Lucid Air passes the Canadian winter test with flying colors
I had the opportunity to drive the Lucid Air Touring for a little more than a week during the holidays, and I can say with confidence that the California-designed and engineered electric luxury sedan passes the Canadian winter test with flying colors.
I am impressed. Let’s dive into it.
I had never had the chance to drive a Lucid before. Our own Scooter Doll is our main reporter on the Lucid beat, and he is a big fan of the Air, to say the least. His main complaint has been the software, which has been improving as of late, so I was excited to give it a shot with a more complete version of the car.
Since launching in Quebec, they had tried to get me in a car, but we couldn’t make it happen. Eventually, they told me they had one for me on December 23rd.
Even though it was the holidays, I couldn’t pass on the opportunity and went to pick the sleek red Air Touring for my holiday travels.
I have been following the company for a long time. From their transition as Atieva, an electric powertrain and energy storage company, to Lucid, a complete electric vehicle maker. Getting to drive one felt like a long time coming.
Lucid Air Touring
Now, I say it passes the Canadian winter test, and if you are from the region, you might say: “What winter?” Winters are indeed becoming milder around here, but I had the car for just over a week, and the timing was perfect for a true winter test.
A few hours after picking up the car in Montreal, I had to drive it back home to Shawinigan in the middle of a decent snowstorm. Two hours in the snow and the left lane on the 40 East wasn’t even plowed.
Generally speaking, a new car I am not familiar with plus a snowstorm equals being extra careful, and I was obviously cautious, but the Lucid Air’s impressive driving dynamics quickly gave me an incredible amount of confidence.
At 5,200 lbs, it’s a heavy vehicle, but it is an incredibly well-balanced 5,200 lbs.
The Air Touring is just the third most powerful version of Lucid’s flagship sedan, but I never felt like I needed more power, and that makes sense, considering it is pushing 620 hp and can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in 3.4 seconds.
I was able to pass vehicles easily, even in the snow, and always felt in complete control of the vehicle. It is a fun, comfortable drive.
Speaking of comfort, the Lucid Air is a true luxury sedan with all the comfort features you would expect and more. The level of customization is also impressive for the seats. You could adjust them for hours to get them perfect.
The backseat is also impressive. Lucid did a great job optimizing the interior. The backseat feels like a limousine:
It’s a great car for drivers, for passengers, but the trunk space is where some people criticize the Lucid Air.
I understand why, but I would argue that trunk space is not a real problem. The trunk opening is one. It is extremely small and short:
However, in terms of volume, it is more than decent. You just need to be able to get things in. Thanks to Lucid’s extremely compact motors, there are very deep hidden compartments at the bottom of the trunk and frunk.
It leaves plenty of room for luggage, but again, it needs to fit the opening first.
For our travels, it was just my girlfriend, our cat, and I, but I could see this car easily fitting four people and luggage for a week.
That’s a good thing because this is a great road trip car, thanks to its incredible efficiency.
The Lucid Air Touring is rated at an EPA range of 406 miles (653 km), but like any other EVs or gas-powered vehicles, your mileage may vary, and the cold affects the mileage badly.
As I said, our winters are becoming milder, but I had the perfect Canadian winter test condition on Christmas day. We drove from Shawinigan to Quebec City, drove around the city, parked for hours in the cold without charging, and then went back to Shawinigan on a single charge.
Overall, it was just over 400 km (250 miles) and I arrived home with 27 km:
That might not seem too impressive for a 400-mile car, but the temperature on the drive ranged from -18 to -8°C (-1 to 18°F). If you have drivem EVs in those temperatures, you know that this is impressive.
What is most impressive is that I didn’t have to adapt my driving thanks to the impressive range and efficiency.
When I drive long distances in an electric vehicle in the cold, I would generally reduce my speed in order to extend the range, but in this case, I got a pretty good idea of the efficiency on the drive to Quebec City, so I was confident on my way back that I could make it without stopping to charge.
It enabled me to drive on the highway at my usual 119 km/h on cruise control and make it without breaking a sweat.
Electrek’s Take
That’s a game-changer. There’s no compromise. At Electrek, we like to emphasize that range is not everything with EVs. Non-EV drivers tend to think that you need more than 400 miles to have a viable EV. That’s wrong unless you drive 400 miles or more in one go often, which is not how most people use cars.
A 200-mile EV with fast-charging is a great solution for most people as you wake up with a full charge every day and for the few times a year when you drive long distances, you are able to stop for a quick 20-40-minute charge, which enables you to drive 300-400 miles in a single day easily.
However, things change in extreme cold. Once you start hitting temperatures below -15°C (5°F), the range starts to be affected badly, and that’s when a longer range becomes super useful.
