Honda’s history with electrification has been up-and-down, to say the very least. The Japanese brand has been developing EVs since the early 1990s and has been a pioneering force behind hybrid technology, but it has been rapidly overtaken by myriad rivals in the interim.

Its 2020 Honda e was met with huge critical acclaim and was actually one of my favorite cars of the era, but it was too expensive and the electric range was poor. You could argue it was ahead of its time.

But then, in a very un-Honda move, it introduced the distinctly middling e:Ny1 that, while slightly more palatable in terms of pricing and range, failed to make waves with its vanilla styling, forgettable drive and aging in-car tech.

The promise of a cutting-edge 0 Series was subsequently postponed due to mounting global pressures and supposedly declining EV demand. Even its long-winded collaboration with Sony on the Afeela project was unceremoniously brought to an abrupt end earlier this year. Honda is yet to realize its electric dreams.

However, you could argue that one tiny car has been carrying the weight of expectation on its diminutive shoulders, and that’s the Honda Super-N.

For the first time in the Japanese marque’s history, it has decided to introduce the enormously popular Kei car category to markets outside its home turf.

The Kei category, which roughly translates to ‘light’ from Japanese, accounts for around 30% of new vehicle sales in its home market. Its popularity is due to the fact that the strict size and weight regulations governing the sector allow those in densely populated areas to own a car.

In much of Japan, if you can’t prove that you have a dedicated parking space for your car, you're simply not allowed to own one. Enter the Kei car.

While the Super-N is marginally too large to be legally classified as a true Kei, it borrows much of its underpinnings from a car that is, with the small but perfectly formed Super-N aiming to prove that “small electric cars can be genuinely fun”, as project leader Hidetomo Horita puts it.

Limited release

To keep costs down, the Super-N will be limited to right-hand-drive markets (as it is in Japan), meaning the UK is one of those fortunate spots in Europe that will be able to enjoy the deliberately pumped-up styling and rascal handling.

Gone is the small petrol engine that sits in the rest of Honda’s Kei-car N range and, in its place, is a 29.6kWh battery pack and a 94bhp electric motor that drives the positively tiny 15-inch front wheels.

On paper, the Honda N isn’t particularly impressive. It takes a good 10 seconds to reach 62mph from a standstill and the top speed is pegged at a measly 83mph.

It’s also not exactly a road-trip tool, as its all-electric range is around 128 miles if you’re careful and maximum charging rates are 50kW, meaning it takes around 30 minutes to complete a 10-80% charging session.

There are concerning echoes of the Honda e here but this is a vehicle that will cost less than £19,000 (around $25,000 / AU$36,000) in the UK... not nearly £30,000 (around $40,000/AU$56,500) like its forebear.

It's also missing the point, because Honda has engineered the Super-N to be an unadulterated joy to drive and a tool for traversing towns.

“We took inspiration from the City Turbo II model of the 1980s,” Horita explains.

The car, which was a muscular, wide-bodied city slicker of the electro-pop era, featured a turbocharged 1.2-liter petrol engine and used a special processor to reduce turbo lag.

Performance figures are largely similar and the Super-N shares the same characteristics as the so-called 'Bulldog', with a surprisingly firm ride that has clearly been engineered for handling prowess rather than comfort.

Press a big purple button on the steering wheel labelled 'Boost' and the full 70kW — or 94bhp — is unleashed, often proving enough to spin up the front wheels and generally allow the Super-N to attack country roads with old-school, hot-hatch gusto.

Honda engineering

There is a special place in my heart for Honda, simply because it is a company that serially over-engineers its products. Google the Honda FC50's V-TACS system for a good example.

The Super-N is no different and, despite costing a mere £18,995 in the UK (or around £199 a month on finance), it almost over-delivers on the tech front.

In Boost mode, there’s a synthesized engine note pumped through the excellent eight-speaker Bose sound system.

But, in true Honda style, the engineers have ensured the engine noise is predominantly played through the front speakers, while an exhaust note (modeled on an Integra Type R, no less) is played through the rear speakers for a more realistic finish.

There are several levels of regenerative braking, including a one-pedal driving function, which are accessed via paddle shifters on the steering wheel. In sportier driving modes, these become gear shifters, allowing the driver to cycle through virtual cogs.

Hold the left paddle down for three seconds and the car enters a fully manual mode, with the technology even hitting a virtual rev limiter, much like the system in the far more expensive Hyundai Ioniq 5 N.

Arguably, the Super-N doesn’t need all of this additional gimmickry because the drive is engaging enough as it is, but it's neat to have it.

It’s not particularly fast or powerful, but the 1,097kg weight, well-judged steering and firm suspension are perfect for delivering big grins on the right roads.

I'd hazard a guess that most owners will leave it in Boost mode all the time and put up with the front tire bills.

Small but mightily practical

All four doors on the Super-N open at a 45-degree angle to the bodywork, resulting in a massive aperture through which to load yourself, friends or children into the interior.

Front passengers, naturally, almost rub shoulders due to the tiny proportions, but it’s perfectly capable of carrying four adults — or even five at a push.

Better still, Honda’s Magic Seats are included, which either fold completely flat or fold upright with the pull of a lever to create all manner of space-saving configurations for transporting bulkier loads.

Granted, the interior is built to a price and most of the plastics feel particularly cheap and scratchy, but the infotainment system is easy to use and offers Apple CarPlay and Android Auto as standard.

One of my biggest gripes is the lack of space for a smartphone, as all of the cubbyholes Honda provides are too small. Buy a Super-N and you’ll probably need to buy a smartphone cradle as well.

However, in a pleasing twist, the Super-N has been homologated for the UK and therefore doesn’t have to adhere to a number of annoying European safety standards.

It means the speed-limit alert comes in the form of a subtle flashing logo rather than an incessant bonging noise, while the lane-keep assist is one of the least intrusive systems I have ever tried.

It all works exactly as it should, without interrupting the drive or forcing the driver to rummage through digital menus to turn everything off — something premium players like Volvo, BMW and Mercedes-Benz could easily learn from.

According to Honda UK’s Andrew Winfield, there has been a significant uplift in sales of compact A-segment EVs, with the likes of Dacia's Spring, the Fiat 500e, the BYD Dolphin Surf and the larger Renault 5 contributing to a 300% year-on-year increase in sales volume from 2025 to 2026.

The Japanese brand is hopeful the Super-N can introduce another affordable, practical and fun electric city car to the segment, which will soon also host the Renault Twingo, but one that offers genuine driving thrills and a small reminder that Honda is still capable of automotive magic.

• Gemini calls have stopped working on Android Auto for some
• Many users are going back to Google Assistant
• Google is promising that a fix is now on the way for the issue

Update: Google has confirmed that "We are aware of an issue preventing some users from making calls with Gemini on Android Auto and mobile devices. A fix is now available, and users can resolve this by updating their app to the latest version in the Google Play Store." Our original story is below.

Gemini hasn't been available through the Android Auto dashboard for long, but users are now running into problems with making calls through the AI assistant — and some are even switching back to the older Google Assistant out of frustration.

As spotted by 9to5Google, multiple reports of this issue are popping up online. When an attempt to make a call through Gemini on Android Auto is made, an error message shows up: "Something went wrong. Please try again."

This also seems to be affecting Gemini-initiated calls on Android itself, to some extent. While it's being widely reported, however, it doesn't seem to be affecting everyone, and in some cases comes and goes intermittently.

This Reddit thread details a couple of workarounds that might work: either going back to Google Assistant, or uninstalling the most recent updates for the Google app on Android. The problem does appear to have appeared rather suddenly.

A fix is coming?

Something went wrong error while making calls via gemini app and Android auto. from r/GoogleGeminiAI

It's fair to say that the switch over to Gemini hasn't been a perfectly smooth one, which is perhaps to be expected when millions of devices all move from one AI assistant to another. Gemini has also had problems getting to grips with smart home devices.

Online reactions are overwhelmingly negative, as users find themselves without calling functionality in their cars. "The whole Gemini migration has been a dumpster fire," says one commenter on Reddit, while "absolute rubbish" is another prominent post.

There is some light at the end of the tunnel. An official Google post on Reddit suggests that a fix is rolling out for the problem — though the comment immediately below it says that the bug is persisting, even after updating.

If you're experiencing this issue and don't want to uninstall updates or go back to Google Assistant, all you need to do (hopefully) is sit tight: make sure you apply any updates to Android, and the Google and Gemini apps on your phone, as they show up.

• EV adoption in China has prevented as many as 262,000 premature deaths associated with air pollution since 2010
• The move to EVs, which also aligns with China's goal of becoming a carbon-neutral nation by 2060, has reduced PM2.5 and nitrogen oxides considerably
• With Chinese power generation still heavily coal-dependent, critics point out that EVs might just be clean at the destination until a fundamental shift in how the grid is supplied is implemented

A recent study by researchers in China points to reduced air pollution linked to EVs, saving as many as 262,000 lives by lowering local populations' exposure to pollutants.

The study indicates that reduced exposure to microscopic (fine) particulate matter (PM2.5) and nitrogen oxides, thanks to increased EV adoption by consumers, has resulted in thousands of lives saved annually in the region.

It pointed out that reduced emissions of carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, and other pollutants from ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) and hybrid vehicles have directly contributed to lower mortality rates, especially in urban centers.

An urban-centric 'miracle?'

The study, which used satellite data to examine changes in both rural and urban settings, found that carbon monoxide and PM2.5 levels were down 30% and 23%, respectively, compared to a hypothetical scenario in which EVs were not in play.

The research indicates that this directly prevented the deaths of as many as 262,000 people by reducing deaths related to lung cancer, respiratory illnesses, strokes, and heart diseases.

This is not an event in isolation; however, China has invested hundreds of billions of dollars in incentives, including subsidies for EVs and efforts to encourage a local EV market, resulting in EV giants that are massive global brands such as BYD and Geely.

The effect is not unique to China; an earlier study based in California also reported similar findings, indicating lower air pollutant levels in areas with higher EV adoption, with some areas indicating a near 4% drop in nitrogen dioxide pollution.

The findings, in tandem with a study in 2025, indicate that the overwhelming beneficiaries of such moves are urban centers, while rural or "economically small" cities in China exhibit a much smaller decline in nitrogen oxide emissions.

This can be linked to an unequal distribution of EV adoption, with limited infrastructure and spending power, essentially capping the benefits of 'clean' tech and benefiting smaller communities.

While EV usage in China continues to save lives, the results are called both "encouraging and sobering" by a co-author of the study. It does point out that the onus for much of this falls on its larger, wealthier (and more urbanized) cities, which can afford newer vehicles, even as smaller cities continue to lag behind in a country where more than half of all cars sold last year were electric.

Concerns about how said EVs are 'charged' persist, suggesting that the emissions might essentially only be rerouted rather than actually eliminated from the ecosystem. China continues to meet nearly 55% of its energy demand, including EV power needs, using coal as of April 2026, even as the country aims to increase the share of solar, hydropower, and wind-based generation to meet its carbon neutrality goals.

• 110 or 137-inch self-folding TV
• Bugatti design cues, materials and color finishes
• Pricing available on request; expect six figures

Back in 2024, we got to see a "brain-bending" TV in person: a 137-inch self-folding micro-LED TV. It was called the C SEED N1, and now it's back with in a new Bugatti-inspired form.

The C SEED BUGATTI N1 takes styling cues from the rather beautiful Bugatti Tourbillon supercar, with a side profile mimicking the C-line design that makes Bugattis so visually distinctive. And as before it contains a self-folding 4K micro-LED TV in a choice of 110 inches or 137 inches.

Made in Austria, the BUGATTI N1 features materials and finishes — including carbon fiber and aluminum — inspired by Bugatti’s Tourbillon hypercar as well as taking on some of its shape.

There’s also a fully integrated Wisdom Audio sound system hidden inside the structure, with speakers that extend outwards when activated and disappear again once the Netflix doom scroll is over.

Pricing is very much in the "if you have to ask, you can't afford it" bracket. But the 2024 N1 was expected to cost $283,000 / £285,000 (about AU$394,925), and reports have stated that a previous Porsche Design folding TV cost around $400,000, so clearly you're looking at supercar money.

C SEED BUGATTI N1 self-folding TV: key features and availability

Seeing the TV unfold is still brain-bending. The "sculptural sideboard" unfolds and rotates to become vertical, its five micro-LED panels becoming a single enormous 4K screen. There's an embedded video of it here.

The big challenge with foldable displays has traditionally been visible seams and panel inconsistencies, but C SEED says its patented Adaptive Gap Calibration system effectively eliminates the joins between the moving panels.

Refreshingly C SEED has published the specs of the system rather than opting for discretion. The contrast ratio is 30,000:1, peak brightness is 1,000 nits, and the sound system has a frequency range (including the subwoofer) of 60Hz to 20kHz.

Unfortunately if you're a gamer this might not be the TV for you: its three HDMI ports are HDMI 2.0, not 2.1. Seems a little cheap…

Like most people I couldn't afford one of these TVs in a million years but I love the fact that it exists: like the weirdest luxury hi-fi speakers it's both spectacular and a bit silly at the same time.

But if you happen to have six figures to spare and your garage already contains a Bugatti Tourbillon, a folding television probably feels perfectly reasonable. The TV is being "presented to discerning customers" through CDEED's partner network worldwide, and you can see more of this very unusual TV on the C SEED website here. There's even a book you can download.

Thinking of buying a new TV?

Try our TV size and model finder! You tell it how far you sit from your TV, we'll tell you what size to buy based on viewing angle advice from image quality experts, and we'll recommend our three top TVs at that size for different prices.

• Ferrari has unveiled the Luce, its first electric car
• It's partly designed by ex-Apple design guru Jony Ive
• The design has received mixed reactions online

We got our first look at the cockpit of the Ferrari Luce back in February, and now the entirety of Ferrari's much anticipated, first electric vehicle has been revealed — accompanied by rather a mixed reaction from drivers.

As Motor1 reports, the car was partly designed by LoveFrom, the luxury design company headed up by Jony Ive of iPhone and iPad fame. It packs in four electric motors and up to 1,050 horsepower, and retails for €550,000 and up (about $640,000 / £475,000 / AU$895,000) — but it's the design that's attracted the most attention.

One commenter on Reddit has described the car as "giving Waymo" vibes, while another says the design is "somehow worse than I could ever have imagined". Another comment sums up the general reaction that we've seen online: "Ferrari have absolutely and completely lost their minds."

The reaction from the rest of the industry hasn't been all that positive either. It comes across as a "mix between a Honda Accord EV and Tesla 3" according to analyst Pierre-Olivier Essig from AIR Capital, Bloomberg reports. "We are lost in translation with Ferrari’s new strategy."

It's fair to say the aesthetics of the Luce haven't met with universal approval, but Ferrari knows it doesn't necessarily have to appeal to the masses on Reddit. The manufacturer sells less than 14,000 cars per year, and as long as there are enough people taken with the charms of this new model, it will do just fine.

'Multi-touch shouldn't be in a car'

In an interview with Cleo Abram, Jony Ive and Ferrari Chief Designer Flavio Manzoni have gone into more detail about the thinking behind the design of the Luce. In particular, Ive talks about moving away from the multi-touch design of the Apple products he designed, which can be seen on large car dashboards from the likes of Tesla.

"Multi-touch shouldn't be in a car, I believe," says Ive, while also saying it's a "fabulous technology" that suits the user interfaces of phones and tablets. "If you're having to do basic things, it requires of course by definition that you're not looking where you're going, and you're looking at a display."

There is a central touchscreen in the Luce, but it's reasonably compact in terms of its size, and only requires single taps — guided by a handrail along the bottom. There are also plenty of dials and switches throughout the cockpit for more direct, tactile control of the car, with some clever lighting effects attached.

This is a vehicle that can get up to 100 kilometers (62 miles) per hour in 2.5 seconds, with a top speed of more than 310 kilometers (193 miles) per hour. The range on a single charge is quoted as being 530 kilometers (329 miles). For those drivers who are taken with the looks and specs, initial orders are now open.

"The obvious thing or certainly the easy, lazy thing to do would be to mimic what people are familiar with," Ive adds. It's certainly a divisive, bold design — which has had plenty of jibes aimed at it — but let us know what you think in the comments below.

• Google announced that music apps in Android Auto will be getting big design upgrades
• Developers will be able to have more flexibility when designing their app experiences across dashboards with Android Auto
• Improvements include more content layout templates, better visual headers, and smoother navigation features

The experience of listening to your favorite tunes in your car could soon be transformed, with Google giving developers of apps for Android Auto more flexibility when designing their apps to improve layouts and enable easier navigation.

Last week Google announced a major AI-powered upgrade of Android Auto. The Android Auto 17.0 beta is now available, and at its I/O 2026 developer event Google has teased some of the changes coming this year, including revamp of several of the most popular music apps, including Spotify, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, Gaana, PocketFM, and TuneIn.

An update to the Car App Library will give app developers more options for how they want content-browsing and playback to appear in Android Auto. Until now, developers have faced restrictions on layout designs due to safety concerns, and this upgrade gives developers more freedom with designing their apps to provide minimal-distraction experiences across different dashboard types that support Android Auto.

The company will be increasing the adaptability of templates to give developers more content layout options, which includes new headers to improve visual elements, as well as “spotlight sections that can be placed in scrollable areas to highlight specific content, and grid item variations to support different content types and states”.

Google details the changes in further detail in a post on its developer blog, adding that it will also be “introducing new components and template capabilities to help developers build even more engaging experiences”.

“For media apps, we're introducing an adaptive mini-player, so users can browse while still easily managing playback,” the post says, adding “Finally, we're adding more component types including Chip and CondensedItem to increase the ways that content can be displayed and interacted with.”

Some developers have already started using Android Auto’s new layout options to revamp their car app experiences, and Google is inviting more developers to join its early-access beta program and start using the new or Car Library App templates.

• Breame's Sensify brakes are entirely electric
• It has announced the first car is being produced with them
• We don't yet know which car brand will use them

The biggest car revolution in years, or a serious safety downgrade? That’s what drivers are wondering after parts manufacturer Brembo announced its all-electric Sensify braking-by-wire system is going into a production car — saying goodbye to traditional hydraulic brakes entirely.

Breame says Sensify uses data from the vehicle, the driver, and the environment (such as road conditions) to apply an appropriate braking force to each wheel independently. According to the company the system is safer as it gives a greater sense of stability compared to traditional braking, and leads to a smoother braking experience — eliminating the panic that causes nervous passengers to reach for a grip handle according to Breame.

It also argues this system is easier to maintain because it doesn’t require brake fluid, and it’s apparently easier on your tires.

While it is currently remaining tight-lipped on who is behind the vehicle that will deploy Sensify — though we know it has worked with Tesla, Ferrari, and Maserati — the product page FAQ stresses the usefulness of Sensify in autonomous vehicles, especially in a fleet that can share driving data between multiple vehicles, so I wouldn’t be surprised if Sensify’s customer has major autonomous vehicle ambitions.

An accident waiting to happen?

Seeing this story on my timeline today my initial reaction matched that of many online: “Surely that can’t be safe.”

While our tech is normally incredibly reliable we’ve all experienced glitches. Normally these problems are a minor frustration for a few minutes, but if there’s an electrical hiccup when you’re trying to brake the consequences could be much more of a problem.

But as I spent a bit of time looking into things, an electrical breaking system isn’t quite as scary as it first seems.

Firstly, a lot of us probably don’t use our hydraulic brakes that often in 2026 — hybrid and electric vehicles still have them, but also offer regenerative braking which slows the car while also recharging it, and a lot of drivers rely on that for their daily journeys.

Secondly it’s not like hydraulic brakes are perfect. They wear down parts, and can also fail or have reduced effectiveness if not looked after properly.

As for safety, Breame has been working on this tech for years, with it first being presented five years ago in 2021, so I’d hope it would have various kinks worked out by now. Plus cars are heavily regulated. If a manufacturer wants to deploy this tech they’re likely confident that it has the necessary fail safes to convince regulators it’s roadworthy.

As with all new tech we’ll need to wait and see how the rollout progresses, but if things go how Breame hopes, 2026 could be the beginning of the end for hydraulic brakes.

• Android Auto widgets look set to be arriving soon
• They've been spotted hidden in the latest Android Auto app
• The available widgets match the standard Android ones

With the Gemini AI upgrade now installed for Android Auto users worldwide, Google is turning its attention to another feature for the vehicle dashboard interface: widgets that match the ones on your phone home screen.

The first signs of this were actually spotted months ago, but in the latest version of the Android Auto app, the folks at Android Authority have spotted more hidden code that suggests support for widgets isn't far off now.

When the feature does go live, there will be a new Car widgets option in the settings for Android Auto, based on the newly discovered screen images. From there, you get taken to a widget picker not unlike the one for a phone home screen.

It's not clear when Google might decide to start rolling out this feature to users, but it looks pretty finished. The Google I/O 2026 event is happening later this month, on May 19-20, which would be a suitable time for an announcement like this.

Sign me up

From the code and the screens dug up by Android Authority, it looks as though a lot of the same widgets available on Android itself will also be supported by the Android Auto interface — and I'm keen to give them a try.

From countdown starters to calendar previews, from battery charts to fitness info, I make extensive use of widgets on the home screen of my phone. Having them on my car dashboard too would be genuinely useful.

Space is restricted on an Android Auto display of course, so it'll be interesting to see how Google actually implements this — especially if Google Maps is in navigation mode, which will necessarily have to take up a lot of the room on the display.

Hopefully Google manages to implement this in a way that isn't overly clunky — and in a way which doesn't require any subsequent updates to squash persistent bugs — and if so, I'll be adding some widgets immediately.

• A major fix for Android Auto seems to be on the way
• It would allow alarms to be dismissed from the vehicle dashboard
• Users have been requesting this for years now

If you're an Android Auto user, you'll know that you can't dismiss alarms from the vehicle dashboard — you have to do it on your phone. It's a frustrating inconvenience, but one that Google is apparently getting around to doing something about.

The team at Android Authority has discovered that the ability to both snooze and stop alarms is hidden in the code for the latest version of Android Auto. These options will appear on the Android Auto screen when a phone is ringing.

As the report points out, it's been something users have requested for close to a decade at this point. It also feels like a basic function that really should've been added by now, considering everything else Android Auto is capable of.

While alarms could be dismissed via a Google Assistant voice command, this isn't something that Gemini can do yet. The next-gen AI assistant is now rolling out to Android Auto users, but without being able to control alarms.

Still plenty of fixes to go

The newly discovered code isn't enabled yet, so it's not clear how long we'll have to wait before this goes live. However, the Android Authority team was able to manually activate it to bring up the on-screen options.

Reactions on Reddit to the appearance of this code have been most similar: there's a feeling that this shouldn't be difficult for Google to implement, and that there are lots of other Android Auto issues that also need addressing.

One poster says "it should not be hard" to add the functionality, while another is complaining about Android Auto "crashing every 10 mins" — an indication that the software experience isn't ideal for everyone at the moment.

At least the software engineers do seem to be hard at work on Android Auto: we've recently seen an issue with Do Not Disturb addressed, while navigation mode has also been given some useful EV upgrades.

Unlike most airplanes or helicopters, I saw the all-electric Joby Air Taxi long before I heard it. It was cruising silently around Governor's Island and past the Brooklyn Bridge in New York as it made its approach to the NYC Downtown Skyport in Lower Manhattan. When it touched down moments later, it made history, completing the first point-to-point EV air taxi demonstration in New York City history.

As someone who's been following the growing eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) industry for almost a decade, this was a watershed moment for me, too. Never, in all that time, had I seen one in flight. Yes, I missed the smaller New York City Joby prototype demonstration in 2023. Still, the truth is, these EV vehicles, which can perform vertical takeoffs before converting into basically airplane mode, have yet to receive the necessary Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) clearance. And with how slowly bureaucracy moves, I assumed it might be another decade before I'd see one in flight outside of a highly controlled test, airfield.

Yet here I stood under partly cloudy skies with minimal wind, watching the Joby drop down from the sky, its 6 propellers guiding it to a perfect three-point landing.

Easy EV to fly

Pilot Buddy Denham hopped out wearing a snappy, blue Joby's jump suit and greeted me warmly. I asked about how hard it is to fly what looks like a cross between a giant drone and a classic airplane.

The EV, which will fly four passengers and a pilot once certified by the FAA, is "highly augmented fly by wire," explained Denham. This means that while he controls speed and altitude with physical controllers, much of what happens is when he tells the flight control system what he wants, and it carries it out.

Denham should know. Before joining Joby seven years ago, he was with the Navy, where he helped develop a unified control concept for the F-35 fighter jet's hover system, essentially the same system the Joby aircraft uses today.

While Denham described the Joby Air Taxi as "easy to fly," it is a complex air vehicle that does the neat trick of converting back and forth from hovercraft to, basically, aircraft. Denham gestured toward the two most forward of the six propellers and explained how they start facing up to support vertical liftoff and then automatically tip down to face forward to support airplane-like flight.

A turning point for the eVTOL industry

"We're excited that this is going to transform how people move around New York and the world." Joby CEO JoeBen Bevirt told me shortly after the flight demonstration.

