The electric vehicle world officially has a new range king because the Lucid Air, in its most efficient Dream Edition Range guise, is now EPA-rated for 520 miles of driving between charges. That actually beats the manufacturer's own claim by three miles, also making it the longest-range EV the government agency has ever tested. As Lucid says, this gives it a 100 mile-plus advantage over the Air's "closest competitor."
Currently, the Tesla Model S Long Range is rated for 405 miles. Last year, Tesla claimed that the Plaid would be the EV to hit 520 miles; instead, the EPA slapped a rating of 396 miles on the performance sedan. The Lucid Air's other competitor, the Porsche Taycan, isn't even playing in the same ballpark range-wise, with the Taycan 4S offering just 227 miles between trips to the plug (though these figures are intensely debated). The Mercedes-Benz EQS has yet to be rated by the EPA but has a manufacturer-claimed range of 478 miles.
While the Air owes much of its range dominance to its 113-kilowatt-hour battery pack located underneath the passenger compartment, Lucid CEO and CTO Peter Rawlinson says, "This landmark has been achieved by Lucid's world-leading in-house EV technology, not by simply installing an oversize battery pack. Our race-proven 900-volt battery and BMS technology, our miniaturized drive units, coupled with our Wunderbox technology endow Lucid air with ultra-high efficiency, enabling it to travel more miles from less battery energy."
While the golden 520-mile figure was achieved by the most efficient Air variant—the 933-horsepower (!) version with the 19-inch wheels—other models aren't far behind. The 1,111-hp, 21-inch-rimmed Performance, for instance, is still good for 451 miles. Here's the full breakdown:
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