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Just weeks after Lucid Motors broke the world record for distance traveled on a single charge, cementing its place as one of the best electric vehicles on the market, the company finds itself validated not by a sterile test track or lab-controlled data sheet, but by a single Facebook post. The setting?
The New Jersey Turnpike. The driver?
Patrick Law, a moderator of the Lucid Owners Club group, piloted a loaner Air Pure through the Garden State’s asphalt artery and returned home with an eye-popping 158 MPGe to show for it.
“4.7 kWh or 158 MPGe in a 2025 Lucid Air Pure w/19 inch wheels. Base options. 100+ miles 95% highway (New Jersey Turnpike @ night w/light traffic). Speeds 70+, climate @ 70, including rear.
The Pure is my loaner while our 2024 GT is getting its 1-year service. I learned a lot after just 100 miles.
Most interesting is the dual motor in the GT requires less regen brake distance, which means you must anticipate letting go of the accelerator sooner in the Pure to maximize efficiency. If you are touching the friction brakes often, you are doing it wrong. If I were more familiar, I could easily manage the EPA rating of 5.0 kWh. Coming from 100% is always the most difficult.
This is my first time driving the Pure and my first time driving a single motor EV. The car is incredibly fun with rear wheel drive, and while not 819 hp, it is still very dynamic and quick. Our GT is fully loaded, and I was immediately missing some of the features like a little more lux (circulated seats, massage, glass roof, ATMOS) and more practical elements like 360 parking cameras, power sun shades, power frunk/trunk, etc.”
The result was a hyper-efficient ballet between man, machine, and asphalt, showcasing that the Air Pure, Lucid’s “entry-level” model, may very well be the most efficient production car on Earth.
2025 Lucid Air Pure Specs: 430 hp Power, 124 mph Top Speed, Cabin Dimensions & Curb Weight
- The Air Pure, equipped with a single rear motor producing ~430 hp and ~406 lb‑ft torque, completes the sprint in about 4.5 s, delivering strong yet composed acceleration for its class
- While not a highway cruiser at Tesla Plaid range, the Pure’s factory-rated maximum speed is 124 mph, limiting it to tame but stable speeds under spirited driving
- Built on a 116.5‑inch wheelbase, the sedan measures about 195.9 in long, 76.2 in wide (without mirrors), and 55.4 in high, offering roomy rear seats and generous cabin space, rivaling entry‑luxury German sedans in passenger comfort
- Tipping the scales at roughly 4,550–4,600 lb curb weight, the Air Pure finds a balance between heft and low center‑of‑gravity. Its long wheelbase fosters a smooth ride and stable high‑speed composure
This wasn’t the result of hypermiling with the A/C off and crawling at 55 in the right lane. Law averaged speeds over 70 mph with full climate control running front and rear.
As several other members of the Facebook group pointed out, even in near-perfect conditions, getting more than 4.0 mi/kWh in the real world is a major achievement. “I averaged 4.1 over 26,000 miles with 19″ wheels,” one user chimed in. For Law to touch 4.7 mi/kWh, in a loaner car, raises legitimate questions about just how much headroom Lucid’s platform offers once fully understood by its drivers.
That’s what makes this so remarkable. The Pure wasn’t some featherweight, stripped-out prototype with engineers hiding in the trunk. It was a base-spec production car, no massage seats, no glass canopy, no 819-hp fury. And yet, as Law noted, the rear-wheel drive and single-motor configuration made the experience not just efficient, but “fun.” It handled dynamically.
Facebook Discussion on Luxury Quirks, Efficiency Tips & Real-World EV Experience
The post’s comments section became its own master class in EV ownership. Debbie Tolen Doll offered a lighthearted glimpse into luxury EV quirks:
“How many times do you have to try again to close the doors? I’m so used to soft close when I get in a car without it, I ‘close’ the door and then say nope, and have to do it again.”
To which Law replied, “lol I kept driving away with my door ‘open’.”
Another commenter, Michael Moy, mentioned he had a similar loaner from Lucid’s East Rutherford location while his own car was serviced, noting,
“Same missing features for me, except for massaging seats.”
But perhaps the most insightful comment came from a member pointing out that surface quality played a huge role in long-distance efficiency: “We consistently saw mpg/mpkw go up with smooth roads and down with rough ones,” wrote Keith Roberts, comparing notes from a 1,500-mile journey in a Lucid Air and a Toyota Venza.
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The Turnpike, oft-maligned but surprisingly well-maintained, provided a near-ideal testbed for consistent speed and minimal elevation change. Add in Lucid’s custom-developed Pirelli HL tires (designed for low rolling resistance and high-load capability) and you begin to see how this figure wasn’t some unicorn stat, it was engineered into the bones of the car.
Lucid Air Charging & Reliability Guide: Level 2 Home Charging, 250 kW Fast-Charge Rates & Battery Health
- Consumer Reports notes that the Lucid Air’s factory Level 2 onboard system (at ~240 V, up to ~19 kW) can refill its roughly 90 kWh battery pack overnight, typically 10–13 hours from empty on a home charger, placing it among top-tier EVs in charging convenience
- Thanks to its ~700–900 V architecture, the Air Pure accepts up to 250 kW at compatible DC fast‑charging stations. That translates to approximately 15 miles of range per minute, or 150–200 miles added in under 20 minutes, one of the fastest on the market in CR tests
- Based on 2023 owner data, CR predicts the 2025 Lucid Air will fall well below average for reliability, warning it may be one of the least-reliable electric sedans in their most recent ranking
- While the Air performs exceptionally when its battery is low, CR reminds users that charging power naturally slows above ~80%, and frequent reliance on rapid fast-charging may degrade long‑term battery health, requiring smarter charging habits
One can’t ignore the subtle irony that this remarkable test took place on a highway often associated with government inefficiency, organized crime, and, if you believe the online chatter, murmurs of backroom deals involving Elon Musk and public infrastructure projects.
While Laws’s post never explored those finer details, the context adds depth to the story.
Lucid is breaking records and engineering the kind of innovation that brings real-world excellence within reach. That a driver can hop into a loaner, take a late-night spin, and effortlessly hit 158 MPGe on a road like the Turnpike isn’t just impressive, it’s a glimpse of what’s to come.
Image Sources: Lucid Media Center
Noah Washington is an automotive journalist based in Atlanta, Georgia. He enjoys covering the latest news in the automotive industry and conducting reviews on the latest cars. He has been in the automotive industry since 15 years old and has been featured in prominent automotive news sites. You can reach him on X and LinkedIn for tips and to follow his automotive coverage.
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Source: torquenews.com
