The electric cars I’m most ready to drive in 2026

The electric cars I’m most ready to drive in 2026 feel different this time. They don’t seem new anymore but still feel like they’re proving something. Every brand has something that’s supposed to mean progress, though maybe it’s just what comes next. There’s excitement, just a little quieter now. I think that’s fine, at least for a while.

Tesla Model 3 Refresh

Feels like the same car trying to be new again. The lines look softer but the stare is familiar. It’s calm but sharp, quiet but not really. Driving one will probably feel like déjà vu, but maybe that’s the point. Some people will say it’s not different enough, others will say that’s exactly right.

Ford Explorer EV

This one looks big in all the ways it should. You can imagine the weight of it before sitting down. Feels like something built for people who still want an SUV, just without the sound. It’s sensible but maybe too careful. Will probably make sense only after a few drives.

Chevrolet Equinox EV

Feels like the kind of car made to slot in somewhere. Doesn’t try to be exciting, maybe that’s why it might work. It’s a shape that fits in anywhere, which kind of makes it disappear. You’ll see a lot of them and hardly ever talk about it. That feels strangely fine.

Hyundai Ioniq 7

There’s something about big quiet space that makes sense here. It looks smooth in a confident way but not too much. You can almost feel the air slide off it in pictures. Probably feels like a living room on the move. Maybe that’s what people want now.

Rivian R2

The R2 feels like the company remembering what it was supposed to be. It looks smaller but not less serious. Kind of playful, kind of cautious. It’ll attract the same crowd but maybe a few more this time. The design makes you want to believe in it again, at least a little.

Porsche Macan EV

Feels familiar but quiet in a weirdly unsettling way. The shape hasn’t changed that much, just smoother, cleaner. You’ll still recognize the weight it carries through corners. It’s a strange mix of old confidence and new silence. Feels like something that won’t need to explain itself.

Lucid Gravity

Looks long enough to make you stop for a second. Feels like a car that wants the room to show what it can do. Interior probably feels better than anything near it. There’s a kind of slow-moving confidence in how it exists. Expensive calm is maybe the right phrase.

Polestar 4

Feels like it was designed by someone tired of arguing with noise. You look at it and think it might be too simple, then it grows on you. The silence isn’t empty, it’s exact. Might feel like driving an idea instead of a car. Which might be its best trait.

Toyota bZ5X

Kind of corporate-looking, like something that got approved a few times. Still, you can tell they thought about what matters most. It won’t impress anyone right away but you’ll appreciate it later. It’s a quiet sort of progress. Feels dependable, maybe too much so.

Kia EV9

Looks bold the way a block shape can be. Every angle feels intentional, even if it doesn’t need to be. Easy to imagine families sitting inside pretending it’s normal. Could be the one that sells just because it doesn’t try too hard. In a way, it’s the right kind of odd.

Cadillac Escalade IQ

It feels heavy before you even start it. Big lights, big presence, still somehow calm about itself. It doesn’t shout luxury, more like it already knows. You’ll park it somewhere and it will look like it belongs. Maybe that’s what makes it work so well, or maybe that’s enough.