0:00
/
0:00
086 - EV Batteries after life - a real solution
086 - EV Batteries after life - a real solution
0:00
0:00
0:00
0:00
About this episode
Exploring the future of electric vehicle batteries, this episode features a discussion with John Myler from My New Energy, a company focused on repurposing EV batteries for commercial use. The conversation highlights innovative solutions like trailer batteries that provide sustainable power for events and emergency situations. Listeners also hear from EV owner Brendan, who shares insights on battery health and range anxiety, revealing the benefits of slow charging. The episode combines practical advice with forward-thinking ideas about battery lifecycle management.
Topics:
ev battery repurposing
sustainable energy solutions
battery health
range anxiety
charging methods
commercial applications
emergency power
user experiences
This week we talk to an EV owner worried about range who went and got his battery tested, the result shocked him.
We catch up with a man behind a business bringing power to people without the need for Diesel, and it's quiet - using OLD ELECTRIC CAR BATTERIES! Amazing!
And Queen Penelope is back with some more thoughts and a story of how EV envy sold a Mercedes Benz.
Be part of the show - text us on 0477 657 657
Filter:
|
Technical
Too Afraid to Ask
Car
GMC Cyclone
"...ing diesel generators um during during the recent cyclone outfit we sort of donated one to the sES uh for f..."
Car
Dodge Charger
"...up relatively quickly um because we've got a wall charger single phase um yeah it's you know it's it's grea..."
Car
Eqe 350
"...t the amg option mine is mine is amg yours is the eqe 350 amg yeah no let's start it's the e 53 amg but min..."
Car
Toyota Corolla
"...s a slightly heavier car it's not as nippy as the corolla you could imagine like a little Toyota corolla yo..."
Select text to request an explanation
This is Two Blokes Talking Electric Cars with Steven Fenwick and Trevor Long, thanks to NRMA Insurance and UNIDEN.
Great to have you company here on Two Blokes Talking Electric Cars. Thanks to the great people at NRMA Insurance
ensuring the things that matter most to Australians. And they've been doing that for 100 years.
They're also one of Australia's largest insurers of electric vehicles. And Steven, also thanks to the great people at UNIDEN.
If you're looking for a dash cam, UNIDEN's got you covered.
Award-winning dash cams. Look for the model number with the R. That means rear camera as well.
Because you're going to get a dash cam. Might as well go both. Front and back.
And they've got something for every budget as well. Lots to unpack on today's show.
We've got your calls coming up. So if you want to be on the show, give us a text message
or a WhatsApp on 0447 657 657. We'd love to hear from you.
We're also going to talk later to a man who has a business reusing electric vehicle batteries.
Yeah, repurposing car batteries. You hear a lot of the narks. We'll say to you,
oh, yeah, but what do you want to do with the battery?
Well, let's find out. We've answered that question. We've got an answer for you.
That's what we're going to answer. So we'll talk to them shortly.
But first, let's just go straight to calls, Steven. 0447 657 657.
Brendan's on the line. G'day, Brendan. How you doing, mate?
Good, guys. How are you?
Mate, really, really good. What's your EV story? You're an EV owner, I hope?
I am. I am. We spoke a little while back.
Yep.
I had the issue with the range dropping away.
Oh, OK, yes. So remind us what car have you got?
I got the 803. Extended range.
Well, I think they call them something different now, but originally it was the ER.
And you felt like it wasn't achieving anywhere near the range that you were expecting.
You were doing some decent driving as well.
So what have you done to investigate?
I looked into after listening to your article from, I think it was Brendan from Pickles.
Yep.
I did a bit of research. Actually, you contacted Pickles
and they weren't interested in doing anything privately
unless you were selling a car through them.
Makes sense.
So I dug a bit deeper and found a guy that uses
the same technology that they use.
Yeah, got him. I got onto him and he came to my house, did the test
and, yeah, we got the results.
So can I ask, are you doing this test just to get clear in your own mind
the state of your EV and perhaps explain why the range wasn't
as it said it was going to be? Is that right?
Yes, it is, yeah. And myself and the guy coming to the test were very disappointed.
Disappointed in the results?
