It’s Been 40 Years and I’m Still in Awe of the BMW M3

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By: Sergiu Tudose

The E30 BMW M3 went into production in March of 1986, which means that 2026 marks the 40th anniversary of an icon. This is the car that put BMW M on the map, setting the stage for what was to become one of the best-ever performance divisions in automotive history.

Don’t worry, I won’t bore you with some sort of “E30 recap”. I’m sure you’ve read all about it by now. This is a different type of op-ed. I want to talk about my personal experience with the M3, and how I went from admiring it, to being intimidated by it, to eventually rooting for its success going forward.

I’ve driven a lot of cars in my career as a motoring journalist. I can’t really think of many that I would characterize as “scary” - unless the Macan Turbo Electric counts, because it’s worryingly fast for an SUV. Anyway, I’m here to tell you the story of how and why I found the M3 more intimidating than any Porsche or Ferrari or AMG-powered product I’ve ever fully reviewed or driven.

I’ll be focusing on the E92 M3, the coupe version, because that turned out to be an extremely demanding car when pushed to its limits. The period-appropriate Mercedes C63 AMG was way scarier, technically, because it could become unsettled simply by feathering the throttle – but you always had that in the back of your head. You always expected the C63 to be that way.

The E92 M3, on the other hand, came with this high-revving, naturally aspirated S65 V8 engine that felt surprisingly complacent at low rpm. You never felt in danger of losing control. On the contrary. The E90-generation M3 (E90/E92/E93) features one of the most balanced chassis BMW ever produced, with a near perfect 50:50 weight distribution, plenty of front-end grip, and a predictable rear axle.

It did step out, from time to time, but not with that much snap oversteer. It was more progressive than that. The thing is, in order to get there, you absolutely had to push it to its limits, and the throttle response was incredibly sharp. Add the presence of a six-speed manual gearbox and suddenly, you’d find yourself with a lot of responsibility on your hands.

That was the price you had to pay to get the full M3 experience back in the late 2000s. In other words, that thing kept me on my toes, and I respect the hell out of it. Would I still be intimidated by the E92 M3 should I drive one today? Probably not, but a part of me would still remember those feelings from back then.

It’s like that friend that used to beat you at whatever sport you guys were playing back in the day, coming back into your life and challenging you again. Even if you’re certain you can win, a part of you will still be weary of the outcomes of old.

As a driving enthusiast, the E92 M3 should definitely be on your bucket list. It’s pure and it strikes a perfect balance between analog and computer assistance (it had one of the best electronic stability systems in the world). But I still wouldn’t recommend that you push it on wet roads, or if your tires are worn out.

For the full article, please continue reading on our site.

By: Aurel Niculescu

Toyota Motor North America (TMNA) surprised everyone when they silently posted the MSRP details for the 2026 RAV4 Plug-in Hybrid to their US automotive market online portal and dropped the starting price by $3,315 compared to the prior model year’s previous generation.

The all-new XA60 sixth-generation 2026 Toyota RAV4, the successor to the original that basically established the compact crossover SUV genre, arrived on the US automotive market during the (harsh) winter of 2025 with three different design packs across no less than seven grades. But those weren’t the only changes.

Since we’re dealing with a complete redesign, the Toyota RAV4 now looks differently compared to the outgoing best-selling model, which still reached 479,288 deliveries even though people knew very well that a new model was on the way. TMNA clearly handled the passing of the baton like experts, and the nameplate actually rose by 1.2% throughout the year instead of falling like a rock while people waited for the fresh inventory to slowly fill.

Well, as it turns out, Toyota used a staggered approach. Last winter, only the hybrid model arrived on the market – the gasoline version was completely phased out, and the PHEV model had to wait a little longer. The company also gives a distinctive personality to the new generation across three different styles: Core, Rugged, and Sport.

The core section includes the LE, XLE Premium, and Limited grades, the rugged theme only has the Woodland grade, and the SE, XSE, plus the first-ever GR Sport model are reserved for the sport division. When it launched on the market, the impact was quite obvious, too, in terms of pricing.

Because the gasoline model was axed, the 2026 Toyota RAV4 kicked off at $31,900 instead of $29,800 (all prices are sans destination) like the 2025 model year. However, the blow isn’t as big due to the fact that clients were switching to a full-hybrid powertrain and a completely new generation with a new design inside and out and fresh technology for just $2,100 more when comparing the base MSRPs.

Still, you could say the regular RAV4 was now more expensive. Well, that saying isn’t valid anymore – despite inflation biting into everything – when talking about the 2026 Toyota RAV4 Plug-in Hybrid. Not only that, but we should also consider the fact that PHEV models rely on a new generation of the powertrain compared to the same setup for the hybrid option!

