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Despite being more than $30,000 less expensive than the next car up in the Lucid Air range the Touring loses none of the magic according to the latest Lucid review from InsideEVs.
IEV's Daniel Golson has been putting some miles on the Lucid Air Touring, which fits between the Air Grand Touring and base model Pure in the range. The results are good for the American automaker. He mentions previously wondering if the Lucid Air Dream Edition's magic would be watered down with the more accessible trim levels and states that these worries were ultimately unfounded as the Touring still packs everything that makes the Air a great luxury sedan.
Performance
The Air Touring features a pair of electric motors with a total output of 620 horsepower and 885 ft.-lb. of torque. Unsurprisingly, huge horsepower and enough torque to reverse the planet's rotation mean that the Touring never leaves its driver wanting for performance. Special mention is given to the Air's ability to accelerate out of corners and pick up speed on the highway which is done with addictive immediacy and loses none of its surge as speeds climb higher.
The Air Touring also shines because of its chassis and steering, the latter of which was benchmarked against the Porsche 911 GT3. The handling makes it a joy to attack the corners in this 5200 lb.+ super sedan with the supple, composed ride and near-limitless grip inspiring confidence and driving joy. Golson also points out that the Air achieves all this without fancy air suspension, active anti-roll bars or rear-wheel steering. Kudos to you, Lucid handling department. Also helping out is the fact that the Touring weighs about 250 lbs. less than the GT.
Fewer Batteries, More Space
The Touring makes use of a 92 kWh battery pack as opposed to the higher models' 112 kWh packs, and makes extra room for passengers by removing the cells from the rear footwell and providing a less angled rear bench. Range is still impressive at 425 miles (91 miles less than the GT) and Lucid says that the Touring is the most efficient car in the entire Air range. Charging speed is slightly down too at 250 kW instead of the GT's 300 kW, though the Touring can still add 200 miles of range in 15 minutes at a fast charger.
Doesn't Feel Like a Downgrade
The Touring is $30,600 less expensive than the equivalent Grand Touring, but Golson says that it certainly doesn't feel like a downgrade. The Touring comes with an aluminum roof as standard in place of the glass panoramic one and this helps lower weight too. The glass roof can be added back in as a $4500 option.
The cabin makes use of slightly less fancy materials in places, but generally looks identical to the higher trims. We're still talking leather, real wood and aluminum here. Build quality was also reportedly better than it was on earlier vehicles, showing that Lucid is overcoming the teething problems it had with fit and finish early on.
In comparing the Air Touring with its rivals from Mercedes and Porsche, Golson states that it packs a bunch of equipment as standard that the German cars keep locked behind expensive options packages. It matches the Merc-AMG EQS to 60 and bests the Taycan GTS by a tenth of a second. The review ends with Golson asserting that despite its inherent teething problems, the Lucid Air Touring is a great luxury sedan and driver's car.
Related Story: Lucid Roundup: CarPlay Update, Studios And More
Images by Lucid Motors licensed by CC BY 4.0.
James Walker is an Automotive Journalist at Torque News focusing on Lucid Motors. If it's got wheels he's interested, and he's looking forward to seeing what kind of cars the EV revolution brings us. Whether it's fast, slow, new, or old, James wants to have a look around it and share it in print and on video, ideally with some twisty roads involved. You can connect with James on Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
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