Lucid Air Dream Edition DC Fast Charge Comparison

As a follow-up to our Lucid Air Dream Edition 0-100% DC fast charge test on a 350 kW charging station, we repeat the same test on a 150 kW Electrify America charging station to compare the difference.
Does the Air take much longer when charging on a lower-powered unit? Check out the video to find out.

This video is powered by Qmerit, North America’s leading provider of installation services for EV charging, home energy storage, and other electrification technologies.

0:00 Intro
1:52 Overview before comparison
4:14 Side by side recording
7:10 Overview after comparison
8:45 Screenshots from every 5 & 10 minutes
15:43 Charging Power comparison graph
17:31 The Time To Charge comparison graph
22:32 Final analysis including kWh dispensed
26:04 Outro

Interested in checking out some of the top-rated EV charging stations we've reviewed? You can order them here:

Note: We do earn a small commission from sales generated from the links above.

[tanjiehjia]

I can only imagine how painful it was to refresh the charger screen every minute for 90 minutes 😂. Hats off to you Tom!

[ajm]

Thanks Tom This is very interesting as here in Australia we don't even have the model Y yet Our government is very backwards when it come's to EV's Cheers

[dataisnugold]

Honestly, as much as I love my Tesla, I love how pristine lucid cars are.! Superb quality.

[taminatorv]

What a great comparison video between 150kW and 350kW stations! I'll take a good charging curve over higher peak kW numbers any day. e-tron, baby!

[andyb]

Great video Tom! This is more compelling evidence that all new EV's should be built with 800 or 900 volt architecture.

[CNile-sexw]

Thank you Tom for your real-world testing procedures & it's especially pleasing that you've challenged the SuperCharging network & shown that high charge rates don't paint the full picture. 👍
It goes without saying that a less aggressive charge rate is easier on batteries so it's truly enlightening to have it demonstrated analytically.

[dansanger]

Tom does the best charging videos, by far.

[yzlvr]

Love this info. Tom, please do the same test on Ioniq 5 or EV6…

[BillB]

Really enjoy your presentations especially the graphs; The 350 kWh chargers are psychologically more prefered but this video shows how the 150 kWh charger is just fine. The Taycan has a battery saving profile which limits the charging power to extend battery life. So even though cars are rated for extreme charging curves there is reason to reduce the power to save the battery.

[davidws]

Tom, great work. It seems Lucid should REDUCE the max kw to around 250 kw and this would help the battery last longer and would not over heat it, and would pull faster speeds for longer time.

[brucejohnson]

Nice reference to your expertise in the Wall Street Journal this morning. I bought a Wall Box and a BMW X5 45e with the support of your reviews.

[allen]

great video. this answer 800V+ vs 400V EV system difference is limited.

[johnpoldo]

Fabulous video. I really appreciated the comparison of time adding 100, 200, and 300 miles. At 200 miles added, 18 mins is 50% longer than 12 mins and that may be important on certain trips when in a hurry. Tom, did you study engineering in school because analysis is very analytical?

I hope Tesla reads this report and improves the charging dynamics of its flagship model S. When it comes to range & charging speed, Lucid is significantly better than Tesla. Tesla needs to step their technology! I’m a model s LR owner.

[karlint]

Very detailed, and therefore more insight than something that is more "soundbyte-friendly." It would be interesting to see a comparison between different manufacturers' batteries in terms of 1) their charging curves (do they all have the same drop-off in charging rate, or do some cars' batteries charge at a higher rate for longer. I dunno, maybe they have better cooling systems that enable that?) and 2) for the same given battery capacity rating (70 kWh, for example) do different cars/batteries have very similar losses, or does that change from vehicle to vehicle or battery to battery. Do prismatic cells perform better than cylindrical cells for #1 and #2. All interesting stuff.

[jimbready]

Tom - great video, especially your data plots. I found it interesting that near the end of the video, you say that the higher the state of charge at the beginning of the charge session, the less advantage the 350 kW charger will have. That's true, but...there's two things going on here that affect the charge rate: 1) the normal ramp down in charge rate as SOC increases, and 2) the decrease in charge rate when the battery gets too hot. We don't have enough data, particularly battery temperature, to give us the whole picture on what's going on. If there is significant temperature-related throttling going on after ~15 minutes, then 350 kW will still have a big advantage at the beginning of the charge session. However, looking at the slope of the 350 kW charge curve from 17% to 95%, and comparing it to the 150 kW curve, I'm inclined to think there was no temperature-related throttling going on, and what we're seeing is the ideal charge curve programmed into the car's charger. I'm very eager to see your charge curves that start at a higher SOC. Sir, can I have more data please?

[max-timothy-lev]

Wow! So much education that can be extrapolated for any EV regarding how to travel - low state of charge and planning your trip...

[Miata]

Great video, Tom!
As has been demonstrated* the fastest way to make long distance trips is to arrive with a low state of charge and only take as much charge as you need to make it to your next planned charging station. Safety advisors call for drivers on a long trip to stop every 2 hours to stretch your legs for 10-15 minutes to maintain alertness. In much of the country it is never more than 250 miles between DC charging stations. The Lucid fits that pattern perfectly, with plenty of reserve.
The hard part will be training new EV drivers away from the “Fill ‘er up” mentality and to think more like pilots. Pilots plan their trip and load enough fuel for their flight, plus a safety reserve in case their destination is unavailable (or a charging station is off line, see?)
My geek notes in reply below*

[garyclark]

Awesome job Tom‼️ I would love to see one at your house put on the best wall charger you have to see how long a 10 to 80% would take. Thank’s LUCID for keeping that screen alive for the video; documenting how great the Air is. #thispoormansdream 💯

[NO_OPEC_NO_PROBLEM]

Great video Tom. Just like Tesla boasting about 250kW capabilities. We all know 150kW vs 250kW full charge in a Tesla is only 8 min difference. It’s all marketing. EA needs to quit timing out their damn equipment.

[rctezluh]

I'm impressed that it actually did 500 exactly. upvoted!!!!