CAR Magazine January 2026 Issue: What to Expect

Hot off the press, we highlight what you can expect in the January 2026 issue of CAR Magazine.

CAR magazine 2026 Performance Shootout lineup

Image: Peet Mocke

From hot hatches and barnstorming hybrids, to a manual-transmission masterpiece in the Porsche 911 Carrera T and the first Ferrari to join us on our annual Performance Shootout road trip, in the January 2026 issue of CAR magazine, we celebrate performance with our 2026 Performance Shootout – no winner, no stopwatch; just a celebration of performance.

2026 Performance Shootout lineup

The ten-strong 2026 Performance Shootout lineup included the revised (210 kW/400 N.m) Toyota GR Yaris equipped with the Japanese automaker’s eight-speed DAT (Direct Automatic Transmission), Volkswagen’s Mk8.5 Golf GTI, which we’ve sampled in an exclusive first local drive in 2025, updated Audi RS 3, refreshed BMW M2, and Ford Mustang Dark Horse. However, if you thought our celebration of performance included only one American muscle car, think again… We brought another – the Corvette Stingray.

As mentioned, we won’t be awarding a winner, but if we were, the Porsche 911 Carrera T would have been right up there for top honours. The sole SUV featuring in our 2026 Performance Shootout, the Lamborghini Urus SE announces itself in a dramatic fashion with its striking styling and bellowing V8. However, incorporating electric assistance, this plug-in hybrid (PHEV) Raging Bull can cruise along in stealth mode, too. Rounding out the lineup are two more PHEVs, the Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S E Performance – the fastest-accelerating car ever tested by CAR – and the engineering marvel that is the Ferrari 296 GTS.

  • Toyota GR Yaris DAT
  • Volkswagen Mk8.5 Golf GTI
  • Audi RS 3 Sportback quattro
  • BMW M2 M Steptronic
  • Ford Mustang Dark Horse
  • Chevrolet Corvette Stingray
  • Porsche 911 Carrera T
  • Lamborghini Urus SE
  • Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S E Performance 2-Door Coupé
  • Ferrari 296 GTS

Drives

In addition to driving the spectacular cars featured in our 2026 Performance Shootout, we also got behind the wheels of the 992.2-generation Porsche 911 Turbo S and the new BMW iX3.

  • Porsche 911 Turbo S
  • BMW iX3

Road Tests

In the January 2026 issue, we put two vehicles through their paces on our test strip – the Porsche Panamera GTS and new Volkswagen Transporter Kombi, the latter of which served as the support vehicle for our 2026 Performance Shootout road trip.

  • Porsche Panamera GTS
  • Volkswagen Transporter Kombi

All of this and more in the January 2026 issue of CAR magazine – available in-store and online at Magzter.

Click here to browse thousands of new and used vehicles here with CARmag!

The post CAR Magazine January 2026 Issue: What to Expect appeared first on CAR Magazine.


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