The mid-sized SUV is definitely the sweet spot right now for buyers looking to go fully electric and there’s no shortage of choice. This is Mercedes’ offering though, and it’s extremely appealing.

The Mercedes-Benz GLC electric is an important car for the brand. Its new electric-first design has replaced the Mercedes-Benz EQC and provides a fully electric drivetrain alternative to the GLC 300e plug-in hybrid model.

As with many of its competitors, the mid-size SUV is the sweet spot for Mercedes, making it one of its most popular models. There’s a huge amount of competition out there right now, with new electric models including the BMW iX3 and the Volvo EX60 – both of which offer a range of over 500 miles on their larger battery models.

While the GLC’s electric range is still respectable at up to 405 miles on the 400 4MATIC model (and 389 miles on the GLC 250), it also excels in other areas, such as technology, performance and build quality. The showpiece being its 39.1-inch Hyperscreen, which covers the dash.

I tried out the flagship Mercedes-Benz GLC 400 4MATIC Premier Edition to see how this new model holds up. Overall, I found this to be the best Mercedes electric model to date and definitely one to consider.

How much is the Mercedes GLC electric?

The Mercedes-Benz GLC starts from £55,495, that’s slightly below the base Volvo EX60 though around two grand more than the BMW iX3. US prices for the GLC are still to be confirmed.

There are two main versions of the GLC, the rear-wheel-drive GLC 250 and the all-wheel-drive GLC 400 4MATIC, which starts from £60,350. The top-specced GLC 4MATIC electric Premier Edition starts from £73,350 and features the larger 94kWh battery to deliver 489hp and a 0-62mph acceleration of 4.3 seconds.

The model I drove was the GLC 4MATIC electric premier edition in Patagonia Red, priced at £73,350. This featured the MBUX Hyperscreen display, augmented head-up display and the Burmester High-End 4D Surround Sound System.

Design and build

This new electric GLC is built on a different platform than the petrol, diesel, and hybrid models, though at first glance, it’s still easy to identify as a GLC. On closer inspection, though, the external design has had a few tweaks.

That front grill is much deeper, enveloping the number plate into the mix and is made up of hundreds of LEDs. The front headlights are the new digital light design with the Mercedes star. This carries through to the rear lights too, which now form a solid bar to include the rear badge.

Otherwise, the profile looks slightly more aerodynamic, with a bigger slope on the rear windows and a longer sloping rear. The 400 4MATIC also sits on larger 21-inch multi-spoke alloys, while the base model has 20-inch alloys.

The car is more curvaceous, with shaping along the door panels and in the bonnet. There’s a large panoramic glass roof too, with liquid crystal molecules that allow you to change between transparent and opaque at the touch of a button, with nine segments and Mercedes logos available to display.

Design wise, it’s perhaps more classic than space age, but that’s no bad thing. It’s a great-looking car, and the Patagonia red metallic finish is particularly striking. It also comes in a Lavender silver colour, which gives a subtle purple finish that is particularly unique.

Inside the Mercedes GLC electric

The interior feels very premium in this model. Seats and upholstery are finished in black leather with a red top stitch, while silver-coloured details highlight the door handles, fans and phone tray.

It’s hard to escape the Hyperscreen though, as this takes over the entirety of the dash, from pillar to pillar. The single glass surface creates a 39.1-inch display with an 8k resolution. I’m sure the actual displays beneath it are separate, but it certainly gives the impression of a singular unit when you use it.

Despite this singularity, there are still three main areas of the display for the driving dynamics, the centre screen and a passenger screen. You can change the driver display between three main views and turn off the rest of the display if you want to remove all distractions, but the idle screen that displays while driving is actually quite calming and I didn’t find it distracting at all.

There are multiple backgrounds to pick from which extend across the full width of the display, so you can customise the look of the Hyperscreen, too.

The system is running the latest MBUX, which features Mercedes’ AI voice assistant and a wide range of applications, from video streaming and gaming to work productivity. The centre area provides a large map when driving, which can also be displayed in the driver area.

For the front passenger, the left side of the screen can be used independently, providing web browsing, video streaming, gaming and more while the car is moving. Cameras ensure that the driver is not distracted by this, though, and will either dim or interrupt the content if they are trying to watch it on the move.

Paired with the Hyperscreen is the Burmester High-End 4D Surround Sound System, with 19 speakers, 7500W and Dolby Atmos capability. Like the picture on the screen, the sound is very impressive, both in power and clarity – especially when playing Spatial Audio content from Apple Music.

Driving

Despite the sheer power and acceleration that the GLC offers, the driving experience is cool, calm and collected. Even when you put your foot to the floor in Sport mode, there’s a refinement to the way the car moves.

Suspension is gentle, even with Sport mode selected, though never wallowy. It holds its place around bends but never shakes you. You can also opt to have Airmatic air suspension on the GLC – the same system as on the S Class – if you want really smooth, but even without it, the car feels likeyou’re driving on a cloud.

For a mid-sized SUV, the GLC does feel big. The size of the car has grown slightly over the ICE models and it’s noticeable on the road. For me, it feels considerably wider than the Volvo and BMW, even if the difference in measurements is small.

Despite this, the car felt extremely agile. It offers a tight turning circle, allowing you to easily manoeuvre it around car parks and other small spaces. In addition to the air suspension option, the ‘refinement package’ adds rear axle steering to the mix, to give the car even greater turning ability.

In addition to the huge Hyperscreen, there’s also a head-up display in the GLC, to allow you to keep your eyes on the road. This is large and clear, encompassing speed and navigation information, as well as speed limits and automated driving control settings.

On the automated options, the GLC offers the Distronic distance assist adaptive cruise control, to control acceleration and braking. It also has standard lane keeping functionality, though not the full steering assist on this model, which provides lane centring.

Other clever driving tech includes the Parking Assist with 360-degree cameras to give you a complete view around the car while parking – or just allow the system to park itself. Meanwhile, the Digital Light headlights do a great job of illuminating the road in the dark, and offer the adaptive high beam assist plus, which uses the LED technology to block certain areas of the beam to avoid dazzling other drivers. It’s a very clever system to watch in action.

Charging and range

Just a year ago, having a range of over 400 miles on an EV would seem impressive, and it’s only down to a few 500+ cars that it seems less so. The fact of the matter is, though, that 400 miles is still a solid number, and still puts it among the longest-range EVs on the market.

The model I tested gave a 393-mile range but without a long drive planned, I didn’t get through a full charge in a week of driving. For most drivers, that could mean charging just once a week if needed. Of course, greater range would reduce any range anxiety almost completely, but for most, the GLC’s range should be off-putting.

Another good thing here is that the GLC has fast charging. Thanks to the 800V battery system, it can reach charging speeds of up to 330kW. That means charging 10-80% in just 22 minutes. It can also charge at slower speeds on 400V DC charging systems and on AC chargers up to 11kW.

Should I buy the Mercedes GLC electric?

With the GLC, Mercedes has made perhaps its most successful move to date from an ICE vehicle to an electric car. This car feels every bit the premium Mercedes, and it’s easy to forget that it’s an EV at times, which is perhaps the biggest compliment for electric cars these days.

It’s a good-looking car, inside and out, and has been beautifully finished. While not everyone will love the Hyperscreen display, for tech fans it’s probably the most impressive dash out there right now – even compared to the BMW’s panoramic vision.

The Mercedes-Benz GLC electric feels like the more refined choice of electric SUV. While it’s quick and heavy on the tech, it projects class over just practicality. For previous GLC petrol or diesel owners, this fully electric version is the perfect step up. Like the Volvo EX60, it’s also going to convert a lot of drivers looking for an electric car that doesn’t shout about being electric.

Hybrid cars have exploded in popularity over the past decade, and are now more sight-after than ever, thanks to how they blend the efficiency of an electric car with the long-range abilities of a petrol or diesel vehicle.

The general premise is that a hybrid car has both an engine and an electric motor. Sometimes the car drives in pure-electric mode, while other times the engine fires up and drinks fuel from the tank in the conventional manner.

Some hybrids can travel dozens of miles on battery power alone, while others only use the moto occasionally – and some have an engine that isn’t really attached to the wheels at all.

Understanding which hybrid is best for you can be tricky. Manufacturers like to describe some systems as “self-charging”, while others quote enormous efficiency figures, such as over 100 miles per gallon, that are rarely achievable during normal, real-world driving. Below we’ve gathered up the four most common hybrid systems and explained exactly how they work, along with examples of cars that use them.

Mild hybrid

Often shortened to MHEV, this is the hybrid technology pioneered by the original Toyota Prius, all the way back in 2000. A quarter of a century has refined the tech, but the fundamentals remain the same. Mild hybrid cars are predominantly driven by their petrol or diesel engine in the conventional way, but their drivetrain also incorporates a small electric motor.

That motor is ready to draw from a small battery and help the engine in certain situations, but cannot drive the car alone. Mild hybrids mostly use their battery and motor to assist the engine during acceleration from low speed, and restarting the engine when the stop-start system is enabled.

Powered by petrol or diesel engines, these cars cannot be plugged in to charge, as instead the small battery is topped-up using regenerative braking whenever the car is coasting is slowing down. Mild hybrid batteries operate at just 48 volts (compared to the 400 or 800 volts of EVs), and tend to be just 0-5 to 1.0 kWh in capacity, which is tiny compared to the circa 50-120 kWh batteries used by most fully-electric vehicles.

Full hybrid

Known as an FHEV, a full hybrid electric vehicle works in a similar way to a mild hybrid, but with a key difference – the motor and battery can drive the car directly.

They can only do so with the engine off for short bursts, but it means a full hybrid car can set off from standstill and handle slow, stop-start city traffic, without the engine. The engine also frequently shuts down when coasting, such as on the motorway, and the battery is then charged by regenerative braking, or by the engine itself. Full hybrids can usually manage just a couple of miles of electric range, but in city traffic that can make a big difference to tailpipe emissions and fuel efficiency.

These are the cars manufacturers like to describe as “self charging hybrids”, since regenerative braking and the engine are used to refill the battery, and they cannot be plugged in for a top-up.

Plug-in hybrid

Now to the hybrid everyone is familiar with – the plug-in hybrid vehicle, or PHEV. These hybrids have far larger batteries than the models covered so far, with capacity generally between 10 and 30 kWh. This means a much larger range too, with dozens of electric-only miles possible in some cases – enough for most drivers to complete their daily commute engine-free, potentially for several days at a time, before plugging back in.

Pair a plug-in hybrid with a cheap home electricity tariff, and you have the potential for incredibly cheap commuting, since charging at night costs significantly less and the engine will barely ever fire into life during shorter local journeys. Some PHEVs can even manage motorway speeds for dozens of miles without consuming a drop of petrol.

Like other hybrids, and EVs, plug-ins use regenerative braking to top up the battery when coasting and braking. The engine can also be used to refill the battery, but this isn’t a particularly efficient use of petrol. These cars also have a ‘hold’ function, where battery use is paused; press this on the motorway, use the engine at its most efficient, then reactivate the hybrid system when you reach city traffic, and drive about with electric power alone.

Manufacturers like to attach enormous, three-figure miles-per-gallon figures to plug-in hybrids. But these are only achievable if you use the battery as much as possible without it running out. That said, regular charging can easily make a PHEV more efficient, and cheaper to run, than an equivalent non-hybrid.

Range-extender hybrid

Now for a lesser-known type of hybrid, but one that is likely to become more popular in the coming years. An early example of the range-extended (also known as the REX, REEV and EREV) is the original BMW i3. As well as being an EV, this car was also available with a small, range-extender engine. This didn’t drive the wheels, but instead acted as a generator that ran on petrol and topped up the battery, increasing range.

That generation of i3 died without a successor, but today several manufacturers are again looking at range-extender tech as a way to improve EV range and alleviate the dreaded range anxiety. Lotus recently announced the Eletre X, a version of its electric SUV with a 2.0-litre turbocharged engine that feeds the battery, boosts range to over 750 miles, and can drive the front axle during motorway cruising.

Volkswagen is also looking at the tech as part of its ID Era concept from 2025, and Mazda builds a range-extender hybrid called the MX-30 R-EV. Chinese brands are also experimenting with range-extender hybrids, and BYD, Yangwang and Leapmotor all make such cars.

Formula E’s new GEN4 racing car can accelerate from 0-62 mph in approximately 1.8 seconds, but the technology behind that performance could eventually help road-going electric cars become faster and more efficient.

The permanent all-wheel-drive car produces up to 600kW, or approximately 815bhp, and recovers energy under braking at rates of up to 700kW.

Although manufacturers do not develop the entire vehicle, they are responsible for areas including the electric motor, inverter, gearbox, differential and the software controlling them.

These are also among the components with the clearest relevance to road-going EVs.

“At the end of the day, the physics you’re dealing with are identical,” Jaguar TCS Racing team principal Ian James told me at the Tokyo E-Prix. “Whether you’re racing on track or developing an electric vehicle for the road, the physics don’t change.”

James describes the relationship as a two-way exchange, with engineers and technology moving between Jaguar’s racing and production-car programmes.

Jaguar’s forthcoming Type 01 provides a particularly tangible example. The company says its all-wheel-drive control software and fast-switching silicon-carbide inverters were informed by Formula E.

An inverter converts the battery’s direct current into the alternating current used by the electric motors. Improving its switching speed and efficiency can sharpen power delivery while reducing energy lost as heat.

Jaguar also says Formula E knowledge has influenced the Type 01’s regenerative braking, range and fast-charging capabilities.

Chasing the final percentage

The challenge is that modern electric racing drivetrains are already exceptionally efficient. James puts Jaguar’s current figure at approximately 97.5%, meaning less than 3% of the energy passing through the powertrain is lost before reaching the wheels.

“The marginal gains we can make through future hardware development will probably begin to tail off,” he explains. “When you’re already in the high 90s, it becomes much more difficult to take the next step.”

Formula E’s powertrain hardware is approved for two-year periods, but manufacturers can update their software between races and make adjustments during a race weekend.

Software determines how efficiently the car deploys its available energy, controls regenerative braking, and manages power delivery across the front and rear axles.

“What underlines Formula E significantly is the work that goes into software,” explains Nyck de Vries, who has raced in both Formula 1 and Formula E.

“I would say it is far ahead of any other championship in terms of software development, because that’s where we can find a small edge over our competition.”

FIA Formula E technical manager Vincent Gaillardot is careful not to claim that the championship invents every component it uses.

Its role is often to take existing technology and operate it in conditions far beyond those experienced by a production vehicle.

“The aim of motorsport is to push everything to the limit,” he says. “We use the cells and the battery in a territory completely outside mass-production usage.

“I’m not sure we say we are developing the technology. We show how far it can go.”

That accelerated development environment may be Formula E’s greatest value to road cars. Engineers can experiment, take risks and evaluate new ideas under the constant pressure of competition.

“Our learning is extremely fast in motorsport,” James says. “Without Formula E, that development would slow down.”

