2025 Lucid Gravity First Drive: Lucid Wants The Entire Industry To Take It On

If there’s one thing that’s consistent at new car launch events, it’s carmakers bragging about how great their car is compared to the competition. Sentences such as “most cargo space in its class,” “more rear legroom than (insert competitor model),” or “more value than anything else in this price point” have all become repetitive tunes to the ears of auto journalists and content creators alike.

But for the Gravity, Lucid’s first-ever SUV, the presentation was a tad more interesting. Engineers explained how the rear electric motor has the ability to boost the Gravity’s 500-volt fast-charging rate to 225 kW on a compatible charger. They boasted how the Gravity’s chassis is as rigid as kryptonite and how, while smaller than a Rivian R1S, a Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV and a Cadillac Escalade IQ, their SUV offers more third-row legroom.

For someone who’s not easily impressed due to the smorgasbord of automaker presentations I’m typically submitted to in a given year, I was astonished when I strapped myself inside the Gravity. Lucid’s claims immediately transpired in the real world. This isn’t just some new electric SUV from yet another upstart automaker. It’s a machine that’s so obsessed with changing the game, that it effectively picks a fight with every premium SUV in the process.

2025 Lucid Gravity First Impressions: Looks A Lot Better In Person

The first thing that stood out for me when seeing the Lucid Gravity for the first time is how much more striking it is in real life than in photos. If you’re looking at this midsize SUV thinking it looks like any other blob on the road, it’s because photography doesn’t do justice to the car’s proportions relative to the outside world.

The Gravity is actually much more low-slung in the flesh, even sort of low to the ground, with a sleek and pulled-back design language, accentuated by a large rear spoiler. It all looks more like a large station wagon than a traditional sport utility vehicle.

From a dimensional standpoint, the Gravity is about the same size as most midsize crossovers currently on sale. Think Ford Explorer, or Nissan Pathfinder, although Lucid would prefer comparing it with a Rivian R1S, which remains a tad larger. This is a good-looking SUV, especially in Aurora Green like the one I was driving, but I’m personally not a fan of the wheel design. From some angles, like when it’s coming at you head on, the Gravity has some homogeneous vibes to its design. It’s best appreciated from a three-quarter or side profile angle. And while the Gravity’s (yet another) rear LED tail bar is elegant, I do wish the industry was more creative with taillight design.

2025 Lucid Gravity Exterior Dimensions

2025 Lucid Gravity: Differences Between The U.S. And Canadian Market

Like the Air sedan, the Gravity is sold in the same manner on both sides of the border. That’s because, like Tesla, Lucid operates on a corporate selling method without franchised dealers. Buyers either purchase their Lucid through “studios,” or directly online on the company’s website. Lucid also keeps pricing consistent throughout a given market, meaning there’s no haggling. For now, the Gravity is only offered in the Grand Touring specification, both in the U.S. and in Canada. But Lucid says that a more affordable Touring model will be added to the lineup by the end of this year.

U.S. Versus Canada Lineup Breakdown And Starting MSRP (model tested in bold)

Driving Impressions And Performance: Fast, Athletic, Fun!

Another point related to the Gravity’s PR presentation is how Lucid qualifies the Gravity as the “supercar of SUVs.” Again, that’s the sort of cliché tagline I’m tired of hearing from public relations departments. But, in the Gravity’s case, a three-row SUV weighing in at just over 6,000 pounds, the fact that it can accelerate so fast, boogie so easily on a winding road, and drift its way through a tight autocross circuit so easily clearly demonstrates how engineer-driven Lucid is. The Gravity is serious stuff, folks.

I’m not going to say how fast we were going on that very narrow bit of tarmac outside Santa Barbara, but the driver I was riding shotgun with was Gabriel Gélinas, a veteran French-Canadian automotive journalist who’s been in this profession for over 30 years. He’s also a former driving instructor at the Jim Russell Racing School at Quebec’s Mont-Tremblant circuit. Look, the man can drive, and can quickly assess if a car has earned its bragging rights. His driving and comments on that road quickly revealed just how agile the massive Lucid Gravity can be, gripping to the tarmac without fail and violently catapulting itself out of corner exits. It’s a truly impressive handler!

But the Gravity also puts its power down in a way I’ve rarely seen in electric vehicles (EVs). Yes, the Gravity launches hard. That’s expected from 828 combined horsepower and a staggering 909 pound-feet of instant torque. But there’s also a lot of linearity in the way it accelerates, almost as if Lucid programmed the drive units to unleash their performance in a sequence. This adds tactility to the Gravity’s performance, which had me coming back for more.

Three drive modes taken from the Air — Smooth, Swift, and Sprint — help you tailor the Gravity to your liking, with each incrementally augmenting the amount of power on tap. But, perhaps the Gravity’s most impressive quality is how it shrinks underneath you, never feeling like the large, heavy thing that it is. I’ve never been a fan of square steering wheels, but in the Gravity’s case, the almost yoke-like setup actually helps accentuate this shrunken feeling.

It’s also a very stiff vehicle, exhibiting no cabin rattles, and very little wind noise or tire roll. As a matter of fact, just like the Air, the Gravity genuinely feels like a quality item. I’ll get back its cabin comfort in a bit, but the way its suspension soaks up road imperfections while also delivering during performance driving is a duality that reminds me of how old BMWs used to behave.

To really drive the point home that the Gravity is much more than a fast electric SUV, the Lucid personnel had set up an autocross section. There, I was flabbergasted by how agile this big guy was, and how its drive modes and traction control settings were perfectly optimized for the situation. It also helped that none other than Esther Unti, Lucid’s Vehicle Controls engineer, who also spearheaded the Air Sapphire’s dynamics, was sitting next to me in the passenger seat.