That transformation is about noise and air pollution. As an all-electric vehicle capable of traveling up to 200mph, the Joby Air Taxi produces zero emissions and, unlike the majority of helicopters flying over and around New York, it is whisper-quiet when in the air. While the noise level rises appreciably as the eVTOL is lifting off or landing, it's by no means ear-piercing. One company representative told me its in-flight "acoustic profile is 100 times lower than a helicopter."

Perhaps nothing drove that point home more forcefully than when Bevirt was speaking to the assembled crowd as a large helicopter inexplicably (or purposely) pulled up to the skyport and hovered in space for a minute, essentially drowning out Bevirt's speech.

Bevirt later told me that this is a pivotal moment for Joby and the industry and believes the day's flight is "a good indication of where we are going."

It's notable, though, that the pilot flew alone and only over water. Without FAA approval, the Joby Air Taxi, which could just as easily land in your backyard as this skyport, cannot fly over land. Joby's efforts, though, were fast-tracked by a recent FAA eIPP (eVTOL Integration Pilot Program).

Triggered by an order from US President Donald Trump, the eIPP helps foster public-private partnerships and made the day's flight, a joint operation between Joby and the New York and New Jersey Port Authority, possibly. Full FAA clearance will still be necessary before you catch a Joby from JFK.

Is it safe?

In the meantime, Joby's latest production prototype is jam-packed with safety features, including multiple redundancies that make it possible to continue flying if one of the six propellers fails. Even inside each propeller is a dual system to prevent failure.

Joby representatives believe they may get FAA clearance to fly as early as next year. If so, customers will use the Joby app to book flights, much like they would an Uber. In fact, Joby and Uber are partners, and the idea is that you could book one trip that includes a Joby flight out of JFK and an Uber to pick you up at the skyport.

There's an undeniable cool factor to vertical liftoff from JFK and touching down at your destination, but from a practical perspective, you have to ask why. What's the benefit of living this George Jetson existence? Why not just take an Uber from JFK to Midtown Manhattan? Joby CEO Bevirt has the obvious answer: "5 minutes instead of an hour," he grinned.

While this day's flight took 10 minutes from point to point, a Joby that's allowed to fly over land will get the job done in as little as five minutes.

That sounds amazing, but one can only imagine the costs will be sky (ahem) high. A Joby spokesperson admitted to me that "initially the price might be a bit higher," but they "want to make this accessible to all." Ultimately, it should cost no more than a comparable Uber Black ride. So figure, if and when this operation gets off the ground, $150 per ride.

With a spacious cabin, four leather seats, and big windows, the Joby EV air Taxi could someday be the perfect New York City sightseeing vehicle, but first, the company has to build its EVs. This production prototype is close to the final EV, but Joby still has to build more — a lot more.

Even here, though, the company is bullish. As a vertically aligned company, it builds the components it needs in Ohio and assembles the EV Air Taxis in California. A Joby spokesperson told me that by 2027, they hope to eventually build four aircraft a month.

When Joby has enough Air Taxis and is certified to fly, its first passenger will be CEO Joben Bevirt. When I asked if the vehicles were safe, he said, "Absolutely," and when I followed with if he would be the first passenger, he quickly added, "I am."

Vantrue Pilot 2: two-minute review

It’s becoming increasingly difficult to stand out in the overcrowded dash cam marketplace. However, Vantrue is having a stab at it with the Vantrue Pilot 2 dash cam, which the brand claims is the world’s first model to incorporate thermal imaging. This is certainly a first for me, and having reviewed the best dash cams on the market, this three-channel model plus the thermal camera did sound promising.

The Vantrue Pilot 2 dash cam has been in development for a while, with a Kickstarter campaign launching the initial design and production set to commence around now, with deliveries expected in the middle of the year. However, while the thermal imaging is a draw, the main appeal of this package is how it can used to bring a host of smart features to older cars. This is down to the other major feature, the touchscreen hub, which works rather like an infotainment screen of the type you'd see in most modern vehicles.

For me, this is actually the main appeal of the Vantrue Pilot 2 dash cam, because the 6.25-inch touchscreen supports both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, as well as having voice command functionality, Wi-Fi 6 connectivity, and a storage capability of up to 1TB via a micro-USB slot. It can be mounted to a dashboard or similar location in older vehicles with more conventional dashboard layouts. Where it’s less useful is in a modern vehicle with an existing infotainment screen and all the functionality that comes with it.

Aside from the headline-grabbing features, the Vantrue Pilot 2 dash cam is a workmanlike exercise in covering all angles. The cameras comprise one front-facing unit that sticks to the windshield and has a cockpit-facing lens, too, while the rear-facing unit sits in the rear window capturing the view out the back. Meanwhile, the thermal imaging unit is meant to be fixed to the outside of a vehicle, using a clamp and bracket design. It can be attached to the back edge of a vehicle’s hood, or somewhere in the grille area – but note that it relies on a cable connection, so that has to be factored into its fitment.

The camera specifications are solid enough, with f/1.8 large aperture Sony Starvis 2 sensors (5-megapixel MX675 for the front and 2-megapixel IMX662 for the rear) and Novatek NT98530 dual-core processors boosted by 2.0 TOPS AI computing power providing plenty of appeal. The units can function between temperatures of -20℃ ~60℃, meaning they’re suited to all kinds of operating environments.

Meanwhile, the thermal imaging unit boasts a 12μm WLP high-performance vanadium oxide uncooled infrared detector, plus there are four infrared lights for the cockpit camera. There’s GPS, a 2.4G/5.0G Hz Wi-Fi 6 module, along with a supporting Vantrue app for overall management of files.

All things considered, the Vantrue Pilot 2 dash cam is a complete package – although there are a few comparable products in the Vantrue range that function similarly, minus the thermal imaging camera. The Vantrue Nexus 5S dash cam is a prime example, and available for just $399.99 (£295 approx).

Vantrue Pilot 2 dash cam: price and availability

At the time of writing, the unit sent in for review was an early production model and Vantrue’s pricing was also seemingly tentative. Deliveries of the Vantrue Pilot 2 dash cam are set for June, with a suggested price of $805 (£594 approx). Vantrue has also been offering early bird deals with 43% off, bringing the price of the dash cam down to $499 (£368 approx). As menioned above, though, the Vantrue Nexus 5S dash cam is a great alternative and available for just $399.99 (£295 approx). It's just as good, if you're not in need of the thermal imaging camera and/or touchscreen hub unit.

Vantrue Pilot 2 dash cam: specs

Vantrue Pilot 2 dash cam: Design

Make no mistake, the Vantrue Pilot 2 dash cam bundle is a chunky one – you'll need some space in order to accommodate the core touchscreen unit plus the cameras. Central to the action is the base or hub unit, which has the touchscreen plus all the connection points for the various cables that come included. Thankfully, Vantrue has marked up all the ports as well as the cables with clear indications as to what goes where. Step-by-step instructions are also included in the box. Note, though, that the design might not work for those with limited cabin space.

Construction of the various components is solid enough, with positive connections for all the ports, so it feels like the package will handle the effects of vibration and general use over time. The quality of the plastic for the cameras and hub feels of a good quality too. Overall, the impression is that the Vantrue Pilot 2 dash cam is a premium bundle.

Even novice users will find the design of all the component parts easy enough to plumb in and configure. What is less straightforward is getting everything into place, especially that touchscreen unit, which I found difficult to accommodate in a car with an infotainment screen on the dash. Fitting the front and cockpit-facing camera was a doddle though, using a sticky pad to affix to the windscreen, via a static sheet between the glass and the sticky pad if preferred. The same goes for the rear-facing camera, and both come with familiar barrel-style bodies that will be familiar if you’re familiar with Vantrue products.

The most unusual part of the overall design is the thermal imaging camera. This is a chunky unit that's designed to be mounted externally. The design itself seemed robust enough to spend its life outside a vehicle, although I’d assume the lens will require regular cleaning to perform optimally. This was also the trickiest part to fit. Vantrue has outlined a variety of ways to mount the external camera in its documentation, with the most obvious method being to clamp it to the rear edge of a vehicle’s bonnet. This took some effort on the vehicle I was using.

Similarly, the instructions didn't make clear what to do with the cable. I’m assuming it needs to be fed through the dash somewhere and then up through the engine bay – which, because I was using a test vehicle, resulted in my simply feeding it through the passenger-side window. Again, this additional step makes initial set-up of the Vantrue Pilot 2 dash cam more complicated, alongside placement of the touchscreen hub – if you have a vehicle with no obvious place to put it.

Granted, Vantrue has designed the touchscreen unit with a self-adhesive base and even supplied holes for more permanent fixing. There’s also a bracket that allows it to be angled slightly; but in my test vehicle I still struggled to find a proper home for it. Once fixed in place, though, both the screen and the presentation of the graphics therein were impressive. It all worked nicely with the required finger taps, too.

Vantrue Pilot 2 dash cam: Performance

One of the best things about the Vantrue Pilot 2 dash cam is the heads-up-style display – aside from finding somewhere to fix it in a modern vehicle, that is. It's the go-to area for the initial setup process, with clear touchscreen options that include formatting the microSD card. Similarly, configuring Apple CarPlay via the on-screen icon and connecting with my phone via Bluetooth proved straightforward.

I'm also a fan of the chunky icons in the system setup area. Using them I could tweak everything from Wi-Fi and warning tones, to making adjustments to the voice control and more general settings. There are also quick-access tabs for audio recording plus rain/fog modes and a parking mode option, too. Like most other dash cam models, the parking modes need to have the dash cam hard-wired into the vehicle, which then unlocks a wider range of features such as 24/7 monitoring while parked up.

I couldn’t really find fault with any of the footage delivered by the cameras in the Vantrue Pilot 2 dash cam bundle. The colour and overall quality was excellent, while road signs and license plates were crisp and clear, too. Even the thermal imaging worked as I’d expected, although I still don't see any major advantage to having it over any other dash cam that comes armed with "night vision".

The major issue I have with the Vantrue Pilot 2 dash cam is that it seems like overkill. I can see the setup working in an older vehicle that doesn’t already have a touchscreen, nor other modern day tech accoutrements. However, if that’s the case then this does make it a rather niche product, much like rear-view mirror dash cams. The other issue I experienced was trying to find somewhere suitable to position the hub, where it wouldn't get in the way of the other parts of the cockpit.

Having said all that, I did welcome the delivery of the footage. This was either via a four-way split screen showing all angles, or with only one view displayed on the whole screen. The ability to condense the view slightly and have the app widgets, such as Apple CarPlay, displayed to the left of the picture was also neat. While the cameras delivered great quality and colour, the thermal imaging was notable for displaying objects in a garish green hue in one quarter of the divided screen view. Useful for hunting Bigfoot, perhaps?

Indeed, the thermal imaging camera worked well enough: best illustrated when I pointed it towards myself, creating a ghostly apparition on the screen. However, this camera is designed to be more of a supplement to coverage provided by the other lenses. It might be handy for anyone heading into the great outdoors in a 4X4, for example, which is likely to have plenty of options for mounting it on the exterior. However, on regular vehicles, I’d say this aspect is decidedly niche.

Vantrue reckons it will prove useful when conditions are so poor that it’s difficult to see anything ahead. Personally speaking, if conditions get that bad, I think I’d be pulling over until things improved.

One important thing to note is that if you want to access the parking monitoring features then you'll need the optional hardwire kit. This does increase the potential of the bundle, although I found the Vantrue Pilot 2 dash cam an impressive proposition out of the box simply using a plug-in 12V power supply.

Should you buy the Vantrue Pilot 2 dash cam?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

How I tested the Vantrue Pilot 2 dash cam

• I installed the dash cam in an SUV for an initial period of two weeks
• I used it for various day and night journeys, in various types of weather
• I connected it to my phone, and downloaded recordings to check their quality

Vantrue loaned me the Pilot 2 dash cam and supplied everything I needed to test it, including a microSD card. The unit was essentially a finished product, although Vantrue flagged that some features weren't quite complete. Android Auto, for example, could not be configured on my test unit; but will be ready come the launch.

The package was plumbed into a test vehicle, using all of the supplied cables and connectors. Vantrue also supplied a hardwire kit, but since the product was reviewed in a test car, bonus features such as parking monitoring weren't tried out – although these are the same as those found in other Vantrue dash cams across the range.

Vantrue also offers its supporting app, which is available for both Apple iOS and Android. I installed the Vantrue app on an Apple iPhone 16, while connectivity of both the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth was also checked in a variety of daily use scenarios and proved reliable.

• First reviewed April 2026

• A new fast-charging EV battery has been announced
• It charges from 10%-98% in as little as 6 minutes, 27 seconds
• It offers high-speed charging in temperatures as low as -30°C (-22°F)

Electric vehicle (EV) battery technology has taken another leap forward with a new charging benchmark that's just been set by a Chinese battery giant.

CATL – the market-leading EV battery maker – has announced its Shenxing 3rd Generation Battery, which it claims can charge even quicker than BYD's recently announced, and already impressive, Blade 2.0 offering.

CATL says its new lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery can charge from 10%-35% in one minute, 10%-80% in three minutes 44 seconds, and 10%-98% in six minutes and 27 seconds.

By comparison, BYD's latest battery takes four minutes and 54 seconds to go from 10%-70%, and nine minutes to charge from 10% to 97%.

CATL's new battery can also apparently perform remarkably well in low temperatures (as low as -30°C / -22°F) thanks to its 'self-heating technology'.

Information on this tech is a little thin on the ground for now, but according to CarNewsChina, it "uses pulse rapid heating to solve low-temperature ultra-fast charging challenges".

Low temperatures can significantly reduce the charge speeds of EV batteries, which is why we've seen a number of manufacturers offer heat-pumps (usually as an optional extra, or limited to top-spec models) to aid charging in cold weather.

The suggestion here with CATL's self-heating tech is that there won't be a need for a traditional heat pump, which could save on overall vehicle weight and cost.

Analysis: The future of EV ownership is bright

CATL didn't mention the type of range we can expect from its new battery, although if we take BYD's Blade 2.0 offering as a baseline, 400+ miles looks set to be an achievable marker for these new power packs thanks to increased density.

With greater range, even faster charging, and more affordable models entering the market, the main roadblocks to EV ownership are melting away. CATL did also announce that an update to its Qilin battery is capable of driving 1500km on a single charge.

"The boundaries of electrochemistry are still far from being reached," noted CATL's founder Robin Zeng. "And the possibilities of materials science are still far from being exhausted."

Being able to top-up your EV pretty much as quickly as a gas-powered car is great, but you'll need access to a high-powered charger to get those speeds — and there lies the final major hurdle for the electric market to overcome.

EV charging networks in countries around the world are rapidly expanding – BYD has rolled out its first 1,500kW chargers in China – but it will take some time before there's a readily available network of high-speed chargers across other nations.

The future is certainly bright for EVs though — give this battery technology a year or so to make its way into vehicles, and for charging infrastructure to continue to grow, and electric car ownership is primed for pole position on driveways around the world.

• WhatsApp has just updated its CarPlay functionality
• The app now offers a native in-car experience
• That makes hands-free calling simpler and more feature-rich

If you use WhatsApp with your vehicle’s CarPlay system, there’s some good news: Meta has just updated its messaging app with expanded support for CarPlay, and it could make the in-car experience just a little more pleasant.

To be clear, WhatsApp has technically worked with CarPlay for years. You’ve been able to send messages and make calls while driving using your voice, but the previous app relied on Siri for a lot of its features. While it worked, it was a basic, non-native solution that left a lot of room for improvement.

Thankfully, that improvement has finally arrived. The latest version introduces a native-feeling interface that makes using the app much more user-friendly. There’s a new contact menu with profile details for each person; support for your favorite contacts on a dedicated tab; and a call history log that shows whether calls were incoming or outgoing.

The update was in testing over the past week or so, giving users a hint of what was to come. Now that it’s arrived, you’ll be able to get the CarPlay improvements by updating WhatsApp in the iOS App Store.

Calling on the go

The new CarPlay-friendly version of WhatsApp is just the latest tune-up that’s arrived for Apple’s in-car entertainment and navigation system. Indeed, several prominent apps have brought new features to their CarPlay integrations over the past few weeks.

Perhaps most notable among them is ChatGPT. You can now interact with the artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot right within your car, but it’s worth noting that you’ll only be able to do so in voice mode so as to prevent distractions while driving. It’s also a bit of a weird experience.

Still, other apps have been adding new features to CarPlay, with Google Meet among them. Like WhatsApp, this has added an upgraded way to conduct calls on the go and also displays your upcoming schedule if required.

So, if your car is outfitted with CarPlay, contacting your friends and family just got a little easier. Hopefully the updates to WhatsApp, ChatGPT and more will inspire other compatible apps to improve their offerings for Apple fans in the not-too-distant future.

Adam Wood, Renault’s UK managing director, refers to the “Trojan horse” effect of the Renault 5 and Renault 4: two cars that have won over the elusive private buyer in much of Europe, out-selling Tesla and simultaneously introducing EVs to an entirely new audience.

“It looks right, it appeals to the heart and the head, and it is priced right, which is part of the success story,” Wood explained at the launch of the third car in the French marque’s electrified reimagining of iconic models.

The smaller, cuter and altogether more affordable Renault Twingo E-Tech is largely based on the same platform as the Renault 5 and 4, although the overall length has been shortened and the multi-link rear axle has been replaced by a flexible unit borrowed from the Renault Captur.

And apologies if Twingo isn’t ringing any bells — while it was never sold in the US, the original model of the 1990s sold a staggering 4.1 million units in 25 countries, including much of Europe, where it has garnered something of an iconic status. So indulge us a little.

The modern version's onboard batteries now feature a more affordable Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) chemistry and, rather than weighing down the package with an endless row of cells, the useable capacity is a mere 27.5kWh. As a result, the Twingo tips the scales at just 1,200kg, allowing the compact city car to eke out 163 miles from a single charge.

Sensible stuff aside, the 3.79m-long Twingo aims to build on its reputation by offering bags of practicality and character, wrapped up in the latest in-car technology and an electric powertrain that is both capable and comfortable.

All of this should cost a fortune, right? Wrong. Both the Renault 5 and Renault 4 arrived boasting impressively affordable price tags and the Twingo will takes things even further, with Renault execs claiming that it will cost “comfortably” less than €20,000 (around £17,500 / $23,000 / AU$33,500) when it arrives on European roads later this year.

That places it among some of the most affordable electric vehicles on the market, which includes the Dacia Spring and Leapmotor T03 — otherwise known as 'compromise on wheels'.

Cheap without the cheapness

Let’s not pretend that the Renault Twingo is something that it isn’t. Max range from the small battery packs is 163 miles, charging speeds are capped at 50kW and, in a surprising move in today’s EV segment, Renault has limited the power output of its electric motor to a relatively measly 82hp.

In the era of massively overpowered electric vehicles, the 0-62mph ‘sprint’ time of 12.1 seconds and the top speed of 81mph feel refreshingly old school. If the French marque wanted to ape the performance of its tiny 1.2 liter, four-cylinder petrol original, it has succeeded.

But where the aforementioned affordable rivals deliver vaguely similar performance credentials, they do so with a heavy compromise on ride quality, cabin quietness and overall refinement. The modern Twingo manages to shirk these unfavorable characteristics.

Sure, there are pop-out windows in the rear, much of the cabin is covered in cheap plastics and the headrests feel like they are filled with air, rather than cushioning foam, but it is all executed with a laser-like focus on design.

The roof is embossed with Twingo ‘alphabet’ lettering, the LED headlamps and taillight design has barely changed from the concept car and the dash features numerous nods to the original Twingo, including the oversized ‘candy-like’ hazard light button.

Renault didn’t have to introduce all of this stuff but it did. The company wanted to cut costs where it could without ridding the vehicle of character and it's all the better for it.

What’s more, the Android Automotive-based infotainment system (a 7-inch driver display and 10-inch touchscreen) is lifted from the Renault 5 and offers a digital experience that simply isn’t found in the city car segment.

Renault is also the first to offer safety assistance packages and Vehicle-to-Load (V2L) capabilities at this sort of price.

A big kid at heart

Renault knows that simply packing a vehicle with funky design touches isn’t enough to win over buyers — today’s cars need to fit in with busy lifestyles and prove competent beyond short strolls to the supermarket.

In this respect, the Twingo offers a number of ingenious solutions to make up for its lack of stature. Inside, all of the seats easily slide and fold on individual rails, meaning stowage space can be freed up wherever it's required.

The boot or trunk has a false floor with a double opening, which frees up an additional 50 liters of stowage space for charging cables and more beneath it, while remaining accessible on one side when larger items are in place.

Inside, the cabin borrows the YouClip accessory system from sister company Dacia, with mounting points dotted around the interior for attaching bag hooks, LED lamps, smartphone cradles and cable organizers.

In essence, owners can customize their cabins using these little gizmos to suit their lifestyle, but there's plenty of handy stowage space for tossing a smartphone or stashing a bottle of water.

It might be small on the outside, but there's big car energy on the inside.

Renault also offers an extensive list of its own clever in-car accessories, which range from small storage boxes to fit between the driver and passenger to a cushioned arm rest that doubles-up as a zippered bag for stashing bottles of water and more.

Bizarrely, the rear of the cabin feels slightly less claustrophobic than the one found in the Renault 5 and rear passengers get a relatively generous amount of leg room when the rear seats are slid all the way rearwards. This does mean you have to compromise on trunk space, though.

And, unlike the original Twingo, this modern interpretation is a proper five-door affair, making it much more comfortable and practical for daily use.

The more mature personality is also reflected in the way the new Twingo drives and rides. Admittedly, the suspension, like that of the Renault 5 E-Tech, feels firm, and the larger 18-inch alloy wheels can crash over speed bumps and larger potholes.

But it’s impressively comfortable over longer distances and can even handle highway speeds without too much in the way of wind roar and road noise drowning out a Spotify soundtrack.

On that subject, the clever interior packaging of the dash and windscreen mean Renault engineers have been able to fit the little Twingo with an Arkamys auditorium audio system with its six speakers. Sound quality is impressive for a vehicle of this size.

Not too serious

Thanks to the fact that Renault has managed to keep weight down to the bare minimum (for an EV, that is), the company has been able to install what it deems as “the most appropriate” battery and motor configuration.

Power isn’t too much, while the battery packs provide enough range for most city-car use cases, as well as the ability to venture further when required. Granted, 50kW isn’t the fastest but Renault says it takes 30 minutes for a 15-80% charge.

On top of this, the aerodynamic and powertrain efficiencies are impressive, with the company claiming 12.2 kWh / 100 km, which is around 5.1 miles per kWh on the WLTP cycle.

During testing, I managed to return around 4.5kWh per mile on a mix of twisting mountain roads and some slower highway driving, according to the onboard efficiency data readouts. Not bad at all, considering the ultra-efficient Mercedes-Benz CLA returns similar figures.

But with all this sensible chat of refinement, charging speeds and range, it would be easy to think the Twingo E-Tech is a bit boring. Thankfully, it’s not.

The powertrain is fantastically well judged, to the point where you can spend an unfathomable amount of time with the right foot buried to the carpet.

Occasionally, the front wheels scramble for grip and the Twingo scampers around tight bends, but it’s joyous in a way that only lightweight, low-powered cars can be. This is the sort of model you'd happily receive when playing the holiday car rental lottery.

There’s an overarching sense of fun here, and if the Renault 5 and 4 E-Tech were modern, design-led takes on beloved French classics, the Twingo is an altogether more faithful representation of the original.

Super low-cost, fuss-free motoring for the electric generation, but one that doesn’t feel like its maker has cut every conceivable corner.

A sensational smaller sibling. The Trojan pony to the 5 E-Tech’s Trojan horse.

• EV route planning on Android Auto is getting a smart upgrade
• It's rolling out across 350 EV makes and models in the US
• Changes to the way media autoplay works are also appearing

If you use Android Auto inside an electric vehicle, route planning just got significantly smarter and more personalized — while there are also signs that the Android dashboard is going to improve the way that audio autoplay is handled.

First up is the EV route planning, which is powered by AI and will give charging recommendations based on the make and model of your car and how much battery you've got left. Google says the upgrade applies to more than 350 electric vehicles with Android Auto available, across 16 brands.

While basic search for EV charging points was already available in Google Maps and Android Auto, now the software will be able to tap into what it knows about the EV you're in to suggest where you need to recharge and when, considering the length and destination of the journey you're about to embark on.

Android Auto will use its AI algorithms and calculations about your vehicle's weight and battery size to give you the best route and charging options. These details will be combined with the usual Google Maps data, including real-time information about traffic, road elevation, and weather conditions.

Autoplay prompts

To take advantage of the new EV route planning features, you first need to tell Google Maps about your car. From the app on your phone, tap your profile picture (top right), then Settings > Your vehicles to enter the details under Engine and Vehicle.

When you plot a route on the Android Auto dashboard, you'll then be able to set your starting battery level. Google says the feature is rolling out now to models from Audi, BMW, Chevrolet, FIAT, Genesis, Hyundai, Jaguar, Kia, Lexus, Lucid, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Porsche, Subaru, Toyota, and Volkswagen — though this is only in the US for now.

Our other Android Auto tidbit is something that's been spotted by Android Police. It seems that if you quickly stop media from autoplaying on the dashboard three successive times, you'll be asked if you want to turn autoplay off via a pop-up alert — so the next time Android Auto connects, nothing starts playing right away.

