanks for not lying!
No-Weakness4448@reddit
Yet they say everything is controlled by software… wonder how I adjust seat, change air conditioning, change volume or switch songs without touching screens.
aburd@reddit
I do all of those things in my lucid with physical buttons
_ash_panda_@reddit
Yeah most of the things sounded genuine but this threw me off! Have they even tried other EVs yet lol? I found lucid to be a good balance. Most of the things you adjust while driving are on buttons.
txtripod00@reddit
There are manual controls for the ventilation system.
ItselfSurprised05@reddit
For some of the HVAC system: temp and fan speed.
You have to go into screens to adjust:
recirculation
sync
where you send air (upper, mid, lower)
turn the back vents on/off
seat heating and ventilation
HazelnutPeso@reddit
The door thing is an automatic no-go in my books. What if there's an emergency or my kid(s) are stuck inside? Such a product should not even be released in such a state.