New Lucid Gravity electric SUV lands on earth

The all-electric Lucid Gravity SUV has been unveiled at the LA Auto Show, with over 400 miles of range and ultra-fast charging

American electric car start-up Lucid has revealed its second model, the Lucid Gravity, at the Los Angeles Auto Show. Following on from the Lucid Air – the 2023 World Luxury Car of the Year – the Gravity is expected on sale in the US in 2024, although there’s still no word on when right-hand drive models will come to the UK.

The Gravity is a seven-seat SUV, which Lucid promises will travel over 440 miles on a charge, with fast-charging speeds of 350kW that can add up to 200 miles in just 15 minutes. Key to the rapid charging is a battery pack that Lucid claims is “a little more than half the size of some of our battery-hungry competitors”. 

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That would imply a battery capacity of around only 60kWh, with impressive efficiency courtesy of Lucid’s compact, power-dense electric drive units that enable better use of the battery pack, plus 900-volt electrical architecture. The small, efficient drive units are like those Lucid supplies for use in Formula E, as well as those chosen by Aston Martin to power its new range of forthcoming electric sports cars.

Despite the Gravity SUV’s bluff front end and sheer size, Lucid says the car’s relatively slippery shape has a drag coefficient of just 0.24Cd, which also helps efficiency. It follows the design theme set out by the Lucid Air saloon, with slim LED headlights that blend into a horizontal grille, with a deep front bumper punctuated by side air curtains and a further intake lower down.

Big wheels sit within wheel arches wrapped in a thin surround of dark cladding, while there’s deep scalloping along the doors and pronounced shoulders, with the long roof eventually sloping into an elongated spoiler sitting over the rear screen.

Another thin strip of lights at the back, dipping towards the centre of the car to allow for the name Lucid to be spelled out above it, helps to accentuate the width rather than the height. A subtle piece of dark trim breaks up the sizeable C-pillar with the name Gravity embossed within it.

The cabin is a further development of the Air’s featuring high-quality, sustainable materials and plenty of glass. The windscreen extends from the bonnet to well over the driver and front passengers’ heads, with a T-bar coming from a cross-member behind the front seats to where the rear-view mirror and forward-facing sensors are positioned. Sun visors seem to float on the glass, as they do in the Air.

It’s a similar treatment at the back, with a glass roof running all the way from behind the third row. With sizeable side glass in the long rear doors, plus smaller windows for rear passengers to peer out of, it makes the Gravity impressively bright inside, giving everyone a good view out.

The middle row of seats slide forward to allow easy access to the third row, while stadium-style seating elevates those in the back to get a good view forward through that giant, panoramic windscreen.

Boot space is impressive, too – with all seats folded flat, Lucid claims a total capacity of 3,171 litres. There’s a sizeable frunk (or froot if you prefer the term ‘front boot’), big enough for a couple of people to perch in – as some other SUVs do on the tailgate – to allow them to sit and watch a sporting event or enjoy a picnic.

As well as the impressive level of quality inside, Lucid has eschewed the current trend of touchscreen reliance, by adding a quick access bar to its central infotainment screen where major controls can be adjusted. Lucid calls it a Pilot Panel. Sitting below that is a central storage area topped by an elegant, sliding glass lid.

Ahead of the driver and above the oblong-shaped steering wheel is Lucid’s Clearview Cockpit featuring a slick 34-inch curved glass OLED display that seems to float in front of the dash.

Elsewhere, Lucid has worked with mental health specialists Meditopia to provide a meditation experience inside the car, while Lucid Sanctuary and Lucid Spaces are interactive wellbeing features that supposedly introduce “tranquillity and sereneness on the go”.

Very few technical specifications have been released for the Gravity, but we do know it’s quick for a big SUV, with a 0-60mph time of less than 3.5 seconds. Optional enhanced air suspension can raise the car over tougher terrain – although Lucid steers clear of talking of off-road ability – or lower it for increased efficiency.

Production of Gravity will start in 2024 with prices forecasted to start at under $80,000 (£64,520). Right-hand drive Lucids are planned, but as mentioned there’s no word on timing yet. 

When we met Lucid’s British CEO Peter Rawlinson in the summer, he spoke about right-hand drive production, saying, “Oh, man, I'd love to, but it's a matter of engineering priorities. We are slammed – we've got to get Sapphire out this year; our tri-motor performance version of the Air. And we've got to get Gravity out next year.

“It breaks my heart, maybe we can outsource the right-hand drive project to an engineering company to do it for us. The potential market in the UK is probably bigger than even Germany in terms of a latent desire to go EV.”

Click here for our list of the best electric SUVs on sale…

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