This behavior can already be controlled via Android Auto on your phone (on Pixel devices it's under Settings > Connected devices > Connection preferences > Android Auto), but it's a toggle switch that many users may have missed. The new prompt makes it a little easier to disable autoplay if you'd like to.

• YouTube has rolled out support for Android Auto with playback controls
• The catch is that it doesn't play videos, and you can only stream audio
• You also need YouTube Premium for it to work, as it's essentially background play

YouTube is finally rolling out support for Android Auto, the app that allows you to mirror your smartphone screen to your car’s dashboard — but before your excitement takes over, you should note that it comes with a slew of limitations.

The video platform has been quite silent with this launch however, and instead of formally announcing the integration, users online have come across it themselves like in this Reddit post. As it stands, Android Auto is pretty strict with what you can and can’t do while your car is in motion which, when it comes to eliminating visual distractions while driving, is a safety no-brainer. That said, YouTube on Android Auto is not the YouTube you know and love.

For starters, Android Auto removes one of YouTube’s key elements and that’s its video player, meaning you won’t be able to watch anything and can only listen to audio playback just like the best music streaming services. In theory, you can play any type of content you want, but you’ll only be able to listen to its audio — which won’t be a huge setback if you exclusively listen to podcast episodes or videos that are ideal for audio-only listening.

Though it takes away YouTube’s biggest functionality, it doesn’t come as a huge surprise and is arguably the most sensible thing to do to ensure safe driving. Not only that, it doesn’t offer full-screen viewing or the option to browse for content, and playback controls are also limited on top of that.

As reported by 9to5Google, you won’t be able to skip forward within a video, and the current skip button will take you straight to the next video in the queue. You can still pause and play audio from the player screen, but you won’t have access to YouTube’s complete slew of playback tools.

Until now, users have been relying on workarounds to get YouTube working on Android Auto, so I can see this integration being widely welcomed. But it wouldn’t be classic YouTube if there weren’t a YouTube Premium catch.

A secret YouTube Premium persuasion strategy

Did you think you could get away with streaming YouTube through Android Auto for free? I hate to break it to you, but you’re going to need a YouTube Premium subscription in order to do so.

In typical YouTube style, Android Auto integration is another functionality that’s being paywalled behind Premium and it’s all because of background play, which is required for streaming through Android Auto. As this is a tool only available to paying subscribers, only those with a membership will be able to stream YouTube on a car dashboard, and the way I look at it is this is yet another strategy YouTube is using to get more people signing up to Premium.

The cheapest way to do this is through YouTube Premium Lite which costs $7.99 / £7.99 / AU$8.99 a month, a relatively new tier that was launched last year. Background viewing and offline downloads were added just a few months back, but while it offers majority ad-supported viewing, this doesn’t apply to music and other music-related content. If you’re like me and use YouTube for all things music and live performances, the standard Premium plan is your best option.

• Many users are currently experiencing Android Auto issues
• Galaxy and Pixel phones are among those affected
• Samsung and Google haven't commented on the bugs yet

It seems there's a major bug (or perhaps multiple bugs) affecting Android Auto right now, with significant numbers of users reporting that they are having problems connecting their phone to their vehicle's dashboard.

Autoevolution has a report that highlights issues with the new Samsung Galaxy S26 phones specifically: apparently connections to Android Auto simply aren't working for these handsets for certain users, with no real clues as to why.

A comprehensive post over on Reddit rounds up some of the complaints, with users even considering returning their phones: "There's no way I'm keeping this phone if it doesn't work with Android Auto," writes one Redditor.

While we've had no official comment from Samsung, some users are reporting that they have been able to get their phones working after applying the latest software patches. Others have resorted to manually installing an older version of Android Auto.

Pixels too

It's not just the Galaxy S26 phones that are having problems with Android Auto at the moment. Another Autoevolution article reports that Google Pixel phone owners are having trouble too, particularly with wired connections to their dashboard.

In these cases the issues appear to have started after the recent software update Google pushed out to Pixel phones this month. One theory is that the Advanced Protection security feature on these devices is blocking the Android Auto connection.

There are posts on the Android Auto help forums explaining that Android Auto won't connect while a phone is locked — which it should do. Again, there's been no official response from Google as of yet.

While it's hard to gauge just how many users this is affecting, there are plenty of complaints. Let's hope Google and Samsung are investigating, and are able to issue fixes for these problems sooner rather than later.

The world sat up and took notice when Hyundai introduced its game-changing Ioniq 5 N.

Here was a big, heavy electric vehicle — bereft of snarling engine notes and an engaging manual gearbox — that somehow reintroduced the joy of driving to a genre that has been described as “soulless”, “utilitarian” and “devoid of any emotion” by those that love internal combustion engines.

Hyundai’s small team of dedicated engineers worked tirelessly for years to produce simulated engine noises, synthetic gear shifts and a stiffened platform that could handle the monumental amount of torque and horsepower produced by a race-tuned electric powertrain.

Using all of its experience in endurance racing and the World Rally Championship, Hyundai’s Ioniq 5 N delivered fun, thrills and smoky drifts by the bucketful, with the South Korean marque arguably beating far more established sports car manufacturers to the unofficial title of ‘their first genuinely fun EV’.

Not one to rest on its laurels, Hyundai has once again put its N Division to work, using its knowledge and experience to fine-tune the marque’s Ioniq 6 EV and inject a similar amount of grin-inducing juice into the slightly madcap sedan.

Arguably a more ‘mature’ option than the hot hatch Ioniq 5 N, the 6 N has to be able to handle those more mundane trips between business meetings and offer a level of comfort that executive types expect.

Dr Jekyll has to be able to suppress Mr Hyde to a great degree, if you will. No mean feat, considering Hyundai decided to imbue the 6 N with 650hp, 770Nm of torque and a top speed of almost 160mph.

Subtle changes

To get to the bottom of what makes the 6 N tick, you really have to start tearing it apart. There’s an all-new suspension system to kick off proceedings, complete with Stroke Sensing Electronically Controlled Suspension (ECS) dampers and a lower roll center to improve high-speed grip and handling.

Upgrades to axle stiffness also improve performance through faster corners, while the electronically adjustable suspension has a much wider bandwidth than the 5 N. It soaks up bumps at lower speeds and is generally less fidgety on highway surfaces.

Then there are all of the tweaks and changes to the technology that made the 5 N so fun in the first place. Engineers have added an additional gear to the N e-Shift system (a simulation of an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission), giving the driver even more to play with on track or on the road, while upgraded software and hardware in the sound system makes the N Active Sound+ even more realistic.

The Ioniq 6 N has its own bespoke engine note, which feels coarser and less digital than the one found in the 5 N, while the sound system handles the location of the synthesized pops, crackles and bangs with greater accuracy. It genuinely does sound like the vehicle is burbling and banging from its non-existent exhaust pipes.

Finally, the Hyundai N division has also worked on its Drift mode, handing choice over to the driver in the form of a fully customizable system that can now be used to tweak the amount of wheel-spin, torque distribution between the front and rear, and the aggressiveness of steering input required to initiate smoky rear tires.

Sensible fun

There’s no denying the Ioniq 6 N is the more sensible of the two high-performance EVs. It looks more grown-up from the outside, with only the huge ‘swan-neck’ rear spoiler and 20-inch forged alloy wheels giving the game away. Remove the rear spoiler and you have the ultimate ‘sleeper’ car.

It’s clearly slightly lower than the standard car, but not aggressively so, while the interior receives a healthy dose of sportiness without feeling over the top.

The bucket seats for front passengers do a great job of keeping torsos planted through faster corners but remain hugely comfortable over longer highway journeys. Similarly, the round N Pasubio steering wheel adds a few extra buttons to control modes without looking like it has been stolen from an F1 car.

On the subject of buttons, the Hyundai Ioniq 6 N is absolutely covered in them, with physical switches taking care of most key functionality. Despite most automotive journalists — and some sectors of the public — crying out for more physical switchgear, it’s a bit much here.

Regardless, it is a well-trimmed cabin and the rear is large and comfortable enough to seat two adults or three kids. Plus, there’s a cavernous trunk for stashing everyday accoutrements.

Despite packing the same sort of horsepower as a modern supercar, the Ioniq 6 N can also still return 291 miles on a single charge according to the European WLTP cycle. Thanks to an 800V electrical architecture and 350kW max charge speed, it can also blitz the 10–80% charge in 18 minutes.

Joon Park, the man in charge of Hyundai’s N Division, said that he and his team have always aimed for a 20:20 split, meaning keen drivers can enjoy 20 minutes on track, before charging for 20 minutes and then heading back out again.

In fact, Hyundai has installed ultra-fast charging outlets at some of the most popular public race circuits in South Korea and Europe, including the Nürburgring, where anyone with an electric N product can charge for free.

Everyday sportscar

Perhaps intentionally, Hyundai chose to run almost exactly the same launch program as that of the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N. The same sunny Spanish roads, the same Parcmotor Castellolí race circuit and even largely the same weather.

With the first task being navigating the chaotic streets of Barcelona, the Ioniq 6 N was able to highlight just how smooth and easy to drive it is. In Normal or Eco driving modes, the steering is light, the suspension pliant and there’s enough ground clearance to easily crest speed bumps and potholes.

Prod the accelerator and it’s clear there’s plenty of power lurking beneath, but it never feels unmanageable.

The steering wheel houses N1 and N2 drive mode buttons, which can be configured to tweak the steering, torque delivery and suspension firmness. You can set these various modes to include or exclude the N Active Sound+ synthesized engine note, the simulated gear shifting and various digital screen layouts.

There’s also a bright red button that is labeled GRB, which is short for N Grin Boost. Depress this button and the vehicle provides maximum motor output for up to 10 seconds… perfect for rapid overtaking.

Once out of the slower city traffic, we were quickly in the winding hills outside of Barcelona, where flicking the Ioniq 6 N into one of its racier profiles almost came naturally. Hyundai’s simulated engine note comes to life and taking over ‘manual’ gear changes is a joy.

With more cogs to play with, the driving experience is even more involving than before, while the artificial rev limiter and flashing lights on the dash make it very easy to forget that it doesn’t have an engine.

However, the 6 N settles back down into a mature-feeling sedan once the fun is over, proving quiet and comfortable on the highways. Get rid of the synthesized sound and the cabin is relaxing, while that revised suspension does a great job of floating over road surfaces.

Track monster

Once again we head to the race circuit and once again, it is difficult not to be impressed by what Hyundai’s N Division has achieved with its various software simulations.

The artificial dual-clutch gearbox can be used in any mode, meaning it is possible to cruise around a race circuit in Comfort, cycling up and down through the gears like you would in a conventional car.

What’s more, the programmed engine braking and power delivery are beyond realistic, to the point that selecting the wrong gear as you head up a long, climbing straight will result in limited torque as the ‘engine’ struggles to pile on the revs.

Naturally, the car’s raciest N modes are best suited to pummeling circuits and the full 650hp with N Launch Control activated gets the EV off the starting line and up to 62mph in a neck-snapping 3.2 seconds.

Speed only builds from here and it’s not long before the first corner arrives. Hard on the brakes, cycle down through the gears and the nose dives, revealing that the Ioniq 6 N still weighs in excess of 2,000kg, but the brakes are strong and the body control excellent.

It remains flat as it crests through the first corner, where it is time to start working your way back up through the gearbox again — a solid thump in the chest as it engages each artificial cog.

All the time, the drive is soundtracked by various pops, crackles and bangs from the sound system, with shift lights on the dashboard doing a great job of imitating those found in Ferraris, McLarens and M Performance BMWs.

For those that like to get a little loose, Hyundai’s N Drift Optimizer has been updated with adjustable initiation, angle and wheel-spin control. Alternatively, turn all of the traction assistance off and the 6 N can be coaxed into wild skids.

While not exactly a generational leap from the Ioniq 5 N, Hyundai’s latest performance EV is an altogether more refined vehicle. One that once again delivers on the racetrack, but a model that also transforms back into a more comfortable long-distance cruiser.

With prices starting at £65,800 in the UK for the 6 N (around $87,500 / AU$125,600), it’s no more expensive than the 5 N, which feels extremely generous considering the enhancements.

Where the Ioniq 5 N is arguably the more spacious and practical car, the 6 N ushers in changes that make it the more comfortable and capable machine. A more senior offering that just so happens to be a big kid at heart.

We've already waxed lyrical about the excellent efficiency of Mercedes’ recent CLA, with its clever gearing system tuned to eke the most out of its onboard battery packs during long bouts of high speed driving — a scenario that usually obliterates range.

This factor alone clearly had me distracted at the original launch event as, between hyper-miling on Danish roads and messing around with the German marque’s new voice assistant, I didn't have time to test out its other great feature — autonomous parking functionality.

Before getting into the meat of this feature, I’d like to admit two things. Firstly, I completely understand autonomous parking functionality exists in other automotive products (Tesla owners, put down your pitchforks) and yes, it has been around for some time. The issue is, I rarely bother to use them.

By the time I’ve rummaged around the various on-screen menus or pressed the appropriate series of switches, I could have parked the car myself, so often have.

But the thing that impressed me the most about the Mercedes-Benz CLA’s autonomous parking functionality during a recent loan was the ease at which the functionality was presented and then activated.

There’s video evidence below, should you want some visuals. But take it from me — the CLA simply knows when you are about to park and actively starts hunting for a space.

Once located, it relays its findings via jumbo, idiot-proof graphics on the central touchscreen, so you can make your preferred parking choice. It handles typical parking bay scenarios, as well as trickier parallel or reverse-parking situations.

What’s more, it doesn’t hang around once you have decided upon a space. The CLA flicks the indicators on and slips into that space in a manner that won’t have traffic behind raging with impatience.

Street smarts

Thanks to living in a busy terraced street, I’m used to street-parking my vehicles. But hey, I am human and mess up a parallel parking maneuvers every now and then, having to take a second stab at it because I’ve come in too hot, overcooked the angle or ended up too far away from the curb.

During my time with the Mercedes CLA, it autonomously aced that particular move. Every. Single. Time.

Biblical rain? No problems. Spookily dark street? Easy peasy. It was borderline irritatingly good at it, the steering wheel swirling with enviable confidence.

While the EV is doing its thing, the driver is encouraged to keep an eye on proceedings and cover the brakes (just in case), but the extensive suite of cameras and sensors are fantastically accurate when it comes to detecting parked cars and avoiding scraping expensive alloy wheels on raised curbs.

There were a couple of times where I had to manually shifted the car over in particularly cramped parking bays, as the CLA hadn’t left me a lot of room to get out, but it wasn’t often.

Having been deterred by other systems that have proven painfully slow, indecisive or wildly inaccurate, I had largely written off autonomous parking. Not now.

An ace all-rounder

The suite of technology that graces the interior of many modern Mercedes’ isn’t perfect, as there’s still far too much reliance on haptic buttons and touchscreens for me.

A pair of sliders on the CLA’s steering wheel that adjust volume and cruise control speed are too easily brushed when navigating tight corners and roundabouts, for example.

There were multiple times when the radio suddenly became aggressively loud or I accidentally activated a 15mph speed limiter.

Similarly, it took me far too long to locate the icon that activated the rear window de-mister. This stuff needs to be mapped to fixed buttons.

However, these really are minor grumbles, because the infotainment is largely quick to respond and accurate, with the “Hey Mercedes!” voice assistant doing a good job of adjusting vehicle setting and taking care of navigational duties.

I was demoed its skills with Google Maps during a pre-launch event and I’m pleased to report that the voice assistant can still help with queries in a natural manner.

You can ask it to recommend places to eat in the area, or even navigate to the fastest and most convenient chargers.

But above all else, it is the USP that impressed me the most at launch that continues to set the CLA apart from the EV competition today: efficiency.

The low, sleek saloon is one of the best electric passenger cars currently on sale for an accurate and reliable range read-out, even when journeys involve lots of high speed motorways or highways.

During a week of testing, I used the car everyday for local trips and chores, as well as a 200-mile round trip to the airport. This was in mixed weather with lots of rain and plenty of very cold mornings.

The car was delivered with around 90% charge and it still displayed a healthy 20% – or around 80-miles of remaining range – when I returned it seven days later.

In most other battery-powered vehicles I have tested recently, I would have been forced to plug in at least once during that typical week. The fact is made worse when said forced charging session is in the middle of the night on the way home from an airport.

So I stand by my original missive that efficiency can be exciting — and it’s even more attractive when your EV takes the pain out of parallel parking.

• The iOS 26.4 beta opens up CarPlay to third-party AI bots
• Apps like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini could soon show up
• These apps will still need to be updated to work on CarPlay

Just a few days after the upgrade was rumored, it's arrived: the new iOS 26.4 public beta release enables third-party, voice-controlled AI chatbots on CarPlay, so you can chat to the likes of ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude from inside your vehicle.

As spotted by MacRumors, the official CarPlay Developer Guide put together by Apple has been updated to reflect the change. A new voice control screen is being implemented that enables these conversational chatbots to provide visual feedback.

This doesn't mean you can start talking to ChatGPT right away, even if you've installed the beta software: apps such as ChatGPT will need to be updated to take advantage of the new feature, and that could take some time.

What's more, these apps won't displace Siri as the default voice assistant. They won't let you control any of the functions of your car or your iPhone with your voice, and you won't be able to assign a 'wake word' to them – you'll need to launch them with a tap.

AI friends

Apple hasn't said exactly why it's enabling this functionality now, but we know it has been playing nicely with third-party AI chatbots for some time. ChatGPT is currently integrated into Siri, and Google Gemini models will be powering Siri later this year.

In fact, the new and improved, Gemini-powered Siri was supposed to appear with iOS 26.4 too – though there's no sign of it yet. The latest word from those in the know is that it'll turn up with iOS 27, which is scheduled to roll out around September time.

iOS 26.4 should be out for everyone within a few weeks: by that time, Google, OpenAI, Claude, and others may have enabled CarPlay access. We're also getting a bunch of other upgrades with iOS 26.4, including Apple Music and Camera improvements.

Of course, opening up CarPlay like this doesn't do Apple any harm in terms of avoiding further regulatory scrutiny either – especially from the EU. It means alternative AIs will be available from CarPlay just like they are from your iPhone home screen.

Miofive Mirror 1: two-minute review

While I’ve tried plenty of the best dash cams on the market, I’ve spent less time using one of the alternatives – a mirror dash cam, such as the Miofive Mirror 1 Dash Cam. It's a chunky hunk of kit, being designed to fit over a standard issue rear view mirror, using one of three different mounting options. It can be strapped, stuck or screwed on, but no matter which option is employed, the result is the same – this is a large gadget.

The Miofive Mirror 1 Dash Cam differs from traditional offerings in the design department, but it’s actually a refreshing variation on the theme. This gadget delivers the same functionality found on a traditional dash cam but everything is presented slightly differently.

Adding to the appeal is the way it can be an electronic rear-view mirror as well as offering a view out of the front too, or indeed, a split combination of the two. Both views also get recorded in a continuous loop process, much like a typical dash cam.

The Miofive Mirror 1 comes with an impressive specification, and sizable price tag. There are twin Sony sensors for the cameras; a 4K (3840 × 2160 30fps) IMX415 Starvis 2 for the front and a 2K (2560 × 1440 30fps) IMX675 for the rear unit, capable of capturing crips footage for regular day time driving as well as after dark scenarios – these sensors have proven performance characteristics. What they see is also presented on the mirror screen, which is an expansive 11.26-inch modestly curved display that features anti-glare capabilities.

As a premium device, the Miofive Mirror 1 also boasts excellent connectivity features, including 5GHz Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.2, which means moving those high-resolution files is quick and easy – Miofive says up to 7MB per second, while data itself can be managed by an accompanying no frills Miofive app.

The Miofive Mirror 1 dash cam also packs sophisticated and in vogue AI-driven driver assistance features and functions, which are all easily accessed via the touchscreen. These include warnings for abrupt acceleration or braking, lane departure and ‘Stop and Go’ traffic movement.

Along with those bang-up-to-date features, the Miofive Mirror 1 comes with everything needed to keep it running. There’s a super capacitor-based power supply plus the unit can be powered off a 12V socket or, if preferred, hardwired to exploit its functionality more comprehensively. Hardwire features include the 24-hour parking monitor aspect.

Miofive also packs a 128GB microSD card into the mirror’s media slot so, aside from some wiring chores initially, the unit is pretty much ready to go.

Miofive Mirror 1: price and availability

The Miofive Mirror 1 Dash Camera currently costs $299.99 on Amazon in the US. Meanwhile, the Miofive Mirror 1 Dash Camera is also available to buy from Amazon UK for £259.99, at the time of writing. Normally, the regular UK list price is £299.99, which is comparable to other likeminded mirror dash cam models with similar specs. Cheaper mirror dash cam alternatives can be found too, but I think the quality of construction makes the Miofive Mirror 1 Dash Cam seem like decent value.

Miofive Mirror 1: specs

Miofive Mirror 1: Design

While the ample screen real estate offered by the Miofive Mirror 1 Dash Cam, which has overall dimensions of 2.2 x 2.76 x 0.79 inches / 31 x 7 x 2 cm, is impressive, its size should be kept in mind by anyone with a smaller windscreen. In a compact or small sports car, the 11.26-inch IPS touchscreen might feel a little bit too obtrusive. Even in a larger vehicle, such as an SUV, the mirror construction is bulky. However, it looks and feels nicely designed and reasonably durable.

The same can be said for all of the various accessories and ancillary components needed to get the Miofive Mirror 1 Dash Cam installed and operating. Miofive offers three different ways to mount the mirror unit, which is essentially stuck in place over an existing rear-view mirror. I chose the rubberised strap method which worked well, didn’t vibrate or move on the go and was temporary enough to let the unit be removed from my test vehicle.

A more permanent option is using the supplied screws to fasten it in place, while bonding is another long-term method. I suggest using the rubberised strap method initially, just in case the Miofive Mirror 1 Dash Cam isn’t quite the right fit for your needs. The box contains all the other wiring and connectors needed to hook up to the power, including a 12V plug for that port and colour coded harnessing for connecting peripherals.

The peripherals include a small rear-view camera, which can be stuck in place using a sticky pad on the camera's base and subsequently angled for optimal capture. The other accessory that requires connection to the crop of wires is the GPS unit. Everything is basically finished in grey or black plastic, while most of the cabling is black too. This can be fed behind trim using the usual method just like any other dash cam. There’s just a little more to hide away.

Miofive Mirror 1: Performance

Once I had all of the wiring plumbed in, the Miofive Mirror 1 Dash Cam was actually very simple and straightforward to set up. The media card was already in the slot, and I followed best practice and formatted the card following initial power up. From there, the mirrored screen area displayed an array of small icons, plus a split view. To the left was a view of the read ahead and to the right, a view to the rear of the car. I left it in this default mode for testing purposes although views can be tweaked to suit individual preferences.

The picture quality looks less good in my photos but, in reality, the quality of the lenses was easy to see with clear and sharp images from each angle even in decidedly gloomy conditions. Miofive has done a decent job of including a solid level of control options, via screen icons when the cameras are on. This meant it was easy to tap and change anything, such as brightness, before setting off.

Dipping into the other features and functions – which include Connect Your Phone, Recording Settings, Parking Guard, AI, System Settings, About and Speed Cam Alert –required more thought, but the large color icons worked well. The AI menu option brings up five different functions that can be enabled and set for intensity, like Reverse Assist Line, for example, which is set as Medium by default. These are okay, although I didn’t feel a desperate urge to use them. In fact, Driver Assistance, as one option, is better off disabled as far as I’m concerned.

Overall, the footage recorded by the Miofive Mirror 1 Dash Cam is largely excellent. It's crisp and clear, capturing details nicely enough, and didn’t leave me wanting anything better. The detail presented along the bottom of the footage, including date, time and speed is also perfectly acceptable. Used as a pure front and rear dash cam setup, this is a very good product. And, should you require them, there are plenty of neat tools to enhance the functionality.

One important thing to note is anyone wanting to enjoy the parking monitoring will need to do so by enlisting the services of an optional hardwire kit. This does increase the potential of the bundle, especially for anyone wanting the extra parking features that get unlocked by going down the hardwire route.

Should you buy the Miofive Mirror 1?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

How I tested the Miofive Mirror 1

• I installed the dash cam in a car for an initial period of three to four weeks
• I used it for various day and night journeys in all types of weather
• I connected it to my phone, downloading recordings to check on quality

I tested the Miofive Mirror 1 dash cam across a period of several weeks. This involved using it in a test vehicle and during a variety of weather conditions. This allowed me to try all of the features and functions, aside from the hardwire options due to it being powered via a 12V power port in a vehicle that was on temporary loan.

On top of that, I downloaded the latest Miofive app, which was installed on an iPhone 17 and used during the installation process and also for file management duties. I also tested the Wi-Fi connectivity between the main camera unit and the app, which based on the size of the 4K video files was a big part of the overall testing procedure and everything worked as anticipated.

• First reviewed February 2026

• Google has made a small but useful tweak to Android Auto
• Driving status can now be ascertained via Bluetooth
• This reduces the chances of mistakenly muting notifications

If you're a regular Android Auto user, you may have noticed that there are a rather complicated set of rules around notifications being automatically blocked while you're driving – but it seems Google has now sorted out one of the most frustrating issues.

