2023 Lucid Air Touring First Drive: The Sweet Spot
For when you only need 425 miles of range from your luxury EV.
Automakers are talking a lot about the future. Promises about what electrified vehicles they will bring to market, and when, are a focus, as are guarantees that self-driving cars—never mind what was said earlier—really are just around the corner. It's largely talk about future cars you can plunk money down on today and maybe get in two years' time. Meanwhile, the folks at Lucid have quietly been improving arguably the most advanced electric vehicle on the road, the Air luxury sedan. The top-level Air Grand Touring wowed us enough to earn our 2022 Car of the Year award, and the California-based automaker has since rolled out two high-performance variants—including the 1,200-plus-horsepower, tri-motor Air Sapphire. Now, it's ready to release the other bookends to the Air lineup. The new mid-level 2023 Lucid Air Touring and base Air Pure are expected to make up the bulk of Lucid sales, and we just got the chance to take the new Air Touring for a quick drive.
Why It's Important
While the limited-run, über-luxe $170,000 Air Dream Edition and $155,650 Air Grand Touring models helped launch Lucid's flagship, the Air Touring aims to somewhat democratize the model. Starting at $109,050, the 2023 Air Touring trades in the Grand Touring's 113-kWh battery pack and dual-motor setup (819 hp in base form and 1,050 hp in Performance guise) for a slightly smaller pack and a pair of detuned motors. The Air Touring's dual-motor AWD system makes a comparatively more pedestrian 620 hp, and it's fed from a 92-kWh battery pack. The new pack nets the Air Touring up to 425 miles of range (versus as much as 516 miles in the Grand Touring), winning rear seat passengers back a bit of legroom in the process. All Airs feature Lucid's bleeding edge 900-volt electrical architecture, making them among the quickest-charging EVs on the road today. (Check out the all the additional details on the 2023 Air Touring and Pure here.)
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Pros: What We Like
While our drive of the 2023 Air Touring was brief, it nevertheless served as a poignant reminder as to why the Air earned our 2022 Car of the Year award. Despite its more affordable price tag, this tremendously handsome, low-slung, Arizona-built sedan is still seriously luxurious. Visually, nothing immediately flags the Touring is the "cheaper one," aside from the optional aluminum top (a panoramic roof is the only choice on the Grand Touring). It's the same story inside. The elegant design and tasteful mix of textures, materials, and colors carry over. And, as an added bonus, the software has been redone, drastically improving both its speed and stability. We even hear Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility are among the upcoming updates. Ditto for SiriusXM satellite radio.
The GT's 200 horsepower weren't missed on our drive either. The Air Touring's tremendously compact electric motors are incredibly torquey and responsive, offering up V-8-like performance in a package capable of clearing a claimed 4.62 miles per kWh (or nearly 156 mpg-e). The beauty of the Air Touring's powertrain is that it's quiet, sedate, and serene when you want it to be, but breathtakingly quick when you're in the mood to hustle. Few vehicles on the road embody that sort of effortless duality. For those still concerned about bragging rights, Lucid claims a 3.4 second 0-60-mph run for the 620-hp Air, just 0.4 second shy of its $155K sibling.
Cons: What We Don't Like
Although we appreciate Lucid offering a more affordable Air, its biggest drawback is its price (hence our saying "somewhat democratize" above). Like Rivian with its R1T and R1S, and Ford with its F-150 Lightning, Lucid raised prices for the Air in the spring. That brought the Air Touring's price to $109,050, up from $95,000. While the Air's segment-best range, cutting-edge technology, and high performance largely justify the increase, it doesn't make it any easier to swallow.
Our other complaints are minor in comparison. As we found in our Car of the Year testing, brake feel is a bit artificial, and the user interface might have a high learning curve for those who aren't digital natives. Taller occupants will also want to mind their heads; part of the trade-off for the Air's claimed 0.197 Cd is its low roofline, which makes getting in the car slightly more difficult than more traditionally styled sedans.
The Bottom Line
The Touring is a vivid embodiment of just why the Air hoisted our Golden Calipers. So, how much are 0.4 second to 60 mph and 91 extra miles of range worth to you?
I generally like writing—especially when it’s about cars—but I hate writing about myself. So instead of blathering on about where I was born (New York City, in case you were wondering) or what type of cars I like (all of ’em, as long as it has a certain sense of soul or purpose), I’ll answer the one question I probably get most, right after what’s your favorite car (see above): How’d you get that job? Luck. Well, mostly. Hard work, too. Lots of it. I sort of fell into my major of journalism/mass communication at St. Bonaventure University and generally liked it a lot. In order to complete my degree senior year, we had to spend our last two semesters on some sort of project. Seeing as I loved cars and already spent a good portion of my time reading about cars on sites such as Motor Trend, I opted to create a car blog. I started a Tumblr, came up with a car-related name (The Stig’s American Cousin), signed up for media access on a bunch of manufacturer’s websites, and started writing. I did everything from cover new trim levels to reviewing my friends’ cars. I even wrote a really bad April Fool’s Day post about the next Subaru Impreza WRX being Toyota-Corolla-based. It was fun, and because it was fun, it never felt like work. Sometime after my blog had gotten off the ground, I noticed that Motor Trend was hiring for what’s now our Daily News Team. I sent in my résumé and a link to my blog. I got the job, and two weeks after graduation I made the move from New York to California. I’ve been happily plugging away at a keyboard—and driving some seriously awesome hardware—ever since.
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