Apple Maps will be the native mapping service in Ford's next electric car, expanding Apple's foothold in automotive, while also raising the competition with Google's in-car mapping.

Importantly, this is standalone Apple Maps, using Apple's MapKit for Automotive SDK, so it will work without the need for a smartphone for the first time.

That will see Apple Maps completely integrated into the car, providing natural language searching, turn-by-turn navigation and traffic information, while there will also be detailed location information.

MapKit for Automotive SDK allows Ford to customise the look and feel of Apple Maps so it will fit with the rest of the interface, while it will also benefit from special EV routing options and battery preconditioning, to aid efficient charging when on the road.

Ford has also outlined that will be using the information in Apple Maps to develop its BlueCruise handsfree driving system, designed to let you take your hands off the wheel when driving on "highways". Ford's BlueCruise remains the only legal "hands off, eyes on" system that's approved in the UK.

Although it offers natural language searching, it's not clear what system that will be - it's unilkely to bundle in Siri with the maps, so it's likely that it will use the new Ford AI assistant that was announced earlier in the year.

Although Apple Maps will work without a smartphone, Ford is going to continue to support Apple CarPlay and it's likely that the brand will also support Android Auto.

Speaking of Google, the Mountain View company current leads Apple with in-car software, with many brands using Android Automotive which offers a native experience for a suite of Google services, including Google Maps with Gemini voice support.

Ford has used Android Automotive as the base system for its vehicles for some time and it's not clear whether this new announcement marks a departure from Android Automotive, or whether Apple Maps is simply going to be layered on top of an Android foundation.

Car makers, having initially embraced smartphone-based systems like Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, now seem to be rethinking their strategy. Brands like Mercedes and BMW are keen to own the user experience, offering support for all the apps that a driver might want from their phone, so they don't just plug in and go.

The option to have Apple Maps as a native experience might prove popular: if car brands can offer the Apple navigation that iPhone owners are used to, they may decide not to connect their phone to use Apple CarPlay and instead use more native systems on the car instead.

That might avoid one of the most jarring experiences when driving and that's the mismatch in software when moving from CarPlay back to the car's own software systems.

Apple Maps is expected to make its debut in Ford's new midsize EV, slated for launch in 2027, with a $30,000 price tag.

Google has pushed the button on the huge Immersive Navigation update that's now rolling out to Google Maps users. The new navigation visuals have been reported by multiple users, and importantly it's available to those who aren't using the beta version.

That means that this is a real update, although it's not currently universal and it's likely to move from region to region. Google said that Immersive Navigation was its "biggest navigation update in over a decade" when the feature was first shown off in March 2026.

The update isn't limited to Android users, with some reporting that they have it on iPhone and it should also benefit those using Android Auto, as well as Apple CarPlay.

Immersive Navigation uses Gemini to bring maps to life and give a more realistic view of what the world looks like. It uses a 3D view with better spatial understanding, with Maps adding useful details for navigation when they are relevant.

This is thanks to Gemini being able to interpret Steet View and aerial photos to make your navigation richer and that should lead to clearer directions, with a map that's instantly recognisable compared to the world around you.

Although Immersive Navigation was said to arrive immediately when it was announced in March, we're only at the stage where people are seeing it. Additional features announced, such as Ask Maps, have been accessible for a while, while everything hinges on having Gemini in Google Maps.

That's not something that everyone has yet. In the availability information from Google's original announcement it said that Immersive Navigation was coming to the US before expanding - although from experience we know that other regions might have to wait for some time.

Mixed into this update, it's also reported that people are seeing the new speedometer in Android Auto. This was first spotted last week, bringing an additional detail to help keep your driving on the right side of the law.

Immersive Navigation could represent a huge step forward in mapping so this roll-out could be slow to make sure that Google gets everything right. Be sure to share the experience if you've got access to the update in the comments below.

As much as I love the experience of driving a car, there's a lot to be said for sitting in the passenger seat. That's especially true of the new 2027 BMW i7 (G70 LCI). This luxury saloon has had a significant upgrade on the original BMW i7 that launched back in 2022 – which is still an excellent vehicle.

For the driver, the i7 now features a similar Panoramic iDrive system as the other Neue Klasse models, such as the BMW iX3, iX5 and the upcoming BMW i3. It has also had some styling changes on the outside, with a reprofiled kidney grille, new crystal glass on the daytime running LEDs, and new two-tone paint combinations, but it's still the passenger that really gets spoilt in this car.

It's no surprise that the BMW i7 has been a popular executive limo. It offers extreme comfort for the rear passengers, and this updated model has made it even better. I spent a day with one of the first models in the country for an exclusive look around. It reminded me just how much I like this car, and how those new features really add up.

iDrive second display

You don't need to be sitting in the back in the BMW i7 to experience luxury, as that front passenger seat now has its very own screen. In addition to the 17.9-inch angled central display, it features a large 14.6-inch passenger display in the same style.

This means that in addition to the extremely comfortable Merino leather seat (or other chosen fabric), with massage function, heating and cooling, you can watch content on your very own big-screen display.

The screen has been designed so that it can't be watched by the driver, for safety reasons. In addition to the fact that its positioning is out of the driver's eyeline, it features not only a privacy shield protector, but will also dim if the built-in camera detects the driver looking at it.

Back seat

As nice as those front seats are, it's the back where you really want to be, and for maximum effect, the one not behind the driver. Both sides have a new screen in the door handles that provides adjustments to the seat position, including leg support, heating and massage functions, plus lighting and the blinds on the side windows, back window and panoramic (Sky Lounge) roof.

If you are sitting behind the front passenger seat, the comfort gets even greater thanks to the Executive Lounge seats. With a single press of a button on the screen, the seat lies right back, and the front passenger seat folds forward, giving you extra space and even a footrest.

The central armrest has a tray for charging your phone, and there's even an option to add a fridge, should you need to keep those refreshments cool on the journey. On a long journey, you could just as easily get some rest in the back of the i7, as much as you could do a day's work – work tray tables are also available as an option.

Entertainment

As much as you could sleep or work in the BMW i7, the biggest reason not to is the entertainment on offer. BMW has upgraded its Theatre Screen display, so the massive 31.3-inch display now has an 8K resolution, so you can watch your content in style.

The Theatre Screen folds down from the roof automatically (controlled from the side displays or the driver), while closing the blinds at the same time. The screen is running the latest BMW operating system X, and includes gaming options, streaming apps such as TiVo and YouTube, plus video conferencing options and an HDMI input so that you can connect your own device to the screen.

All this premium visual entertainment is paired with one of the best audio systems in existence. It features the Bowers & Wilkins Diamond Surround Sound System, with 36 speakers and 1965 watts of power. This also delivers Dolby Atmos sound to make those movies on the Theatre Screen truly cinematic.

Entertainment on wheels

When it comes to long car journeys, I often prefer to be the one at the wheel, but if I could do them in the BMW i7, I'd definitely opt for the back seat. The rear of this car is a cross between a business class plane seat, a cinema and a games machine. As nice as the new Panoramic iDrive system looks for the driver, it's definitely in the back where the magic happens.

The new BMW i7 is available to order now, with prices starting from £104,230 in the UK and $115,550 in the US. The model I tried was the 60 xDrive M Sport at £120,335.

Chinese car maker XPeng has revealed the L03, a coupe-SUV aimed to deliver supercar styling in a practical package, and with the choice of being a full EV or range-extender hybrid.

There’s no price or exact release date yet – and not much in the way of specification, either – but XPeng says the L03 is coming to 65 global markets at once, including the UK.

The car represents XPeng’s “In Europe, for Europe” design approach, and comes from a team led by JuanMa Lopez, former Ferrai exterior design chief. Expected to sit below the XPeng G6, the L03 is a little smaller and with a sleeker, more tapered roof line.

There are hints of Polestar and Porsche all over the exterior, while the interior will be familiar to anyone who has spent time in a G6 (XPeng, that is, not Gulfstream). It’s a minimal cabin with lots of clean surfaces, a letterbox-shaped display behind the steering wheel, and a large, 15.6-inch central touchscreen for the infotainment system.

XPeng says there are 37 separate storage spaces spread across the cabin, so good luck finding your sunglasses, and what’s described as “generous cargo capacity”. The L03 also benefits from “immersive ambient lighting, intelligent climate control and lounge-style seating”.

There’s no news on power, range or performance, but XPeng says the L03 will be available as both a full EV and a range-extender hybrid, called the L03 Power X. The latter will see an electric drivetrain joined by a small engine used as an onboard generator to add power into the battery and increase the overall range.

Since it sits below the G6, the L03 is expected to use a 400-volt electric architecture (instead of the G6’s 800-volt setup), and while battery capacities haven’t been confirmed, a choice of 58 kWh and 71 kWh is expected, with range figures likely landing in the region of 270 to 320 miles for the EV, and around double that for the range-extender variant.

While the official range remains under wraps, XPeng is keen to talk about the L03’s computing power. It says the car uses a system called Next Generation Pilot, which is based on a “physical-world foundation model” that XPeng plans to roll out progressively through Europe in 2027.

The company explains: “Unlike conventional [Advanced Driver Assistance Systems] that focus on individual driving assistance functions, XPeng NGP (VLA 2.0) is designed to understand and navigate highly complex real-world driving scenarios, bringing intelligent driving closer to how humans perceive and respond to the road.”

The L03’s intelligence comes from a trio of XPeng’s own Turing AI Chips that deliver up to a combined 2,250 TOPS of computing power.

Standing for Trillions of Operations per Second, that TOPS figure is significant, given how cars like the Tesla Model X, Polestar 3 and Lotus Eletre run at about 500 TOPS. Mercedes’ MB.OS has a figure of around 1,000 TOPS, while JLR says its next-generation vehicle system with Nvidia Drive Thor also runs at up to 2,250 TOPS. For context, an iPhone 16 Pro runs at 35 TOPS.

As well as driver assistance, all that power is also used to run the L03’s new intelligent cockpit experience, with a new operating system called XOS 6. This features a next-generation AI voice assistant, which XPeng says has been rebuilt to support more natural conversations, contextual understanding and “seamless multilingual interaction”.

XPeng added: “Rather than responding only to commands, the system can interpret user intent and intelligently adjust vehicle functions accordingly, creating a more intuitive and human-centred cockpit experience. The new capabilities will be introduced to users through future OTA updates.”

An all-new member of the Range Rover family has just been revealed, in the form of the all-electric Range Rover GT.

Pitched as a luxury grand tourer with an electric drivetrain, sloping roofline and minimalist interior, the Range Rover GT is not a replacement to the aging Velar, but will instead become the fifth pillar of the Range Rover family. These include the small Evoque, the Velar, the Sport and the full-size Range Rover.

It is testament to the strength of the Range Rover brand that JLR feels it can shuffle the Velar and Sport along slightly, then slot in an all-new model without cannibalising other members of the family.

The big question is, can the same be said for Jaguar? Although neither have been fully revealed just yet, both the Range Rover GT and Jaguar Type 01 are up-market electric GT cruisers that will surely be targeting a similar demographic. It’ll be fascinating to see how that plays out – and what the price difference might be, since the Jaguar is expected to be the pricier of the two.

Back to the Range Rover GT, and while there are no performance figures available yet, imagery shows a refined, simple interior. Looking more like a concept car than a production-ready vehicle, the GT’s cabin features a large central touchscreen on the dashboard with little in the way of physical switchgear. This is joined by a letterbox-shaped driver display behind the steering wheel, lounge-like seating for four or five depending on configuration, and a steering wheel with ‘hidden-until-lit’ buttons that only illuminated when needed.

JLR described the Range Rover GT as having “class-leading” rear seat legroom, and the standard-fit four-seat option with large central armrest and touchscreen suggests this is more of a luxurious elevated saloon car than a family-friendly SUV.

JLR says of the cabin: “The interior of Range Rover GT is shaped by the same reductive principles that define its exterior proportions: purity, precision and quiet modernity…A woven textile, part of a suite of beautiful materials, wraps the dashboard in a single, cohesive gesture - tactile, architectural, and designed to hide speakers from within.

Hinting at an improved voice assistant, JLR describes the GT’s interior as being a “sanctuary of calm, with a focus on reduced visual and acoustic noise and natural conversational access to more vehicle functions than ever before.”

To be built in Halewood in northern England, the Range Rover GT is the first of its family to use the new EMA platform. It’ll be available as an EV initially with, JLR says, the option of adding a hybrid version later. Although not confirmed, the new platform is expected to be used by upcoming models of Land Rover, including the rumoured Defender Sport.

As for when the Range Rover GT will be available to buy, JLR says prototype vehicles are undertaking their final on-road testing now, and more details about the car will be revealed later in 2026.

Google could be about to roll-out a speedometer feature in Google Maps on Android Auto, letting you see the speed limit at a glance. The feature has been available in CarPlay for a couple of years, while it's also available in Google Maps on Android phones.

Sometimes, the disparity between Android Auto's offering and the native Android offering is remarkable. There are a number of apps that have great features on the phone, that aren't supported through the projected version on Android Auto.

For example, Waze on the phone supports ETA sharing, but the Android Auto version does not. It's almost as though the developers forget that you're going to be using the app in a car.

That's how it's felt with Google Maps for some time, with the phone app offering a speedometer when driving, but Android Auto missing out.

Sure, if you're in a car then there's a speedometer in the dash, but sometimes you just want that information centralised – especially if you regularly drive between countries that use imperial and metric systems.

Well, it appears that the Android Auto system might finally be catching up with Apple CarPlay (which got it in 2024). Drivers on Reddit (via 9to5Google) are reporting that the speedo has appeared.

That speedo also appears to be linked to national signage, with a rectangular design in Canada and a round design in Europe. That will help glanceability.

The bad news is that this only seems to appear when navigating: if you're one of the many drivers who likes to keep the map open in Android Auto when just driving around, then you won't get the full experience. Hopefully, Google will offer it as a toggle option like it does with traffic.

The other bit of bad news is that currently this appears to be in the beta release, so there's no telling when it's actually going to roll-out to drivers. Google doesn't have a great history with bringing timely updates to Android Auto, so it wouldn't be a surprise if it takes some time to actually land in your region.

Google Maps seems to be adopting features from Waze. Seeing as both are owned by Google, it's sometimes hard to see why both still exist, instead of having one unified experience.

It's not every day that Aston Martin unveils an entirely new car, let alone one that hasn't been teased and leaked for months beforehand, but today it's announcing an SUV to potentially complement the DBX – except there's a major asterisk to that.

You see, this is what's being politely called a "digital-only" launch, which is a euphemistic way of saying that the newly announced Dreadnought will only exist in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 when it comes out later this year.

