2024 Lucid Air Pure First Drive: A True Ace of Base

• We spent some time in a Lucid Air Pure, the Air's entry-level version.
• It's enjoyable to drive, even with "just" 430 horsepower.
• Its driving range is impressive too, with an EPA-estimated 419 miles on a full charge.

The Lucid Air Pure has one-third the power of the holy-smokes-that's-good Lucid Air Sapphire. Does that make the entry-level Pure one-third as good? Heavens, no.

Lucid developed the bookends of its Air range alongside one another, and while the 1,234-horsepower Sapphire is the one that grabs the most headlines, the Pure benefits from the same level of engineering focus. Oh, sure, its 88-kWh battery pack and single electric motor only puts out 430 hp and 406 lb-ft of torque. But drive the Sapphire and Pure back to back on the winding roads of Northern California like I did, and trust me, the power discrepancy isn't what stands out.

Instead, it's how stinkin' eager the Air Pure is to cut a rug. Both the Pure and Sapphire use a traction control system designed in-house by Lucid, rather than the outsourced software found in the midrange Touring and Grand Touring models. This tech works a treat; Lucid says its in-house system is significantly quicker to react than the traction control in the Touring and GT.

The result is a rear-wheel-drive car that's nearly impossible to upset, even when you stomp the throttle coming out of a hairpin turn on a wet road. Any bits of reign-it-in weirdness you might feel in the Touring or Grand Touring is nonexistent in the Pure. That's especially remarkable when you remember that Lucid's other Airs have the benefit of all-wheel drive. The Pure, meanwhile, is tasked with managing all of its 430 hp through a single motor on the rear axle.

You can partially disable the traction control if you'd prefer your Air Pure to be a bit more, um, pure in its rear-drive power delivery. Controlled bits of oversteer are easy-peasy to coax out, and the lack of a motor on the front axle makes the Pure's nose lighter than other Air models, resulting in crisper turn-in. In fact, I'm willing to say the Pure has the best steering of the full Air lineup, full stop. It's the most communicative and the most satisfying to use.

Overall, the Pure has the best balance of any sedan in the Air lineup. Yes, even the Sapphire.

In addition to its 430 hp, the Air Pure makes 406 lb-ft of torque, and Lucid estimates this version of its sedan will accelerate to 60 mph in 4.5 seconds. No, that's not nearly as face-melting as the sub-2-second Air Sapphire or the 3.2-second sprint we got from an Air Grand Touring, but it's still quite quick for a 4,564-pound sedan. Besides, thanks to the instant delivery of electric torque, all EVs are thrilling to launch, even the slow ones.

We've yet to put an Air Pure through the official Edmunds EV Range Test, but the EPA says to expect a range of 419 miles if you opt for the standard 19-inch wheels, or 394 miles if you upsize to the available 20s. That's a stark contrast to the Grand Touring's 516-mile EPA estimate, but even so, the Pure still has greater driving range than just about any other non-Lucid electric car. The Air's 900-volt architecture means it can accept a maximum charging power of 250 kW, too.

The Pure is the least expensive version of the Air, coming in at just $71,400 including destination. If you don't mind the range sacrifice, I recommend checking the 20-inch wheel option ($1,750) since it includes wider Michelin Pilot Sport EV tires that offer a bit more grip. You should also consider grabbing the $2,900 Surreal Sound Pro stereo (the standard setup sounds pretty bad) and the $2,500 comfort and convenience pack that adds soft-closing doors, heated rear seats, a heated steering wheel, four-zone climate control, and rear/side window sunshades. Throw in $2,000 for the upgraded DreamDrive assistance suite and $1,500 for destination, and you've got a super-duper nice EV that drives better than any other electric car in the low $80,000s range. Looks better, too.

The Air Pure is in no way one-third of the car the Sapphire is. It just costs one-third of the price.

Edmunds says

If we were to buy a new Lucid Air tomorrow, it'd for sure be the Pure.

Photography by Steven Ewing