The Coolest Cars and Futuristic Vehicles of CES 2020

The Fisker Ocean is a new all-electric luxury SUV for the masses. With a $30,000 starting price after tax credits and packed with tech, the Ocean is the latest effort from automotive designer Henrik Fisker, and it's shaping up to be his most innovative yet. On the inside, the Ocean proves itself to be a tech early adopter's paradise. In place of the center console, there's a giant screen that controls nearly all of the car's functions, from its sunroof to its autonomous driving functions. The screen curves at the bottom into a small console with just five physical toggle switches. You'll be able to put your $250 deposit down, select options, and eventually schedule test deliveries starting in 2022 directly in the Fisker mobile app.

Called the Vision Avtr, Mercedes-Benz's latest concept vehicle is inspired by 2009's blockbuster film Avatar, and is intended to show off the sustainability efforts of Mercedes and its Daimler parent company. Instead of a combustion engine, the Vision Avtr uses a battery whose graphene-based organic cell chemistry is completely free of rare-Earth elements. The battery can even be composted, while the rattan wood floor is from hand-harvested Indonesian timber, and the seats are made from vegan leather. And in the long tradition of celebrity CES appearances, none other than Avatar director James Cameron introduced the car during a keynote address.

Sony's Vision-S concept car is the Japanese tech giant's attempt to stake a foothold in the sustainable, high-tech car world at CES. The Vision-S has a "Safety Cocoon" comprising 33 sensors (a few of which are the CMOS sensors found in Sony's digital cameras) that surround the vehicle to provide autonomous driving and collision-protection features. There are plenty of entertainment features and other tech inside the cabin, too, from speakers built into each individual seat and a panoramic screen that takes up nearly the entire dashboard.

Two years after its introduction at CES 2018, the Byton M-Byte electric car is finally ready for primetime. The Chinese automotive startup showed off a production-ready sample of the M-Byte, highlighting its tech features. The car's 48-inch display will be able to show streaming content from CBS, and on-demand weather forecasts for the road ahead will come from AccuWeather. Byton is also planning its own trip planning app, called Road.Travel, which will integrate with the in-car infotainment system and offer notifications about nearby places to eat or visit and help with reservations.

Uber has been promising flying taxis for several years, and at CES this year we got a glimpse of how they might work from Hyundai. The Korean car company is planning on building a giant drone-like aircraft for Uber called the SA-1, which will cruise at speeds of up to 180 miles per hour and have a 60-mile range. The SA-1 will be powered by an electric motor, which will connect to multiple rotors and propellers around the airframe. That will increase redundancy and make the flying people carrier safer, Hyundai says. The two companies plan to launch the flying taxi "in the coming years," though no firm plans were announced.

Audi's AI:ME concept car was announced last spring at the Shanghai Auto Show, but the vehicle came to CES to show off its high-tech feature list, including augmented reality goggles that allow occupants to enjoy a virtual flight across a soothing mountain landscape. The AI:ME concept also includes eye tracking for controlling the car's settings and even ordering takeout. One of the few things missing from the AI:ME is space. Unlike many of the other concept and production SUVs on display at the show this year, the AI:ME is a two-seater.

This Lamborghini supercar was launched last year, but it got a dash of tech-based practicality at CES with the addition of deep Amazon Alexa integration. Virtual assistants like Alexa and the Google Assistant have shown up in cars for a while, but the Huracan Evo is one of the first vehicles to allow Alexa to control nearly every function. For instance, you can ask Alexa to turn up the heat or adjust the car's lighting, in addition to performing more familiar Alexa-based skills like checking the weather or getting driving directions. The all-wheel-drive V10 Huracan Evo can travel from zero to 60 miles per hour in 2.9 seconds thanks to its 640 horsepower engine.

Toyota's city concept isn't actually a vehicle, but rather an intriguing vision of how vehicles might get around urban areas in the future, so we're including it here anyway. It's an actual city: the Japanese auto giant plans to clear 175 acres at the base of Mt Fuji, near Tokyo, to build the "Woven City."

Researchers will live in it in order to test and develop a range of technologies, such as autonomy, robotics, personal mobility, smart homes, and artificial intelligence in a real-world environment. The city is planned to house 2,000 residents and act as a fully connected ecosystem powered by hydrogen fuel cells. Most notably, there will be three separate road systems: one that's only open to cars, for getting around quickly, another that can accommodate a mix of slower vehicles and pedestrians, and a third that is people-only. It sounds a lot like urban planning concepts that already exist in cities today, just with a futuristic twist.

PCMag's staff is on the floor of the Las Vegas Convention Center to highlight the best new tech, and most interesting visuals from the 2020 edition of CES.