The average EV will never require 815bhp or 700kW of regenerative braking, but learning to control that performance efficiently could help manufacturers make road cars that respond faster, travel further and waste less energy.

Find out more about what the new GEN4 car is capable of at Formula E.

Volvo have continued to impress with its transition to electric vehicles, and none more so than with the Volvo EX60. While the flagship EX90 and ES90 models are exceptional cars, the EX60 is arguably the company’s most important release.

As of June 2025, the XC60 became the best-selling car in Volvo’s 99-year history, with 2.7 million units sold. As the electric successor to this mid-sized SUV, the EX60 has big shoes to fill.

I took one of the first models in the UK out on the roads of Somerset to see how it drives. The good news is that it really impressed me, and despite this being a very crowded section of the market, it could be one of my favourite mid-sized SUVs to date.

Developing a new best seller

The company spent three years developing the EX60, including research with owners of Volvo’s first generation of electric vehicles, the EX40 and EC40. The goal was to create a vehicle with no compromises.

It needed to remove the stress and inconvenience of electric cars by eliminating range anxiety, while keeping the price comparable to the XC60 plug-in hybrid option – often considered a safer bet than pure electrics.

The new vehicle moves away from the traditional engine-centric architecture and is instead built on a new third-generation scalable platform architecture (SPA). Battery technology has been developed in-house, and the entire vehicle is engineered and built in Volvo’s home country of Sweden.

Importantly, this has allowed the flagship P12 version of the EX60 to break the 500-mile range barrier, with a 503 total range figure. Meanwhile, smaller battery versions offer 380 miles from the P6 and 400+ from the P10.

There’s no shortage of tech on board, as its central computer is powered by Nvidia, and its entertainment system is running on Qualcomm hardware in partnership with Google. This has allowed a deep integration of Google Gemini within the car, providing natural language conversations as well as contextual navigation and discovery – so it can say, ‘turn right after the blue car’, or you can ask, ‘what is that building in front of me?’

Price and availability

Starting from £56,860, the EX60 is only £90 more than the XC60 plug-in hybrid model. However, you can pick up the mild hybrid for just £49,860. There are two trim levels: the Plus and the Ultra, and three powertrains.

The base model is the P6, which is rear-wheel-drive with an 83kWh battery, while the P10, starting from £59,860 is all-wheel-drive with a 95kWh battery and the flagship P12, with that 500+ mile range, which starts from £64,860, is also AWD and has a 117kWh battery.

There’s currently no US pricing for the EX60.

Interior

While the outside of the EX60 is very classy, it’s the inside that really impresses. That Scandinavian minimalism is beautifully finished with light grey wood and charcoal textures. There’s a couple of areas of piano black plastic, such as around the B&W central tweeter, but not a lot.

The centre screen is a large 15.04-inch OLED display, gently curved to make it softer and more a part of the surroundings, with just a crystal rolling dial and two buttons for media control below it. If anything, these stand out, as they don’t quite fit the rest of the aesthetic.

That means that, as on previous models, everything from the climate control to the wing mirrors and steering wheel settings is through the main screen. If you’re someone who likes to make these adjustments on the move, that can be a little annoying. Climate controls are readily available along the bottom of the screen, but wing mirrors and fan positions take a couple of presses to find.

Perhaps more interesting, though, is the driver display, an 11.4-inch long thin screen that sits closer to the windscreen than most driver screens. The aim here is to work more like a head-up display, allowing the driver to keep a focus on the road, rather than down inside the car. And it actually works really well.

While it’s not quite as convenient as a HUD in the windscreen, you can keep your focus out further, and I certainly found I spent less time looking at the centre screen than I would on some other cars.

Bose speakers feature on the Plus model but the Ultra version of the EX60 features a Bowers & Wilkins audio system, complete with 28 speakers and 1,820W of power. This is the biggest system we’ve seen in any of the Volvos to date, both in terms of number of speakers and power. It includes speakers in the headrests, so you can isolate audio for just the driver or passenger if required, though for the full effect it’s best to use all the speakers, as it sounds stunning.

Driving experience

Though the car is indeed spacious, it doesn’t appear to have bloated in quite the same way as other mid-sized SUVs. In that way, it still feels relatively compact on the road, so even driving down small country lanes, I didn’t feel it was particularly wide (maybe helped by the fact that the car I had been driving the day before was exceptionally wide).

The steering wheel is quite small and light, with a squared-off top and bottom, which makes it appear more compact. It does provide the adaptive cruise control functions on the left and media controls on the right, with two thumb-stick controls.

As you might expect, the EX60 has plenty of power and really goes when you put your foot down. There’s the option of one-pedal driving here too, with low, high and auto settings available depending on what you prefer. Suspension is solid but still comfortable with no noticeable body roll around corners.

Overall, it’s a solid, well-put-together car that is comfortable enough for long distances but compact enough for quick trips around town.

Should I buy the Volvo EX60?

Volvo have done a great job with the EX60 and produced a car that is a worthy successor to the XC60. It’s a pleasure to drive and feels solidly made, with the safety features Volvo drivers would expect, plus some impressive tech features that you might not.

It definitely sits among the best all-electric mid-sized SUVs on the market right now, though it’s also one of the most expensive. Both the Mercedes GLC electric and BMW iX3 start from £55,495 and £56,050 respectively, and for the equivalent 500-mile-plus models, the BMW iX3 is about two grand cheaper.

There are still advantages to the Volvo though. The interior is far more pared back and clean, while the tech is just as advanced. I suspect in time this will become Volvo’s new best seller, and it will be deservedly so.

Jaguar has revealed images of the Type 01 interior for the first time, ahead of this weekend's Pebble Beach Concours. While the initial reaction to the relaunch was extreme, recent reports of Type 01 prototypes have been favourable, and this interior is only likely to add to the appeal.

While the images don't show anything radically different to the initial prototypes, it's far more developed and feels far more luxurious than before. It still features that central spine, dividing both front and rear passengers, but in the calm, warm hues of this interior it looks less stark, and the overall aesthetic feels almost Range Rover-like.

The dashboard is perhaps the most interesting part, as it shows a large display behind the steering wheel and a smaller vertical display in the centre that looks to be showing climate and seat controls.

According to the press release, there is a digital rear-view mirror positioned at the base of the windscreen rather than at the top, much like the panoramic vision display in the BMW Neue Klasse models.

There are also some stylish touches similar to those we've seen on the exterior of the prototype. The Jaguar leaper is embossed in the doors, with a brass-like finish that complements the warm tones.

It's clean and simple, giving the air of luxury that you'd expect from a Jaguar. I'm sure there will be some bolder colours on launch, but this feels like a reveal that will satisfy even those die-hard Jaguar traditionalists, while still intriguing a new audience.

We'll have to wait until 6 October for the full car reveal, but I'm sure this won't be the last tease we have before then.

Some of the benefits of driving an electric car are obvious. There’s the lower fuel cost when home-charging overnight, and how most can be pre-warmed or cooled before you get in. But one of the most convenient features of an EV is also one you might have overlooked – V2L.

This stands for Vehicle to Load, and it’s a system where domestic appliances can be charged and powered directly from an electric car. Since EVs are essentially massive batteries on wheels – and most journeys not requiring a full charge to reach the destination – some of that electricity can be put to good use elsewhere, and that’s when V2L gets to work.

What is V2L?

In short, Vehicle to Load lets the traction battery – the big battery that drives the car, as opposed to the much smaller one used to power ancillaries – supply external AC electricity. Since a typical EV battery capacity is around 50 to 100 kWh, it can be used to power or charge a huge range of products and appliances, while using only a tiny bit of your car’s range.

For context, a 100-watt device like a typical television theoretically consumes about 0.1 kWh per hour of use – so just a fraction of your EV’s capacity. This means that even a modestly sized EV with a partially charged battery can easily run a TV, power camping equipment or charge a couple of electric bicycles without sacrificing a chunk of range.

This electricity is usually delivered in one of two ways. Some EVs have a domestic socket in the cabin or boot, so you just turn the car on, plug in the appliance, and it works exactly as it would at home. I remember doing this with a Honda e back in 2020, when an Xbox could be powered from a three-pin socket in the cabin, then plugged into the dashboard display with an HDMI cable for a bit of gaming at the charge station.

The other way V2L works is with an adapter that plugs into the car’s charge port. Usually sold separately, these cost from around £100 and basically give your car a domestic outlet, ready for powering appliances or charging devices.

An important point is that cars with V2G generally let you set a minimum battery level, so you’ll always have enough energy to get home or to your next charge stop – no need to worry about accidentally draining the battery.

What can V2L actually be used for?

V2L is one of those features that's easy to overlook or even dismiss entirely until you’ve tried it. But once you’ve used your EV to power a camping stove, a kettle, a television, a device charging station or power tools, you’ll quickly realise how useful the technology can be.

Use cases can be as simple as powering a laptop while you’re at a charge station, or as demanding as powering a bunch of camping equipment – from an inflatable mattress pump, to a coffee machine, a small fridge, a portable induction hob, or a projector and speakers for campsite movie night.

The limitation is rarely battery capacity, since EV batteries are so large, but is instead power output. V2L systems typically provide an output of a few kilowatts. This is fine for charging devices and powering things like televisions and an induction hob, but powerful items like kettles can outstrip supply. So you can’t simply hook up a multi-outlet extension cable and treat the EV like your house. But with a bit of research and planning, V2L can still transform how your car is used while parked.

Which electric cars have V2L?

V2L is increasingly common right across the EV market. Cars using the E-GMP platform of Kia, Hyundai and Genesis all have it, along with cars from BYD, Volvo, Polestar, Volkswagen, MG and Renault, among others.

What’s the difference between V2L, V2H and V2G?

There are quite a few ways to use the battery of an electric car, aside from merely driving it. We’ve covered V2L, but it’s worth quickly mentioning some other ‘V2’ systems. V2H stands for Vehicle to Home, and is where the car’s battery can be used to supply a house, via a bidirectional charging setup.

In theory, all you need to do is hook the EV up to your wall charger, and its battery can be used to run your house – plus, if the EV was charged using a cheap overnight tariff, then tasked with powering your home during pricier daytime hours, you’ll save some money. That said, such a setup requires a compatible car, charger and home electrical installation.

V2G stands for Vehicle to Grid, and is where energy stored in your electric car can be sent back to the national electricity grid, via your home charger. In theory, this could help balance grid demand and let owners take advantage of variable electricity prices, but this isn’t widely available for now.

Collectively, these technologies are known as V2X.

Should your next EV have V2L?

Unless you have a very specific use case, V2L remains a nice bonus rather than a must-have feature. If you work outside with power tools and can’t always rely on a nearby domestic socket, then V2L could be a game-changer. But for most people it’ll be a nice-to-have feature on the odd occasion they remember to use it.

That said, if you’re especially outdoorsy, charging e-bikes and powering camping gear from your EV could quickly become second nature, and a must-have for your next electric car.

Formula E’s new GEN4 car is considerably faster than its predecessor, but outright performance creates an unusual problem for the championship.

The technology most relevant to electric road cars is often demonstrated when drivers are forced to conserve energy, not when they simply drive as quickly as possible.

From the 2026/27 season, Formula E will address both sides of GEN4’s character using two race formats.

The new E-Prix Unleashed format will be a 30-minute sprint using GEN4’s high-downforce aerodynamic configuration, and it will feature a six-minute Attack Mode period and no mandatory Pit Boost stop.

The conventional E-Prix will last 45 minutes and use the low-downforce bodywork to reduce drag. It will also include eight minutes of Attack Mode and a mandatory Pit Boost stop.

Formula E says the shorter format has been designed to reveal GEN4’s raw performance, such as its permanent all-wheel-drive that produces up to 600kW (~815bhp) and its acceleration from 0-62mph in around 1.8 seconds.

“The GEN4 car is a brutal car from a performance point of view,” Formula E CEO Jeff Dodds told me at the Tokyo E-Prix. “We want to be able to show the car in its most powerful state.”

Less restraint, fewer lessons?

The sprint should make GEN4 easier to appreciate as a racing car. Qualifying position will become more important, energy conservation less prominent, and drivers will have greater freedom to exploit its speed.

However, Andretti Formula E driver Jake Dennis believes that may make the shorter race less useful for learning about efficiency.

“We only learn so much by driving flat out,” he explains. “You learn a small amount compared with what you learn through efficiency driving.”

During a traditional Formula E race, drivers begin with considerably less stored energy than the car will use before reaching the chequered flag.

The remainder must be recovered through regenerative braking, forcing teams to optimise the motor, inverter and energy-management software.

Drivers must also decide where to save that energy and where deploying it could help them overtake or defend their position, which are technical and strategic challenges with the clearest relevance to road-going EVs.

Dennis says having both formats is nevertheless a positive step.

“One is based on all-out performance and showing what the car is capable of,” he says. “The other is more about efficiency, manufacturers learning and what works best for road cars.”

Dodds makes a similar distinction. Formula E needs the sprint to demonstrate that an electric racing car can deliver extraordinary speed, but it cannot abandon the energy management that separates it from other championships.

“We’re an electric racing series,” he says. “It isn’t just about how fast you can go.”

“It is about how you manage and conserve energy, and how you recharge energy during the race. You can’t show that in a sprint race.”

E-Prix Unleashed may therefore teach manufacturers less about maximising range, but that is not necessarily a flaw.

GEN4 was designed to make Formula E’s performance impossible to dismiss, and the sprint gives it space to do precisely that.

The longer E-Prix can then tackle the harder and potentially more valuable question of how to achieve more with a limited quantity of energy.

Before GEN4 arrives, Formula E’s current GEN3 Evo car will make its swansong at the season-ending London E-Prix this weekend.

For more information, head over to Formula E.

A Formula E car can cross the finish line with just 0.1% of its battery remaining, which might sound precarious, but it is usually the result of extraordinarily precise planning rather than luck.

“The car is the smartest piece of technology we have,” Andretti Formula E driver Jake Dennis told me at the Tokyo E-Prix. “It is always telling you when to lift and brake, using lights and beeps in your ears.”

Before a race, teams use simulations to calculate how much energy the car should consume on each lap and where the driver should accelerate, coast and brake.

“At some point, you simply have to trust and follow the car,” Dennis says. “It is a serious piece of equipment.”

The calculation is complicated by the fact that a Formula E car uses considerably more energy during a race than it carries at the start.

“One of the things I love about Formula E is that we start with roughly 50% of the energy actually required to complete the race,” Jaguar TCS Racing team principal Ian James explains.

“Everything else comes through regenerative braking and the energy-management strategy we deploy. That’s something you could never do with a combustion engine.”

That does not mean the battery begins the race half-charged. Instead, the figure compares the energy initially available with the total amount used throughout the event.

During braking, the car’s electric motors become generators, converting some of its kinetic energy back into electricity.

Formula E says its current GEN3 Evo cars recover nearly 50% of the energy required for a race this way.

Saving before spending

Software calculates the theoretically quickest way to use that energy, but the driver must account for competitors, overtaking and track position.

