The All-New G50 BMW 3 Series: A BMW Owner’s Unfiltered Take

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By: Sergiu Tudose

There are probably more dignified ways for a lifelong BMW fan to explain his relationship with the 3 Series than to admit that it may have all started with George Costanza fighting over a parking spot. It was “The Parking Space” episode from season 3 of Seinfeld, in which George gets into an absurd yet understandable territorial dispute over a parking spot outside of Jerry’s building. Jerry’s car, the innocent bystander (no such thing as a guilty bystander!) in this dispute was a dark blue E36 – a third-generation BMW 3 Series. 

This speaks to how different people tend to develop relationships with cars. Sometimes it’s because your dad owned one. Other times it’s just something you see on TV. This is why I’m still such a huge Knight Rider fan. 

Regardless, I’ve been a BMW fan ever since, meaning throughout my career as an automotive journalist. Today, I actually own one. A G30 5 Series. But I’m not coming at the G50 3 Series as someone who has dutifully owned every generation 3er since the E21. My relationship with the 3 Series has been somewhat complicated. 

I don’t necessarily love every generation. The E46, for instance, never quite did it for me. I respected it, especially the M3, but the styling never made me desperately want one. The E90, on the other hand, I sort of liked, while the F30 (which I thought looked fantastic in M Sport trim) always had a somewhat lackluster interior design as far as I was concerned. If I had to pick a favorite, it would be either the E36 or the G20. 

Speaking of choosing favorites, it seems that BMW wants us to accept the i3 as a 3 Series. And you know what? Fine, let’s say that it is. But not so much in the sense where the USS Yamato was a Galaxy-class starship just like the USS Enterprise. Those were sister ships and they looked identical.

Powertrains aside, the i3 is to the 3 Series what the F34 3 Series GT was to the F30/F31 3 Series. It was part of the 3 Series family, but nobody saw it as a traditional 3er, despite how good it was from a practical standpoint. So no, I didn’t appreciate BMW throwing in a bunch of i3 images in the G50 3 Series press release. It was downright confusing.

Despite a similar, perhaps even near-identical design language, the two look nothing alike. Let me repeat myself. They look nothing alike. A longer hood, longer trunk, and less overall height is all you need to end up with a completely different design. So, perhaps it should come as no surprise that I actually like the G50’s styling, despite not feeling the same way about the i3.

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

By: Cristian Agatie

The modern EV revolution has started slowly, with ugly ducklings like the Nissan Leaf or Mitsubishi iMiEV. The first modern EV, the Tesla Model S, proved in 2012 that an electric car can look good, have better performance than gas vehicles, and even be aspirational. However, it was crazy expensive, which is why it couldn't change the landscape.

With the Model 3, Tesla's first mass-market EV, everything changed. Tesla proved that EVs don't have to compromise on features, technology, or performance. The lower price also made it attractive to a much larger group of customers, which helped it become an almost instant success. However, some things never change, and in this case, it was the perception of electric vehicles, despite the Tesla Model 3's qualities.

The Model 3 was still expensive compared to gas sedans like the Honda Accord or Toyota Corolla, starting at over $49,000. Early Li-ion batteries charged slowly and had a relatively low energy density, affecting range. Buyers could either choose expensive Standard Range or crazy expensive Long Range, which still fell short of expectations in terms of range.

At the same time, the charging infrastructure was almost non-existent. Tesla made impressive efforts to expand its Supercharger network. Still, that didn't change the fact that driving an EV long distance was an adventure, not something regular people would enjoy. Sadly, the Model Y launched in 2020 couldn't change this immediately, despite arriving in a more mature market.

Fast forward to today, we're living in a different world. The cars still look the same (especially when looking at the ubiquitous Teslas), but everything else has changed. Take range anxiety, for instance. There was a time not long ago when a 300-mile EV was considered adequate because it provided a good compromise between range, price, and charging time.

Efficiency has improved tremendously in the past two years. We now have EVs that can go almost 600 miles on a charge, which is often more than their gas-powered equivalent. The best example in the US is the BMW i3 50 xDrive, which is expected to get an EPA range estimated at over 460 miles. Meanwhile, the almost-identical but gas-powered BMW M350 xDrive is lucky to drive 450 miles with a full tank.

The BMW i3 is a truly special car because it solves almost all EV-related fears. Take charging time, for instance: the i3 M50 charges from 10% to 80% in 21 minutes. It can add over 200 miles of range in just 10 minutes of charging, which is nothing short of extraordinary. Even more impressive is that it's actually cheaper than the M350, at $61,500 vs. $65,900.

Finally, the charging infrastructure has long ceased to be an issue. Tens of thousands of charging points are now everywhere. Competition is fierce, enforcing the kind of natural selection that eliminated the black sheep from the market. If you can believe it, Tesla Supercharger is no longer the best charging network, even though it has continued to expand and improve relentlessly.

