The Mercedes-Benz G-Class, aka the Gelandewagen (which means "all-terrain vehicle" in German) has been in regular production since 1979. It's changed a lot since then, evolving from a utilitarian off-roader to a desirable luxury icon, but it's never seen a change quite like this.

Meet the Mercedes-Benz G 580 with EQ Technology. That's a long and mild name for a pretty radical reinvention of the classic G. This is the first battery-powered G-Wagen, driven by a whopping four electric motors that draw juice from a 116-kilowatt-hour battery pack. Total output is 580 horsepower.

Those four motors enable the electric G to do some amazing things, like a so-called G-Turn, where it spins in place. The idea is to help this big rig get out of some tight off-road situations, but we think it'll be even more effective at impressing your neighbors. There's a bevy of other tech here too, including dedicated off-road driving modes and a series of cameras that allow drivers to spot every rock and rut when crossing the trails. No formal word on pricing just yet, but it's important to note that the gas-powered versions of the G-Class live on, so if you're really attached to internal combustion there's still a G for you.

Really, though, if you can't do a tank turn, then what's the point? Watch the video above for the full story.

We are living in a second golden age for console gaming. Active communities, open developer tools and easy distribution have given new life to many once-dead systems. If there's one company who deserves the most thanks for bringing a love for '80s and '90s cartridge-based console gaming back to the semi-mainstream, it's Analogue.

It started with the CMVS, an obsessive (and expensive) wood-grained reboot of the iconic Neo Geo. Then came the Analogue Nt in 2014, which brought easy, high-def NES gaming to our homes . In 2017, the Super Nt did the same for SNES gaming, then the Mega Sg for the Sega Genesis and, most recently, the Analogue Pocket, which supports everything from the Game Boy to the Neo Geo Pocket thanks to a series of adapters.

Analogue's latest is something different. While all those before have lived and died by their cartridge ports, the new Analogue Duo takes us to the next generation of gaming: optical. That's right, Analogue has entered the multimedia era with this love letter to one of Japan's most beloved consoles, a machine that barely made a dent elsewhere in the world.

That system is the TurboGrafx-16, known as the PC Engine in its home market of Japan. It launched there in 1987, beating the Sega Genesis to market by two years and the SNES by three. It rocketed to huge popularity, ultimately outselling Sega and keeping pace with Nintendo for much of its life. By the end of its run, its library offered nearly 700 games.

It didn't fare so well in the US. The TurboGrafx-16 didn't come here until 1989, arriving after the Genesis brought blast processing to the masses. Nintendo and Sega soon engaged in a marketing war of epic proportions. NEC's humble TurboGrafx-16 didn't stand a chance.

It didn't help that it wasn't really a 16-bit console. Though it offered support for 16-bit graphics, it only had an 8-bit internal processor, so it couldn't match the power of the competition. The add-on CD-ROM didn't help. Despite hitting the market years before the Sega CD, the Genesis add-on included an additional processor to deliver an early taste of 3D processing. The TurboGrafx drive was just that: an optical drive.

The system struggled in the US for a few more years before NEC pulled the plug in 1994. In Japan, new games hit the system all the way through 1999, meaning that even the most hardcore enthusiasts in the US missed out on the bulk of the PC Engine's best titles.

And, since the Analogue Duo can play imported games just as readily as local ones, it's a great excuse to dig deeper into that library.

Out of the box

Tim Stevens for Engadget

The Analogue Duo is a slender console that shares an aesthetic similar to the PC Engine Duo, which was released in the US as the TurboDuo. NEC's Duo integrated the CD-ROM peripheral into a single, sleek, unified device. But, the Analogue unit feels far nicer. Its plastic body feels sturdier than the brittle stuff used on consoles back in the '90s, and the bottom is even rubberized. In fact, the Duo feels more like a high-end piece of home theater equipment, whereas the TurboGrafx-16 feels like a 30-year-old toy.

Up front are two slots. On the left is where cartridge-based games go, either on HuCard or TurboChip, the two media formats NEC used over the years. On the right is the CD-ROM slot.

