A Complete Guide to New, Clean(er) Cars

The auto industry is taking its time, but now the big players are betting heavily on plug-in hybrids and battery-electric technology. So your neighbour bought a Tesla. Cool! Here are alternatives that don’t involve buying into the Cult of Elon.


ALSO INCLUDING:
THE CARS THAT DEFINED OUR YEAR ON THE ROAD
5 RIDES MARKING THE RETURN OF ECCENTRICITY
SUVs ARE NOW THE STATUS QUO — AND THAT’S FINE
THE YEAR IN AUTO EXOTICA — AND THE 2020 RIDES WE CAN’T WAIT FOR
CHECK BACK FOR MORE ONLINE COVERAGE OF OUR FAVOURITE JOYRIDES OF 2019 IN THE WEEKS TO COME.

Our Current Obsessions:

Porsche Taycan

It carries an eye-watering price tag, but the Taycan could teach Tesla a thing or two about how to make a car handle. It’s the first electric car from Porsche. And, on a recent trip to Finland to see how it handled on the ice, we left seriously impressed.

$119,400

Mini Cooper SE

Zero emissions combined with Mini’s go-kart handling? Sign us up. Its driving range (230–270 km) won’t impress Tesla fans, but it should make a brilliant city runabout.

Price TBD

Volvo XC40 Recharge

After promising five new fully electric vehicles by 2021, the Swedes have been tight-lipped about details. But their first offering will be an XC40 — so it’s going to be good.

Price TBD

Four Hybrids that Don’t Look — Or Drive — Like Hybrids:

Listen, not everybody needs to broadcast the fact that they drive a hybrid. It’s 2019 — it’s not a big deal anymore.

Acura NSX

Despite its legendary name, the NSX continues to fly under the radar. Hybrid supercars don’t get more entertaining than this.

Audi Q5

It’s the same luxurious mid-size SUV that everybody loves, now with roughly 20–30 km of electric-only range.

Mercedes GLC 350e

The 350e plug-in hybrid is the pick of the GLC litter, with roughly 21 km of electric range and 315 horsepower.

Harley-Davidson Livewire

Who would have guessed? Harley-Davidson — famous for its thunderous V-twin motors — has launched an electric bike. And it looks stone-cold stunning.

From $37,250

A Recap of Big Moves in EV:

1 Electrifying Canada

Audi, Porsche, and Volkswagen have teamed up to roll out the fastest electric-car charging network in the country, under the Electrify Canada banner. More than 30 stations are planned so far. Depending on the car, you can get up to 30 km of driving range for every minute of charging.

2 The Federal EV Incentive

What’s the deal?

• $5,000 back on fully electric vehicles and long-range plug-in hybrids (eg. Tesla Model 3, BMW i3, Volkswagen e-Golf).

• $2,500 back on plug-in hybrids with smaller batteries (eg. Audi A3 e-tron, Mini Countryman S E). 

What are the caveats?

There’s no incentive on vehicles over $60,000, and if you lease a vehicle, you won’t get the full incentive amount.