Author: EVAI

A three-row crossover SUV isn’t something you dream of driving. Most of them offer the dynamic excellence of a minivan, just with less practicality. You often end up in one because you have to—maybe you’ve got kids and tons of gear to haul around on the regular, or you have to be prepared for certain extreme use cases, like that one time a year when all the in-laws all come to visit at once. 

For anyone facing the three-row doldrums, I’d say: Friend, have you heard the good news about battery power?

It turns out that adding instant electric torque can spice up any large family-hauler. So can features like outboard power for camping or other adventures, and a Tesla plug to ease any road-trip charging anxiety.

The new American-made Hyundai Ioniq 9 may be exactly what you’re looking for. Even from a company whose electric vehicles are its best products ever, full stop, the Ioniq 9 may be its finest work yet. In fact, it’s one of the best examples of the three-row SUV genre in America, and one of the better ways to spend time in an automobile in 2025.

If there’s any downside, it’s that you’ll be paying more for that “H” badge than is to be expected. Then again, you’re getting a lot from this SUV, too.

(Full Disclosure: Hyundai sent me an Ioniq 9 to test for a week with a fully charged battery.

2026 Hyundai Ioniq 9: Overview

The Ioniq 9 is a new model for the 2026 model year. On its face, it seems to take everything that was successful about Hyundai’s E-GMP platform, which underpins the massively successful Ioniq 5 and other EVs, and makes it bigger. But that’s only part of the story. 

In reality, the Ioniq 9 feels like a kind of second-generation EV product from Hyundai, because it builds on the success of the cars that came before it and debuts with a raft of improvements that just arrived on the Ioniq 5 and the rest. It has the largest battery pack this family of cars has seen yet, at 110 kilowatt-hours. It has an updated software suite with—finally—wireless Apple CarPlay. And it comes straight from the factory with a Tesla-style North American Charging Standard (NACS) plug, though getting the charging speeds the Ioniq line is famous for will require a CCS adapter. 

More than that, the Ioniq 9 feels like a more mature, more dialed-in car than the first Ioniq 5 or my own Kia EV6 and the rest. The overall build quality feels better, and the entire car just seems to be a more cohesive EV product, as if made by a company that’s done with electric first drafts and really knows what it’s doing. 

It’s more than just a re-badged and restyled Kia EV9, too. It’s a bit bigger and roomier in every dimension, has a bigger battery with more range across all trims, and only comes in a seven-seat configuration. The two remain very comparable in price and specs, but I’d give the slight edge to the Hyundai. 

And no matter which Ioniq 9 trim you choose, you won’t skimp on range, unlike some of the other lower-end Hyundai and Kia EV variants. The Ioniq 9 comes in single-motor rear-wheel-drive or dual-motor all-wheel-drive forms. The most basic one, the RWD S model, starts at $58,955 and gets 335 miles of range.  This Ecotronic Gray Matte (what a name!) tester you see here is an AWD Performance Limited model, third from the top of the trim line, rated at 311 miles of range and priced at $74,300 with all its options.

A lot for a Hyundai? Sure, but when you consider that this Georgia-built EV also qualifies for the full $7,500 EV tax credit (for however long that lasts) and the equipment and specs you’re getting, it can be a solid deal.

2026 Hyundai Ioniq 9: Driving Experience

I don’t care for driving most three-row crossovers. And as a person whose immediate family includes one spouse and one small dog, I don’t really need one. But the Ioniq 9 was an SUV I looked forward to driving every single time, and even made excuses to drive.

In dual-motor Performance form, the Ioniq 9 puts down an impressive 422 horsepower. There’s no hiding its almost 6,000-pound curb weight, but the thing can still scoot. Hyundai estimates it’ll do zero to 60 mph in a little under five seconds, and in reality, it feels a bit quicker.

But the Ioniq 9 isn’t about brutal speed. It’s about smoothness. Comfort. While the handling is far from sloppy, it’s most at home when it’s cruising in near-silence. And it’s still much more fun and much more athletic than any gas-powered three-row crossover I can think of. Driving an Ioniq 9 is a pleasant and calming experience, even when you need to smoke someone on the highway in Sport mode.

One big plus here is Hyundai’s updated i-Pedal system, which offers four levels of regenerative braking (or none at all) via the paddle shifters. It’s a nice degree of customization when most EVs just do “on” or “off.”

And in “Auto” mode, the i-Pedal automatically adjusts the level of regenerative braking depending on what’s detected in front of you—an upcoming turn, another vehicle, and so on. This feature is polarizing at the InsideEVs offices, but I’ve found that if you learn to work with it and understand what it’s going to do in most situations, you won’t want to live without it. 

2026 Hyundai Ioniq 9: Exterior and Interior

I give props to Hyundai’s designers for doing something kind of different with each member of the Ioniq line. The Ioniq 9 isn’t just a stretched-out Ioniq 5 (which I’m not even sure would look all that great); nor is it an obvious cousin to either generation of Ioniq 6 sedan. Instead, it’s a curvaceous streamliner with a distinct grille and rear light setup, shaped almost like a big wagon than just another anyodyne faux-rugged SUV, and it even packs a couple of fun colors to boot. 

But the Ioniq 9 shines the most on the inside. This no cheap, bargain-basement Hyundai; it’s a high-tech, modern, near-luxury car that would be convincing enough if it wore a Genesis badge. The materials are all first-rate and a lot of attention was clearly paid to their designs, from the door handles down to the cupholders. Oh, and physical buttons and air vents—it has them. Thanks, Hyundai. 

My biggest complaint was how far away the dashboard felt. I had to lean over and reach further than I would’ve liked to operate the controls, which felt frustrating on longer drives. But Hyundai’s voice controls are first-rate, so try those when you can instead. 

Of course, this is a three-row SUV, so what matters most is probably behind the driver. And it’s one of the roomiest and most comfortable places in its class. I’m 5’11” and had plenty of headroom and legroom in the second row. And the third row? The Ioniq 9 has the only one I’d want to sit in. It’s plenty spacious back there even for adults, especially if the second-row folks are willing to move up just a smidge.