“The engineers have simulations that calculate the fastest way to get from A to B around the lap,” Dennis says.

“It is then up to us drivers to teach or show them a little about raceability, because numbers can never fully calculate what it’s like to have a race car behind you.”

A driver may therefore conserve energy in one section and deploy it somewhere else where defending or overtaking is more important.

Formula E veteran Nyck de Vries says this is not a skill drivers usually develop while progressing through junior championships.

“We aren’t used to managing energy, managing the draft and saving before spending,” he explains. “It is a very important skill, and some drivers are better at it than others.”

The final 0.1%, then, is not merely what happens to be left in the battery.

It represents how closely the team has predicted the race and how successfully the driver has followed (and occasionally overridden) that plan.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Since you’re a reader of T3 you are probably familiar with Dreame, the Chinese robotic vacuum cleaner company. It just launched a new range of robovacs, including one that can climb over raised thresholds like no other. But Dreame is also working on an electric car – one that it claims will use rockets to boot acceleration.

It’s called the Nebula NEXT 01 and it’s an electric hypercar that was revealed by Dreame at the CES tech show earlier in 2026. Dreame said at the time it would have 1,900 horsepower, four electric motors, a carbon body and a 0-60 mph time of 1.8 seconds.

So far, so impressive, but also quite similar to other electric hypercars like the Rimac Nevera R, Lotus Evija and Pininfarina Batista – three slices of EV exotica that have sold in vanishingly small numbers due to a lack of customer interest.

How does Dreame plan to buck the trend? Rockets. Speaking again about the car in late-April, Dreame now says it’ll hit the 62 mph benchmark in 0.9 seconds.

It elaborated: “The Nebula NEXT 01 JET Edition is a rocket-powered electric vehicle equipped with a custom-built dual solid-fuel rocket booster system that responds in 150 milliseconds, generates a peak thrust of 100 kN, and delivers a 0-100 km/t time of 0.9 seconds.”

Since kN isn’t a figure usually found on a car spec sheet, here’s some context: That’s 100,000 newtons of thrust, or 22,500 lb and roughly the equivalent of 10 tonnes of weight-force pushing the car forwards. To hit 62 mph in 0.9 seconds the Dreame EV will be pulling around 3.2g, which is similar to a Formula One car.

More context, because I fear this sort of claim really does need it. Sprinting to 60 mph in 2.7 seconds – about the same as the latest Porsche 911 Turbo S – is equal to 1g. Multiply that force of you being pinned into your seat by three, and you’re on your way to replicating what Dreame is claiming here.

And let’s not get started on the sheer magnitude of eye-roll it would get from any road regulatory authority the world over.

Away from the outlandish performance claims, the concept also boasts DHX1, a lidar unit developed by Dreame and its partners described as possessing “ultra-high-definition image-level sensing.” The vacuum cleaner maker added: “When conventional lidar captures rough outlines of road obstacles, the DHX1 resolves fine details at distance: potholes, small stones, traffic signs, and subtle pedestrian movements.”

Autonomous driving is also a part of Dreame’s concept car, with a so-called L2++ solution supporting “full-scenario urban navigation from parking spot to parking spot,” and L3+ tech “built on a top-tier computing platform designed for fully unmanned autonomous driving.”

That might well be needed, given how the driver in Dreame’s promotional video, embedded above, inexplicably stamps on the accelerator with their left foot at the 00:31 mark.

Of course, the Nebula – same code-name formerly used by the Aston Martin Valkyrie, incidentally – isn’t the only rocket-powered EV in town. Elon Musk said in 2024 that the second-generation Tesla Roadster (due out in 2020 and still nowhere to be seen) would use rocket thrusters developed by SpaceX to also crack a sub-1.0-second 0-60 mph time.

Revealed today, and with order books opening imminently, the new Polo is a big deal for Volkswagen. This is a small but well-priced and seemingly practical car that will suit a great many drivers simply looking for an EV that works exactly the way their current compact car does.

Three variants will be available at launch, with power outputs of 85, 99 and 155 kW (that’s 116, 135 and 211 in metric horsepower, or PS). The first two have a 37 kWh battery that charges at up to 90 kW and which Volkswagen claims can fill from 10 to 80 percent in around 27 minutes. The all-important range figure for that battery is up to 204 miles.

The most powerful of the trio gets a larger 52 kWh battery, which is good for 282 miles of range, Volkswagen says. It has a maximum charge rate of 105 kW and can be filled from 10 to 80 percent in approximately 24 minutes. There’s also a sporty GTI model coming later, which VW says will produce 166 kW (226 PS). All variants have a single motor and are front-wheel-drive.

As you’d expect from any car carrying the Polo name, the new car is compact. It’s a five-seater that measures a fraction over 4.0 metres long, 1.8m wide, and has a wheelbase of 1.53m. The 1,243-litre boot is 25 percent larger than that of the current Polo, and comfortably larger than that of the Renault 5 E-Tech too.

Inside, the new ID. Polo has a cabin that rights many of the wrongs committed by earlier electric Volkswagens. Gone are the touch-sensitive steering wheel buttons of the ID.3, replaced by physical, tactile switchgear. There’s also a proper set of window controls, instead of just two with a button to switch their operating between front and rear, and a simple set of rocker switches for interior temperature.

Intriguingly, the ID.Polo’s 10-inch driver display includes an optional set of digital gauges styled like the analogue dials of a 1980’s Volkswagen. This screen is joined by a 13-inch central touchscreen for the infotainment system, which includes VW’s own voice assistant, plus support for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Other tech includes ambient lighting, and plush optional extras like a 10-speaker Harman Kardon sound system and 12-way electrically adjustable front seats with massage function – a luxury not offered by any other cars in this segment.

Other grown-up features include the option for 19-inch alloy wheels, LED lighting all round, a vehicle-to-load function for powering appliances and electric devices like e-bikes from the charge socket, and a whole suite of active driver assistance systems. This includes Connected Travel Assist, which can spot traffic lights and bring the car to a stop if the driver hasn’t noticed a red light ahead.

Best of all is the price, which starts at €24,995 in Europe. That’s the equivalent of £21,700 today, so while the ID. Polo won’t quite dip below the £20,000 figure like the smaller Renault Twingo, it’ll square up nicely against the Renault 5, which starts at £21,495.

The new ID. Polo feels like a properly exciting moment for Volkswagen, and for small electric cars in general. If it drives well and lives up to the spec sheet, then VW is surely onto a winner.

Formula E has unveiled its all-new GEN4 race car, a machine that signals where everyday electric vehicles are heading next.

Set to debut in the 2026/27 season, the GEN4 car is capable of speeds exceeding 335kph (~208mph) and can accelerate from 0–200kph (0-124mph) in just 4.4 seconds, a 1.5-second improvement over its predecessor.

Formula E has long positioned itself as a testing ground for consumer EV innovation, and GEN4 doubles down on that philosophy.

The car introduces ultra-fast 600kW charging, advances in motor efficiency, and a battery free of rare-earth minerals, all areas that could directly influence the next generation of electric vehicles.

Major automotive players, including Porsche, Nissan and Stellantis, are involved in developing and refining the car, strengthening the link between motorsport innovation and road-going EVs.

Jeff Dodds, CEO of Formula E, described the new car as more than just an evolution.

“GEN4 isn’t just a car, it’s a statement of intent,” he said. “We are now delivering performance levels that were thought impossible for electric vehicles just five years ago.”

Faster, more powerful, more advanced

Performance remains a core focus, with the GEN4 delivering up to 600kW in Attack Mode, a 71% increase over the current GEN3 Evo.

Under race conditions, it produces 50% more power and is expected to be around 10 seconds faster per lap in qualifying.

The GEN4 also introduces permanent all-wheel drive, making it the only single-seater race car to do so, as well as power steering and a redesigned cockpit to improve both safety and accessibility.

FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem highlighted the broader implications of the new machine.

“It is not simply just a fast car, it is a statement of intent about the future of this technology,” he said. “We are redefining what is possible alongside some of the world’s biggest automotive manufacturers.”

A sustainability milestone

Beyond outright performance, GEN4 is also designed to be the world’s first 100% recyclable race car, with at least 20% recycled materials used across key components.

Its tyres are made from 65% natural and recycled materials, including 30% certified natural rubber, while the battery avoids using rare earth elements entirely.

The wider championship has also positioned itself as a leader in sustainable sport, becoming the first global sporting series to achieve B Corp certification and to align with net-zero standards.

What it means for EV drivers

While GEN4 is built for the track, its real significance lies in how quickly its innovations could filter into consumer vehicles.

Faster charging, more efficient power delivery and more sustainable materials are all areas where Formula E is effectively acting as a high-speed test lab.

As manufacturers continue to bridge the gap between racing and road cars, developments seen in GEN4 could soon translate into EVs that charge more quickly, travel farther, and have a smaller environmental footprint.

Find more information about upcoming races and the new cars at Formula E.

Porsche has revealed a coupé version of its new electric Cayenne, giving the full-size SUV a sloping roofline inherited from the 911 sports car.

None of this will be a surprise to Porsche fans, since the previous generation Cayenne was also available in sportier Coupé form. And while that does mean a more compromised boot, the sleeker design boosts aerodynamic efficiency and, since this is an EV, makes a meaningful difference to range too.

Porsche says the 911-style roofline drops total height by 24 mm to 1,650 mm and boosts the Cayenne Electric’s range by up to an extra 11 miles, taking the total to 415 miles for the base model. Finally, someone has found a reason for sloping-roof SUV coupés to exist – because what this Porsche loses in practicality, it makes up for with a bit of extra range.

To be fair to Porsche, it says the Cayenne Coupé Electric is different from the A-pillars back, compared to the SUV variant. So, while it’s subtle, the exterior changes stretch slightly further than simply chopping a bit of the roof off. Even the windscreen, famously ahead of the A-pillars, has been designed specifically for the Coupé.

Thomas Stopka, Porsche’s head of exterior design, said: “The gently sloping roofline sweeps elegantly over the car’s broad shoulders and gives the Cayenne Coupé a particularly sporty appearance…Precisely drawn lines, wide proportions and high-gloss black side window strips form a design that exudes sportiness in every detail.”

Sportiness – a massive dollop of it, in fact – is also found in the Cayenne Electric’s performance. The Coupé shares its underpinning with the SUV variant, so there’s a big, 108kWh battery pack, an 800-volt system architecture, a maximum charge rate of 400 kW (adding 200 miles of range in as little as 10 minutes) and, in flagship Turbo form, 1,140 bhp.

That launches the big Porsche to 62 mph in a hypercar-like 2.5 seconds, and to a top speed of 162 mph. Range is a claimed 398 miles.

Toning things down a little – and for £30,000 less than the £133,300 Turbo – is the Cayenne S Coupé Electric, which has a maximum output of 657 bhp and a 0-62 mph time of 3.8 seconds. Still absolutely plenty, I’m sure you’ll agree.

If you want maximum range, go for the entry-level car, which has a still-respectable 436 bhp and can hit 62 mph in 4.8 seconds. That’ll set you back a more palatable £86,200 – which is a £3,000 premium over the more practical but less aerodynamic SUV version.

Revealed at this week’s Beijing Motor Show, the Cayenne Coupé Electric has a smaller boot than the standard model, at 454 litres compared to 506 litres, but that loss is focused towards the rear, so headroom for second-row passengers is practically unchanged. Speaking of which, the Coupé can be bought with either two electrically reclining seats in the second row, or a traditional three-seat bench.

The Cayenne Electric Coupé is available to order now, with deliveries expected in the coming few months.

It’s already turning into a landmark year for EVs, and now Mercedes-Benz has joined the party with its first-ever battery-powered C-Class.

Boasting a claimed maximum range of 473 miles, the all-new electric C-Class sticks to a more conventional design language than some other Mercedes EVs. Instead of adopting the CLA’s more futuristic looks, the C-Class keeps things relatively traditional, and at first glance you might not be even sure it’s fully-electric. Mercedes describes the car as being “fascinatingly different and yet reassuringly familiar”.

The car is powered by a 94.5 kWh battery pack and uses an 800-volt system architecture. This means super-fast charging is available, with the C-Class capable of adding 202 miles of range in as little as 10 minutes, assuming ideal conditions. Thankfully – and unlike early examples of the new CLA – the C-Class will be supplied with a 400-volt inverter, making it compatible with the UK’s many 400-volt chargers.

A maximum charge rate hasn’t been disclosed, but Mercedes says the C-Class can deliver up to 300 kW of regenerative braking power when using the one-pedal drive mode. Bidirectional charging is also available, meaning the C-Class can be used to power other electronic devices and appliances from its charge socket.

The car’s dual-motor drivetrain produces 483 bhp and delivers a 0-62 mph time of just 4.2 seconds – plenty quick enough for a mid-size executive saloon, and putting the C-Class on par with V8-powered AMG super saloons from just a generation ago.

To that end, Mercedes is keen to highlight the sporty potential of the new C-Class. It described the car as “the sportiest C-Class ever with unmatched agility and long-distance comfort”.

Inside, the new C-Class continues the Mercedes trend of turning the entire dashboard into a huge digital display called the Hyperscreen. Shunning the growing industry trend for a return to physical switchgear, Mercedes continues to go all-in on touch. This latest generation of Hyperscreen measures a whopping 39.1 inches (a fraction under a full metre), stretching right across the dashboard and incorporating the infotainment system, driver display and passenger display into one giant screen.

Mercedes says the display has an “innovative matrix backlight technology,” which uses over 1,000 individual LEDs to create a system that sounds like the local-dimming tech seen on televisions, with “independently adjustable brightness zones”.

The tech continues with the MBUX Virtual Assistant, which uses generative AI to handle complex conversations and give it a form of memory that Mercedes says helps it respond “like an informed friend.”

A fun design detail is the ‘Sky Control’ panoramic roof, which incorporates 162 illuminated stars into the glass roof. Instead of just shining white, these take on the colour of whatever ambient lighting hue you’ve chosen for the rest of the cabin.

The electric C-Class will be sold alongside the internal-combustion version, which will likely soon be facelifted to more closely resemble the new EV. As with other brands, Mercedes now appears keen to offer drivers a choice of fuel type well into the future, rather than shift to a fully-electric strategy.

The car uses the same new MB-EA electric car platform as the closely related Mercedes GLC, and will come to the UK later this year in a dual-motor 400 4Matic configuration, meaning a pair of electric motors and all-wheel-drive. Other versions of the new C-Class, including a performance variant and one with a single motor (and likely more range but less power and a lower price) will be along later.

Mercedes-Benz Group chairman Ola Källenius said: “The all-new electric C-Class is redefining the mid-size segment for electric vehicles. Customers will get exactly what they expect from this new version of the beloved model: the perfect blend of performance, comfort, dynamics, and intelligence. On top of that, it is the most powerful and sportiest C-Class we’ve ever built, offering pure driving pleasure and outstanding real-world range”.

The BMW 7 Series is the flagship model of the range. A luxury saloon designed as the perfect chauffeured drive, whether you are driving or being driven. Today, though, it got a huge update, bringing it in line with the latest Neue Klasse models, such as the BMW iX3 and the new BMW i3.

While this is not officially a new generation of 7 Series, it's a huge update for the interior and a pretty significant change on the outside, too. That big kidney grill has been reprofiled – and looks even bigger. The thin daylight running lights now offer an option to use crystal glass that sparkles and provides a start-up animation, while the low- and high-beam lights have been recessed further into the body, making them almost invisible until activated.

At the rear of the car, the tail lights extend further into the centre until they nearly touch, with the BMW recessed in the centre. There's also new paintwork options, bringing not just two-tone but dual-finish options combining matte and metallic finishes, with a hand-drawn coach line between the two – perfect if you really want to make an entrance.

Electric and hybrid models

The new 7 series is being made in a range of powertrains, but interestingly, only the electric and hybrid models are coming to the UK. The i7, as the all-electric version is known, comes in three models: the i7 50 xDrive, i7 60 xDrive, and i7 M70 xDrive. These now offer an extended range of up to 452 miles (i7 50) with charging speeds increased to 250kW for 10 to 80% in as little as 28 minutes with fast DC charging. AC charging remains at 22kW.

Meanwhile, the sportier M Performance i7 M70 delivers a max 680hp, 1,015 Nm torque and a 3.8-second 0-62mph acceleration. However, range is reduced to 426 miles on this model.

The two plug-in hybrids, the 750e xDrive and the M760e xDrive, will be launched slightly later (November 2026) and feature a straight-six petrol engine in addition to an 18.7kWh battery. This will allow both models an electric-only range of up to 50 miles. It seems, however, this can only be charged using the slower 11kW AC chargers and not fast chargers.

More screens than a multiplex

The big change on the 7 Series models is on the dash, where it gains the new Panoramic iDrive system seen in the iX3 and i3 Neue Klasse models. This includes a floating 17.9-inch central display, angled towards the driver, a 3D head-up display, and the pillar-to-pillar Panoramic Vision display, projected onto the lower section of the windshield. This displays not only the driving dynamics but also a number of customisable widgets chosen from the main menu.

On the new 7 Series, for the first time, this also features a 14.6-inch passenger display, giving a wide range of entertainment options and even video conferencing for those sitting in the passenger seat.

The rear passenger experience has been upgraded, too. There is still the option to have the 31.3-inch 8K theatre screen, which now has an integrated camera for video conferencing in addition to an HDMI connection to use it as a giant computer screen. This option is once again paired with the top-of-the-range Bowers & Wilkins 35-speaker Diamond Surround Sound System, now with Dolby Atmos, for the ultimate cinema experience on the move.

Executive Lounge seating options add leg rests, heated armrests and an Alcantara-trimmed phone tray, while allowing the front passenger seat to move fully foward to maximise on leg room.

There's also immersive lighting throughout and an illuminated Sky Lounge panoramic glass roof option, with more than 40 LEDs to create different patterns and colours.

Other new features include a digital rearview mirror to allow clearer vision when the blinds are lowered for watching the big screen in the back, and updated soft-close functionality on the automatic doors – controllable via the buttons inside or via the BMW app.

Driving assistance modes

With Level 2 driver assistance, the BMW 7 Series offers adaptive cruise control with lane-keeping assistance. It also provides hands-free driving at up to 81mph with navigation-guided entry-2-exit driving on motorways. While this is currently only available in certain European countries (plus some US states), it is expected to be coming to the UK later this year.

A new City Assistant can be activated with route guidance, giving "address-2-address" assistance. This provides full vehicle control, including stopping (and starting) at traffic lights, navigating roundabouts, and filtering into traffic.

The new i7 models launch in September 2026, with the hybrid models due to follow in November 2026. Prices are still to be confirmed but for reference, the current model is priced from £101,865 / $99,300.

There's exclusive, and then there's the Rolls-Royce Coachbuild Collection. Not only is this collection of cars by invitation only, the first model is also only available for 100 clients.

This is Project Nightingale, an electric two-seater of epic proportions. Quite literally, as at 5.76 metres, it is the same length as the Phantom and a front grill that's almost a metre across. It also sits on 24-inch wheels – the largest fitted to a Rolls-Royce.

The design takes inspiration from the Art Deco movement of the 1920s and 30s, as well as some early Rolls-Royce prototypes from around the same time. These were called EX models and wore special red badges.

The 16EX and 17EX were created in 1928 and had a torpedo-shaped form with a lightweight aluminium body that helped them reach speeds in excess of 90 miles an hour – which was, at the time, lightning fast.

The Project Nightingale shares the same torpedo shape, with an expansive bonnet and a large rear deck behind the compact cabin. Even the iconic Spirit of Ecstasy emblem is recessed slightly, as if passing through water.

The name of the car is a reference to the designer's home in France, Le Rossignol (French for 'the nightingale') not far from where Henry Royce had his winter home in Côte d'Azur.

The sound of birdsong, and particularly nightingales, also inspired a new version of the Starlight Roof Headliner for this model. As this is a convertible, the designers created a Starlight Breeze, which forms a horseshoe around the passengers, rising up behind them. It contains 10,500 individual fibre optic lights in a pattern that represents the sound waves from the bird's song.

The Nightingale is finished in a pale solid blue – another tribute to the 1928 17EX model, which was a similar colour. Inside, the seats are a soft pastel blue with a warm white tone, deep navy seat inserts and Peony pink in the fascia and headrests, giving a feel of the French Riviera.

Despite its imposing size, the design and details give it the delicacy of a sports car. It gives a similar feel to previous one-off models, like the Boat Tail, while also tying in with current models like the Rolls-Royce Ghost II.

As is the case with a Rolls-Royce motor car, especially one as exclusive as this, there are no details given on the specifics of the drivetrain. It simply states that it uses the Rolls-Royce electric drivetrain.

This would suggest that this is the same as featured in the Rolls-Royce Spectre and its Black Badge variant. This would mean at least 584 horsepower and 900Nm Torque – maybe 659 horsepower and 1,075Nm Torque if matching the Black Badge.

Not that any of the 100 collectors are likely to be taking this car to its limit on a regular basis. There is also, of course, no price tag on this model. As the saying goes, if you have to ask, you probably can't afford it.

Lepas is about to bring another SUV to the UK and Europe, this time rivalling the Hyundai Kona.

Named by creating a portmanteau of Leopard and Passion, Lepas comes from the Chinese car giant Chery, and is a sibling of Omoda and Jaecoo. The L8 was already announced as the first Lepas car to arrive here, and now we know it’ll be joined by the smaller L6.

To be available as both a fully electric car and a plug-in hybrid, the L6 shares its platform with the hugely popular Jaecoo 7, a budget SUV that became the best-selling car in the UK in March this year.

To be shown off during Milan Design Week later this month, the all-electric Lepas L6 promises a range of 270 miles from a 67 kWh battery. The plug-in hybrid version, called the Lepas L6 Super Hybrid, claims a range of over 700 miles when combining its smaller 18.3 kWh battery with a 1.5-litre petrol engine. Both share much of their architecture with other vehicles built using Chery International’s modular New Energy Vehicle platform.

Continuing the leopard theme, Lepas says the five-seat L6’s design language is intended to capture the agility of a running leopard, while the LED headlights “evoke a leopard’s gaze”. No performance figures have been shared for now, other than a claim that the electric L6 can charge its battery from 30 to 80 percent in approximately 20 minutes.

Since it shares much of its platform with the Jaecoo 7, the plug-in hybrid Lepas L6 is expected to also produce 204 bhp, and it’ll likely have a similar electric-only range to the Jaecoo’s 56 miles. Lepas says the L6 will have “intelligent cabin technology” and “next-generation driver assistance,” but doesn’t expand on these points and is yet to reveal the interior.

Lepas says the L6 will arrive in the UK during the fourth quarter of 2026, but hasn’t yet revealed a price. Given it shares its platform with the Jaecoo 7, but sits a step above the smaller Jaecoo 5, we expect it to cost around £28,000 to £35,000.

Ray Wang, managing director of Lepas UK, said: “The Lepas L6 is as clever as your smartphone, with intelligent technology woven into every journey, and as sophisticated as your home, delivering comfort, safety, and connectivity at every turn.”

BYD is about to take the UK’s electric car charging game to a whole new level, with the roll-out of its own charge network.

Using a technology the Chinese carmaker calls flash charging – and carrying the ‘Flash’ branding – the charge stations will be capable of delivering electricity at 1,500 kW. This is a significant improvement over today’s most powerful EV chargers, which generally don’t exceed 350 or 400 kW.

BYD says it plans to install 300 such chargers in the UK over the next 12 months, as part of a global roll-out that will see 6,000 charge stations constructed. For the UK, those 1500 kW chargers will be joined by another 300 from BYD, operating at a lesser maximum performance.

The news comes as BYD announces the European and UK launch of its Denza sub-brand, and that company’s first car, the Z9 GT. This will be the first EV to work with the new flash chargers, and BYD claims it can fill its 123 kW battery from 10 to 70% in just five minutes – a huge improvement over today’s fastest-charging EVs, which tend to perform such a fill in around 15 to 20 minutes.

Denza also claims the Z9 GT can fill its battery from almost empty to 97% in nine minutes – and that when full, it’ll be good for over 640 miles of range.

Autocar reports how early UK customers of the new Z9 GT will receive 18 months of free charging at BYD’s stations, through a service called Flash Pass. BYD also clarified this week how the charge network will not be exclusive to BYD cars (or those of its brands, like Denza), and nor will it be built entirely by the Chinese company itself. Instead, BYD is in talks with partners to install its super-fast chargers at locations where EV chargers already exist.

Diego Pareschi, director of charging at BYD, told Autocar: “We are coming into a mature market. It doesn’t make sense to create your own [charge station network]. People want a seamless experience and with this they will get that.”

BYD’s chargers will use the commonplace CCS2 charger standard – the same plug we’re all familiar with in the UK and Europe – and they’ll work with every EV that accepts that socket. They’ll be called Flash, but those located at a Denza dealership will be branded to match. BYD claims that, despite their enormous power, the chargers can be powdered from an on-site battery that is topped up by nearby solar panels.

Initially, only the Denza Z9 GT will be capable of extracting maximum power from these chargers. But it likely won’t be long until more BYD vehicles arrive in the UK and Europe to charge at similarly impressive rates.

It's also worth saying that your EV can only charge at its maximum rate, and using a more powerful charger won't change that. So if your car can charge at 50 kW, 150 kW to 350 kW, it'll only hit those figures, even when hooked up to a 1,500 Flash charger. But the prospect of filling a Denza battery as quickly as a tank of petrol? Now that's something to get excited about.

You’ve probably seen the social media trend where users ask what their parents looked like in the 1990s. It’s mostly a sea of big hair, big glasses and questionable wallpaper, but the underlying message is how your parents were probably cooler, wilder and more fun than you ever dared imagine.

The timing couldn’t be better for Renault to remind us all of its own 1990’s self. The Clio might be better known here in the UK, but in its home market, Renault’s Nineties was symbolised by the Twingo.

Basic, cheap and unapologetically simple, but with a smiling face, bags of character and a self-depricating nickname – La Grenoullie, or The Frog – the Twingo was the quintessential little runabout. The city shopper. The budget airport rental that creates holiday memories all on its own. The family car from a time when simplicity, not SUVs, reigned supreme. No wonder Renault shifted over four million of them across 25 countries.

And now it’s back. Revived as an electric A-segment four-seater, the new Renault Twingo E-Tech shares its platform with the similarly reborn Renault 5 E-Tech, but shrinks it down to just 3.8 metres long, slots in a 27.5 kWh battery, and covers it in clever, cute design. The frog-like face is unmistakably Twingo, while the rear too harks back to the first-gen car, the 18-inch wheels give it a sporty purpose, and the interior has enough style to help gloss over the scratchy plastics.

That battery might sound tiny – indeed, it’s smaller than that of some plug-in hybrids – but so is the car, and the result of that is a respectable 163 miles of range.

The Twingo weighs just 1,200 kg, which by today’s standards puts it among the lightest new cars you can buy. Yes, the doors clang closed with the rigidity of a biscuit tin, but once you’re inside none of that really matters. There’s still plenty of room up front, rear seats that are acceptable for adults when slid all the way back. Or, slide them forwards (independently, up to 17 cm) and the boot can easily swallow a couple of carry-on suitcases plus a few soft bags too. This takes away much of the rear leg space, but I reckon a family of four with two young kids could easily manage a week’s holiday with this as their own car.

Sending just 60 kW (80 horsepower) to its front wheels, the Twingo zips about nicely among slow traffic. But the claimed 0-62 mph time of 12.1 seconds is about on par with the Vauxhall Corsa I learnt to drive in 20 years ago. More helpful is the Twingo’s 175 Nm (130 ft-lb) of torque, which helps deliver that surge of low-speed acceleration that makes small EVs like this feel quicker than they really are. It’s also enough torque to spin the front wheels without you even trying, but the way the Twingo scrabbles for grip setting off from junctions made slick by overnight rain only adds to its character.

Top speed is 81 mph, so it’ll manage a flowing European motorway but above 65 mph or so, you’re bound to see the range plummet. The Twingo is happiest on smaller, twistier roads – no wonder Renault chose Ibiza for the launch drive. Here, during a fairly spirited lap of the island with two occupants and luggage, it returned a whopping 5.0 miles per kWh. That’s practically unheard of, and about a mile more than the equally new BMW iX3. The latter has a much larger battery, but Renault still proves an important point with the Twingo – that a small, light EV can be more efficient than far pricier alternatives.

The Twingo’s charging performance isn’t quite as impressive. It can only manage a charge rate of 50 kW, which in 2026 looks like a typo. But factor in the smaller battery and you’ll still see a 10% to 80% fill in 30 minutes.

Not that many Twingo drivers will be charging like that anyway. This is a car best charged overnight at home (for about £2.20, zero to 100 percent, on an EV tariff), then used for tackling local errands with a smile. At 1.72m wide, it feels properly tiny on the road – in fact, it’s 10mm narrower than the current generation of Mazda MX-5 – and the low weight makes it a joy to chunk into corners. It rides well enough, steers precisely, brakes well and serves as a constant reminder that less weight makes cars better in every way.

The cabin is nicely designed, with Renault having clearly spent a very small budget with a lot of care. Body-coloured details on the doors and dashboard help break up the black plastics. Physical dials for the temperature and fan speed look and feel better than the touchscreen alternatives of cars costing two or three times the price. All models of Twingo get the same 10-inch central touchscreen, which runs Android Automotive and is joined by a 7-inch driver display.

A native Google Maps app is ready to help you locate a charger or plan a route with battery percentage and charger locations factored in. There’s Google Assistant for now, but Renault says that’ll be upgraded to Gemini in the future, and the Play Store is available for accessing more apps, like Spotify for music streaming through the six-speaker system.

Speaking of which, Renault says the Twingo comes with a 2GB monthly data plan that’s free for three years and is the equivalent of about 40 hours of music per month. Or you can connect your phone and use Apple CarPlay or Android Auto in the normal way.

Other tech includes up to 24 automated driver assistance systems (plus a button to easily turn off those you don’t want), a one-pedal drive mode, and even hands-free parking – a first among A-segment cars, Renault says. There’s also an alert that sounds if you open a door into approaching traffic.

I was given a couple of days to fully assess the new Twingo, but in reality, I was smitten after just a few miles. It’s one of those cars that makes you smile the moment you see it, and ensures the grin stays in place until long after you’ve parked up. It’s small, simple, and in some places, you can see where Renault has been aggressive with the budget. But it nails the basics in a way other A-segment EVs have failed to achieve, all while looking fantastic – and, best of all, it’ll cost under £20,000 ($26,800).

Renault hasn’t put an exact price on the Twingo just yet (and the first UK cars won’t arrive until early 2027), but the price will begin with a one. Or for those on finance or a lease deal, I can imagine the Twingo landing just under £200 a month. That’s only my estimate for now, but if Renault can stick the landing, the Twingo will be a no-brainer for a lot of drivers.

While older generations of drivers slowly transition to electric SUVs, the future of the electric car market lies in a new generation of driver. Small sporty cars, known as hot hatches, have gained the attention of a younger audience since the 1980s, and now they could be the turning point for EVs.

The Cupra Raval is built on VW’s MEB+ framework, the same as the upcoming electric Polo and ID Cross. At just four metres long, it’s a compact design, and starts from just £23,000 ($31,000). The top-of-the-range model, the Raval VZ, has a sportier look, 226 mechanical horsepower, and a driving experience Cupra describes as Go-cart styled.

The name Raval comes from the area of Barcelona, an arty district that teams with youth and enthusiasm in the city where the car was designed, developed and manufactured. Fitting for a car that is squarely aimed at the Gen-Z driver.

“For sure it’s a Gen-Z vehicle,” says Sven Schwirth, Seat’s Executive Vice President for sales, marketing and aftersales. “But the car has a much broader market potential. It’s simply a car for everyone, for young people, or the young-minded.”

Though surprisingly still a four-door hatchback as opposed to two, the Raval has a more flamboyant look, with sharp lines and muscular features. The sculpted bonnet is framed by sharp triangular headlights and an illuminated Cupra badge, while at the rear, LED lights stretch across the full width with another illuminated badge at the centre.

A car to customise

Among the seven paint colours are two matte finishes and an iridescent plasma paint, which changes between cyan, blue, indigo and red depending on how the light hits it. There are also eight wheel design options, ranging from 17-inch to 19-inch.

“Chromatic aspects are very much linked to the Cupra brand,” says Francesca Sangalli, Seat’s head of colour and trim, concept and strategy. “We create a proper strategy for the colour because they are very much linked to the brand identity, such as the copper logo and details. The colours for the exterior are neutral with a twist, inspired by raw nature.”

Inside, the Raval offers a choice of three seat designs, from the recycled-material sports seats of the Pulse trim to the Dinamica-covered bucket seats of the immersive trim to the 3D-printed bucket seats of the CUP edition, made using 100% recycled material.

In addition to the 10.25-inch driver display and the 12.9-inch centre touch screen, the cockpit features a sporty steering wheel generously covered in physical buttons to control all major functions while driving. There’s also an optional 12-speaker Sennheiser sound system with 475W of power.

Ambient lighting stretches across the whole dash and into the doors, providing visual feedback for driver communication, such as for blind spot warnings and performance moments. Most impressively, dynamic projections see moving 3D graphics displayed on the doors, with a range of patterns and colours all selectable from the infotainment menu.

The car runs an Android-based OS, which is clean and bright. This also provides access to over 130 third-party apps for download, including video streaming from Netflix or Amazon Prime Video when the car is parked.

Spanish heat

The Raval comes in four different power versions and two different battery sizes. The entry-level starts at 85kW (115 PS) with a 37kWh battery, offering a 300km range and DC charging up to 90kW. The 155kW and 166kW models feature a larger 52kWh battery, which can deliver up to 450km of range and 130kW DC charging. This gives 10-80% charging in as little as 23 minutes.

The top-of-the-range model is the VZ or Veloz, and is a serious hot hatch. This version has 226 mechanical horsepower (166kW) and 290Nm of torque, with a sub-seven-second 0-62mph and a top speed of 175kmh. Along with exclusive vegan leather bucket seats or CUP bucket seats, the VZ features DCC sports suspension, an electronic slip-differential and wider 235mm tyres. It also offers an ESC off mode and E-launch to deliver a race start.

It’s the kind of spec that petrol heads would drool over for their supped-up Renault 5s, Vauxhall Novas or indeed Seat Cupras, back in the day. Now, though, it’s available in electric form for a new generation of car fans.

Mass-market appeal

The entry price of the Raval makes it an appealing option for younger drivers seeking their first car, or maybe their first new car. With four doors, however, and a huge 430-litre storage in the boot, this is a small car that will also appeal to families. Being smaller and lighter means it can still offer a decent range from a relatively small battery, so it can be used for longer journeys in addition to city driving.

Interestingly, the Raval doesn’t have an overly futuristic design, which is often the way with new battery electric models. Instead, it has a more traditional compact hatch design, with plenty of Cupra Spanish flair. It has the makings of a great car, that just happens to have an electric drivetrain – it’s bound to be a hit.

The Cupra Raval is priced from £23,000 in the UK and €26,000 in Europe. Pre-orders are open now (end of April for the UK) with deliveries starting this summer.

Now might be the best time to buy an electric car, or EV, in the UK. Increasing oil prices are affecting petrol at the pump; there are updated government grants for EV purchases; and the considerably lower emissions tax rates than fuel equivalents adds incentive.

I've long been driving electric cars, having followed the development for more than 12 years as part of my job, and have been an EV owner for several years now. The option of at-home charging only further sweetens the deal.

Unless, that is, you have a sub-par charger installed. And after I experienced a unit blowout, Humax came to the rescue with its all-new MX7 charger – installed by 24/7 Electrical Croydon – and it's made my life oh-so-much easier.

Not only does the Humax MX7 look a treat, it's also got oodles of features on board – from its smart app with vehicle ID and RFID activation option, to smart tariff sync and even solar energy integration – which I'll break down below.

Installation

As a previous EV charger existed on the side of my home (RIP Rolec – thanks for not returning my calls), I assumed a replacement would be a quick-and-easy straight swap – because I already had the capacity for a 7.4kW charger (if you don't, you may require more considerable electrical work).

That wasn't precisely the case, however, as government regulation changes in 2022 added a requirement for smart functionality – and my original install was from 2020. Further regulation changes in 2025 mean you won't require any planning permission to install a private charger.

What did that mean in reality for my particular install? Fundamentally that a new cable was required to comply with the updated communications aspect of the regulation.

That meant some drilling and internal trunking to hide any cable visibility within the house. However, I worked with Steve from 24/7 Electrical – who was fitting my unit – to find the path with minimal disruption. If qualified, you could fit the unit yourself.

Three hours in and everything was all installed, tested and operational. The Humax MX7 is so much easier on the eyes than many chargers I've seen, too. It features a built-in status light ring, which changes colour depending on activity (which can be dimmed using the associated app).

Smart Tariffs

A major benefit to the MX7 is the Humax Charge app – available for Google Android and Apple iOS – allows you to select between charging modes.

There's Instant for immediate charging; Schedule, where you can set allowable charging hours (daily across a week); and Intelligent, where the system aligns with your provider's Smart Tariff for automatic charging activation.

I had eyed-up the MX7 in the hope that the last of those would be the perfect solution for me, as Octopus Energy (my provider) does offer this compatibility. However, changing to Intelligent Octopus Go, as the provider calls it, would have ramped up my during-the-day energy costs.

I called Octopus, we did some calculations and, ultimately, as someone who works at home and is utilising energy throughout the day, this tariff didn't fit my personal needs. If, however, your work and driving patterns would benefit, it could save you lots of money – which is one of the MX7's biggest potential perks.

Typically such tariffs will assign hours when the grid has lesser demand, such as after 1am and before 6am, and offer cheaper energy per kW at these times. Octopus does sometimes assign 'bonus hours' into a calendar, however, so an intelligent system would instigate charging if the car was plugged in during such times, too.

Vehicle ID

The Humax MX7 comes in two forms: untethered, where you provide your own cable from box to car; or tethered, where a fixed cable from the unit can be plugged into your vehicle.

I elected for the untethered for a few reasons: the tethered version costs more; cable theft in the UK has spiked, as there's worth in the material components within, so I didn't want to run that risk; and if you choose a tethered cable then a change in vehicle to something with a different connection type (unlikely, yet plausible), wouldn't then be able to plug in and charge.

The chances of someone pulling onto your driveway, plugging in their EV and nicking your electricity is unlikely – but wouldn't have been impossible with my old charger (save for flicking the RCD down on the inside commercial unit to deactivate each time – I don't think so!).

With the Humax MX7 the system won't automatically charge when an unrecognised vehicle is connected – the app will prompt you and you determine whether you permit it or not. As this is a smart system, you can register your vehicles in the app to be recognised – a 'handshake' will see that remembered, after which manual prompts won't be required.

Furthermore, if you prefer, the MX7 comes with two RFID tags. One of these Radio Frequency Identification nubs could sit on a keyring, for example, and a press-and-hold against the charging unit will activate charging – in the event you wish to override settings or don't have app access at that time.

The one 'bug' I have with the app is that it can only register with one unit – and that to one email address. If you're going to have multiple family members using the app, I'd advise setting up a new email address to which all users have access. As you can't sign in using multiple email addresses to gain app access, which seems like a major shortcoming to me.

Solar Energy

In addition to your EV drawing from your mains system, the MX7 is V2H and V2G compliant – that's Vehicle to Home and Vehicle to Grid – meaning it can, in the future, potentially put energy back into your system. Note: the certification process for these are still underway, so it's not yet available.

You might wonder why you'd ever want those options, but there are circumstances. An extended power cut, for example, would give you the ability to run (at up to 7kW) to provide a backup. I like the concept of that idea.

The other use is with solar. While my home doesn't permit solar panel installations (yet, as the licence agreement would mean it's feasible in four years' time), if you did have a bank of panels, then these could also charge your EV.

For some, that will be a major perk. And, in the event of your vehicle's charge sitting at 100%, V2G could mean in the future that you'd be able, for example, to pull that solar energy back into your system and 'sell' it back to the grid – further reducing your energy costs.

Conclusion

The Humax MX7 is set up to save you money in the long term. It's smart, it's future-proof, it's great to look at and, save for the single sign-in for the app, it's great to use.

It's made my life easier – and, should tariffs and solar options change in the future, could make it even better, too.

Pricing for the MX7 is around £649 in the UK, with installation from £499 (including VAT), with Humax's official page for local installation visible here.

Changan is probably the biggest Chinese car manufacturer you’ve never heard of. Based in Chongqing, the company has made production cars in China since 1984 and has had a base in Europe since 2003, when it opened its design studio in Turin, Italy.

Today, the firm has a network of R&D facilities across the globe, including Detroit, Munich and Birmingham in the UK. Its first UK car, the Deepal S07, launched in September 2025 to impressive reviews, thanks to its high-level spec and competitive price. Now, its second model looks to do the same.

The Deepal S05 is a smaller, compact SUV, and starts from just £37,990 in the UK. This was designed in Changan’s European design centre, and takes design cues from aeroplanes – from the front bumper to the V-shaped spoiler on the rear.

Coming in a choice of four main colours, including a special andromeda blue and Mercury silver, it’s a good-looking car both inside and out. The thin, elongated daylight running LEDs create a sporty look that reminds me of Lotus models, while the rear has something Mazda-like about it.

Interior style

Inside though is where the car really impresses. The trim can be finished in a classy black, with orange stitching, or for the bold, in full orange, which actually looks far nicer than it sounds. Both use vegan leather and soft touch materials, without a hint of piano black plastic, and highlighted with LED lighting to set the mood.

There’s no driver display, as such here, though the augmented reality heads-up display comes as standard and provides all the relevant information in the line of sight – this is apparently an equivalent of a 50-inch display, and is certainly bright and clear enough for easy use.

The central display is a 15.4-inch 2.5k resolution touch screen, which provides all of the information, as well as access to most of the features – including climate control, wing mirror adjustment and even opening the sunblind on the giant panoramic glass roof. There is of course a voice assistant, accessed by saying, “hey Deepal” should you wish to avoid the menus.

The clever part about this screen though is that it can adjust the angle of the display – not by rotating between portrait and landscape, like the BYD models, but tilting horizontally by 15 degrees, either towards the driver or to the passenger. With this angled in, it does make more of a cockpit fit to the cabin and puts you in control. Equally, if the passenger is controlling the sat nav or the playlist, they can tilt it towards them and not distract the driver.

The operating system is fast and well-designed, allowing easy access to Apple CarPlay or Android Auto should you require it. I found the mapping a little basic, so using Google Maps or Waze is probably preferred. There’s also a wireless charging pad, giving you up to 50W charging for your phone.

The system includes a range of games for when you’re stationary or charging, which are pretty fun. There’s also a rest mode, which, when selected, reclines your seat, closes the blind and dims the lights, and a pet mode to keep the air con running and alert that the animal in the car is safe, should you need to leave them for a few minutes.

The really clever stuff, though, is tucked away in the camera menu, under a setting called external speaker. As you might guess from the name, these modes control an external speaker that sits in the wheel arch. Preset buttons can be used to alert pedestrians to your presence – helpful when travelling at low speed in a relatively silent EV – or even more specifically to look up from their phone. Another button alerts to your arrival – handy when picking up friends.

My favourite, though, is that you can press and hold the button to use the microphone and have your voice instantly projected outside the car, like some kind of police megaphone. Now obviously, you would only want to use this for good, but the potential for misuse is huge.

Driving the Deepal S05

Back to the specs of the Deepal S05, it comes in both rear-wheel-drive and all-wheel-drive versions. The AWD version is faster, giving you a 0-62mph of 5.5 seconds compared to 7.5 seconds, while the RWD model offers a longer range of 303 miles, compared to 278 miles.

Both models share the same 68.8 kWh battery, with a maximum DC charging rate of 200kW and an AC charging rate of 11kW. Vehicle-to-load (V2L) charging is possible from the car, to power external devices with up to 6kW, but not vehicle to home or to grid.

I drove the RWD version, and it seemed to have more than enough power. It also handled well around a salom circuit that had been set up for me on a private airfield, to really test the handling and compare the driving modes – of which it offers eco, comfort and sport, as well as the ability to turn off the traction control.

Several adjustments have been made to the Deepal S05 to make it suit European drivers, rather than the home Chinese audience, including an overhaul of the suspension system to make it firmer. Over 50mph, though, the car still becomes quite bouncy and light, even in Sports mode.