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

By: Sergiu Tudose

The all-new 2026 Mazda CX-6e drives like an SUV version of the Mazda6e, but I wouldn’t go as far as to call them siblings. I’ll start off by saying that I’m a little surprised by the new CX-6e. It’s not Mazda’s fault, but my own. As soon as I learned where it was built and saw the initial images, I simply assumed this would be the SUV version of the Mazda6e sedan. The truth is a little more complex than that.

The Mazda6e impressed the heck out of me. I gave it a full 5 stars in my review from last year, and if you know me then you know those 5 stars don’t get handed out easily. The only other EV to score a perfect 5/5 here at autoevolution was the all-electric Mercedes G-Class. For obvious reasons. It’s an electric G-Class! 

I also don’t tend to hand out perfect scores for EVs simply because they offer great range. Range still depends on a wide array of external factors and I’ve yet to sample an electric car that I felt would truly live up to its EPA or WLTP rating. So, why even stress about it? As long as the range isn’t awful, then we can just move on. 

Anyway, Mazda’s new all-electric crossover gets lots of things right. I went into this test with rather high expectations – which tends to happen when the previous car you drove from the same “family tree” turns out to be one of the nicest surprises you’ve sampled in a long time. The Mazda6 was comfortable, balanced, and beautifully finished inside for something so reasonably priced.

 So, naturally, I thought the CX-6e would deliver the same experience in a more practical, family-oriented body style (most people prefer crossovers to sedans). Before I get into why my assumptions were wrong, here’s a quick recap about the CX-6e. 

This is basically the European-market counterpart to the Mazda EZ-60, built via the carmaker’s collaboration with Changan and utilizing its Chinese partner’s EV technology. Despite its complicated upbringing, the CX-6e is Mazda’s most daily-drivable SUV. It rides so much smoother than the CX-5 or CX-60… or just about any other Mazda crossover.

It’s not the biggest Mazda SUV, but for all intents and purposes, it’s the most mature one. Not to mention the most modern. I’m saying all this after having liked the improvements made to the CX-60, particularly how much calmer and more composed it felt. However, the latest CX-5 made me question some of the decisions made with regards to interior quality.

Without further ado, let’s dive into the CX-6e experience, starting with its appearance – which may or may not be to everyone’s liking. I don’t think it’s that controversial-looking, though.

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

By: Alex Oagana

The Volkswagen Group’s current predicaments have been a long time coming, and, somewhat unsurprisingly, the people that would normally get the blame for at least some of it are still in charge.

As far as leaders go, the automotive industry was known until not long ago for producing a rather specific and apparently unrepeatable batch of people, whose authority and talent at the helm didn’t necessarily stem from a business school degree, a consulting background or managing quarterly earnings expectations.

Instead, all those leaders got their talent for making car companies successful from actually understanding every nut and bolt forming the product they were selling. They were either great engineers, or drivers, and they simply loved what they did, with money being just a byproduct of their work, not their main drive.

Getting back to the Volkswagen Group and its many (formerly) successful brands, Ferdinand Piech was pretty much the archetype of that long lost type of car company leader. Apart from being the grandson of none other than Ferdinand Porsche, which obviously helped, Piech was trained as an engineer, and even before becoming a VW executive and eventually a business magnate, he was responsible for some of the coolest products that ever wore a VW Group or Porsche badge.

He worked on the Porsche 917’s engineering before he was even thirty, and he was also the architect of the Audi quattro and the creator of the Volkswagen Group as the most powerful automotive conglomerate in the world. Piech was the last of a lineage that includes people like Enzo Ferrari, Colin Chapman or Soichiro Honda.

What that lineage has in common is that all the cars that were built thanks to these men were firstly the engineering convictions of their makers and not just responses to market research. In a way, Ferdinand Piech was not unlike Steve Jobs, as both would never take “no” for an answer from their engineers.

Sadly, we’re now living in an automotive era that doesn’t have this type of leader at the helm, and the Volkswagen Group is arguably the company that suffers the most because of this. Even sadder, VW’s crown jewels are the most affected from this severe lack of executives who are passionate about the cars they’re making.

The VW Group’s current CEO first became CEO of Porsche AG in 2015, having risen through the Audi’s, SEAT’s and VW’s production and quality management ranks. For better or for worse, his 11-year tenure at the sports car company will be better remembered for the decisions that were made on his watch rather than the engineering vision he brought to the role.

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

By: Mircea Panait

Picture the scene. A camouflaged prototype has just rolled out of the Nordschleife with smoke pouring off its right flank, and the exhaust is already lit. The driver of the next-generation GT Black Series tester had to drive it like this for 1.5 miles to the automaker's Nurburgring center, where peeps from the Porsche-controlled Manthey Racing center next door helped kill the blaze. All told, five extinguishers were used.

The car underneath the smoke and flames is the real headline, though, for it's a completely different animal from even the sportiest expression of the 2027 model year GT. Wide fenders, a towering rear wing, side outlets for the exhaust system, active flaps on the front fenders, and lots of carbon fiber. As you might have already guessed, this model is aimed at besting the fastest Manthey-prepped 911 on the Ring.