Thank the packaging excellence that EVs offer. With no engine or transmission tunnel to account for, they can be roomier than gas-powered SUVs. And most of those have a third row in name only, or exist only for small children and only in a pinch. Not the Ioniq 9. It’s a true long-distance people-hauler.

You also get up to 87 cubic feet of cargo space, including 22 cubic feet of cargo area behind the third row, which outclasses even Hyundai’s spacious gas-powered Palisade. Not bad at all.

2026 Hyundai Ioniq 9: Technology

The Ioniq 9 launches with Hyundai’s updated software suite. Among the best upgrades here: a range meter with three figures, including “minimum” and “maximum” ratings. It feels designed to avoid low-range surprises. It’s also very proactive in offering charge time estimates. 

Beyond that, Hyundai’s software game continues to be just mid-tier in the EV race. It was never buggy, like some options we test. But the infotainment system isn’t as flexible or as customizable as some of the Android Automotive OS-based systems we’ve tested. And the decisions made by Hyundai’s navigation system are as frustrating as ever—you’ll be missing Google Maps in no time, or using your phone for directions instead. 

Hyundai’s Highway Drive Assist 2 (HDA2) automated driving assistance system is decent, offering automated lane changes and speed-limit monitoring. But it is not a true hands-free, eyes-on driving assistance system like General Motors’ Super Cruise or Ford’s Blue Cruise, both of which have it handily beaten for highway road trips.

And Hyundai’s smartphone app won’t have Tesla’s tech team staying awake at night. As great as the Hyundai and Kia EVs are with design, performance and electric powertrains, their software and tech suites could stand to be a lot more competitive. 

Still, it’s great at the EV stuff. Route-planning, charing scheduling, battery health ratings and battery management are all among the best in the industry.

Range, Observed Efficiency and Charging

Still, you can’t argue with 300-plus miles of range on every Ioniq 9 trim level. At 100% charge in my driveway, I regularly saw ratings of 330 miles or more in temperate New York summer weather. In our testing, we recorded around 3.3 to 3.5 miles per kilowatt-hour, and sometimes higher. Pretty excellent for its weight, overall. 

Like the rest of the 800-volt E-GMP family, the Ioniq 9 will see max charging speeds of around 235 kilowatts. When hooked up to a 350 kW fast-charger, it’s rated to charge from 10% to 80% in as little as 24 minutes—absolutely outstanding for a battery this size, and only a few minutes more than an Ioniq 5 with its smaller pack. (Hyundai says using a CCS adapter will not affect the car’s charging performance at all.)

I’ve had great experiences with fast-charging these cars before; it’s why I bought one for myself. I wanted to try it on a Tesla Supercharger, which it works with natively thanks to that NACS port. Due to differences in voltage between Hyundai’s 800-volt setup and the Tesla chargers’ 400-volt system, you won’t see the usual crazy-quick speeds.

But the Ioniq 9 still went from 20% to about 75% in 25 minutes on a Tesla plug at a consistent 126 kW. And honestly, that’s not bad. It’s about what any Tesla will do on the same plug, and it passes my “Can you plug it in and get back on the road reasonably quickly?” test.

And with access to more than 20,000 Tesla Superchargers (just note that not all of them work with a non-Tesla EV, even with that NACS port), you won’t really find yourself worrying about range all that much on your next road trip. 

Hyundai Ioniq 9 Verdict: Top Recommendation

I didn’t walk away with many criticisms of the Ioniq 9. It’s one of the best EVs you can buy in America today, and also one of the best EVs built in America. 

Yes, that $74,300 price tag (before any tax credits or discounts) is steep. And plenty of people may scoff at paying that much for a Hyundai—but they shouldn’t. Unlike some of these so-called “luxury” EVs that are coming to market with half-finished software and enough recalls to keep the folks at NHTSA busy until the next decade, the Ioniq 9 is a complete, well-executed and extremely competent electric SUV.

My recommendation would be the mid-range dual-motor SEL model, with 320 miles of range and a starting price of $66,320. Grab the EV tax credit while it lasts, and that’s $58,820, about on par with most nicely-equipped gas-powered three-row crossovers. And this offers a better experience, especially when you add in Hyundai’s complimentary home charger. 

If you can buy a better three-row people-hauler, buy it. But I’m not sure you will.

Contact the author: patrick.george@insideevs.com

• Even three years on, the Tesla Model S Plaid can still humiliate a supercar.
• Even with less weight and more power, the 2025 Corvette ZR1 loses every time.
• The Tesla rockets ahead in all drag races in this video, never giving the Corvette a chance.

The hype around the Tesla Model S Plaid has mostly died off since the car is now around three years old and it’s no longer the only EV with 1,000 horsepower or more. However, even if it’s not the newest electric sedan with whiplash-inducing acceleration, its 0 to 60 mph time of 1.9 seconds is still hard to beat, even in cars with more power.

You would think the 2025 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1, with its monumental 5.5-liter flat-plane crank V-8 engine that churns out 1,064 hp, would have no problem out-accelerating a Model S Plaid, which was recently given a very mild update. The Vette is only rear-wheel drive, so it needs four-tenths more to hit sixty from a standstill. However, its superior power, combined with much less weight, should give it the edge in a drag race against the Tesla. Right?

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It turns out that the Tesla starts ahead and stays ahead throughout an entire quarter-mile drag race. It’s not even close. The Model S Plaid consistently does quarter-mile runs in the low nine-second range, while the Corvette struggles to dip below 10 seconds in this video by DragTimes.

The Plaid has considerably more torque, 1,050 pound-feet versus 828 lb-ft in the Corvette, but it’s also over 1,100 pounds heavier, coming in just shy of 5,000 lbs. The Corvette’s power-to-weight advantage is undeniable, though, and it should come much closer to matching the Model S through the quarter-mile.