Unsurprisingly, for a car that's going to be featured in the world of a military shooter, it's a military-grade SUV that's intended to get people around big maps quickly, and was designed "without the restraints of the physical world".

That was apparently a great bit of fun for Aston's designers, although it's not like the end result is the maddest-looking car you've ever seen. It apparently sports "advanced armour technologies", which is almost certainly a way of saying that it'll be able to take quite a lot of punishment in-game before it gives up on you.

If there's one bit of the car that is hard to argue with, I'd say it's that paint job, which is indeed peak Aston Martin, using the brand's iconic Chiltern Green colour to really rich effect.

In design terms, you can tell that the lack of real-world shackles did indeed let Aston Martin go a little crazy – it's a wild-looking slice of car, raised up on enormous tyres and with a really interesting, sleek look despite its size.

Right now, it's a little unclear whether the car will be featured in the game's singleplayer campaign, but we do know that it'll be in the big new map being added for the DMZ extraction shooter mode and the returning Warzone battle royale mode. In each case, players will be able to use it to get around the map nice and quickly.

I'm expecting to learn quite a lot more about Modern Warfare 4 in the next few weeks, too. Lord knows that Xbox (which has now owned COD for quite a while) will be desperate for a big win in terms of the game's sales. It won't be on Game Pass, as we know, but with the last couple of COD entries having failed to capture the zeitgeist, and Battlefield 6 having a fairly stellar time, this is a big entry for the biggest traditional shooter brand in the land.

Electric cars designers certainly like to add flourishes that remind you of their electrification. Rather than slapping an EV motor and drive train into a standard chassis, manufacturers seem to think we would rather drive full sized equivalents of a Matchbox toy.

Angles, neon colours, space age LED lighting, there are numerous things that make a modern electric vehicle stand out. Some like it, some not. Designer Wini Camacho though wants to take things further. Much. Further.

As revealed on Designboom, the Audio Zero concept car is something altogether different. Essentially made from four tube-like elements and a sphere, it is a single-seater that can be imagined as either a coupé or open top roadster, and while it is very much a vision of a future for EVs, it also embraces the physical in its controls.

The design specs the vehicle as measuring 3.1 by 1.85-metres, and so it would be an ideal run around for city dwellers. You're likely to attract some interesting glances if you're parked outside Aldi, we'd say.

Not least because there doesn't seem to be any space for the shopping.

Of course, this is a design project not a real car (yet), with Wini submitting they're work to the website. The designer does have a history of motor design, however, having been part of the team behind the Denza concept shown in Beijing in 2012.

We've since seen other vehicles from the BYD-owned Denza brand – not least the Denza Z9 GT, which recently took us up the Goodwood Hillclimb at considerable speed.

That too is a sleek EV with a very modern styling, and while the Audi Zero is a whole lot more outlandish, it's not completely outrageous to suggest that some of its ideas could end up in production cars somewhere down the line.

Introducing the VW ID Cross, the car that you're likely to see everywhere in 2027. Not only is it the car to tempt those on the verge of transitioning to electric, but it could also be the model that jettisons VW's electric presence.

Volkswagen literally translates as the people's car, and it's as much a mantra as it is a brand name for the Wolfsburg-based German manufacturer. Cars such as the Beetle, Polo and Golf epitomised the idea with cars that everyone loved to drive and most could afford.

The new electric VW lineup is promising a return to form here, with smaller and more affordable electric models, including a new electric Polo and Polo GTI, but there's also this model, which could be the biggest hit of them all.

The VW ID Cross is a city car, or compact SUV, providing a practical and well-specced family car with a price starting at just €28,000 (around £24,000). UK prices are still to be confirmed but will hopefully be under £30k.

Its design was first revealed as a concept prototype back in September 2025, and I got to drive the camouflaged version back in March 2026. However, this is the first time the full car has been revealed.

Based on the new MEB+ platform, the ID Cross is a front-wheel-drive system, and comes with either a 37kWh or 52kWh battery to give up to 211 horsepower (155kW). That also means a range of up to 270 miles (190 for the smaller battery), which is plenty for a city car.

The interior is similar to the new ID Polo models, with a clean and straightforward design, inspired by the 1980s VW designs. There's a new multifunction steering wheel, physical buttons for the climate control beneath the 10.25-inch central screen, and a very cool retro mode on the displays that mimics the old Golf Mark I instrument panels.

Not only is there plenty of space inside for up to five passengers, but there's a 475-litre luggage compartment, with a hidden lower storage area, and an additional 25-litre 'frunk' storage under the bonnet.

The ID Cross goes on sale in Germany this Autumn, with UK sales to follow shortly after.

"Make sure your head is against the headrest when we hit the start line, this thing can give you whiplash." Comforting words from the professional racing driver behind the wheel, as we prepared to race the Denza Z9 GT up the hill climb at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.

To look at this four-door grand tourer, brake-neck speed wouldn't be your first thought. It looks expensive, and inside it is beautifully finished with just about every gadget under the sun. From its massage seats with ventilation and heating, finished in Nappa leather, to the digital side mirrors and Devialet audio system, and even a storage box that can be cooled like a fridge or heated to keep food and drink at the right temperature.

Under the hood, though, this car has a lot more in common with the high-performance Denza Z supercar, which has been revealed over on the stand. The Z9 GT features a tri-motor setup, giving it a jaw-dropping 1156 horsepower.

A passerby, as we cued for the starting line, thought he'd misheard when we told him the power. That's more than the Porsche Taycan Turbo GT and gives it a 0-62 mph acceleration time of just 2.7 seconds.

As we pootled to the start line with the air con on high, my seat massage kneading my spine and a live feed of the Festival of Speed track coming from YouTube on my passenger display, I could imagine doing long distances in this car.

While the range figure is a fairly standard 373 miles, it does support BYD's flash charging of up to 1500kW to charge from 10% to 97% in just 9 minutes. Provided you can find one of the new flash chargers, of course.

As the light turned to green on the starting line and my driver floored the accelerator (complete with boost mode), the calm interior suddenly became very different. Pure power pinned me back to the seat and then threw me forward as those large ceramic brakes kicked in before the first turn.

The handline was seriously impressive and we crossed the finish line in well under a minute. A grand tourer with a wild side, the Denza Z9 GT is a killer combo, and the good news is that it's coming to the UK.

Expected to arrive later this year, prices will start from £105,000. Whether it will tempt people away from the likes of the Taycan, Audi E-tron GT or the Lotus Emeya, is yet to be seen, but it will certainly give them a run for their money – and a fast one at that!

Waze is making a number of updates that's going to allow for more personalised routes, better navigation for motorcycle riders, and better Gemini support, both for reporting road updates and to help find the exact spot you want.

Waze has also detailed that it will offer a "Less Chatty" mode, although that's been in the app for a couple of months. It's a useful option that cuts down on the interruptions, especially useful when you're driving in a familiar area.

However, in the image that Waze supplied detailing Less Chatty mode, there's another setting called "Smart Mute". There's no description about what this option does, but it could solve one of Waze's biggest problems.

The app can be a little frustrating when you're driving in a familiar areas and it's constantly telling you which turns to take – or when it talks over the top of a podcast that you're listening to.

That's perhaps something that plays into the new personalised navigation option. This is already live in my version and is designed to take into account previous drives when plotting a route.

The example that Waze gives is that if you prefer major roads over minor roads it will aim to use that as the option for the route. When driving with the platform, I often find that in my local area it immediately directs you to the main road, but taking a few turns through back streets is often faster – hopefully, Waze's personalised routes will now take this into account for my routing.

Motorcycle Mode is designed to boost the navigation experience for those on two wheels, taking into account routes that bikes can fit down where other traffic might not be generally sent. It also claims to take into account the road surface to help motorcyclists avoid broken road surfaces.

However, the Motorcycle Mode is listed as only presently being available in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru and the Philippines, with more countries to come in the future.

Finally, Gemini gets a boost, enhancing the existing reporting system so you can just say what the problem is quickly and easily without too much of a distraction. This already exists for reporting incidents and has now expanded to road closures too.

Extending Gemini's use, you'll also be able to find your destination using natural language. That's designed to help you find what you're looking for when you don't know the name or location. That might be to find a fuel station with the lowest price or to find parking near a particular place you're driving to.

Some of the options appear to already be in Waze, others are rolling out to Android and iPhone versions. It appears to be a phased roll-out: I currently have personalised routes, but there's no sign of Gemini for searching.

It's also not clear if these features will be limited to the Waze app or if they will also appear when using Waze in Android Auto or Apple CarPlay. We'll hopefully find out soon.

If you thought today's electric cars were starting to look a bit samey, the Amble One is here to shake things up. Revealed by new mobility startup Amble, it's a concept that blends the practicality of an SUV with the futuristic styling of something you'd expect to see exploring the surface of Mars.

The brains behind it is Julian Hoenig, a designer who previously spent years at Apple before moving into the automotive world. That influence is immediately obvious.

The Amble One adopts an ultra-clean, minimalist aesthetic, with smooth body panels, soft curves and an expansive glasshouse that gives it a distinctly premium feel. It looks less like a traditional car and more like a beautifully designed piece of consumer tech that just happens to have four wheels.

This isn't your usual concept car, though. This one has been designed with versatility in mind. The Amble One, aiming to please all, uses a modular platform that can be adapted for everything from family transport to commercial work or outdoor adventures.

The cabin has been designed to be flexible too, with configurable seating and a clean, uncluttered dashboard that puts the emphasis on space rather than buttons. It's a really practical take on futuristic design.

The vehicle has generous ground clearance, chunky tyres and proportions that suggest it could cope with rough terrain just as comfortably as city streets. It genuinely looks like it could trundle across another planet without anyone batting an eyelid.

Of course, there's no suggestion you'll actually be driving one across the Red Planet anytime soon. Instead, Amble says the design aims to encourage people to spend more time outdoors, creating a vehicle that can transition effortlessly between weekday commuting and weekend exploration. It's a refreshing change from the race to produce ever-faster electric SUVs.

Amble has told T3 that deliveries are planned to begin in 2028, with the price starting at a very reasonable €20,000 (around £17,000 at today's exchange rate). It's definitely one of the more intriguing EV concepts to appear this year.

The new Zenvo Aurora may have just rewritten the rulebook on what hypercars can be. The Danish marque's latest creation is now entering its final stages of development, and on paper at least it looks utterly bonkers.

Sitting behind the driver is a brand-new 6.6-litre quad-turbocharged V12 called Mjølner – yes, named after Thor's hammer – producing a staggering 1,250bhp on its own.

Add in three electric motors and total output climbs to an almost unbelievable 1,850bhp, making it the most powerful production V12 powertrain ever created.

That's enough muscle to make even established hypercar royalty look a little underpowered. The all-wheel-drive Aurora Tur is targeting a top speed of around 280mph (450km/h), while Zenvo claims it'll sprint from 0-62mph in just 2.3 seconds and hit 248mph in only 17 seconds. Those are numbers that edge into rocket-launch territory rather than everyday motoring.

Despite the outrageous figures, Zenvo says the engine has been engineered with more than outright power in mind. Developed alongside MAHLE Powertrain, the V12 revs to 9,800rpm and uses advanced jet-ignition technology.

This improves combustion efficiency while helping it comply with increasingly strict emissions regulations. It shows that even the maddest supercars can't completely ignore modern environmental rules.

The Aurora itself is an all-new machine rather than an evolution of Zenvo's previous cars. Built around a lightweight carbon-fibre monocoque, it will be offered in two flavours: the road-focused, all-wheel-drive Tur and the lighter, rear-wheel-drive Agil. This sacrifices some hybrid assistance in favour of maximum track performance. Production will be limited to just 100 cars in total, making it as exclusive as it is outrageous.

Of course, exclusivity doesn't come cheap. Prices start from more than €2.8 million before you've even considered personalisation, putting the Aurora firmly into collector territory.

Still, if you've got that sort of money lying around, it's hard to imagine a more theatrical way to spend it. After all, there aren't many cars that can genuinely claim to have the heart of a fighter jet wrapped in something roughly the size of a go-kart.

Volvo has announced that it is adding native Apple Music support to some of its recent models, giving easier access to one of the world's most popular streaming apps.

Apple Music will join the likes of Spotify, Tidal and YouTube Music, meaning subscribers can listen to high quality music on Volvo's comprehensive in-car audio systems.

Support for Dolby Atmos and spatial audio tracks will make better use of the car's speakers, with more immersive audio for a better listening experience.

Until now, Apple Music has not been supported natively on Volvo's Android Automotive-based infotainment system. That would see users having to connect a smartphone to use the app via mirroring, rather than being able to access the app directly.

To encourage people to use Apple Music, Volvo is giving customers a three-month free trail (eligibility is limited to new Apple Music users), but existing subscribers will be able to dive right in after the update.

Support for Apple Music will come to the following models from 2020 onwards:

• EX90
• ES90
• XC90
• S90
• V90
• XC60
• S60
• V60
• XC40
• EX40
• EC40

The new Volvo EX60 will already have Apple Music installed when ordered cars start to arrive this summer.

Once you have the update, you'll just have to sign into your Apple account and the app will then stream as normal.

Volvo has one of the best in-car sound systems, working with Bowers & Wilkins for an enhanced system in the EX60, EX90 and ES90 models. These electric cars are also quieter on the road than combustion models, so the sound is even more impressive.

Volvo uses Android Automotive to power its car's entertainment and was one of the first manufacturers to sign-up to the vehicle-specific version of Android. The same platform is used by Polestar and it's not too much of a leap to suggest that Polestar might also offer Apple Music in the future too.

Previously, there's been some parity in the music offering between these two brands, such as offering the Abbey Road app, again, part of the tie up with Bowers & Wilkins.

Whether this is specific work that Volvo has done to bring Apple Music to their cars, or whether this is part of a bigger push from Google isn't clear, but if you've got a recent Volvo, your music options have just expanded.

The update will arrive over the air to the models listed above.

Getting from A to B has never offered more choice. Electric vehicles are becoming more capable, e-bikes and scooters are more refined than ever, and in-car technology is making every journey safer, easier and more enjoyable.

The Getting Around category celebrates the products that impressed the T3 test team most over the past year. Every winner has earned its place through extensive hands-on testing, standing out not only for innovation but also for performance, usability and value.

From practical, everyday transport to aspirational machines that showcase the latest advances in engineering and design, these are the products we'd happily recommend to anyone looking to upgrade the way they travel.

Read on to discover the T3 Awards 2026 Getting Around winners.

Best Electric Bike or Scooter

Fiido Nomads

Not every electric bike is designed to shave seconds off a commute or conquer technical mountain trails. The Fiido Nomads takes a different approach, prioritising comfort, versatility and the freedom to explore wherever the road (or track) leads.