As she explained how each of the Gravity’s traction settings were programmed and calibrated — referencing the rear torque-vectoring differential in her Volkswagen Golf R in the process — I was dancing with this massive family hauler around the track. For me, the biggest element of surprise from how the Gravity maneuvered its way around corners was how using regenerative braking led to lift-off oversteer. It felt like I was driving a nimble, front-wheel-drive hot hatchback. Normally, all-wheel-drive EVs have this tendency to plow forward due to the weight and tuning of their front electric motors. But not in the Gravity. Let the darn thing rotate as you lift off the accelerator pedal coming into the corner, and it’ll just do its thing. You then launch hard out of the hole using its instant EV thrust. It was all highly addictive and very fun!

2025 Lucid Gravity Technical Specifications

2025 Lucid Gravity Energy Consumption, Range And Charging

Charging and range are other areas where the Gravity effectively changes the game, especially during DC fast charging. Of course, since this was a quick and controlled event, I was unable to perform any significant range or charging tests. I’ll need to live with the Gravity during an entire week in my neck of the woods to truly evaluate it.

But Lucid’s claims are bold, and the hardware is rather impressive. The max range is EPA estimated at 450 miles for the two-row model with 20/21-inch wheels. The Gravity is also the first-ever EV sold here to run on a 1,000-volt charging architecture. This means it’s compatible with Tesla’s latest V4 Supercharger cabinets, allowing it to fast-charge at a max rate of 400 kW. This allows the Gravity to be the fastest-charging electric vehicle sold in North America. It also comes off of the factory floor with a North American Charging Standard (NACS) charge port. Finally, and rather impressive, too, is that when it’s connected to a 500-volt charging infrastructure, the Gravity can use its rear electric motor to boost charging performance at a rate of up to 225 kW on a compatible charger.

EPA Consumption And Range

Interior Design And Comfort: A Truly Spacious Luxury Experience

Even if the Gravity wasn’t a leader in range and charging, and even if it wasn’t such a formidable athlete around corners, it would still be a stellar luxury SUV. If anything, the Gravity challenges the German big three in cabin deco, build quality, and ergonomics. The materials are all of a rich, high-grade caliber, too, and the combination of colors, textures and materials here is just elegant.

Space optimization is also a Gravity strong suit, which was immediately recognizable the moment I sat in one of its front seats. There’s a ton of hip and shoulder room, and plenty of front storage thanks to a massive center console that can be modulated into different configurations, as well as deep door pockets. Seats feel supportive, thick and well-ventilated, and also well-adapted for all shapes and sizes.

It all continues out the rear, where the second and third-row legroom are rather impressive. That’s because Lucid packaged the Gravity’s battery, suspension and even rear-wheel steering setup to emphasize passenger space. As a matter of fact, there’s more third-row legroom in the Gravity than in an Escalade IQ (32.3 in.), which I was able to sample when I sat there myself. If anything, the Gravity’s interior dimensions and ergonomics are more akin to those of a minivan.

2025 Lucid Gravity Interior Dimensions

Technology And Ease Of Use: Technologically Brilliant, But Not As Subtle As The Air

What I particularly enjoyed about Lucid’s technology in the Air, is how well it blended with the car’s cabin, and how discreet everything can be. A lot of that had to do with the second screen’s ability to be tucked away, leaving only the main top screen as the only available display. Handy during night driving.

Unfortunately, the Gravity doesn’t get this feature, something to do with too many moving parts. So, you’re essentially stuck with two large displays to play with. But it’s all beautifully presented, with clean graphics, a fast response time and the sort of tactility and user-friendliness you’d normally get from physical buttons. In other words, the Gravity’s highly digital experience is never intrusive, never too much. If anything, it helps emphasize the serenity of its cabin as all controls can quickly be found using either redundant quick buttons or by cycling through menus that are straightforward and well labeled.

My only issue with this system is the lack (still) of Android Auto, something Lucid promises to add through an over-the-air (OTA) update by the end of this summer. Lucid also decided to opt out of the native interface, similar to Tesla and GM, and would rather continue prioritizing projection apps like CarPlay and Android Auto. But this might change in the near future, Lucid says.

Cargo And Storage Space: Better Than All Rivals

Cargo space is also a Lucid Gravity strong suite, and not just because it’s an EV, but because the automaker made big efforts to optimize it. In total cargo space (all seats folded flat), the Gravity beats both the Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV (74 cubic feet) and the Tesla Model X (92.3 cubic feet) in traditional trunk cargo area metrics. The Gravity’s front trunk (frunk) adds another 8.1 cubic feet. At the moment of writing this story, Lucid still hadn’t published detailed cargo space figures.

2025 Lucid Gravity Cargo Space

A Serious Threat To The Establishment

It’s obvious that with its $96,000 starting price, the 2025 Lucid Gravity isn’t for everyone. But it’s also obvious that it poses a serious threat to established carmakers in the luxury EV space. Models like the Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV have no chance against this Lucid. Even the almighty Tesla Model X has now become a hard sale next to this overachieving rival.

Indeed, I’m not easily impressed. But this is one of those rare cases where I return from the launch event thinking that the vehicle in question is a true game-changer, a model that’ll challenge the status quo and that will help Lucid finally be taken seriously as an engineer-driven automaker. It’ll be interesting to watch how Lucid will evolve the Gravity nameplate into other, more affordable trim levels. My fingers are crossed for an eventual Sapphire model. Imagine that. If the Air was the launching pad for Lucid, then Gravity would be its stage two booster, hopefully bringing the company to new heights. If it gets this one right, Lucid could soon become a force to be reckoned with.