The first run was the best for the Corvette, with its best time to 60 feet of 1.57 seconds. The Tesla had a 1.46-second time in the same run, but it shoots ahead as if the difference was far greater than that. It almost makes the ZR1 look like it’s struggling to accelerate, but that’s just how big a difference there is in sheer acceleration between these two cars.

In all subsequent runs, the Tesla beats the Corvette by a bigger margin. Judging by how quickly it sprints ahead, the ZR1 would likely not be able to catch up even if this were a longer race. Maybe in a one-mile straight-line sprint, it could claw back some of the difference and take the lead from the Tesla, whose acceleration does begin to taper off after it reaches 150 mph and approaches its top speed of 200 mph.

Maybe it just takes an even crazier Corvette ZR1 to beat a Plaid.

• The (Nio) Firefly is a small subcompact EV hatchback meant to do battle with cars like the Mini Aceman or Fiat 500e.
• The model is so far only in China, but it will be in European markets before the end of the year.
• Like other Nio vehicles, the Firefly has swappable batteries. 

Chinese battery-swapping electric-vehicle startup Nio has been selling cars in Europe for a while now too. But it’s had a rough go of things there. It launched with cars priced at the same level as BMW or Mercedes-Benz, in a market where buyers tend to be loyal to their luxury brands, and where Nio’s signature battery-swapping network isn’t as built out yet. 

So, meet Nio’s European do-over: the Firefly hatchback, a direct electric competitor to the likes of Mini, Fiat and Volkswagen’s smaller models. But here’s the thing—the Firefly is even better. 

I’ve made no secret of how much I liked the Nio Firefly after I tested one earlier this year. This small hatchback seems to be everything I’ve been looking for in an EV: cute, small, reasonably priced, and fun to drive. I said that much in my review of the car a few weeks ago.

It’s about the size of the current Mini Cooper, except a bit bigger in every dimension; it’s still tiny overall. Powered by a relatively small 42.1 kilowatt-hour (gross) battery, it’s rated at 205 miles of range, only costs about $17,000 in China, is packed with clever and innovative software features like iPhone-style finger-swipes for different functions, and since it’s rear-wheel-drive, it’s just a blast to drive. 

Out of all the cars I’ve driven in China, this is one of my favorites. I didn’t want to give the keys back. I wish there were a way to somehow put it in my suitcase and take it home with me. (Editor-in-Chief Patrick George agreed, and being a two-time ex-Mini owner himself, he kind of drove it like he just robbed a bank. It’s that fun.)

But, just to drive the point home on just how good this thing is, we’ve got a video for you. I spent a full day with the Firefly and put it through its paces on Chinese roads. It’s a great little car.

The Firefly’s chances of coming to the U.S. are basically zero, but it is en route to Europe. In fact, this whole car was designed from the outset to cater to European drivers. The small, roughly Ford Fiesta-sized body hits right at the heart of what most European drivers are looking for. It’s a car that’s meant to be maneuverable and easy to park in any given European city.

Of course, it stands out on the wide and spacious roads of Shanghai. Buyers in China go more for big sedans and SUVs like we Americans do. It’s not a microcar country. 

Still, I was able to get a great impression of this small hatchback. There’s a lot to like about the car, like its really fast steering or its rear-wheel-drive driving dynamics. Then there’s the essentially total elimination of range anxiety because the car’s little battery is totally swappable, just like other Nio vehicles.

Give our video a gander. I go into detail about just why this little runabout is special and what it means for the rest of the world.

Contact the author: Kevin.Williams@InsideEVs.com

I started out skeptical of Hyundai’s hybrids. Perhaps it’s a weird fixation or quirk of mine, but hybrid cars that aren’t mechanically simple weird me the hell out. To me, we hit peak hybrid back in 2003 with the second-generation Prius. This triangle-shaped car with a mechanically robust eCVT and 1.5-liter naturally aspirated engine was ideal. Sure, it was slow and ugly, but incredibly reliable. There’s a reason why it’s not hard to find them with upwards of 300,000 miles with minimal maintenance; it’s just a damn good car. I would know. I had one.

So, when Hyundai started putting its own hybrids on the roads, I was skeptical. These cars had turbocharged, direct-injected engines that sent power through a real planetary-gearset transmission, just like a regular ‘ol internal combustion car. To me, this felt like a complicated solution compared to what we’d get with a Toyota or Honda. Certainly, these cars would not be as good on the roads as a Toyota, no?

Well, I’m eating crow. I spent a week with the Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid and found it to be really good, especially at electrified driving. So good at electrified driving, in fact, that I wondered why the hell Hyundai didn’t just cut the middleman and go electric. This car wants to be an EV so damn badly.

We don’t delve too much into pure ICE cars here, but the Santa Fe is a midsized crossover that sits below the full-sized Palisade, but above the compact Tucson. Hyundai keeps its combustion-powered cars somewhat sectioned off from its EVs, but there is some overlap. If you’re in search of a full electric EV about this size, a Hyundai salesman would likely point you to the slightly larger Ioniq 9.

Whatever the case, there’s a pretty sizable demand for electrified SUVs in some fashion, even if they aren’t full EVs. Hyundai added its hybrid system (once found only on the Hyundai Ioniq and Sonata Hybrid) to one of its volume-selling combustion-crossovers. For 2024, the whole model line was completely redesigned, with faux-Land Rover styling and a whole new vehicle platform. The engines and transmissions, though, were carryovers from the old car, including the hybrid system. Power for all Santa Fe Hybrids comes via a 1.6-liter turbocharged and direct-injected four-cylinder and an electric motor. Shifting is handled through a six-speed conventional automatic. Total system output is 231 horsepower.

There’s a lot to like about this mid-sized, three-row SUV. For starters, the Santa Fe is really, really good at engine-off EV driving, despite its measly 59 horsepower electric motor and 1.49 kWh traction battery.

Some have called Hyundai’s hybrid system simple. It places its 59-horsepower motor between the gas engine and transmission. This means that the electric motor effectively has to turn through a transmission, a setup that some have criticized as inefficient compared to an eCVT in a Toyota Prius.

But, this setup has a clutch on the engine/electric motor side, allowing the Santa Fe to drive completely engine-off at speeds much, much faster than, say, a Toyota Prius. With a light enough foot, the Santa Fe will accelerate to about 45 mph before the engine starts. By comparison, most modern Toyotas (not including the Hybrid Max system in some newer big Toyota crossovers like the Grand Highlander) top out around 20 mph in EV mode.

This nearly pure electric driving experience is intensified by two things: the Santa Fe’s clever Green Zone EV drive and its adjustable EV-like regenerative braking. When the Green Zone EV drive feature is turned on, the car uses GPS location to prioritize quiet and lower-emission EV driving in certain areas of town, like near parks, schools or hospitals. And it really does work; while driving around my town of Columbus, Ohio, it would turn off its engine and drive on EV power whenever I got close the school near my house. Add in the relatively high-speed EV driving, and I was amazed at how much engine-off EV driving I could do in the Santa Fe for a car that has no plug. An unofficial test shows that it would do about a mile under ideal conditions before starting its gas engine.

Then, like Hyundai’s EVs, the Santa Fe has three levels of adjustable regenerative braking. Of course, there’s no one-pedal drive, but the level of adjustability makes the crossover feel remarkably electrified, even when its engine is running. Set it to max, let off the throttle, and watch the battery replenish just like it would on an Ioniq 5 or Kona Electric. If you’re like me and interested in recapturing electricity and using that electric power whenever possible, you’ll fall in love with this feature.

Overall, the Santa Fe is simply a pleasant, well-finished and well-packaged crossover. The one that Hyundai loaned to me was a fully loaded Caligraphy model with every box checked, of course. It stickered at $51,675, which in this day and age sounds like a bargain. Fit and finish are impeccable, and every button and switch felt hefty and high-quality. The infotainment and HVAC buttons worked flawlessly the entire time I had the car, a seemingly not-so-easy accomplishment in a world where everything is a computerized screen.

The Santa Fe also has a lot of interior space. Its short length means that you’ll have to choose between cargo space or a third row seat, but when in place the Santa Fe’s third row seat is very usable. This crossover can take six adults in relative comfort, a task that some physically larger crossovers can’t do as well. Anecdotally, I understand why I see so many of these things on Ohio roads. When considering the roughly $34,000 base price for its combustion-only variant, the Santa Fe is one of the best values for money on the market. 

When the Santa Fe (and its Hybrid sibling) was updated for 2024, we lost the plug-in hybrid (PHEV) version, which is a damn shame. The car is so good at driving in engine-off mode, it’s clear that it would benefit from more available energy. The adjustable regenerative braking is such a nice feature, only limited by the Santa Fe’s small 1.49 kWh battery and somewhat weak 59-horsepower electric motor. 

The thing is, only the North American market Santa Fe lost the PHEV option. In most markets where the Santa Fe is sold, it comes with a 13.8 kWh battery with about 35 miles of range. It also gets a more powerful electric motor. Both of these would make the car’s energy recapture and engine-off electric driving significantly easier. 

Perhaps the Korean-made PHEV model is hard to justify against the American-made combustion-powered variant, or the American-made new Hyundai Ioniq 9. Still, I’d argue that the Ioniq 9’s weird styling, super-sized dimensions and not-cheap price aren’t exactly a 1-to-1 comparison for the Santa Fe Hybrid. How hard would it be to give us a full EV version of the Santa Fe? I mean, they’ve already halfway there with the driving experience, just go all the way. 

Also, despite the car’s penchant for engine-off driving, I only averaged about 28 mpg mixed. This is below the 35 mpg mixed that it’s rated for.

This car is really good at simulating an electric driving experience, but it’s not electric. On one hand, I think it is a great way to get consumers acclimated to a full electric driving experience without any compromises of charging infrastructure or elevated purchase price.

On the other hand, we’re still using gas. With me driving, too, it used more gas than initially advertised. 

Still, the package is very pleasant and easy to use. It’s spacious, well finished and reasonably priced for what you get. C’mon, Hyundai, just cut the middleman, dump the gas engine stuff and make the Santa Fe electric, already.

Hell, I’d even accept an EREV.

Contact the author: Kevin.Williams@InsideEVs.com

• Drag race video pits the Kia EV6 GT against a Ferrari Purosangue.
• The two cars are evenly matched on paper, with a slight power-to-weight advantage to the Ferrari.
• The Kia beats the Ferrari every time.

Rooting for the underdog is an automatic winning ticket in a straight-line drag race between the revised Kia EV6 GT and the fire-snorting Ferrari Purosangue. These two vehicles do look a bit alike, but one is electric, while the other uses a monster of a naturally aspirated V12 engine, and the latter also costs several times more.

The UK’s Carwow pitted the two in a drag race, showing how paying more these days doesn’t necessarily mean you get more performance. The Kia EV6 GT features a revised dual-motor powertrain that now pushes 641 horsepower (with temporary overboost) and 568 pound-feet of torque, which gives it a claimed acceleration time from 0 to 60 mph (96 km/h) in a claimed 3.5 seconds with launch control enabled.

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However, independent tests have shown it to be a few tenths quicker to sprint, which explains why it can beat the 715-hp Purosangue, whose claimed sprint time to sixty is 3.3 seconds.

Throughout all of the runs in the video, the Kia not only pounces off the line quicker than the Ferrari, but it also increases its lead throughout.

Ferrari claims a 4,482-pound (2,033 kg) dry weight for the Purosangue, but Car and Driver weighed one and found it was closer to 4,850 lbs (2,200 kg). The second figure almost perfectly matches the Kia’s claimed weight, which is 4,884 lbs (2,215 kg).

So the EV6 GT has a lower power-to-weight ratio but 60 lb-ft more total torque than the Purosangue.

It has no trouble keeping the Ferrari behind it, run after run. The only time the Ferrari wins is when host Mat Watson switches the car into the driving mode that simulates the power delivery of a combustion engine, complete with fake gear changes. This was only for one run when the Ferrari sped ahead and won, but it was not a representation of the Kia’s full performance potential.

The Ferrari Purosangue costs over $395,000 without any options, while the Kia EV6 GT has a starting price of $65,275. That makes the Italian stallion almost exactly six times more expensive, and even with its signature design, lavish interior and luxurious toys, it becomes kind of hard to justify, although Purosangue buyers also pay into the badge and its aura.

The fact that a Kia can show it a clean pair of taillights in an outright acceleration run really says a lot about today’s performance car scene and how dramatically it has changed over the last decade.

I get to spend time with dozens of new cars every year for work. But I almost never get inspired to run out and immediately spend my own money on one—especially before I’ve even had a test-drive. 

Yet as soon as the pre-order books opened for the Volvo EX30 in early 2024, I didn’t hesitate to throw down $500 of my own money for a refundable deposit. I had covered its debut in New York a few months earlier, and I knew I was in.

The EX30 seemed to have it all: style, power, respectable electric range and a very attainable $35,000 starting price tag, all from a reputable, big-name automaker. The kind of promise we’ve all gotten from the electric-vehicle revolution, but has rarely been kept. 

It would be another 18 months after that deposit before I actually got to drive one. A lot of things changed in that time. And now that the Volvo EX30 is finally here, it arrives with far less of a value proposition than it once had.

(Full Disclosure: Volvo sent us an EX30 to review for a week.)

2025 Volvo EX30 Overview

Let’s start with the price tag of the Moss Yellow EX30 you see here: $48,395, including destination fees. Math has never been my strong suit, but that’s a far cry from the under-$35,000 starting price that made such a splash for Volvo back in 2023. 

In part, this is because that alluring price was for the base Single Motor Extended Range rear-wheel-drive model. For now, the only EX30 you can buy in the United States is the Twin Motor Performance all-wheel-drive version, which starts at $46,195. 

Blame tariffs. Key to the EX30’s Tesla Model 3-fighting price was the fact that Volvo planned to build it in China. On paper, this makes sense. Volvo is owned by China’s Geely Group and there’s a ton of platform- and technology-sharing between the Swedish brands and its various cousins, like Polestar and Zeekr and Lynk & Co.

But here in America, car companies and policymakers alike haven’t loved the idea of super-low-cost Chinese-made cars flooding our market. That’s why made-in-China cars have been limited to a smattering of Lincolns, Buicks and other Volvos (and perhaps most notably, the Polestar 2) for years. Then, around 2018, America’s escalating tensions with China led to steeper 27.5% tariffs on cars from that country.

When it unveiled the EX30, Volvo said this would be fine; it’d absorb that cost somehow, and then also build it in Europe at some point. But then President Joe Biden had other plans. Concerned with the rise of China’s EV sector, the Biden administration increased those tariffs in mid-2024 to 100%, effectively blocking them from the U.S. market. And then President Donald Trump announced he’d turn up the tariff heat even more.

That meant months of delays before Volvo could figure out what to do with the EX30. Now it’s finally here, and still made in China for now, but only viable as the pricier Twin Motor Performance version. Even building the car in Europe won’t solve the problem now. 

As for me, I canceled my Volvo EX30 order and leased a Kia EV6 instead. But now that the EX30 is here, I needed to see if it could still be a winner, even with a bigger price tag than we expected. 

2025 Volvo EX30: Specs And Driving Impressions

The EX30 is powered by a reasonably-sized 69 kilowatt-hour battery. On the plus side, the dual-motor setup delivers an impressive 422 horsepower and 400 pound-feet of torque; less impressive is the total range, EPA-estimated at 253 miles. (By the way, the car can toggle between a “certified” display of range and an “estimated” one, and I highly preferred the former.)

Fast-charging, too, edges on the slower side for modern EVs at 153 kilowatts, not unlike the Chevrolet Equinox EV or the Toyota bZ4X. Volvo claims it can fast-charge from 10% to 80% in 27 minutes, which is also solidly midpack. 

On a brief fast-charging test using a 150 kW plug, my EX30 went from a 21% charge to 50% in about nine minutes, but I saw max speeds of just 140 kW briefly and was quoted 26 minutes to reach 80%. I think Volvo’s being a bit optimistic with its charging claims. 

The EX30 deserves credit for one thing: it’s damn quick. Zero to 60 mph happens in a mere 3.4 seconds, which is not the kind of velocity that comes to mind when someone pictures a Volvo. The little crossover can genuinely surprise someone at a stoplight. 

Unfortunately, the rest of the car doesn’t really back up all of that speed. The ride quality is strangely firm, leading to me to repeatedly check if my tires were overinflated (they were fine.) The steering is a bit floppy and loose, even in its performance driving mode. It never feels especially confident in the corners, either. All of this speaks to the fact that the EX30 is meant to be an affordable European city car, albeit one with a lot of power by virtue of being an EV. Don’t expect a very inspiring driving experience here. 

On the plus side, it is small—refreshingly so. At 166.7 inches long, it’s a whole foot smaller than a Honda Civic Hatchback and nearly 10 inches less than a Mini Countryman. It’s taller than the former but not the latter, and feels more like a tall, upright hatchback than a true SUV. These dimensions made it a delight to maneuver around New York City’s tight and traffic-choked streets, reminding me of my old Mini Cooper S more than once. 

2025 Volvo EX30: Exterior, Interior And Controls

The EX30 sports a handsome design that cheerfully embraces its EV nature by dumping any openings in the grille area. And kudos to Volvo for offering it in a couple of fun colors, especially this yellow or the subtle Cloud Blue.

It oozes charm in other areas too, like the IKEA-esque etchings on the trunk opening that illustrate how much stuff you can fit inside its total 31.9 cubic feet of cargo space. The center console also slides out when you need one or both of its cupholders, and packs a little removable storage container for the rear seats. 

All that charm has its limits. Also key to the EX30 price tag was how it pared down the physical controls and other interior bits; call it Tesla-style minimalism with a Scandinavian twist. There’s no central display in front of the driver, only a sensor bar for tracking your eyes and face when the automated driving assistance is engaged. The window controls are on the center console and you only get two of them, leading you to flip between “front” and “rear” as needed. 

Nearly all controls route through the tablet-style center screen, which also has no buttons. If you want those, you get a handful of toggles on the steering wheel, and that’s what you’ll use to select many functions and menu options.

Tesla drivers have been doing this sort of thing for years. It’s not for everybody. And the Volvo loses points here because its software isn’t that fast or intuitive. It’s Volvo’s familiar Google Built-In system, which is great because it directly integrates the class-leading Google Maps into the car as well as your Android Apps accounts and voice-powered Google Search. That’s all excellent.

But when I needed to do find something specific, some key function or menu option that might just be a button on another car, I found myself scrambling through it more than I’d like. Including while the EX30 was moving, which often draws the car’s ire as it hits you with constant and aggressive safety warnings.

The worst is when it thinks you aren’t paying attention, because you have to turn those alerts off every single time you get in the car. All of that got old very, very quickly. Add in the fact that the interior just feels cheap—not because of the admirable use of recycled materials throughout, but because of the low-grade plastics—and you end up with something that seemed much better in concept than in everyday execution.

2025 Volvo EX30: Verdict

I wanted to like the EX30. I really did. I almost bought one, after all, and I can still see the appeal. And Volvo must be doing something right. The EX30 is doing really well in other places; last summer, it was Europe’s second-best-selling EV, right behind the Tesla Model Y. But European buyers have more EX30 pricing options than we do. 

Ultimately, the EX30 probably would’ve been an outstanding buy at $35,000. At almost $50,000, that’s no longer the case. Almost all of its quirks could be forgiven for its original price tag. When it climbs this much, it runs up against the Volvo EX40 (née Volvo XC40 Recharge), which I like much better despite it being an older EV. And it comes up against larger, more powerful and longer-range options, like the Model Y or the Hyundai Ioniq 5.

In the end, the EX30 went from potential game-changer to rolling example of how volatile the American car market is right now. I hope Volvo can find some way to get its price tag down over time for U.S. buyers. But nobody should blame them if they move on in the meantime. 

Contact the author: patrick.george@insideevs.com

• Electric powertrains make any vehicle, no matter its shape or weight, very quick in a straight line.
• With over 1,000 horsepower and all-wheel drive, the Rivian R1S Quad and Lucid Gravity Dream Edition are as quick as supercars once were.
• These two most powerful electric SUVs are evenly matched in a quarter-mile drag race, but the Lucid just has the edge.

Drag races may seem trivial to some, but they help put cars’ performance into perspective. They often yield surprising results and unexpected winners, which accelerate much quicker than they would have any right to. That’s the case for both the Lucid Gravity Dream Edition and the new quad-motor version of the Rivian R1S, both of which are quick enough to move your eyeballs from the front of your head to the sides.

Jason Cammisa assembled quite the roster for his latest Hagerty drag race, which included combustion vehicles, electric vehicles and one exceptionally fast plug-in hybrid. The stars of the show were the two new SUVs, though.

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With four new Gen 2 motors that give it a combined 1,025 horsepower and 1,198 pound-feet, the R1S Quad catapults itself off the line. With launch control enabled, it lowers the nose before blasting off in a similar manner to Tesla’s Chetah Stance feature. Even with the nose hunkering down, which is done to push it into the tarmac to get extra traction, the front tires still spin a bit of the power away before hooking up.

Seeing the R1S Quad launching is quite something, but as this video proves, it’s not quite as quick off the line as the new (and much less powerful) Porsche Macan Turbo EV. With 630 hp and 833 lb-ft of torque, the top electric Macan leaves the two larger, heavier and more powerful SUVs for dead, but then their higher output allows them to quickly reel it in.

The Macan EV’s superb sprint ability can also be attributed to its much lower weight, which would definitely give it an edge if a corner was involved, like in Edmunds’ U-Drag races, which also test braking and cornering. The R1S Quad quickly catches up and passes the lower-powered Porsche, and it looks like it’s headed for a win.

Meanwhile, the Lucid Gravity Dream Edition is behind both of these vehicles with its gentler start. However, once it does get going, it reveals that it has a lot more pulling power and takes the win every time. As it approaches the end of the quarter-mile run, the R1S Quad is approaching its limited top speed of 130 mph, while the Lucid keeps pulling since it can go all the way up to 155 mph. The Rivian’s acceleration begins to taper off, which is what allows the Lucid to take the lead.

What makes the Lucid’s performance even more impressive is that it comes from just two motors, not four like in the Rivian. It makes more power, 1,070 hp, but a bit less torque, 1,107 lb-ft, and it carries a few hundred pounds less weight, helping it accelerate even at higher speeds. Jason Cammisa describes it as “pulling like a Boeing” with its very high trap speed at the end of each quarter-mile run.

• The Bentley EXP 15 Concept is “a design vision for the future, transforming inspiration from heritage.”
• It has three doors, three seats and an elevated ride height—almost like an SUV.
• The unusual design will preview a production model due out in 2026.

Plenty of folks aren’t happy about the bold reboot happening at Jaguar, which involves dumping the entire lineup for an avant-garde electric coupe with a six-figure price tag and high-fashion vibes. 

Well, wait until they see what Bentley has been up to.

The storied British luxury brand, which has been owned by the Volkswagen Group since 1998, is also getting a bold new chapter that will be underpinned by a controversial design. Meet the Bentley EXP 15 Concept, which “provides hints to the design” of a future all-electric sedan due to be revealed in 2026.