Yeah, because the battery is in a lot better health than I expected.
Oh, hang on. Sorry. You're disappointed, but it's a good result.
Is that what I think?
Yes.
Okay, so you're saying that you were expecting there to be something wrong
with the battery to explain the range discrepancy.
Yes, that was, yeah.
You got a good battery score.
We've seen it to us.
93.2%, which is actually pretty good.
Pretty healthy.
And so you'll think we'll watch.
Yeah, with 130,000Ks on it.
Yeah, that's actually not too bad.
Amazing. So can take us through the test.
What happened? How long does it take?
Take us through it.
It's literally a five or 10 minute test.
It's just a little, basically a reader that they plug into a port in your dash.
Yeah.
And it apparently sends some information off to overseas somewhere,
sends back a result.
And then I'll make just emails with all the info.
How long until you get the result after the test?
Literally five, 10 minutes.
It was there and then.
Because you've sent us the battery certificate.
It says it's essentially close to above average performance,
but it does state 130,000Ks on it.
It says 93.2%.
Now, did you talk to the guy much about what the results mean?
Because we also had that caller a few months ago talk about
that 70 was actually the end of the low.
It was not about getting from 90 down to zero.
It was about actually, when you get to 70, you're in trouble.
Have you got any understanding of how that all works?
Not really, but when I did speak to the guy,
he said that he was quite surprised as well.
And he's seen a lot with less Ks, with a lesser result than mine.
So he was quite happy.
Like I said, we were both disappointed.
We thought we were going to find something actually wrong with the battery.
But yeah, in the end, it was actually a good result.
So did he explain sort of why yours is so,
like did you wonder why your health was so high?
Is it because you charge mainly at home,
or do you use a lot of fast charge?
Yeah, but Brandon talked about that.
Brandon was saying that the cars that use the fast charges often,
normally the battery health takes a slight hit.
So is that why yours was so high
because you mainly charge at home or trickle charge?
How do you charge?
I do, yeah.
It's like you guys use the analogy of the mobile phone.
I come home.
I've never actually DC charged.
I've never used a public charger.
So yeah, I just come home, plug in every night
if I've got to go to work the next day.
So I'm only ever charging it.
And I do vary it, chasing the sunshine as well.
Like I might charge it at 1.8 kilowatts.
I might charge it at 7.
Just depending on what I'm producing at the time.
But yeah, I've never DC charged.
Yeah, that really says a lot there, doesn't it?
His battery health stage is very high.
Yeah, and what do you do now with this result?
Obviously, you're still scratching your head about your perceived range.
Are you just living with that now or are you thinking,
hang on, good number, high K,
should I be shifting this car and moving on?
Well, that's the thing.
I'm stuck in a lease for another couple of years.
And my balloon at the end of it is quite minimal.
It's only about eight grand.
And like I say, I've got a son that'll be learning to drive
in a couple of years.
So that's just getting to the point where I can hand it on
and then look at something else.
Okay.
And so just we had a conversation
about range last week, wasn't it,
about how I remember the Australian Automotive Association
a couple of weeks ago.
So in your car, do you have like,
I don't know, do you have golf clubs in it
or is there something weighing it down
that maybe have a hang on your range?
Have you thought of any explanation?
No, 95% of the time it's just me.
That's it.
There's nothing.
It's literally two and from work.
So I do have a spare.
How far is that?
Is it a highway drive you do or what do you do?
It is.
It is.
There's predominantly highway Central Coast to Hunter Valley.
Yeah, it's got 260 return.
There's no doubt highway is the killer.
We've had this conversation.
And you know, BYD did fair,
fair worst out of the AAA testing.
It's just for your edification,
and for Stephen, he doesn't know this,
but I received an email from Matthew Franklin,
who's the director of external affairs at the AAA.
Okay.
And he said he watched the show a couple of weeks ago,
which I appreciate.
And he was pleased to hear us talking about the data.
And here's an interesting thing.
He said also we have been testing ICE,
so petrol and diesel and hybrid cars for a couple of years.
Listen to this.
We've done 109 tests,
75% consume more fuel than in lab tests,
with the highest discrepancy being 35%.
