For an electric car to survive in this incentive-free, tariff-laden, emissions-loving world, it has to be very, very good. It also helps if it's priced right, and looking great doesn't hurt either. 

Unfortunately for BMW's latest EV, the i3 sedan, we still can't say much about those last two questions. BMW hasn't announced pricing yet, and thanks to some eye-crossing camouflage, it's impossible to know exactly what it looks like, either. But, after a day behind the wheel of a prototype machine sliding it through the Swedish wilds, I can at least confidently confirm that it's shaping up to be a very good indeed.

Deja Vu

If you're thinking to yourself, "Wait, didn't BMW already have an i3?" You are absolutely right. Back in 2013, BMW released its first mass-market electric car, a little five-door hatchback called the i3. I drove a few versions of it over the years. It was wonderful and novel and earned itself some ardent fans, but it never quite reshaped the motoring world the way that its creators surely hoped.

A decade later, BMW's got a new i3 that has the potential to be a far bigger success on the global scale, and it also resets that designation to slot in with the company's already well-established naming scheme. BMW's 3 Series is its iconic sedan, and "i" is the designation for its electric vehicles. The i3, then, should be an electric sedan, and so it is going forward.

BMW

This new i3 is built on the Neue Klasse platform, BMW's "new class" architecture that also underpins the iX3 SUV. In developing Neue Klasse, BMW started almost from scratch, developing a whole new suite of technologies in pursuit of a better-driving, faster-charging and more-affordable next generation of EVs.

There's a battery pack that's wholly new compared to the company's prior efforts, a cell-to-pack architecture that promises more capacity in a smaller, lighter enclosure. There's a whole new stack of electronics systems offering more power and capability than before. And, there's a completely new styling design language that not everyone will love. 

The iX3 SUV was the first recipient of all that newness, and the i3 sedan will be the second. Again, we can't pass judgment on its styling just yet, but you can probably get a bit of an idea of what to expect by looking at 2023's Vision Neue Klasse concept. 

Heart of Joy

That new electronics suite running throughout the Neue Klasse is a huge part of the appeal here. Typically, when buying a new car, you don't worry too much about who did the ABS or the traction control. Those are simply table stakes in modern motoring. 

However, BMW decided to shake up these pedestrian safety features in the i3 by re-thinking everything from the brake actuators to the electric motor controllers and doing it all in-house. Now, fewer, more powerful chips from Qualcomm and others run all of the car's disparate systems like those together in a system that BMW evocatively calls "Heart of Joy." That makes for a far smoother and more seamless driving experience when the ABS can, for example, talk directly to the stability control.

BMW

That's the theory, anyway, and in Sweden this week I got a chance to test that out. I got behind the wheel of what will be the first i3. Called the i3 50 xDrive, it's a dual-motor, all-wheel-drive sedan that produces 463 horsepower and 476 pound-feet of torque. 

All-wheel drive helps with acceleration, but it's the braking where the Neue Klasse's technology really shines. Thanks to having more finesse over the control of its two electric motors, the Neue Klasse can rely far more on recuperative braking and far less on using the physical brakes. This makes for ultra-smooth, calm stopping, even when driving on glare ice. 

Accelerating, though, is far more entertaining. Even on extremely low-grip, unpredictable surfaces like a frozen lake, I could just mash my foot to the accelerator and clumsily turn the wheel in the direction I wanted to go. Despite my lack of finesse, the system intelligently applied the brakes on the inside wheel to help get the car to rotate, and automatically cut the power to the electric motors front and rear based on how much grip was available.

BMW

Even with my foot flat on the accelerator, I was able to navigate tight turns on glare surfaces without having to deploy any fancy ice driving techniques. However, as someone who enjoys deploying such techniques, I was also invited to turn off the car's stability systems and have a little fun.

Like this, the BMW turned into an absolute riot. Let loose, the i3 was a very willing drift partner, letting me slide through the corners with wild abandon. It still used just enough of its smarts and control systems to keep me from spinning out when I got a little too eager on the throttle, but it never ruined the fun. 

Panoramic Vision

This prototype drive was also a chance to sample the i3's Panoramic Vision display in a new environment. As debuted formally at CES back in 2025, Panoramic Vision replaces the standard gauge cluster behind the steering wheel with a massive, windshield-spanning display. It's a little like an ultra-wide heads-up display in that it reflects up from a lengthy display embedded in the dashboard. 

In pictures, this seems like it will be horribly distracting, since you have six customizable sections of information flashing at you in your line of sight. In practice, though, it's actually quite nice. You can customize those panels to show whatever information you like, from whatever track you're playing to the current vehicle speed to even a disembodied head representing the car's integrated voice assistant. Or, if that's all too much, you can simply disable most of the panels and keep it simple, relying only on the left-most pane to display your speed and other vehicle information. 

I didn't get to see all of the i3's interior. Since it's still a prototype, BMW kept much of it covered in black fabric. Still, the Panoramic Vision display and the weird central touchscreen that's inclined to the left work together to create a great user experience. I will, though, miss the rotary iDrive knob, which is sadly no more.

Wrap-up

We have a little while yet to wait until BMW gives us all the details on the new i3 — its debut is set for March 18 — but from what I experienced in Sweden, it's shaping up extremely well. If BMW gets the pricing right, and if what's hiding under that vinyl camouflage isn't too offensive, this thing has all the makings of a hit.

There's more waffling going on about the future of electric vehicles in America right now than you might expect at a Belgian breakfast buffet. Some brands like Hyundai are staying committed, some brands like Honda are dialing back, and everyone else is simply doing their damndest to provide as many propulsion options as possible

Count Audi in that last category. On the EV side, it recently launched the new Q6 E-Tron and refreshed the ballistic E-Tron GT. On the internal combustion side, it has a new A6, and there's a full-size, three-row SUV coming in the form of the Q9. The company's latest car, though, can be found in the middle: Meet the new RS5, Audi's latest and greatest plug-in hybrid.

