Compare the2024 Porsche TaycanVS 2024 Lucid Motors Air

The Taycan’s pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The Air doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

A passive infrared night vision system optional on the Taycan helps the driver to more easily detect people, animals or other objects in front of the vehicle at night. Using an infrared camera to detect heat, the system then displays the image on a monitor in the dashboard. The Air doesn’t offer a night vision system.

The Taycan has standard Porsche Connect, which uses a global positioning satellite (GPS) receiver and a cellular system to remotely unlock your doors if you lock your keys in, help track down your vehicle if it’s stolen or send emergency personnel to the scene if any airbags deploy. The Air doesn’t offer a GPS response system, only a navigation computer with no live response for emergencies, so if you’re involved in an accident and you’re incapacitated help may not come as quickly.

Both the Taycan and the Air have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver and front passenger knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras, available blind spot warning systems and around view monitors.

Porsche pays for scheduled maintenance on the Taycan for 2 years and 24,000 miles. Porsche will pay for cabin filter replacement, brake fluid replacement, inspections, and any other required maintenance. Lucid Motors doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the Air.

There are almost 7 times as many Porsche dealers as there are Lucid Motors dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Taycan’s warranty.

As tested in Car and Driver the Taycan 4S Performance Plus/Cross Turismo electric motors is faster than the Air Pure electric motors:

The Taycan stops much shorter than the Air:

For better traction and acceleration, the Taycan has larger standard rear tires than the Air (275/45R19 vs. 245/45R19). The Taycan’s optional rear tires are larger than the largest rear tires available on the Air (305/30R21 vs. 295/35R21).

The Taycan’s optional 305/30R21 rear tires provide better handling because they have a lower 30 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Air’s optional 35 series tires.

The Taycan offers active sway bars, which help keep it flat and controlled during cornering, but disconnect at lower speeds to smooth the ride and offer greater off-road suspension articulation. This helps keep the tires glued to the road on-road and off. The Air doesn’t offer an active sway bar system.

The Taycan offers an available adjustable active suspension system, which counteracts cornering forces actively, limiting body roll and improving handling and stability. Lucid Motors doesn’t offer an active suspension on the Air.

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Taycan is 1.4 inches wider in the front and .6 inches wider in the rear than the track on the Air.

The Taycan 4S handles at 1.03 G’s, while the Air Grand Touring pulls only .82 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The Taycan Turbo S executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.2 seconds quicker than the Air Grand Touring (23.6 seconds @ .87 average G’s vs. 24.8 seconds @ .8 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the Taycan w/Rear Axle Steering’s turning circle is 2.6 feet tighter than the Air’s (36.7 feet vs. 39.3 feet).

The front grille of the Taycan uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The Air doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

To make loading groceries and cargo easier when your hands are full, the Taycan’s trunk can be opened and closed just by kicking your foot under the back bumper, leaving your hands completely free. The Air doesn’t offer a hands-free gesture to open its trunk, forcing you to put cargo down if your hands are full.

Unlike the driver-only memory system in the Air, the Taycan offers an optional driver and passenger memory, so that when drivers switch, the memory setting adjusts the driver’s seat, steering wheel position, outside mirror angle, climate settings and radio stations and the front passenger seat also adjusts to the new passenger’s preset preferences.

The Taycan offers an optional heads-up display that projects speed and navigation instruction readouts in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The Air doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The Taycan’s power mirror controls are mounted on the armrest for easy access. The Air’s power mirror controls are embedded in the infotainment system, seriously distracting drivers who have to adjust them while driving.

When the Taycan is put in reverse, the passenger rearview mirror tilts from its original position. This gives the driver a better view of the curb during parallel parking maneuvers. Shifting out of reverse puts the mirror into its original position. The Air’s mirror doesn’t automatically adjust for backing.

The Taycan’s standard rear and side view mirrors have an automatic dimming feature. These mirrors can be set to automatically darken quickly when headlights shine on them, keeping following vehicles from blinding or distracting the driver. The Air has an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

On extremely cold winter days, the Taycan’s optional heated steering wheel provides comfort, allowing the driver to steer safely and comfortably before the car heater warms up. The Air doesn’t offer a heated steering wheel.

The Porsche Taycan comes in sedan and station wagon bodystyles; the Lucid Motors Air isn’t available as a station wagon.

J.D. Power and Associates rated the Taycan first among upper midsize premium cars in owner reported satisfaction. This includes how well the vehicle performs and satisfies its owner’s expectations. The Air isn’t in the top three.

The Porsche Taycan outsold the Lucid Motors Air by over two to one during 2023.