- I've driven more than two-dozen electric vehicles.
- Five stand out as the most fun to drive.
I've tested more than two-dozen electric vehicles of all different shapes, sizes, and price points. But a few stand out as being the most fun to drive.
To be sure, "fun" as a concept is broad and subjective. The tea-drinking crossword puzzler has a different definition than the all-night raver. And the same goes for cars.
These four vehicles put a smile on my face, got my heart racing, or all of the above.
Kia EV6 GT
Warn your passengers to brace themselves before pinning it in Kia's new EV6 GT. And maybe double check they don't have any pre-existing neck problems. Because this isn't your ordinary Kia.
The new-for-2023 version of the EV6 SUV packs a serious punch in the form of 576 horsepower and 545 pound-feet of torque. The result: instantaneous, gut-punching acceleration when you put the pedal to the metal. Kia says the dual-motor, all-wheel-drive hatchback zips to 60 mph in a brisk 3.4 seconds.
On top of the jaw-dropping quickness, there's something extra enjoyable about doing it all not in a Porsche or a BMW, but in a Kia.
Interested? The EV6 GT is priced from around $63,000.
Pininfarina Battista
When you take the oomph of the EV6 GT and more than triple it, you get the certifiably outrageous Pininfarina Battista.
The $2 million supercar packs an astonishing 1,900 horsepower from four motors — one driving each wheel. In its own testing, Pininfarina says it achieved a 0-60-mph time of 1.79 seconds, faster than any other street-legal car.
A number is one thing — experiencing it is something else entirely. Flooring the Battista in its most ferocious driving setting, Furiosa, feels like breaking the laws of physics. It takes off like a rocket and gives you the sneaking suspicion that you're a blink away from vanishing into some other dimension.
Fun? Yes. Terrifying? You bet.
Rivian R1T
And now for something completely different: the Rivian R1T pickup truck. I got behind the wheel of California startup Rivian's first model back in 2021 and had an absolute blast tackling trails in the Colorado mountains.
The rugged R1T amounts to something like a cheat code for off-roading. I came in with zero off-pavement experience and in no time found myself gleefully crawling over beachball-sized boulders, fording streams, and zooming up gravelly hills. On steep descents, the R1T slows to a manageable crawl, recapturing energy for its battery pack.
The truck's adjustable-height suspension and quad-motor all-wheel-drive system mean basically all you have to do is steer toward some scary obstacle and hit the right pedal. Rivian's R1S SUV offers similar capabilities, but I didn't get to test it on such challenging terrain, so the R1T stands out.
Porsche Taycan
Porsches are renowned for their superior driving dynamics. After taking a spin in the brand's Taycan Cross Turismo Turbo S, I can see why.
I didn't take the electric station wagon to the track or anything, but even on public roads it felt unlike any other car I've driven. Through every turn, the Taycan felt stable and almost glued to the road. And thanks to its tight steering, I felt remarkably connected to it. I could place it precisely where I wanted to with the slightest tweak of the wheel.
Moreover, the Cross Turismo Turbo S I drove had 750 horsepower and a 60-mph sprint of just 2.7 seconds, according to Porsche. With power like that at your disposal, it's tough not to have a thrilling time.
GMC Hummer EV
GMC's gargantuan electric pickup is a nightmare to drive on city streets. And even on the highway, I constantly feared I was about to demolish some tiny Honda Civic. Still, the Hummer EV is a joy when you have a bit more space to roam.The six-figure truck feels like a supersized, incredibly expensive toy.
It has removable glass panels for a roof and quickness that makes absolutely no sense for a 9,000-pound vehicle. It can turn all four wheels the same direction and drive diagonally. When you switch between drive modes, video-game animations pop up on the Hummer's screen showing the truck trundling across quirky environments, like the Moon or Mars.
It's all so over the top, so ostentatious, so unnecessarily large, that you can't help but laugh at the Hummer's sheer absurdity when you're behind the wheel.