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Tysons Corner, Virginia, isn’t exactly Nürburgring, but on a hot August afternoon, it might as well have been. That’s where a black Lucid Gravity, the EV maker’s much-anticipated SUV, found itself in the hands of a Tesla veteran. No stopwatches. No telemetry. Just a driver who’s been living in Silicon Valley for eight years and wanted to see what the other coast’s brightest minds could do with a clean sheet of paper.
Lucid’s Galleria II outpost provided the stage: twenty minutes of back roads and interstate, plus another ten of quiet fiddling with screens and seat controls. Refreshingly, the Lucid rep didn’t push a sale, more test drive than timeshare pitch. The Redditor posted about his experience on the Lucid Subreddit.
“Test drove a black Gravity today in Tysons Corner, VA at the Galleria II location. The guy from Lucid who took me out was very knowledgeable and nice. I liked him a lot, and he did not try to sell me either, which I appreciated as I am just in a research/experience stage. He also let me drive it for about 20 minutes on both local roads and a highway, and an additional 5 minutes to sit and talk about the car (inside of it,) and another 5 minutes after the test drive to tinker with anything I wanted. I am not a current Lucid customer, but I have had a Tesla for about 8 years, so I am familiar with EVs. But I love the Gravity and hope to get one as my next vehicle.
What I liked:
– Like everyone else says, very smooth and quiet ride. Not a shock there. I punched it on the highway and holy wow – its acceleration is definitely more than a Tesla Model 3. Not a shock there of course, much more HP but man – you feel it in your bones haha. It’s a thrill.
– I thought the handling was good. I did a U-turn at one point, which was a test of that. I am not used to driving an SUV, and it wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle. I feel like it drives somewhere between a car and an SUV. Not quite a car and not quite an SUV. But drives more like an SUV than a car overal,l if that makes sense.
– I am 6′ tal,l and I like that the vehicle only comes up to about my chin. Some SUVs are so tall. I like it’s not necessary non-tallness if that makes sense.
– The squirkle is a genius design to let that 6k screen shine (didn’t mean to rhyme that, but here we are). I like that you can have two views of the Nav map on two different screens simultaneously. One close up and one zoomed out – that is cool. Or your passenger can look up restaurants on one while you navigate on the other – cool new use cases that you can use the Nav on two screens.
– Like everyone says, the touchpad clicky button to select items and navigate around the screen does seem to be an odd design choice, but I didn’t mind it. I think you get used to it quickly. It’s just the look of it seems maybe the cheapest looking thing in the car. But it was fine.
– The massage seats are really awesome, 5 different modes. Big fan of that feature. And the feature worked better than I expected. I thought that experience would be weak, with maybe one mode. It was a good experience. The seats in general are definitely more comfortable and wider than Tesla seats, which is key if you are tall or a big guy.
-Tray tables, very well thought out, were like a super advanced version of a plane’s tray tables, but worked almost identically and were much bigger. USB-C port right there on each one, too, is a nice touch.
– Stereo – I cranked it all the way, and the Lucid guy was not happy about that – haha. But it sounded really good. Tesla good. So that is good that they have improved that over the Air from what I have heard, but I cannot confirm that.
– The software seemed smooth and fast. There was only one hiccup that I saw which was when you use the voice command of ‘Hey Lucid’ to enter in a destination to the nav by voice, it did recognize the address and say that we were going there – but the guy had to manually hit a button to force it to actually go to the address – even though the car said it would go there. I am sure that is an easy software bug to fix, but either way.
What I didn’t like or was surprised by:
– 3rd row seat: I am only 6’0″ tall, and I sat all the way in the back in the 3rd row, and my hair was hitting the ceiling. Head didn’t hit it, but I could feel it. If there was a bump we went over, I would hit my head easily. I do have a long torso, but I can only imagine what someone 6’4″ would feel. Felt more claustrophobic to me than I expected height-wise, but not leg room-wise; that was fine. Also, an additional note about the 7 seater that I learned from the Lucid guy, if you have 7 people in the car a lot, it gets a 400-mile range. If it is only one person, the driver in the car, and no one else, you get 437 miles of range (not 450). The 5 row you get 450. Just a note that the 7 seater gets slightly less range than the 5 seater because it’s heavier and, of course, would hold more humans – but I mean, no one would really tell the difference of those 50 miles IMO unless you are on a road trip, of course.
– The regen is STRONG. Like to even accelerate, it’s like you are fighting it – a very different experience than Tesla regen, which I prefer. Yes, you can adjust it in the settings, but the Lucid guy who was with me on the test drive changed all the drive’s various settings, and with one setting, there was almost no regen, so you were coasting. Its like its too much extreme in either direction.