It combines a relaxed riding position with chunky tyres, generous carrying capacity and a long-range battery, making it equally capable of tackling daily errands, weekend bikepacking trips or leisurely rides beyond the tarmac. It's the sort of e-bike that encourages you to take the scenic route rather than the quickest one.

The Nomads is easy to ride, confidence-inspiring and packed with thoughtful touches that make everyday use a pleasure. It strikes an excellent balance between utility and enjoyment without becoming overly complicated or prohibitively expensive.

The best electric bikes make you want to ride more often, and that's exactly what the Fiido Nomads achieves. For combining impressive range, all-terrain versatility and outstanding value in one adventure-ready package, it's our Best Electric Bike or Scooter winner for the T3 Awards 2026.

Best Electric Bike or Scooter Shortlist

Scott Solace eRIDE 20, Acer Predator Extreme eScooter, New Brompton Electric T Line, Fiido Nomads, Orbea Gain M20i

Highly commended

Scott Solace eRIDE 20

Best car

Aston Martin DB12 S

How do you improve on a car like the Aston Martin DB12? Well, Aston found a way with the DB12 S , giving its 4.0-litre V8 an extra tune, reducing the weight with a titanium exhaust option, putting carbon ceramic brakes as standard and upgrading the handling.

The result is a meaner and more agile car, which is still as much of a joy to look at as it is to drive. There's still a luxury interior, complete with the latest Apple CarPlay Ultra connectivity and the option of the Bowers & Wilkins sound system.

As we said in the review: "The differences here may be subtle, but in almost every way, the DB12 S is that little bit better."

Highly Commended: Porsche 911 Turbo S

Best electric car

BMW iX3

The BMW iX3 is the first of the 'Neue Klasse' or new class of electric vehicles. This goes further than just the design. The cars have been rebuilt from the ground up, with new electric drivetrains, batteries, and technology.

In practical terms, this means faster charging and longer range, with the iX3 offering over 500 miles of range on a single charge and 400kW charging, so it can add up to 231 miles in just 10 minutes.

On the inside, it uses the BMW Panoramic iDrive system, which includes a thin projected display along the bottom of the windscreen for essential driving widgets and an angled centre display in addition to the head-up display. While it may sound a little gimmicky, it's actually incredibly useful.

While BMW's former electric models were very much top of their game, the new iX3 paints a very promising picture for what's to come. It's an excellent electric SUV and a worthy winner of our best electric car award.

Highly Commended: Mercedes-Benz CLA

Best dashcam

Nextbase IQ

Dashcams have become an essential part of modern driving, and while all offer the basics of video capture to give you evidence of any accidents, some go that little bit further.

The Nextbase iQ is one such device, as it works more like a complete car security system than just a simple dash cam. Coming in 1K, 2K and 4K versions, you can also add a supplementary rear-facing camera for full coverage.

Smart features include the Smart Sense Parking to keep an eye on your car while it's parked up, the Guardian Mode to set limits on speed and location, with notifications if it does, and the voice-activated Witness Mode to share live footage in case of emergencies.

Though the Nextbase iQ is a few years old now, it remains our top pick and is a worthy winner of the Best Sat Nav award.

Highly Commended: 70mai 4K A810 Lite

Every few weeks there's another headline promising a miracle battery breakthrough. This one is different because it doesn't reinvent the battery at all, it just gives it a hug.

Researchers at the University of Cambridge have discovered that keeping lithium-ion batteries under a carefully controlled amount of pressure can dramatically extend their lifespan. During charging and discharging, batteries constantly expand and contract, creating tiny mechanical stresses that slowly wear them out.

By using pneumatic "bellows" to maintain a constant pressure, the team found they could double a battery's working life without changing its chemistry or materials. The trick is finding the sweet spot.

Too much pressure causes lithium to build up where it shouldn't, while too little allows parts of the battery to crack. Get it just right, however, and the cells stay healthier for far longer.

That's a much bigger deal than it first sounds. Battery researchers often celebrate lifespan improvements of five or ten percent, so doubling longevity is eye-catching, especially when it comes from mechanical engineering rather than chemistry.

If the approach can be scaled from the lab into production vehicles, it could mean EV batteries that last significantly longer before needing replacement, reducing both ownership costs and the demand for mining materials such as nickel and cobalt.

Before you start squeezing your phone to make it last longer, though, don't. The pressure has to be applied evenly and constantly using a specially designed system built into the battery pack.

Still, it's refreshing to see a breakthrough that doesn't rely on a brand-new wonder material. Progress isn't always about invention, it can - it seems - be about knowing exactly how hard to push.

Artificial intelligence has become the buzzword of 2026, but while plenty of companies are still working out how to use it, Formula E is already putting it to work in a surprisingly practical way.

Speaking to T3 ahead of the Shanghai E-Prix, Formula E Chief Technology Officer Dan Cherowbrier revealed that the all-electric racing championship has been using Google's Gemini AI to optimise its global logistics operation, helping reduce both costs and carbon emissions.

"We used all the data that we had," Cherowbrier explained. "We put that into Gemini and got [it] to help us understand what we had on these planes."

"Could it go by sea freight? If we go by sea freight, we need more of it. It's much cheaper, much better for the environment, but we need to make more of them."

That analysis helped Formula E reduce the number of cargo planes needed to transport equipment between races from three to two, while also identifying other ways to rethink how the championship moves around the globe.

Smarter logistics, smaller footprint

One example involved the championship's Porsche Taycan safety cars. Rather than flying the same vehicles around the world, Formula E now keeps multiple cars in different regions, allowing them to be used locally throughout the season instead.

"We've now got cars in different regions, so we're not flying them around the world anymore," Cherowbrier said. "It sounds simple, but it's a big saving in terms of both cost and carbon."

For Cherowbrier, it's a good example of how AI can support sustainability without compromising performance.

"Our approach to sustainability is trying to tell the world that sustainability is not a compromise," he said. "Often what's good for the planet is also good for your pocket."

The next engineer could be AI

The use of AI extends beyond logistics, though. Cherowbrier believes motorsport engineering itself is on the cusp of a fundamental shift, with AI becoming an increasingly important tool for teams developing the next generation of electric race cars.

"I think we're going to see a world where AI is at the fringes of what we're doing now," he said. "The technology is going leaps and bounds. Most people's implementation of it is not."

Looking ahead, he expects AI to become an integral part of race engineering, helping teams analyse data, model performance and accelerate development in ways that simply weren't possible before.

"I think you're going to see AI engineers working with individual teams," he said. "It's not currently in our regulations, but we're looking at it."

Perhaps his boldest prediction is how quickly product development itself could evolve, with Cherowbrier believing AI could dramatically shorten engineering cycles from annual to almost hourly.

"I'll tell you what will change," he said. "The speed of change. This idea that change is made every year or every generation will go out the window. I think iterative development, fail fast, learn, go again, will be hourly or daily, not yearly."

As software becomes just as important as hardware in modern electric vehicles, including Formula E's Gen 4 cars, the tools used to optimise a global racing championship today could eventually shape how tomorrow's consumer EVs are designed, developed and even manufactured.

The Shanghai E-Prix is happening this weekend. Find out more at Formula E.

British electric car startup McMurtry made headlines the world over in 2022 when its tiny EV blasted its way up the Goodwood hill climb, before breaking the TopGear Test Track record in 2025 and later being the first car to drive upside down.

That was all in prototype form, and now McMurtry is ready to put the Spéirling into production. While McMurtry says 95 percent of its components are new, the overall look of the track-ready single-seater remains – and so too does the outrageous performance, which its makers describe as “truly accessible F1-level” that “any driver can enjoy”.

The all-electric track car is powered by a 100 kWh battery pack and a motor sending 1,000 bhp to the rear wheels, enough to blast it to 60 mph in 1.55 seconds and on to a top speed of 190 mph. That’s impressive enough, but what sets the Spéirling apart from any other car is its ‘Downforce-on-Demand’ system, which uses powerful fans to suck the car to the road.

Instead of relying solely on conventional downforce, which only works at speed with air passing over and under wings and diffusers, the Spéirling’s fan system generates up to 2,000 kg of downforce at every speed. It even works while stationary, hence its ability to literally drive upside down, since that 2,000 kg is more than the car’s weight of around 1,350 kg.

McMurtry says the Spéirling Pure – the name of the £995,000 production car – can generate 3G in corners and under braking, and the battery can deliver the pace of an LMP2 race car for between 25 and 31 miles. After that, it’ll charge up from 20 to 95 percent in between 20 and 60 minutes, depending on ambient temperature and charger capacity.

Many race tracks now have charging infrastructure, but if a charger isn’t available during your track day, McMurtry offers a portable 100 kWh power bank that will refill the car, then charge back up using a standard three-phase outlet.

Leaning further into the Spéirling’s usability, McMurtry says a driver and their "competent friend” or technician can handle a track day with no other support – something that often isn’t true with similarly capable racecars. Alternatively, McMurtry is also offering full factory support to customers who want to simply arrive and drive.

There will also be advanced driver training offered to Spéirling customers, helping them get the most out of their car. The first training event will take customers to Sweden for lessons in low-grip driving on ice, before experiencing the Spéirling and its unique downforce performance on track.

An owners’ club created by McMurtry also promises global track support, with all logistics for international events at “premier racing circuits” taken care of. Owners will also be invited to provide feedback into the development of McMustry’s future vehicles.

The McMurtry Spéirling Pure is available to order now, priced from £995,000 (or around $1,15m in the US), plus local taxes, shipping and options. The latter includes air conditioning and extensive exterior and interior customisation.

Thomas Yates, McMurtry co-founder and manager director, said:”The Spéirling Pure marks the beginning of a new era in track driving with mind-bending performance to suit all levels of owner, from weekend enthusiasts to professional drivers. In production form, the car is significantly more usable, but no less outrageous. In terms of exhilaration, grip, acceleration, sound, aesthetics and technology, we offer something that no other manufacturer is able to.”

BMW has revealed the all-new X5 SUV – and for the first time ever, it’s a car available with five distinct drivetrains, including two mild hybrids, a plug-in hybrid, an EV and even a hydrogen fuel cell model.

To be built at BMW’s Spartanburg factory in South Carolina, US, the new X5 is the third member of BMW’s Neue Klasse family, following the smaller iX3 and i3. But, while the new car shares its design, platform and technology with those models, the X5 is significant in its own right – not least because more than three million have been sold since BMW’s first SUV arrived in 1999.

Announced in the US this week, the new X5 family will go into production in August, with the first combustion-engine models arriving with customers in November. The electric and plug-in hybrid versions can be ordered from October, with deliveries beginning in early 2027. UK deliveries are expected to begin in the spring of 2027, but prices aren’t known for now.

Here are eight things you need to know about the new BMW X5 and iX5.

1. There are five models, including EV and hydrogen

A first in BMW history – and surely a first among all other car makers, too – is how five distinct versions of the X5, each powered differently, will be produced and sold at the same time.

These include mild-hybrid variants of X5 powered by BMW’s three-litre, six-cylinder petrol and diesel engines, two plug-in petrol hybrid models, the all-electric iX5 and, coming later, a version of the iX5 powered by a hydrogen fuel cell.

The twin-turbo mild hybrid petrol and diesel cars have 400 and 313 horsepower respectively, with an electrical system that produces 18hp. Acceleration to 62 mph is 6.1 seconds for the diesel and 5.3 seconds for the petrol.

There are then two models of plug-in hybrid, called the X5 50e xDrive and the X5 M60e xDrive. Both combine a six-cylinder, three-litre petrol engine with a 145 kW electric motor. The former has a total output of 489 hp and 700 Nm, a 0-62 mph time of 5.0 seconds and a WLTP electric range of 53 to 63 miles. The latter puts out a more potent 612hp and 800 Nm, with a 0-62 mph time of just 4.5 seconds and an electric range of 50 to 61 miles.

Just one electric version will be available at launch. It’s called the iX5 60 xDrive and it has an 800-volt electrical architecture, a huge 141 kWh battery pack and a pair of electric motors to produce a combined 578 hp and 805 Nm of torque. BMW says the 0-62mph time is 4.6 seconds and the WLTP range is between 401 and 525 miles.

A version of iX5 powered by a hydrogen fuel cell drivetrain developed in cooperation with Toyota “will make its market debut at a later stage,” BMW says, without giving further details.

2. Panoramic iDrive display is fitted as standard

First seen in the iX3, BMW’s new Panoramic iDrive will also feature in the cabin of the iX5. A major feature of the Neue Klasse family, the projection display sits just below the windscreen and stretches across the entire width of the dashboard. It’s customisable interface shows driver information like speed, fuel, range and navigation, plus media and the interface of BMW’s AI-powered voice assistant.

There’s also a 3D head-up display projected onto the windscreen ahead of the driver, a 17.9-inch central touchscreen for the infotainment system, and a new 14.6-inch passenger display that includes video streaming, gaming, music and video calls for the front-seat passenger. All screens run BMW’s new Operating System X.

3. The iX5 has a range of 525 miles

Building on the 500-mile range of the iX3, the bigger iX5 uses an even larger battery to eke out up to 525 miles from a change. BMW has hedged this slightly, by offering a WLTP range figure of between 401 and 525 miles, but if the iX5 can manage anything between those two during normal driving it’ll be mightily impressive.

4. The 800-volt system charges at 460 kW

Another stand-out figure for the iX5 is its charge rate, which at 460 kW is greater than just about any other electric car on sale.

Most public chargers in the UK offer electricity at no more than 300 or 350 kW, so to see BMW claim 460 kWh for the iX5 is a big deal – and it’ll help deliver decent charge times, despite the car’s enormous 141 kWH battery pack.

It’ll put iX5 drivers in the strange position of knowing their car will charge more quickly one day in the future, once chargers capable of delivering the full 460 kWh are more widely available.

BMW says the iX5 can charge from 10 to 80 percent in 23 minutes, and claims up to 217 miles of range can be added in 10 minutes.

5. The plug-in hybrid has 63 miles of EV range

BMW says the plug-in variants of X5 have an electric-only WLTP range of 53 to 63 miles, depending on how they are being driven. That’s for the X5 50e, while the more powerful X5 M60e manages a claimed 50 to 61 miles of electric range.

Although PHEVs are rarely driven exclusively in electric mode, that few dozen miles of range theoretically means many X5 hybrid drivers will be able to complete their daily commute, school run and other local errands without ever using the engine.

Charge the battery up at night (using a low-cost EV tariff, ideally) and the car could cost very little to run, while keeping the engine and fuel tank in reserve for longer journeys.

6. BMW has reinvented the door handle for the X5

There are no conventional handles on the doors of the new X5 and iX5. There aren’t even any recessed or pop-out handles either. Instead, BMW has fitted a set of “Winglet” handles at the top of each door, just below the windows. These are fixed and do not move, and instead operate the doors with a press. Powered soft-close doors that open and close themselves are available as an optional extra.

