The Lucid Air returns to the Motor Authority Best Car To Buy Contest. Finalist circle, even if logistics almost prevented it from going into the race this time.
In the 11th hour before Motor Authority Best Car to Buy 2024 As testing began, we received the news Lucid Air Sapphire Due to unforeseen circumstances, the driver booked for the track tests could not come. We immediately excluded the incredibly fast electric car from the competition.
But after editor-in-chief Kirk Bell and I spent a day with what has become the de facto benchmark for fast sedans, we agreed there’s no way to set it apart from the competition. After Air Dream Edition I did it Motor Authority Best Car To Buy 2020 Finalist Circle. and failed to achieve victory can Lucid Air Sapphire finish the job and be named Motor Authority’s “Best Car To Buy 2024”?
Lucid Air Sapphire
With three electric motors that combine to produce up to 1,234 horsepower and 1,430 lb-ft of torque, the Air Sapphire definitely has more than enough power. And with a 118 kWh battery, it offers a long range, 427 EPA-rated miles to be exact.
With stunning performance stats of 0-60 mph in 1.89 seconds, 0-100 mph in 3.84 seconds and the quarter mile in 8.95 seconds at 158 mph on the way to a top speed of 205 mph Hour, the Air Sapphire is by far the strongest and fastest finalist in Best Car To Buy history.
While the performance numbers grab the headlines, it’s the Air Sapphire’s ability to corner with precision and natural feel that shocked our editors. With one electric motor on the front axle and two on the rear axle, the Sapphire shifts power from front to back and sends it back and forth in the rear to turn the car through corners. This all happens in the background without the driver noticing. Despite its weight of 5,336 pounds, the car simply goes about its business as a sports sedan.
Standard Air models offer good handling, but the Sapphire pushes the car into true sports sedan territory. That’s because the suspension has been retuned and improved, with stiffer bushings, different angles for the steering knuckles and control arms to achieve more camber, and stiffer springs paired with retuned dampers. All of this ensures smooth and controlled driving behavior, even at extremely high speeds.
Lucid improves the brakes to accommodate the weight of the vehicle and the speed it can reach. It features solid carbon ceramic brake discs paired with 10-piston calipers at the front and 4-piston calipers at the rear. Even after repeated abuse, they never seem to fade or even smoke.
Lucid Air Sapphire
The Air Sapphire still retains most of the features of the rest of the range, for better or worse. The quick roofline can still make getting in and out of the Air’s comfortable cabin a hassle. The software still seems to have a few problems as our key wasn’t recognized a few times. The roof is now made of metal instead of glass, which reduces weight and internal temperature, but no longer looks as futuristic.
Although dynamically impressive, the Air Sapphire can only complete two or three laps of the track, depending on the track, when maxed out in Sapphire mode’s “Hot Lap” sub-setting before dialing back the power. The Endurance submode, which “only” produces 767 hp, allows for around twice as much time on the racetrack. However, once the powertrain gets too hot, the car must be plugged into a fast charger for 60 to 80 minutes to cool the system and recharge the battery.
Is the second time the charm? Is an American-made electric super sedan ready to win this competition? Will the Lucid Air Sapphire be named Motor Authority’s Best Car To Buy 2024, ahead of an American supercar, America’s muscle car, a Japanese hot hatch and a German sports coupe? Check back on January 3rd when we’ll announce the winner, along with the champions from our sister sites The Car Connection and Green Car Reports.
