The world we live in has been irreversibly changed by technology, and the unstoppable march of progress continues to have a direct impact on our cars. In the last 25 years alone, we have seen the introduction of hybrids and electric powertrains, control-by-wire systems, advanced driver-assistance systems, and now even AI-driven, 3D-printed cars have become a reality. With technology now permeating almost every aspect of driving, what exactly are the most high-tech cars in 2026? Not too long ago, a Tesla would be a clear answer, but other automakers are catching up, so a Lucid Air, various Mercedes-Benz or Rivian models, and even the likes of the Hyundai are making some truly high-tech vehicles.We are going to be answering that question by taking a look at the ten most advanced cars in 2026. These are machines that sit at the cutting edge of what is possible, and have the most innovative features that few, if any, rivals can replicate. Whether you think that all this new car technology is making cars better to drive and safer, or you long for a much simpler time when a car was just four wheels and an engine, there is bound to be something here that makes you excited about the future.This article looks at ten cars which each have advanced, high-tech features that are either a first for their brand or a first for the automotive industry, and have yet to become mainstream but have a strong chance of becoming that in the future. They are ranked in terms of their price, starting with the lowest and finishing with the highest. 2026 Honda Prelude Base MSRP: $42,000 2026 Honda Prelude heroAfter a two-decade-long hiatus, the new sixth-generation Honda Prelude has made quite the splash in the automotive industry, and this has largely been for the wrong reasons. There is, however, one feature of the new Prelude that we at CarBuzz think deserves some closer attention and warrants its place on this list of high-tech cars. Honda’s e:HEV system deserves articles written about it, and we have dedicated multiple to that very subject. To put it in awfully brief terms, it consists of an electric motor driving the wheels powered by a battery that is topped up by a generator motor, itself charged by a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine that can also “clutch in” to drive the wheels in certain situations. Honda confusingly calls the transmission an eCVT, which initially elicited a collective groan in the automotive community, but we understand that it is only those three letters it shares with a traditional CVT. With S+ shift mode, it can simulate gearshifts a bit like the Hyundai Ioniq 5N, but with the added real sound of the internal combustion engine there, it makes it all the more lifelike. 2027 BMW iX3 Base MSRP: TBA (around $60,000) 2027 BMW iX3 driving frontThis brand-new BMW iX3 is, to anyone who knows about it, so much more than merely a replacement for the previous-generation iX3. That car was just a BMW X3 with the gasoline engine swapped out for an electric powertrain, but this new generation is not only built from the ground up as an EV, but features technology that could potentially change how all selectric vehicles. Just the range and charging capabilities of the iX3 are impressive enough, with 400 miles estimated by the EPA, and you can add 171 miles in as little as ten minutes.The part of the iX3 we want to focus on, however, is the so-called Heart of Joy, which is the name of the “super brain” electronic control unit that ensures a far better symbiosis between different elements of the car than EV drivers are used to. Braking, energy recuperation, and steering are all things that have not always talked to each other as much as they should do in electric cars, but the Heart of Joy creates a more connected, natural driving experience that has the potential to make EVs far better driver’s cars. 2027 Volvo EX60 Base MSRP: TBA (around $60,000) 2027 Volvo EX60 prototype driving at Hallered Proving Ground (18)The software that we have in our cars has come a very long way indeed, since the very earliest electronic control and diagnostics models made their appearances in the 1970s, to the point where today’s cars could be described as computers on wheels. Instead of just allowing software to control and pervade every aspect of a car, what if you instead built a car to be defined by software at the very outset? The new upcoming Volvo EX60 is one of the earliest examples of a “software-defined vehicle” or SDV for short, and we recently got to have a passenger ride in one at the Hällered Proving Ground. Though we have yet to drive it, we could tell that it felt far more together in terms of handling than previous electric Volvos had, but the best thing about the EX60 is the way in which so much of it can be improved upon with over-the-air software updates. The automaker has already managed to reduce the time taken to get from 10-80% from 18 minutes to 16 minutes. Overall range of the top-spec EX60 is right up there with that of the iX3 at 400 miles."Technologically, it's a different realm, making every previous Volvo EV from the EX30 to the EX90 feel like yesterday's news. And it'll keep evolving, with OTA software updates drawing the maximum potential out of the hardware..."- Roger Biermann, Managing Editor, CarBuzz 2026 Hyundai Ioniq 5N Base MSRP $66,100 2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5 NThe Hyundai Ioniq 5N is one of very few performance EVs that has truly broken through and connected with car enthusiasts on a fundamental level. Other performance EVs like the Porsche Taycan have failed to appeal on an emotional level and suffered massive depreciation as a result. The reason why the Ioniq 5N bucks the trend is not necessarily because of its performance. Based on the solid E-GMP and with 641 horsepower, it has plenty, but its N active sound and N e-shift have completely changed our perception of how engaging a performance EV can be with the way it can simulate engine noise and the gearshifts of an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission. If this sounds too much like a gimmick, and you want the best possible lap times, it is possible to turn these things off, and the powertrain, with its myriad settings for torque distribution and endurance/sprint modes for energy deployment, gives you all the tools you need. While performance EVs have been criticized for being too one-dimensional and having no noise or engagement, the Ioniq 5N bucks the trend entirely by offering arguably more than an ICE (internal combustion engine) car ever could. 