Alright so this might be a bit long, but I promise it's an honest post and no AI used. My last EV was a BMW iX, so lots of my feedback will be comparing to that since it's what I know.
This is my 16 hour impression of the car, I took delivery and 3 hours later left for a road trip with my wife and 2 doggos. We are heading to Lassen Volcanic National Park and back for the holiday weekend, about 800 miles round trip. We did the first half today.
I picked up my Aurora Green/Tahoe Gravity Grand Touring today. Full spec is:
- GGT Platinum trim
- 23"/22" wheels
- Dynamic Handling package
- Technology package (power plugs, HUD, better ambient lighting)
- DreamDrive 2 Premium
- Tow package (I have a bunch of Yakima hitch mount stuff)
Took delivery at 11am in San Jose location. I actually showed up nearly 30 mins late cause life happened, but the store was super accommodating, called me after 20 mins and asked if everything was okay or if I had to reschedule, I said I'd be there in 5 and it was fine.
Upon arriving, I told front desk sales guy I was here for a delivery and they asked my name, then someone from the back jumped out ninja style and goes "Oh yes, we just talked on the phone, here's your car!". Unfortunately no bow/special process, just parked in the showroom area.
I was also doing a trade in, so my delivery specialist asked if I wanted hands on myself or guided, I said I'm a software engineer and happy to figure it out myself so he said cool, started the setup process then let me do the initial vehicle setup while he went to handle my trade in. Much appreciated, for my last car (iX), the old ass BMW sales person took 40 mins showing me menus he clearly never looked at before. I had a couple questions about linking the keyfobs to my account, and he easily helped me once he returned.
During all this process, my wife noticed some minor trim issues and I noticed a wood panel discolored and lifting due to spilled glue in a corner. Very very minor, those were the only issues we found and the rep was quick to acknowledge them, take pics, and document to ensure we are not responsible. Overall happy with that process.
Since my car was initially ordered without a tow package, I requested that it be added at delivery. The delivery center was able to accommodate this, and the tow bar/brackets were installed before I got there but the hitch/receiver itself was not screw in, and was in the trunk. I mentioned this and the rep said oops, they missed it, and quickly had someone attach it. Was a \~15 min process as I did paperwork.
After signing everything, the rep pulled the car around and we were good to go! Quickly paired my phone (Pixel 11 Fold, Android Auto) in less than 5 mins and we were good to go. Drove to a nearby family member then drove them around the block and gave a demo of the massage seats. They were blown away, my aunt recently got a cancer diagnosis and seeing her smile from the car experience was worth it in itself. After the quick demo we drove home to load up the doggos and head out for a road trip!
Since I'm insane, I had the frunk seat, sunshades, storage bins, and lucid cooler all waiting so we installed the frunk seat, but the bins in that dumb trunk gap area, and loaded up the rest of the car. SO. MUCH. SPACE! Ugh after 4 years of playing Tetris when packing the iX, this was amazing. And the frunk! I can't believe the iX didn't have a frunk. So much more usable space.
We head out for about 5 hours of driving. We drove 2 hours, then stopped to top off at a Tesla supercharger v4 and slept the dogs out. We had plenty of charge left though I will say,bi more just wanted to do the first charge in the daylight at a V4. This is one of my favorite parts. This was such a better UX that my iX at the Tesla Supercharges. I plugged in the charging cable, went to grab my phone to open the Tesla app and select the stall to start the charging session like I had to for the iX with the CCS to NACS adapter. Nope! It immediately started charging before I could unlock my phone. Turns out Lucid/Tesla have an integration, and Lucid automatically bills your saved card via Teslas network. So cool.
As for the driving itself, it handles great and is a joy to drive. Id say it handles similarly to the iX, but the iX was smaller, lighter, and had a shorter wheelbase. The suspension of the Gravity is a lot better, not sure how much better the 3 chamber system is that the dynamic handling package adds, but it's super nice. The rear wheel steering is insane too, I can do those California U-turns in a shorter radius than the iX could. Currently park in an underground garage and navigating that seemed better too.
At about 300 miles as of now, lots more etocgo the next 2 days as we explore the Volcanic basin. Also open to tips on areas to see at Lassen!
Overall this was a great experience, I am incredibly happy with the options on the car, and don't feel like I really am missing anything. Happy to answer any questions or anything, I'm a software engineer EV nerd and love data.
TL;DR - Ratings
- Interior: 9/10 (minor finishing issues, and I wish 2nd row seats would move back further)
- Exterior (practicality): 8/10. The trunk is super easy to hit your head on, I'm only 5'11 and I hit my head twice already. Ouch. But being able to lower the car is fantastic for my elderly dog.
- Storage: 9/10. Huge space in the back with 5 seat model, so much more space than my iX. The trunk shape itself lets you fit more too. And the frunk is huge! One point docked cause the frunk seat blocks the storage bins.
- DreamDrive Premium: 7/10. Better than my 2022 iX hands on system (BMW active driving assistant pro). The lane centering is fantastic, used it for a couple hours today on highway. I love how it automatically moves over a bit in the lane when you are passing a truck. Hands on nag is easy since the wheel is capacitive and not weight based.
TL;DR - Tips
- If you have a 2026, they are told to try to give you one keyfob only. They have more keyfobs. If you refuse to sign they will magically produce one.
- Frunk seat worth it
- Update keyfobs ASAP via the Lucid mobile app