The eighth-generation Lexus ES arrives with a substantially revised hybrid model, marking the first time the long-running luxury sedan has offered all-wheel drive. The 2026 ES 350h adopts Lexus’ sixth-generation hybrid system, a new multi-pathway platform shared with the all-electric ES 350e and ES 500e, and a larger body with a higher seating position than its predecessor.

The powertrain numbers reflect meaningful gains over the outgoing ES 300h. Output rises from 215 hp to 244 hp on both front- and all-wheel-drive configurations, driven by increases to both the 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine — now rated at 186 hp and 173 lb-ft — and a substantially more powerful front motor generator producing 201 hp and 199 lb-ft. The AWD variant adds a 54-hp rear e-Axle that can shift torque distribution from 100:0 front-to-rear all the way to 20:80 on demand.

Kia America delivered 72,703 vehicles in April 2026, a 3 percent dip versus the same month a year ago — a comparison made difficult by elevated April 2025 demand — but the headline number understates a broader story of structural momentum. Through the first four months of 2026, Kia has moved 279,718 units, a 2 percent gain over the same period in 2025 and a new year-to-date sales record for the brand.

The Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray is the first Corvette to use all-wheel drive and the first to use a hybrid powertrain, two statements that would have been inconceivable to anyone familiar with the Corvette’s sixty-year identity as a rear-wheel-drive, naturally aspirated (or supercharged) American sports car. The E-Ray adds an electric motor to the front axle — drawing from a 1.9 kWh battery that is too small for any meaningful EV range but large enough to provide front-axle torque on demand — while retaining the 6.2-liter LT2 V8 at the rear.

The new BMW M5 will do zero to sixty in 3.4 seconds. It weighs 2,445 kilograms. These two facts exist in a tension that the M division has spent considerable engineering effort resolving and that no amount of engineering can fully reconcile. The car is extraordinarily fast. It is also extraordinarily heavy, and the M5 lineage — from the E28 original through the E39 that most enthusiasts consider the definition of the breed — was built on the proposition that performance and mass should not coexist if the goal is driver engagement.