2026 Lucid Air Touring Review: Luxury Future is Now

“It’s like a spaceship!”

This is the common refrain as family members and their friends poke around the 2026 Lucid Air Touring. The sleek looks are still a big draw; the glass roof and its floating visors eliciting oohs and ahhs in equal measure.

Yes, Lucid’s original model still has massive presence, something it hasn’t lacked since appearing on the scene in 2022. Steady fine-tuning has added (more) substance to that style too, and the result is a luxury sedan that’s now better to live with.

Updates for this year’s Air models are fairly limited as the brand has focused most of its attention on the Gravity SUV. There are new 19-inch alloys available, a standard mobile charging cable capable of up to 9.6 kilowatts per hour when plugged into a 240V outlet, and a quieter air conditioning compressor. This Touring model sees a very slight change to its battery pack, eking out slightly more range, now up to 431 miles (694 km) depending on wheels.

The Air’s streamlined shape still has real presence even as it has become more commonplace on roads. It’s the simple but ample volumes and the sheer width that mark it out, not to mention the sheer size of the thing. This tester has the glass canopy roof—the only way to spec an Air above the Pure, in my humble opinion—and the Stealth package, which trades the brightwork of the trim and roof for a darker look. Paired with the dark gray paint I’d prefer the Platinum trim for a bit of contrast. This Touring also skips the new 19s and sticks to the excellent Aero Lite 20-inch alloys.

I’ve said before that the 430-horsepower, rear-drive Air Pure is plenty, and I stand by that. But 620 horsepower (and a mountainous 855 pound-feet of torque) care of a second driven axle is plentier. The Touring is a rocket against all but a select few on the road, easily taking advantage of small gaps on the highway. The electric powertrain doesn’t understand the word “hesitation,” simply hurling the Air towards the horizon. We’re cutting it close for a family event that ends up being a surprise wedding (!), so the Air’s athleticism comes in handy. The rush does slice off a significant portion of the range, something the near-freezing temps probably don’t help either.

The trip home is more sedate, and here I see efficiency numbers that suggest, if not the full 396 mi (637 km) available with the 20-inch wheels, somewhere between 80 to 90 percent of that.

Last year on the Lucid Gravity first drive I had the good fortune of chatting with numerous Lucid engineers. It was clear based on their work that they had a great passion and knowledge of what makes a vehicle enjoyable to drive, and many of their own personal cars are very much Driver’s Cars.

That explains how the Air strikes such an excellent balance between grace and fun. Imagine if BMW had kept the E38 7 Series ethos alive all these years, but just so happened to switch to electrification: that’s an over-simplification but the closest and most accurate Old World comparison I have. There is a deft smoothness to how the Air makes its way over the road, but it doesn’t sacrifice driver involvement through the process. The steering wheel weights up well, and is the right size and thickness. Point that wide nose into a corner and the Air locks on, tracing the desired path without fuss. Lift off and it tucks in nicely; apply power in Sprint mode and the clever programming tweaks the left-ride balance of power, vanquishing understeer.

Regenerative braking handles most of the deceleration. Should you need to bring the monster rotors into the equation, the Air’s brake pedal is progressive and easy to modulate.

A good luxury sedan needs to score high on the waftability scale, and the Air might be the smoothest sedan I’ve driven in the past 12 months. The nasty speedbumps in my neighborhood? Sailed over them. Broken surfaces? A distant rumble as the body stayed almost completely level. Yes, this is all in Smooth, as the more aggressive drive modes do ratchet up the ride stiffness. But as a do-it-all luxury sedan the Air Touring is very, very hard to beat.

Matching that laidback comfort are excellent front seats, with standard 14-way power adjustments ensuring anybody can get comfortable. There is acres of rear legroom and headroom is also good for something so low-slung; adults can easily get comfortable. The glass canopy roof only emphasizes the space and makes every late-night drive through the city theatric. The price for that visibility is enormous A-pillars, which can and will hide entire pedestrians at intersections. Be warned.

I smile every time the Air’s basking whale-like trunk opens. It looks funny but is so overwhelmingly useful I don’t understand how nobody else is doing it this way. Both it and the frunk have useful partitions.

Please, Lucid Air buyers; if you’re speccing your personal car, do yourself and your passengers a favor and go for one of the two-tone options. The Tahoe leather is far, far nicer than anything Chevy puts in that full-size SUV, but really: who else is doing a different color treatment in the back row? It’s a clever touch that gives both spaces a distinct personality.

Texture plays such a major part in the Lucid experience. The knit along the center console (and seatbacks!) is pleasant to the touch; same goes for the open-pore wood. Brushed metal accents are tastefully peppered throughout the cabin. The way the main screen seemingly floats just above the dashboard—it’s all very deliberate, like every inch of the design was carefully considered.

Well, except the center console storage cubby: it’s disappointingly low-rent. The wireless charger is also borderline too small for today’s massive mobiles.

Lucid’s infotainment system can be overwhelming if you’re coming from literally anywhere else. Like most EV startups a great many of the controls are accessible only through a screen too, which is always a challenge. Drive modes can only be swapped via the lower screen for example, and while I recognize buyers will set their mirrors and wheel once, save ‘em, and forget about it, adjusting via a screen is never natural. The flip-side to this being a modern EV is all manner of fine-tuning available for door openings, lighting, locking and such. And look, being able to swipe up and have the whole screen tuck away, like you just said no to Light Pollution on Tinder, is weirdly satisfying.

The small portion of screen to the left of the steering wheel handles functions like charging and openings, and it too can be overwhelming at first. Once it’s clear how the pop-out sub-menus work, it’s actually a bit of a blessing, holding a whole bunch of controls in a small space.

Thankfully there are still some physical controls for basics like fan speed, and the dual twist knobs on the steering wheel work well (with a more solid feel than earlier Airs, too).

Lucid is one of the few startups to not only offer wireless Apple CarPlay, but do so in a way that works well.

This tester did not come with the more advanced DreamDrive Pro suite of assists, but the standard setup covered all the bases. One major annoyance however: parking in my underground spot, the Air would apply a hard stop every time I got within two feet of a wall, no matter how gingerly I would approach. It would also do this every time I’d parallel park, which in a big city is just embarrassing.

Lucid Air pricing has been somewhat volatile over the years. There have been slight increases for 2026, which means the Air Touring now starts at $81,400 ($112,500 CAD) including destination. You won’t get close to a BMW i7 or Mercedes EQS for that.

Options sure add up quick, mind you. The glass canopy is wicked-cool but also pricey ($7,500 / $9,500 CAD with the Stealth package), both at purchase and if you’re unlucky enough to ever collect a chip in it. The Tahoe leather? Another $3,000 ($4,000 CAD). I’d understand sticking with the 19s for better range and saving a couple grand.

In the US Lucid is currently offering a massive $12,500 credit for Air buyers, which would make this build $83,950. Canadians aren’t so lucky, with the total cost being $133,500 CAD.

There are still a few question marks surrounding the 2026 Lucid Air Touring, not least of which being whether the company can stop burning through cash. A handful of cheap trim pieces, tough visibility, and an over-zealous parking sensor system aren’t enough to dull its shine, however. A satisfying luxury sedan that’s smooth, engaging, oozes character and just so happens to be electric is a tough act to beat. Who doesn’t want their own personal spaceship?

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