– I mentioned to the Lucid guy about all the issues Lucid has with getting into the car, either it not waking or the door not unlocking, and he blamed this on people’s batteries being dead in their key fob. I thought that was an obvious and lame dodge of the issue. When there are hundreds of complaints about this, obviously, there is something wrong with hardware reliability-wise, and not to be blamed on the customer who tried to do so. Having said that, I did not experience this with the Gravity, although he opened it – I did not, so I had no way of verifying if it was an issue.
– Being a Tesla guy who has FSD, of course, I asked about that. He said the car is 10 10-year tech future-proof. Not sure about that as Tesla’s HW3 computers that came out in 2020 are already outdated and struggling to keep up with the latest versions of FSD, and HW4 is also being maxed out with HW5 computer on the way next year in new Teslas, but of course Lucids aren’t going for FSD yet so the compute power of the hardware is not being tested to full capacity like a Tesla is.
He said Lucid is going for Level 3 autonomy. I pressed him on whether they will even go for Level 4, and he said that he didn’t know. I bet they do to keep up with Tesla, but I wish it were something Lucid would just come out and say. It would entice more Tesla folks, as the only insecurity we seem to have is losing FSD now that Lucid is charging on Tesla’s charging network and home chargers.
– He did say that Lucid got a big bump of sales from Tesla / Elon haters, but that that has pretty much died down, and they are not seeing it as strong as a few months back.
All in all, I had way more likes than dislikes. Amazing SUV. I love it for sure.”
The Gravity’s acceleration was the headline act. “Holy wow” was the verdict, a silent freight train that doesn’t shove so much as it compresses your ribcage. Handling? Closer to SUV than sedan, but without the wallow; the chin-height stance gave the driver visibility without the top-heavy feel of a lifted barge.
Inside, Lucid’s “squirkle” steering wheel framed a 6K display capable of running dual navigation views at once, a zoomed-in map for the driver, and a wide map for the passenger.
Then came five-mode massage seats, wider than Tesla’s and tuned for tall bodies, plus clever tray tables with USB-C ports. Even the stereo got pushed to its limits, eliciting a polite frown from the rep but earning the label “Tesla good.”
2026 Lucid Gravity – What Lucid Has Planned Next
- Lucid Gravity is the brand’s second production model, debuting as a luxury 3-row SUV starting at ~$79,900.
- Offers up to 120 cubic feet of cargo capacity within a footprint typical of a mid‑size SUV, seating seven.
- Grand Touring trim delivers 828 hp and 909 lb-ft, reaching 0–60 mph in about 3.4 seconds.
- EPA-rated range up to 450 miles on Grand Touring batteries, exceeding early estimates.
The shortcomings were fewer deal-breakers than reality checks. Third-row headroom for a six-footer meant hair grazing the headliner, fine for kids or shorter adults, but a tight fit for long trips.
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Strong regenerative braking surprised the driver, who felt at first like the car was fighting forward motion. And while the rep blamed door-entry complaints on dead key-fob batteries, the explanation didn’t fully convince.
What The Comment Section Thought
The comment section added texture. Redditor alancath, an Air Grand Touring owner, cautioned that Tesla drivers might find Lucid still maturing on features, even as it surpasses on build quality, exclusivity, and driving feel. The regen debate also came alive: SeaworthinessKey3418 praised the high setting, saying it changed their driving style, while alancath argued that once you adapt, Lucid’s one-pedal approach is exactly as it should be, more Polestar than Tesla in its immediacy. It’s less about resistance than rhythm, and the learning curve rewards patience.
One feature drew both admiration and concern: those tray tables. iATlevsha pointed out they’re not meant to be used in motion, a detail they felt Lucid should emphasize. StreetDare4129 added the graphic reminder that in a collision, a deployed table could cause serious injury. It’s a prime example of a feature that blends ingenuity with a need for clearer communication, a hallmark challenge for automakers introducing new cabin tech.
2026 Lucid Gravity Battery Specifications
- Uses high-performance 2170 cells from Panasonic, with >800 Wh/L density, enabling efficient performance.
- First Lucid to feature NACS port, allowing Supercharger access.
- One owner noted the Gravity drives better than even the Air, though the Air still had a more purposeful sedan feel.
- Seen as a strong rival to Tesla Model X and Rivian R1S, rated 440 range‑miles and quicker 0–60 (3.5s) than many ICE sports cars.
Layered beneath all this is the strategic tension Lucid faces: staking its own claim while inevitably being measured against Tesla, BMW, Audi, and other luxury benchmarks. As alancath framed it, the choice comes down to whether you want to be a driver or a passenger. The Gravity, by design, appeals to those who still want to drive, even in an electric age, rather than surrender entirely to autonomy.
Walking away from Tysons Corner, the tester’s verdict was unfiltered: more likes than dislikes, an SUV that thrilled without exhaust noise, and proof that Lucid’s Gravity can pull new owners into its orbit on merit, not just novelty. In a segment crowded with bold shapes and big promises, that’s no small feat.
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
