When Lucid Motors launched the Air electric sedan back in late 2021, it made a statement with a Dream Edition packing over 1,100 horsepower and a price tag north of $180,000. It was easily one of the most powerful street cars ever tested by this writer. Now comes act two: the Gravity electric SUV. After spending a week with the entry-level Touring trim, which starts at roughly $82,000 including destination charges, I can say that Lucid’s sophomore effort is a genuinely compelling vehicle even without the stratospheric specs of its more expensive sibling.
My test model came loaded with options that pushed the price to $107,200, including a 22-speaker audio system, Nappa leather seating with massage and ventilation functions, third-row seats, rear-wheel steering paired with a three-chamber air suspension, and Lucid’s Dream Drive 2.0 Pro suite of driver assistance features. The system adds hands-free driving assist, automatic lane changes, and even a curb-rash warning when parking. On paper, the gap between this Touring model and the pricier Grand Touring looks significant. The Grand Touring boasts 828 horsepower from its larger 123-kWh battery pack compared to the Touring’s 560 horses from an 89-kWh unit, and range climbs from 337 miles to 407 miles respectively. In practice though, those numbers rarely tell the whole story.
After a full week of driving, I never once found myself wanting for power or anxious about range. The dual-motor setup delivers 560 horsepower and a stout 811 lb-ft of torque, enough to merge onto any freeway ramp or pass strings of slow traffic on rural highways with confidence. Lucid claims a zero-to-sixty time of four seconds flat, and while I didn’t measure it formally, the acceleration feels every bit as quick as advertised. Real-world range proved equally solid, with my mixed suburban and highway driving yielding around 320 miles per charge, comfortably close to the EPA estimate. Charging at Tesla Supercharger stations was seamless thanks to the native NACS port and plug-and-charge compatibility, with one session taking the battery from fifteen percent to ninety-five percent in just thirty-one minutes.
What impressed me most wasn’t straight-line speed but rather the overall polish. Steering feels precise and naturally weighted across all speeds, while the optional air suspension strikes a fine balance between comfort and composure over rough pavement despite the vehicle’s considerable mass of roughly 5,200 pounds. Brembo six-piston calipers clamping down on massive fifteen-inch rotors provide serious stopping power, and through tight corners and gravel patches the Gravity handled itself with far more agility than its size would suggest. Charging efficiency landed at about 3.3 miles per kilowatt-hour in city driving and up to 3.8 on steady highway cruising. Visually nearly indistinguishable from the far costlier Grand Touring, the Touring proves that sometimes the smartest choice isn’t the top-of-the-line model but rather the well-equipped version that covers all the bases without unnecessary excess.