2026 Lucid Gravity Is a Successful Second Act

The sophomore album, the sequel, the second child—expectations are often higher for the follow-up. So it is with the Lucid Gravity, which is aimed squarely at the growing ranks of e-SUVs while doing things a bit differently. Its sole reference work: the Lucid Air sedan. The Air, it should be said, is no slouch. From the 10Best-winning rear-wheel-drive Air Pure to the Lightning Lap–conquering trimotor Air Sapphire, this futuristic luxury car wows with its dynamic range and its ability to cover a lot of ground using relatively little electricity. Still, there were things the Lucid team wanted to do with its debut model but couldn’t, be it for lack of money, resources, or time. With the Gravity, Lucid applies those learnings to volume two. This is not simply an airier Air with an optional third row of seats. While that might have been enough to satisfy, you can’t help but expect more.Building on SuccessThe evolution is obvious from the moment you slip behind the steering implement. The shape itself is novel—it’s more of a rectircle than a squircle—and it fronts a display setup that’s new yet familiar-looking. Whereas in the Air the driver has to peer through, around, or over the tiller to read the gauges, the Gravity’s blade-like screen is set higher, making everything visible at once. The Clearview Cockpit display is also larger and switches to OLED technology at 6K resolution, and virtually all of it is capacitive; nothing in the driver-readout section is interactive, but that could change with a future OTA update. The center-mounted Pilot Panel is also higher up and has a landscape layout, a big improvement over the Air’s portrait screen, which sits about level with your lap.The software interface, dubbed Lucid UX 3.0, is much more polished and addresses several of the Air’s shortcomings. It is now possible to see both the battery state-of-charge percentage and estimated remaining range simultaneously, and Lucid has implemented a choice of range calculations: You can stick with the default that’s based on the car’s EPA ratings or select a personalized dynamic projection that takes the user’s driving style into account and more heavily weights the last 10 miles of driving.Wheel-mounted touchpads provide somewhat natural swipe inputs—the left pad is tied to the widgets to the left of the gauges, the right to infotainment functions on the upper display. A trio of double-circle buttons—one below the right pad and one at each end of the control bar under the Pilot Panel display—are customizable and can be tied to actions like toggling the drive mode or adjusting seat heating and ventilation. Space Without WasteThe interior design plays on the same themes as the Air. There’s a nice mix of materials, including textured fabric on the dash pad. Leatherette upholstery is standard, while the real thing is an option. Lucid’s packaging wizards have turned out another spacious spaceship. The Air’s rear seat has a shocking amount of room, and the same is true with the five- or seven-seat arrangement. Anyone can get comfortable in row two, while full-size humans fit in the third row without knee-to-backrest contact, and they might not even complain about headroom.It doesn’t look it from the outside, but the Gravity nears the space efficiency of a minivan without the sliding doors (the rear apertures do open 90 degrees). The second-row bench sections motor out of the way to provide access to the way back; drop all the seats—two button presses for the second row and a couple yanks for each half of the third—and there’s up to 98 cubic feet of cargo space, with an additional six cubes underneath the rear floor. There’s also the eight-cubic-foot front trunk, which doubles as a bench and can be outfitted with an accessory seat cushion and backrest. For reference, that total cargo volume is more than the boxier Rivian R1S offers and approaches Chrysler Pacifica territory. All of that in a relatively low-profile, aerodynamic body.Charging AheadGood aero and a relatively low curb weight are the not-so-secret sauce to Lucid pulling useful range from the Gravity’s 123-kWh battery pack. The Grand Touring model we drove has 828 horsepower and 909 pound-feet of torque yet still manages per-charge distances between 386 miles (three-row with upsized wheels) and 450 miles (two-row with the standard 20s up front and 21s in the rear).Replenishment is via a Tesla-style NACS port, a late addition to the program that required relocating the charge door to the rear corner so that the short cable on a Supercharger will reach. Max charge rates are 400 kilowatts on 1000-volt equipment and up to 225 kilowatts on 500-volt fast-chargers, the latter made possible by some trick voltage boosting that uses the drive unit to match the pack’s 926-volt architecture. CCS and SAE J1772 adapters are included for full compatibility. Lucid says in ideal conditions the Gravity adds 200 miles of range in 11 minutes. This is believable, as we’ve measured speedy charge rates with the Air.Suspension: Air ApparentPutting down all that power is similarly effortless. Even with the motors at both ends tugging the Gravity along to a claimed 3.4-second zero-to-60-mph time, there’s no hint of scrabbling or the rectircle squirming in your hands. We were a little surprised, however, to note some rear-end squat under acceleration. Keeping things on a more even keel would help to mask some heft, but thankfully lateral movement is well controlled. The steering is nicely weighted, with natural on-center feel that makes it easy to track straight on the highway.The Gravity gets a feature the Air ironically lacks: air springs (another item the engineers wanted but didn’t have time for the first go-round). Ground clearance tops out at a lofty 9.3 inches and goes as low as 5.2 for better high-speed aero and easier entry and loading. As in the sedan, the ride is comfortable at all times, with no harshness or shuddering.
Related StoriesThe suspension design got a rethink to improve off-road capability. While we can’t speak to the Gravity’s rock-crawling capabilities, Lucid did put us on dirt to showcase the Terrain mode it’s working on. A short rallycross course highlighted the seamless integration of Lucid’s chassis systems, more of which were brought in-house with the Air Sapphire and the Gravity. When we got a bit ham-fisted in our inputs (for science), the absence of the sound of calipers grabbing and grinding was inaudible evidence that the brake- and motor-based controls were happily doing their thing in the background.Terrain aside, the same trio of drive modes as in the Air—Smooth, Swift, and Sprint—adjusts the powertrain responses and suspension from sedate to starched. Regen, controlled by lifting off of the accelerator and not through the brake pedal, can be dialed in to standard, high, or off, which is tuned to mimic engine braking in a gas-powered vehicle.Lucid also offers a Dynamic Handling pack, which includes a three-chamber version of the air springs and rear-wheel steering. For the latter, an active toe-control link for each rear wheel provides finer control while preserving third-row foot room that would otherwise be eaten by an axle-spanning steering rack. We didn’t get to sample a Gravity without that gear, but given the $2900 asking price we’re relatively confident it’s an option worth opting for.Pricing for the Gravity Grand Touring starts at $96,550. Lucid is also building an off-menu Dream Edition with 1070 horsepower for select customers, while a less powerful Touring model ($81,550) will be available to order later this year. Based on this first encounter, we can say that the Gravity isn’t just a bigger Lucid but a better one—a second act that has us excited for what’s next.SpecificationsSpecifications
2026 Lucid Gravity Grand Touring
Vehicle Type: front- and rear-motor, all-wheel-drive, 5- or 7-passenger, 4-door wagon
PRICE