Although BMW hasn’t expanded on their use, it’s likely that these winglet handles are more aerodynamically efficient than conventional handles. They also won’t suffer from being frozen shut, as pop-out handles can be susceptible to in extremely cold conditions.

7. The iX5 stops more smoothly than you can

First seen on the smaller iX3, the iX5 and iX5 Hydrogen also features BMW Soft-Stop, which “executes the smoothest stopping action every provided by BMW,” the company claimed.

Soft-Stop is a part of BMW’s Symbiotic Drive system, a Level 2 advanced driver assistance system that BMW says “provides intelligent support tailored to individual driver behaviour.”

8. There’s support for Dolby Atmos

A 12-speaker, 265-watt sound system is fitted as standard, but as an option this can be upgraded to a surround sound system by Bowers & Wilkins.

This features a seven-band equaliser, 18 speakers and 760 watts of power. Upgrading to this system also unlocks support for Dolby Atmos content, which creates a three-dimensional sound scape that effectively puts the listeners in a sphere of sound.

I know what you’re thinking. Didn’t the Polestar 3 only just come out? Well yes, and T3 had its first drive just a year ago, in June 2024.

But 12 months is a long time in the electric car world, and already Polestar has given its biggest car a huge technological upgrade, while keeping the exterior (and interior) practically unchanged.

The big news here is how the car’s electrical architecture has been upgraded from 400 to 800 volts. This allows it to charge much more quickly than before, with the official maximum rate up from 250 kW to 350 kW. Polestar says that’s good for a 25 percent reduction in real-world charge time, and the 10-80 percent time is down from 30 to 22 minutes – but, as you know and as I discovered, this can vary somewhat in what really is the real world.

There’s also a new battery with a slightly smaller capacity but improved chemistry, more powerful motors developed in-house by Polestar itself, and new performance figures across the board. The base model has a single motor driving the rear wheels and a smaller battery (92 kWh) than its dual-motor siblings. Range for that entry-level car has fallen rather noticeably from a claimed 438 miles to 374 miles, but power is up from 295 to 329 bhp and the 0-62 mph sprint has fallen by 1.2 seconds to 6.3.

Both dual motor cars have a 106 kWh battery (down slightly from 111 kWh in the original Polestar 3), but range has increased from 395 to 404 miles in the standard car. Power is also up, from 482 to 536bhp and the 0-62 mph sprint is down from 4.8 to 4.5 seconds. Lastly, the flagship variant, called the Polestar 3 Performance and driven here for this feature, has had a huge power boost, up from 517 to a whopping 680 bhp. That’s taken the 0-62 mph time down from 4.5 to a supercar-bothering 3.8 seconds.

Polestar has upgraded the 3’s computer, too. It’s now the Nvidia Drive AGX Orin processor, which the Swedish carmaker claims boosts processing power significantly, from 30 to 254 TOPS (trillions of operations per second). This 8x increase in computing power will, Polestar says, “enable faster, more intelligent management of active safety systems, battery performance, and sensor data.”

Helpfully, this new computer is available as a free retrofit upgrade to buyers of the original Polestar 3. So, while they’ll miss out on the 800-volt system, faster charger and extra power of the new car, their car will at least get a shiny new brain.

Back to the new car, and I’ve just spent a few weeks with the Performance edition. It’s properly quick – of course it is, given the 680 bhp output – but not intimidatingly so. Polestars have always been engaging to drive, and the latest 3 is no different. It’s a joy to cruise in, but equally enjoyable when you want to press on down a winding road you know well. It has a remarkable amount of composure for such a big car, aided by the relatively low seating position and roofline (again, for such a car), and minimal body roll.

As before, the interior is wonderful. It’s one of those cabins that beckons you in from your first glance through the window, and which you never want to leave. The car I borrowed had Polestar’s optional Bowers & Wilkins sound system – all 1,610 watts and 25 speakers of it, with support for Dolby Atmos and Abbey Road Studios Mode.

The former uses speakers in the headrests and roof lining – and a whole heap of clever software – to surround you in a sphere of sound. It’s a wonderful experience, and possibly the most enjoyable car stereo system I’ve ever experienced. For quality and power it’s on par with the five-figure Naim systems used by Bentley, but with the Atmos tech boosting immersion to another level.

The latter is accessible when not playing Atmos content. It gives you four distinct sound profiles to pick from, each mimicking Abbey Road Studios in differing setups, called Intimate, Open, Energised and Expansive. It’s a fun system to tinker with, especially when playing older records with less production.

One downside of playing high-quality Dolby Atmos tracks through the in-built Tidal app is the size of the files, and how they often overwhelm the car’s 5G data connection. Music frequently stopped playing while it buffered, even when the system showed four bars of 5G data. Disappointingly, this occurred across several days and on journeys through three counties of Southern England, so likely can’t be blamed on a bit of patchy 5G coverage.

Back to the interior, and it’s a seriously nice place to be. The fabrics are lovely, the design is aesthetically pleasing, the seats are comfortable and the whole thing projects a wonderful air of calm. It’s a fantastic place to spend a few hours.

Only an over-reliance on the touchscreen lets it down a little, since you need to tap at the display to adjust the door mirrors and steering wheel, as well as the cabin temperature and almost everything else too. It’s a very good infotainment system, with baked-in Google Maps and one of the best menu designs of any car. But skipping physical mirror controls on a £92,000 car – as the P3 Performance is – is hard to justify.

The Polestar 3’s range was also underwhelming. I know manufacturer’s figures can’t be relied upon, but when the brochure says 373 miles and the car itself says just 250 miles with 90 percent charge, owners would rightly be disappointed. I optimistically blamed this on the car producing a figure based on the lead-foot driving of the previous journalist. But after a week of steady town errands and a motorway cruise between Kent and Surrey, the car estimated just 260 miles would be possible from 100 percent.

The car calculated this while plugged into a 300 kW charger, where I'd hoped to see it flex its new 800-volt muscles. Since it’s capable of 350 kW charging – and no one else was using the charge – I thought I’d see some big figures. Instead, it only managed to hit 154 kW while charging from 17 to 47 percent, which took 13 minutes. I know the car can do much more, so I’m forced to blame the lacklustre performance on the charger.

As is so often the case in the life of an automotive journalist, I’m left telling readers not to buy the fully-loaded car provided by the manufacturer. Yes, 680 horsepower is an awful lot of horses, and yes, the wheels, gold details, chassis tuning and other trinkets of the Performance model make it hugely desirable. But the range isn’t good enough – especially when the BMW iX3 I drove recently indicated over 500 miles being available – and the price is too high as a result. The dual-motor Polestar 3 (£84,540 and 402 miles) on smaller wheels for a softer ride is probably the better option.

Ultimately, the new Polestar 3 demonstrates what’s possible with a facelift in the EV age. A whole new electrical architecture, new batteries, new motors and a new brain too. But while on paper this translates into more speed, more range and faster charging, in the real world the upgrades are harder to spot.

You might have the ultimate offroader, but what happens when you want to sleep on the trail? Sure, you could use a roof tent or just sleep under canvas, but if you're looking for a little more comfort and convenience, then this off-road trailer could be just the thing.

The Adventure Pro Mini 2.0 is a rugged camping trailer designed for use once you're off the Tarmac and into the rough stuff. The aim is to be able to take it anywhere your 4x4 will go and it comes from Kingdom Camping.

I'm not going to call it a caravan, but for those in the UK, this is definitely a caravan with a difference, more like a compact mobile living pod, fully equipped with everything you need to survive in the wild.

It's equipped with rock sliders to protect it on the move, while it features independent suspension for the wheels, wrapped in 33-inch offroad tyres.

While the outside has a contour-style design, there's checker plate for protection on the lower sections and a rack on the top – where the 400W solar panel sits. There's also a connector for Starlink on the roof to keep you connected (you'll have to supply the antenna).

There's a 2,000W inverter onboard and a 300Ah battery as well as electrical hook-up, with 110V sockets inside, a 12V aircon system and fridge freezer. There's even an integrated 24-inch Roku TV, as well as wireless charging.

The cabinetry in the cook area to the rear is power-coated aluminium, giving you plenty of storage, while there's a sink with hot and cold water.

There's no fixed bed, with the idea being that you deploy the tri-fold mattress for sleeping on the floor, with an additional fold-away bunk built in. That means you can move the bed out of the way to provide more stowage space or just living space if the weather is poor.

Cooking takes place outside, with a pull-out cooktop, while there's an outside shower too, so you can wash the trail dust off at the end of a hard day.

If the trailer in its stock form isn't palatial enough, there's a range of upgrades, including a larger battery, air suspension, a dehumidifier, 360-degree cameras and a whole lot more.

The price comes in at a surprisingly affordable $42,500, with a lead time of 6-10 weeks on orders. Delivery is listed as $2 per mile.

If post-apocalyptic caravans are your thing and delivery from Indiana looks inhibitive, then why not check out the Crawler TRC 458i or the Polydrops P21X, too?

If you love your cars, there's a lot of gadgets that you can add to your motor to improve it, or at least make life a little easier.

That's especially true if you've got an electric car, with home charging options that can save you hundreds in bills compared to public chargers.

Then there's vehicle maintenance, cleaning and upkeep. With the right tools, all of this becomes a breeze and you can keep your car looking shiny and new.

While all of this comes at a price, Amazon Prime Day has some great deals on a range of car accessories that can help keep the cost down. I've been trawling the deals pages and found these top deals that are well worth a look.

• View all auto deals on Amazon.co.uk

Waze has added World Cup notifications to its popular driving app, upsetting just about everyone in the process. For those who couldn't care less it's a distraction, for those who love the game it's a horrific spoiler that will ruin the tournament.

Users have been reporting the new alerts which pop-up like other hazards – such as a flooded road or a traffic accident – you know, stuff that's actually related to driving.

When Waze adds new features they are often on by default and just added to the ever growing list of details that Waze wants to tell you. While normally they are about things like speed limit changes or speed bumps, the addition of World Cup alerts has nothing to do with driving.

That's divided the community, with many weighing in on Reddit to say you can turn it off, which you can.

Just head into Settings > Alerts and reports > Reports and toggle it off. While you're there, you can get rid of half a dozen other alerts that you probably don't need.

Some users are reporting that they had an alert to ask if they wanted it, but that seems inconsistent.

Wtf is this lol from r/waze

The reaction to this addition is interesting, because the only people who like it seem to be those with no interest in soccer at all. For those fair-weather fans joining in the fun who want to keep up with what's happening without actually watching any of the games, it's perfect, if a little distracting.

"I don't follow Football at all, but I really like the way they've implemented this. It's cute and a nice touch," said one Redditor.

However, for dyed-in-the-wool football fans, this is a non-starter from Waze. The best thing about the World Cup is sitting down to watch the games, see how the superstars play in their national teams and how players from your club perform on the world stage.

If I want to follow a game while driving, I'll turn on the radio and listen to it, but I suspect that many fans will watch the games when they have time, even if it's just the highlights.

There's no doubt that this is a distraction, a spoiler, and probably a bad idea.

Fortunately, it's easy to turn this latest addition off, so whether you love or loathe the beautiful game, it's easy to get rid of.

For its 2026 facelift, the Porsche Taycan is gaining a simulated gear shift system for the first time.

Controlled with paddles behind the steering wheel, the system gives Porsche’s EV the feeling of shifting gears in a regular car.

Called E-Shift, the system also comes with a newer version of Porsche’s Electric Sport Sound, which the company says is “more emotive” than on previous models of Taycan.

When switched into E-Shift mode, a virtual rev counter appears on the driver display. A pull of the paddles is accommodated by “noticeable shift jerks,” Porsche says, and there are eight virtual gears to work through while accelerating and braking.

Although we haven’t driven it yet, the system sounds similar to that of the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N, where the single-gear electric drivetrain is controlled in a way that resembles a conventional car with gears. In the Taycan’s case, there are eight gears and a circa-7,500 rpm rev limiter.

Porsche explains: “The gear changes are simulated realistically: noticeable gear-shift jerks, gear-specific drag torque – comparable to the engine-braking behaviour of a combustion-engined car – and a virtual rev limiter ensures authentic feedback.”

The E-Shift system is available as an option on all variants and body styles of 2026 Taycan, with each variant – GTS, Turbo, etc. – producing its own distinct soundtrack. That sound changes when the E-Shift system is engaged, and is emitted both inside and outside the car.

To get the new virtual gearshift system on your new Taycan, you’ll need to tick a box for the ‘E-Shift including GT-sports steering wheel with paddles’. Basically, the new steering wheel with paddles is an optional extra, and with that installed you gain access to the E-Shift system. It’s then activated via an additional mode switch on the steering wheel, so you decide when you want your Taycan to behave like a regular EV, and when you want to be more engaged via the simulated gear shifts.

For the 2026 facelift, Porsche has slightly increased range, too. The maximum WLTP range is now up to 434 miles, an increase of 12 miles thanks to the optional new summer tyre, which has less rolling resistance.

There’s also an upgraded infotainment system with the new Porsche Digital Interaction suite, featuring widgets that provide quick access to commonly used functions, such as navigation, media, and phone.

Lastly, Porsche is now offering the Manthey Kits for Taycan directly from the factory. These bring a series of race car-inspired upgrades to the EV, including extensive aerodynamic, chassis and powertrain optimisations, which Porsche claims contribute to “significantly” increasing the performance of the flagship Taycan Turbo GT with Weissach Package.

With every box ticked, the new car has set a Nurburgring lap time of 6:55.533. The Manthey Kits are available in left-hand-drive only and by special order through Porsche Centres.

Xiaomi, the Chinese technology company that has expanded from smartphones to electric cars in the blink of an eye, has just revealed a robotic EV charger.

Designed for use with home chargers, like the one in your garage, Xiaomi’s new robotic arm automatically reaches out to your parked car, attaches the charge cable and starts the charge process.

Then, when the battery is full, the charger disconnects and moves away from your car, ready for you to leave. And instead of merely hanging there waiting for the next charge, the robotic arm tidily folds up into a box until it’s next needed.

If this sounds familiar then you’re likely thinking of a robotic charger arm revealed by Tesla back in 2015. The company showed off a functioning prototype, describing the arm like a “solid metal snake”. But, although not officially cancelled, information on the charger has since been removed from Tesla’s website and little has been said since the August 2015 demo.

Xiaomi’s version looks to be near-production ready – at least more so than Tesla’s prototype was – and will work with its SU7 and YU7 electric cars when it arrives in the fourth quarter of 2026. Drivers won’t need to lift a finger, since once they’ve parked up the arm will swing into action and charge the car as needed.