As spotted by Android Authority, the option to have Do Not Disturb automatically enabled in Android Auto when motion is detected seems to have been tweaked. This setting was known for accidentally muting alerts on the phones of passengers as well as drivers.

Now, the old option to have Do Not Disturb turn itself on when the phone is connected to a car dashboard via Bluetooth has been added back. That's a much more reliable indicator of whether someone is driving and whether this mode should be enabled.

It makes sense that you don't necessarily want a flurry of alerts distracting you while you're at the wheel, but it's also important to give users control over this – and not have Do Not Disturb enabling itself without any manual interactions.

Check for updates

Google hasn't actually said anything officially about this, so we don't have the full story, but as per Android Authority the update is starting to roll out across various Android devices. Version 26.05.32 of Google Play Services is the update to look out for.

On a Pixel phone, you can check if you've been given the refresh by opening up Settings, then tapping Modes and Driving. If you select While driving, you'll see the Bluetooth option is back, if your Google Play Services version is right up to date.

Samsung phones actually do this best, because they also make the phone check that it's connected to an Android Auto dashboard – not just a Bluetooth device. Let's hope Google adds a little more granular control here in the future.

The next notable Android update is Android 17, and it should be arriving later this year with multiple upgrades included. So far, however, there haven't been any indications that Android Auto will get any significant upgrades.

To many Porsche purists, the GTS badge represents the pinnacle of performance. It’s never reserved for the most banzai cars (Turbo or GT does that) but it fine-tunes the experience to make it the most focussed and, dare we say it, ‘Porsche-like’ of the range.

Early Carrera GTS models were a testament to this, including the 911, 924 and 928, while more recent iterations of the Boxster and 911 GTS were standalone cars in their own right, with unique engine set-ups designed to give them a character like no other.

This brings us neatly onto the latest Macan GTS, which I recently took for a test-drive. While it possible to argue until sunrise about the legitimacy of electrified SUVs sporting Turbo and GTS badges in the first place, it is the most "dynamic" and “emotional” Macan model in the range, according to its maker.

Essentially a slightly pared-back Turbo, the GTS uses the same dual motor set-up as its madder sibling, albeit one that makes 571hp (when launch control is engaged), as opposed to the slightly bonkers 639hp of the more expensive range-topper.

There’s also the same 95kWh battery pack that is good for 362 miles of range, while drivers get the same 800V electrical architecture that’s found on the upcoming Cayenne and Taycan – one that is capable of brimming batteries from 10 to 80 per cent in as little as 21 minutes

So why spend £97,500 (around $133,000 / AU$187,000) on the Turbo when the £89,000 (around $133,000 / AU$170,000) GTS will do much of the same thing and then some This was exactly the question I was left mulling after driving the new car in France recently.

Specs appeal

While the Macan GTS doesn’t exactly get a completely bespoke list of additional niceties, it does get arguably the best selection of specifications that Porsche offers.

There’s the option of the unmistakable Carmine Red paints for a start, flared wheel arches, bespoke side skirts, 22-inch RS Spyder wheels and tinted LED taillights. The interior packs blacked-out Race-Tex elements, while all cars receive Porsche Torque Vectoring Plus (PTV Plus), air suspension and the marque's excellent suspension management. There’s also rear-wheel steering.

Granted, many of these options can be ticked when specifying lesser Macans, such as the 4S model, but Porsche has done all of the hard work for you here and tuned it with these systems in mind.

The result is a 2,395kg electric SUV that handles and behaves like a much lighter sports car. Acceleration is understandably brisk, but not offensively so, while the steering is direct and offers plenty of feedback.

Hurling this monster through some of the tight mountain roads outside Nice was made all the easier by rear-wheel steering, which magically disguises the size, and the enormous brakes effortlessly scrub off speed. It’s possible to cover ground very quickly in this car.

Cleverly, Porsche has also designed some signature synthesized engine notes for the GTS, which changes its tone depending on the mode. In Normal, it’s switched off for a more relaxed feel, but Sport introduces some thrum, while Sport Plus brings in a bassy burble that gets louder as the revs pile on.

Although not quite the Jekyll & Hyde difference that’s experienced when cycling through the various modes in the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N, it does a magnificent job of completely altering the Macan’s characteristics.

A parking pro

Porsche is introducing a number of technological firsts in this GTS model, including the ability to now pair Bluetooth accessories to the various digital displays inside the car.

This is particularly important for those that specify the optional 10.9-inch passenger display, which can now be combined with a PlayStation or Xbox controller to make the most of blockbuster games, such as Asphalt 9.

There is also a plethora of new parking technology, which will hunt out an appropriate space and then parks up automatically. It can also be 'trained' to execute tricky maneuvers. Once programmed, the vehicle will recognize the surroundings and offer to take over driving duties next time.

Similarly, there’s also a new reversing assistant that logs the last 50m of any trip and will then autonomously reverse that route. It is a similar system to that first debuted by BMW, but it makes navigating tight European roads a doddle. All you have to do is cover the brakes.

While these factors are likely at the bottom of a wishlist when purchasing a performance Porsche, it is further proof of the Macan’s immense bandwidth. This is a car that can be abused around a race track, taken off-road and then remote-parked in the parking lot later that day.

A sweet spot

The Porsche Macan GTS doesn’t exactly represent a fantastic saving over its Turbo counterpart (£8,500 /$11,500 / AU$16,000, if you’d like to know), but those numbers feel considerable when you realize the additional horsepower offered by the range-topper isn’t really missed here.

Instead, Porsche engineers have managed to create a sort of Goldilocks model from the seemingly endless trim and specification options that the brand offers, one that rides beautifully, delivers plenty of dynamism on the right roads, consistently performs on the race circuit and then settles back into a quiet and comfortable cruiser at the weekends.

This Macan likely won’t go down in Porsche history as one of the most iconic GTS models ever made, but it applies the brand’s race-derived knowhow to its electric range with tangible results.

Immensely fun on any road but still able to do the EV stuff with ease, this feels like the Macan to have if driving dynamics are still important to you.

Back in 2019, Jaguar Land Rover won a landmark court case in Beijing that prevented the Evoque-mimicking Landwind X7 from being sold. The almost-laughable copycat behavior was mocked mercilessly – but times have changed, and China is now the very epicenter of EV technology.

It has the most advanced battery systems, with the likes of CATL and BYD tipped to be the first to mass-produce game-changing solid-state packs, while its lead in both rapid-charging and autonomous driving systems is undeniable.

With that in mind, it seems strange to me that many of those Chinese brands making waves in Europe and beyond continue to base their models on established and instantly-recognizable designs.

The Jaecoo 7, for example, was quickly labelled the 'Temu Range Rover' by the social media sect, given that it essentially mashes design cues from the Range Rover Evoque and Velar into a package that costs half of Jaguar Land Rover’s vehicles.

A more recent unveiling form Xpeng proved that Jaecoo’s decision to be influenced by one of the leading names in luxury SUVs wasn’t a fluke accident, as the upcoming Xpeng GX (see the image at the top of this article) looks so much like a Range Rover that the majority of the general public would find it difficult to tell them apart.

Although not available outside of China just yet, the Geely Galaxy Cruiser, which is slated to reach the UK in 2028, borrows certain design elements from the Land Rover Defender wholesale, including the side gear carriers, the rear-mounted spare wheel cover and, well, almost every exterior panel for that matter.

BYD’s premium arm YangWang is also partial to copying some of Land Rover’s homework, as the massive U8 borrows a number of body panel designs from both JLR and Rolls-Royce to create a sort of Chinese take on luxury SUVs – one that’s both eerily similar and uniquely gauche at the same time.

The imitation game

But it isn’t just British luxury SUV-makers that fall victim to the imitation game. Xpeng’s G6 also ruffled a few feathers upon launch, seeing as it’s almost impossible to tell it apart from the updated Tesla Model Y. Even the interior feels like a carefully-studied copy.

While Jaguar Land Rover and car-making goliath Chery Automobile have an ongoing joint venture in China, I still feel that is lazy to simply base designs on what they see.

The Xiaomi YU7, which comes from one of the most cutting-edge tech companies outside of California, proved the company could nail electric performance, but then it looks like an amalgamation of a Porsche and a Ferrari. Why not develop a design that’s truly unique?

While this might seem like an issue for a bit of a car nerd like myself, it doesn’t seem to bother the paying public.

A transition period?

The Jaecoo 7 became an almost instant hit when it was launched in the UK last year, with over 26,048 units registered in 2025, making up the bulk of the company’s sales. It even outsold the once all-conquering Nissan Qashqai.

Owners don't seem to mind that passers-by are often left scratching their heads. All they really care about is the fact that it starts at just £30,115 (around $41,000 / AU$58,000), which is far less than any Range Rover offering, and that it offers a hefty amount of high-tech kit as standard. Jaecoo’s hybrid systems are also more sophisticated and more efficient.

Some insiders believe that the Chinese automotive industry is going through a transition period right now, where it moves from an imitator to an innovator, with brands like Zeekr, Lynk & Co and NIO already starting to carve out their own design language.

Javier Garcia-Gallardo, head of Zeekr’s Shanghai design studio, told Car Design News that he thinks that car culture is building in the country and that in 10-20 years' time, we will see more brand differentiation and “future icons" emerging from China.

But until that point, we will have to witness Jaguar Land Rover’s entire back catalogue performed by your local pub’s cover band.

The MG S5 isn’t the most exciting car that the Chinese automaker has brought to Western markets in recent months, but it is probably the brand’s most important. Built to be electric from the ground up, the new SUV adds a bunch of quality-of-life improvements atop the MG4’s foundations and feels like a worthwhile attempt at shooting for mass-market appeal – or at least moreso than with the company’s massively successful hatchback, the gorgeous Cyberster roadster.

The S5 is also important for another couple of reasons – this is a car that replaces MG’s first electric model, the ZS EV, while being powered by the very same technology underpinning one of my favourite EVs, the MG4. That makes this otherwise innocuous electric SUV quite interesting, particularly to see if MG has managed to inject the S5 with the same shot of excitement that made the MG4 such a blockbuster.

The reality of the S5 is, sadly, a bit more quaint. It isn’t destined to be the practical pocket rocket that the MG4 was, which is particularly obvious when you notice that (unlike the latter) there’s no dual-motor version of the S5, nor a long-range-battery option that puts it on par with the exceptional range of the highest-end MG4. Instead MG has kept the S5 to a three model line-up (or four model line-up, including extended range options in some markets), omitting one of the things that made the MG4 so competitive with its five model range.

Being a physically bigger car with the exact same battery and motor arrangement, it’s perhaps no surprise that the S5 has less range than the MG4. It also offers a fairly beaten-down acceleration that gives it some lag before moving at top speed – something I was particularly sad about, as I loved the sportiness of the 4.

But this is all cart before the horse; there is at least a logical reason MG has done it this way. The MG S5 is designed to be a more practical day-to-day car than the MG4, more befitting somebody after a comfortable family car than a small electric hot hatch. It’s priced extremely well in both the UK and Australia, and despite having a lower battery range than the 4, it’s still particularly efficient.

Underlining all of this is MG’s redesigned interior. The MG4 has easily one of the worst interiors of any electric car on the market, with a tiny touchscreen and sparse detail, along with a fairly uninspiring instrument cluster. The MG S5 admirably upends all of this, with a much more attractive setup that’s headlined by a larger touchscreen and integrated apps like Spotify and YouTube. I personally love the fact that Android Auto and Apple CarPlay now come wireless with the car (both were wired with the MG4), as it tops off the convenience factor without the need for cables.

MG S5 specs

This one’s not for hoons

For the most part, the MG S5 does feel like a more polished version of the MG4 applied to an SUV frame. The operating system and user interface both feel leaps and bounds ahead of the MG4’s, which is particularly welcome given how spare these felt in that car. It’s a welcome innovation from the once-British, now-Chinese carmaker, which has long struggled in comparison to BYD when it comes to delivering a more premium-feeling experience – though to its credit, MG has rarely been undercut on performance.

The cabin also feels a lot better put together, lacking the cheap, undetailed look of the 4 and replacing it with a fairly standard-looking EV cockpit, fit with a larger central display and a sensible approach to physical air conditioning controls.

It’s on this front that the S5 makes its best impression. MG has put all of its energy into improving the achilles heel of the MG4, while not really touching performance at all. That’s not a bad thing – and it’s not a bad car.

Let’s start with the simple – the premium Essence/Trophy model, as seen in this article, comes with a glorious cabin-spanning glass roof that can be covered by a roller shade. This is terrific and was one of the things curiously absent from the original MG4 – so I’m happy to see it debut with the S5.

The seats are more comfortable in the S5 than in the 4, which isn’t surprising given the added space of an SUV over a hatchback, but is still worth mentioning if you’re on the fence between the models. The instrument cluster is also a lot nicer-looking, and is now housed on an indented screen inside the dashboard, rather than a hovering display, adding to the premium internal aesthetic.

The biggest accolades go to the software. While the operating system still has a small bit of lag here and there when switching between pages – and its buttons are often a bit difficult to tap with the screen’s borders so large – MG has made meaningful improvements to the user experience. The larger screen is nicer to interact with, the inbuilt third party apps are fast and seamless, and on the whole it just feels more thoughtful.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear that the S5 has added over-the-air updates, where software updates can be delivered directly at any time rather than needing to be taken to a dealer, and this remains a major drawback compared to other EV makers.

Adaptive cruise control remains fairly standard in the S5 – it works as expected and is neither bad or praiseworthy – and energy consumption is generally quite efficient. Mixed highway driving between Sydney and Newcastle 200km to the North saw the car report 16kWh/100km, which is perfectly in line with other cars at this price point.

Recharging speed was never a problem, though I’d obviously recommend opting for one of the two Long Range models if you’re going to be doing lots of highway driving. If you’re after a city tripper, you’d probably be fine with the other trims.

On the whole, it’s good that MG hasn’t messed with the sauce that made the 4 so good when reimagining it as an SUV. The comfortable RWD drivetrain at this pricepoint is particularly welcome, as is the 150kW recharging capacity with the Trophy/Essence models. So what’s holding the MG S5 back?

So what’s not so good about the MG S5?

When I re-reviewed the MG4 in early 2025, I refreshed my opinion on the car. It wasn’t simply my favourite EV in the entry-level Australian segment (or lower mid-range segment in the UK) because of its brilliant driving dynamics, nor necessarily its fairly good price for the battery range on offer. Rather it was because of the broadly satisfying line-up of trims. On offer were five variants (including an exceptionally fast performance model) with distinct specs, extras and battery sizes. This empowered the buyer in truly shopping for what they wanted, picking the trim that best suited their lifestyle while still getting a solid car overall.

The MG S5 shrinks the appeal of the MG4 into, essentially, two models – each of which comes in either a standard fitout, or a luxury trim with a Long Range battery. (Note that prospective UK buyers only have three options, with the standard Essence/Trophy model unavailable.) The base-model Excite with all the essentials, and then the Trophy (or Essence) that adds a bunch of great extras, like a 360 camera, power-lifted trunk door and an electric driver’s seat. Just like with the MG4, there’s still no electric front passenger seat – even with the luxury option – which I just find confusing at this point.

It’s not a bad arrangement MG has here, but I do miss the higher-end 77kWh battery option that’s available with the MG4. That would have gone a long way in relieving range anxiety from some customers, but ultimately MG has elected to axe it (and the carmaker has told us it’s not even long for this world with the MG4 either).

However, what’s undeniable is that the S5 is leaps and bounds ahead of the model it replaces, the MG ZS EV. The latter is getting quite long in the tooth, with unimpressive charging speeds and battery capacities, a fairly boring interior and (by all accounts) fairly underwhelming performance. That being said, I think it's a real shame that the S5 loses most of the MG4's sportiness, meaning it's just not as fun to drive.

While there’s honestly no need for an SUV at this price point to be a track toy, when merging onto highways I would have absolutely appreciated the extra grunt that I know the MG4 can deliver. However, I’m pretty comfortable calling this a fairly well-rounded car across all trims and it certain brings the fight to similarly priced EVs, such as the BYD Atto 3.

Should you buy the MG S5?

Despite its drawbacks, the MG S5 is my top pick among cheap electric SUVs in Australia, however, I think it’s a more difficult proposition in the UK. It’s price-competitive with the massively popular BYD Atto 3 (AU$39,990) in Australia, along with the Chery Omoda E5 (AU$42,990) making it one of the best value electric SUVs Down Under. In the UK, the entry-level trim is competitive at £28,745, while the long range variants, starting at £31,245, are in tight competition with the Kia EV3 (£33,000) and Volvo EX30 (£32,850).

If you need a family SUV and want it to be electric, but also wouldn’t mind some interesting driving dynamics while also getting a fairly neutral but nice interior, then I’d recommend taking the MG S5 for a test drive. If you’re not shopping for those exact criteria, however, I’d recommend checking out the aforementioned alternatives.

We've gotten our first glimpse of the Jonny Ive, Marc Newson-designed Ferrari Luce electric supercar cockpit, and aside from the stunning aesthetic, it's perhaps most notable for what it doesn't include: a touchscreen.

I still remember the first time I sat in the passenger seat of a Tesla Model S and was confronted with its 17-inch portrait-mode display. A novelty at the time, the huge flat panel was placed squarely between the driver and me. While there was a much smaller dashboard display for the driver, a lot of the information about our drive, including critical information like the nearest charging station, was all on that touch display.

Since then, I've sat in countless other modern cars, many of them featuring big touchscreens (though rarely that big – other Teslas, aside from the Cybertruck, feature somewhat smaller touch screens) placed dead center on the dash. Tesla started a trend – and it's one that former Apple Chief Designer Ive would apparently like to stop in its tracks.

Speaking this week at a roundtable event, Ive told The Drive, "Yeah, I think a large touchscreen practically, functionally, doesn’t work. That’s incontrovertible."

That's right, the man perhaps most responsible for bringing multi-touch devices into our lives via the iPod, iPhone, and iPad, thinks they have no place in the car experience.

“It served a purpose when we developed it, but we were very clear about why we developed it for the products we did,” Ive added.

That comment, which focuses on design matching purpose, echoes those made over the years by Ive's former boss, the late Apple cofounder and CEO Steve Jobs, who insisted that MacBooks did not need and should never offer touchscreens. He said the design would be unergonomic and would lead to arm fatigue. Plus, there were all those finger smudges to contend with, which might degrade the experience.

Touchscreens everywhere?

Over time, those assertions have held less water as Apple has moved the iPad closer and closer to the MacBook. The latest iPadOS supports a multi-window experience that would be at home on any laptop, and there are also more than a few rumors claiming we may still see a touchscreen MacBook.

The analogy for cars, though, only goes so far. There's arguably a bigger and more important reason for not using touchscreens in cars: safety.

I own an aging Mazda 6 that does include a center-mounted infotainment screen. When the car is in motion, the touchscreen capabilities cease functioning, and I have to use a multi-control knob on the center console mounted between our seats. Of course, that display doesn't have mission-critical information on it. I might also contend that tapping it while driving isn't that distracting.

However, in explaining why he so dislikes touchscreens on cars, Ive mentioned functions being buried layers deep, and the driver looking at the screen when they shouldn't be.

The Ferrari Luce does have a large-ish, center-mounted, rotating console, but it's not a touchscreen. Instead, each feature appears to be controlled by distinct and beautifully-designed buttons. This interior manages to be modern yet classic, a distinctive Ive touch if there ever was one.

The case for and against in-car touchscreens

During that first drive in a Model S, I recall that I, as a passenger, spent a lot of time staring at that big screen while my driver kept his eyes firmly glued to the road. As we started to run low on charge, he finally started tapping the display to find the next available charging station. He did it casually and with only passing glances at the screen. I didn't think he was distracted, but then he knew the car, and knew how to navigate the Tesla platform.

Ive may be right that sometimes we take an innovation too far, and to places it doesn't belong, but I'm not convinced that touchscreens don't belong in a car. I see the benefit of getting valuable information at a tap (though perhaps voice control might be better), and I think Tesla and other auto manufacturers know well enough not to bury any critical information too deeply in the system. These touchscreen systems are designed to support the drive, and are not bolted on tablets with intricate, many-levels-deep operating systems.

In-cockpit touchscreens make sense when they focus on images and large, obvious controls, and I would not draw a through-line from looking and touching these screens to texting while driving – as someone who's driven alongside such lunatics, I can see how long it takes them to read and type while they swerve all over the road.

That said, poorly-designed in-car touchscreens that put too much of a car's functionality into the display might pose a safety risk. In fact, the US National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration sets guidelines for locking out non-driving functions while driving (though these rules are now 26 years old), and there's a broader consensus that long periods of time spent using these screens can pose a safety risk.

While I don't agree with Ive, I do see a need for moderation. The car I want will have a mix of big touchscreens and physical buttons. I worry that in an effort to remove touch, car manufacturers might simply remove big displays, and then I lose, for instance, that large, turn-by-turn navigation I love.

Ive's Ferrari Luce design makes a statement about in-car touchscreens, but it's unlikely to be as influential as Ive's work on multi-touch consumer devices. After all, when the electric supercar does finally arrive in 2028 it might cost $500,000, ensuring that it only appeals to the ultra-rich.

If Ive is serious about wiping the scourge of touchscreens from all car cockpits, he might consider partnering up with Ford or Toyota to design a cabin for a truly affordable EV.

• We've got our first proper look at the electric Ferrari Luce
• The cockpit was designed by Jony Ive and Marc Newson
• Ive says he's not a fan of touchscreens inside cars

Jony Ive never did get to make a car while he was the design chief at Apple, but he's now partnered with Ferrari to design the cockpit of the upcoming Luce electric car – while taking a swipe at the interior look of Tesla vehicles.

Teslas are well known for their large touchscreen dashboards, and a lack of physical dials and buttons. That wasn't the way Ive wanted to go with his own creation, made with his design partner Marc Newson, according to roundtable quotes given to The Drive and Autocar.

"I think a large touchscreen practically, functionally, doesn't work," says Ive. "That's incontrovertible. You have to look [at it], which you shouldn't be. You've designed [something that's] layers and layers deep."

Ive clearly isn't a fan of Tesla interiors. "This idea that because the power source is electric the interface should be digital is nonsense. That makes no sense to me at all," he added.

That might be surprising, given Ive is largely responsible for the aesthetics of the iPad and iPhone. But the touchscreen on those products "served a purpose" Ive says, while pointing out that the inside of a car is "such a challenging and different environment".

Inside the Luce

On to the Ferrari Luce then, and so far we only have a teaser of the cabin for the electric vehicle. A full reveal is expected in May, but we now have an official look at the steering wheel, gauge cluster, dash, and center console.

There is a central touchscreen that can be moved around to suit the driver, but there are also plenty of dials, buttons, and levers to play around with. That physicality and tactility seems to have been an important consideration for Ive and Newson.

“One of the things that we felt very strongly about was we wanted to explore an interface that was physical and that was engaging, and that was to take the most powerful parts of analogue displays and combine them with digital displays,” Ive said at the unveiling.

Ferrari's first fully electric car has been a long time coming, and was originally slated to show up in 2025. The name Luce was chosen as it means a light source in Italian, and it's also a colloquial term for electricity.

There's extensive use of anodized aluminum and strengthened Corning glass here, which is another callback to the iPhone and the iPad. We'll keep you posted on this hugely anticipated EV as we get closer to the full reveal from Ferrari.

This year’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas was awash with humanoid robots. Brands used little dancing droids to attract crowds to stands, while amateur teams of engineers conducted impromptu robot-offs in the car park.

As a result, it was easy to view these often diminutive bits of technology as a novelty – until, that is, Hyundai’s 90kg Atlas humanoid robot stomped onto stage a day before the show floor opened to the public.

Measuring around 5ft tall, with the ability to reach up to heights of around 7.5ft when fully extended, Atlas is the brainchild of Boston Dynamics, the world-renowned robotics company that already has its Spot robotic dogs busy working on everything from security details to quality control shifts.

But Atlas, which is fully capable of walking (with some swagger), waving and performing the odd backflip, is an entirely different proposition and one that Hyundai Motor Group, the company that now owns an 80% stake in Boston Dynamics, hopes could prove a rich future revenue stream for the business.

Due to begin production imminently, the humanoids will then be trained at the firm’s new Robot Metaplant Application Center (RMAC), where robots learn human collaboration by mapping movements such as lifts, turns, and recoveries into precision training for repetitive and complex tasks.

Following that, Atlas will begin deployment across Hyundai’s various smart factories, with a view to manufacture some 30,000 units by the year 2028.

“Over the past several decades, most manufacturers have automated everything that they can automate,” explains Boston Dynamics CEO Robert Playter.

“The work that is left is difficult to automate in a cost-effective way. And that's because the tasks have huge variation. Whether it’s the parts varying from car-to-car or because the tasks involve assembly and close-knit tolerance and things that you can't do with the traditional robots,” he adds.

Consistency is key

During various demonstrations on the Hyundai booth at the Las Vegas Convention Center, which was easily one of the most popular this year, Atlas could be seen moving car parts from one storage area to another — its 56-degrees of movement allowing it swivel its entire body to move between storage bins, rather than having to walk.

Similarly, its dexterous fingers could grasp an array of objects, even down to the small and delicate stuff, and move it accurately. Weather-proofing ensures it can work outside and when its batteries run dry, it simply walks over to a charing dock and replaces them itself.