Honestly, I’ve been driving EVs in the Canadian cold for almost a decade, and it hasn’t been a major issue for me. If you adapt your driving, you will be OK, and over that decade, I’ve also seen range prediction and efficiency improving, which help with this issue.
But now, if you have the money, you also have another solution: the Lucid Air. It’s truly a great, no compromise vehicle, as long as you have the money since the Lucid Air Touring at $78,900 USD ($109,300. CAD).
If you do, it would be hard to find a downside compared to other similarly priced vehicles. As previously mentioned, the software has been an issue with early versions of the Air.
I’ve only ever experienced the latest version of Lucid’s software and despite some issues, I found it more than decent, especially compared to legacy automakers.
It is equipped with Apple Carplay for those who like it, but the native navigation worked great for me, and it also has a native Spotify app. Personally, I don’t need much more than that. It’s not all perfect though. On two occasions, I had issue connecting my phone to the car and I had to disconnect and reconnect it several times for it to work.
There’s also plenty of room for UI optimization. I would like to see something like media controls for the passenger at the bottom of the center display or the right of the top display.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Mitsubishi is partnering with Ample and Yamoto Transports to deploy an innovative new battery swap network for electric cars in its Japanese home market — but it’s not just for electric cars. Mitsubishi Fuso commercial trucks are getting in on the action, too!
Despite a number of early EV adopters with an overdeveloped concept of ownership, battery swap technology has proven to be both extremely effective and extremely positive to the overall EV ownership experience. And when you see how simple it is to add hundreds of miles of driving in just 100 seconds — quicker, in many cases, than pumping a tank of liquid fuel into an ICE-powered car — you might come around, yourself.
That seems to be what Mitsubishi thinks, anyway, and they’re hoping they’ll be your go-to choice when it’s time to electrify your regional and last-mile commercial delivery fleet(s) by launching a multi-year pilot program to deploy more than 150 battery-swappable commercial electric vehicles and 14 modular battery swapping stations across Tokyo, where the company plans to showcase its “five minute charging” tech in full view of hundreds of commercial fleets and, crucially, the executives of the companies that own and manage them.
A truck like the Mitsubishi eCanter typically requires a full night of AC charging to top off its batteries, and at least an hour or two on DC charging in Japan, according to Fuso. This joint pilot by Mitsubishi, Mitsubishi Fuso Trucks, and Ample aims to circumvent this issue of forced downtime with its swappable batteries, supporting vehicle uptime by delivering a full charge within minutes. The move is meant to encourage the transport industry’s EV shift while creating a depository of stored energy that can be deployed to the grid in the event of a natural disaster — something Mitsubishi in Japan has been working on for years.
Trucks like the eCanter already serve a number of roles throughout the global truck market, including municipal waste collection, regional delivery support, and more.
The pilot is backed by Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s “Technology Development Support Project for Promoting New Energy,” with local delivery operator Yamato Transport testing swappable EVs for delivery operations on both its eCanter light-duty trucks and Mitsubishi Minicab kei-class electric vans.
Electrek’s Take
Electrifying the commercial truck fleet is a key part of decarbonizing city truck fleets – not just here in the US, but around the world. I called the eCanter, “a great product for moving stuff around densely packed city streets,” and eliminating the corporate fear of EV charging in the wild just makes it an even better product for that purpose.
Here’s hoping we see more “right size” electric solutions like this one (and more battery swapping tech) in small towns and tight urban environments stateside somewhat sooner than later.
SOURCES | IMAGES: Mitsubishi, Fuso.
Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. The best part? No one will call you until after you’ve elected to move forward. Get started, hassle-free, by clicking here.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
After becoming the first European brand to offer fully electric versions of every model it sells — and at the same price as the ICE models — Opel is going even further, with a new, AWD electric SUV that should give American Jeep fans hope for a new electric Cherokee!
Now part of the Stellantis, rather than GM portfolio of brands, Rüsselsheim-based Opel showed off the first official pictures of its new Opel Grandland Electric AWD — the company’s first all-electric SUV to feature the “Blitz” performance emblem and all-wheel drive.
“Our top-of-the-range Grandland SUV is a milestone for Opel,” says Opel CEO Florian Huettl. “Customers already have a choice of battery-electric drive, plug-in hybrid and hybrid with 48-volt technology. We are now offering even more choice with the Grandland Electric AWD and thus ensuring that our customers can enjoy maximum efficiency and safety in diverse weather and road conditions, combined with plenty of driving fun.”