It can also be controlled by a smartphone app, reports Car News China, which also cited Xiaomi as saying the demo was filmed in a real-world setting, suggesting that it’s almost production-ready.

No word yet on price, but we can imagine such a charger will be rather expensive – even though, at the equivalent of about £45,000, Xiaomi’s SU7 car is surprisingly affordable in its home market. It also isn’t clear if the robotic charger will work with other EVs or just those from Xiaomi.

Between this and Porsche’s upcoming wireless charger for its electric Cayenne SUV, it’s an interesting time for home EV chargers.

If you're going to build a camping trailer for the electric age, making it look like a giant brick probably isn't the best place to start. That's why the new Polydrops P21X looks more like something from a futuristic Mars expedition than a traditional caravan.

The angular trailer has been designed for EV owners. That aerodynamic shape is intended to reduce the range hit that normally comes with towing.

Even the best electric cars can lose a good chunk of their range with a standard trailer attached. olydrops hasn't abandoned ruggedness in pursuit of efficiency, either. The P21X rides on chunky off-road tyres, features increased ground clearance and is built to head well beyond the average campsite.

Inside, there's room for up to four people to sleep, while solar panels and onboard battery storage help keep essential systems running once you've reached your destination.

This is ideal for anyone who loves the idea of electric road trips but doesn't want to spend their weekends parked next to a charging station.

Electric vehicles have become increasingly capable adventure machines, but camping trailers haven't always kept pace. Most existing options were designed long before EVs arrived, meaning efficiency was rarely a priority.

The P21X feels like part of a new generation of products being designed around electric vehicles from the outset. Rather than forcing EV owners to compromise, it embraces the strengths and weaknesses of battery-powered travel and attempts to work with them.

Perhaps the most interesting thing isn't the trailer itself, but what it represents. As EV adoption grows, we're likely to see more accessories, campers and outdoor gear built specifically for electric adventures. The P21X may look unusual today, but in a few years it could end up looking surprisingly normal.

One of the biggest challenges for self-driving cars isn't navigating busy city streets or complex junctions but coping with changing light. Confused advanced camera systems may about to get a whole lot clearer.

Researchers at Penn State University have developed a new light-adaptive sensor designed to work more like the human eye. Instead of struggling when lighting conditions change, the technology automatically adjusts in real time. This helps cameras maintain accuracy from bright daylight to dusk or near darkness.

Early tests showed more than 95% visual accuracy across different lighting conditions. Promising stuff.

The breakthrough takes inspiration from the rods and cones in our eyes, which constantly adapt as light levels change. By mimicking that process, the sensor could help autonomous vehicles recognise pedestrians, cyclists and obstacles more consistently, even when visibility is poor.

Night-time is still one of the toughest environments for driver-assistance and autonomous driving systems. Existing cameras can lose accuracy in the face of glare, darkness, fog or sudden changes in brightness. This is why carmakers continue investing heavily in new sensor technology.

While this latest development won't instantly create fully autonomous cars, it could become an important piece of the puzzle. Better vision means better hazard detection, faster reactions and improved safety when conditions are less than ideal.

For drivers, that could eventually mean cars that spot danger before you do – even on the darkest roads. And if self-driving technology is ever going to become truly mainstream, learning to see at night may prove just as important as learning to drive during the day.

Video playback has finally come to Apple CarPlay after its first announcement in 2025. During WWDC 2026, Apple confirmed the news in a supporting video for developers, saying that the video category was being added.

There's a big catch though: Apple goes on to say "in new cars that support the video in car feature". This means that your current CarPlay vehicle is unlikely to support the video function.

This support for video is going to come in two forms. If an app supports AirPlay streaming then that will be coming to CarPlay in iOS 27, so you can just select the CarPlay display in AirPlay from your phone.

But this will go further, allowing video apps to appear so that movies can be watched when the car is parked, with a UI to navigate that app on the car's screen. This is likely where Apple TV support will come in.

Throughout this announcement, Apple makes a point of saying that this will only work with cars that support the "video in car feature". It's outlined that AirPlay support is needed in the car, which is likely the hardware barrier to this on older vehicles.

That's the bad news here: if your car doesn't support AirPlay then you're not going to be getting the video functions in iOS 27 – even if you will benefit from other enhancements like the new and smarter Siri.

There are some other small details in the announcement too, similar to those we saw from Google's update to Android Auto. It will also be possible to run compatible video apps in audio-only mode, meaning that you can move from watching a podcast to just listening to it.

Because Apple CarPlay is linked to the iOS version, don't expect the update to arrive until September 2026, when it will land on devices back to iPhone 11.

While you'll need a new car to support Apple's video in car feature, it's expected to be widely supported in future vehicles. Some third-party head units already support AirPlay as a separate feature from CarPlay – whether they will be able to support the new feature remains to be seen.

There's sure to be plenty more news about video on CarPlay over the coming months as apps move to support the feature and testing progresses through the iOS developer beta.

At the same time, we can expect a wide number of car manufacturers to apply for certification to bring AirPlay to their vehicles.

Google is rolling out a change in Google Maps that will make the interface cleaner when driving. The change will address how Google Maps handles incident report pop-ups in Android Auto.

In 2024, Google incorporated one of Waze's features into Google Maps, with incident reports appearing on the Android Auto display – and asking drivers if the incident was still there. It typically refers to things like lane closures or crashes and it's a common feature on Waze.

But those notifications were always a bit of a distraction: they were too large, wanted a response and sometimes that meant other UI elements were lost. That's all set to change.

As spotted by 9to5Google, the new pop-up will appear over the estimated time, with much smaller buttons to confirm or deny. This is less of a distraction, while it also preserves all the information you expect on the screen.

According to the source, this new style of pop-up has been seen on different orientations of the Android Auto display.

At the moment it's not clear if this is part of the recent Android Auto update or if this is an update that's come from Google Maps.

Android Auto recently moved to version 17, with the promise that a number of new features will be coming in the future.

That includes things like customisable widgets, Dolby Atmos, Gemini Intelligence as well as its highlight feature – support for video – which should be starting with YouTube.

While the framework is in place for these new elements, none of the features have yet dropped into place. That might be because Google is waiting for the Android 17 push, so we're expecting Android Auto to get a lot of new features later in 2026.

While we wait for the bigger functionality push, we'll take this small update to Google Maps as a win. It does leave me wondering whether Google will also do anything to improve the number of distractions in Waze itself.

Audi has revealed a spiritual successor to the R8 supercar, in the form of the stunning new Nuvolari – a hybrid V8 powered two-seater with 1,000 horsepower and packed with F1 knowhow.

Limited to just 499 examples, the Nuvolari comes soon after the Concept C show car. While that suggested what a future generation of TT sports car might look like, the Nuvolari turns things up to 11 to become a fully-fledged supercar.

Power comes from a twin-turbocharged 4.0 litre V8 engine – which revs to 10,000 rpm and outputs 789 bhp all on its own – and three electric motors. They produce 148 bhp each, with two on the front axle and one mounted between the engine and gearbox. They’re fed by a 7.3 kWh battery pack that gains charge as the car is driven, using regenerative braking.

The drivetrain is closely related to that of the Lamborghini Temerario (both companies are part of the Volkswagen Group), but the Audi actually produces a little more power than the Lambo, thanks to a different torque map and a battery that’s twice the size of the Temerario’s.

Audi says the Nuvolari can accelerate to 62 mph in 2.6 seconds and 124 mph (200 km/h) in 6.8 seconds. Top speed is described as being more than 217 mph (350 km/h). These figures mean the Nuvolari is the fastest and most powerful road-going Audi the company has ever made.

Named after 1930s Italian racing driver Tazio Nuvolari, the new Audi will square up against the Ferrari 849 Testarossa and Aston Martin Valhalla – two more triple-motor hybrid supercars that come from manufacturers with Formula One teams.

On that note, chief technology officer Rouven Mohr, who recently moved to Audi from Lamborghini, said: “Formula 1 is a key impulse to bring innovations to the road quickly and with precision…our entire team has once again demonstrated its technical expertise, innovative strength, and dedication. This is reflected not only in the vehicle’s performance and its Formula 1-inspired technologies, but also in the ability to transfer innovations quickly and precisely into a production vehicle.”

Since the two front motors can operate independently, they’re able to precisely manage how much power, torque and regenerative braking is delivered to each of the front wheels. Known as variable torque vectoring, this, Audi says delivers “agile corner and stability at high speeds.”

More F1 tech is found on the bodywork. Audi says almost all of the Nuvolari’s exterior components are made from carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP), and that all carbon fibre components have been “developed using Formula 1 expertise.”

Similarly, the car’s active aerodynamics have been developed with motorsport knowhow. The company said: “The system adjusts downforce, drag, and aerodynamic balance in response to driving conditions – ensuring maximum stability and precise vehicle control…Each exterior element serves a clearly defined aerodynamic function, from the front splitter to the rear diffuser.”

Audi even says its Formula 1 drivers “provided targeted feedback during the development phase to fine-tune aerodynamic performance.”

Inside, the cabin is described as having a “reduced architecture” that “concentrates all controls on essential functions and positions them directly within the driver’s field of view.” Audi hasn’t revealed much of the interior for now, but early images show a touchscreen cascading from the dashboard to the centre console, an all-digital display behind the steering wheel, and physical switchgear for certain functions.

Audi hasn’t said how much the Nuvolari will cost but it’s expected to start from about £500,000 – well beyond even the later V10-powered version of R8, which started at about £130,000. Deliveries are due to start in the first half of 2027.

Lotus has confirmed its new Eletre X will be coming to Europe, and the range-extender hybrid SUV could be coming to the UK soon too.

You’re probably familiar with the Eletre, the big electric SUV from Lotus that T3 reviewed back in 2024 and in R form produces almost 1,000 horsepower. That car is still available, but it’s now joined by the Eletre X, which combines a battery and electric motors with a 2.0-litre petrol engine.

The result is a sporty SUV that still has lots of power – a combined 952 PS and 935 Nm of torque, which are both truly massive – but the total range is now 745 miles. That’s around double the claimed range of the all-electric Eletre and turns the car from an EV with the usual hint of range anxiety into a seriously long-legged SUV.

Also clever is how the Eletre X has a relatively small 70 kWh battery pack (down from 112 kWh in the electric version), which can fill from 20 to 80 percent in a claimed nine minutes. The smaller capacity helps here, and so does the car’s class-leading 900-volt electrical architecture and 426 kW maximum charge rate – more than anything today’s UK rapid chargers can deliver.

The Eletre X has a 150 kW onboard generator, powered by the turbocharged engine and its 52-litre fuel tank. This continuously replenishes the battery while driving, and can also send power directly to the front wheels when the car deems that the most efficient thing to do.

Shut the engine down, and Lotus says the Eletre X can still manage a respectable 217 miles on battery power alone. But the genius here is how the battery and engine combine to deliver that 745-mile headline figure.

Performance remains impressive, with a claimed 0-62 mph time of 3.3 seconds and an even more impressive 50 to 100 mph time of 3.9 seconds. Lotus says the Eletre X, with its smaller battery, is up to 120 kg lighter than the fully-electric Eletre 900, despite the addition of an engine.

Lotus explained how the hybrid system works: “The engine operates primarily as part of an intelligent onboard power generation system, replenishing available energy during longer journeys and sustained high-load driving. That same system intelligently adapts energy deployment depending on speed, battery state of charge and drive demand, operating across multiple drive scenarios, balancing pure EV driving, onboard power generation and hybrid assistance to optimise performance, efficiency and real-world usability.”

If this all sounds familiar, you might be thinking of the RX version of the original BMW i3. That small EV was offered with a small motorbike engine that acted as a generator, topping up the battery and increasing range. It didn’t drive the wheels, as the Lotus can, but it was a similar approach to aiding EV range – and arrived a decade before the Eletre X. So-called range-extender hybrids could well come back into fashion, as drivers seek EVs with the range (and fuel availability) of a petrol car.

Already available in China, the Lotus Eletre X is now coming to Europe. It’s available to order now, and deliveries are expected to start in the fourth quarter of 2026. Prices vary by country and currency, but land at about €122,000 for the Eletre X H1000 (which has 952 PS), and €99,000 for the less powerful (550 PS) Eletre X H550.

The latter is about £85,500, so that’s roughly where we hope UK prices will land when the Eletre X comes here at a later date.

You can now drive your own car like you're in Mario Kart thanks to a recent update from Nintendo that brings compatibility with Apple CarPlay.

The Nintendo Music app has been updated (via 9to5Mac), so that it can now be used in CarPlay. That means you can fire up the Mario Kart soundtrack while you're driving just like you're in the game.

Of course, you'll need to make sure that you don't actually drive like you're in Mario Kart, or you're unlikely to stay on the road for long. And we don't condone throwing bananas out of the window, either.

The update to Nintendo Music also includes Siri integration, while there's a dedicated iPad app now as well, meaning you don't have to use the upscaled iPhone app.

Siri integration means that you can search for songs using your voice so it's easier to find the track that you're looking for.

It's not just Apple that benefits, it's also available in Android Auto.

To use the Nintendo Music app you'll need Nintendo Switch Online membership, while the tracks covered include hits from NES right up to the latest Switch 2 games.

That includes Mario Kart World, The Legend of Zelda, Pokémon, Animal Crossing, Super Mario, Wii Sports, Donkey Kong and more.

There are also some interesting features, such as the ability to extend a song for up to an hour loop of the soundtrack. That's just what happens in games and some might find that it makes for great concentration or relaxation music.

For those wanting to avoid spoilers you can omit particular games, while fans of Animal Crossing will be excited by the fact you can match the music to the time of day.

The Nintendo Music app remains something of an anomaly, but there are plenty of fans who appreciate it, with lots of positive reviews. It's certainly cheaper than the Legend of Zelda LP, that's for sure.

So when you're not playing Mario Kart on your Nintendo Switch 2, you can just fire up the soundtrack in your car and bring a little fun to the drive.

If we thought the reaction to Jaguar’s EV prototype was extreme, the reaction to Ferrari’s first EV has been off the charts. Talks of the company losing its mind, desecrating the brand's spirit, and creating something that looks like a cheap copy of a Nissan Leaf.

This level of reaction shows the passion some Ferrari fans have, and also how cruel the internet can be. They say all publicity is good publicity, and the Luce has had more than its fair share, but it doesn't feel great for the brand.

So how did we get to this? Why are people so angry about a new car – particularly those that would never buy it? What is it about the design that makes people so upset?

To get a better understanding, I chatted with Marc Newson and the Love From design collective, who designed the car, during the Ferrari Luce launch event in Rome.

Not the supercar you expected

It’s important to understand the Ferrari Luce for what it is, and what it isn’t. The project was seven years in the making, well before Ferrari had the Purosangue (its four-door model, which also drew criticism at the time). The project, according to Love From’s Marc Newson, didn’t start out as an EV. “There were a number of objectives that had been identified by Ferrari, for example, four doors, five seats,” says Newson.

That distinction is key here. The Luce isn’t a five-seater because it’s an EV – it’s an electric car, because that was the best solution for a five-seater car. This was always going to be a family car, not a supercar.

According to Ferrari, the Purosangue only has two seats in the back due to the front-mid-engine layout and rear gearbox needing that space in the middle. With an electric drivetrain – especially with four independent motors – there was space for a spacious bench seat in the rear, and lots of space for luggage.

A cohesive design

Love From had the opportunity to approach this problem from a completely fresh perspective and to be involved with every aspect of the car’s design – inside and out. “We couldn't really imagine doing this project unless we could touch everything,” says Newson.

It would have been easy for Ferrari to use Love From, with their industrial design expertise, for the interior and then use another firm for the exterior, or do it internally. However, using a single design concept throughout was important to both Ferrari and Love From. “What was really of the utmost importance was coherence; that everything married and meshed together,” says Newson.

An unmatched interior

One area where there has been little debate is the interior of the Luce. The fusion of analogue and digital in the interfaces is not just refreshing, but it’s extremely tactile, with switches and buttons all at hand, a centre screen that can be rotated towards the driver or passenger and a driver’s display that fuses manual dial needles with digital backgrounds in a layered OLED approach.

Small details like the air vents, finished in aluminium with a simple twist operation, show the craftsmanship on this car. Plus, there are some really clever features, like the key, which recesses into the centre console; its colour, created by E ink, transferred to the drive shift on start-up.

"We find it odd that modern cars, and especially electric cars, seem to put bigger and bigger multi-touch displays in, says Newson. “When you're driving, you need to be focused on driving, on the road.”

This was not the first foray into car design for Sir Jony Ive or Marc Newson. Back in the 90s, Newson worked on a concept for Ford that was shown at the Carrozzeria Ghia in Turin. Meanwhile, Ive was leading Apple’s product design at a time when there was certainly work on a car being undertaken – even if it never made it to the public.

Both Ive and Newson are also self-confessed petrolheads and longtime fans of Ferrari. “Johnny and I have Ferraris, like old Ferraris,” says Newson. “I've done the Mille Miglia fourteen times, so we understand the importance of analogue controls.

The backlash

So, if we are to believe the barrage of recent criticism, where did it all go wrong? On paper, this car is a technical masterpiece. From the quad motors and electronically controlled active suspension to the low drag and manual torque shifting, used to provide useful power control, this is a true performance machine.

The biggest criticism is of the exterior design, and a lot of that comes down to the fact that this is a big five-seater car. The staggered 23/24-inch wheels hide its size admirably in pictures and indeed in person, but there’s no escaping that this is not a typical Ferrari sports car. Even with the wedge-like nose and halo taillights, it looks chunkier than your typical Modena creation.

“It must seem, in many ways, like an unusual sort of collaboration, says Newson. “But I think Ferrari wanted some fresh eyes to look at how we could sort of start to solve some of these problems.”

Any traditional auto designer would have likely created a version of an existing Ferrari. Looking at it with fresh eyes, Love From approached it from a new perspective and created a design that was certainly unique.

“Ferrari has a long history of collaboration; this is how Ferrari started,” says Newson. Collaborations with Carrozzeria go back to 1964, while Pininfarina worked on Ferraris from 1951. So, a collaboration wasn’t unusual, even if the choice of firm and the brief was.

Creating something so different – a family, five-seater – required different thinking, and the goal, according to Newson, was always to deliver that. “It wasn't to create something completely new just for the sake of it. I mean, we needed to respond to the brief that we had created – mutually, collaboratively.”

The reasoning

Ferrari was never looking for a sports car design with the Luce. The idea was to create a new sector: a practical family car. It’s something that Porsche has embraced with models like the Macan, Cayenne and Taycan, and Lamborghini with its Urus SUV.

With the Paris Agreement requiring European auto manufacturers to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from vehicles by 90%, Ferrari also desperately needed a fully electric vehicle. For many firms, creating an SUV or a family car gives the volume to keep those niche petrol-powered car production going.

By creating the Luce, Ferrari could potentially carry on its V8’s and V12’s a little longer, which is surely what fans want. At the same time, it could attract a new generation of Ferrari buyers that need a bit more space and want an EV.

I truly believe that the interior of the Luce is one of the best on any car in the market right now – regardless of powertrain. And while I acknowledge that the exterior isn’t your typical Ferrari wall poster, it’s still a good-looking car for its type.

So the Luce isn’t a replacement for any existing Ferrari – even the Purosangue – it was always an addition, a side project. When it comes to performance and road handling, the Luce does open doors to a future Ferrari electric supercar, not just the hybrid power we’ve seen on the LaFerrari and F80. I’m sure when one is released, it will look every bit the Ferrari sports car.

The Rolls-Royce Spectre Series II is more of an upgrade than a reinvention. The original Spectre car was introduced back in 2022 and was followed by the high-performance Black Badge Spectre in 2025.

Now, though, both models have had an overhaul. The Series II sees new technology in the electric vehicles to offer 18% more range, taking it to 390 miles, and faster charging times too – reduced by 14%.

While a figure hasn’t been given for the exact charging time, on the basis that the last model charged at 190kW, this new model should be around 220kW to 250kW. Not the fastest but definitely an improvement.

The previous Spectre shared some of its technology with the BMW i7, so it's likely that many of the advances in battery tech are shared with this year’s new i7. The power, however, is unique to Rolls-Royce.

The standard Spectre Series II now offers 442kW (492hp) and 1,015 Nm torque, while the Black Badge Series II has 500kW (670hp) when engaging its Infinity mode and 1,100 Nm torque with its Spirited Mode (the Rolls equivalent of launch control).

While the performance of a Rolls-Royce is important, it's the luxurious finish that really defines the marque, and here the new Spectre Series II doesn’t disappoint.

Rolls-Royce’s Bespoke programme offers almost unlimited options on everything from paint colour to upholstery but there are now a range of new materials and finishes available.

New 23-inch alloy wheels have a multi-spoke design and are available in either part- or fully-polished finishes. The Duality Twill is available for the first time in the Spectre II, this is a textile finish that features on the Rolls-Royce Cullinan Series II as well as the Ghost Series II.

A new timepiece features in the dash of the Spectre Series II, with cast metal hands and a pared-back graphic treatment. Meanwhile, the clock gallery and panel span the full width of the fascia.

On the Black Badge model, there is new Ice Black exterior detailing, giving a matte finish to all of the car's brightwork, including the grille surround, sideframe, bumper inserts, door handles and Spirit of Ecstasy.

Previous Spectre models started from around £332,000 or $422,000, while the Black Badge has started from £386,000 or $467,000. Bespoke models are much higher.

We've hit that point where Android Auto moves to a new version number, with Android Auto 17 now rolling out to users. It's part of a phased roll-out, so although it's available, it won't immediately appear in Google Play for all.

The exciting thing about Android Auto 17 is that it paves the way for one of the most highly-anticipated features coming to the in-car app – support for video, with YouTube expected to be the first service available.

That change has been in the works for well over a year, but Google confirmed support for Full HD 60fps video was coming during The Android Show, as well as demoing the changes at Google I/O.

Google has said that if you already have an adaptive video app then you don't need to do much to get it to appear in Android Auto, so hopefully, we'll see a number of services available to watch on in-car screens.

That's only going to be possible when the car is in park, but for those now spending time sitting in cars while charging, the introduction of video will make a big difference to the experience. As an extension, if you start driving, the video can switch to an audio stream and continue playing – if the app supports it.

Now we come to the bad news: actual support for video isn't quite here yet. While Android Auto 17 will support it, it'll take another software update before that feature lands with drivers.

Video support is only expected on phones running Android 17, so for most people that's going to mean waiting for another update before video playback will be supported. For Pixel owners who will get Android 17 first that might not be a cause for concern, but other brands could be waiting for months before it's supported.

As we move into summer 2026, we're expecting Android 17 to go gold and roll out as an update for Pixel phones, while we already know that Samsung's update is well in development too. It's expected that Samsung will announce its first Android 17 device on 22 July, with updates for Galaxy S25 devices to follow soon after.

So, while today is the starting point for video in Android Auto, it's going to take some time to get to the finish line.

Android Auto is also expected to get updates to the design, customisable widgets, Dolby Atmos, new audio widgets, as well as deeper Gemini integration, including Gemini Intelligence.

There's plenty to be excited about, but like all things Android Auto, a little patience will be needed before they arrive.

Google has announced a new Android update that means Google Wallet will allow you to share your car keys digitally, while now keeping more control over how that happens.

Yup, you won't need to hand over your physical keys if you want someone else to drive your car. Instead you will be able to share access via Wallet, allowing them to drive your car. But you can also limit how they have access.

This could be a great move for people who want to let another drive them home after having a few drinks. Or, perhaps after leaving the car at home and going out with your keys, this will let you share a digital version so others can use it and - even better - pick you up.

This also opens the gates on car sharing platforms to utilize this option in dishing out digital keys, and sharing them between devices more easily.

To be clear, Google Wallet has let you share car keys before, but now the level of controls are far more rich, making this a more genuine reality that actually gets used in real life.

This new version allows for three options: co-owner, guest and service. As you'd imagine co-owner gets similar privileges, ideal for a partner you share the car with. Guest is more limited and suits you lending this to a friend, for example. The service option is even more limited, designed specifically for mechanics or a valet to access.

You can set specific restrictions as you want including speed limits, acceleration limits and even caps on how loud the music will go - ideal for parents giving access to their children.

This update also makes moving the key easier across your devices, which should help when syncing across your Android phone and Wear OS device, if you're using both.

When is the Google Wallet car key sharing update available?

Google includes this update in its May Android overhaul that is rolling out right now and will reach devices across the coming weeks.

The JCB Hydromax is aiming to gain the title of world's fastest zero-emissions car as it heads off to break the record by hitting 350mph.

The record attempt is taking place at the Bonneville Salt Flats where this hydrogen powered car aims to beat the current hydrogen record set at 187.62mph by BMW's H2R. It would also beat the fuel-cell car record set by Ohio State University's Buckeye Bullet 2 that managed 303mph.

The JCB features not one but two hydrogen combustion engines each producing 800 horsepower for a total 1,600bhp output. That should propel the 10-metre car up to the extreme speeds while the body shape should work to keep it from taking off.

Although its driver may be comfortable in the air as he is a former fighter pilot. Andy Green is set to drive the car and as the current fastest man in a car ever, he is well suited. He broke the sound barrier when he hit 763.035mph in 1997 driving the Thrust SSC.

JCB already set the land speed record for a diesel fuelled car, when Andy Green drove the JCB Dieselmax to 350.092mph in 2006. The company now wants to push that further and go zero-emissions too.

JCB has already been developing hydrogen powered engines for excavators where that fuel offers a practical zero-emissions alternative to battery system. This allows for longer operating hours, faster refuelling and the ability to avoid the need for giant battery packs for the large machines.

JCB has spent around £100 million developing hydrogen combustion engines. Showing that off with record breaking speed should help it to continue to sell in the need for this new type of engine.

The JCB Speedmax is due to attempt the world record in August this year.

Apple CarPlay finds itself under attack again, as Rivian's chief software officer, Wassym Bensaid, has outlined that "the possibilities now for such deep AI integration in the car make the entire CarPlay debate completely obsolete".

Rivian is one of the brands that doesn't support Apple CarPlay and has no plans to, instead preferring to develop its own software experience. As a new car manufacturer, it's taking a similar line to Tesla, choosing to offer minimal physical controls and turn of bespoke software and voice control instead.

Revealed during a winding interview on The Verge's Decoder podcast, the impact of Bensaid's position on CarPlay could reach much further than just Rivian's EVs. Bensaid is also co-CEO of Rivian's joint venture with Volkswagen to develop future EVs for the group.

Rivian's avoidance of Apple CarPlay aligns with the messages that come out of Tesla, but are also echoed by companies like BMW and Mercedes who want to own the customer experience rather than hand it over to Apple.

That's thought to be one of the leading barriers to CarPlay Ultra adoption in cars: manufacturers don't want to lose that connection with customers.

Rivian goes on to say that the decision to avoid Apple CarPlay is backed by its own data: "Five years ago when we first shipped the R1T and the R1S, the number one request from customers was CarPlay. We did all sorts of surveys with customers at the time, and more than 70% were requesting CarPlay."

That position has changed, however: "In the recent survey, that number is less than 25% because with the level of features that we have shipped to customers, level of end-to-end integration, and the level of convenience that we are bringing, CarPlay or Android Auto is no longer the topic of discussion."

While on the surface that suggests that Rivian is doing the right thing in developing alternative solutions, it's not clear whether that drop to 25% is driven by changing attitudes of car buyers, or if existing Rivian owners have just got used to not having access to Apple's systems.

Returning to the point about AI, Bensaid's position is that AI integration can do all the things that you might want CarPlay to do, while advancements in voice interaction allows for much better control.

In the past, voice systems developed by car manufacturers were pretty poor and very limited in the commands that they understood. The likes of Google Assistant changed that, but with the advent of modern AI, there are much greater opportunities.

That perhaps doesn't account for easy and familiar access to your favourite apps, but Bensaid's argument is that voice and AI – especially with agentic powers – is a better experience:

"I deeply believe that voice has the chance to be the primary interface in the car. I also think that buttons can exist, but they shouldn’t be the primary way with which you interact with the car. I think there’s more that is possible with voice since you can do more than one single function."

While that seems to be the future of Rivian – podcast host Nilay Patel talks about having long discussions with the AI in the car – it will be interesting to see how this lands with Volkswagen. Based on user feedback, Volkswagen has just performed a significant u-turn, restoring buttons to its latest ID models, to improve the driver experience.

This looks like a debate that's going to continue to divide the driving community.

Being able to access the Tesla Supercharger network is a perk enjoyed by many EV drivers, whether they have one of Elon Musk’s cars or not.

But soon it’ll get even better for Volvo drivers, thanks to a key change in how Tesla chargers are accessed. Starting later this year – Volvo says it’ll be sometime between October and December – drivers of current Volvo EVs will be able to use the Tesla Supercharger network without firing up the Tesla app.

Instead, Volvo drivers will be able to top-up thor batteries using the Volvo app, just as they do now at other charge stations, instead of controlling Tesla chargers through a separate app. The move will make using Tesla Superchargers more seamless – and no doubt save time, since you’ll no longer have to hunt around for the Tesla app, or re-download it every time your phone decides it’s no longer needed.