So, it’s even more surprising that Toyota silently dropped the MSRPs for the 2026 RAV4 Plug-in Hybrid without even bragging about it: the 2025 model year had a starting price of $44,815 while the 2026MY is now kicking off at $41,500 for the same SE model, which is a reduction of $3,315! That’s pretty tremendous, since there’s also more power, better efficiency, and more electric range!

More precisely, the 2025 PHEV had 302 combined horsepower, a 38-MPG estimated combined rating, and could do up to 42 miles as an all-electric model while the sprint to 60 mph took 5.7 seconds. Its cheaper successor not only looks better, has a cooler interior and more technology, but also rocks 324 combined hp, an estimated EV driving range of 52 miles, and a 40-MPG combined rating. 

For the full article, please continue reading on our site.

By: Alex Oagana

Remember the original Tesla Model S, the one that started production back in 2012? The current model is still part of the same generation, 14 years and two major facelifts later, but I’m not trying to rain on its parade.

More specifically, I want you to think about the original model’s interior and compare with the interior of any Tesla from the modern lineup, including the refreshed Model S, which is going the way of the dodo soon.

Notice any big changes, apart from the obvious and dramatic increase in build-quality? While the original Model S also used a giant 17-inch central touchscreen where you could control most of the car’s functions, it also had analog controls like buttons and stalks. They even had… gasp! Interior door handles. To add insult to injury, those analog controls hadn’t even been designed by Tesla but were literally borrowed from older Mercedes-Benz models. Yes, owners of a second-generation A-Class could brag about having the same window controls as a Tesla Model S until a few years ago.

In other words, the first “real” Tesla had a hodge-podge cabin filled with all sorts of features that weren’t strictly following the minimalism look of everything else that followed from the carmaker. Alongside the first version of the Model X, this was the first and last time you could see actual analog buttons and switches in a Tesla. So, what exactly happened?

Well, Elon Musk happened. His vision of what a car is supposed to be is like the definition of a rolling piece of consumer technology, not an actual car. The same vision could be had about any appliance, and since most modern appliances have switched to touchscreens instead of analog controls, it was only natural for Elon to translate the feeling of using a modern gadget into operating a car.

Until the Model 3 Highland and the Model Y Juniper came along, the Tesla situation was that you couldn’t even find a signal stalk in one of Elon’s rolling pieces of consumer technology, never mind actual buttons and levers. Nowadays, the facelifted, and soon-to-be last non-truck Teslas in the range, have regained a signal stalk in the fight against the previously mentioned austerity, albeit all it does is… signal.

This is how Teslas became known for their gigantic touchscreen dashboards, first in portrait mode and then with a landscape orientation. To make things worse, in the pursuit of simplicity and minimalism-induced avant-gardism, Tesla even managed to create the most austere car interiors this side of Hannibal Lecter’s prison cell in Silence of the Lambs. Some like it, some completely hate it, while most have reluctantly learned to live with it.

That’s all fine and dandy, yet not entirely true. You see, not everybody has learned to live with this paradigm, and the part that’s really bad for Tesla is that we’re talking about legislators, not just customers. There are probably thousands of Tesla drivers who have at least once tried to frantically search for the windshield wiper in a surprise rainstorm on the highway. That’s just a mildly unsafe user experience.

Then there are at least a dozen cases of fatal accidents in which the electronic door “handles” have simply refused to work for one reason or another and trapped passengers inside their cars. That’s not just unsafe and annoying design, but downright criminal.

For the full article, please continue reading on our site.

By: Dragos Chitulescu

Before Gran Turismo 7 came along, I had lost all hope in modern videogames. I’m grateful for what Polyphony Digital did with their latest racing game. It’s also the first Gran Turismo I’ve had the chance to spend more time with. Right now, I’m getting close to one of my first objectives: collecting all the cars in the game.

To get there I’ll need to finish the Power Pack DLC first. I’ve also still got a few missions and licenses left (where I haven’t scored Gold yet). And let’s not forget the developer keeps giving us (almost) monthly updates.

Back in December, one of my colleagues highlighted something Kazunori Yamauchi said, “The active users are currently over two million people, and the new users are increasing.” This upward trend obviously can’t last forever, but the Japanese team understands new content is the only way to keep those numbers growing or at least at the same level as they are now. I don’t know if anyone from Polyphony will read what I’m about to say, but here is my take on five ways to make GT7 better before GT8 drops.

Improved Economic System

Let’s face it, the economic system in Gran Turismo 7 is anything but perfect. Part of it feels inexplicably broken. Let’s talk about buying and selling cars first. I’ll give you an example from one of my recent Time Trial-focused stories. I bought a Peugeot VGT for one million credits and sold it after a few laps around the Red Bull Ring for 562,000 credits.

The Alpine VGT cost just as much, but selling it only added 460,000 credits to my account. How is that possible? How can you lose half or more than half of what you paid for after just a few laps? If GT7 had a complex damage model and you would have crashed the car, that might have made more sense. If you had added thousands of miles to a vehicle odometer before selling it, that might have been alright as well.

