Far too many EVs are long on promise and short on delivery when it comes to range. Thus, I was pleasantly surprised to see the 2025 Lucid Air Touring luxury sedan nail its trip computer’s range estimate.
The 2025 Lucid Air Touring makes certain it lives up to expectations, in terms of range and luxury.
And, even more so, because its range is huge. The Air Touring model with which I spent a week displayed a 373-mile range projection fresh off the 350kW EVgo charging station near my home. That’s a new personal best for me with EVs. It then went on to show 121 miles remaining, after I’d driven 252 miles.
Even better, the Lucid Air is a luxury automobile of the first order. With styling straight out of a 20th century science fiction movie, the Lucid Air is handsome too — inside and out. Plus, it offers a plethora of cutting-edge comfort and convenience tech, cranking the Air Touring’s “Oh wow” factor up to 11 on a scale of 10. Frankly, if this is the future, please sign me up right now.
Powertrains and Fuel Economy
Boasting a horsepower count of 620, coupled with 855 pound-feet of torque, all of which is available at throttle tip-in, the all-wheel drive Lucid Air Touring is — as we say here in the San Francisco Bay Area — “Hella fast.” Thus, in addition to its prodigious range, the Lucid is a true high performance luxury sedan.
The powertrain is comprised of a pair of electric motors, one for each set of wheels and an innovative 92 kWh modular battery pack. I also saw a 45-minute 20% to 100% recharge of the battery pack’s 18 compact modules.
Putting out 620 horsepower, this is likely the view most will get of the Lucid Air Touring.
According to the EPA, the Air Touring is good for 121 MPGe combined, which makes it one of the highest-range EVs currently offered. And oh, by the way, all of the others are produced by Lucid too.
Interior Accommodations
The Air Touring’s interior treatment proves once again that true elegance lies in simplicity. Minimalism is the order of the day, laced with premium materials and carefully regarded architecture. Featuring a unique two-tone color treatment, the front seats were black with tan trim, while the back seat was tan with black trim. As weird as it might sound here, it’s a wholly fresh look in practice.
But wait, it keeps getting better. The four lucky souls ensconced within the Air Touring will experience supreme comfort. Head, leg and shoulder room are abundant at all four seating positions. And, because the floor is flat, a third person could ride in the back seat with no discomfort.
The optional glass roof makes the passenger compartment even more spacious. Long story short, this car was designed by people who knew what they were doing. The execution is all but flawless. That said, if I had to find a nit to pick it would the minor blind spot created by the B-pillar when looking to the left rear.
What range anxiety? The Air Touring boasts a range of 373 miles.
Interior storage is generous; there’s even a hidden compartment behind the retractable touchscreen on the center console. The trunk opens to expose a wide space capable of accommodating 22.1 cubic feet of cargo.
Opening the front trunk reveals what appears to be a shallow space — until you retract its false floor panel to reveal an additional 10 cubic feet of volume.
Comfort, Convenience & Safety Tech
Instrumentation and infotainment features are displayed on a pair of monitors with touchscreen capabilities. Housed on the left side of the graceful arc behind the steering wheel are touch sensitive controls for the headlights and windshield wipers, plus defoggers for the windshield and the rear window. Infotainment controls are to the right of the wheel, including CarPlay and Android compatibility.
The retractable touchscreen hosts controls for seat, steering wheel and mirror adjustments. You also use the screen to lock and unlock the doors, as well as open the trunk and the front cargo compartment. Drive modes are accessed there as well. The Lucid’s voice recognition software responds to natural speech patterns, and the operating system will learn your preferred audio and climate control settings.
The retractable touchscreen hosts controls for seat, steering wheel and mirror adjustments.
Steering wheel controls manage the smart cruise control and lane keeping assist functions. The Lucid’s only ergonomic shortcoming is the configuration of the turn signal stalk. A physical button for the windshield wipers protrudes from its tip, which makes it easy to inadvertently activate the wipers when trying to signal a right turn.
Forward-collision warning and automated emergency braking are standard features, as are blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert. Smart cruise control and lane centering are standard too.
Driving Impressions
With 620 hp and 855 lb-ft of torque available at throttle tip-in, the 2025 Lucid Air Touring is a genuinely fast car. Runs to 60 mph from a dead stop were accomplished in roughly three seconds. It’s a good idea to tell your passengers to put their heads back before you nail the throttle — especially when you have the sprint drive mode selected with launch control.
What’s more, the Air Touring gathers speed with ever increasing urgency when you keep the pedal floored. I saw the Lucid hit its governed 140 mph limit in just under 12 seconds on a closed course. Like the better German sedans, the Air Touring goes with decided confidence at high speeds. Exhibiting no floatiness or wandering, stability is outstanding.
Ride quality is luxury car smooth, and the cabin is quiet at speed, except when the car encounters less than perfect pavement.
Steering is a bit on the heavy side, which when you consider the 5,000-pound curb weight is understandable. One-pedal driving can be configured, and you can adjust the amount of drag the powertrain experiences when you let off the throttle. The brakes, when you do apply them, are strong and fade fee. Ride quality is luxury car smooth, and the cabin is quiet at speed, except when the car encounters less than perfect pavement.
In Summary
As cool as people think Teslas are, the Lucid Air is what the Tesla Model S wants to be when it grows up. Far better looking, way nicer inside, just as fast and delivering considerably better range, the 2025 Lucid Air is the best EV currently on offer — period — full stop. Nobody is doing it better.
However, because Lucid is still a relatively small company, you won’t find its cars offered in as many places as you’ll find Tesla’s. The same is true when it comes to service facilities. So, right now, you might feel a lot more confident owning a Lucid in a large metropolitan area.
Frankly though, that’s the only drawback — and believe me when I tell you, it wouldn’t put me off from owning one. I like it. Pricing starts at $78,900 for the Air Touring, price as tested for the example I assessed was $92,800.
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