The Lucid Air sedan was already one of the longest-range EVs on sale today, but it lost the title of the most efficient EV to the Hyundai Ioniq 6. That’s recently changed, as the automaker has made updates to the luxury vehicle that put it back in the lead.
Lucid added a new heat pump to the Air, helping it conserve energy and reach 5 miles per kilowatt-hour, up from 4.9 miles with the last version.
In a statement, the automaker said, “The new Lucid Air pure requires less electrical energy for any journey taken, A to B, than any other vehicle on the market today. Consuming less energy to travel further enables electric vehicles to deliver the range that consumers expect while reducing the size of costly battery packs.”
The Air Pure also returns 146 MPGe, or miles per gallon equivalent, making it the most efficient vehicle of any fuel type.
Unfortunately for buyers, the Lucid Air Pure’s price tag hasn’t become more reasonable. It still starts at $71,400 after destination, while Lucid’s other variants, the Touring and Grand Touring, cost $80,400 and $112,400 to start, respectively.
Look, more range and better efficiency are great, but high-priced, ultra-luxury EVs are not the way to increase buyer adoption. There will always be a place in the market for brands like Lucid, but it’s hard to celebrate such an expensive vehicle when most buyers can’t afford even the most mainstream EVs on sale today.
[Images: Lucid]
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