THIS IS HAPPENING.
Just a few years ago, you'd find a desultory Tesla or Chevy Bolt at our 10Best testing, usually plugged in while the rest of the vehicles cycled in and out of the lot. Now there are enough EVS to warrant their own showdown. And that happened quickly. The EV shopper can choose from pickups, SUVs, and sedans, some courtesy of entirely new companies. Charging is getting faster and easier to find, if not easier to get working.
At least two new models, the Rivian R1S and Cadillac Lyriq, were launched the same week as our event. Many more are on the way.
Eventually, whether in 10 years or 20, all cars will be electrified, and staging an EV-specific contest will be like choosing the best tires made of rubber. Right now, though, we're at an inflection point-EVs are still a small fraction of the overall market, but a staggering 40 percent of the new-car launches we covered last year were for battery-powered vehicles. The momentum is building, so we figure now's the time to weigh in and prod and nudge the manufacturers to build the kind of stuff we like to drive.
And there's plenty to celebrate hereamong our fleet of contenders, we had two vehicles with at least 1000 horsepower and two others with more than 800 horses. Our EV-only parking lot included both the quickest production Ford F-150 and one of the quickest Volvos ever built. We had funky frunks, concept-car interiors, and vehicles that can send power to your house, or campsite, or each other. EVs are unleashing a wave of design and engineering creativity unseen since the advent of the car itself.
Just like internal-combustion cars, though, some EVs are better than others. But only one of our 20 contenders is great enough to earn the title of EV of the Year.
Porsche Taycan 4S Cross Turismo
A GREAT CAR THAT HAPPENS TO BE ELECTRIC.
Denne historien er fra September 2022-utgaven av Car and Driver.
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Denne historien er fra September 2022-utgaven av Car and Driver.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
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.