While the speed at which Atlas could perform these tasks wasn’t exactly mind-blowing, chief strategy officer at Boston Dynamics, Marc Theerman, explained to me that this wasn’t really the point.

“Humans might be super efficient at 9am in the morning, but our studies suggest that this efficiency drops off throughout the day. With this sort of automation, you need consistency, and the robot never gets tired, and the robot runs at a consistent speed with little interventions,” he explains.

In this respect, Atlas has been designed to be put to work on the sort of shifts and tasks that would have unions calling for strike action. Downtime? No way. The company ensured that most of Atlas’ parts are easily interchangeable if the worst happens.

“If an arm, a leg of even a hand is broken, these parts can be swapped by anyone with even the slightest bit of training in a matter of minutes,” Theerman says. “This was something we learnt from our Spot robot, our customers don’t want any downtime to fix robots,” he adds.

Believe the hype

While humanoid robots are currently at the very epicenter of the hype cycle, there is a valid reason for choosing this form. Theerman says that he predicts many Atlas units will be put to work in facilities that were never designed for robots in the first place.

“The average plant in Europe or the United States is probably 35 years old. And so if you want to automate a plant like that, without fixed automation, you need something that looks like a human, because that's what the plant was designed for,” he says.

A quick scan of the Boston Dynamics back catalogue reveals plenty of other robots, such as its Stretch logistics bot that is solely used for warehouse operations, that can be implemented for very specific tasks.

But what sets Atlas apart is the fact it can perform numerous jobs and, thanks to advances in AI and, in particular, Large Behavioral Models (something Google’s DeepMind is helping with), the humanoid will be able to be trained in a matter of days to perform complex actions.

“So far, we’ve focussed on the physical side of AI, so Atlas can dance, run and jump. But behavioral is the next frontier. We hope that in the future, customers will be able to swap the humanoid’s hands for specific tools, so it can be taught to weld, construct and much more,” Theerman adds.

At this point, it is worth noting that Hyundai’s humanoid endeavor isn’t the first of its kind, nor is it the only technology in existence. In fact, there’s a veritable arms race to launch useful robots.

Tesla’s Optimus is designed for general purpose tasks, but early demonstrations have revealed that it still has some way to go before being genuinely useful. Similarly, companies such as Figure AI, Agility Robotics and Apptronik are all making waves in the emerging industry.

In fact, Chinese heavy equipment manufacturer Zoomlion already has a team of humanoid robots busy at work in its network of plants, churning out hundreds of products a day.

But Boston Dynamic’s CEO still thinks his company has the edge, not least because it has the financial and manufacturing backing of the Hyundai Motor Group.

“We've already got a pathway that we're cutting with our existing products to commercialize. We've built our organization around supporting products in the field, integration, service, repair, logistics, so all of the components around that. Something that thankfully nobody else is doing yet,” he says.

Oh, the humanity

The question of replacing humans is neatly brushed off by those in the business of robotics, seeing as the technology has the potential to replace vast swathes of manual labour. Thankfully, Atlas, much like its Spot counterpart, is expensive right now and many plants find it cheaper and more convenient to use a human workforce.

But Boston Dynamics’ chief strategy officer feels that, while it could be a potential issue, he has found companies with a higher robotic adoption are more productive, therefore are growing faster, are more profitable, and are hiring more employees.

“Yes, there’s going to be shift of workers, but we think that at the moment, these robots will always require human monitoring. So we call this job 'robot wrangler' or 'robot operator'. And that job is growing quite fast, and it's fascinating,” says Theerman.

And what about your robot butler? Well, the Boston Dynamics CEO thinks that is some way off. In fact, he feels robots in the home is the wrong strategy, citing the fact that the consumer market is very “cost sensitive”. He also admits that safety is paramount and that the home is a “complex environment”.

“We think it's going to be 2028 or 2030 when we have robots deployed in factories and probably five years after that before they’re really affordable in the home,” Playter states.

Mark your diaries. The year 2035 could be when we finally witness the rise of the robots, or find out if it’s just another hype cycle that will gradually fade into the CES archives.

• New Jersey just introduced tighter e-bike rules
• Other states are considering similar restrictions, too
• Many e-bike advocates are frustrated by the new law

New Jersey is imposing new e-bike legislation that will seriously impact riders in the state – and could be a sign of tighter restrictions rolling out more widely in the US and beyond, which could have serious ramifications for the adoption of e-bikes and similar technologies like e-scooters.

Under the new law, all classifications of e-bike ridden in New Jersey will require the rider to get a license, get insurance, and register their vehicle – a lot like you would for a car or motorbike. You must also be aged at least 15 and have a motorized bicycle license or be at least 17 years old with a valid driver’s license to own and operate an e-bike.

The state has also banned conversion kits that would allow riders to convert their lower-powered e-bikes to higher-powered ones, and for the next year, it has banned the sale of electric motorized bikes online (the fastest tier of bikes, which can go at speeds over 28mph).

Lawmakers who proposed the bill, and supporters, have heralded this as a major win for e-bike safety, with bill sponsor Senate President Nick Scutari declaring, “We are in a new era of e-bike use” – showcasing the local government’s action to help prevent e-bike-related injury and deaths following some high-profile incidents late last year.

E-bike enthusiasts are a lot less positive about New Jersey’s actions, however. You’ll find various articles and social media posts like this one from Chris Crossed, calling this “the dumbest ebike law ever,” as they point out issues like the lack of insurance options in the current market, as well as the conflict the law has with efforts to cut carbon emissions and reduce traffic congestion.

Though these voices are not entirely opposed to all of the actions being taken. Instead, they’re concerned that the broad, rather than targeted, measures could harm interest in e-bikes, which offer a solid alternative travel method for many. Especially as they fear New Jersey won’t be the last to impose restrictions – case in point, New York State has a similar senate bill in the works.

As e-bike fans would themselves be quick to point out, e-bikes are not a well-defined category. The term can be used to refer to pedal bikes that offer minimal assistance (topping out at speeds below 20mph) as well as effective e-motorbikes that can go at speeds over 28mph and aren’t really intended to be pedalled.

Clearly, there’s a major difference between these kinds of vehicles, but the very generalized category name combined with low understanding of the specific differences between subcategories means it’s easy for folks to buy e-bikes with a lot more oomph than they realize (leading to accidents) and lawmakers being overly broad with their rules.

Unfortunately, there’s also clearly a need for tighter rules to be brought in, because e-bike injuries are on the rise (via Velo and the BBC). Part of this comes from increased ridership, but that alone doesn’t account for the increase – factors including increased power and weight for e-bikes are also seemingly playing a part.

Is there a happy middle ground?

I’ve written about being a major fan of e-scooters, and e-bikes to some extent too, as they offer commuters a great alternative to driving that’s more environmentally friendly, fairly convenient, and not as physically taxing as riding a non-e-bike. So I’m not keen on overly restricting access.

Instead, I’d follow the example set by various countries’ drone rules. E-bike manufacturers would start by getting their bikes approved for use on public roads, and they would be assigned a category based on their top engine speed and weight.

The lightest, slowest speed e-bikes would be accessible to younger riders given they’re comparable to a pedal bike with just a little assistance; medium-weight and speed bikes would be restricted to older riders and require some kind of online test that checks their understanding of road and rider safety; and then those heaviest and fastest ‘e-motorbikes,’ as they’re called, would require some kind of license akin to a driver’s license.

All bike types, however, would need to be registered by an adult and be tagged with their registration number. Registration could be done online, and would be similar to how UK drones need to have your Operator ID on them.

This is just one idea, and I’m keen to hear your alternative suggestions in the comments, but I feel it strikes a better balance between improved safety and keeping e-bikes relatively accessible than do the New Jersey rules.

We’ll have to wait and see how other jurisdictions tackle e-bike rules, but as I sit here hoping for looser e-scooter laws in the UK, I have a suspicion we might, in fact, see tighter restrictions in various places. Hopefully, my hunch is wrong.

Stroll a parking lot in Las Vegas and you are bound to bump into a company on the brink of making a major autonomous driving breakthrough. Yet not many go on to survive the difficult early years and emerge out of the other side with a successful business.

Fortunately, this year’s CES 2026 was a backdrop for Hyundai and Motional to celebrate, as they dropped the silk sheet on the fruits of their partnership and announced that they plan to run a driverless service in Las Vegas later this year.

It hasn’t been an easy path though, with Motional (formerly a joint venture with automotive tech company Aptiv) pausing its operations in 2024 to take stock after six years of perfecting its autonomous recipe.

“We've given 130,000 rides to the public on the Lyft and Uber network, including delivering food via Uber Eats, and we've driven over two million autonomous miles with zero at fault incidents,” explains Laura Major, Motional CEO, at the company’s Las Vegas nerve centre.

“But a lot has changed in the AI space in recent years and we wanted to focus on accelerating our path to advanced AI technology,” she says.

Motional’s CEO says that during this downtime the company has been able to transition from more classic robotic solutions, which are time-consuming and expensive, to harnessing neural networks, large language models and vision-language-action models that help generalize new cities, environments and scenarios to cut costs and speed up deployment.

On top of this, Hyundai increased its involvement with the business in 2020, becoming the majority owner of Motional, pumping in additional funds and vowing to supply its purpose-built Ioniq 5 Robotaxi to the fleet for testing and deployment.

The stars aligned and now Motional feels that it is ready to take on the might of Waymo, Tesla and Zoox, which also has a handful of its autonomous pods running around the famous Las Vegas strip.

Purpose-built Johnny Cab

Hyundai’s Ioniq 5 robotaxi is assembled at its cutting-edge smart factory in Singapore, where robotic Spot dogs from Boston dynamics oversee quality control. The key difference to many competitors is that the vehicle, complete with massive sensor and Lidar suite, is made on a production line at scale.

Waymo is about to introduce the Ioniq 5 to its fleet in order to replace its aging Jaguar I-Pace cars, but Motional will be first to hit the streets with Hyundai’s award-winning electric vehicle.

Like the regular passenger cars, the fully autonomous Ioniq 5 comes with a steering wheel and space inside for four passengers to sit comfortably. The only real differences are the automatically opening and closing doors, the screens for rear passengers to chart their autonomous journeys and a number of buttons dotted around the cabin and on the exterior bodywork that allow customers to dial into a call center if help is needed.

My test drive started in a quiet business district near Harry Reid International Airport and, despite a safety operative in the driver’s seat, I was encouraged to commence the journey like a customer would. So I tapped on the screen to begin the journey and the doors silently closed.

The route towards the Las Vegas strip is relatively simple, but the Motional Ioniq 5 didn’t hang around. It merged in turn and kept up with the speed of traffic, even pulling a fairly aggressive move in order to get in the correct lane to turn right.

But the really impressive stuff took place on the Vegas strip, which is notoriously busy and jam-packed with unpredictable behaviors. The Ioniq 5 navigated this with ease and even pulled into a hotel valet parking lot just to show off its skills.

Previously, when Motional was operating early rides with Lyft, the safety driver would interrupt at this point and help steer the vehicle through the most complex parts – like a pilot manually lands a plane.

This time, the car was left to fend for itself, allowing cars to pull out and even stopping safely to let a bellhop and a pedestrian cross in front. Above all else, the braking was smooth and it didn’t make any worrying sudden movements.

The journey was almost faultless but I did experience one disengagement – where the safety operator had to take over proceedings. On the way back to Motional’s HQ, a vehicle essentially undertook the car on the left and then cut in front of it at some traffic lights.

Motional’s robotaxi then decided it wanted to pass the now stationary car on the right, but that would have forced us into a lane that could only legally turn right. Our safety driver had to take control for a second to ensure it didn’t.

For instances like this, Motional has a bustling operation room at its Vegas HQ that allow a teleoperator to make decisions and remotely send that to a car.

But Adam Griffin, Vice President of Operations and Head of Safety at Motional, claims they are seeing fewer and fewer circumstances where the team has to get involved.

AI cranks up the pace

It is exactly these sort of “challenging edge cases” that Laura Major claims AI has helped the company tackle in recent years.

Part of the work has been creating what the company calls an “Omni Tag” process that uses large language models and vision-language models to search the reams of video footage Motional’s fleet has captured.

“We can find those critical scenarios that we can train on and improve our performance in those specialized tasks,“ Major explains. The example she gives is a car coming across a rickshaw for the first time and not really knowing how to behave. Now, Motional engineers can easily pull up examples of rickshaw encounters and train the model accordingly.

“Omni tag allows us to go from what used to take large teams of data scientists to curate and find these valuable data sets. Now we can do that automatically. So it used to take us months to curate these data sets. Now we can do it in hours and minutes,” Major adds.

It is this unique mix of a classical robotics background and an advanced AI approach that Major thinks puts Motional in a great place for success in a growing Robotaxi landscape.

But the company doesn’t want to stop at unleashing a fleet of autonomous taxis with a yet-to-be-named ride-hailing partner, as Major admits that the end goal is to perfect this technology so it can be made available for passenger vehicles and public consumption.

Seeing as Hyundai doesn’t even have autonomous driving tech that can match Tesla’s Full Self-Driving or Ford’s BlueCruise Level 2 systems yet, the huge investment in Motional could soon pay off, as it could end up jumping straight to Level 4.

Dreame began life as a robot vacuum brand, before going on to add other air-focused appliances like manual vacuums and hair dryers to its roster. It's only been around since 2017/18, but in that time it has established itself as a major player in these markets – it features prominently in both my best cordless vacuum and best robot vacuum rankings.

So I was excited to see what Dreame would be showcasing at CES 2026. I was expecting a new robot vacuum, perhaps some innovative air purifiers. What I was not expecting was for Dreame to announce its entry into literally every corner of the home. I'm not exaggerating – if you can think of a home appliance, Dreame now has one in its lineup.

It has a TV, soundbars, a projector, a surround sound speaker setup. There's a Dreame action camera, smart rings, smart glasses and a smartwatch. It has smart lights in all shapes and sizes. It has security cameras, smart locks and motion sensors.

There are fridges, a dishwasher, a microwave and a selection of ovens. There are air fryers, coffee machines, and a stand mixer. It has a washing machine, tumble dryer, and steamer. There's a chainsaw and a hedge trimmer, electric toothbrushes, razors, IPL machines and an LED face mask.

It's still at prototype stage, but there was even a car sitting incongruously on the Dreame stand.

The vision, according to the press release, is to evolve from "a standalone smart device brand to a comprehensive provider of connected lifestyles with an ecosystem now covering the home, garden, outdoors, and on the move". The tagline it's going with is "All dreams in one Dreame", which makes no sense at all.

Too far, too soon?

I've tested a number of Dreame gadgets, and have almost always been impressed, but I'm wary of this latest expansion. It all just seems too fast and too wide-reaching for it to have been done with the required care and expertise. The difficulty I've had in getting any information about the individual products I was most interested in hasn't reassured me any further.

Previously, Dreame's category expansions have made sense. There's crossover between the mechanics of a vacuum cleaner and a hair dryer, for instance. I can see how a brand that knows its way around a robot vacuum could also make a great lawnbot.

But I'm struggling to see how those skills might translate into coffee machines or TVs – both categories that are highly specific, and which require specialist knowledge and skills to excel in. The same goes for things like smartwatches and action cameras.

Of course, I haven't tested any of the new gadgets yet – I've only seen them displayed and demoed, which isn't a reliable way to judge any product. The proof will be in the testing, and I hope to be pleasantly surprised.

• Airbnb’s CTO hiring news seemingly confirms Apple’s long-rumored self-driving car project
• It adds context to Apple’s broader AI strategy, especially with the Google partnership news
• It also shows off Airbnb's AI ambitions, which are decidedly focused on the human element

Apple is known for being one of the most secretive companies in tech, rarely confirming projects in development and typically announcing new hardware or software only when the timing is right. Entire initiatives can live – and quietly die – inside Cupertino without ever being publicly acknowledged.

That’s why it’s notable that, after years of rumors surrounding Apple’s work on autonomous vehicles, an unexpected confirmation appears to have come from Airbnb.

As part of a publicly shared internal announcement naming Ahmad Al-Dahle as Airbnb’s new Chief Technology Officer, a memo sent to employees states:

“In 2014, Ahmad created and led Apple’s autonomous technology group, responsible for developing the core AI systems for the company’s self-driving car project.”

While Apple has never formally confirmed the project, the statement closely aligns with long-standing reporting and offers one of the clearest acknowledgements yet that the effort existed in a serious, sustained way.

The memo also highlights the length and breadth of Al-Dahle’s time at Apple. He joined the company two years before the first iPhone shipped, working on multitouch and display systems, then contributed to the development of the Apple Watch and other hardware initiatives, before eventually leading Apple’s autonomous systems work.

Al-Dahle left Apple in 2020 and joined Meta, focusing on AI and, since 2023, working within Meta’s Generative AI group. There, he helped launch Llama and roll out AI features across Meta’s suite of apps.

What makes the disclosure particularly striking is not just what it reveals, but how it surfaced. Rather than an official Apple announcement or regulatory filing, confirmation arrived via Airbnb’s hiring announcement – an unusual but revealing route for such a high-profile effort.

The timing also adds context to Apple’s broader AI strategy, including its recent partnership with Google to use Gemini as the foundation for the next-gen Siri and other AI-powered features. Viewed together, these developments suggest less of a retreat and more of a recalibration.

Autonomous vehicles are one of the most complex intersections of hardware, software, and AI, and Apple’s decision to wind down the project appears consistent with a renewed focus on areas where it can ship products at scale within its existing ecosystem.

Partnering with Google on foundational AI models similarly reflects a pragmatic approach, one in which it can accelerate and potentially offload some of its AI capabilities, while also focusing on the finished product, the user experience, and putting user privacy at the center internally.

For Airbnb, the hire underscores how central AI has become to its future. Al-Dahle brings experience building large AI systems and scaling them, which aligns with Airbnb’s expanding use of the tech across its platform.

In 2025, Airbnb rolled out a comprehensive redesign of its iOS and Android apps, emphasizing cleaner navigation, improved discovery, and expanded experiences beyond just rentals. The company has also introduced AI-powered customer service tools and personalized recommendations, while continuing to experiment with social features.

Airbnb CEO and co-founder Brian Chesky has been increasingly vocal about AI’s role in daily life. In the same employee communication, he emphasized a human-first approach:

“In a world becoming more artificial, people are craving what’s real: real connection with real people in the real world. No company is better positioned to meet this need than Airbnb.”

Chesky added that Al-Dahle “shares our belief that technology should serve people – not the other way around – and that its highest purpose is to bring us closer together.”

Airbnb is unlikely to venture into autonomous vehicles, but it’s clear from Chesky's statement that it intends to remain focused on the customer experience and on encouraging people to connect in the real world.

Chesky’s announcement of the CTO hire also offers a rare window into Apple’s past ambitions and the evolving ways major tech companies approach AI. Although the confirmation came in a unique way, it’s still unconfirmed by Apple.

It’s no secret that in recent years, CES has turned into a bit of an automotive show, with car manufacturers, suppliers, and partners displaying the latest in infotainment, autonomous driving, and EV tech. At this year’s CES, the automotive focus clearly shifted towards physical AI and robotaxis. So let’s dive into the most interesting car tech I saw at CES 2026.

Qualcomm Snapdragon Ride Flex platform

Most vehicles on the roads today use separate computers for infotainment and ADAS (advanced driver assistance system). This is done for safety, since you don’t want your car suddenly veering into a ditch because your music player crashed. On the flip side, having two computers, often with chips from separate vendors, increases complexity and cost.

Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Ride Flex platform solves this problem by combining infotainment and ADAS into a single SoC without compromising safety. The guardrails between the two domains are handled with the same kind of mission-critical, real-time software used in aerospace. Another benefit of Qualcomm’s unified platform is power efficiency and flexibility.

Snapdragon Ride Flex is able to scale from basic, economy cars all the way up to expensive, luxury vehicles. Beyond combining infotainment and ADAS functionality into a single chip, it also provides support for GPS navigation and routing, AI voice assistants, 3D rendering for complex on-screen graphics, 5G connectivity, and even driver monitoring.

Basically, Snapdragon Ride Flex applies Qualcomm’s smartphone and mobile SoC expertise to modern SDVs (software defined vehicles). It supports ADAS in cars equipped with as little as one forward-facing camera, a single front radar unit, and a driver monitoring camera, to vehicles integrating multiple cameras, radar units, lidar sensors, and high-definition maps.

At CES 2026, Qualcomm was demoing the Snapdragon Ride Flex platform in a modified Lincoln Aviator, but the chip is used in vehicles recently launched in China, like the ARCFOX Alpha T5 and Dongfeng Nissan N6, and will soon be coming to US-market cars.

[Disclaimer: Qualcomm provided accommodations and meals for my trip to CES 2026, but did not offer any other compensation and did not have any editorial control over my content.]

BMW iX3 Alexa+ integration

If you have an Echo smart speaker at home, you’re probably familiar with Alexa+, Amazon’s LLM-powered voice assistant. The company wants to bring its generative AI tech to more devices, including cars.

At CES 2026, BMW announced that it’s partnering with Amazon to bring Alexa+ to its Neue Klasse EVs starting with the iX3 electric SUV later this year.

Alexa is already widely available in modern vehicles, but the iX3 is the first car to incorporate a customized version of Alexa+. This integration lets you have a natural conversation with your car by saying “Hey, BMW.” You can ask for a drugstore on the way to your destination or for food recommendations near you, and you can ask about the weather or current news.

You can even ask the voice assistant to play music, adjust the climate, or control your smart home devices. Alexa+ remembers context, so you can start a conversation on your Echo at home and continue where you left off in your BMW. That’s nice, but voice assistants in cars have mostly been frustrating so far, and people avoid using them – myself included.

I was able to experience BMW’s Alexa+ integration for myself at CES, and it’s definitely an improvement over previous in-vehicle voice assistants. You even get a cute little animated talking head in the middle of the iX3’s Panoramic Display when the AI responds. While the experience was mostly glitch-free, it was clearly still a work in progress.

The biggest issue I see with this integration is that you’re stuck with Alexa+. If you prefer using Gemini for your voice assistant – as I do – or ChatGPT, you’re out of luck. None of your chat history and AI context follows across devices, and that's a major limitation.

Waymo Ojay electric robotaxi

Autonomous driving and robotaxis were all over CES 2026. Amazon’s Zoox autonomous pod is already operating in Las Vegas, Lucid debuted a Gravity robotaxi in partnership with Nuro and Uber, and Tensor displayed its robocar in collaboration with Lyft. But the star of the show was definitely Waymo’s Ojay robotaxi, the van formerly known as Zeekr RT.

Now in its final form, the Ojay robotaxi looks almost identical to the Zeekr RT Waymo showcased at CES 2025, and is being tested in several of the company’s markets, including my neighborhood in San Francisco. This electric AV (autonomous vehicle) will complement and eventually replace Waymo’s existing fleet of Jaguar i-Pace autonomous EV.

The van, which is built on Zeekr’s SEA-M 800V architecture, packs a 76kWh lithium-iron phosphate battery and boasts a spacious pillar-less design. After being assembled by Zeekr in China, it’s outfitted with Waymo’s sensor suite here in the US. This sensor suite consists of 13 cameras, six radars, four lidars, and an array of external microphones.

If you’re counting, that’s less than half the number of cameras on Waymo’s current Jaguar i-Pace. Heaters, sprayers, and tiny wipers keep the sensor suite clean in inclement weather. And, unlike prototypes, the Ojai robotaxi still features pedals and a steering wheel. Waymo's other new robotaxi, based on Hyundai’s IONIQ 5 EV, was also on display at CES.

I use Waymo quite regularly, so I’m looking forward to riding in the new Ojay robotaxi when it finally enters service in San Francisco later this year. Keep an eye out for my first impressions.

Donut Lab solid-state battery

Solid-state batteries have been hyped as the Next Big Thing (™) for years now, but have never left the lab – until now, apparently. At CES 2026, Donut Lab, the Finnish company best known for its power-dense hubless in-wheel electric motors, showcased the “world’s first” solid-state battery used in a production EV, namely the Verge Motorcycles’ TS Pro ($30,000+).

Obviously, let’s take Donut Lab’s claim with a grain of salt. Solid-state batteries are the holy grail of battery tech – cells that are energy dense, lightweight, affordable, and charge fast, run cool, and don’t turn into a fiery mess when damaged or abused. Imagine getting 30 percent more range from an EV with a solid-state battery pack of identical size and weight.

I’m taking game-changing tech here. Here’s what we know about Donut Lab’s solid-state battery. A single 125Wh cell consists of a prismatic pouch the size of a large smartphone and delivers a whopping 400Wh/kg of energy density. Forty cells can be arranged into briefcase-like 5kWh modules that offer 350Wh/kg of energy density and weigh 14kg (30.8lbs).

The icing on the cake (ahem) is that Donut Lab promises a lifespan of 100,000 charge cycles for its solid-state battery, vs. 1,500 charge cycles for a modern lithium-ion cell. As for Verge Motorcycle’s TS Pro, it packs up to 33kWh of Donut Lab’s solid-state batteries, delivers 370mi of range, charges at 200kW, and reaches 62mph in 3.5sec. That’s some tasty stuff.

Ultimately, it remains to be seen if Donut Lab can mass-produce its solid-state batteries in quantities beyond those required by a boutique electric motorcycle manufacturer. Time will tell.