Output to your display is via the HDMI port on the back, but there's also a 3.5mm headphone jack with its own volume knob if you want some private listening. You'll also find a port on the side for wired controllers, but since this uses the smaller Japanese connector, not the larger American one, you'll need an adapter to use TurboGrafx-16 controllers.

Around the back is an SD card reader for firmware updates or the like, plus a USB-C port through which the system gets its power.

At the heart of the system is an Altera Cyclone V processor, a dual-core Arm Cortex field-programmable gate array (FPGA) chip that can be effectively coded to act like any other processor. It's that core which enables the Duo to emulate the PC Engine and all its derivatives over the years.

There's none of the lag and glitchy performance that you'll get when running ROMs through an emulator. This is as close as you're going to get to a modern reboot of the PC Engine, but with much cleaner output.

Output

Analogue

Whether you're playing domestic or imported games, everything will look stellar. As with previous Analogue releases, the Duo outputs a 1080p signal over HDMI, resulting in the absolute cleanest way to play your games on a modern digital display.

While there are ways to get an HDMI signal out of a TurboGrafx-16, ranging from RGB adapters that clip on the back to outputs soldered onto the system itself, even running through something like a scanline converter you're unlikely to ever get a signal this crisp and clean.

But for those who like to preserve a taste of the old school, Analogue includes a few different gameplay modes to deliver a CRT-like look and feel.

To be fair, even the greatest of games for this system don't offer much in terms of high-fidelity graphics compared to modern titles. But there are plenty well worth your time. Gate of Thunder is one of them, and it’s among the best side-view shooters, or shmups, ever to hit a console. The quality of games like this helped establish the PC Engine's success in Japan.

Castlevania: Rondo of Blood, though, is generally believed to be the single greatest title for the system. Released on CD-ROM in 1993, exclusively in the Japanese market, this is still ranked among the top Castlevania titles of them all.

It's damned good, and plays excellently on the Analogue Duo. Load times for this game and others are quite fast, and the drive isn't as noisy as many console CD-ROM add-ons were back in the day.

Gaming on the Analogue Duo

The Analogue Duo delivered flawless compatibility and playback for virtually every game I threw at it, with only one falling short: SCI: Special Criminal Investigation — which, thank goodness, has nothing to do with the CSI television series. SCI is the sequel to Chase H.Q., which was big in American arcades. Its unique mix of driving and shooting, as well as the inclusion of amazing period cars like the Nissan 300ZX Turbo made it a real favorite of mine. In fact, this was the first game I tried to play on the Duo.

So, imagine my horror when the Analogue system wouldn't play it or even recognize it. It just displayed a blank screen, much like what happens on a region-locked US TurboGrafx-16 console when trying to play a Japanese game. So, I went into the Duo's settings, explicitly changed the region to Japan, and the game played without issue.

This is the only game that the Duo failed to appropriately identify the region of, which is a minor annoyance at best that I'm sure will be fixed soon in one of Analogue's frequent updates.

Firmware updates are easily applied via the integrated SD-card reader, which is also where your save games for CD-based titles are stored. This makes them easy to back up or even edit. With the appropriate USB adapter, it's also possible to import your old save games.

Controllers

Tim Stevens for Engadget

If there's one fly in this ointment, it's the controllers. As usual, Analogue partnered with 8BitDo to provide peripherals for the Duo. The $24.99 gamepad is the standard offering, and while it looks good in photos, in the hand it's somewhat underwhelming.

For one thing, it feels just as light and flimsy as 8BitDo's other products, with buttons that rattle when you shake the thing. The controller doesn't even offer the same weight and solidity as the original TurboGrafx-16 controllers, which certainly aren't standouts themselves.

But the 8BitDo controllers have a major advantage: they're wireless. They pair quickly and easily with the Duo and work without lag. They also feature a dedicated home button to bring up the Analogue menu.

There is, though, one final kicker with the controllers: they charge over micro-USB. It's 2024, 8BitDo. Even Apple has moved to USB-C.

Wrap-up

I really enjoyed testing the Analogue Duo. It was an opportunity to play releases I hadn't dug out in years, and also to experience some games I hadn't yet tried, all rendered in immaculate detail.