Stellantis gets it right in Europe
Opel says its new, AWD Grandland is its most aerodynamically efficient model yet, with a drag coefficient (Cd) of just 0.278. That efficiency, paired with similarly efficient electric motors and a 73 kWh li-ion NMC battery give the electric crossover a 501 km (311 mile) WLTP range, while a combined 325 hp and 375 lb-ft of torque should make for suitably spirited acceleration to go along with all that green cred.
Suspension and handling, too, are promised to deliver on what Opel claims is a “typical” Teutonic driving experience in the Grandland AWD:
Both driving pleasure and comfort are further emphasized by dampers with frequency selective damping technology. This unique technology comes as standard on the Grandland Electric AWD and incorporates a second hydraulic circuit in the damper chamber to mechanically adapt the damping force in relation to the frequency. Depending on the situation, road surface conditions and driving style, it enables different damping characteristics for comfortable gliding at high frequencies – i.e. with short impacts such as on cobblestones or a manhole cover – as well as for a sporty, ambitious driving style with more direct contact with the road at low frequencies. The Grandland reacts even more immediately and directly to any command from the driver and, as is typical for Opel, remains stable when braking, cornering and at high speeds on the Autobahn.
OPEL PRESS RELEASE
The Opel Grandland Electric AWD ships with four standard drive modes that include “normal,” eco, sport, and 4WD mode, which simulates locking axles and true 4×4 off-road performance. The ESP and traction control systems adopt specific settings to enhance grip in 4WD mode as well, and maximum power and torque are instantly available.
Electrek’s Take
As you maybe could tell by now, feeding European Stellantis EVs into an AI image generator and asking it to “make them into Jeeps” is one of my new favorite things to do. This new Opel is no different, and the resulting image (above) paired with the models’ stated specs give me hope that the next wave of Jeep EVs will do better than the Wagoneer S at attracting buyers. All they really need, I think, is the right name — and the right price, to be winners.
SOURCE | IMAGES: Opel.
Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. The best part? No one will call you until after you’ve elected to move forward. Get started, hassle-free, by clicking here.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Like a 90s “gifted” kid that was supposed to be a lot of things, the electric Jeep Wagoneer S never really found its place — but with dealers discounting the Jeep brands forward-looking flagship by nearly $25,000, it might be time to give the go-fast Wagoneer S a second look.
SKIP THE STORY: get straight to the deals.
Whether we’re talking about Mercedes-Benz, Cerberus, Fiat, or even Enzo Ferrari, outsiders have labeled Jeep as a potentially premium brand that could, “if managed properly,” command luxury-level prices all over the globe. That hasn’t happened, and Stellantis is just the latest in a long line of companies to sink massive capital into the brand only to realize that people will not, in fact, spend Mercedes money on a Jeep.
That said, the Jeep Wagoneer S is not a bad car (and neither is its totally different, hideously massive, ICE-powered Wagoneer sibling, frankly). Built on the same Stellantis STLA Large vehicle platform that underpins the sporty Charger Daytona EVs, the confusingly-named Wagoneer S packs dual electric motors putting out almost 600 hp. That’s good enough to scoot the ‘ute 0 to 60 mph in a stomach-turning 3.5 seconds and enough, on paper, to convince Stellantis executives that they had developed a real, market-ready alternative to the Tesla Model Y.
With the wrong name and a sky-high starting price of $66,995 (not including the $1,795 destination fee), however, that demand didn’t materialize, leaving the Wagoneer S languishing on dealer lots across the country.
That could be about to change, however, thanks to big discounts on Wagoneer S being reported at CDJR dealers in several states, according to our friends at the Car Dealership Guy podcast.
- Jimmy Britt Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram in Georgia, has a Wagoneer S with an MSRP of $67,590 listed at $43,104 ($24,486 off)
- In Florida, Taverna Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram Fiat has a $67,590 Wagoneer S slashed to $43,138 ($24,452 off)
- Chris Nikel Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram Fiat in Oklahoma has a Wagoneer S listed for $43,425 ($24,165 off)
“Stellantis bet big on electric versions of iconic American brands like Jeep and Dodge, but consumers aren’t buying the premise,” writes CDG’s Marcus Amick. “(Stellantis’ dealer body) is now stuck with expensive EVs that need huge discounts to move, eating into already thin margins while competitors focus on [more] profitable gas-powered vehicles.”
All of which is to say: if you’ve found yourself drawn to the Jeep Wagoneer S, but couldn’t quite stomach the $70,000+ window stickers, you might want to check in with your local Jeep dealer and see how you feel about it at a JCPenneys-like 30% off!
Jeep Wagoneer S gallery
SOURCES | IMAGES: Car Dealership Guy, CarScoops, and CarsDirect.
Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. The best part? No one will call you until after you’ve elected to move forward. Get started, hassle-free, by clicking here.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Sports2 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut