BMW’s Neue Klasse vs. Mercedes GLC at IAA Munich + AI Cars, VW x Rivian, Polestar 5 & 204-mph Lucid! from The InEVitable

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BMW’s Neue Klasse vs. Mercedes GLC at IAA Munich + AI Cars, VW x Rivian, Polestar 5 & 204-mph Lucid!

1 hour 4 minutes Posted Oct 10, 2025 at 5:00 pm.

Welcome to The InEVitable

What this show is about

SDV Innovator Awards: nominations open

Today’s topic: IAA Munich overview

Kyle Conner joins; Jonny bingeing his IAA videos

Hot products: BMW iX3/Neue Klasse vs. Mercedes GLC EV

Why Neue Klasse matters across BMW lineup?

Battery: big 4695 cylindrical, cell-to-pack, water jackets

Pack architecture & bus bars; no modules

Range context vs. Model S/Lucid

500 WLTP / ~400 EPA for X3-class

Motor strategy: EESM rear, induction front

Pack-to-body: floor comes out with battery

Zonal compute; “Heart of Joy” ECU

Is BMW leading Germans now?

AMG prototype: ~1 MW charging burst

Design chat: Neue Klasse in person

If that pack fits a 3 Series… huge range

Spec sheet verdict: BMW smokes GLC?

Interiors: why GLC misses; BMW surprises

BMW’s 3-screen cockpit feels right

VW Group/Cariad story; culture clash

Rivian partnership; Xpeng in China

ID.1 “one ECU” idea & why it can work

Polestar 5 reveal party & pricing shock

Lucid Air Sapphire 204 mph Autobahn run!

Thermal management findings: motors vs. pack

Top-speed behavior

Stability at 200+ mph

Is IAA now Europe’s CES?

Segue: on-floor tech chat with Frank Markus

iX3 / GLC recap from a US lens

BMW + Qualcomm: who owns what data?

From many ECUs to zonal; BMW tunes the feel

ADAS that’s less annoying: examples

AR HUDs & cockpit UX that helps

Driver monitoring that understands intent

L2→L5 autonomy reality check

Agentic AI in cars; on-device vs. cloud

“Friendly” in-car AIs & avatars

Generative vs. agentic vs. embodied AI

Edge compute, cameras, local smarts

What’s next & closing

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Show notes

Ep116 - Welcome back to The Inevitable by MotorTrend—where we dig into the future of the automobile. Fresh off IAA Munich 2025, we compare BMW’s Neue Klasse / iX3 with Mercedes-Benz GLC Electric, talk mega watt charging, battery design, interiors, and who’s really leading right now. Guest Kyle Conner (Out of Spec) joins us first, then Frank Markus and Ed go deep on Qualcomm x BMW tech from the show floor: zonal compute, ADAS that’s less annoying, AR HUDs, and on-device vs. cloud AI agents. We also hit VW Group’s software reset (Cariad → Rivian/Xpeng), the Polestar 5 reveal (and its pricing problem), plus Kyle’s Autobahn run in a Lucid Air Sapphire to an indicated 204 mph.

***MotorTrend Software-Defined Vehicle Innovator Awards — nominations for the 2026 SDV Innovator Awards are open now.***

SUBMIT NOMINATIONS HERE: https://www.motortrend.com/sdvsurvey Topics covered

IAA Munich highlights & how the show has “become CES for Europe”- BMW Neue Klasse platform: 4695 cylindrical cells, cell-to-pack, pack-to-body, zonal architecture (“Heart of Joy” ECU)

Mercedes GLC Electric: big battery, 2-speed rear unit, 330 kW DC—how it stacks up

AMG prototype mega-charging (~1 MW burst)

VW Group software pivot: Cariad’s struggles, Rivian partnership, ID.1 single-ECU concept

Polestar 5: specs vs. price, missing performance basics

Lucid Sapphire at 200+ mph: stability and thermal takeaways

ADAS/UX done right: AR HUD, driver monitoring that understands intent, Level 2→4 reality

Agentic AI in cars: what can run on-device vs. in the cloud

← See all 147 episodes of The InEVitable