That said, it's easy to see this as a very niche release for Analogue, a company whose obsessive fans are already far from mainstream. Software emulation is infinitely cheaper and still delivers great results, but those of us who love classic console gaming know that there's just something different about running it from the original media.

Whether that extra something is worth the extra cost is between you and your accountant. Despite being Analogue's most expensive release in years, and despite supporting a decidedly underappreciated console, the Analogue Duo is yet another excellent quality of life improvement for retro gamers and collectors. I can't imagine playing my HuCards any other way.

The Hyundai Ioniq 5 N is one of the most extreme EVs you can buy at the moment. With over 600 horsepower delivered to all four wheels, plus a plethora of drive modes that help you do everything from circuit racing to drifting, it's a truly wild ride.

But it's about to get even wilder. Meet the new Hyundai Ioniq 5 N eN1 Cup car. This is a lightweight, caged, and big-winged version of Hyundai's rocket ship, tuned to such an extreme level that it isn't even road legal. Yes, this one's strictly for racing, and Hyundai is launching a focused racing series for the 5 N later this year.

Ahead of that, I headed to Korea to take it for a drive on a closed track. Inje Speedium is a tricky circuit with lots of elevation changes, and despite some inclement weather the Ioniq 5 N eN1 proved to be a masterful drive. And, at $100,000, for a track-ready machine, it's surprisingly value-priced. Watch the video above for the full story.

Last year, at the IAA show in Berlin, BMW gave us a first look at what it calls the Neue Klasse, a "new class" of sedan that would not only drive BMW into its electric future, but also create a platform with greater efficiency and driving dynamics than we've yet seen from the German brand.

Now, the company is showing us an evolution of that concept. A taller one at that, to see just how that same idea for future electrification would apply to an SUV. In keeping with BMW's naming conventions, this one's called the Neue Klasse X. The styling is somewhat predictable in that regard, since it is a taller version of what we saw in the Neue Klasse sedan.

What's more interesting is what we can see on the inside, with a more-functional interior that gives us a look at BMW's Panoramic Vision, a heads-up display that spans the entire windscreen. That, plus cool ambient lighting and other interesting features, including the large language model voice assistant they demoed at CES. We're about a year away from seeing this at dealerships, but you can take an early sneak peek with us from a preview event right now.

The consumer electronics industry has changed radically over the past two decades. AR/VR devices have come and gone and come again, smartphones have grown from filling our pockets to dominating our lives, and the tendrils of connected services now touch everything we touch.

Yet, for me, the most exciting to watch has been the development of technology that moves us. I mean that literally: cars and scooters and e-bikes and all the other wild and wonderful modes of transportation that have grown wings or wheels over the past few decades.

A love for all that stuff has always been at my core. Many moons ago, before my time as editor-in-chief of this site, I served as automotive editor. In the late 2000s, that mainly meant pondering what was happening in the world of Ford Sync or writing about flying car concepts that, today, are still very decidedly grounded.

An excellent perk was getting to drive many early EVs, though it didn’t always end well. In 2012, I made an aborted attempt to get from Portland to Seattle for an emissions-free Engadget Show episode. The poor Mitsubishi i-MiEV we’d borrowed wasn’t up to the task.

But then along came the Tesla Model S. At the time, I knew it would be significant. Everyone in the industry knew it would be significant, but it’s only in looking back more than a decade later that we can truly appreciate just how significant it was. In the rear view mirror, we can also see what a shame it is Tesla has barely moved the needle since.

A preview in Fremont

In the (long) lead-up to that car’s eventual late-2012 release, Tesla invited me out to a supposed grand reopening of its Fremont factory. The place was unbelievably massive and virtually empty. Tesla officials were proud to show off the numerous giant presses that would stamp out Model S components.

Other Tesla employees were dutifully feeding into those presses metal sheets, which came out the other end as flat as they went in. The presses were there and they were a-pressing, but the dies that formed the parts were absent. This event, like the many Tesla events to come, was somewhat lacking in substance.