It’s even worse when we’re talking about vehicles in the Legend Cars dealership. Chances are that you’ll make a profit after trading cars like these, even if you’ve put a few miles on them. It’s incredibly frustrating to spend millions of credits on a car, only to lose half of them if you decide to sell. Maybe NFS: Porsche’s system wasn’t perfect. You could buy damaged cars, repair them and earn some much-needed cash.

But it was still much better than what GT7 has to offer. What about the parts or engine swaps? Ok, maybe you can go for a 10% price penalty on a modified vehicle, but 50% or more seems absurd. “Liberalizing” the market might be an interesting idea as well. Make it an open market: if someone builds a special car, any player in the game can buy it. It would all add a bit more realism to the game.

Open World Gameplay

Here’s a discussion that most racing enthusiasts want to be a part of. One of Assetto Corsa EVO’s main attractions is the promise of an open world system around the Nurburgring Nordschleife. It hasn’t arrived yet, but it could have a big impact on the playing experience.

For the full article, please continue reading on our site.

By: Mircea Panait

To be extensively refreshed in 2027 for model year 2028, the M5 has been confirmed with interior changes that will make a few eyebrows rise with interest. In the latest spy photos of the plug-in hybrid V8-powered bruiser, the most powerful iteration of the 5 Series to date features the Neue Klasse cockpit introduced by the iX3.

A very tech-forward interior that marks a radical departure from current BMW dashboards, the Neue Klasse setup is built around the Panoramic Vision dark-coated projection area that spans the width of the lower windshield. Panoramic Vision also means no instrument cluster directly behind the steering wheel. Instead, the leftmost area of the projection area displays vital driving and vehicle information in the driver's line of sight.

The Neue Klasse way also means the elimination of the conventional shift lever in favor of a toggle shifter, which frees up the center console. Further benefitting from a revised grille and new signature lighting at both ends, the 2028 BMW M5 retains the S68 twin-turbo V8 introduced by the X7 M60i in April 2022 for model year 2023.

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Known as the Azera in select markets, the 2027 Hyundai Grandeur is also expected with carryover powertrains. The mid-cycle makeover of the flagship sedan is best described as extensive as well, and similar to the M5, the interior will see big updates due to Pleos Connect.

Replacing the previous Connected Car Navigation Cockpit, Pleos Connect follows in the footsteps of iDrive X by shifting toward a software-defined vehicle architecture. Based on Android, the system is especially impressive due to its over-the-air software update capabilities. In addition to the infotainment unit, said updates can also target critical vehicle control units such as the engine and transmission control units.

A large central display dominates the dashboard, and rumors presently suggest a Tesla-style digital gear selection area in the upper left corner. Pleos Connect further means a slim instrument cluster that is pushed farther away and slightly higher from the driver as opposed to the current 12.3-inch instrument cluster.

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Taking a cue from the buck-tooth aesthetic that worked so well for BMW, the 2027 Maserati GranTurismo and GranCabrio adopt much larger openings for their front grilles. The Modenese automaker has also reworked the front bumpers, which differ slightly depending on the powertrain and the trim level on pre-facelift models.

A redesigned aerodynamic diffuser can also be seen on the GranCabrio Folgore test vehicle, whereas the lightly camouflaged GranTurismo Trofeo is rocking clear taillight clusters. Spied testing in very cold weather in Sweden, the Italian twins are supposedly transitioning to the STLA SmartCockpit interior layout in lieu of the Uconnect 5-based Maserati Intelligent Assistant.

The suck-squeeze-bang-blow department should continue offering twin-turbo V6 and triple-motor electric options, and there is hope that Maserati has unlocked more power from the latter. Presently rated at 751 continuous horsepower and 818 peak horsepower, the Folgore is mainly limited by the discharge rate of the high-voltage battery. In theory, its powertrain is capable of 1,200-plus mechanical ponies at full chatter.

By: Bogdan Popa

Big things are happening in the Android Auto world, and it all starts with the features Google is quietly working on. The search behemoth has resumed work on radio station integration. That’s right, Android Auto will soon let you access the list of radio stations in your car, and it's believed this feature is linked to the integration of air conditioning controls into the app.

Evidence that this feature is still on the table was discovered in the newly shipped Android Auto 16.3, which is now available for all users through the Google Play Store and via manual updates.

The Android Auto wireless adapter space is also back in the spotlight thanks to the all-new Motorola Sound MA2. The device was spotted at MWC, and it's now expected to debut in the third quarter of the year. It's a successor to the famous MA1, and it'll boast an updated design and a dedicated physical button to toggle between paired phones.

Portronics has also joined the Android Auto wireless adapter race with Tune Prime. This device runs Android for full access to the Google Play Store, but its main focus is converting wired connections into hands-free experiences. 

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