IF you want to broadcast your forward-thinking ways with a luxuriously aspirational electric vehicle in today's preferred SUV body style, the options are scarce. Neither Rolls-Royce nor Bentley makes one, and the Mercedes EQS SUV isn't on sale just yet. Everything else, including the Genesis GV60, the Cadillac Lyriq, and the Audi e-tron, falls well short of the pricing and performance bar set by the BMW iX and Rivian R1S, the two vehicles we've gathered here. Our requirement for conventionally hinged doors meant the aging Tesla Model X got left out. Shucks.
At $109,895, the top M60 version of BMW's futuristic iX features an upgraded rear motor with a 0.8-inch-longer rotor and a stator stuffed with more copper windings. A second inverter feeds sufficient current to increase peak output from 335 to 483 horsepower. Total max power from both motors is 610 horses and 811 pound-feet of torque. That's a lot, except in comparison with Rivian's quadmotor powertrain (still the sole offering, although a less expensive, two-motor setup is in the works). It makes 835 horsepower and 908 pound-feet. From the B-pillar forward, the $91,500 R1S is all but identical to the RIT pickup, but the S packages three rows of seats in its upright-SUV body and rides on a 14.7-inchshorter wheelbase than the truck.
Let's see which is the more enlightened choice.
2nd Place: Rivian R1S
"My 30-year-old ski boat gets on plane faster," quips executive editor K.C. Colwell about the length and severity with which the RIS sends its snout skyward after you stand on its accelerator.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der December 2022-Ausgabe von Car and Driver.
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Diese Geschichte stammt aus der December 2022-Ausgabe von Car and Driver.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
The Best Odds
SOMETIMES-NOT OFTEN, BUT sometimes-car manufacturers create something semi-wondrous that is also borderline irrational and three-quarters inexplicable to their own marketing types.
Mileage Booster
Kia Carnival Hybrid HIGHS: Big mpg bump, no CVT weirdness, solid ride and handling. LOWS: Shared HVAC and audio controls, second-row loungers can't be removed, changing brake-pedal feel.
Medium Spicy
Kia K4 GT-Line Turbo HIGHS: Lengthy list of features, spacious interior, generous trunk. LOWS: Uncomfortably flat seats, rivals are quicker, only modest grip.
Drivelines
HORACIO PAGANI IS A visionary designer and self-taught engineer.
Suspensions of Disbelief
It's easy to say a vehicle rides well but much more difficult to explain the nuanced implications of that highly subjective statement.
PUMPED-UP KICKS
NISSAN ISN'T SHY about experimenting with its subcompact of ferings. In the recent past, it briefly gave us the adorable Cube, seemingly designed by Hello Kitty, followed by the frog-eyed Juke that somehow spawned a six-figure R-badged super-SUV in other markets.
THE ALFA ROMEO GIULIA QUADRIFOGLIO. THE BMW M3 COMPETITION. AND THE CADILLAC CT4-VBLACKWING HEAD SOUTH ONA ROAD TRIP TO FIND OUT WHICH ONE BEST DELIVERS ON THE SPORTS-SEDAN PROMISE.
One of us, gassing up the 2025 Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing, says, \"No, we drove from Michigan.
SINCE WE APPRECIATE GREAT TALENT IN ALL ITS FORMS, WE ALSO HONOR THE 10BEST TRUCKS, SUVS, AND VANS. INCLUDING ONE WINNER WITH LITERAL BUZZ.
THE DISCUSSION AROUND this year's 10Best Trucks competition had some editors wishing the award were called 12Best.
OUR VERSION OF A 2024 AUTOMOTIVE AWARDS SHOW (SOMETIMES HUMOROUS, SOMETIMES NOT).
America's fastest senior citizen made the save of the year when his Funny Car's engine exploded at Virginia Motorsports Park.
"A ROMANCE THAT BUILDS WITH SPECTACULAR PASSION. THE LONGER YOU DRIVE IT, THE BETTER IT GETS."
When the history of the sports sedan is written, the late-narrative plot twist that few would have seen coming is the emergence of CadillacCadillac!-as the keeper of the flame. And yet, that's exactly what's happened.