Base: $96,550
POWERTRAIN

Front Motor: permanent-magnet AC, 228 hp
Rear Motor: permanent-magnet AC, 600 hp
Combined Power: 828 hp
Combined Torque: 909 lb-ft
Battery Pack: liquid-cooled lithium-ion, 123 kWh
Onboard Charger: 19.2 kW
Peak DC Fast-Charge Rate: 400 kW
Transmissions, F/R: direct-drive
DIMENSIONS

Wheelbase: 119.5 in
Length: 198.2 in
Width: 78.7 in
Height: 65.2 in
Passenger Volume, F/M/R: 59/59/37 ft3
Cargo Volume, Behind F/M/R: 98/48/15 ft3
Front Trunk Volume: 8 ft3
Curb Weight (C/D est): 5900–6050 lb
PERFORMANCE (C/D EST)

60 mph: 3.4 sec
100 mph: 6.5 sec
1/4-Mile: 11.2 sec
Top Speed: 150 mph
EPA FUEL ECONOMY

Combined: 92–108 MPGe
Range: 386–450 miEver since David was a wee Car and Driver intern, he has kept a spreadsheet listing all the vehicles he’s driven and tested. David really likes spreadsheets. He can parallel-park a school bus and once drove a Lincoln Town Car 63 mph in reverse. After taking a break from journalism to work on autonomous vehicles, he’s back writing for this and other automotive publications. When David’s not searching for the perfect used car, you can find him sampling the latest in gimmicky, limited-edition foodstuffs.
Source: caranddriver.com