The compact SUV is perhaps one of the toughest sectors for electric cars right now, as there are a lot of strong, affordable options available. The Changan Deepal S05 will be up against models like the Kia EV3, Volvo EX30 and Skoda Elroq – all of which offer impressive specs for similarly affordable prices. When it comes down to style and tech, though, the Deepal S05 holds its own and is definitely one to consider.

Much like the promise of truly driverless cars arriving any day now, solid-state batteries have been just around the corner for years – but now they really are here.

And what’s more, the first electric cars to use solid-state batteries don’t come from luxury brands or unfamiliar startups. The first electric car to offer such a battery in the UK and Europe will be the humble MG4 EV Urban – and it’ll arrive by the end of 2026.

Described for years as the Next Big Thing for electric cars, solid-state battery tech promises to deliver faster charging, greater energy density, improved safety, lower production costs and extended battery life. Solid-state batteries are also expected to hold up better when cold, so your EV’s range doesn’t suddenly plummet at the first hint of winter.

We didn’t have MG on our solid-state battery bingo card either, but the surprise comes with a small caveat.

That’s because the MG4 EV Urban uses a battery technology called SolidCore, and technically it’s a semi-solid-state battery. It uses a new Lithium-Manganese-Oxide (LMO) chemistry, along with a semi-solid electrolyte cathode, and the result is a battery that’s about five percent liquid electrolyte, instead of the usual 20 percent for more conventional batteries used by other EVs.

Safety is improved since the solid element of each battery cell forms a protective barrier, extending lifespan and lowering the risk of damage caused by collision or an intrusion into the pack.

MG, which is owned by Chinese automotive giant SAIC, isn’t saying too much for now, other than suggesting the new SolidCore battery will offer better performance and charging speeds, especially in very cold weather. This will be good news to EV owners familiar with slow charge speeds and significant range loss in cold weather.

The carmaker hasn’t said whether the new battery will improve the MG4 Urban’s current range of 258 miles (using a traditional LFP battery). But, while a modest bump to 300 miles would be very welcome, the real gains could be in efficiency, charge time and longevity. If energy density can also be improved, that could mean MG fitting smaller, lighter and cheaper batteries to its future cars, delivering a similar range to today but for a lower price.

MG’s SolidCore battery might not be the EV revolution solid-state tech has promised for the past decade. But it’s a step in the right direction, especially for EV drivers in colder climates.

BMW has launched a new all-electric model, and it's the first saloon model to use the Neue Klasse design language. Plus, the car in question brings back a familiar name: the i3.

The i3 was one of two original electric models from BMW launched in 2013, and alongside the i8, formed the beginnings of ‘project i’. Despite being shelved in 2022, it has remained a popular choice for electric fans as a premium small car.

The new i3 looks very different from the old model, which had an individual style to it. This design feels closer to the existing 3 Series models, tying it into the range in the same way the i4 and i7 models have with the 4 Series and 7 Series.

Following the Vision

The design of the new i3 is very close to the original prototypes for the Vision Neue Klasse back in 2023, and even the original iVision Dee. This feels like a progression of the existing 3 Series, but much cleaner and with a new face, merging the grille with the twin headlights, mirroring that of the recent iX3.

It’s a modern interpretation of the classic BMW 2.5-box design, with a long wheelbase, short overhangs and that shark-nose to give the sporty character. Door handles are flush-mounted, there’s a new blue metallic paint finish, 21-inch aero wheels, and a new three-dimensional light signature on the rear gives it a unique look.

Inside, like the BMW iX3, the i3 features the new Panoramic iDrive system. This offers a unique display along the length of the windscreen in addition to the centre screen. This combines driving information – kept in line of sight for the driver – with customisable widgets that can be transferred from the 17.9-inch central screen. There’s also an optional 3D head-up display that sits above this.

The BMW Operating System X offers a full range of customisation and features the BMW Personal Assistant powered by Amazon’s Alexa+ AI technology for natural language communication.

Powering the i3

The BMW i3 features 800-volt technology and a cell-to-pack design to offer up to 559 miles (900km) of range and 400kW charging to achieve 10% to 80% in just 21 minutes, or 249 miles (400 km) of range with just a 10-minute charge. The battery supports bi-directional charging for Vehicle-to-Home or Vehicle-to-Grid delivery. It also supports the faster 22 kW AC home charging in some markets.

With dual motors (one on each axle), the BMW i3 produces 469hp (345kW) and 645 Nm of torque. There's also the option to have adaptive M suspension, BMW M Sports seats and the M Sport package, which includes blue M Sport brake callipers, a sports steering wheel and an M logo projection from the wing mirror.

The Heart of Joy is the super brain behind the driving dynamics in the new i3, while separate computers are dedicated to the automated driving and infotainment. Driver assistance systems include a Level 2 autonomous system with steering and braking assistance, plus parking as part of the Driving Assistant Plus package.

A new Soft Stop system also uses the precise control from the electric motors to slow the car more smoothly, without any jerking or brake noise. This is all taken care of through recuperation braking with the physical brake pads only being used for emergency braking or more extreme driving.

Production of the BMW i3 will start in BMW’s Munich plant in August 2026. Final price and delivery dates are still to be confirmed.

It might feel like a tired cliche to call a new electric car a Tesla rival. But Rivian is a company that shares more with Tesla than two motors and a skateboard chassis.

Like Tesla, Rivian is a tech-focused automotive startup that focuses purely on electric cars. Its vehicles boast impressive interior tech and, just like Tesla, Rivian is building its own charging service, called the Adventure Network, which aims to install rapid chargers in remote locations to encourage its customers to explore the great outdoors.

Founded in 2009, just six years after Tesla, Rivian had a slow start but by 2015 had received enough investor cash to start work on its first car, an electric SUV called the R1. This eventually became two cars with a shared electric platform: the Rivian R1S is an SUV and the R1T is a closely-related pickup truck.

Deliveries began in 2021, and now the company has its sights set on expanding both its product range and its customer base. The next car is the R2, which is still an electric SUV but noticeably smaller than the R1. After that we’ll see the even smaller R3 electric crossover, but that’s not due to land until later this decade.

The R2 is much closer to reality, with the first deliveries due to begin later in 2026. It’ll go up against the Tesla Model Y and, unlike the R1 duo, this Rivian will be coming to the UK and Europe.

A model called the R2 Performance will be available first, and initially that’ll come in a configuration called the Launch Package. It’ll be priced at $57,990 (about £45,000 before tax and other import charges), and boast a dual-motor drivetrain with 650 horsepower and a 0-62 mph time of 3.7 seconds. Super car levels of performance, in other words.

That may seem like overkill – the sprint time is only just shy of the £62,000 Tesla Model Y Performance – but more sensible versions will be along soon after. These include variants of R2 called the Premium and the Standard, and for these prices start at $48,490 (about £38,000 before tax). Then, in 2027, an entry-level version will start at just $45,000 (£34,000).

Range figures vary from about 275 miles for the Standard, to 330 miles for the Performance and 345 miles for a long-range model. That’s using the United States’ EPA test cycle, which tends to be more conservative than the WLTP version used here, so those figures could be a bit higher once Rivian crosses the Atlantic.

As well as its sleek, modern design and attractive pricing, highlights of the Rivian R2 include a tech-heavy cabin with a large touchscreen running the company’s own operating system, a smartphone app and a high-end sound system with nine speakers, two midwoofers and a pair of subwoofers.

Optional extras include a large roof tent with ladder, a fold-out camping kitchen that can be stowed in the frunk and includes an induction hob powered from the R2’s battery, and a twin mattress and duvet set. In case you hadn’t noticed, Rivian loves the idea of its customers adventuring into the great outdoors. On that note, the R2 promises strong off-roading performance – something Tesla has never really spoken about with the Model Y – while maintaining on-road comfort too.

Rivian doesn’t yet have the scale (or the share price) to match Tesla. In truth, it’s only just getting started. But just as Tesla gambled everything on the Model 3 giving it the scale to succeed, Rivian is about to attempt the same with its R2, and later the R3. It’s going to be an exciting couple of years for Rivian, and I for one can’t wait to see the R2 land here in the UK.

The ID Cross was first announced at the Munich Auto Show in 2025. Like the upcoming ID Polo, this is based on VW’s new MEB+ platform, specifically designed for smaller electric cars.

Like the Polo, the ID Cross is a city car, but it has four doors and a decent amount of space inside. It’s 10cm longer than the ID Polo and has trunk space similar to the ID.4. However, it remains significantly smaller than the ID.3 or the Golf. In fact, it’s 400kg lighter than the ID.3 and is due to be much cheaper too.

Though the global release isn’t until later this year, we already know most of the specs. This is a front-wheel drive car, so the electric motor is positioned in front of the driver, much like a traditional engine. This generates 155kW of output, which is around 207 bhp, and 290 Nm of torque, making it pretty nippy.

A larger, comfier Polo?

In addition to this ID Cross and the ID Polo, there is also an ID Polo GTI coming, which will be the hot hatch model. The ID Cross is more of a family option. Here, economy is the more important metric, and with a choice of a 37kWh or 52kWh battery. This provides a range of up to 312km / 193 miles for the smaller battery and 436km / 270 miles for the larger battery. Importantly, that means up to 5.2 miles per kWh.

The batteries are also fast charging, with a maximum of 90kW for the smaller battery and 105kW for the larger battery. VW says it has reduced the maximum speed slightly but improved the charging curve, allowing it to maintain a faster charge for more of the charging time. This means it can go from 10% to 80% in as little as 24 minutes.

Bi-directional charging is also possible from these batteries, allowing vehicle-to-grid and vehicle-to-load to power your gadgets on the move, with up to 3,600W via an adaptor.

Topped up with tech

As you might expect, there’s plenty of tech on the ID Cross too. There’s the IQ lights, offering intelligent headlights, while the driving system benefits from Park Assist and what it calls the connected travel assist system. This uses swarm data, with excellent lane-keeping functionality and even the ability to detect traffic lights, bringing the vehicle automatically to a stop when using the level 2 autonomous driving function.

Inside the car, the screen layout is similar to the ID Polo, with a 13-inch centre screen and a smaller 10.25-inch driver display behind the wheel. There’s a new steering wheel too, with lots of manual buttons.

The real showpiece, though, is the retro display mode, which turns the driver's screen into a copy of the Mark 1 Golf instrument panel, and the centre screen into an equally 1980s-designed panel, complete with cassette tape graphic for your music and an old-style fuel gauge and odometer.

On the road

I was given the chance to take one of the prototype versions of the ID Cross out on the roads of Amsterdam to see how the car performs. Despite being one of the smallest models in the fleet, the car feels spacious inside and offers a comfortable driving position. While you’re not high up like an SUV, it gives plenty of vision of the road.

The first thing I really noticed was the power of the ID Cross. Without feeling sports car fast, it was hugely responsive when you put your foot on the accelerator, allowing me to nip through the heavy morning Amsterdam traffic and head out of the city.

The ride is solid but not too firm; there was very little body movement taking the car around corners and roundabouts. Taking the car over speed bumps, there was enough response to save shaking you in your seat, and a little extra bounce as the springs returned. It’s certainly a well-balanced system between firmness and comfort.

Connected Travel Assist

I tried out the adaptive cruise control features on the ID Cross, which include lane positioning and traffic light response. I was really impressed at the lane positioning here, even when taking sharper bends, it kept the car well placed, with only minimal pressure from my hands on the wheel. A lot of cars now offer lane positioning, but few feel as confident as this.

The traffic light recognition is a really nice touch for those wanting to use the level 2 autonomous functions in a city environment. A traffic light symbol appears on the driver's display when it’s spotted, and if it’s a red light (or amber) it will slow the car down to a stop, even without a car in front. When the light turns green, it notifies you on the dashboard, but it needs a gentle press on the accelerator to allow it to move on.

Only once did this system get slightly confused when it spotted a red light on a filter lane, but a press on the accelerator easily overrode the car slowing down, and we carried on as normal. This, of course, was still a prototype system, so there are still tweaks to be made.

With the extra space, solid drive and amount of tech on board, the ID Cross looks like it will be a winner when finally released later this year. While UK prices are yet to be confirmed, in Europe it will start from €28,000, going up to around €40,000 for the fully specced model.

The Mercedes VLE is an all-electric van picking up where the V-class has left off, but it's more than that. While the new model comes in a range of different configurations, at its best, it becomes a grand limousine offering more luxury than even the company's S-Class.

It's certainly more MPV than van, with seating arrangements for between 5 and eight people. From bench designs to the new Grand Comfort Seat, which offers both a massage function and calf support, letting you sit back and relax like being on a business class plane seat.

Providing the entertainment in the rear is not the usual seat-mounted 12-inch screens – here you get a retractable 31.3-inch panoramic screen with 8K resolution. This covers the full width of the car and can offer either one large screen or a split screen option for the two passengers. This is similar to the screen seen in the back of the BMW i7.

The entertainment isn't limited to the back seats, however. In the cockpit, you get the MBUX Superscreen, which combines a 10.25-inch and two 14-inch displays and features the MBUX virtual assistant, plus a head-up display. This is paired with premium sound from Burmester 3D surround sound system with a total of 22 speakers onboard.

With 800V architecture, the VLE's 115kWh battery offers fast charging at up to 320kW and a total range of up to 434 miles. It also supports bi-directional charging for both vehicle-to-home (C2H) and vehicle-to-grid (V2G) systems to return energy from the VLE.

The VLE also features a sky view panoramic glass roof, Airmatic air suspension and rear axle steering. I also love the fact that both the Standard and Exclusive line versions feature a standing star on the bonnet – a feature reserved for Mercedes premium vehicles.

Prices are expected to start around £80,000 / $110,000, with an on-sale date expected in 2027.

Xiaomi's new car design looks good enough to rival the finest hypercars on the planet, so it's almost a shame that the only roads the Vision GT will be burning up will be in a game.

Designed to feature in Gran Turismo 7, one of the best driving games around today, Xiaomi will join the esteemed list of manufacturers to add a concept car – or vision – to the game. That's not to say that this car hasn't undergone the same rigorous design process as a real car.

This work was a partnership between Xiaomi's European automotive design studio and China, and puts extreme focus on the aerodynamics of the Vision car. Described as being sculpted by the wind, it features integrated airflow channels in the chassis, an active underfloor and hollow tail lights at the rear. The floating teardrop design enlists every part of the design to have an aero function, rather than aesthetics.

The rear of the car looks more like a luxury yacht. Around the tail lights, tiny holes generate airflow to push the dirty air away from the car to reduce drag in what it fittingly calls the active wave control system.

A special Voltex wheel cover fits flush with the tyre, with a magnetic system to keep it still while the wheels are in motion. Inside the cover, a turbo fan directs airflow for brake cooling. All of this results in a drag coefficient of 0.29 and a downforce of -1.2.