That’s (not) all, folks

So here you go. This is the car tech that stood out for me at CES 2026. But obviously, I’m just scratching the surface here. There were other interesting automotive goodies to sample at this year’s show, like Longbow Motors’ Speedster EV, iM Media Labs’ partnership with AT&T, Sony Honda Mobility's Afeela EV (yet again), and Strutt’s EV1 autonomous mobility scooter.

• Google Assistant is failing for many on Android Auto
• These users are still waiting for their Gemini upgrade
• The Gemini rollout should be fully completed in the near future

Google's Gemini AI is slowly replacing Google Assistant on Android Auto, but for those users still waiting to be switched over, an increasing number of functions are breaking – and people aren't happy about it.

As noted by 9to5Google, there are multiple reports on Reddit of Google Assistant refusing to carry out tasks or give answers that it previously had no problem with. One example given is the assistant not understanding navigation directions spoken out loud.

It's one thing to be still waiting for the Gemini upgrade to reach your Android Auto dashboard – it's another to find that basic functions in Android Auto are now broken because Google Assistant is becoming less and less capable.

"I didn't understand that" is apparently now a common refrain from Google Assistant whenever voice commands are tried, and one user has had to revert back to their car's built-in navigation just to find the right route from A to B each time.

Phone calls and music streaming

Anyone else notice google assistant becoming more useless? from r/AndroidAuto

There are plenty of replies to the original post: one mentions asking Google Assistant to play some tunes on Spotify, only to be met with silence. It seems that third-party integrations are now consistently breaking as well.

Another comment complains about not being able to take phone calls through Android Auto, which seems to be a running theme in the thread. These are pretty basic functions that Google Assistant has been handling for years without any problems.

"It's gotten noticeably worse lately," writes one Redditor, who has been unable to find places such as gas stations near their current location using Google Assistant. Even worse, these features are still working fine in the Google Maps app without Android Auto.

The only light at the end of the tunnel for these frustrated users is that the Gemini upgrade should arrive soon – though no fixed date has been given by Google. After that, voice interactions with AI on Android Auto should be much more natural and useful.

You likely know Meta’s Neural Band as the companion controller that lets you use a hand as an input for the Meta Ray-Ban Display Glasses, but it might one day be sold separately and work with a bevy of other hardware.

Garmin, which makes a boatload of technology inside devices, showed off a concept of its next generation of in-vehicle systems at CES 2026 – one where its own-made computer can power way more than just a heads-up display and main screen, but also integrate with dynamic lighting, ultra-wideband tech, and even new inputs from voice to hand gestures.

And while this is just a concept, I got seated in the demo car, which was very much non-movable and just four seats in a rough frame, slapped on the Meta Neural Band, and was off to the races, able to spin the electronic version of the car on the main screen and even pinch to zoom in or out. It’s basic, but it’s mostly a proving ground for how these different types of inputs could prove useful in the car.

It’s part of Garmin’s Unified Cabin concept, which is basically a next-generation, much smarter interior for future vehicles. The ability to use the Neural Band is part of a collaboration between Garmin and Meta, exploring how this tech could be used.

The idea, though, is that within Android Auto, instead of saying “Hey Google” or swiping with your fingers, you can use gestures without needing to extend your hand. I was sitting in the passenger seat and had my hand just above my lap, able to make the right gestures to control the display. It was limited, but you could also use it to swipe through the interface and interact with various input elements.

There was no steering wheel in this cabin concept, but it might even work with hands on the wheel – though I’m not sure about the safety there. And the way the Meta Neural Band works is pretty ingenious; this was my first demo with it, and it’s essentially able to read finger gestures and movements via electrical signals from your wrist. It’s neat and provides feedback with subtle haptics in the band.

The Unified Cabin concept also highlighted the ability of UWB, potentially in future vehicles, to know the position of a digital key – either a fob, phone, or maybe even a Meta Neural Band one day – to welcome you with lighting as you approach, but also to provide more accuracy for when you’re in the vehicle. If you’re with a partner who also has a digital key on their phone, it can be more precise in setting the right seat style for whoever is actually in the driver’s seat. That’s not perfect as it is today.

While this is just a concept, it’s neat to see that the folks behind the tech used in vehicles are looking at future inputs. The Meta Neural Band could one day be sold on its own rather than just bundled with the Display Glasses – and who knows, it could be the key fob of a smart car you get in the future.

TechRadar has been extensively covering this year's CES, and is bringing you all of the big announcements as they happen. Head over to our CES 2026 news page for the latest stories and our hands-on verdicts on everything from wireless TVs and foldable displays to new phones, laptops, smart home gadgets, and the latest in AI.

And don’t forget to follow us on TikTok and WhatsApp for the latest from the CES show floor!

• Acer has revealed a range of new products at CEs 2026
• The main announcement is a fresh line of laptops featuring the new Intel Core Ultra Series 3 processors
• Other reveals included an esports monitor and a Predator-branded e-scooter

The ball is rolling on CES 2026, and that means lots of new hardware reveals. It's an exciting time of year for us here at TechRadar, and it looks like Acer hasn't disappointed, with a range of new products coming in hot.

Leading the pack are several new laptops equipped with Intel's new 3rd-gen Core Ultra CPUs, including the Aspire AI, Swift AI, Swift Edge AI, Swift Go AI, and several new gaming laptops in the Predator and Nitro ranges. Yes, those have 'AI' tacked onto the end of the product name for no good reason, too.

I'm only gently chiding Acer for this, though, as it's become common practice across multiple laptop brands in recent years to include 'AI' in the name. In my inquiries, nobody has been particularly forthcoming about why they're doing this, but it's likely a combination of desire to demonstrate these new laptops' AI capabilities (thanks to the new Intel Core Ultra 300 chips powering them, which boast superior AI performance compared to the previous 200 generation) and pressure from Microsoft to champion Copilot, its AI assistant that now comes baked into Windows 11.

Overall, though? I have to say that these new laptops look good. The Aspire and Swift models come in both 14- and 16-inch display sizes, with the super-premium Swift Edge 14 AI weighing in at less than 1kg with a thickness of 13.95mm, making it one of the thinnest and lightest laptops in its performance class. The new Predator Helios Neo 16S AI is also impressively thin and light for a gaming laptop, packing an RTX 5070 GPU but with a chassis less than 19mm thick.

New visuals

The reveals didn't stop there, though. New monitors are up next: we saw two gaming-focused models under the Predator brand, one curved and one esports-oriented (with a ludicrous '1000 Hz dynamic mode' for maximizing your framerate), along with another gaming monitor from the Nitro family, which offers a 27-inch 5K panel. Meanwhile, digital creatives were served by the new ProDesigner PE320QX, which delivers a stunning 6K resolution and 1.07 billion color support.

Elsewhere in the display space, we saw a new projector, the Vero HL1820. Side note: did you know Acer makes home cinema projectors? I did, but several of my coworkers didn't! As part of the eco-friendly Vero product line, it's constructed with a chassis composed of 50% post-consumer-recycled materials.

There was also a host of connectivity products, primarily some new routers, including the Predator Connect X7S 5G CPE: a wireless router that uses 5G and 4G connectivity to deliver lightning-fast Wi-Fi 7 connectivity for gaming and streaming wherever you may go. Peripherals were included too, with the new Predator Cestus 530 gaming mouse and Galea 570 headset.

Get scootin'

The most unusual reveal, however, was the Predator ES Storm Pro E-scooter. Described as a 'performance-focused e-scooter designed for varied urban conditions', it features a foldable aluminum frame, ten-inch tubeless tires, and of course, RGB lighting. It's a Predator-branded product, after all.

Now, this isn't the first electric scooter Acer has produced; the ES series has been kicking around for a little while now, so it's not surprising to see Acer wheel out a new one at an event like CES. What is surprising is that this model proudly bears the Predator branding. I don't know if there's a lot of crossover between the PC gaming and e-scooter markets, but clearly Acer thinks so.

With IPX5 water resistance and a riding range of approximately 60km on a single charge thanks to regenerative braking technology, it certainly looks pretty sweet. But I don't really know a damn thing about e-scooters, so that's just about all the analysis I can offer on this particular product reveal!

• Garmin's dēzl DualView system comprises two exterior cameras and transmitter
• They are IPX7-rated and designed to cover a truck's blind spots
• The package costs $999.99 / £879.99 (Australia pricing / availability TBC)

Leading dash cam maker Garmin has unveiled a different kind of vehicle cam that's designed specifically for trucks – and it's called the dēzl DualView.

The system comprises a transmitter and two IPX7-rated exterior cameras which can be mounted to a truck's rearview mirror or down each side to provide a clear view of any remaining blind spots, complete with visual alerts when other vehicles enter the spots covered by the cameras. Mounting hardware is also supplied.

Gaining a full surrounding view of the truck should give truck drivers greater confidence for any maneuvers such as turning, changing lanes and reversing, and are great news for other vehicles, especially motorbikes and cyclists who may otherwise go undetected as a truck driver makes such maneuvers.

Naturally, the dēzl DualView can also record journeys like any dash cam, delivering 1080p video, and auto saving incidents onto microSD card storage.

The live feed can be viewed on a driver’s paired tablet or dēzl LGV truck sat nav. When paired with the latter, drivers can use voice command to control the camera's view, see saved video and check location, speed, date and incident time overlays.

Videos can be viewed on and shared through the Garmin Drive mobile app, provided the user is signed up to Garmin's optional Vault plan ($9.99 / £9.99 per month or $99.99 / £99.99 per year).

The road safety device that every truck should have

I've personally sat in the driver's seat of a truck (during a cycling safety course) and can testify to the extent of blind spots when at the wheel. Such knowledge has impacted where I ride on two wheels around a moving truck.

However, I would find it reassuring to know that a truck is armed with a device like the Garmin dēzl DualView, as I'm sure those at the wheel of such vehicles would be too.

Until such a time that all trucks are fitted with such safety devices, the Garmin dēzl DualView looks like a decent accessory, costing $999.99 / £879.99 at Garmin for the transmitter, two exterior cameras and mounting hardware (Austrailia pricing TBC).

TechRadar will be extensively covering this year's CES, and will bring you all of the big announcements as they happen. Head over to our CES 2026 news page for the latest stories and our hands-on verdicts on everything from wireless TVs and foldable displays to new phones, laptops, smart home gadgets, and the latest in AI.

And don’t forget to follow us on TikTok and WhatsApp for the latest from the CES show floor!

It is not easy to stay “bike-fit”, especially as the ravages of time take hold and the weather turns sour. I know, excuses, excuses, but unless you have the time or motivation to get out for a couple of hours each day (whatever the forecast) or have access to one of the best exercise bikes or turbo trainers, it’s very easy to be spat out of the back of the peloton, so to speak.

That’s exactly what has happened to me, and despite my best intentions, including jumping on the Wattbike Atom at my local gym, I’ve found my bike fitness has suffered over the years.

Not only does this erode confidence, it also means that my cycling-mad friends have to put up with me huffing and puffing my way around our local routes, often slowing their pace so I don’t end up riding solo.

The Ribble CGR E AL has apparently been engineered precisely for folk like me, with a discreet electric motor stashed in the rear hub to offer the gentlest of boosts whenever the climbs become too steep or the gravel terrain too tough to maintain and respectable constant speed.

“But that’s cheating!” often come the cries from the cycling diehard. Well yes, it is if you want to start entering professional competitions, but that’s not what this is designed for.

The CGR E AL exists to act like a high-end gravel bike most of the time, simply offering a helping hand when the need arises.

Best of the specs

A quick recap on Ribble Cycles: the British business has been making bikes for over 100 years, offering cheaper bikes but very competitive quality. That brings me on neatly to the Ribble CGR E AL — a machine that in its top specification packs Shimano’s reliable 105 mechanical groupset, Mavic rims, a lightweight aluminum frame and a Mahle X30 electric motor discreetly housed in the rear wheel.

It's not to be confused with the Ribble CGR AL e, as that is the older model that is no longer sold, despite packing an annoyingly familiar name.

Ribble sells worldwide, but not all models are available to all markets. In the UK, the CGR E AL costs £3,199 in its Shimano 105 layout (it is cheaper if you go for Tiagra or Sram Apex gearing). The company says it unfortunately can’t ship the product to the USA, despite listing a price of 'from $4,300'. It's the same story in Australia, where it has a sticker price of $6,310 but cannot be shipped to the region.

If you live in Europe, you’re largely covered. International users are missing out on one of the best subtly electric gravel bikes of recent years.

A platform to perform

Ribble’s machines come packaged and almost fully-built. All you need to do is get the handlebars in place and tightened up, add some pedals of your choosing and then tackled the carbon fibre seat post.

It doesn’t take long, but I have to admit, setting up the cockpit isn’t the easiest procedure. There are a number of tightly packed cables that have to run through the aero-enhanced handlebars and it takes a bit of fiddling. The same can be said for the seat post, as Ribble opts for an integrated seat wedge that’s a real pain to get into place without scratching anything.

Aside from this, the bike is a handsome thing to behold, with that 7005 hydroformed alloy frame bending aero aesthetics with a really purposeful stance. It is also paired with a contrasting carbon fork that really pops.

Look a little closer and there’s a discreet button on the top tube that activates the rear mode, another press of the same button cycles through the various assistance modes, while an illuminated LED strip gives a reliable indication of charge levels. The light also cycles through various hues depending on the riding mode.

Shimano’s reliable 105 mechanical 12-speed gearing takes care of cog swapping, which is razor sharp to cycle through the gears and easy enough to maintain. Finally, a set of Mavic Allroad wheels shod in 40mm Schwalbe G-One tires provide smooth rolling over a variety of surfaces.

A stealthy operator

As previously alluded to, it’s very difficult to tell that the CGR E AL packs any sort of electrical assistance at all. The rear hub motor is compact and hidden behind the rear cogs and disc brakes, while the tubes haven’t been oversized to cram in mammoth battery packs.

It’s also impressively lightweight, with Ribble claiming it tips the scales at around 10kg. Honestly, it feels even lighter than that and is really easy to shoulder should you have to traverse the odd fallen tree trunk or locked gate.

But the most impressive aspect is the Mahle X30 e-drive system, which delivers power in a way that it is barely noticeable — like a gentle helping hand as the gradients start to ramp up. There’s no surge of power as you turn the cranks, nor is there a telltale whining of the electric motor to give the game away.

During a few early rides, I cycled between activating the motor and switching it off entirely. The electrical assistance was so good, it almost made the trails I was tackling slightly too easy, even in its most gentle setting.

It was a similar story out on the road; where if it was nice and flat, I didn’t really have to rely on the system. But as soon as things turned hilly, I could stealthily switch it on and enjoy the mild boost up hills.

Those wanting to merely spin the cranks and not put in any effort should probably look elsewhere, as this isn’t that sort of electric bike. Instead, it rewards some effort and makes it much easier to spend hours in the saddle.

All day riding

Ribble says the discreet battery pack is good for 90km of riding, which is the equivalent of around 56 miles. That’s a massive day in the saddle for anyone, but also plenty enough when tackling a mix of on and off-road terrain.

Obviously, if you head straight for the hills and opt for maximum assistance, the battery is going to drain much faster, but I found it lasted for a couple of decent ride-outs a week. The Mahle smart charger is also neat, offering a charge indicator on the bottom, as well as portraying it on the top tube.

Ribble offers space for two bottle cages and will sell you a pannier rack kit that can hold up to 15kg of stuff for proper bike exploration. I own a set of soft bags and managed to attach these with ease when heading off for a bit of mild bike-packing.

Having the electrical assistance is a boon when you are fully laden with waterproof kit, a tarpaulin and a little grill for some impromptu winter barbecuing.

One thing to keep in mind is the potential lead times with Ribble product, as stock and availability can fluctuate drastically. I waited an absolute age for mine, although Ribble emailed and explained it was an issue “linked to media allocation rather than anything in the customer pipeline”.

“For anyone ordering through the website, bikes are currently being built and shipped within our usual turnaround times, depending on the model and spec,” a Ribble spokesperson said.

Still, it’s worth noting, as the downside of direct-to-consumer business is that there are only four showrooms in the UK to physically see the bike, test it out, try it on and then grab the salesperson’s details to berate when it doesn’t arrive on time.

Regardless, the bike was well worth the wait, not least because it is a good-looking, versatile gravel bike that can handle everything from the daily commute to all-day bike-packing adventures, but chiefly because it saved me from embarking on a six-week training plan just to get out cycling with my mates.

It is easy to be led by the various damning headlines that suggest demand for electric vehicles is waning to the point that big automotive players are completely rethinking their strategies.

Granted, the likes of Porsche and Ford have back-tracked on plans, shoehorning gasoline engines and hybrid set-ups into models that were destined to be pure electric, but this isn’t the case for everyone.

Kia, Hyundai, Renault, Peugeot and the Volkswagen Group continued to release new and exciting EVs throughout 2025, while Tesla updated its two best-selling vehicles in the Model 3 and Model Y this year.

What’s more, the Chinese brands that once operated on the fringes are now becoming ever-more mainstream, with the likes of BYD, MG, LeapMotor and more all grabbing large slices of the market in the UK, Europe and beyond.

It’s a slightly different story in the US, where a reversal on incentives and tax breaks has slowed EV progress, often forcing many of the aforementioned brands to rethink their electric strategy in North America to ensure they remain profitable.

Polestar, Volkswagen, Audi and Mercedes-Benz all paused or scrapped plans to launch models in the US, but that hasn’t prevented homegrown talent from prevailing.

Tesla and Rivian continue to reach new buyers, Hyundai and Kia remain popular and Nissan’s recently release Leaf is making waves for its range and affordability.

Having driven a huge number of electric vehicles in 2025, this is my selection of the best, hand-picked for their mix of practicality, affordability and technology. Because electric vehicles are still very much happening, despite what you read.

1. Tesla Model Y

The updated Model Y is by far the best car Tesla has ever produced, blending excellent practicality, impressive range, reliably fast public charging and a quieter and more refined ride than previous generations.

Granted, the exterior styling remains divisive, but the recent refresh has certainly sharpened the approach, modernizing the lines and adding full-width light bars at the front and rear to ensure it attracts attention when out on the road.

Having driven both the Premium and Performance editions, it’s safe to say that unless you really like rollercoaster-like acceleration, the latter is the model to plump for – particularly in Long Range Rear-Wheel Drive guise.

If you can get past the badge and all of its modern connotations, the latest Model Y is hands-down one of the most efficient and easiest to live with EVs on sale.

• Read more: I’ve driven the new Tesla Model Y Performance – and despite it being a great car, it isn't anywhere near as exciting as it once was

2. MG IM5

Tesla has a new rival pop up every few weeks these days and MG’s latest premium badge, dubbed Intelligent Mobility, makes no effort to disguise the fact that it has the Tesla Model 3 firmly in its sights.

Hailing from China’s humungous SAIC automotive group, the vehicle rides on an all-electric platform that’s shared with a number of premium saloons in its domestic market. Although in Europe, things have been tweaked and changed to appeal to fussier buyers.

Specs are impressive: up to 441 miles of range, 17 minutes for a 10-80% charge and 3.2 seconds for the 0-62mph dash in the 751hp Performance model… that’s Porsche Taycan territory for a fraction of the price.

From most angles, it’s handsome car too, with little bits of Aston Martin at the rear and plenty of Taycan at the front. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right?

It also packs a plethora of advanced driver assistance and infotainment technology for not a great deal of money.

If you can look past the overly firm ride, the fact that everything is committed to a slightly annoying touchscreen and some terrible visibility out of the rear, it offers an impressive amount of performance, all-electric range and technology for less money than the Polestar 2, Mercedes-Benz CLA and, of course, the Tesla Model 3 it is actively pursuing in Europe.

3. Kia EV4

Kia’s line-up of pure electric vehicles is mightily impressive, spanning the upcoming (and tiny) EV2, through stylish saloons, crossovers and maxing out with the massive, seven-seat EV9 SUV at the very top of the range. There really is something for everyone.

The EV4 is one of its newest models and it is designed to tap into Europe’s love for a good old-fashioned hatchback, taking elements from its larger EV6 and smaller EV3, but packaging it up in something that isn’t yet another SUV or crossover.

Bold styling, a hugely comfortable ride and impressive range figures make for a tempting purchase, while Kia’s latest infotainment system is the sharpest and most technologically-advanced it has produced, with ChatGPT integration for natural voice interactions.

It’s got a big, practical trunk and, thanks to this not riding as high as some of its SUV siblings, it handles pretty well. Don’t expect Golf GTI levels of fun, but it’s an otherwise excellent all-rounder that's entertaining enough for most.

• Read more: I’ve driven the new electric Kia EV4 – and it finally makes hatchbacks exciting again for three key reasons

4. Citroen e-C5 Aircross

Sometimes, the best cars are the ones that handle the basics well without any fuss or fanfare. Those cars that prioritize comfort and practicality over flashy design elements and face-melting performance.

Citroen’s latest e-C5 Aircross, which is its first model to ride on the STLA Medium platform from parent company Stellantis, is exactly one of these cars. It offers either 320 or 421 miles of range, depending on the battery specified, perfectly acceptable performance and one of the most comfortable rides around.

The suspension with ‘Progressive Hydraulic Cushions’ makes it feel like it is floating on air, while the big five-seat SUV offers a huge amount of storage space and very comfortable quarters for anyone traveling onboard.

Inside, it adds a little French design know-how with some of the most comfortable front seats I have ever experienced. The infotainment technology isn't the greatest, but it all works and it's easy to use.

Prices start at £34,065 (around $45,400 / AU$68,600) for entry-level models, which is hugely competitive for an EV that's as practical and comfortable as this.

5. Renault 4 E-Tech

Despite driving this vehicle very early in 2025, it still remains one of the most memorable, thanks to its excellent mix of small car character, great handling dynamics and very tempting price tag.

Based on the equally excellent Renault 5 E-Tech, the R4 adds an extra dollop of practicality with slightly more room in the rear for passengers and more practical stowage space throughout. It still retains some of that R5 cheekiness in the way it drives and handles, though.

Above all else, it’s one of the best value EVs on sale in the UK and Europe, with prices starting at just £23,445 (around $31,250 / AU$47,200), yet it still manages to deliver head-swiveling looks on the outside, a premium-feeling interior and the latest in-car technology – including an Android Automotive-based infotainment system with Google Maps and other apps baked in.

• Read more: I've driven the retro-inspired Renault 4 E-Tech and it's just as fun as the R5... but with added practicality

6. Mercedes-Benz CLA

Mercedes sunk its engineering might into the latest CLA, not only imbuing it with a clever two-stage transmission (for efficiency, rather than performance), a low drag co-efficient and the latest 800V electrical architecture, but also debuting the marque’s cinema-quality Super Screen technology inside.

All of this results in a vehicle that can manage some 480 miles on a single charge, but can still dispatch the 0-62mph sprint in a respectable 4.9 seconds. Charging is lightning fast, too, while the interior boasts the sort of quality fit and finish you would expect from the German marque. The screen tech is on another level.

Base models start at £45,615 in the UK, which is around $61,000 / AU$94,000 roughly converted. This puts it in line with Tesla Model 3 and Model Y, yet it will go further on a single charge and brim its batteries much faster.

7. Smart #5

Smart no longer makes positively teeny city cars – well, not until the Smart #2 arrives – instead plying its trade in a variety of SUVs that blend elements from Mercedes-Benz and Chinese Goliath Geely.

I was not particularly convinced by the #1, as the Brabus model felt way too fast for its own good, the brakes were poor and it looked, well, a bit weird. The Smart #5 is altogether better, looking a bit like a rounded-off Mercedes G 580 and generally offering more space and practicality than its smaller sibling.

The interior technology is also a lot more impressive with a staggering 36 inches of screen real estate festooning the interior. There’s also a 25.6-inch augmented reality head-up display if you need more screen.

It’s a lovely place to while away the miles, with some models able to cover 366 of them on a single charge. The 0-80% top up time is under 18 minutes, too.

Of course, I drove the Brabus edition, which develops a frankly stupid 637bhp from its twin-motor set-up. That’s far too much for a family-friendly SUV and Smart simply doesn’t boast the performance engineering know-how to successfully translate that power to the road.

Opt for Pro+ or Premium trims and you get the larger batteries, the fast-charging 800V architecture and all of that interior for much less money and fewer hairier moments on wet roads.

For large families and lovers of an outdoor active lifestyle, very little comes close in terms of practicality and versatility than a van.

Full disclosure: I run a diesel-powered Volkswagen Transporter (apologies, Earth) as a daily, purely because it’s the best thing to fit kids, mountain bikes, surfboards and the odd broken down motorcycle onboard. You can keep your SUVs, they just can't compete on roominess.

Up until this point, the electric van market has been relatively slow to catch up with its passenger car counterpart, with the likes of Ford electrifying its popular Transit Custom and E-Tourneo, while Citroën also offers an ë-SpaceTourer in Europe.

But these feel distinctly van-like. As if the company merely shoehorned some battery packs and an electric motor inside whatever commercial vehicle they happened to have lying around.

Arguably, the VW ID Buzz, with its funky exterior looks and retro touches, was the first to truly appeal to the non-business buyer, but even that vehicle has its issues. The efficiency is poor, the asking price is astronomical and there isn’t actually that much room inside.

