Gravity is a true driver’s EV SUV

Gravity. Immutable but never misunderstood. And there’s no misunderstanding the product mission with Lucid’s three-row luxury SUV either: it’s literally a moment of Gravity for luxury all-terrain capable SUVs.

The Californian luxury EV brand, often classed as Tesla-besting, has struggled to balance R&D costs and cashflow expectations. It’s the same issues that Tesla had to navigate during its first decade: developing pioneering EV technology and integration while a market is still establishing.

Despite its pioneering Air luxury sedan, product specialists at Lucid have always known that the company must add an SUV to its portfolio to gain the sales depth and traction required to attain the volumes that matter. And that’s where the Gravity is crucial.

Like any full-size EV, it features a battery pack with tremendous energy density. But paradoxically, it’s lighter than similarly sized EVs and offers seating for up to seven passengers. Designs and engineered by people obsessed with product instead of price, the Gravity has been created to deliver a driving experience beyond any category rivals.

Gravity battery

At the core of Lucid’s SUV is a 112kW lithium-ion battery pack. Peak power is 615kW, and performance is, expectantly, ridiculous. The claimed 0-100km/h time of 3.4 seconds is supercar fast, and roll-on acceleration at highway overtaking speeds should be extraordinary.

Unlike many other EVs, Lucid’s SUV is about the harmonized driving experience – braking, transient handling, and agility. All those touchpoints and feedback loops matter. Lucid’s technical team has worked exhaustively to develop solutions that make the large SUV drive like a sportscar without sacrificing its all-terrain ability. Or comfort.

It has air suspension

There’s an optional suspension upgrade option, replacing the single-chamber air springs, with tri-chamber units. That means more frequency adjustment in the air suspension’s compression and rebounding bandwidth. The result? Comfier over small bumps and corrugated gravel roads when required, but also much firmer and resistant to pitch and roll, during emergency braking and high-load cornering.

Another element that enables the Lucid SUV to feel much smaller, agile and in control, is Bilstein’s dual-valve dampers. These keep the suspension’s compression damping consistent, even with a big terrain impact, instead of having the dampers crash through their travel.

The air suspension system has a low default ride setting to aid aerodynamics and efficiency. But when the Gravity rolls onto an off-highway trail, it can be raised to a generous 235mm of ground clearance, to clear trail obstacles and limit any bodywork snagging.

It’s lighter than you assume

Spacious and with a no-compromise luxury cabin, perhaps the most remarkable achievement of Lucid’s Gravity, is its weight. Or rather, the lack of it. EVs are heavy. It’s their primary weakness, because weight degrades the driving experience in all its facets: braking, acceleration, efficiency, and lateral agility.

Despite its size and huge battery capacity, the Gravity is only 2678kg. That’s the same weight as a V8-powered luxury three-row SUV. And much lighter than comparable all-terrain seven-seater SUVs, with battery power.

The dedicated lightweighting applied by Lucid’s engineers to the brand’s SUV greatly assists with optimizing range. And making for a more responsive, natural-feeling driving experience. Real-world driving range is 700km, superior to nearly any V8-powered large SUV.

Rapid recharging

Lucid’s been sensible about its SUV’s recharging configuration, too. The port is an NACS Tesla-type. It allows 400kW of peak charging on 1000-volt infrastructure and 225kW on 500-volt chargers. The Gravity’s battery pack has a 926-volt architecture, which enables it to leverage the latest ultra-powerful chargers.

But how does a 926-volt battery accept electrons from a 1000-volt charger? Lucid’s been smart about integrating a voltage booster function to the Gravity’s recharging componentry, allowing it to match when plugged into an ultra-powerful charger.

For engineers, the Air was a defining EV. Superior in many ways to Tesla’s best, and nearly anything in the market from legacy OEMs. With the addition of air suspension and an excellently adaptive seating system, Gravity has even further evolved Lucid’s standing as a pioneering EV car company.

At a time when Tesla’s apex product is failing, and the brand’s sales decaying, Lucid’s serendipitously delivered an extraordinarily accomplished product to market. One for which Tesla has no answer.