I call bullshit on the Lucid Gravity electric SUV

If we are to believe the car reviewers that got to be among the lucky chosen few to let their butts be in the same presence as the leather of the driver seat of the new Lucid Gravity, the electric SUV is the one that can do it all.

We've read about cars that can do it all before. They aren't as rare as you'd expect them to be. Every year car makers seem to introduce a couple of them. It's a category of car that, no matter what the reviewer throws at it, still is able to drive on four wheels.

The Lucid Gravity is one of those. No, it's more than one of those. This time it's really the car that can do it all. All the others that came before it, well to be honest, weren't actually capable of doing everything in hindsight. But please, pay no mind to that. The GOAT is finally among us and you can order it.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to throw shade at the Gravity. I'm a huge fan of Lucid. I've driven the Air in multiple different trims and types and loved every minute in them. Also the people at the company I spoke to are some of the best and most passionate ones I've come across in the industry. To top it off, what the brand stands for resonates with me. I love the fact it tries to improve upon all aspects of what a car can be because of the move to an (optimized) electric drive train.

And so, even without driving the Gravity yet, I fully believe the big SUV will be a one of the best luxury cars out there. It'll probably over deliver on what Lucid promises the car to be. It did the same with the Air.

But even though the new EV will probably be amazing, we already know it can't do it all. No matter what the journalists that have driven it claim.

Let me prove it to you with just one example: It can't haul a ton of bricks and some lumber to a build site. It isn't made for that since it isn't a pick up truck. I'm guessing it won't do so well on one of the earth's poles without modifications. Or let's say on the side of a volcano.

It can't fly, it can't break gravity, it can't pay my electricity bill and it still can't drive itself. Well, maybe someday it can drive itself, but for now, it can't.

I know, they are kind of stupid examples. But they are true.

I think it's kind of a lame catch all when car journalists say a car can do it all. It's like a football journalist saying this player can also, with some luck, put on gloves stand on goal and be a keeper of the same caliber as he is a offensive player. Or a fashion journalist saying a pair of shoes fit on feet, therefore you can walk everywhere in them. When a car journalist says a car can do it all, he probably means "I didn't expect it could drive over a sand dune into a shopping street and keep me clean and comfortable while doing it, so the car can do it all". The context is usually very limited.

Let me give you an example: when I drove the Zeekr 7X in Portugal a few weeks ago, I drove the car into a rocky cliffside of which I wasn't sure I could get in or out of. But with some good driving skills and a spotter (thanks Nick) we managed without even getting a bit stuck. All I got was a bit of a scare when one of the wheels lost grip and spun at full speed for a few seconds. The car obviously wasn't built for this kind of use and we weren't supposed to go off road that far, but we did and the car performed great. Therefore 'it can do it all', I could've said. But I didn't. And I won't.

Let me give you another example: I've had a 2008 BMW 320i E91 for a long time. And it did everything I asked of it, and a bit more. Off roading on a path where a rear wheel drive stationcar should surely get stuck at every bump? Drove through it without complaints. Bought out pretty much everything at Ikea and shoved it in the back? Done that too. Moved a horse cross country? No sweat. Take a road trip of almost 5.000 km in two weeks? Done and dusted. Driven it to the limit on the autobahn? I wouldn't say 'no sweat', but Goldy (it was the cars nickname) did it.

Catch my drift here? I'm trying to say all cars are ones that can do it all. Okay, maybe not ALL cars, but definitely most cars can do it all. It's just that you don't always expect them to be able to.

You've had those experience too. Just think back at the times your car got you through something you were sure of it would let you down, but it didn't. It's the times you almost get stuck on that mountain road and you trusty little four wheeled friend saves the day by getting you and your family safely of that situation. It's the times you depend on it to get you to the hospital in a rush, and it doing it for you. It's the times that you are at the end of what you can take, and your car taking a load of your shoulders by just keeping going.

It's the idea of a car not being able to do everything, but it still delivering in unexpected situations, that creates a bond between man and machine. It's what makes the car more than just a hunk of metal to you.

I mean, pretty much all of Top Gear's and The Grand Tour's road trips are based around this. Taking an Aston Martin DB9 through pretty much all of Africa? It wasn't designed to do that, but Clarkson managed it and loved the car for it. But he didn't claim the British luxury car was 'the one that can do it all', he just loved it for it.

I have to admit: I still miss Goldy. It was the best car I've owned, not because she really was the best, but she was the best for me. We bonded through all kinds of situations. Mostly because I had the feeling she did more than what she was supposed to be able to do.

Maybe the Lucid Gravity can deliver on the promise of being 'the one that can do it all', and I would love to experience that. But if it can, and I doubt it, it'll have a hard time to do one thing: create a deep bond with its owner. It'll never be able to outperform itself in times you need it, because it simply can do it.

You'll probably love owning a Gravity, but you'll love your clunker that you did a road trip with in which it over delivered and had some troubles in, more. Those are the moments that create memories. The stuff that just goes by effortlessly are usually forgotten.

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