Kia thinks it can capitalize on this, which is why it has invested eye-watering sums of money into its Platform Beyond Vehicle (PBV) EV skateboard chassis, which will eventually underpin a whole host of commercial and lifestyle vehicles.

Small vans, large vans, vans with fridges and pizza ovens on the back, pick-up truck vans, vans that can transport people, and vans that are easily accessible for wheelchair users are all on the way very soon.

But for now, Europe has the PV5 Passenger and PV5 Cargo to get to grips with.

A working class hero

Let’s kick this off with the pricing, which we know for certain will start at £32,995 in the UK for the PV5 Passenger in the most affordable ‘Essential’ trim. There’s no word on whether it will go on sale in the US any time soon, but that figure is around $44,000 roughly converted, or AU$67,000.

This is almost half the price of its closest rival in the funky, retro-styled ID Buzz, yet it still offers 183-miles of range, only slightly down on the cheapest ID Buzz.

Step up to the larger 71.2kWh battery, which still only costs £35,995 (around $48,000/AU$73,000), and you’ll get 256-miles on the combined cycle. That's less than so many rival electric SUVs that offer a fraction of the interior roominess and range.

Power and performance is perfectly adequate for a massive family-mover like this, with the 160bhp developed by the single motor, which is good enough to accelerate from rest to 62mph in 10.6 seconds and on to a max speed of 84mph.

Despite its size, it drives fantastically well, remaining flat and composed through tight corners, offering beautifully light steering around town and sealing the cabin away from the outside world for a near-silent cruising experience.

The ace of space

As previously mentioned, Kia is going to release numerous versions of the PV5, as well as smaller and larger vans that will sit on the same platform.

Currently, both Passenger and Cargo are available, the former of which offers five flexible seats inside, while the latter is a proper two-seat commercial van that's designed to haul kit and equipment in its sparse rear.

Now, the world of commercial vehicles is a complex landscape, with fleet buyers choosing their chariots based on payloads, dimensions and financial information that I don’t have the spreadsheet knowhow to bother working out.

In short, I wanted to focus on the Passenger model because this is thing customers are most likely to buy over a seven-seat SUV or similar.

As a people-mover, it's absolutely fantastic, with a massive amount of room in the rear for three passengers to sit comfortably. Those back seats are also heated in the more lavish Plus models, with footrests and plenty of USB-C ports for keeping devices topped up.

The second row is also flexible, so it folds flat if you do need to use the cavernous rear cargo space for transporting surfboards, mountain bikes of just a mountain of family-related stuff. It’s not quite the same versatility as a crew van, where seats can be completely removed, but gets what? That’s coming.

More car-like than most

I’ve always harped on about the the Volkswagen Transporter to anyone who will listen, claiming it as being one of the most 'car-like' vans money can buy, in so much as it boasts the sort of handling characteristics and refinement that elevate it beyond being merely a big box on wheels.

The ID Buzz took that mantra and ran with it, but it also used VW’s latest and slightly rubbish infotainment system. Plus it felt big and heavy on the roads when I drove it. The Kia PV5, weirdly, doesn’t and it uses a bespoke Android Automotive infotainment system to boot.

This isn’t the same widescreen as the one found in the latest Kia EV3, EV4 and so on, but a 12.9-inch unit that’s mounted bang-slap in the middle of the dash. Kia has done this so commercial users can download and run bespoke apps that assist with lubricating the wheels of commerce.

It’s very simple and intuitive to operate, with the added bonus that owners get access to an Android-based app store of software to download on it. There's also a neat and customizable digital display behind the steering wheel that takes care of speed, range and other vital information.

Despite the presence of a few physical buttons dotted around the cabin, I’d happily take more, especially to adjust things like the heating and air-con, as well as turning off all of the nannying bongs and beeps from the safety systems.

The only other issue I had was with the driving position because, unlike most other commercial vehicles, the floor is placed relatively high to package the electrical gubbins that power the PV5.

This creates a neat stowage area underneath, but it also means you drive it a bit like you would a saloon, without that upright, outstretched position leg like you get with many traditional, internal combustion engine rivals.

It also means you sit with your hip practically level with the side windows that, while creating a beautifully airy interior for anyone riding up front, it does require that all occupants are dressed appropriately. It just feels a bit weird at first.

An impressive debut

I simply can’t fault the PV5 for its practicality, with the Passenger version offering more trunk space than the massive Kia EV9 with its rear seats folded.

Fold the rear seats flat in the PV5 and it does a good impression of a proper commercial vehicle, with the sort of cavernous cargo area that can swallow bicycles whole. To talk liters for a minute, you get 1,330 with all seats up and a massive 2,300 with second row folded.

As a comparison, the hugely spacious Tesla Model Y offers around 2,000-liters of space with its rear seats folded flat, but not the same practicality that's afforded with such a tall, square rear like the PV5. What's more, it's a big chunk of change more expensive, too.

Versatile, stylish, comfortable inside and offering the sort of range that most can live with, the PV5 brings back the halcyon days of MPVs and people carriers, but packages it all up in a platform that’s versatile enough to ensure it will be profitable for the company.

Sure, there’s not mammoth 300+ mile version just yet, and the 400V electrical architecture means charging speeds are throttled at 150kW, but Kia’s debut van is fantastically efficient, meaning you'll get the range the read-out predicts.

It’s the first electric van that I’ve tested that’s had me considering giving up diesel… something the VW ID Buzz couldn’t manage.

Tesla’s performance-oriented models once stunned the world with their abilities to shame some of the most competent sports cars on the market. Do you remember when a stock Model S Plaid set a Nurburgring lap record in 2021? It beat the Porsche Taycan by around seven seconds.

This was major news in the automotive world, seeing as what was essentially a tech company managed to beat a manufacturer with over 100 years of racing experience on one of the most challenging race tracks in the world.

Two years later, it shattered its own record with a special Track Package, setting a time of 7:25.231 that saw it once again become the world’s fastest production EV around the ‘Ring.

Even before it laid down the EV performance gauntlet to established automakers, owners of Plaid versions, which signified the most potent power outputs, had been rearranging the internal organs of friends in exchange for YouTube views. Tesla fully exploited the electric motor's performance potential.

Fast-forward a few years, and we now have Performance iterations of both the refreshed Model 3 and the Model Y – the latter of the two I have been driving for the past week.

The statistics speak for themselves: the 0-60mph sprint takes just 3.3 seconds, and this deal motor, all-wheel-drive midsized family SUV can gallop all the way to a limited top speed of 155mph.

It is undeniably quick, yet the revised battery and motor setup means it can still manage 360 miles on a single charge, with a 15-minute break at one of Tesla’s Superchargers adding up to 151 miles of range.

Seeing as it is based on the recently refreshed Model Y, it is also arguably the best-looking yet, complete with a rear spoiler, more aggressive body kit, and monster alloy wheels. In Ultra Red paint (as the test vehicle wore), it cut a head-turning figure on the road.

Despite this, it still left me a bit cold after a week in the hot seat.

The world has got faster

One of the biggest issues Tesla faces is that the once-pioneering company is now being left behind by both the traditional automakers, which have finally caught up, and by fresh competition from China and beyond.

Its technology, which is still excellent, isn’t as mind-blowing as it once seemed, and the all-out performance of the, erm, Performance model doesn’t quite punch the guts as it did.

Press all of the required buttons, select the right mode, stamp on the brake, bury the throttle, and suddenly you live in a Porsche Taycan Turbo S, Audi RS E-Tron GT, or the latest electric Porsche Cayenne, and it physically hurts. The acceleration is almost unpleasant.

The latest Tesla Model Y Performance delivers a similar experience, but having sampled all of those vehicles above, it no longer feels as savage.

Don’t get me wrong, it is still swift, but there are other electrified family SUVs that can be just as violent.

 What’s more, the engineering tweaks that have occurred underneath the skin, including the adaptive suspension, new bushings and dampers, modified steering, wider tires at the rear, and added aero, have only really helped refine the drive, rather than revolutionize it.

Sure, it picks its way through a winding country road with ease, but despite the addition of new ‘Drive Modes’, there’s still zero feel through the steering wheel, the brakes are powerful but not the most progressive (and very squeaky in the test car). At the same time, the seats prove supportive, but the driving position isn’t sporty in the slightest.

Turning stomachs

The truth is, the family doesn’t really want, need, or even enjoy this sort of level of performance on a daily basis.

My youngest son gets physically pumped up about this kind of thing, but after showing off the acceleration once or twice, which he says feels like a “roller coaster," he soon admitted that it made him feel carsick.

With a Model Y fully loaded with kit for a weekend walk and precious cargo onboard, why on earth would you want to attack the journey with the gusto of Lando Norris chasing an F1 title?

It doesn’t make much sense, which is a shame, because the interior of this Performance is lovely, if a little impractical.

Bright white perforated vegan leather and carbon-fiber decor covered the inside of the test model, which, while very comfortable and cool to look at, proved a magnet for stains.

There are heated seats throughout, adaptive LED cabin lighting, a massive panoramic roof, and, of course, a rear touchscreen that allows the kids to stream YouTube through the powerful rear speakers.

It’s an enticing package, and the body kit does wonders for the Model Y’s gawky styling, but during my tenure, an email dropped into my inbox that announced the fact that the Model Y Standard was dropping to £41,990 in the UK (it's still $39,99 in the US and AUD$58,900 in Australia). That’s £20,000 less than this Performance edition in my market.

You could buy another, brand new – albeit very small and basic – EV for that money and use it to pop to the shops or stick the dog in when you don’t want to get the Tesla dirty.

Plus, with the Premium Long Range Real-Wheel-Drive model delivering some 387 miles (27 more than the Performance edition) and costing £48,990 (£13,000 less), shaving two seconds from the 0-60mph time starts to feel a little silly, doesn't it?

If you want an EV that genuinely delivers thrills, test drive a Hyundai Ioniq 5 N, or the new Kia EV6 GT, while the BMW iX2 xDrive30 is a more dynamically-accomplished SUV, even if it is a horrible mouthful to say.

In other words, the Standard and Premium Model Ys now represent great value for money and are still some of the easiest EVs to live with. Forget performance and go for practicality.

Thinkware U3000 Pro: two-minute review

Thinkware has recently introduced the U3000 Pro Dash Cam as a beefier edition of its existing U3000 model. The company is already well-known for producing some of the best dash cams out there, but this model takes things a step further with Connected Service support. Anyone wanting the ability to monitor their vehicle remotely will find that’s now possible with the Thinkware U3000 Pro, with an optional LTE module that will be sold separately.

Another bonus with the Thinkware U3000 Pro, much like the excellent 70mai 4K T800, is that it's able to work in a three channel setup. That means it can be configured to shoot forward-facing video, capture video out of the rear window and also enjoy an infrared view of the cabin area too. That said, if the LTE module is being used, Thinkware states that the cabin cam component cannot be engaged at the same time. Nevertheless, the latter is a handy option for anyone who needs to keep an eye on occupants, from small children through to anyone transporting passengers.

On paper too, the Thinkware U3000 Pro Dash Cam has an impressive set of features and functions. My two-channel review bundle came with twin cameras that feature Sony Starvis 2 sensors, one 8.4 megapixel IMX687 for the front and one 5.14 megapixel IMX675 for the rear, shooting 4K UHD (3840 x 2160p) at 30 fps or QHD (2560 x 1440p) at 60 fps for the forward-facing unit. The rear backs it up with 2K QHD (2560 x 1440p) and 30 fps, which is all perfectly serviceable.

This is a slightly different camera to look at too, with a slender body shape for the front that sits neatly tucked up and out of the way of the windshield. That could be a blessing for anyone with a small viewing area at the front. There isn’t any built-in screen though, which means the setup, configuration and day-to-day management of files mainly needs to be done in partnership with the Thinkware app. The app is workmanlike and gets the job done, while built-in Bluetooth and Wi-Fi covers the connectivity part of the equation without much in the way of fuss.

Like most dash cam models now, this is a unit that can be boosted still further with the optional addition of a hardwire kit. Plumbed into your vehicle’s electrics, the specification is boosted with smart parking modes that enhance the U3000 Pro's appeal. Features including built-in radar and Super Night Vision 4.0 that tap into the power of the Starvis sensors adds up the appeal even further.

Meanwhile, the ADAS (advanced driver assistance) tools and built-in GPS means the Thinkware U3000 Pro Dash Cam wants for nothing. It is, however, priced on the higher side and, and for anyone who prefers a rear screen on their dash cam, it might not fit the bill at all.

Thinkware U3000 Pro: price and availability

The Thinkware U3000 Pro Dash Cam is available now and is priced at $429.99 / £399 for the single channel U3000 Pro (roughly AU$800). Meanwhile, the two-channel variant is priced at $549.99 / £479 (around AU$960). This makes it a premium model, with lots of rival models to choose from, including the aforementioned 70mai 4K T800. Anyone wanting a similar dash cam but not requiring the additional features might prefer to just settle with the original U3000 model, which can currently be found discounted via some retailers.

Thinkware U3000 Pro: specs

Thinkware U3000 Pro: Design

Thinkware has gone down a slightly different route with the design of the U3000 Pro. While many dash cams are either boxy or rectangular, the main unit of the U3000 Pro is a little bit quirkier. The front portion of the body is where most of the bulk is as this houses the lens. This in itself is an interesting idea as its angle can be adjusted to suit the rake of different windshields. I found this very stiff to adjust at first, but I guess that prevents it from changing position due to vibration or rough roads.

The back end of the camera body is thinner and contains the slot for the microSD card and has ports for the cables. At the top, there’s a bracket that slides on to the body once it’s out of the packaging and this has the self-adhesive pad that sticks to either a static sheet or directly to the windshield. I think the design works quite well, with a form factor that isn’t quite as blatantly dash cam-looking as some rivals. Handy for anyone wanting a low-key look.

On the underside of the camera, facing downward from the roof, are three illuminated indicators that show BT/Wi-Fi, Rec and GPS from left to right. This panel also contains physical buttons – Rec, Power, Wireless and Microphone symbols, for when manual intervention is needed. The easiest way to get set up, though, is to do everything via the supporting Thinkware app.

Thinkware has kept things blocky for the design of the rear-facing camera and, again, I quite like the rectangular shape used here as it’s different from the many barrel-style units out there. The rear camera is linked up to the front-facing main unit via a decent length cable. Meanwhile, my test unit arrived with a 12V cable connector that could be connected to a standard in-car power port. The alternative is to buy the version with the hardwire kit, which unlocks the extra functionality mentioned above.

Thinkware U3000 Pro: Performance

It took me a couple of tries to successfully pair the Thinkware U3000 Pro Dash Cam to my iPhone, for whatever reason, possibly issues with the wireless connection. Once that was sorted, I was easily able to manage the camera and functionality using the options contained therein. Of course, one potential downside for this model is the lack of a built-in screen. However, in its place, the app let me adjust the angle of the camera correctly by showing a view across the bonnet of my car. Those on-camera buttons were useful for basic tasks too, but the app will be the way to go for most users.

Whilst it was operating, the Thinkware U3000 Pro Dash Cam got on with the job in hand without fuss, with the red recording button letting me know that it was capturing content as expected. Once I’d used it for a bit, I got the video off the card and checked it out. I’ll admit that wintry conditions didn’t prove the best for capturing good video but overall, I thought the Thinkware U3000 Pro Dash Cam footage was a bit on the average side. It was undeniably clear, but dark winter conditions seemed to take the edge off the overall look of the content.

Neither did it didn’t seem to be that good at capturing low light content, while picking out detail including license plates was less impressive than other models I’ve tried. A bit surprising given this model uses the ever-popular Sony Starvis hardware. I thought the detail (such as GPS data, speed and so on) added to the bottom of the footage was a bit on the small side too, especially compared to rivals, although the Wi-Fi and GPS functionality of this model all worked as expected. Overall, the Thinkware U3000 Pro Dash Cam felt good, but not as great as I’d hoped for.

One important thing to note is anyone wanting to enjoy the parking monitoring will need to do so by enlisting the services of an optional hardwire kit. This does increase the potential of the bundle, especially for anyone wanting the extra parking features that get unlocked by going down the hardwire route.

Should you buy the Thinkware U3000 Pro?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

How I tested the Thinkware U3000 Pro

• I installed the dash cam in a car for an initial period of three weeks
• I used it for various day and night journeys in all types of weather
• I connected it to my phone, downloading recordings to check on quality

I tested the Thinkware U3000 Pro Dash Cam overall several weeks, which consisted of using it in a test vehicle and in a variety of weather conditions. This allowed me to try all of the features and functions, aside from the hardwire options due to it being powered via a 12V power port.

In addition, I downloaded the Thinkware app, which was installed on an iPhone 17 and used during the installation process and also for file management duties. The Wi-Fi connectivity between the main camera unit and the app was also tested, which based on the size of the 4K video files was a big part of the testing procedure and everything worked as anticipated.

• First reviewed December 2025

Royal Enfield unveiled its modernized Flying Flea late last year — an electrified two-wheeler that is loosely based on a lightweight British motorcycle that was parachuted out of aircraft during World War 2.

But rather than offer low-maintenance transport for advancing troops, the modern version is designed to appeal to a fresh audience of city-dwellers and extra-urban commuters who have perhaps not considered a motorcycle in the past.

“There are no gears, there is no noise and no need to fill up with gas where Flying Flea is concerned. It’s approachable,” explains Matt Cardenas, head of advanced concepts at Royal Enfield and a man very close to the Flying Flea project, tells us.

We caught up with him at Motoverse, an annual gathering of hardcore Royal Enfield fans in Goa, where the Flying Flea S6 made its second outing after an official unveiling at the EICMA motorcycle show in Italy a few weeks ago.

Designed to be a more focused, off-road companion to the Flying Flea C6 (the C standing for “classic”), the scrambler-inspired S6 packs more traditional front suspension, high-rise bars, knobbly tires, and a dedicated off-road mode for traction control, lean-angle sensors, and ABS braking.

Both bikes look set to bring something fresh and exciting to the world of electric two-wheelers next year, fusing next-gen EV propulsion and cutting-edge infotainment in a machine that doesn't cost supercar money.

While we are still in the dark about the exact price, battery specs, and range, we’ve found several reasons to get excited about the Flea…

1. You can charge it with a kettle lead

Rather than offer a removable battery solution like Maeving and Honda have on recent electric machines, Royal Enfield and Flying Flea opted for the convenience of a good old-fashioned kettle lead.

The idea is that this standard fitting is not only ubiquitous, but it can also be easily carried in a pocket or backpack when on the move. Domestic plug sockets are everywhere, so charging your Flying flea should be as easy as topping up a laptop.

“We spoke to thousands of potential customers during our research phase and found hardly any wanted to carry heavy battery packs upstairs to apartments. But 85 per cent of them had a plug socket where the bike would be parked,” Cardenas explained at this year’s Motoverse.

Rather than the convenience of a removable pack, the company wants to offer what it calls “City Plus” range, which is touted to be around 100 miles on a single charge. Something it says is impossible if you want to keep batteries light enough to be carried around.

When plugged in to a standard wall socket, Cardenas says owners can add around 1km of range for every minute the bike is tethered using Flying Flea's dedicated lead. Any other kettle leads with theoretical work, but it could slow charging rates.

2. It will be the first of its kind to run an Android OS

Over 200 engineers from India and overseas have worked on developing the Flying Flea to date, with a large number of those dedicated to the innovative operating system and user experience.

Cardenas says it will be the first dedicated motorcycle UX to run on the Android operating system, meaning owners will get a smartphone experience when interacting with the 3.5-inch true round TFT display.

Google Maps will be used for navigational purposes, a feature carried over from the most recent iteration of Royal Enfield’s popular Himalayan motorcycle, while Qualcomm’s system-on-chip for two-wheelers have been employed to offer bike-to-cloud connectivity.

BMW's CE 02 and CE 04 electric scooters edge close to this reality with plenty of smartphone compatibility, but Flying Flea's use of built-in navigation and the ability to control a device when on the move is heading into territory that is occupied by much more premium and expensive motorcycles.

3. Expect real-time updates

The aforementioned Qualcomm chip delivers a seamless communication between the bike and the rider, meaning that once a smartphone is tethered, it can be used as a key and a way to remotely check on the charge status and whereabouts of your pride and joy.

Cardenas tells us that Apple CarPlay and Android Auto simply don’t work well with a joystick style UI, which is what Flying Flea uses, so the company had to develop its own software from scratch.

Harnessing 4G, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity, Flying Flea will offer a dedicated voice assistant for answering messages on the fly, as well as hunting for playlists that reside on the smartphone and navigating to places of interest.

It can also automatically update settings via over-the-air software packages, which could in turn help improve charging speeds, battery speeds and even the performance of the bike over time.

4. Smaller and larger models will sit on the platform

The Flying Flea C6 and F6 are just the beginning, as that number relates to where these two models sit in a wider line-up of electrified two-wheelers.

Although the debut offerings are very much designed to appeal to first time riders and those looking at the equivalent 125cc motorcycles, the C6 and S6 both use premium materials, shunning the temptation to drastically undercut the competition and produce it as cheaply as possible.

There’s a magnesium battery casing to keep the weight down, for example, as well as a frame-mounted electric motor that drives a belt on the road-going C6 or a chain on the S6, which is arguably more complex than the simple rear hub motors used by Maeving and other rivals.

That said, Royal Enfield and Flying Flea clearly plan to offer smaller and cheaper variants that could possibly make waves in the Chinese-dominated scooter market, as well as something to take on larger capacity combustion engine bikes.

5. Royal Enfield will continue to champion ICE bikes

Among the noise, sights and smells of Motoverse, where the combustion engine still very much rules the roost, Royal Enfield’s silent Flying Flea still attracted the crowds.

That said, Siddhartha Lal, chairman at Royal Enfield, admits that while electric motorcycles make a sense to a lot of people, they won't replace the company's best-sellers just yet.

"Royal Enfield could make an electric motorcycle, but it would have to be the right model," he explained.

Instead, Flying Flea has been designed to appeal to a different audience, one that is perhaps more tech-savvy and not so attached to the internal combustion engine.

We will find out full specification and pricing closer to the C6 launch date, which is Spring next year. Although we'll have to wait even longer for the S6 to arrive.

Kia’s electric line-up needs little introduction, seeing as the South Korean marque has made waves across the globe with its simply-named but vastly different range that encompasses SUVs, saloons and hatchbacks.

It all started with the Kia EV6, which sort of mashed saloons, hatchbacks and SUVs into one divisive but ultimately very popular package, and then increased to include one of the world’s first electric seven-seat SUVs in the EV9.

Fast forward a few years and Kia now offers everything from the small (ish) EV3 SUV/crossover, through to a mid-sized EV5 SUV and up to the aforementioned EV9.

There are gaps to be plugged, including the much-hyped EV2 city car and this… the EV4 hatchback.

Riding on the success of Tesla’s Model 3, Kia wanted to produce an EV that could compete in the UK and other Euro territories where the SUV hasn’t completely taken over... yet.

The humble hatchback has traditionally sold well in those countries, but Kia wanted to hedge its bets by offering the EV4 in both hatch and Fastback saloon versions. The latter sports an extended rump with one of the largest load capacities on earth, but it won’t win many beauty pageants.

The hatchback, on the other hand, is a low, lean five-door with sharp exterior lines that are both eye-catching and a little bit bonkers. It’s sure to turn heads and divide opinions on the road.

A winning formula

Kia’s E-GMP platform now underpins its entire range of electric vehicles, which all share similar powertrains and battery technology. The EV4 is closely related to the more upright, boxier EV3, so comes with either a 58.3kWh or 81.4kWh pack.

There’s no 800V electrical charging architecture like that found on the EV6 and EV9, but those are more expensive propositions, so customers have to make do with 400V here.

It’s not exactly a compromise, because the EV4 can be recharged 10-to-80% using a 150kW charger in as little as 29 minutes, which is typical for an EV costing from around £35,000 (around $46,000 / AU$71,000) for the base model.

Spend a little more and the larger battery pack charges in near enough the same time, but is capable of a mightily impressive 388 miles when fully brimmed. This has been made possible by a number of aerodynamic enhancements and keen tuning of the electric powertrain, air conditioning and power electronics for maximum efficiency.

You’ll want to test those maximum range numbers too, because the EV4 is a very comfortable and pleasant place to rack up the mileage. The front seats are cushioned in all of the right places, while the brand’s fabric headrests are some of the best in the business.

In short, this electric hatchback challenges run-of-the-mill SUVs thanks to its bold styling, smooth drive and excellent practicality – and that isn't an easy thing to do.

More fun than an SUV

It’s very difficult to make a proper electric hatchback these days, purely because the battery packs have to be stashed in the floor and this either raises the ride height or the driving position… or both.

In the EV4, it is the driving position that doesn’t quite nail the brief like an ICE Volkswagen Golf or Seat Leon does, as it still feels a tad too high. But that’s nit-picking, because the drive is still a hoot.

While electric SUVs tend to feel bloated and roll around through corners (unless you buy a Porsche), the EV4 raises a smile at the right corner. It’s no pocket rocket, with power pegged at just 201bhp (pretty tame in today’s world of unhinged electric cars), but it feels plenty swift enough on UK roads.

There is 283Nm of torque on tap, which means it gets off the line briskly, with the official 0-62mph sprint time ranging from 7.5 seconds to 7.9 seconds depending on the size of the battery pack.

