I recently put my cold-weather threshold to the test in Baudette, Minnesota, about as close to the US/Canada border as you can get with Lucid Motors, where we performed some awesome winter testing in a slew of EVs, including the Air Pure, Sapphire, and Gravity. Check out my full video review below to see us towing the Sapphire out of the snow bank with the Gravity.
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I froze my keister off to get you guys some drive footage
For my latest EV adventure, I got the invite up to TRC Minnesota, located near beautiful Baudette and about an hour from International Falls. It was a balmy -20 degrees that day, and I had the opportunity to endure the weather Lucid engineers endure for weeks at a time all winter to fine-tune the American automakers’ models into drive experiences that are intuitive and comfortable, but also still fun and, of course, safe.
After a quick orientation, we were sent out to conduct winter testing on several Lucid models. That lineup included the tri-motor Air Sapphire, RWD Air Pure, and, of course, the Gravity SUV. For the Gravity specifically, the Lucid engineers brought out two benchmark SUVs they had up there. I was asked not to name them, but one is a well-known EV-specific brand, and the other is a legacy German automaker.
Since winter tires didn’t arrive in time for one of the benchmarks, we tested all three SUVs on all-season tires to keep things fair. That said, I was also able to take out a Lucid Gravity with Nokian winter tires for winter testing.
Lucid winter testing was beyond cold, but fun as hell
To begin, I took rides in each of the three SUVs across various terrain courses, including multiple patches of pure ice, to see how the EVs responded when accelerating and braking on them. The comparisons between all three were very similar in braking, but the Gravity still performed the best, especially when using regen only and not touching the actual brake pedal.
However, Lucid’s flagship SUV truly shone brightest when we took the vehicles to a ring of pure ice. When I drove the first benchmark car, I soon lost complete control and spun out. The other SUV eventually locked up and sent me on a diagonal. Safer and more in control, but not ideal. Gravity’s control response was a mix of both, and according to my passenger and engineer Eric, that was the goal. When sliding on ice in the Lucid SUV, you never lose complete control and can recover. If the vehicle does lose it, it takes an angle approach and never spins out.
That specific part of the winter testing was a huge tell about how the Lucid SUV was tuned and how it drives in snow and ice. Its team spent months on the tracks and in sub-zero weather, investing hundreds of hours in each tuning decision to fully leverage the unique responsiveness and accuracy of its native EV architecture.
From a consumer perspective, I would not want my spouse or family driving in the German benchmark with the risk of ice. The other benchmark is definitely safe enough, but I’d still worry about the lack of control to recover if necessary, like if you’re sliding toward a ditch or snow bank. I’d definitely feel comfortable and confident with the Gravity, even on all-season tires.
RIP orange cone plus “snownuts” in the Gravity
Aside from the ice rings and traction testing areas, TRC also had a huge snowy field for us to freestyle in. That area also included a large ice patch, which I enjoyed sliding across at high speeds. However, during one run in the Lucid Air Sapphire, I decided to perform a sharp right turn into the ice at 50 mph, which sent us sliding directly into a cone. At -20 degrees Fahrenheit, the cone instantly exploded. It was truly remarkable to see a cloud of orange evaporate before our eyes, and luckily, there was no damage to the car. Unfortunately, we didn’t capture that explosion on camera, but there’s plenty of excellent Lucid winter testing footage in my video below.
The Lucid Air Sapphire continues to blow my mind. As you may recall, when I first test drove in California (without an iota of snow or ice in sight, mind you), I said it’s too fast for the average driver. That doesn’t mean it’s not fun, either. Taking this speedy Lucid through winter testing was a fresh epiphany of what this EV is truly capable of. Sapphire was developed and tuned for race tracks, not ice, yet it still holds its own and is arguably safer and more responsive than many other vehicles.
That’s all thanks to Lucid’s evolution of its EV architecture and its traction control system (TCS). Pure and Sapphire were merely Gen 2, but Gravity features Gen 3. On that note, while it was quite the experience comparing the tri-motor Air Sapphire to the single-motor Pure on snow, I was admittedly most excited to see what the Gravity could do under less-than-ideal conditions.