Inside, the cockpit is designed to be both a hypercar in styling and as comfortable as racing from your sofa. Xiaomi's intelligence assistance, Pulse, is built into the dash and interacts using sound and light. The Hyper OS has also been reimagined for driving use, while the X-shaped steering wheel features both a digital display and physical buttons.

The Xiaomi Vision Gran Turismo is due to be added to the game this September, but in the meantime, you can drive the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra. With such a good-looking and thought-out design, it's a shame there won't be a real-world version of the VGT, at least beyond the full-size model.

I got to see this in person at this year's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, and it looks just as impressive in real life. While the SU7 and YU7 models are also impressive, the VGT is a strong sign that Xiaomi cars are going to get even better in the future.

Whether you're a driver by necessity or a real petrol head, there's nothing that divides opinion more than the electric car. While the motor industry is undergoing the biggest change in 100 years, hybrid and battery-powered vehicles have their pros and cons.

EV fans up until recently, have been early adopters who also love advancing tech, wanting to try something new before everyone else. The payoff has been huge savings in fuel costs, more performance and next-gen entertainment options inside. However, those doubters see limited range, poor charging infrastructure and driver character as reasons to resist the change.

• Have your say on EVs and a chance of winning £100 Amazon voucher

As technology lovers, T3 has followed the development of electric cars since our very first issue in 1996 and its more recent explosion into mainstream motoring.

But we want to know what you think? Are you ready to switch, or are you already driving an EV? Which EV and hybrid cars appeal most, and which provide the best quality or value for money? Answer our dedicated EV survey today to help shape our future coverage, and you could win an Amazon voucher worth £100 for your trouble.

Full T&C's here, open to UK residents over 18 years old. Survey closes on 24 March 2026.

• Answer our survey on EVs now

Lamborghini is the latest luxury car maker to rethink its plans for electrification, as the battery-powered Lanzador due out in 2028 is shelved.

The Italian supercar company decided to cancel a fully-electric version of the Lanzador at the end of 2025, with chief executive Stephan Winkelmann making the news public this week.

A plug-in hybrid version of the radical SUV-coupe is now being planned for 2029, which will be six years since the Lanzador was first revealed as an electric concept.

I was among a handful of journalists who drove that concept car back in 2023. While essentially just a show car with a crude, low-power electric drivetrain beneath the wild bodywork, the Lanzador demonstrated what a 1,300-horsepower Lamborghini EV might look and feel like.

The idea of the car – plus its proportions, styling and interior – impressed me greatly. But there was always a nagging doubt about how an electric Lamborghini would stir the soul of its driver without the hallmark exhaust note.

This concern was brought into sharp focus when Lamborghini's own press event announcing the EV was interrupted by the sound of a supercar passing by outside. The question that didn’t need asking was, how can an electric Lambo catch the attention of a room full of petrolheads like that mystery passer-by did? The answer, now clear for all to see, is that it can’t.

• Best EVs: putting this year’s top electric cars to the test

Speaking to The Sunday Times, Winkelmann said demand from Lamborghini customers for an electric car was “close to zero”. Instead of investing any further into an EV, Lamborghini will now focus on offering an entirely hybrid product range by 2029, comprising four distinct models.

These are expected to include revisions of the current Temerario and Revuelto supercars – both of which are already hybrids – along with the Urus SUV and a new model related to the Lanzador concept.

Speaking to Wired, the Lambo boss added that, after questioning dealers and analysing customer data, “it was clear not only that the acceptance of full electric cars is flattening worldwide for our type of cars, it’s going almost to zero – if not to zero.”

This is an increasingly common theme across the luxury car and supercar landscape. While cheaper electric cars are gaining in popularity, thanks to successes like the reborn Renault 5, and SUVs like the BMW iX3 and Volvo EX60 are now breaking through the 500-mile range barrier, electric sports and supercars are practically a non-starter.

Mate Rimac admitted in 2024 that his company’s Nevera electric hypercar had sold poorly and won’t be succeeded by another EV. Porsche – with its all-electric Boxster and Cayman sports cars waiting nervously in the wings – has lost billions of euros to weakening electric car sales. Bentley has delayed its plans for going all-electric by five years.

Aston Martin and McLaren are both yet to say when their first EVs might arrive, if ever. Maserati recently cancelled plans for an electric version of its McPura supercar due to a lack of demand. Bugatti's next car, the Tourbillon, will be a hybrid with a V16 engine.

Ferrari has quickly become the outlier, soldiering ahead with its all-new Luce. A four-seat EV with an interior designed by Sir Jony Ive, a dual-motor powertrain with over 1,000 horsepower, a trick sound generation system likened to a guitar amp, the Luce will be revealed fully in May.

Ferrari had probably once hoped it would be entering a vibrant market of luxury, high-performance EVs. But instead, the Luce is about to show the world whether a supercar company can succeed without cylinders, or not.

Get ready for yet another Chinese car brand to make its debut in the UK, as Jaecoo and Omoda gain a sibling called Lepas.

These brands are all part of Chery, an automotive giant best described as China’s answer to the Volkswagen Group.

You will have undoubtedly seen a lot of Jaecoo 7s around recently, and probably a fair few cars from Omoda too – so you can expect to spot more than a few Lepas once UK deliveries of the L8 begin in the third quarter of 2026.

What is the Lepas L8? Like its siblings from Jaecoo and Omoda, it’s a plug-in hybrid SUV that promises a lot of electric range and a high-tech interior. Lepas’ UK arm is light on detail for now, but it’s likely that we’ll see an L8 with the same plug-in powertrain as that sold in Indonesia, which it shares with the hugely popular Jaecoo 7.

That car pairs a 1.5-litre, four-cylinder petrol engine with an electric motor and an 18.3 kWh battery pack. Total output is a modest 204 bhp, but maximum electric-only range is 56 miles, so for many drivers that’ll mean the daily commute and local errands are completed without using the engine at all.

All three brands – Jaecoo, Omoda and Lepas – share the modular T1X platform, so similarities between their respective cars go beyond the powertrain. The Lepas L8’s cabin layout will be familiar to anyone who has driven a Jaecoo 7 or Omoda 9, with a large, portrait-oriented central touchscreen, plus a smaller, letterbox-shaped display behind the steering wheel.

The Lepas brand gets its name by combining Leopard, Leap and Passion. No, really. And it says it has been created “to resonate with those seeking authenticity, intelligent design, and a bold, elevated everyday experience.” Although it’s starting with just one model, Lepas says it is making “a long-term commitment” to the UK market. Further details about the L8, plus technology highlights, dealership network plans and future models, will be revealed later in the year.

Although not yet confirmed, it’s likely that Lepas will bring its L4 and L6 cars to the UK too, providing the L8 is well received, with fully-electric versions expected alongside plug-in hybrid variants.

The biggest launch in Polestar's history is coming this year. The Polestar 5 is a luxury grand tourer that is set to elevate the already premium EV maker to new heights. But that's just the beginning. Over the next three years, the Swedish carmaker is planning four new models, including one completely unexpected offering.

Off the back of its best sales year to date, the upcoming lineup shows that it has big ambitions in the electric car market. In a world where Tesla has fallen largely out of fashion, it could be onto something.

Later in 2026, the recently released Polestar 4 is set to gain a new variant, providing more versatility to the model. The company's most popular model has divided opinion with its lack of a rear window but offers a huge amount of rear space in return.

• T3's best EVs to buy

The entry-level model, the Polestar 2, is due for a successor in early 2027. The 2 is the model that really launched the brand globally, and was its first fully-fledged EV. It's not clear whether it will retain the 2 model number or get its own number.

The big news, however, is that there will be a Polestar 7 coming in 2028. This will be a compact, premium SUV. "With Polestar 7, we are entering the largest EV segment in Europe, the compact SUV segment, which accounts for approximately one-third of total BEV volumes in 2025. We are convinced that we can offer customers a progressive, performance-driven car for a very attractive price point, built in Europe," says Polestar's CEO, Michael Lohscheller.

With the recent release of models such as the Volvo EX60 and the BMW iX3, the compact SUV market does seem to make sense, though it will be interesting to see how this differs from the Polestar 4, which is more of a crossover model.

Deliveries of the Polestar 5 are expected to start this summer. There's currently no new updates on the Polestar 6, the electric roadster that was originally slated for a 2026 release.

It’s time to rethink everything you thought you knew about modern car technology and interior design. That, plainly, is the mission statement projected by Ferrari, Sir Jony Ive and Marc Newson with the new Luce.

This is Ferrari’s first all-electric car – you’ll remember T3’s coverage of the EV drivetrain technology, called Elettrica, in late-2025 – and ahead of the exterior reveal in May we now know what the interior will look like. And it’s nothing short of extraordinary.

Designed with substantial input from LoveFrom, the Californian design agency headed by Ive and Newson, it’s completely devoid of the glossy black plastic every other car company is obsessed with, the Ferrari Luce’s cabin is one of leather, glass and aluminium.

The steering wheel – inspired by that of Ive’s own Ferrari 250 GT Europa – has aluminium spokes and a thin leather rim. There are buttons for indicators, like on all other modern Ferraris, along with two modules housing switchgear for the Luce’s drive modes, wipers, suspension, cruise control and safety systems. None are touch-sensitive.

Behind the wheel are a pair of long, elegant shift paddles, also made from aluminium. Reminiscent of gear shifters, these are instead used to interact with the Luce’s clever torque delivery system. Although yet to be fully demonstrated by Ferrari, Luce drivers will be able to pull the right-hand ‘+’ paddle to increase motor torque, and pull the left-hand ‘-’ paddle to alter the regenerative braking system. The paddles use magnets to be as tactile as possible.

Sunk into the dashboard itself is the driver display. The shape, dial design, colours and font will immediately remind Ferrari fans of icons from the back catalogue, like the F355, 550 Maranello and F50. To my eyes, the speedometer and power font seems to have come directly from the F40, and that’s no bad thing. The dials blend old and new by sitting physical dials atop OLED displays, then using special lenses to create a parallax effect, giving a sense of depth when viewed from an angle.

Shift your gaze to the centre of the Luce’s cabin, and you’ll be greeted by an iPad-like touchscreen. But, again, this is a far more considered approach than simply sticking a tablet to the dashboard. The centre section is indeed a touchscreen that can run Apple CarPlay (although, it appears, not CarPlay Ultra) and give access to more granular vehicle settings. But below that is a set of beautiful aluminium toggle switches for cabin temperature, seat heating and fan speed.

The top of the central screen includes a display for vehicle data – drive mode, power delivery, speed – and what Ferrari calls the multigraph. Like the speedometer, this also combines an OLED dial with an analogue hand to act as a clock, stopwatch or compass. It’s controlled by a pair of buttons on the side of the housing, and automatically displays a five-second timer when Launch Mode is activated.

Which brings us neatly to the Luce’s roof-mounted switchgear. Like you’d find in a helicopter or a fighter jet, this panel included toggle switches for the lights and heated windscreen, plus a large aluminium handle that engages Launch Mode (and glows orange) with a pull.

Next is the centre control, which sits between the two front seats and stretches rearwards to the passengers behind. Those in the back seats have access to their own air vents, climate controls and a display showing speed, drive mode and power delivery.

At the front, the console houses the Luce’s gear selector, which is unlocked and primed for action when the key fob is inserted into a slot beside it. The fob has the famous Ferrari logo on its front, but instead of being painted on this is actually an e-ink display. When inserted into the centre console, the yellow of the fob fades to black, then seemingly flows into the gear selector, which then glows yellow to show the car is ready to go.

Make no mistake, this is a ground-up reimagination of how a modern car interior should work. It’s the reset that much of the industry badly needed, and proof that car controls don’t have to live buried within pages of touchscreen submenus. It’s also a beacon of hope for electric sports and supercars – proof, seemingly, that even a Ferrari without an engine can still be an event.

Add all that lovely switchgear to Ferrari’s clever, gearbox-like torque delivery tech, plus a sound generation system it has yet to fully explain, beyond likening it to the amplifier of an electric guitar – and the Luce is shaping up to be the most interesting new car of 2026.

Want more? The exterior (plus, hopefully, the sound, performance and price) will be revealed in May.

Imagine being able to charge your electric car from 10% to 80% in 10 minutes instead of 30. That’s the claim of a British startup called Hydrohertz – and it says it has the technology to make such charge speed a reality.

Currently, a major concern among EV drivers – and those yet to be convinced about electric cars – is that charge speeds published by manufacturers are not always achievable. Like the maximum claimed range (and MPG figures for petrol and diesel cars too, of course) these represent a best-case scenario.

This usually means an EV with a battery that is low on charge, but also warm and ready to take on electricity in the most efficient way possible. But that isn’t enough to hit headline charge times, because ambient temperature plays a role, and so too does the charger itself. It might be labelled as a 350 kW charger, and you’d rightly assume that will give your car capable of 300 kW charging the maximum-possible boost. But, again, real-world performance can vary.

In some cases, the difference between claimed charge rate and reality can be significant. Research conducted by What Car? in 2025 found some cars charged at just 37% of their claimed maximum speed. Similar research by The Times found that EVs “barely ever” reach their full charge speed during normal use. Add this to a claim that 83% of UK electric car drivers encountered difficulties when using public chargers in the year to April 2025, and clearly, more needs to be done to improve the charging experience.

Focus on charge speed specifically, and there are many factors at play. As well as the charge level and temperature of the battery, charge speed is affected by the age and overall health of the battery. If the charge station uses load-sharing to split its power between other EVs using neighbouring chargers – or between other local infrastructure – this can also cut charge speed.

Temperature management is a primary concern, since it plays a key role in restricting charge speed to protect the battery – and for that, Hydrohertz believes it has a solution. It’s called the Dectravalve, and it’s described by its makers as a “revolutionary multi-zone valve system designed to transform the way thermal energy is distributed and managed across complex systems.”

At its core, Hydrohertz says, the valve “enables precise, independent control of thermal flow to multiple zones from a single inlet source. Whether used for heating, cooling, or energy recovery, it intelligently directs flow to where it’s needed and nowhere else.”

For electric cars, this means the potential to keep a battery cooler – and in its ideal operating window – while being charged. Cold batteries charge slowly, but so do batteries that become too hot, so using a valve like this could help regulate temperature, allowing for higher charge rates and reducing charge time. Whereas EV batteries currently regulate the temperature of the pack as a whole, heating or cooling the entire battery as one, an EV equipped with this technology could split its battery into zones and manage each according to its temperature.

During a charge session, the car could direct more effort into cooling the cells within zones of the battery that heat up first. This keeps the entire battery pack at a consistent, optimum temperature instead of throttling back the charge rate because a portion of the battery has become too hot.

Hydrohertz says today’s EVs see their battery cells reach 56C, with a peak difference of 12C across the pack. With a Dectravalve, the EV could focus its cooling efforts on only the hottest parts of the battery, keeping the charge rate higher for longer.