Powered by a flat-plane V8 that easily generates in excess of 700 horsepower, the second coming of the GT Black Series is closely related to Merc's next GT3 endurance racer. Because the outgoing GT3 Evo will continue its run through 2027, the redesigned model is expected to be revealed in the latter part of 2027 for the 2028 season. With it, the motorsport program transitions from HWA to the Affalterbach Racing subsidiary.

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Barely camouflaged, the imminent refresh of the Panamera has also been spied at the Green Hell. The changes from the 2027 model are somewhat unsurprising, headed by a tidier nose with a new horizontal bar inside the intake and reworked lowered supports. The illuminated crest of the headlights, meanwhile, has migrated toward the inner tip of the lens.

Zuffenhausen has also made a case for new sensors up by the windshield, presumably for more advanced driver-assistance features. This particular example of the 2028 Panamera packs four round exhaust tips, yellow calipers and center-locking wheels, meaning that we might be looking at the GTS rather than an electrified specification. As far as the cabin is concerned, earlier spy pics revealed next-gen digital instrumentation and a redesigned center console.

Under the interior camouflage, Porsche may be hiding a different interpretation of the Flow Display introduced by the Cayenne Electric. Mechanically speaking, don't look forward to anything other than familiar V6 and V8 powertrains. The ceiling should be corporate as well. If the punchiest Bentley Flying Spur makes 771 horsepower at full chatter, the facelifted Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid won't be allowed by the suits in Wolfsburg to exceed that figure.

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Speaking of Volkswagen Group shenanigans, Lamborghini has been spotted testing a Revuelto with Y-shaped running light stickers instead of actual DRLs. When automakers fake their own signature lighting, and this is a common motif among Volkswagen Group mules and prototypes, you can bet that a redesign is on the menu. Its real headlights appear slimmer, presumably inspired by the sleeker front styling of the Huracan-replacing Temerario supercar.

The rest of said Revuelto prototype backs that up, including the wider central intake and Fenomeno-like side intakes. Out back, you will find a cleaner aerodynamic diffuser with fewer vertical elements. The missing ones migrated up onto the bumper. Its active rear spoiler is different as well, pointing to an aero-first philosophy that supposedly borrows a few concepts from the SV's aero package.

Given the minor updates, Lamborghini may be testing an EVO-style refresh instead of a track monster. Truth be told, it's too early in the Revuelto's life cycle for the Superveloce Jota to enter the scene. Whatever may be next for the V12-engined flagship, the Revuelto will be four years old in 2027, meaning that a mid-cycle makeover is dearly needed for the 2028 model year.

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Lancia may have revived the Gamma name, yet the joke that writes itself is that such a storied automaker has decided on using the moniker on a crossover. Two designers not affiliated with the designers behind the all-new model responded by drawing a coupe, making their interpretation of the Gamma more faithful to the Pininfarina-styled coupe penned by Aldo Brovarone in the 1970s.

Giacinto Francesco Rittgers (professor at IED Torino) and his mentor Pietro Camardella (automotive designer formerly at Pininfarina and the Fiat group) are credited with the unofficial design, and the modern contrast really stings. Put them side by side, and the argument makes itself. The retro-modern Gamma coupe with its grand tourer aesthetic may be the one Lancia enthusiasts prefer, but as crossovers gain traction, such a car wouldn't sell in good-enough numbers for Lancia to justify the R&D money.

Ever since Fiat Chrysler Automobiles reduced Lancia to a one-model and one-market brand, Lancia can't risk weirdness anymore. The crossover meets customer demand, whereas the coupe only sells to dreamers. Blaming the Stellantis group for taking the safe option is easy, but alas, the harsh reality is that the Lancia we once loved for being so quirky and elegant simply does not exist anymore.

By: Bogdan Popa

If you thought Google Maps is the only good GPS navigator, Garmin is ready to prove you wrong. The company has just launched a new series of GPS navigation devices with ultra-wide screens and features you typically find in the likes of Waze. You’ll be getting live traffic, alerts, and personalized routes, all without damaging your phone’s battery.

And speaking of Waze, the Google-owned company doesn’t rest on its laurels. It just launched a new alert for sudden slowdowns, warning drivers when they approach a traffic jam at high speed, so they have more time to slow down.

Google has been quite busy in the Android Auto space. First, it launched a media overhaul that finally copies the CarPlay Now Playing concept to show every app playing media on the screen. That’s big news for Android Auto users, in addition to the returning cellular signal bars.

Additionally, Google completed the transition from Google Assistant to Gemini this week. Google Assistant is now dead on Android Auto, so if you were looking for a way to disable Gemini, that’s no longer possible.

Android Auto 17.9 beta started rolling out this week, so it’s time to prepare for a new production update in the coming days. If everything goes according to plan, expect the rollout to kick off next week.

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