Gravity features Lucid’s latest architecture, designed and fine-tuned in-house. The first two generations of control stacks have all fed into the third-generation 1,000-hertz Lucid Traction Control System present in the SUV. That stack now features brake traction control, described by Lucid as “state of the art.” Lucid also shared that it codeveloped a Vehicle Dynamics Control (VDC) with Bosch, which has a hub up the street from TRC Minnesota. Lucid has deeply integrated this stability controller into Gravity and is among the first North American companies to use it.
As you’ll see in my winter testing video below, I captured tons of footage of the Lucid Gravity performing donuts in the snow, or “snownuts” (coined the phrase). It’s probably too much footage, but I don’t care. It was amazing to perform these spins, but also to stand outside and film them while my eyes froze open.
After all my time freestyling, I took each of the Lucid models out on my own dedicated winter test track and did some hot laps (or cold laps, I guess). After a couple of laps in each drive mode, my chaperone and Lucid Engineer Eric lowered the stability modes so I could feel the difference.
I felt safest with the stability mode fully enabled, but I really liked that you could partially activate it, giving you a little more responsiveness and freedom to slide around. If I get a Lucid, my street better watch out in the winter, because it’s never plowed and I’m going to be coming around those corners hot!
It didn’t matter if I was in the Sapphire, the Gravity, or the Pure (although laps were noticeably slower with RWD), the control stack is the same, just individually tuned for each model, so there is a unique level of familiarity and comfort when driving, even on the snowy terrain. In my opinion, Lucid’s engineers have created a control system that works in beautiful harmony to balance torque, slip control, and steering balance, ensuring these vehicles are not only safe but also more fun to drive, should you choose to do so in the vehicle’s settings.
I was impressed at how comfortable I felt in the Lucid Gravity (and the Air models) compared to the benchmarks. Its control system is so immaculately tuned that it will reel back if you understeer or bail you out if you oversteer. It’s hard to explain in text, or even in video, but it’s key to making sure Gravity drivers not only feel in control at all times, but also gain a little confidence when there is some sliding.
The car is smarter than the average driver and will automatically step in, no matter which way you think you need to turn the wheel. I’m by no means a seasoned winter track driver, but the Gravity gave me a lot of confidence quickly, without fear or spinning out or hitting one of the course flags.
After all my hot laps, I spent the rest of the day doing some more driving and riding along, watching winter testing data gathered in real time as Lucid is always trying to improve. I even got to tag along and see a buried Air Sapphire get towed out by the Gravity with winter tires. Luckily, it wasn’t me who crashed (it was a Lucid engineer, luckily), but Gravity pulled it out with ease – another gold star for the SUV.
Final thoughts at Lucid winter testing video
Overall, all the Lucid EVs passed winter testing on various forms of snow and ice, in my opinion. The RWD Air was obviously the slowest, but I still adore that EV (honestly, what more do you need in a car? It’s absolutely perfect). As mentioned above, Sapphire was simply ridiculous in that it could rip across the track and the snow. Its lore continues to grow as an impressive feat of engineering and tuning.
Gravity stole the show as an SUV that drives like a sedan and feels safer than a Volvo in the snow. Lucid’s third-generation TCS is a shining star for winter driving, and it would give even the most novice of drivers the confidence and comfort to drive about their day-to-day without worry of going off the road or losing control.
Most people aren’t going to winter testing in these vehicles, but Lucid has proven that its EVs can perform well beyond the common call for driving conditions. That’s more evidence that Lucid’s in-house technology is better than anyone else’s in many categories. As Lucid vehicles become more affordable (mid-size), more of the general public will begin to experience the tech that all these weeks in Baudette, Alaska, and New Zealand have equated to, and they will use it as their own benchmark going forward.
As promised, here is my video review of winter testing in Minnesota, including a hot lap with a Lucid engineer:
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