This handy upgrade will roll out to more than 20,000 Tesla Supercharger stations across 29 European countries, including Germany, France, Norway, the UK, Sweden, Italy and Spain. This brings Supercharger access for Volvo EV drivers into line with what’s happening in the US, where Volvo drivers can already use Tesla chargers with the Volvo app.

Volvo’s head of energy solutions, Alejandro Castro Pérez, said: “Volvo drivers already have access to over three million charging points globally through the Volvo app. Adding Tesla Superchargers in Europe means they now have even easier access to one of the most recognised fast charging networks…our goal is to make charging simple and effortless, through a seamless ecosystem.”

The change applies to Volvo’s EX30, EX40, EC40, EX60, EX90 and ES90 model lines, and essentially means drivers of these cars no longer need the Tesla app on their phone to use Supercharger stations.

Volvo has also announced plans to transition selected models to the North American Charging System in key Asia-Pacific markets, including Japan and South Korea, by 2029. By switching their charging connections to the NACS standard, these cars will gain seamless access to the Tesla Supercharger network in those markets too.

On the outskirts of Rome, a top-secret venue prepares to showcase what is arguably the biggest launch in Ferrari’s history – its first electric car. Known originally as the Elettrica, the final product has been revealed as the Ferrari Luce.

The car is a collaboration between Ferrari Design Studio and Love From, the design company created by Sir Jony Ive and Marc Newson. While the interior had been revealed earlier in 2026, today we got to see the full car, and it’s as breathtaking as you would expect from a Ferrari of this magnitude.

When I heard the car had four doors and five seats, I pictured an SUV design. The Luce (Italian for light) is definitely not that. With a wedge-shaped bonnet, this is every bit the sports car, despite its size and passenger capacity.

That industrial, tactile interior design carries over to the exterior of the car. While sleek in a Ferrari way, it’s also chunkier and domineering. It doesn’t look like any other car on the market right now, either petrol or electric, but it remains unmistakably Ferrari.

It’s not just about looks, though; every piece of this car has been obsessively designed and crafted, and every piece of technology is the very best in class. The car is built here in Italy, at Ferrari’s Maranello plant, even the battery modules (though not the cells) – this is no off-the-shelf solution. It’s fast, it charges fast, and it looks like it comes from the future.

Lightning fast

Running on an 800V architecture, the Luce features a 210-cell battery that delivers 122kWh (around 110kWh net) – huge by EV standards. It supports fast DC charging at up to 350kW. The integrated power module, known as the Ferrari Power Pack, allows it to be recharged using 400V chargers at up to 150kW and up to 22kW using AC charging. It also allows it to maintain the 12V auxiliary battery.

With four electric motors – one on each wheel – four wheel steering, and electronically controlled active suspension, the level of control and power is unlike anything that has come before it. This is all brought together through the vehicle control unit, which provides torque vectoring to control the car better, not just around corners, but also on a straight.

The front electric motors deliver 105kW each, while the rear ones deliver 310kW each. This results in a total power of 772kW and up to 990Nm of torque. This gives the Luce a 0-62mph time of just 2.5 seconds and a top speed of 192.6 mph (310km/h).

For a car of this power, the potential range of over 329 miles (530km) is also impressive – though driven to its extremes, it will be much less. In ‘Range’ mode, power is limited to 320kW, while ‘Tour’ mode sees this increase t§§o 460kW and up to 725kW in ‘Performance’ mode. Placing the car into its launch mode gives you the full extent of its power.

The traction dial goes from ice to a full ESC off, for true ludicrous driving, and includes a new ‘dry’ mode for everyday use. This is managed by the Side Slip Control X system, which incorporates the active suspension and dynamic enhancer.

A digital-analogue interior

In many ways, the interior is still the most impressive part of the Ferrari Luce. Milled aluminium and a blend of manual and digital controls make the cabin feel like an industrial designer’s wet dream. Every single element here feels considered to the point of obsession, even bits not designed to be seen – a characteristic we once saw in Sir Jony Ive’s Apple designs.

The driver’s display, a 12.9-inch instrument panel or binnacle, is a dual-layered OLED design, fusing physical dials and needles with digital displays to create the speedometer and other vehicle dynamics. It has a very analogue feel, despite being made up of digital elements.

A 12-inch central panel combines a touchscreen display with not only physical switches for the temperature and fans, but also a clock. This has analogue hands but a digital display to show either the clock, stopwatch or compass. This display sits separate from the dashboard, on a ball joint with a handle to rotate it towards either the driver or passenger.

The touchscreen element is quite a small area of the display, providing control over vehicle functions and choosing profiles. There are quick buttons to access either the settings or menus, as well as a button to access a connected phone or radio.

There are no built-in apps here for mapping or other features – all of this comes from your phone, either via Android Auto or Apple CarPlay. Despite having a number of screens throughout the vehicle, this isn’t a car built around big-screen entertainment.

There’s another screen for the rear passengers, which provides climate and seat functions as well as giving readouts on vehicle speed. These are also combined with physical switches for those temperature and fan controls.

For music fans, it does have an extremely impressive specced audio system. The Ferrari Audio Signature system is made in-house and features 21 speakers, 24 channels and a 3000W amplification.

The three-spoke steering wheel looks fairly retro but is as advanced as the screens themselves. This includes beautifully designed ‘Manettino’ switches for the power and drive dynamics, as well as display settings, buttons for the indicators and paddles for the torque and regeneration.

The paddle controls allow a five-stage selection that either increases regeneration or increases power. This works much like gears, in that you can switch down going into a corner to increase the regen and reduce the power, then switch up when heading back out, to increase the power and reduce the regen – this works in performance or tour mode if required, or can be left in automatic.

What strikes you about the design is how well-engineered every element feels, even down to the aluminium air vents, which are inspired by aircraft design, using a simple twist to open and close the air flow.

There’s also a lot of space. The back seats offer generous leg room, while the car also has 600 litres of boot space, with a hatchback opening.

Street appeal

There is no doubt that the look of the Luce will divide opinion. On first glance, it can be quite jarring, as this is like no other Ferrari before it. However, the more you delve into the design, the better it looks, and having spent a couple of days seeing it ahead of the reveal, I really like it.

Its form is made up of almost two separate structures. The main shell of the car is finished mostly in black aluminium and glass, with a sharp, wedged nose and more of a teardrop rear. A second structure in the paint colour of choice floats over the top of this shell, providing a large wing in the place of a bonnet and a second wing on the rear.

This design allows the air to flow between the two structures, creating a slippery aerodynamic form, while air going over the front and rear wings provides the necessary downforce to give the car its high-performance capabilities.

The combination of forms is a million miles away from your regular electric four-door saloon or SUV. While definitely not your typical Ferrari, its gentle curves remind you of a Ferrari Roma, and the circular halo taillights on the rear give 360 Modena vibes.

The sheer size of the car is well disguised by the split form design, but also thanks to the massive wheels that feel perfectly in proportion. It wears 23-inch alloys on the front and 24-inch alloys on the back – that’s bigger than those found on a BMW XM or a Rolls-Royce Spectre (which both use 23-inch front and back).

Launch colours for the Luce include a light blue (Azzurro la Plata), a Ferrari yellow (Giallo Luce), an orangey red (Rosso Dino), a silvery white (Bianco Artico) and a Ferrari red (Rosso Fiammante). Though lots more colour options, both for the paint work and interior, are coming.

Special aero wheels inspired by aircraft turbines help reduce drag and cool the brakes, and look like old steel wheels from a distance. Of course, you can opt for the more in-keeping five-spoke Ferrari wheels too.

How it sounds

The one question on everyone’s lips about the first electric Ferrari is, how does it sound? For this, Ferrari has taken a unique approach by amplifying the sound of the powertrain. The process is described as similar to that of an electric guitar pickup, in that a sensor captures the vibrations from the rear axle. This is filtered and processed before being pumped into the cabin and to the exterior of the car through speakers.

The sound is applied when the car is in ‘Perfo’ mode, with a scaled-back version when in ‘Tour’ mode and using the torque shifting. When in ‘Range’ mode, the car remains silent.

At the launch event, a short video clip of Ferrari’s F1 driver, Lewis Hamilton, test-driving the Luce, teased the sound, which was very engine-like in its delivery. Designed to help inform the driver of when to shift the torque on the paddles, it sounds like a Ferrari at high revs, at least from what I heard.

Is it the future?

There’s a lot to unpack in the Luce, because everything about it is so new. From the powertrain to the audio system, there are pages of firsts, and every bit as interesting as the next.

There’s no doubt that the Luce will be divisive, but whatever you think of the design, it’s technically brilliant with some features that put it miles ahead of other EVs. This is an extremely impressive car that promises incredible handling, and is a milestone for Ferrari. For those reasons, I expect it will be in high demand.

Ferrari has pledged, as part of its ‘Ferrari Forever’ mission, that battery modules can be replaced on the Luce in the future as the cells age or as new technology is available. This is already being done with the La Ferrari, which is being upgraded with battery tech from the F80.

The Luce goes on sale in Europe in Q4 of 2026 with a price of €550,000. Final UK pricing and availability for the Ferrari Luce are still to be confirmed, but it’s expected to be in 2027 with prices upwards of £500,000.

Dashcams are nothing new, nor even are super high quality ones. But affordable front 4K and 1080p rear dashcams that are affordable? Yup, these are still few and far between making this latest release a real potential saver and contender for one of the best dashcams out there.

In general, you could save a good few bucks by using a dashcam. These can get you savings on your car insurance but perhaps even more importantly, they can mean saving big in potential pay-outs down the line, if you ever find yourself in a collision.

So a payout up front could save you money in the long run. But if you can get it for less right now, why not, right? That appears to be the idea behind the latest release from GKU.

The GKU D600 Pro Max 4K+1080P Front and Rear Dash Cam might be a mouthful to say, but it promises to be a doddle to install and run.

What are the best GKU D600 Pro Max features?

Up front on this camera combo is a 4K quality camera and facing the rear is a 1080p unit. With that you get advanced features including Sony STARVIS 2 night vision, 170-degree front and 160-degree rear wide-angle lenses, WiFi 6, G-sensor, built-in GPS and intelligent driver support. All that, plus the simple suction installation should make getting this up and running a quick process.

Usefully, this is also voice activated for hands-free driver controls. And it uses the cameras to offer your car 24-hours parking protection including time-lapse recording.

Footage is intelligently buffered so that you can get video for pre-collision coverage as well as up to a minute after a crash, for the clearest view of what happened.

All that can be viewed on the camera's built-in 3-inch IPS display or via the connected smartphone app. This also allows for footage downloads to your smartphone, without the need to remove the camera's memory card at all.

How much is the GKU D600 Pro Max?

The GKU D600 Pro Max is available to buy now via the company's own site or Amazon where it is priced at £99.99 / $139.99 at time of publishing.

A recent Spotify update has done more than controversially drop a new disco ball logo onto the home screen of iPhone users – it also seems to have scrambled track information when using Apple CarPlay.

If you've been living under a rock, you might have missed the furore surrounding the new logo from Spotify. The change – to celebrate 20 years of Spotify – replaced the normal logo to a disco ball, but caused some to think there was a problem with the app.

While the change in logo design was purely temporary, the darker side to the update seems to be that the app isn't working properly with Apple CarPlay for some users.

The result is that the album art, song titles and artists don't match the song that's playing and that's drawn-out frustrated users on the Spotify community as well as on Reddit.

Multiple users have detailed that the previous song's artwork is shown, with others reporting that's it's completely mixed up with random artists listed against songs.

Fortunately, Spotify has replied to say that it is being investigated and it's likely that a software update will correct the error and everything will go back to normal. While the details on your phone might be correct, this problem seems limited to Apple CarPlay.

That change might come when Spotify decides to return the logo back to it’s regular design, something it has promised to do "next week".

As for Apple CarPlay, we've recently seen support for Dolby Atmos regardless of the speaker setup in your car, while new app support is expected, including ChatGPT and better controls for WhatsApp.

What's most surprising about Apple CarPlay recently, however, has been the slow uptake of CarPlay Ultra, the version that takes over all the screens in your car. While launched with great celebration, we're still waiting for support in more cars, with Kia and Hyundai said to be offering support with a new model later in 2026.

It's hardly the reception that we expected for CarPlay Ultra – a bit like Spotify's disco ball logo.

If you're a fan of tech developments which don't revolve around AI, last nights Google I/O event didn't have too much for you. Indeed, the first 92 minutes of the 111 minute presentation revolved entirely around AI and its implementation across the Google suite.

Still, it seems there's a lot of other news arriving around the periphery of the event, including some interesting automotive developments. As the show was happening, we heard about a new project with Volvo, to bring context-aware AI into your commute.

Now, there's news of another update, which should affect a few more users. As reported by 9to5Google, there's an update coming to the Android Auto Car App Library, which is going to let media apps make some fairly major design changes.

In a blog post, the brand explained, "We're increasing the modularity of existing templates to give developers more flexibility and options for laying out content. These improvements include expanded headers for better visual emphasis, such as on detail pages, spotlight sections that can be placed in scrollable areas to highlight specific content, and grid item variations to support different content types and states."

Any developers interested in making these changes will be able to apply for a beta programme, but there are a range of popular apps which are already making changes. That includes Spotify, YouTube Music, Amazon Music and more.

It's a great update, and a real opportunity for the brands to return a little of their own personality to the platform. Prior to this update, a lot of the different apps felt quite cookie cutter, with a relatively strict set of requirements on how the apps should appear.

We're expecting more and more developers to take the plunge over the coming weeks and months, so keep your eyes peeled if the one you use most often isn't included yet.

Volvo has just unveiled a new 'world first' collaboration with Google, designed to make driving even easier. The partnership is said to bring together the best of the two brand's respective technologies, making particular use of Google Gemini and the latest advances in AI technology.

In essence, this shift allows Gemini to see and understand the surroundings in real time, from the perspective of the car. That makes use of the cameras and sensors in the car, and relies entirely on the permissions of the driver.

That could help to make some of the more frustrating parts of driving easier. For example, the system could read road signs around you, allowing you to garner information about parking restrictions or other information which flies past as you travel.

Another use case makes sense of lane markings, which sounds like an excellent idea. I've driven in Swindon before, and this would be worth its weight in gold in arenas like that.

This era – being called contextually aware driving – is also coming for your navigation system. Immersive Navigation in Google Maps is used here to help make navigation easier than ever.

Perhaps the most noteworthy addition is the use of context in directions. Rather than simply saying "take the second left", this model will be able to pin directions on the local environment, for example, "turn left after the library."

