Yahoo Autos Road & Track’s 2024 Performance EV of the Year
From the Editor
We’ve known for a while that EVs can be blindingly fast in a straight line. All the torque all at once equals a sprint down a straightaway so fast you want to laugh. But speed in a straight line is just one component of many that make a true performance car. So the Road & Track staff waited—until the Tesla Plaid hype cycle passed, until the charging infrastructure inched forward just enough, until there were enough EVs on the market that think of themselves as serious sports cars. Finally, in model year 2023, the time arrived.
For the first time in the history of real automotive journalism, there is a benchmark award for Performance EV of the Year. We collected all the appropriate EVs on the market (excluding the ones that manufacturers didn’t want us evaluating for a number of reasons, mostly having to do with concerns about battery durability and charging infrastructure), and gathered them at a turnoff along 13.8 miles of Angeles Crest twisties.
We sorted the cars into two categories: under $100,000 and over. The contestants are the Kia EV6 GT, the BMW i4 M50, the Ford Mustang Mach-E GT Performance Edition, the Porsche Taycan Turbo S, the Mercedes-AMG EQE sedan, and the Tesla Model S Plaid.
Ladies and gentlemen, charge your batteries.
—Mike Guy, Editor-in-Chief
The Cars
Tesla Model S Plaid
On sale for more than a decade, the Model S is the Methuselah of the EV world. The Model S, particularly in Plaid form, has two impressive tricks: gut-slushing thrust and a frankly amazing price cut.
Price, as Tested $98,380
Motors 3 permanent-magnet synchronous AC motors
Output 1020 hp @ 1050 lb-ft
Transmissions direct-drive
Range (EPA) 348 miles
Curb Weight 4828 lb
0–60 mph 2.1 seconds
2023 BMW i4 M50
A BMW isn’t typically the value-conscious option in a comparison test. But in this group, the i4 M50 is exactly that. It combines plenty of EV thrust with familiar BMW dynamic ability and steering at a reasonable price.
Price, as Tested $76,670
Motors 2 current-excited synchronous AC motors
Output 536 hp @ 586 lb-ft
Transmissions direct-drive
Range (EPA) 227 miles
Curb Weight 5063 lb
0–60 mph 3.3 seconds
2023 Kia EV6 GT
Kia’s funky wagon gets the performance treatment before its Hyundai Ioniq 5 sibling does. The EV6 GT is a Kia with more power and a quicker sprint to 60 mph than a Lamborghini Murciélago. A Kia.
Price, as Tested $63,100
Motors 2 permanent-magnet synchronous AC motors
Output 576 hp @545 lb-ft
Transmissions direct-drive
Range (EPA) 206 miles
Curb Weight 4817 lb
0–60 mph 3.1 seconds
2023 Mercedes-AMG EQS Sedan
Part of Mercedes’s broad EQ lineup of electric vehicles. This version of the EQE has enough power to merit the AMG name. But is an AMG an AMG without that familiar AMG sound?
Price, as Tested $126,640
Motors 2 permanent-magnet synchronous AC motors
Output 617 hp (677 hp w/ boost) @701 lb-ft (738 lb-ft w/ boost)
Transmissions direct-drive
Range (EPA) 225 miles
Curb Weight 5547 lb
0–60 mph 2.8 seconds
2023 Ford Mustang Mach-E GT Performance Edition
The Mach-E has been on sale for a couple of years, and yet its combination of Mustang name, EV powertrain, and SUV body configuration is still plenty perplexing.
Price, as Tested $67,290
Motors 2 permanent-magnet synchronous AC motors
Output 480 hp @634 lb-ft
Transmissions direct-drive
Range (EPA) 260 miles
Curb Weight 5001 lb
0–60 mph 3.7 seconds