The technology has been independently tested by Warwick Manufacturing Group, and with a 100 kWh LFP (Lithium Iron Phosphate) battery the hottest cell reached 44.5°C, while the temperature difference across the pack was just 2.6°C. The same test showed how EV charging times could be cut by 68%, reducing the time of a 10%-80% top-up from 30 minutes to just 10 minutes, when using a 350 kW charger.

And, since the entire battery pack is kept at its optimum temperature during the charge, driving range could be increased too, by 10% or even up to 25% in cold climates. The battery-agnostic tech could also see batteries last longer, since they are kept within their optimum operating range and not subjected to temperature extremes with each use of a high-power charger.

Paul Arkesden, CEO of Hydrohertz, said: “The automotive industry has been waiting for battery technology to catch up with consumer expectations, but progress has been slow and expensive. A new chemistry can take a decade to develop and require billions in investment. What we've done is take a different approach – we've dramatically improved how existing batteries perform by perfecting the thermal management of them.”

Arkesden continued: “This is a cost-effective solution that delivers game-changing results: consistent 10-minute charging, longer range, extended battery life, and enhanced safety. For OEMs, this means better, more useable EVs now, without waiting for the next generation of battery technology. But when that technology does arrive, Dectravalve will optimise it too. The impact for both car makers and consumers is set to be transformative.”

Beyond electric cars, Hydrohertz says its patented Dectravalve could work with household heating systems too. It is currently working with the University of Nottingham to explore how dynamic thermal zoning could reduce household energy usage by up to 30 percent. Elsewhere, it could also be used across aviation, marine, rail, data centres and precision agriculture, the company says.

For now, it’s the potential for reliably faster EV charging that has the potential to be a game-changer. Plugging in for 10 minutes instead of 30 brings EV refuelling much closer to pumping petrol or diesel; this in turn means less time spent parked at the charge, shorter wait times, fewer frustrating queues and many more customers per charger per day.

Chinese car companies have landed in the UK with astonishing speed. Just a couple of years ago, you’d be hard-pressed to spot a BYD on the roads here, let alone find someone you know who owns one.

But now, with over a dozen Chinese brands selling a whole bunch of electric cars and plug-in hybrids – often for less money than their European and American rivals – sales here are booming. In fact, with Chinese car sales almost doubling in the UK in 2025, compared to the previous year, we’re already seeing brands like BYD and Jaecoo overtake the popularity of their century-old rivals.

And, with more interest than ever on plug-in hybrids capable of driving many miles on battery power alone, Chinese PHEVs like the Jaecoo 7, Omoda 9 and BYD Seal U DM-i are proving hugely popular. Full-electric sales have also surged, with BYD chasing down Tesla and China-owned MG also being hugely popular with UK drivers.

This trend is set to continue in 2026, as more Chinese brands land in the UK with EVs and plug-in hybrids ready to take on the establishment. Below, I’ve rounded up some of the most significant Chinese cars on sale in the UK.

BYD

Probably the most recognised Chinese car brand in the UK, BYD is a giant. It overtook Tesla in 2025 as the world’s top seller of electric vehicles, delivering over 2.2 million cars globally. It also built a couple of million hybrids last year too, and holds around 20 percent of the global plug-in car market.

BYD’s UK offering starts with the sub-£19,000 electric Dolphin Surf, which has a range of between 137 and 200 miles, depending on battery size and spec. It’s a compact electric city car that’ll become a rival to Volkswagen’s new electric Polo when that car lands later this year.

BYD also sells the £30,000 Dolphin (265 miles of range), the similarly but newer Atto 2, the £38,000 Atto 3, the £45,000 BYD Seal (354 miles of range), and the £47,000 Sealion 7 (300 miles). Alongside these electric cars, BYD sells a range of plug-in hybrids, including the £33,000 Seal U DM-i and £34,000 Seal 6 DM-i. Both offer a few dozen miles of electric-only range, so have the potential to slash your monthly fuel bill if charged up at home on a cheap overnight tariff.

My picks of the BYD bunch are the Seal electric saloon, and the Seal U DM-i plug-in hybrid SUV.

Chery

Founded in 1997, Chery is also one of China’s largest car companies, selling millions of vehicles annually worldwide. Like how the Volkswagen Group includes other brands, like Audi, Porsche, Bentley and SEAT, Chery produces its own cars while also overseeing fellow Chinese brands Omoda and Jaecoo – more on those below.

The Chery Tiggo arrived towards the end of 2025 with a range of petrol and hybrid SUVs. Prices start at just £25,000 for the Tiggo 7, rising to £30,000 for the Tiggo 7 Super Hybrid, which pairs a 1.5-litre petrol engine with an electric motor and an 18.4 kWh battery – a very similar setup to other members of the Chery family. Electric range is a claimed 56 miles and total range is 745.

Above this sits the £28,500 Tiggo 8 and £33,500 Tiggo 8 Super Hybrid, and the flagship Tiggo 9 Super Hybrid, which starts at £43,000. That car promises up to 87 miles of electric range from a large, 34.5 kWh battery, and about 650 miles when the engine is used too.

Omoda

As of early 2026, Omoda sells four car models in the UK. These are the Omoda 5 hybrid, Omoda E5 EV, Omoda 7 SHS hybrid and the Omoda 9 SHS hybrid. Prices start at £23,990 for the Omoda 5 hybrid, increasing to £32,000 for the Omoda 7 SHS hybrid, £33,000 for the electric Omoda E5, and £45,000 for the range-topping 9 SHS hybrid.

The latter is particularly interesting, since it promises a total range of over 700 miles from its combination of 1.5 litre petrol engine and large, 34.5 kWh battery. Keep it in EV mode and it’ll manage a claimed 93 miles without using the engine at all.

In 2025 I drove an Omoda 9 SHS from the North Kent coast to the Lake District and back – a distance of over 660 miles – without refuelling or charging the battery. The car performed very well, impressing with loads of kit fitted as standard, a massive 1.3-metre panoramic roof, and a spacious interior. Ride quality isn’t the best, and the infotainment is a weak point (a common complaint from many Chinese cars at the moment), but there’s no denying the value for money, both in terms of purchasing and running. Plug it in at night, and you could go weeks at a time without burning a drop of petrol.

Jaecoo

Keep seeing a car that looks a bit like a Range Rover Velar? That’ll be the Jaecoo 7, a Chinese SUV that looks a lot more premium than its £30,000 price tag suggests. The plug-in hybrid 7 SHS model is £5,000 more, but for that you get an 18.3 kWh battery to give the 1.5-litre petrol engine a helping hand. The result is a claimed maximum range of 745 miles, or a very usable 56 miles of pure-electric driving.

As with the Omoda 9 SHS, a Jaecoo 7 plugged into a charger each night could likely manage your commute and any local driving chores without using any petrol at all.

I spent a weekend with one last year and, aside from the infuriating infotainment – including door mirrors that can only be adjusted via a sub-menu of the touchscreen – it’s a perfectly good family car. Throw in a set of nice paint options, a pano roof, the ability to fast-charge the battery from 30 to 80 percent in 20 minutes, and a bunch of drive modes for light off-roading, and it’s easy to see why the Jaecoo is so popular.

Leapmotor

Founded in 2015, Leapmotor is a comparative newcomer in its own right, but comes with the reassurance of being part of the massive Stellantis automotive group, which also includes Citroen, Fiat, DS, Jeep, Peugeot, Maserati, Alfa Romeo and Chrysler, among others.

There are three all-electric Leapmotor cars available in the UK from now, starting with the £16,000 T03 citycar, which can be had for just £169 a month and has a claimed range of up to 165 miles.

Above this is the £31,500 B10, an SUV with up to 270 miles of range, and the current flagship is the C10, which starts at £36,500 and has a range of 263 miles. Kit included as standard with the C10 includes over-the-air software updates, a 14.6-inch touchscreen, a wireless phone charger, ambient lighting, electric front seats, and a panoramic glass roof. Leapmotor says its new B05 coupe and B03X SUV are both coming to the UK later in 2026.

Geely

You’ve probably heard of Geely, but as the owner of other car companies rather than a vehicle manufacturer in its own right. Founded in 1986, its stable currently includes Volvo, Polestar, Lotus, Zeekr, Lynk & Co, LEVC (makers of London’s electric taxis) and Geely Auto.

Geely’s UK offering is currently limited to the EX5, a mid-size electric SUV with a claimed range of 267 miles and priced from £31,990. This will be joined in February 2026 by the Starray EM-I, a £30,000 hybrid SUV that promises up to 84 miles of electric range and 618 miles of total range.

Changan

Changan is another brand you might be less familiar with. Its cars are new to the UK market, but the company began producing vehicles in the mid-1980s, made over 2.5 million in 2025, and has had an R&D centre in the UK since 2010.

As with some other Chinese car makers, Changan is a group made up of several brands, including Deepal, Avatr, Changan Auto and Changan Neo. Its UK operation currently sells the Deepal S07, a £40,000 electric SUV with a claimed range of up to 295 miles.

As with many other Chinese SUVs, the S07 has generic styling on the outside and a minimalist cabin on the inside, complete with large central touchscreen and a surprising amount of kit for the price. This includes the 15.6-inch touchscreen, plus heated and ventilated front seats, a head-up display and a large panoramic glass roof. Changan's second UK model, the Deepal S05, is due to arrive in the UK in early 2026.

Xpeng

You might have already seen the Xpeng G6, since it’s been on sale in some European countries for a while now. A face-lifted version is marking Xpeng’s UK debut in February, and it’ll go head-to-head with the Tesla Model Y.

Both are somewhat amorphous, but these days cars are sold on their spec sheet as much as their design – probably more so – and in that regard Xpeng is onto a winner with the updated G6. There’s a promise of a maximum charging speed of 451 kW, which is enough to fill the 80.8 kWh battery from 10 to 80 percent in just 12 minutes, if you can find a charger that’s powerful enough. Total range is a claimed 326 miles.

The ride isn’t great, the touchscreen and infotainment system generally are a step below where they should be, and the design is somewhat forgettable. But with prices starting at £39,990, it’s good value for a proper, grown-up sized electric SUV with good range and the promise of incredible charge speed.

GWM Ora

Remember the Funky Cat? That’s what GWM called its electric hatchback before someone suggested it might be considered a daft name by us Europeans. So, like how BYD pivoted away from writing “Build Your Dreams” on the back of its cars, the Ora Funky Cat was renamed the Ora 03.

It looks a bit like a Mini, but is actually quite large and, at just £21,245, feels like good value. GWM (which stands for Great Wall Motors) states an official range figure of between 192 and 261 miles depending on which battery you go for, and to help reassure buyers there’s a five-year, unlimited mileage warranty.

GWM also sells the Haval Jolion Pro – a hybrid SUV that starts at £21,995 – and the POER300 pick-up truck.

MG

You’ll probably know the story here. Storied British sports car maker MG is now owned by Chinese state-owned giant SAIC Motor, and produces a range of well-regarded EVs and hybrids. Starting at under £20,000, these include the MG3 citycar, MG4, which is popular among Uber drivers, the MG IM5 saloon and MGS5 SUV. The flagship is a total departure from the rest of the range, in the form of the MG Cyberster, an electric, two-seat convertible sports car with supercar-like performance, vertically-hinged doors like a Lamborghini, and a £55,000 price tag.

But wait, there's more to come...

We’re not done just yet, because there are several other Chinese car brands due to arrive in the UK soon. These include a couple of firms that began as technology companies, and a couple of brands that come from the massive BYD group.

Xiaomi

An absolute giant of the Chinese market, Xiaomi is far more than just a smartphone and consumer tech company. It also sells household appliances, luggage, tools, grooming products – and, in China, cars.

Xiaomi’s SU7 saloon and YU7 SUV have sold in enormous numbers since arriving just a couple of years ago. It delivered over 400,000 vehicles in 2025, and claimed to receive 300,000 pre-orders for its YU7 in a single hour. Meanwhile, the Prodrive-modified SU7 Ultra produces 1,500 horsepower and set a new electric lap record at the Nurburgring.

Prices in China start at the equivalent of just £25,800 for the S7, rising to around £34,000 for the larger YU7. Xiaomi says it plans to start selling cars in Europe (and potentially the UK) from 2027.

Denza

Part of the BYD brand stable, Denza is expected to launch in the UK in mid-2026. Taking aim at premium brands like Audi, Denza will arrive with three cars, called the Z9 GT, D9 and B5. The former is a sleek EV similar in profile to the Porsche Taycan Sport Turismo, while the D9 is a plush minivan and the B5 is rugged off-roader powered by a plug-in hybrid drivetrain.

Prices are expected to be in the £50,000 to £75,000 range, suggesting Denza (and owned BYD) isn't afraid of going up-market and directly challenging, instead of merely undercutting, the European establishment.

Yangwang

Finally, another BYD brand called Yangwang could also appear in the UK soon. You might recognise a couple of its cars, since they have been shown off at the Goodwood Festival of Speed for the past couple of years.

The Yangwang U8 is a huge, Land Rover Defender-rivalling hybrid SUV with massive performance and the ability to float – and act as a boat – for up to 30 minutes. Handy if you’re caught in a Chinese flash-flood, but perhaps less useful in Milton Keynes.

Lastly, there’s the Yangwang U9, an all-electric hypercar that produces up to 3,000 horsepower in Xtreme spec. Yes, you read that correctly. Double the power of a Bugatti Chiron. Even in standard guise it’s said to pack 1,200hp and a circa-two-second 0-60 mph time. Range is a claimed 280 miles, and in China it costs just £200,000.

Stuck charge cables are a common concern among electric car owners, especially when using unfamiliar charge stations.

This is why manual release mechanisms exist, helping drivers unlock a stuck charge cable when a software issue causes a communication error between the car and charger. I’ve had this happen a couple of times, with different EVs, and resorted to rummaging in the boot for the manual release handle.

The new feature arrived in late-January as part of Tesla’s 2026.2.3 software update, and now means charging can be stopped – and the charge cable released – with a pull of the rear passenger door handle.

Tesla’s release note for the update states: “Charging can now be stopped and the charge cable released by pulling and holding the rear left door handle for three seconds, provided the vehicle is unlocked or a recognised key is nearby.”

The update has started to arrive with Model 3 drivers in the US, and should roll out internationally soon afternoon.

Tesla’s note continues: “This is especially useful when the charge cable doesn’t have an unlatch button. You can still release the cable using the vehicle touchscreen or the Tesla app.”

I like Tesla’s logic here, since the left rear door handle is the closest to the charge port, which on a Model 3 sits inside the light cluster of the same corner. Therefore, if the charge cable isn’t being released, you can simply pull on the door handle for three seconds and, if the car is unlocked or key is nearby, it’ll release the cable.

Hopefully, this will override any confusion between the car and a misbehaving charger, and acts as a handy backup if the release button of Tesla’s own chargers also refuses to play ball. What this is not, is a way to physically disconnect from a stuck charger. For that you’ll still have to open the boot and pull on the manual release – a last-resort mechanism that should only be used when all other options have failed and, crucially, when the car is not charging.