Speaking about the launch, Patrick Brady, Vice President of Android for Cars, said, "In the future, Gemini will make your drive more helpful by allowing you to learn more about your surroundings while on the road. And with Immersive Navigation, we’re bringing Google Maps’ biggest update in over a decade to our drivers.”

The new features will be available first on the Volve EX60, EX90 and ES90 models. Those on site at Google I/O will be able to test the features first hand.

The Škoda Epiq is ready to live up to its name, delivering an impressive spec list, great range and tons of storage, despite being the cheapest electric model the company has produced to date.

Based on the new MEB+ platform that it shares with other new VW group releases, including the VW ID Polo, VW ID Cross and Seat Raval, the Škoda Epiq starts from just £24,950, making it as affordable as the petrol equivalent in the range, the Škoda Kamiq.

Škoda describes the Epiq as a city SUV crossover, as although it’s compact, it still offers plenty of space inside. There’s a generous 475 litres of boot space inside, plus an additional 25-litre ‘frunk’ under the bonnet, for more storage potential.

Part of the clever MEB+ design is the use of smaller, light-weight batteries which power the Epiq’s front wheel drive system. There’s a 38.5kWh battery for the Epiq 40 version, while the top spec Epiq 55 uses a larger 55kWh battery. These deliver between 99kW (135 mechanical horsepower) and 155kW (211 mechanical horsepower) and a range of up to 440km (272 miles). A lower-powered Epiq 35 that also uses the 38.5kWh battery won’t be available in the UK.

Charging maxes out at 105kW for the Epiq 55 model to deliver 10-80% in under 25 minutes for DC charging, while 11kW AC charging is available across all models for home charging. The system also supports bi-directional charging to allow for vehicle to load to power electrical items directly from the car, as well as vehicle to home and vehicle to grid options with a compatible wallbox, to either power your home or return power to the electrical grid.

Inside the car, there’s a 13-inch central display which runs an updated Android-based operating system. This has updated graphics and controls, and in addition to the Škoda applications, also includes Google Maps, YouTube and Spotify.

The Epiq is also ready for the new Škoda mobile digital key, which is launching later this year. This will allow users to lock, unlock and start the vehicle using an iPhone or Android device, as well as easily share access when required. There’s also the Škoda app, which provides a wide range of functions, including charging controls and even automatic payment for public chargers via a Powerpass subscription.

It also comes with a number of driver assistance features as standard, including Lane Assist, Traffic Sign Recognition, as well as Front and Side assist functions. There’s also a Travel Assist option, which includes remote parking and trained parking modes, and a Crossroad assist, which makes use of new corner radars in the front bumper to alert for vehicles coming from the side.

On the outside of the Epiq, a new glossy black ‘Tech-Deck’ face includes the T-shaped light signature at the front. This either includes LED daytime running lights in the upper section and a combined dipped and main beam LED, or an optional 12-segment matrix LED arrangement.

On the rear, there are slimmer T-shaped lights framing the Škoda lettering. There are six paint colours to finish the Epiq, including an exclusive Jasper red metallic and Timano green. There’s also a range of alloys, from a standard 18-inch up to a 20-inch on the first edition model. It’s a fresh, modern look for Škoda, and although it still ties in with the existing range, it does make the car look unique.

The Škoda Epiq is available to order from July 2026, starting with the First Edition, which will start from £27,700 going up to £31,450 for the 55 model. The Škoda Epiq SE L 40 will start from £24,950 and the SE L 55 will start from £27,700.

As the first model to feature the new modular architecture, the Mercedes-Benz CLA set the bar for what is to come. Despite being at the more budget end of Mercedes’ offerings, it offered class-leading range, state-of-the-art technology and stunning looks.

Now, though, there’s a new version. The CLA Shooting Brake boosts that rear luggage space with an estate-like rear-end, giving the car a more refined and grown-up feel. One that is likely to appeal to families needing a bit more space, as much as that age-old travelling salesman.

Traditionally, Shooting Brake cars are two-door coupes with an estate rear, but the CLA Shooting Brake is still a four-door car. Neither the C-class nor the E-class models use the term for their estate versions, so it seems unusual here. Perhaps the relatively old-fashioned term of an estate didn’t fit with the modern electric Mercedes?

Estate or not, the CLA Shooting Brake is a great-looking car. I’ve always been a fan of Mercedes’ estates, as they manage to look curvy rather than square and boxy. The CLA here is no exception, with a back window that swoops down almost to a point, while the spoiler at the top of the window gives it a sportier edge.

That higher back obviously means more space for luggage, so instead of 405 litres, you get 455 litres up to the parcel shelf, and more if you fully pack it, and up to 1,290 litres if you put down the rear seats. You also get a front boot, or frunk, with an extra 101 litres, as you do on the coupé. There’s even fittings on the roof for bars, to carry up to 75kg of roof load, so you could place a roof box or roof tent on here.

Outside of the rear space, though, the car is more or less identical to the coupé version, which is no bad thing. In the front, you have that single glass panel Superscreen, which covers the width of the car and houses both the 14-inch central display and 10.25-inch driver display. It's also available with a third passenger display, completing the array, and there’s a head-up display to allow you to keep your eyes on the road.

Superscreen on board

The model I was driving was the AMG Line Premium Plus, which featured not only the MBUX superscreen as standard but also the Burmester 3D Surround Sound system. It’s an extremely impressive setup and feels highly futuristic. The system uses the very latest MBUX, which provides a new virtual assistant and a version of Google Maps by default. While you can still connect to Apple CarPlay or Android Automotive here, you have little need to, as most functions are built in.

The drive, as is the case for the coupé, is extremely pleasant from the CLA Shooting Brake and remains smooth and composed throughout. It comes in three forms, with the CLA 250+ offering the greatest range of up to 469 miles compared to 483 miles on the coupé from the same 90kWh battery. The CLA 200 uses a smaller 58kWh battery and therefore offers a reduced 321-mile range – which is still impressive in the market.

The CLA 350 4MATIC shares the 90kWh battery but delivers more power and therefore a slightly shorter range of 418 miles. It gives you 349hp and an acceleration of 0-62mph in just 5 seconds, which is a decent amount of power for this size of car.

Coupé beater?

My only niggle with the CLA is the size of the wing mirrors. In order to keep that aerodynamic design, they are tiny, which makes it trickier to judge traffic at a fleeting glance. Of course, there are plenty of cameras on board to ensure you are safe and sensors to warn you of vehicles, but it’s an adjustment.

Overall, the new CLA is one of the best mid-priced EVs on the market, and in many ways, the CLA Shooting Brake is even better. Yes, you get a little less range, but it’s still huge by comparison to other models, and you get all that extra space. I also find the design is more attractive, though maybe you need to have a love for Mercedes estates like me to think so.

BYD is fast becoming a household name thanks to its electric cars which offer some impressive EV battery tech at affordable prices.

The latest unveil is in the form of the BYD 2026 Seagull, or Dolphin Surf to UK buyers, which appears to offer some of the company's best tech at the lowest of prices. This car could really help push EVs in the more affordable mainstream.

This updated EV manages to offer a very impressive 250-mile range on a charge – something usually reserved for the more premium end of the electric car market.

Not only that but it also offers a LiDAR which is a very expensive bit of kit that is rare if not impossible to find at the price point this is aiming at. Since this is the key to self-driving car smarts, it's a really important addition both now and in the longer term for smart driving upgrades.

The self driving package is in what BYD calls its DiPilot 300 system. This uses the LiDAR to offer city-level navigation on autopilot as well as traffic light recognition and roundabout handling. So a real semi-autonomous electric car at a price point that's truly undercutting the competition.

The car interior features a 12.8-inch central touchscreen display for navigation and 3D vehicle controls. There are also plenty of upgrades including heated front seats, a six-way power-adjusted driver's seat and the option to add 50W wireless charging for your phone.

BYD Seagull / BYD Dolphin Surf price and availability

The BYD Seagull / Dolphin Surf for 2026 starts at a very low £7,700, although this is for the model without a LiDAR and so won't offer that self driving smarts.

Spend a bit more, at around £10,000 and you get that self-driving system as well as the option for the long range battery and various other upgrades.

The car first appeared at the Beijing Auto Show and has gone on sale this week. This is aimed at the European market so expect UK specific pricing to be announced soon, likely under the UK name of BYD Dolphin Surf.

Google is bringing advanced lane guidance to select cars with Google built-in, allowing more precise instructions on when to switch lanes.

The enhancement, announced at The Android Show, takes advantage of deeper integration between Android Automotive and the car's hardware.

This means that Immersive Navigation can use the front camera on the car to assess the roads and tell you when and where to switch lane. This is great for junctions, but rather than being a default "left lane" voice guidance, for example, it will tell you when to move over.

This isn't a feature that will be in Android Auto, because it depends on the hardware in your car, so it draws out a point of differentiation between those using a smartphone-based system and those with Google built-in with Android Automotive.

Google emphasises that live lane guidance all happens in the car, so it's not dependent on other data sources – everything comes from the car itself.

That should make driving smoother, making sure you're in the right lane all the time and avoiding those last-minute switches and fighting with other traffic.

Google live lane guidance will be car specific

Live lane guidance will only be supported on compatible vehicles, but Google hasn't shared what those models are yet.

Elsewhere, Android Auto is going to get more customisable and benefit from the Immersive Navigation too, allowing 2D maps to get 3D enhancements, so things like buildings and bridges will be more obvious, to make navigation at a glance easier.

The Android driving environment will benefit from the enhancements that Gemini Intelligence will bring, able to serve up contextual information without having to search everything out, so it's easier to get things done.

Also, entertainment is finally coming to Android Auto, with support for video apps providing Full HD 60fps video to watch when parked.

hat's also going to include a transition to audio-only modes when you start driving when using compatible apps. That's great for things like podcasts, switching from watching video to listening to just the audio.

Video features will be coming to BMW, Ford, Genesis, Hyundai, Kia, Mahindra, Mercedes, Renault, Skoda, Tata and Volvo. Google has also confirmed that Dolby Atmos will be coming to a number of models, supported in Android Auto, where previously it was only available through Apple CarPlay.

Apple CarPlay Ultra is the next generation of car infotainment. Not only does it allow you to access a wide range of popular apps on your car’s central display – from maps to music and even video – but it can now integrate vehicle dynamics and take over the driver display.

While multiple firms have expressed interest in using CarPlay Ultra, only one has so far launched the integration, and that is Aston Martin. Currently available on the DBX, DB12, Vantage, Vanquish and new DB12 S, the system provides a full takeover of the central and driver displays, giving full customisation options and the ability to control all the driving features without leaving the system.

I had the chance to play with the CarPlay Ultra system on the Aston Martin DB12 S and found it extremely impressive. Many manufacturers, I believe, are reticent to allow the full Apple takeover, as they want to not only keep a sense of identity to the brand through the infotainment, but also not hand over the data to an external company, which would presumably be the case to allow CarPlay to display speed, revs, etc.

It’s not all perfect, though, and there are some ways in which the Apple CarPlay Ultra doesn’t match up to the likes of the Android Automotive platform used in the Polestar cars, for instance. Here’s what I liked, and what I didn’t.

1. Consistent menus

The worst part for me about using Apple CarPlay (or Android Auto) is that you end up using two separate systems. While the CarPlay OS takes over the screen, giving you access to your mapping, music and phone options, to switch to the radio or to adjust any of the vehicle features, you need to come out of that and work your way through the manufacturer’s own OS. This adds an extra step in the process, making it all the more awkward.

With CarPlay Ultra, all of those vehicle functions are right there in CarPlay. You can access the radio, change the climate settings, you can even customise your drive modes, or even set the driver assistance preferences. It’s a seamless operation – even though a couple of these options are still disguised Aston Martin pages on the DB12 S, but it most cases you wouldn’t know. It’s as if the CarPlay Ultra system is native to the car.

2. Customisable driver display

The big difference with CarPlay Ultra is it controls the driver’s display, and in doing so, offers a huge amount of customisation. By default, the display on the DB12 S looks like it's an OEM screen, as it features the Aston Martin badge and uses the brand colours. However, you can switch to a range of other options.

The colours of these dials can be changed through a series of options on the menu. There are also alternative dials with a cleaner design (without the numbers around the edge) that also come in a sea of colours. Between the dials, the central area can display your playing media, the mapping, driving assistance or tyre pressures.

There’s also a version that uses horizontal lines instead of the dials for speed and power, with secondary lines for fuel and temperature, and a full-screen map display, which moved the speed, fuel and power bars to the bottom.

3. Range in mapping

As the CarPlay Ultra system provides all of the driving dynamics, including how much is left in the tank and your fuel economy, this information can be shown alongside your mapping. While this is the case on ICE vehicles like the DB12 S, it will be especially useful when we see CarPlay Ultra in an electric vehicle.

This can already be done manually for Apple Maps using iOS 24 CarPlay, but CarPlay Ultra has the potential to work in the same way as an OEM mapping system – telling you the charge you will have on arrival, and where to charge along the way.

Remember your iPhone

The one downside of the Apple CarPlay system is that, despite the appearance, it all still runs from your iPhone. After the initial setup, the car will automatically load up into the CarPlay Ultra mode every time, but the start-up is not as quick as a built-in system would be. And it means, if you don’t have an iPhone, or you leave it at home, the system defaults back to an Aston Martin operating system.

I was slightly surprised that CarPlay Ultra still works on a mirrored basis. It would have made more sense to have an Apple chip inside the car, so it could run independently, much like Android Automotive does, basically placing an iPad inside the car.

It also means that it will require data from your phone to keep services like the maps and any streaming connected. For an Aston Martin customer, this is unlikely to be a problem. You could even leave a spare iPhone plugged into the car, but it doesn’t feel like the perfect setup. Maybe we will see a fully integrated CarPlay system in the future. However, for now, it’s definitely one of the best options out there.

We've all seen the prototypes, but today Jaguar revealed the first details of its first production model that will relaunch the brand. The model will be called the Type 01, with the zero representing zero emissions and the one representing the first of the new era.

The luxury four-door GT is expected to bear some resemblance of the prototype Type 00 model, and the camouflaged versions seen in testing certainly attest to that.

The use of 'Type' in the name is a tribute to Jaguar's heritage. It was first used in the 1951 Le Mans race-winning C-type Jaguar and is perhaps best known from the E-type and F-type models.

Though details remain scarce on the car's specification, we know it will feature a tri-motor arrangement (one front and two rear) to deliver more than 1,000 metric horsepower and over 1,300 Nm of torque. Those who have driven the prototype models out on the testing ground in Sweden say it's incredibly controlled, with Top Gear calling it "an XJ for the 21st century."

That's all we know for now, though more information is likely to be forthcoming very soon. The first prototypes will be on display – under camouflage – at the Monaco E-Prix, held this weekend (16-17 May 2026).