2026 Tesla Cybertruck Base MSRP: $79,990 2025 Tesla CybertruckThe Tesla Cybertruck may well be one of the most controversial vehicles on this list and not just because it is technically a pickup truck on what is meant to be a list of the most high-tech cars. With its launch being delayed, it's needing a bunch of recalls to fix issues in its first model year, and just the fact that it best represents the idiosyncrasy of CEO Elon Musk, it is no wonder the Cybertruck has split opinions. This is a shame as it is a genuine technical marvel. As well as having 300 miles of range, not just at the top of the range but all models, the Cybertruck incorporates a steer-by-wire system, which, along with rear-weel-steering, allows for maneuverability that has to be seen to be believed. Instead of having a normal 12-volt electrical architecture, the Cybertruck features a 48-volt system, and this means more electrical load can be handled by less cabling, to the benefit of efficiency and handling. We haven’t mentioned the bulletproof capabilities of the stainless steel body yet, and we don’t have to. There is enough advanced tech underneath it to get excited about. 2026 Mercedes-AMG C63 S E Performance Base MSRP: $88,000 2023 Mercedes-AMG C63 S E Performance front, three-quarterAnother example of a controversial high-tech car, in the case of the most recent Mercedes C63, it is actually the advanced technology itself that has been the subject of the most vocal criticism. This is because the Mercedes-AMG C63 has always had a V8 engine - the very name C63 originally denoted the size of the 6.3-liter naturally aspirated V8 engine that powered the original. Fast-forward to today, and the current C63 isn’t powered by a V8, or even a V6, but rather an inline-four. It is also the most powerful and the quickest C63 ever made. This is because that four-cylinder engine is joined by three other electric motors: one that sits on the rear axle and drives the rear wheels, one that spools up the turbocharger, and another to start the engine and generate power from the crankshaft. With all these motors and the battery constantly working together to deliver maximum performance, it should create the ultimate driving experience, but with more weight and less noise, it has left audiences cold. As a result, it is now being killed off, but none of this should take away from what a technical marvel it is. 2026 Mercedes-Benz EQS Base MSRP: $104,400 2027 Mercedes-Benz EQS front quarterThe first of the EQ series of cars from Mercedes to arrive stateside, the EQS was supposed to be the electric S-Class, but its odd pebble-like styling and cheap plastics here and there didn’t help its case. The EQS turns five years old this month, and is definitely nearer the end of its life than the beginning. For 2026, it received some updates that have addressed some of these issues and helpted it remain one of the most technologically advanced cars in Mercedes’ range. It now has a new S-Class-esque front grille but remains one of the most aerodynamically efficient cars on sale, although it also appears to have copied Tesla with its steering. The steering yoke, called the 'tiller' is not fitted just for aesthetic reasons, but is apparently meant to ease entry, egress, and visibility. It also avoids some of the potential pitfalls by being linked to Mercedes’ first ever steer-by-wire system, only the second such system ever here after the aforementioned Cybertruck. That system can adjust the steering ratio, whether you want to make small adjustments on the freeway or small ones while parking. 2026 Porsche 911 Carrera GTS Base MSRP: $181,000 2024 Porsche Carrera GTS The Porsche 911 has been around for over 60 years and changed significantly over that time. Just ask any Porsche purist, and they will bewail the move from air-cooled engines to water-cooled engines, hydraulic steering to electric power steering, and the loss of a manual transmission in amny variants. Now, to add insult to injury, there is now a 911 with hybrid technology, but not in the way that you think. In the Carrera GTS, effectively the slightly more hardcore version of the standard Carrera, the electric motor is instead integrated between the crankshaft and the PDK geartrain and can add torque directly to the driveline as well as start the engine. There is also another smaller electric motor that sits on the turbo, which gives it instant boost, eliminating turbo lag. While this does add 103 pounds of weight, it does produce 59 hp more than the previous GTS and can get from 0–60 in three seconds flat. It would appear that here we can see all the benefits of hybridization without any of the downsides. 2026 Czinger 21C Base MSRP: Circa $1.7 million Czinger 21C front quarterThere are many people who have come up with the idea of creating a supercar that will take on those from Ferrari, Lamborghini, and McLaren, and then building the factory needed to turn that dream into reality. But what if you first built a factory that featured revolutionary, AI-driven manufacturing processes, and then decided you wanted to build an all-conquering supercar in it later on? Though this might seem like putting the cart before the horse, for the Czinger family, it was a worthwhile challenge, and it resulted in something that, from the ground up, is unlike any other hypercar you will see in even the most esteemed private collections. It is mainly because of how the Czinger 21C is created that warrants it a place on this list. Instead of the traditional research and development process that involves lots of stress-testing, Divergent Technologies, as it is so-called, can simply use clever AI to work out what refinements need to be made on each part, and can 3D-print them in-house. The result in the 21C is a hypercar with the most power-dense production engine in the world that can potentially do over 250 mph… 2026 Koenigsegg CC850 Base MSRP: $3,650 2023 Koenigsegg CC850 front, three-quarterKoenigsegg is a great example of a startup supercar manufacturer that was founded to take on the legacy brands and has found success by taking the road less traveled to produce some of the fastest cars on the planet. The CC850 was created four years ago, to commemorate 20 years since the delivery of the first Koenigsegg - the CC8S. The engine of the CC850 is the same as the one in the Jesko: a twin-turbocharged 5.0-liter V8 capable of producing 1,385 hp when running on E85 fuel. It sends power to the wheels via a multi-clutch nine-speed automatic transmission that is also similar to the Jesko’s, but it incorporates a gated manual shifter and even a clutch pedal. This is a gearbox that doesn’t simulate gearshifts like Hyundai or Honda’s systems, but simulates the action of manually shifting with a clutch pedal. You can even stall this car if you’re not careful. It works through shift-by-wire systems, so it is not all actually connected, but it means it can adjust the gear ratios on the fly. Four years on, no other manufacturer has even attempted to replicate this incredible innovation.