They are real technology, in the sense that this is where over 100 years of optimising every aspect of ICE has got us to. Fascinatingly complex, extremely well engineered, and depending on the brand still relatively likely to break down within the first few years.
The engines are also longer designed to be maintained without special processes, and are increasingly designed around emission regulations. To the point where a lot of the complexity is in emission systems and the cars are choked by their own extremely lean fuel maps.
Electric motors on the other hand are still relatively unoptimised and the potential in things like torque vectoring is amazing. I'll miss driving manual, but it's getting just about impossible to buy those now anyway.