The Gravity is the SUV sibling of the Lucid Air, the sleek, pricey, fast (or very fast) electric luxury sedan that arrived in late 2021. The Air has won all sorts of awards—the Pure version was named to our 2024 10Best list—but sales volume has been low as the market much prefers SUVs. Thus, the Gravity, which debuted at last fall’s Los Angeles auto show, is an extremely important model for the startup automaker.
Well before Gravity buyers take delivery, Car and Driver was able to drive a development prototype of Lucid’s first SUV. We had the better part of an hour behind the wheel of a camouflaged matte-black test vehicle on various roads around Lucid’s headquarters in Newark, California.
This was a limited experience. Highways were off-limits, for instance, as our early-build Gravity had no airbags fitted. The interior was in a partially finished state, the standard oblong Lucid display mixed with some crude plastics. The console had only two controls: a large, red switch for killing the battery in an emergency and a small, unlabeled silver button for the hazard lights. The driver’s window switch was temperamental, and the car’s creaks and rattles reflected the hard life of a hand-built prototype at the hands of its engineers.
The drive left us with several unanswered questions, but we got a tantalizing first taste of what the Gravity will be like for drivers and passengers.
Performance: Suitably Fast
Though the Gravity’s battery enclosure is shaped differently, the 2170-format cells and modules inside are identical to those used in the Air. The units comprising the motor, drive unit, and power electronics use 90 percent carryover parts. That makes the Gravity suitably fast. But it’s not as fast as the Air, as the Gravity is roughly 660 pounds heavier.
Lucid didn’t specify the powertrain in our prototype, but the Gravity will launch with a two-motor setup. We didn’t do any timed runs, nor would they be relevant in a vehicle this far from the production version. But the Gravity feels quick enough for family use and is well on the punchier side for a three-row SUV.
Ride and Handling: So Far, So Good
While the chassis is similar to the Air’s, the SUV’s taller body structure and redesigned rear suspension (from an integral lateral-link to a five-link design) required enough changes that Lucid views it internally as a new platform.
On the road, the Gravity has the same understated roadholding and capability as the Air—but in a different key. Our test vehicle was in the middle of suspension tuning. Technical specialists Rachel Abril and John Culliton, accompanied by a laptop, watched the electronic traces of every jounce and rebound and adjusted damper-control algorithms accordingly. The car also lacked the rear-wheel steering that will be standard on some models.
The big electric SUV approaches the Air’s planted, sports-sedan roadholding, but physics is physics, and the added height and weight are felt.
Air springs (amusingly, not available on the Lucid Air) smooth the ride, even on rough roads. The air springs managed body roll well, but it was always clear that we were behind the wheel of a taller SUV versus a lower EV luxury sedan. Still, the suspension competently soaked up some startlingly rough pavement on little-used San Francisco Bay Area roads—and even one pothole that sent a thud through the entire structure.
We tried out all three drive modes. Smooth is the default mode for comfort and may still need a bit of suspension tuning. It was softest, with the least crashing, and the steering felt considerably lighter, but it also had some secondary rebound motions that we didn’t feel in the other modes. Swift is more performance-oriented, with a crisper suspension feel, a punchier acceleration curve, and a sportier weight to the steering. Sprint kept the big SUV flatter in curves at the price of a rougher ride. The middle option, Swift, was our favorite, but Smooth might produce happier passengers after a long family journey.
Serious Inner Space
The Gravity is one of the sleeker SUVs around, and like the Air, its body is low for its segment. That means there’s little climb up to get into it. The Gravity may have an extreme windshield rake like the Air, but it’s easier to get into without a driver having to focus on grabbing the pillar, ducking under, and rotating their head to drop into the driver’s seat.
From the outside, the Lucid Gravity reads as an SUV. Inside, though, it’s got minivan vibes—and that’s a compliment. Its shape is clearly that of an SUV, but that posed a challenge to the design team, led by Air designer Jenny Ha: How do you package sufficient cargo volume and an adult-friendly third row into an EV without making it look like the dreaded minivan? Actual adults do fit into the third row, as we learned earlier sitting in a stationary but complete Gravity.
A tapered greenhouse and bulging flanks cleverly disguise the upright rear end. It’s only when you open the wraparound liftgate with its roof-tail spoiler that the verticality of the back reveals itself. One deliberate design decision that signals “SUV, not minivan”: The door windows are frameless. Another: The load floor is level with the bottom of the liftgate opening, not below it.
Range: Still TBD
The Gravity, Lucid says, has a drag coefficient (Cd) of 0.24—very low for a vehicle that can carry six or seven people and their luggage. That compares to the exceptionally slippery 0.20 of the Air sedan on 19-inch wheels. (Note: Cd cannot be compared among different makers since no single accepted standard exists for its measurement.) Lucid says one version will deliver 440 miles of range; we expect the Gravity will launch with the larger 118.0-kWh battery pack.
Overall, we came away impressed with even the raw prototype. The “Alpha” development prototypes were soon to be replaced by the first of several dozen “Beta” prototypes that would use “production-intent” processes, hardware, and tooling.
When deliveries start late this year, the Lucid Gravity will join a small group of battery-electric three-row SUVs on the market. As of early 2024, we have the Tesla Model X, the Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV, the Rivian R1S, and, most recently, the Kia EV9.
Lucid will build Gravitys in its Casa Grande, Arizona, factory, which has quadrupled in size in anticipation of higher-volume production of the new SUV. The Lucid Air impressed the global automotive press and the few thousand customers who bought it. The Lucid Gravity looks to be the model that will help this startup defy gravity and take flight.
John Voelcker edited Green Car Reports for nine years, publishing more than 12,000 articles on hybrids, electric cars, and other low- and zero-emission vehicles and the energy ecosystem around them. He now covers advanced auto technologies and energy policy as a reporter and analyst. His work has appeared in print, online, and radio outlets that include Wired, Popular Science, Tech Review, IEEE Spectrum, and NPR’s “All Things Considered.” He splits his time between the Catskill Mountains and New York City and still has hopes of one day becoming an international man of mystery.