Auto News 5

BMW has finally given us our first official, undisguised look at its futuristic, all-electric city car. For now the i3 is still labeled a concept, but this car is much more complete than the MegaCity concept that preceded it. The four-passenger i3 concept is perhaps the most advanced take on electric cars yet, and draws on BMW's experience with a fleet of 600 Mini E and 1000 BMW ActiveE electric cars. Unlike those cars, however, which were traditional cars converted to electric drive, the i3 was developed from the ground up to accommodate electric propulsion.

It happens sometimes that a car creeps up on us. We know it's out there, we've seen the photos, maybe we've seen it spinning around at an auto show. Then one of us travels to an exotic locale, drives it, and writes the story, and the rest of us -- like you -- form an opinion that gets parked in the brain bank until we actually have our own go at it. Joe DeMatio recently reminded me that he forced a Volvo S60 on us at last year's All-Stars competition. He had been blown away by it on a press drive, but none of the rest of us had spent any time in one. He knew the proof would be getting our butts in its Swedish seat. DeMatio, of course, was right. The S60 won handily.

Those creative Bavarians -- calling their first car an M1 just because it was, well, the first M car. Thirty-some years later, that inspired deviation from BMW's naming norm has cost the newest M car the name it should have had. So if you think today's 1-series M coupe is awkwardly named, blame the 1978-1981 BMW M1.

Our CLS test car was "only" a CLS550, but I've also driven the CLS63 AMG version, and they're both impressive. What I remember most distinctly about the CLS63 was that I drove it on some very challenging roads above Napa Valley, in the rain, tailing a Mercedes-Benz USA executive who was driving an SLS AMG Gullwing quite briskly. As if that wasn't enough to keep me busy, I was also deeply engrossed in conversation with my co-driver, but we just sailed over those wet, twisting roads in utter serenity. The CLS chassis was totally composed, and the steering was among the most accurate and communicative setups I've ever experienced in a Mercedes-Benz. Those dynamics are also evident in the lesser CLS550, which feels much smaller than it is, almost like a sport coupe. I don't recall the E-class having steering nearly this good. The steering wheel itself is very handsome, with a big three-pointed star in the middle, little bump-outs at 10 and 2 o'clock that allow you to rest your hands at 9 and 3 comfortably, and a racing-inspired flat bottom. It's all good. Also good is the shallow dash, which adds to the feeling of compactness and sportiness. One low note, though, is that where the front doors meet the A-pillars, the triangle-shaped Harman Kardon speakers obstruct your forward vision.