Still, the time I spent chatting with Peter Rawlinson had a huge impact on me. Formerly of Lotus and Jaguar, Rawlinson was the chief engineer at Tesla at the time. He and I talked for ages about the advantages of low-slung battery packs and the torque behavior of electric motors. It’s all standard stuff these days, but back then, it was a fantastic opportunity for me to learn. (You can enjoy some of his insight in a series of videos here.)

Early Tesla EVs had two-speed transmissions. I asked Rawlinson whether there was a third gear for handling reverse.

“No,” he said. “We just spin the motor backward.”

That seems like such a simple concept now, but that moment caused a small-yield explosion between my ears. I spent the remainder of the day pondering the myriad other unforeseen implications of this switch to electrification. Nothing else happening in the industry was nearly as exciting as this.

My review

I got a quick go in a Model S at that Fremont event, a lap or two around Tesla’s test track, but I’d have to wait until early 2013 before I could take one for my first proper review of the Model S. It was a Performance edition, with an 85kWh battery pack and a $101,600 sticker price.

I picked it up in New York City and drove it home to Albany, NY. Along the way, I got a preview of what would become another unfortunate Tesla theme: an uncomfortable relationship with the media.

Before I’d made it far, I got a warning light on the dash. I called Tesla PR to ask what to do.

“Oh, don’t worry, we’re watching you,” they said. “It’s fine.”

I didn’t feel fine. I’ve been reviewing devices for decades, and I always assume some degree of logging is involved, but this seemed a little more ominous.

(Over the years, it only got more so. In a later review of a Model 3, I complained the auto high-beams were terrible on country roads. Tesla PR asked me when this occurred so their engineers could pull up the footage from my drive.)

Warning light extinguished, Big Brother now visible in the back seat, I got back to enjoying the car. After having reviewed the Tesla Roadster two years before, a beautiful mess of a slapped-together machine, the Model S was something entirely different. It was calm, it was composed and it wasn’t nearly so drafty. I made the 165-mile drive home with 23 percent to spare, this in January on a 24-degree day.

That is pretty poor by today’s standards, but remember, the most common EV of the day was the Nissan Leaf. In 2013, the Leaf’s range was EPA rated at 75 miles. The Model S was on another level.

But it wasn’t perfect. I was not a fan of many of the interior materials and design choices in 2013, and I would have been so disappointed to know things really haven’t improved since.

I also found the handling underwhelming, but my biggest complaint was the lack of advanced driver assistance systems. That Model S didn’t even have adaptive cruise. Autopilot was still years away, and the ongoing debacle of Full Self Driving much further afield.

And yet I still gave it a glowing review, and it deserved it. I was suitably impressed, as were plenty of others. I recently spoke with several buyers of these early sedans, and most were totally enamored with their cars, despite many teething issues. (So many broken door handles...)

However, it probably goes without saying that many of the folks I spoke with are less enamored of Tesla’s CEO than they were back then. Between that, the racially abusive work environments, and the constant anti-worker behavior, cheering for Tesla is a lot more complicated than it used to be. That is a true shame.

The evolving landscape

The seismic forces generated when the Model S dropped still echo through the industry. You can feel them in virtually every premium EV on the market today.

And yet it’s in those other EVs that the bulk of EV innovation is happening. If you look at what Peter Rawlinson did with the Lucid Air, a sedan that goes over 500 miles on a charge, it’s easy to imagine what could have been had he not parted ways with Tesla. The on-road performance of the Porsche Taycan, the off-road prowess of the Rivian R1T and the minimalist cool of the Volvo EX30 are raising the bar.

Tesla has been more successful than any other manufacturer at getting more EVs into more driveways and at getting more chargers into more places. Tesla made EVs viable and desirable. You have to respect it for that. Lately, though, the company’s greatest achievements have all focused on cutting costs and minimizing complexity, often at the expense of quality and, indeed, safety.

Look at today’s Model S and you still see the car that was released in 2012. It’s quicker and has more range, sure, but it is the same platform and basic design I reviewed over a decade ago. Pondering the time wasted on vanity projects, like the Model X, and vaporware, like the new Roadster, it’s hard to not feel the ache of missed potential.

To celebrate Engadget's 20th anniversary, we're taking a look back at the products and services that have changed the industry since March 2, 2004.

