Summary
BMW says the electric i3 won the Golden Steering Wheel’s mid-size car category, while the M2 CS won in sports cars. Readers selected finalists from 79 new models before an expert panel chose the winners after testing.
BMW says the i3 and M2 CS won categories at the 2026 Golden Steering Wheel awards: the electric i3 in mid-size cars and the M2 CS in sports cars. The awards combine reader selection of finalists with testing and scoring by an expert panel.
How the winners were chosen
The Golden Steering Wheel is jointly awarded by German publications Auto Bild and Bild am Sonntag. For the 2026 awards, readers selected 27 finalists from 79 new models across nine categories between 2 July and 2 August. Three vehicles in each category advanced to testing at the DEKRA-Lausitzring race track in September.
BMW says the panel included race-car drivers, celebrity car enthusiasts and motoring editors-in-chief. Its assessment covered everyday usability, quality, sustainability, powertrains and driving characteristics, with value for money and efficiency also included in the overall score. The award therefore reflects both reader voting on the finalists and expert evaluation of the vehicles.
The i3’s mid-size category win
The i3 is the second model in BMW’s Neue Klasse range and the first fully electric BMW 3 Series based on that platform. BMW says the panel placed it first in the mid-size category and ranked it highest in individual criteria including visibility, infotainment, build quality, acceleration, steering, braking feel, WLTP consumption and value for money.
BMW lists two versions: the i3 50 xDrive, rated at 345 kW (469 hp), and the i3 40 xDrive, rated at 275 kW (374 hp). The company gives the model a maximum WLTP range of 912 kilometres and says its maximum charging rate is 400 kW, with up to 423 kilometres of range added in 10 minutes under the stated measurement procedure. Those figures describe the car’s claimed range and charging capability, rather than a guarantee of the same result in every journey or charging session.
The i3 follows BMW’s iX3, which won the Golden Steering Wheel’s Best Innovation award the previous year. The two wins are in different categories and do not represent a direct comparison between the models.
The M2 CS takes the sports-car award
The M2 CS is a compact performance car with a 3.0-litre, six-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine. BMW specifies output of 390 kW (530 hp) and maximum torque of 650 Nm, delivered to the rear wheels through an eight-speed transmission. The company quotes a 0–100 km/h time of 3.8 seconds and a top speed of 302 km/h.
BMW says the expert panel recognised both the M2 CS’s test performance and its value for money. The award places a fully electric mid-size saloon and a high-performance petrol sports car among the year’s category winners, reflecting the range of vehicles assessed by the panel.