This concept makes Jaguar’s EV coupe look conservative. It’s a tall setup with an almost SUV-like stance, featuring three doors, three seats and a flat, angular grille. Out back, the roof slopes into a steep coupe-like shape. The rear looks more like a Polestar than anything that’s come from the British luxury brand thus far, although I don’t necessarily mean that in a bad way. 

All in all, it’s something different—at least, at first glance. Bentley would beg to differ, saying the EXP 15 Concept draws on some of its more famous historical models. 

“Accordingly, the five-meter-plus (16-foot) full-size physical exterior model has an iconic upright grille, long ‘endless’ bonnet and rearward cabin reminiscent of the 1930 Bentley Speed Six Gurney Nutting Sportsman coupe, often known as the ‘Blue Train,'” Bentley said in a news release. And it’s pictured next to a vintage Speed Six for effect.

Where it really differs from that car is in its powertrain. Bentley has confirmed that the future production Grand Tourer based on this concept will be completely electric. Details about its battery size and projected range have not been revealed yet, but Bentley says it’s built to go the distance.

“To that end, EXP 15 is conceived as having a fully-electric, all-wheel-drive powertrain with a long range and recharging speeds commensurate with the convenience customers have come to expect of a Bentley,” the automaker said. “But as a design concept, no further details are being given of its technical specification nor possible platform.” 

How mysterious. But if the future of Bentley is in this tall, three-door, three-seat grand touring EV, it’s certainly going to turn heads.

 Contact the author: patrick.george@insideevs.com

• Our charging test of the 2025 Porsche Taycan 4S Cross Turismo saw the EV go from 15% to 70% in a mere 12 minutes.
• The Taycan can reach a maximum charging speed of 320 kW when using an 800V DC fast charger.
• It remains one of the quickest-charging EVs for sale in North America and shows where the field is going.

As much as I like the Porsche Taycan, I’ll readily admit that it’s certainly not for everyone—even by Porsche’s already-high standards for exclusivity. 

The tester you see here came in Shade Green Metallic, a highly unusual pastel-like teal that stands out in every parking lot’s endless sea of gray and black cars. It’s also a Taycan 4S Cross Turismo, the Taycan’s wagon variant that comes with a little extra ground clearance and a “Gravel Mode,” yet still won’t convince anyone that it’s an SUV.

Throw in the $40,000 (!!!) worth of options as equipped here and the price tag comes in at a jaw-dropping $165,655. It’s a special electric vehicle, aimed at a special (and deep-pocketed) enthusiast. 

But it’s impossible to deny that you’re getting a lot of EV if you’re fortunate enough to spring for a Taycan. And I’d argue that its performance when parked is even more groundbreaking than its performance on the highway. It remains one of the quickest-charging EVs you can buy in America today.

(Full Disclosure: Porsche loaned me a Taycan 4S Cross Turismo for a week of testing.)

As part of its 2025 model-year updates, the Taycan’s charging speed has been increased to 320 kilowatts. If you need a refresher or are new to this, the higher the kW, the faster the charge, generally speaking. However, your time spent on the plug also depends on various factors, such as the size of your battery.

My tester had the Taycan’s largest battery option, the 105 kilowatt-hour Performance Plus pack. But even that is still reasonably-sized compared to some of the more gargantuan units on other high-range EVs.

This means that the 2025 Taycan has a blistering charging time when hooked up to a powerful enough charger: Porsche claims it can go from 10% to 80% in just 18 minutes. 

I experienced this for myself last year at a Porsche event in California, where I charged a then-new Taycan from 8% to 80% in as little as 16 minutes. That was a massively impressive charging result and another testament to the power of an 800-volt architecture—a more advanced electrical system underpinning some EVs that allows for far greater power intake than others can offer. 

So now, almost 18 months later and with a Taycan tester in my garage for a week, I had to see if it could hold up. Spoiler alert: You had better believe it did.

2025 Porsche Taycan: The Charging Test

My test was very simple, and meant to replicate the kind of real-world driving and charging that anybody might do on a road trip or just a very extended drive about town. I drove the Taycan until the battery was low, set my local 350-kW charging station as the destination in the navigation system, drove it there, and plugged in.

I told you it was very simple.

With this battery, the Taycan 4S is officially rated at 272 miles of range, but on my home charger and in temperate weather, I saw it estimate 300 miles. And as that same charging test in California proved, the Taycan can easily exceed that if you’re careful when driving—a remarkable number for a car that also packs up to 590 horsepower and can do zero to 60 mph in 3.6 seconds. 

I started my charging test at on a Sunday afternoon at 1:57 p.m. and 15%, leaving roughly 39 miles left with the car in Sport Mode (your estimate skews higher in Normal Mode or rear-drive-only Range Mode). It was a warm 87 degrees F (31 degrees C) outside and the battery had been preconditioned for the charge. 

I considered running the Taycan down on the highway to get down to 10%, but again, this was meant to be more or less a real-world test of how quickly I could get back on the road. With the charge limit set to 80%, the Taycan gave me an estimated completion time of 2:18 p.m., which later dropped to 2:16 p.m.

To my delight, my sometimes-inconsistent 350-kW charging station started working with the Taycan right away. Even more delightful was seeing the Taycan hit 300 kW right off the bat. Within a minute, the car charged from 15% to 20% and was humming at 308 kW by two minutes in.

From there, the charging speeds kept climbing, first to 311 kW and then 315 kW. For a few brief moments, I saw it peak around 317 kW. Mostly, the Taycan stayed between 308 kW and 315 kW, reaching 50% in seven minutes. At 54%, that meant an estimated 143 miles, so I had already added more than 100 miles of range in seven minutes. 

It is here where I will pause and point out how results like this fly in the face of the “EVs take too long to charge when you’re on a road trip” argument. Sure, not every EV charges as quickly as the Taycan. But seven minutes is about the length of an average road-trip bathroom break. A hundred miles of range should easily get you to your destination, or at least another location with more chargers. A 20-minute break buys you three or four hours behind the wheel, too, and your back or bladder will demand a break by that point. 

