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Editors’ Picks February 2023 | Audi RS 3, electric G80 and a longtime favorite

In this month’s set of EditorsÂ’ Picks, we see a wide variety of vehicles earn our recommended status. The Audi RS 3 is a truly stellar sedan with a killer engine, great handling and still enough comfort for daily use. Genesis finds its way onto the list again with its electric version of the G80 midsize sedan, and VolvoÂ’s XC90 still charms after all these years. In case you missed our previous Editors' Picks posts, hereÂ’s a quick refresher on whatÂ’s going on here. We rate all the new cars we drive with a 1-10 score. Cars that are exemplary in their respective segments get an EditorsÂ’ Pick designation. Those are the ones weÂ’d recommend to our friends, family and anybody whoÂ’s curious and asks the question. The list that youÂ’ll find below consists of every car we rated in January that earned an EditorsÂ’ Pick. 2023 Audi RS 3 Quick take: The Audi RS 3 keeps the passion alive with a superb sounding 5-cylinder engine and a torque-vectoring rear differential that massively ups the handling fun. Its interior is a little bland, but it's still a handsome Audi on the outside. Score: 8.0 What it competes with: Mercedes-AMG CLA 45, BMW M240i, Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing, VW Golf R Pros: Epic engine sound, fun AWD system, great handling and acceleration, attractive exterior styling Cons: Interior doesn't pop, expensive for its size From the editors: Road Test Editor Zac Palmer — "If you love a special engine, the Audi RS 3 is a car for you. Few powertrains sound and feel as special as the 5-cylinder engine in the RS 3, and the ferocity with which it accelerates will have you laughing your head off with every pull. The sheer performance out of this little machine is extraordinary, and I'd recommend it to anybody shopping for a small, luxury sports car daily. All that said, I wish Audi could've sorted out better steering and a suitable interior. As-is, both of those factors are negatives in a car that is almost all upside." In-depth analysis: 2023 Audi RS 3 First Drive Review: To hell with business cases   2023 Volvo XC90 2022 Volvo XC90 Recharge View 15 Photos Quick take: The XC90 may be old now, but key updates and a timeless design ensure it's competitive as ever. The Scandinavian interior design appeal has never faded, and now the Google-based infotainment system is fresh and snappy. Even the Recharge PHEV is an awesome alternative with great range and strong electric motor.

Audi planning A9 electric vehicle to challenge Tesla

It looks like we have another "Tesla Fighter" on our hands. Various higher-end automakers have announced plug-in luxury sports sedans that would likely take on the California-based electric-vehicle maker, and Audi now appears to have joined that group. The badge is A9, and it may be available to the public by the end of the decade, UK's Autocar reports. The Audi A9 E-Tron could be a beast. The car will deliver 429 horsepower via three electric motors – two driving the front wheels, one driving the rear. The sedan will be equipped with a 95-kilowatt-hour battery that will enable a 310-mile single-charge range (on the more generous European driving cycle). Lots of parts and features will be shared with the battery-electric SUV Audi is also planning. Where it really gets fun is the prospect of the sedan having "torque vectoring," in which power can be shifted from side to side in order to boost handling. Additionally, the car could have a wireless, inductive charging option as well as an auto-parking feature for positioning over the floor-mounted charging module. No word on how this car will be priced, but we're guessing quite high. Audi CEO Rupert Stadler has gone on record saying that the German automaker wants to have three all-electric models available to the public by 2020, though hasn't said anything specific about a high-end battery-electric sedan that would be geared to take on the Tesla Model S. The company did introduce its E-tron Quattro concept last year, though, and Audi has said it aims to have as much as 25 percent of its sales be of the plug-in variety by 2025. There's a chance for that if the A9 e-tron is as enticing as it appears to be. Related Video:

When Android Automotive goes in the dash, Google wins — and automakers lose data

You've gotta hand it to Google for the way the Silicon Valley tech giant has made indelible inroads into the car on multiple fronts. The most obvious is with its pioneering self-driving car technology that's caused car companies to get their act together on autonomous vehicles — and also collaborate with Google. Google has more directly extended its influence and data-mining capabilities into the car with its Android Auto smartphone-projection platform that most major automakers have adopted along with Apple's CarPlay. And now it's preparing to dig even deeper into dashboards by deploying its open-source operating system, Android Automotive, beginning with Audi and Volvo. Volvo recently announced that its next-generation Sensus infotainment system will run Android Automotive as an OS and include Google's Play Store for cloud-based content, Maps for navigation and Google Assistant for voice recognition, which can even command a car's climate control. By embedding Google in the dash, Volvo says owners will get an improved connected experience. "Bringing Google services into Volvo cars will accelerate innovation in connectivity and boost our development in applications and connected services," Volvo senior vice president of R&D Henrik Green said in a statement. "Soon, Volvo drivers will have direct access to thousands of in-car apps that make daily life easier and the connected in-car experience more enjoyable." Having Android Automotive onboard could benefit drivers — and provide a big win for Google, since it opens a deep and lucrative new data-mining vein for the company. But it's a wave of a white flag for car companies when it comes to delivering their own cloud-based content and services. It also represents a massive data giveaway and, for Audi, a reversal of earlier reservations about letting Google get too much access to car data. Not long after Android Auto and Apple CarPlay were introduced in 2014 and most automakers eagerly embraced the technologies, several German automakers second-guessed their decision when they realized what was at stake: data. At a conference in Berlin in 2015, Audi CEO Rupert Stadler said car owners "want to be in control of their data, and not subject to monitoring." A few months earlier, Stadler stated that "the data that we collect is our data and not Google's.