Mini has promised to go all electric by 2030, a date that seemed pretty far off back in 2021 but right now is starting to sound not that far off at all. While the company's prior battery-powered efforts have been great, it's going to take something more serious and more practical to convert the masses to the wonders of electrification.

That something might just be the 2025 Mini Countryman. While Mini will offer this car with a gasoline-burning engine if you're feeling traditional, the star of the lineup will be the new, $45,200, all-electric Countryman SE. With 313 horsepower and 363 pound-feet of torque, it's quick, and with way more cargo space, it's practical too.

But how does it drive? That's what we headed to Portugal to find out, and while the extra volume and weight of the new Countryman does come with some compromises, it's an engaging SUV to drive with a fantastic interior that's just a few software updates away from perfection. Full the full preview, watch the video up top.

Hyundai is on a design roll these days. Everything that's coming out of the brand's South Korean design studios looks fresh and interesting, and that's very much the case with the new Santa Fe. Dropping next year, the 2024 Santa Fe looks nothing like the current car. In fact it looks more like a Land Rover, but still has a look all its own.

It has a selection of great tech, too, like dual wireless chargers, dual 12.3-inch displays and wireless Android Auto/Apple CarPlay. Plus, with three rows of seating, the Santa Fe hauls more folks and more cargo than ever before. Two engines will be on offer: a 2.5-liter, turbocharged four-cylinder making 277 horsepower and a 1.6-liter hybrid, with 232 ponies.

But what's it like to drive? And is that third row actually usable? We headed to South Korea to find out. Watch the video below for the full story.

The Hyundai Ioniq 5 is already one of the best EVs on the market. It's comfortable, it's practical, it looks great and, with 320 horsepower, it's pretty quick, too. But, pretty quick isn't quick enough for some folks, and if that's you, Hyundai has a solution.

Meet the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N. That extra letter means twice the power, 641 to be exact, plus countless suspension and chassis upgrades that make this an absolute lunatic. Even more impressive, though, are the software upgrades. The 5 N includes perhaps the most customizable driving modes of any EV on the planet, plus even a selection of fake engine noises and even a fake transmission that you can shift.

It's quite a package and, as I learned, quite a monster on the track too. The only question is how much it's going to cost. That we don't know yet, but we should find out soon, with the Ioniq 5 N hitting dealerships in March. Watch the video below for the full story.

It’s hard to imagine that anyone in the world was demanding a hybrid Corvette, but those crazy engineers at Chevrolet went and did it anyway. Meet the 2024 Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray, but if you’re already angry at the concept, you shouldn't be.

The hybrid drive here isn’t to raise the efficiency of perhaps America’s most iconic sports car. Oh no. It’s only here to make it faster. 0 to 60 in 2.5 seconds and a quarter-mile in 10.5 fast. The electric motor up front adds 160 horsepower to the 495 that comes from the LT2 V8 in the back. Yes, it can be driven for a few miles emissions-free, but more important is how it boosts acceleration.

It helps the handling, too. The Stingray is a notorious understeerer on the track. The E-Ray does too, but give it a little throttle and that magic front electric motor pulls the nose right around and through. It’s a delight, and so is the E-Ray – a $104,295 delight. It definitely comes at a premium over the base Stingray, but those looking for the ultimate all-round, all-season ‘Vette have a new choice. Watch the video below for our full impressions.

The Porsche Taycan is one of the most desirable EVs on the market, quick and lovely and yet somehow practical, too. But, with less than 250 miles of range on a charge and a starting price of at least $90,000, it's not exactly a mainstream car.

Porsche's next EV might get a little closer. Meet the electric Macan, which for a time at least will live along-side the gasoline-powered Macan. Porsche doesn't have all the details to share yet, but this battery-powered SUV will offer upwards of 600 horsepower in a similar, crossover SUV shell. Range? That hasn't been determined, but I was told it will go "a lot" farther on a charge than the Taycan.

What it will cost, though, remains to be seen. The Macan is one of Porsche's most attainable cars, starting at just over $60,000, but the all-electric version is liable to be rather more dear than that. What's it like to drive? Even though it isn't finished, it's already a hoot. Come onboard for a spin.