The Taycan finally dropped to 300 kW around 60%, then 296 kW, about nine minutes into the test. I couldn’t help but be impressed. My Kia EV6 is pretty good at fast-charging too, and the most I’ve seen is around 225 kW. 

Around 64% the Taycan’s speeds dropped to 209 kW, but then it hopped right back to 272 kW soon after, even as I approached a 70% charge. That’s an incredibly high charging speed for a battery so full. 

At this point, the line at my charging station was getting longer. This is one of the only non-Tesla stations in the area and right off New York State Route 17. A lot of folks, including one family in a Kia EV9, seemed to be on a July 4 road trip and were eager to get moving again. In keeping with my “only fast-charge to what you need” rule and to be a good fellow EV driver, I decided to call the test early at 2:09 p.m.

I had already proved my point, anyway. The final result for the test was 15% to 70% in just 12 minutes—an addition of 58.044 kWh of energy and enough to leave the Taycan with 200 miles of range, still in Sport Mode. In Normal Mode or Range Mode, it would’ve read well over 200 miles. Oh, and the car said it was still capable of taking up to 274 kW if I wanted to plug back in. 

That’s outstanding.

Porsche Taycan Charging Result

Photo by: Patrick George

2025 Porsche Taycan Charging Test: What We Learned

I never quite hit the 320 kW the Taycan is capable of, or if I did, it was in a “blink and you’ll miss it” moment. The car got very, very close to that level and stayed there consistently until it charged to more than 60%.

These are the quickest charging speeds that I have ever personally seen outside of China; I have only experienced better speeds with my latest Taycan charging test and the Lucid Air Grand Touring, and even then, only very slightly. (The last Air I tested managed up to 322 kW.) The new Lucid Gravity is rated to pull up to 400 kW, but I have not tested that yet, and it would require a very high-voltage charger to do so.

Either way, this test proved a few things.

800-volt electrical architectures are the future. Many EVs still use less sophisticated 400-volt electrical systems, including newer ones that are designed to be more affordable. Having a less complex electrical architecture certainly keeps costs down. But long-term, I expect most EV manufacturers to use higher-voltage systems. You can’t argue with the results here. 

Charging is getting better and better all the time. The first-generation Taycan was no slouch at fast-charging either, rated at speeds of up to 270 kW. That’s still better than most. But in just a mid-cycle update, its max speeds jumped a full 50 kW, and its charge curve got way better. The Volkswagen Group never gets credit for this, but every EV it makes feels like a quantum leap over the last one. And as charging stations proliferate, they’re becoming more powerful and offering more plugs at each station. Imagine where this field will be in five years.

With the right EV and the right charger, the experience can feel the same as a stop for gas. The fact that I added more than 100 miles of range in under 10 minutes alone feels like a game-changing experience. Nobody wants to wait at these stations forever. If more EVs can work that way, and more drivers learn to just fast-charge to the levels they need, then gas-powered cars are in trouble.

The Porsche Taycan remains a fast-charging champion. It’s ridiculously quick, and it’ll get you back on the road just as quickly, provided you can find a 350-kW charger easily. Ultimately, this was my favorite thing about the Taycan. I drive fast EVs all of the time; zero to 60 mph in the mid-three-second range is almost common now. But the Taycan’s combination of range, speed and fast-charging make it truly special. 

And I’ll take it as a preview of what’s next. This is still a charging system on a very high-end performance car. When this technology starts to trickle down to more normal cars, as it usually does, we’re all going to benefit. 

Contact the author: patrick.george@insideevs.com

Renault is all about bringing retro design cues from iconic old models to the modern day, and it may definitely be on to something. Having lived with the new Renault 5 E-Tech for a couple of days, it’s one of the most compelling EVs that I’ve driven in a long time, blending head-turning design with all the desirable traits that you expect from an electric city car.

This car is all about the design. Driving it and leaving it parked amongst downtown Bucharest’s eclectic tangle of historic buildings, it absolutely looks at home. It makes most new cars look so last decade, even if it itself takes a lot of cues from Renault hatchbacks of decades past. I have so far looked back at it every time I’ve locked it and walked away, which is a clear sign that Renault has got the design right.

Renault has done a tremendous job with the exterior design of this car, seamlessly integrating design elements from the 1972 original Renault 5 (known in the States as the LeCar), as well as the later rally-honed Turbo 2 model and the revised 5 that dropped in 1984. But there’s nothing dystopian here. Everything comes together into a visual package that you just can’t hate, even if you may not be on board with the whole retro-futuristic design trend.

However, all of the above would have been for nothing if Renault didn’t make it drive well. Thankfully, if there’s one automaker that knows how to make a good city car, it’s the one with the diamond badge. Having previously owned two Clio city cars, which I really liked and always think fondly of, I’m happy to report that the fun is still there and the new Renault 5 is great to drive. It’s the perfect instrument to carve through a congested city.

It may only have 150 horsepower, but it accelerates quickly, puts its power down well, and it is blessed with especially good steering that gives you confidence. It’s also surprisingly dynamically accomplished, keeping body roll in check but without feeling like it has dampers made of granite, which is the case with some new cars with overly firm suspension setups.

Specs-wise, it’s not amazing, with a 52 kilowatt-hour battery that is good for about 250 miles (400 km) WLTP and a peak DC fast-charging power rating of 100 kW. However, it’s pretty efficient (almost matching the manufacturer’s claim) and you can get surprisingly close to the claimed range (which is often not the case with WLTP estimates), and given its relatively small battery, it charges quickly enough.

It’s not perfect, and there are some quirks and weird design decisions, but you’ll get to read about those in the full review coming soon.

I’m going to spend a couple more days with the R5, and I will be able to answer any questions you may have about it. Leave a comment, or feel free to drop me an e-mail at andrei.nedelea@insideevs.com and I’ll try to come up with an answer for you.