RS stands for "RennSport," or "Racing Sport" in German, the moniker applied to Audi's highest performing cars. RS designates an elite group of machines intended to be a bit more edgy and exclusive than your BMW M cars or Mercedes-Benz AMGs. The 2027 RS5 marks the first time an RS has come with both a big battery and a big engine, but the RS5 is much more than a novelty with a plug.

Tricky diff

Tim Stevens for Engadget

The main grunt of the new RS5 comes from a 2.9-liter, twin-turbocharged V-6 mounted up front under the hood. On its own, that engine produces 503 horsepower, a figure that you might think is plenty. Here, though, it has some help here in the form of not one but two electric motors.

The first is a typical hybrid arrangement, a 174-hp motor wedged in between the engine and transmission. This is the primary means of electric propulsion for the car, giving it a total, maximum system output of 630 hp and 609 lb-ft.

Because that motor is positioned where it is, the RS5 can still make full use of its eight-speed automatic transmission when driven only by the electric motor. That means a top speed of 87 mph before the engine kicks in. Once it does, it'll take you all the way up to 177 mph.

There's a second motor at the back, though, which is far more interesting. No, it isn't there to drive the rear axle like on the RAV4 Hybrid. The RS5 has a traditional Quattro setup with a mechanical differential in the middle to distribute power between the front and rear wheels.

The small, 11-hp motor at the back exclusively controls a new type of system that Audi calls Dynamic Torque Control. This motor uses planetary gearsets to selectively and effectively magnify the power to either the left or the right axle at the back. It may be small, but this motor makes the RS5 do some wonderful things.

Drift time

Tim Stevens for Engadget

For maximum fun in the new RS5, dial it over to what Audi calls Torque Rear mode. This configures the new rear differential to send maximum twist to the outside rear wheel. Combine that with the center differential, which can send up to 85 percent of the engine's power to the rear, and the result is a remarkably willing drift partner.

After less than 30 seconds behind the wheel on a closed track in Marrakesh, I was confidently sliding my way through a set of cones in a slalom, then pirouetting around a cone at the end in a tight circle, clouds of tire smoke hanging in the air. Normally, drifting a 5,200-pound, 630-hp machine rolling on sticky tires is a real nightmare. It's delightfully easy in the RS5.

The car's differential setup not only makes this easy but also tracks just how successful you are at it. It records the time, length and even angle of your most dramatic drifts. You can even replay them on the touchscreen if you're so inclined, scrubbing back and forth to see what kinds of G forces you were generating.

This is part of a new extension to its infotainment system called the Audi Driving Experience. It'll also track lap times around race tracks, giving you a bit more information in the timeless pursuit of tenths of a second.

Tim Stevens for Engadget

Audi also added a few custom screens showing the power distribution of the car and letting you monitor things like critical system temperatures and tire pressures at every corner. Otherwise, though, it's much the same interface as seen on most new Audis, with a 14.5-inch central touchscreen, an 11.9-inch gauge cluster and an optional 10.9-inch display way over on the right for the passenger.

That's a lot of displays, with the left two encased within an oversized, sweeping panel that stands tall and proud out of the dashboard. Too tall, actually. If big bezels ruin your day, look away, because there's a lot of wasted space here.

Likewise, if you don't like steering wheels with capacitive touch controls, you're not going to love the RS5. Audi has brought back the little scroll wheels under your thumbs, at least, but everything else on there is just a flat surface.

Putting the power down

Tim Stevens for Engadget

I spent the better part of a day driving the RS5 through the wild streets of Marrakesh and up into the Atlas Mountains to the south. In the city, I left the car in EV mode, letting that primary electric motor and the car's 25.9-kilowatt-hour battery (22 kWh net) do the heavy lifting. Audi says the car can cover up to 54 miles in this mode, and while I didn't have time to go that far on battery power, it seemed like an achievable estimate.

The car is perfectly pleasant in this mode, silent and even reasonably quick. In Comfort mode, the suspension is at its softest, and despite those giant wheels, the RS5 did perfectly fine over the decidedly imperfect Moroccan roads. But it wasn't until I got far away from the city that I could start to open things up a bit, working my way through the various drive modes and eventually all the way up to RS Sport, the most performance-oriented.

Here, the suspension is at its stiffest and the throttle at its sharpest, transmission swinging through its ratios eagerly to keep the engine singing. Jump on the gas, and the car really does leap forward, the electric motor doing its part to cover the power delay caused by the turbochargers in the mix.

You can feel that rear differential here, too, adding an extra bit of pivot to the rear when you're powering out of corners. But, on the way in, you really can feel the substantial weight of this car, the front end scrubbing and pushing forward when you ask too much of it.

Again, this model gained more than 1,000 pounds over the old RS5, and though the improved suspension, drivetrain, tires and even giant, ceramic brakes all help to reduce its feel, there's no hiding that much mass.

Wrap-up

Yes, the RS5 has gained a lot of weight, and that hurts its nimbleness on track, but remember that this is a large, luxury sedan. It was never meant to be a lithe track toy. Despite that, the new RS5 actually feels far more fun and aggressive than its predecessor, a characteristic at least partially due to that trick new rear differential and the instant response of the new hybrid system. 54 miles of emissions-free range doesn't hurt, either.

The big question is cost, and sadly, Audi's not ready to answer that one yet. You do, at least, have a little time to save. The new RS5 doesn’t hit American shores until sometime in 2027.