Whether it’s to boost demand or tit-for-tat move to compete with the recently-slashed base price of the Tesla Model S, the arrival of the Lucid Air Pure RWD is good news for consumers. Almost two years after the Air Dream Edition made its grand entrance, packing 1,080 horsepower and a $170,000 pricetag, buyers can get one that costs less than half that and doesn’t really sacrifice very much of the style, speed and technology that make the Air so compelling.
Although Lucid previewed the single-motor Air late last year, it finally got a price and official availability today. The single-motor, rear-drive Air Pure starts at $78,900 (including a $1,500 destination fee), $5,000 less than the AWD version. It’ll retain the 410-mile range rating and ultra-quick charging times of the AWD Pure, which we recently got quite a bit of wheel time with, but it’ll have 50 fewer horsepower—430 to the AWD model’s 480.
Lucid is sticking with a predetermined plan here, and adding more affordable variations of the Pure has always been on the agenda. The RWD Pure’s arrival, however, follows a rollercoaster of pricing changes on the car’s nearest rival, the Tesla Model S. In September, the short-lived short-range (320 mile) Model S ($79,880) was dropped and the base price for the standard 405-mile range car fell to $76,380.
Yes, that’s a little cheaper, but apart from access to Tesla’s Supercharger network, the Lucid offers a whole lot more. It’s also considerably less expensive than rivals from more established automakers like the BMW i7 ($106,695), Mercedes-Benz EQS ($105,550) and offers much more range than Genesis’ Electrified G80 ($80,950 for 2023).
The AWD Pure is a simplified version of the fancy Air Grand Touring, and it does have less power, but it doesn’t feel “de-contented.”
Lucid has kept the interior materials and technology offerings feeling suitably premium, which cannot be said of the Toyota-Corolla-like Model-S cabin. You don’t get the fancy glass roof, but the Pure looks just as spaceship-like on the outside, has all the pretty (if complex) screens and Apple CarPlay compatibility within, and is just as roomy as the other Airs. Despite being a little smaller than a Honda Accord overall, the Lucid’s back seat is practically S-Class huge, and there’s even more room in the Pure, thanks to its smaller battery pack, than the higher-trim models.
Nor is it slow. The AWD Air gets 50 more horsepower and costs $5,000 more, but for most drivers this is more than enough. We haven’t driven the Pure RWD yet, but the automaker quotes a zero-to-60 time for the RWD of 4.5 seconds to the AWD’s 3.8. That’s still quicker than the EQS 450+ and in the real world, where you can’t fully exploit most 1,000+ horsepower vehicles very often, the AWD Pure feels quick and confident. The RWD version should be similar.
Lucid still has a range edge too, and even though it gets no more range than the AWD, the only electric vehicles that can best the Pure RWD’s 410-mile limit are the other Lucid sedans thanks to the company’s advanced battery tech and small, light motors. The Tesla tops out at a claimed 405 miles.
Although Lucid doesn’t have its own charging network like Tesla, the Air’s 900-volt architecture allows all versions to charge very quickly.
Earlier this year I managed to charge the Grand Touring’s 112-kW battery from 29% to 79% in 36 minutes on a 150 kW charger, and the company says the Pure RWD, with its 88-kWh pack, can add 150 miles of range in just 12 minutes on a DC fast charger (ideally a 350, but it won’t be charging at super high rates the whole time). If you were, say, driving from Palm Springs to Sonoma, a 510-mile trip via Interstate 5, you’d only need to stop once, and even then only briefly. If ever there was an EV that quelled “range anxiety,” this is it.
$78,900 isn’t exactly “affordable,” but it probably will draw in buyers. As most EV builders, and Lucid in particular, are discovering, there are only so many people looking for $130,000 sedans. That the Pure offers so much of the experience of its pricier siblings at a more approachable number should serve it well.