But overall, the EV4 is set up to be fantastically comfortable over a variety of road surfaces, soaking up potholes and generally proving quiet and composed in most situations. Put simply, it’s really nice to live with.

Tech gets better

Kia’s infotainment offering has slowly and quietly been improving with the launch of each new EV-badged product and the 12.3in, 12.3in, and 5.3in combined displays in the EV4 are among the smartest from the brand so far.

Crisp and easy to use, these screens play nicely with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, but also offer an array of apps that now come built-in. These include things like Netflix, Disney+, games and in-car karaoke, if that’s your vibe.

In fact, there is a dedicated ‘Theatre Mode’ that dims the interior lights and optimizes the central 12.3-inch display for bingeing TV or watching movies via one of those previously mentioned streaming services. When parked up, of course.

The EV4 is also the first car after the EV3 to feature Kia’s new voice assistant, which is powered by ChatGPT and aims to offer a more natural, conversational interaction with the car.

It can take care of key functionality and settings, but it also now helps navigate using Google Points of Interest to give advice on the cheapest places to park or the best things to see and do in the area, for example.

It is the first time this integration has been seen on a Kia and it works well, seeing as Google Points of Interest also feature key information, such as parking, opening hours and the prices of the places we tend to visit.

As you get with a Tesla, Kia also offers as digital key that can live on both Android and Apple smartphones, where the car automatically unlocks on approach. This also works on Apple Watch, for those who can’t even be bothered to drag a phone out of a pocket.

It’s a very accomplished package that’s all wrapped up in some conversation-starting styling and a fantastically comfortable ride.

It is priced keenly, too, beating the more expensive Model 3 in both refinement and uniqueness, while offering more excitement than something like a VW ID 3 or the cheaper MG 4.

Above all else, it’s nice to see an automotive company release something that isn’t a completely generic and utterly soulless electric SUV for once.

Automotive lighting tech. It’s not something most people think about, but just like touchscreens, infotainment systems, cameras, and ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems), lighting tech has evolved by leaps and bounds over the last few years, and has become an integral part of the modern vehicle experience – especially in EVs, where power efficiency is critical to getting the most range out of the battery pack.

From exterior dot-matrix displays and pixel grilles, to matrix headlights, to OLED taillights, to customizable ambient lighting, the latest lighting tech is increasing safety while also enabling new ways for drivers to personalize their vehicles. Because, let’s face it, some of this new lighting tech is bedazzling EVs and combustion vehicles alike. So, what’s new in this domain? Why should you care? Let’s dive in and find out.

Pixel arrays

In case you haven’t noticed, retro-chic is fashionable these days, and pixelated design motifs are in right now. Just check out the headlights and taillights on Hyundai’s EVs – like the IONIQ 5 and IONIQ 9 I drove this year – or the Glyph Matrix on the back of Nothing’s Phone 3. Then there’s the grille on Mercedes’ new GLC EV, which features an optional array of 942 white “pixels” and basically doubles as a pixelated dot-matrix display.

Unfortunately, Mercedes doesn’t let you customize the electric GLC’s pixel grille just yet. For now, it just displays welcome and goodbye animations when unlocking and locking the car. But we’ve also seen pixelated dot-matrix displays on the exterior of Chinese EVs – like in the strip between the headlights on the Zeekr Mix, at the base of the windshield on the Avatr 12, and in the four corners and on the rear doors of the HiPhi Z.

What’s the point of these exterior pixel arrays, you ask? Personalization is the most obvious use case. Drivers can display scrolling text, emojis, and even animated GIFs. Another more practical application for these dot-matrix pixelated displays is vehicle status (like charging progress) and communication with pedestrians or other road users through visual prompts that enhance trust and safety during low-speed maneuvers.

Matrix headlights

In the beginning, vehicles used fueled lamps for headlights. At the turn of the 20th century, the automotive industry switched to electricity and incandescent bulbs. Those were replaced with brighter halogen headlights in the 1960s, followed by even brighter and whiter HID (High-Intensity Discharge) xenon bulbs in the 1990s. Projector beams started replacing reflective housing and sealed headlights around the same time.

In the late 2000s, LED headlights, which are significantly more efficient and durable, started appearing on vehicles, alongside self-leveling and directional beams. This was followed by matrix and laser headlights in the 2010’s. Matrix headlights consist of an array of LEDs. A camera detects vehicles ahead and a computer selectively dims individual LEDs to avoid blinding those vehicles while keeping the rest of the road brightly lit.

Audi, BMW, and Mercedes were the first to implement matrix headlights, eventually adding welcome and goodbye animations when unlocking and locking the car. But Chinese manufacturers have taken this lighting tech to the next level by replacing the array of LEDs with the same DLP (Digital Light Processing) tech found in video projectors. These new matrix headlights can be used to project anything ahead of the vehicle.

For example, the Aito M9, a Chinese EV, packs 2.6-megapixel Huawei Xpixel DLP matrix headlights that can project a "light carpet" for navigation guidance, autonomous driving intentions, pedestrian warnings, and emergency signals while driving, or project a 100-inch "cinema screen" onto a flat surface for outdoor movie viewing while parked. Just find a wall, get some popcorn, and enjoy the instant drive-in theater experience.

OLED taillights

For many decades, taillights used incandescent bulbs. LEDs started appearing in taillights in the early 1990s and, being vastly more efficient and durable, became commonplace by the 2010s. Around the same time, Audi and BMW both introduced OLED taillights, which gave designers more freedom, allowed more packaging flexibility, and enabled more complex light patterns, from basic sequential turn signals to pixel arrays.

OLED taillights don’t use point light sources that require reflectors and diffusers behind them, as with LEDs or incandescent bulbs. The entire OLED surface emits uniform light instead, allowing for more advanced shapes, thinner packaging, and better electrical, thermal, and optical efficiency. This makes it easier to implement pixel arrays that go beyond traditional taillight functionality and display dynamic graphics like U-turn indicators.

Ambient lighting

While many manufacturers now offer customizable ambient lighting – even in more affordable vehicles – it all started with the Mercedes S-class and E-class in the early 2010’s. This year, I drove four electrified Mercedes SUVs – the EQB 300 EV, GLC 350e PHEV, EQS400 EV, and G580 electric G-Wagen – which clearly showcased the evolution of the company’s ambient lighting (and infotainment) tech over the past five years.

It’s interesting to see how the ambient lighting tech has evolved from multiple zones with 64 color choices each and basic animations (EQB and G-Wagen) to multiple zones with per-zone color gradients and animations (GLC and EQS). The new electric GLC goes one step further with a nine-segment PDLC (Polymer-Dispersed Liquid-Crystal) Sky Control panoramic glass roof that boasts an embedded layer of 162 illuminated stars.

Just like the other zones, this layer of illuminated stars features 64 color choices, matching the rest of the GLC EV’s ambient lighting. Rolls-Royce's Starlight Headliner takes this concept to the next level with a bespoke, handcrafted "night sky" effect using thousands of tiny fiber optic lights embedded in the headliner that can be customized to display unique shimmering constellations, colors, and even shooting star effects.

The Genesis GV70 EV features a backlit constellation in the door cards, which is colored to match the current drive mode, like the rest of the ambient lighting. Chinese EVs deliver even more customization through dynamic multi-color RGB ambient lighting that “breathes,” displays complex patterns, syncs to music, reacts to changes in climate and other settings, responds to voice commands, and displays navigation and ADAS cues.

The future

As AVs (autonomous vehicles) become more commonplace, expect to see more pixelated dot-matrix displays and DLP (projection) tech installed on vehicles to communicate with other road users and to improve safety and trust. Micro LEDs, which are currently used in high-end TVs, are coming to matrix headlights, and OLEDs are slowly but surely migrating into ambient lighting. Crucially for EVs, both are more power efficient.

Mercedes is adding a turquoise light to the taillights of its Drive Pilot-equipped vehicles to provide a clear and unmistakable visual cue that the car is in autonomous (Level 3 ADAS) mode and that it’s (presumably) okay for the driver to be watching YouTube right now. Waymo AVs feature a PoV (Persistence of Vision) display on their roof-mounted spinning lidar sensor that shows the rider’s initials to help them identify their vehicle.

The XPeng Robotaxi showcases the industry's first sun visor-mounted outward-facing display, which provides "communication and expression" capabilities, giving the vehicle a personality and offering visual prompts for pedestrians when parking or driving at low speeds. And surely, ambient lighting will continue to festoon the interior of EVs and combustion vehicles alike. In other words, the future of automotive lighting tech looks bright.

• The Co-Driver NO2 tracks speed cameras, road hazards and more
• Community-driven, real-time feedback keeps data up-to-date
• Device is small and easy to swap between vehicles

There is a groundswell of discontent growing among new vehicle owners, as manufacturers have seen fit to add layers and layers of nannying Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) to their products in recent years.

It’s partly a marketing exercise to be seen to offer the most tech, but also a necessary evil in order to appease the various safety organizations (not least Euro NCAP) and garner its coveted five star safety rating.

But not every driver necessarily wants this suite of alerts, while many still happily own and drive vehicles that were produced before they became a standard feature. Whichever it is, Danish automotive tech company Ooono believes it has a neat halfway house.

The Co-Driver NO2 is a discreet safety device that can be mounted anywhere on a vehicle’s dashboard, so long it is within reach of the driver, and offers visual and audible alerts on the location of fixed speed cameras, upcoming road hazards and changes in speed limits.

It costs £69.99 at Amazon (around $92/AU$140) and is available in much of Europe, although it isn't on sale yet in the US.

But the device is hugely popular in Germany and other European countries, where it has sold in excess of 4 million units, while sales have increased by 150% in the UK in recent months.

Why is that important? Well, the community is relied upon to deliver real-time feedback, such as the location of mobile speed cameras, broken down vehicles, accidents and other such incidents.

Ooono says it is like having “an extra pair of eyes on the road” and its latest unit has received a number of upgrades that make it more useable than ever.

Easy set-up

The little puck-like device uses a rechargeable battery that lasts around a month on a full charge, but seeing as it supports standard USB-C charging (with an adaptor for older vehicles with USB), it’s really simple to charge in the car from a dedicated outlet or 12V socket adaptor.

On the rear of the Co-Driver NO2 there are two tiny magnets with 3M tape on one side. Once you’ve found the right location, which has to be within easy reach of the driver, it’s simply a case of removing the 3M protective covers and sticking it in place.

Once the magnets are mounted, you can then remove the device and take it away - buy another set of magnets and it can be transferred between vehicles very easily.

Ooono has its own dedicated smartphone app, which helps users get accustomed to the various button pressing patterns that are required to report issues on the road or dismiss notifications. It's also possible to navigate using Ooono's own software.

The unit starts automatically when you get in the car and it detects a smartphone is within range. It requires a smartphone with the Ooono app running in the background in order to hijack the data feed and piggyback its GPS to make it work.

But you can leave that phone in the pocket, away from temptations, and let Co-Driver notify of nearby speed cameras, changes to speed limits and upcoming hazards.

Even easier to use

The second generation of Ooono’s little gadget now plays nicely with both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, so the unit will play audible notifications through the vehicle’s sound system, as well as from the device itself.

It is also possible to project Ooono's navigational software through any vehicle head units that run either Apple CarPlay or Android Auto.

I set mine up on the dashboard, just to the left of the steering wheel, and waited for the first notification to arrive. Sure enough, it flagged a static speed camera nearby my house with plenty of notice.

It made me jump at first, as the audible alert was played through the vehicle’s sound system at a fair volume. But hey, it did the job and I checked my speed before passing the big yellow law enforcer.

Dive into the settings and it’s possible to have Ooono warn when you’re traveling too fast for the section of road in question. It’s still in Beta phase but worked perfectly well for me on public roads, even when not using the firm's navigation software, flashing a clear blue LED ring and sounding a warning when nudging over the speed limit.

Personally, I found this a step too far and it got a bit annoying after a while. It’s the sort of system I immediately turn off in modern cars, but if you need a constant reminder that you are traveling too fast, it’s a worthy addition.

Building a community

Oooono also relies on its community to report mobile speed cameras or changes in speed limits, which can be done with a simple single tap on the device. Road hazards are reported with a double tap and there’s a dedicated button at the top of the device to dismiss phantom warnings.

It really is that simple and there aren’t any distracting screens constantly flashing information into the driver’s line of sight.

However, despite the popularity of the device in Germany and other countries, the community is still growing in the UK. This manifested in a patchy reporting of road hazards and broken down vehicles, with the likes of Google Maps and Waze doing a better job there.

But Ooono’s database contains over 150,000 verified speed cameras, and the German company must be doing something right, because its supplies its safety camera database to a number of automotive manufacturers and Tier 1 suppliers.

TomTom has also just launched an eerily similar product in its Tom by TomTom device. In the UK, it is priced exactly the same as Ooono.

Is it any good?

In short, yes it is. Ooono is one of the simplest automotive devices that I’ve tested in a long time and it does exactly what is promised on the box. For persistent speeders, I imagine this would be the perfect solution to avoid being constantly caught unaware by fixed camera systems.

What’s more, the speed limit functionality might even serve to change driving behavior entirely, as listening to the warning tones, which are actually quite pleasant compared to many rivals, gets annoying after a while.

The key issue is the live hazard reporting, which relies on community data to perform properly and it’s not quite where it needs to be… in the UK at least.

On top of this, Waze, Google Maps and Apple Maps also offer similar safety camera warnings, alerts for speed limit changes and reliable reports of upcoming hazards or broken down vehicles… depending on what region you live in.

The warnings might not be as obvious as Ooono’s, but anyone navigating using the aforementioned software in the UK and much of Europe will be aware of them.

However, Ooono really comes into its own when you consider the device provides speed camera warnings in all markets and doesn’t ever require eyes to be taken off the road.

There aren’t any screens to tempt or distract when trying to concentrate on what’s important, and even reporting incidents requires a simple, muscle memory click.

It’s a great antithesis to modern vehicles that are packed to the gunwales with touchscreens and fiddly haptic buttons, but it also works well in older vehicles that perhaps lack this sort of safety tech.

Ooono’s navigation services, which it offers through its smartphone app, are perfectly good enough, too.

Regular Apple Maps, Waze and Google Maps users will likely find it difficult to justify purchasing a separate device, unless they really need the speed camera reminders.

If you’ve installed a dash cam then you’ll be all too familiar with the frustration of running long, messy cables through the interior of your car. Yes, they can be tucked behind interior trim panels. But it’s a pain to do this neatly and you still end up wasting time running a cable from the top of the windshield to a USB socket, 12-volt supply or OBD connection which, almost always, is a good couple of feet away.

When testing dash cams I tend to run cables over the passenger sun visor, then through the door handle and down towards the 12-volt socket in the footwell. It’s (just about) tidy enough, but isn’t compatible with using the passenger door. The alternative is to let the dash cam cable dangle inelegantly down, just like we’ve all seen in Ubers where the driver has three smartphones on the dashboard.

Thankfully, I’ve just found a solution. It comes from a company called Dongar and it’s simply called the Dash Cam Power Adapter. That unassuming name hides just how clever this little gadget is, since it’s one of those products that, the moment you’ve used it, makes you wonder why no one – not even dash cam makers themselves – had thought of this before. It only costs $42 at Amazon US, or £33 at Dongar UK (in the UK it's £40 at Amazon), just make sure you pick the right model for your vehicle – more on compatibility later.

Its simplicity is a thing of beauty. You know how cars often have a self-dimming central mirror? The ones that dim to stop you being dazzled at night by the lights from following vehicles? Well this adapter shares the mirror’s power supply with your dash cam. That’s it. It gives you a short tidy cable, enough power to run a dash cam, right where it needs to be.

How it works

You’ve probably never noticed – I certainly hadn’t – but there’s probably a cable plugged into the back of your car’s interior mirror. I know that’s a broad statement, and it won’t be true of every single car.

But if you have an auto-dimming mirror, there’s a good chance you’ll see a cable back there, and Donger has discovered that there’s more power running through that cable than the mirror needs. Enough power to also run a dash cam, in fact.

Not every dash cam is compatible. I’ll cover more of that in the compatibility section later. But Dongar currently sells versions of its adapter that work with a wide range of five- and 10-pin dimming mirror connections for vehicles from manufacturers like BMW, Ford, Mazda, Subaru, Porsche and Toyota, among others.

The adapter essentially acts as a splitter, ensuring enough power still flows from your car’s wiring loom to the mirror, while also siphoning off enough electrons to run a dash cam. One of the dongle’s three ends plug into the rear of the mirror, one receives the cable that previously went into the mirror, and one is a USB-A port. Donger includes three short USB cables in the box, ensuring compatibility with dash cams powered by mini USB, micro USB and USB-C.

Since dash cams are usually installed very close to the central mirror, Dongar’s adapter presents a USB port exactly where you need it. No more routing cables down to the lighter socket, or to a USB port in the center console. And there’s no need to pay for a professional hardwired installation either – unless you need a constant power supply for your dash cam’s parking mode, in which case hardwiring, or using an OBDII cable, is still the answer.

• After years of testing, I know where to install a dash cam – follow my 5 tips for your perfect placement

Installation

I went into this test not knowing if the Dongar would work, or even how it actually connected to my car. I’d never looked behind the mirror before, and didn’t expect its power connection to be so easily accessible. This won’t be the case on every car, but for my 2016 Mazda Miata (or MX-5 here in the UK), the cable was right there.

Being a small car, it was tricky to reach behind the mirror, squeeze an Ethernet-like connection on the plug and pull the wiring harness out from the back of the mirror. It really took some effort but, sure enough, it detached correctly. The Donger adapter then plugs into that same socket, and the cable that once fed into the mirror now connects to the adapter.

A USB-A port then sprouts from behind the mirror, ready to power your dash cam. Connect that using one of Dongar’s short USB cables included in the box, and mount the dash cam to your windshield in the usual way.

With all that done, my auto-dim mirror continues to function exactly the same as before, and the dash cam works as normal, but there’s no cable clutter whatsoever – and no cables to tuck behind interior panels. It took about five minutes to install and works perfectly.

Compatibility

Granted, the Dongar isn’t as universal as a USB port, a 12-volt socket or a vehicle’s OBDII connection. For owners of some vehicles, and some dash cams, it simply won’t work. The company explains on its website which of its various adapters work with which cars. The adapters all mostly look the same, and install in virtually the same way, but it’s important that you carefully pick the right model for your vehicle.

I tested the Dongar with two dash cams: a Nextbase Piqo and a Garmin Mini 3. Both worked perfectly, powering up and functioning exactly as they do when connected with their own cables. I also tried a couple of Thinkware dash cams, but these did not work at all – and I later realized that Dongar’s website explains as much. Older Garmin dash cams (from the 20, 45, 55 and 65 series) are also incompatible, but new models all work fine.

Naturally, the adapter does not work with dash cams that use power cables with barrel-shaped connections. The company also admits that a car’s automatic stop-start function, where the engine is turned off when sat in traffic, may cause the dash cam to momentarily turn off. So if you don’t want to disable your stop-start, but want the dash cam to run constantly while in the car, this might not be for you.

Admittedly, that’s a fair few caveats to get your head around. But for a great many drivers, I can see the Dongar adapter being incredibly helpful. It instantly tidied the interior of my car and made the dash cam installation appear seamless. It’s not a one-size-fits-all solution, but for many drivers it’s a fantastic example of a company thinking outside the box.

• Tesla is working on adding CarPlay to its vehicles according to new report
• Apple’s infotainment system is popular among buyers
• Tesla has long resisted CarPlay but seems to have changed its mind

Apple’s CarPlay in-car entertainment and navigation system is popular – a survey cited by Apple in 2022 found that 79% of new car buyers considered it when purchasing a vehicle, for example – but there have been some notable holdouts among car manufacturers. Tesla has long been one of those firms, yet in a surprising reversal, a new report claims that it is working to add CarPlay to its electric vehicles.

According to Bloomberg, Tesla “has started testing [CarPlay] capability internally.” This could result in a rollout of the feature “in the coming months,” but “a plan hasn’t been finalized and a release could come later.”

Right now, Tesla uses its own in-car infotainment system, and the company has long resisted adding CarPlay to its fleet of electric cars, despite customer requests. The company’s CEO Elon Musk has frequently feuded with Apple over its App Store policies, its poaching of Tesla engineers for its own shelved electric car project, and other issues.

Lately, things have changed. Bloomberg notes that Apple is a key distributor of Musk’s X app and Grok artificial intelligence (AI) model, while Tesla sales have “softened” recently. The news outlet also claims that some Tesla buyers have cited “the lack of CarPlay support as a reason for not choosing the company’s cars.”

A popular feature

CarPlay is “one of the most highly requested features by customers” and is “considered a must-have option by many drivers,” Bloomberg says, and that claim seems to reflect customer sentiment.

A McKinsey survey in 2024 found that roughly a third of buyers around the world would not consider a car at all if it did not have CarPlay or the rival Android Auto system. That’s a big chunk of potential customers that Tesla is potentially missing out on by shunning CarPlay.

An informal sweep of social media platforms shows many Tesla owners are pleasantly surprised by the news. On Reddit, user hybridfrost stated that having CarPlay would make their navigation experience more seamless and prevent the need to switch to a different mapping app. Reddit user R5Jockey, meanwhile, explained their reason for supporting the move: “Sweet. Hope this actually happens. I’d love to have Waze on the screen.”

Interestingly, it sounds like Tesla’s CarPlay implementation will be somewhat limited. Bloomberg believes that CarPlay will occupy a window within Tesla’s own interface, meaning “the Apple software won’t fully replace the Tesla operating system as it does in many other vehicles.” CarPlay also won’t be able to use features like full self-driving mode, which will still require Tesla’s own navigation app. And Tesla will forego the more advanced version of CarPlay – dubbed CarPlay Ultra – instead opting for the regular edition.

With Tesla’s surprise about-face, one of the main carmakers to resist CarPlay has apparently changed course. That could leave just GM among the large-scale manufacturers to ditch Apple’s system, giving you plenty more choice of vehicles if Apple’s system is a must for you.

• Google Gemini is appearing on Android Auto for some
• It replaces Google Assistant as the on-board AI
• Conversational upgrades and better info are included

Google has previously promised that Gemini would be replacing Google Assistant as the go-to AI helper on Android Auto, and several months later it seems that the upgrade is starting to appear on some car dashboards.

As per 9to5Google, several users are now reporting that they're seeing Gemini pop up in Android Auto. There's no official announcement to refer to, but it seems the update is something Google has applied on the server side for certain people.

That said, it does also seem to require Android Auto 15.6 or Android 15.7, and apparently is only available for those running the beta version too. Google hasn't specified if either of those is the case, though, so that may be a coincidence.

There's nothing you can do to force the update; you just have to be patient. Once it does reach your phone, the next time you go to launch Google Assistant on Android Auto you'll see a quick introduction screen for Gemini instead.

What Gemini brings with it

Gemini on Android Auto gives you pretty much the whole experience you get from chatting with Gemini in the mobile apps or on the web. It's a more natural, conversational AI, and as Gemini Live is included you can ask follow-up questions and interrupt it too.

There are now numerous Google apps connected to Gemini too, including Google Home and Google Keep – so you could, for example, ask Gemini to create a list of recipe ingredients in Google Keep, then ask for directions to the local grocery store.

We've already seen a demo from Google covering how some of this functionality will work, and overall the AI upgrade is a substantial one. Some users are reporting that contact nicknames don't work though, so it's possible some features will get dropped too.

Earlier this week we got news of a major Gemini upgrade for Google Maps, which will of course also tie in with what you see in Android Auto – you can use the AI to ask questions about places on the map, report traffic incidents, and get more precise directions.

• Google Maps is getting AI-powered live lane guidance for your journeys
• You'll get hints on screen if you're currently in the wrong lane
• The feature is coming to the Polestar 4 first, in the US and Sweden

One of the trickiest parts of getting from A to B on the road, especially in built-up areas and unfamiliar territory, is knowing which lane you're supposed to be in – and Google Maps is about to improve this aspect of its navigation interface.

As per a post on its official blog, Google says that AI-powered live lane guidance is coming to Google Maps. It will use the front-facing camera on the vehicle to see which lane you're currently in, and tell you to move over if you need to.

"So if you’re in the far left lane and your exit is on the right, live lane guidance automatically detects this and uses clear audio and visual cues to remind you to merge in time," explains Google.

The catch? It only works for cars with Google software built right into the dashboard (so not Android Auto). The rollout is starting with the Polestar 4 in the US and Sweden "in the coming months", and as yet no other cars have been mentioned.

Less stress on the road

This is certainly a welcome upgrade, albeit one with limited availability for now. It looks as though the on-screen nudges will be fairly gentle ones, so they won't add to the stress of having to drive along difficult intersections and road networks.

Google Maps already offers some lane guidance, on both phones and Android Auto, to show you which lane you need to be in – but the benefit with the new system is that Google Maps will actually be able to tell if you're not where you need to be.

Based on my own personal experience, the lane guidance that's already in Google Maps can sometimes be hard to figure out, especially on roads where the lanes are changing at a fairly rapid pace. Of course you also need to keep eyes on the road at the same time.

To Google's credit, Google Maps is one of the apps that is regularly getting new features and improvements, including to the user interface. It also looks as though there will be a power-saving mode for navigation added in the near future.