Wow.
So interestingly, ICE cars and hybrid cars
perform worse than EVs in terms of real-world performance
matching the lab.
There you go.
So again, it goes to that high...
Burry the lead.
The headlines that were attracted.
And he said to me,
look, we can't control how the media outlets report
what we do.
Yes.
But you know, if think if we dig far enough,
look, your range concerns are valid.
And we're going to dig up over the coming weeks.
We'll dig up some places people can get this research.
But in the end, it's disappointing,
but you now know how to live with it.
And I think the best thing that's come out of this, Brendan,
is that you've got a good result on the battery
and you don't need to worry.
And I think it validates what Brendan from Pickles said
about the slow charging is very good for batteries.
It really feels that way.
So, mate, in the end,
it's not much you can do,
but you've got to live with it
and just feel comfortable
that you're actually not doing harm to the car.
Yeah.
Can I ask...
Well, that's right, man.
Can I ask, mate,
what did it cost you
that I might be asking?
Oh, yeah, great question.
Getting the test.
Did it cost you much?
It was $200.
And he came to meet.
Yeah.
He came to meet.
So that was...
I didn't have to go out of my way
and it was...
Yeah, I'm glad.
I'm happy to pay that.
Who was it?
Who was it?
It was Vehicle Assessment Australia.
And actually, they were located in Lake Macquarie.
So it was probably an hour drive
for him to get to me
on the central coast.
I wonder how much you charge at $200.
Yeah, but I was happy to pay that.
Well, you know what?
It is good to have that piece of paper
to say, well, you know,
especially with resale,
you say here,
he's a certificate official.
Yeah.
He's in great need.
You would definitely,
if you were going to go
on private sale on this car
or any EV,
this feels like a great thing to have, mate.
So, well, mate,
I'm glad you got the info.
I don't think it helps you
with your concerns,
but the mystery continues.
Bottom line,
really great feedback, mate.
We really appreciate the hearing from you
and seeing the result, mate.
Yeah, thanks, guys.
And I'll get another test
in probably, I don't know,
30,000 Ks
when I drive it out of warranty
and just to see how it's going there as well.
Yeah, great idea.
Yeah.
Hopefully it's going well still.
We'll talk to you there as well.
Good on you, mate.
Thanks for getting in touch, buddy.
All right, good on you.
Thanks, guys.
Cheers.
You can get in touch as well.
Just go to give us a call
or send us a text,
sorry, on 047-657-657.
If you call the number,
it'll go nowhere.
It's not going to ring me.
Oh.
It's not even going to ring Stephen.
I thought that was your number.
No.
I got it.
Did you imagine this?
Well, it's Trevor Long's number.
Phone number.
What is it?
O-4.
It's bad enough the weird DMs you get
like on Instagram.
I made a lady last night DM.
She goes,
are you related to my auntie Jean Long?
And I went no.
She goes,
aw, I was hoping you were a long lost cousin.
I got asked for tech advice.
Wow, Long's a pretty common name.
So it was a fair shot across the mountain
to try and get free tech advice,
but I respect it.
There you go.
There you go.
All right.
Thanks for downloading and more two-blade storing electric cars after this we're going to talk about
reusing those electric batteries and just how they can have a very good afterlife.
Two-blade storing electric cars I'm pretty sure this will be a wardrobe change for the
YouTube views because we're recording over so many weeks it's pretty wild so
just if you're watching on YouTube but one of the things that that we do get a lot of questions
about not it not much as much from listeners here but it's more when you're talking like on the radio
or on tv and just in general public about electric cars is just things like you know
yeah they're not environmental because you know they the minerals to make them and then it's
the batteries there's no way to recycle all this kind of stuff well great news we found
someone to speak to about one part one little part of that whole circular economy of the electric
vehicle world and that is a company called My New Energy and their co-founder John Myler
joins us now on the line g'day John great to be with you mate yeah thanks guys thanks for
having me on mate give us the elevator pitch what is My New Energy yeah so My New Energy is a
company that effectively repurposes excess PV batteries into commercial use projects so
if you think there may be a battery that is no longer needed because the vehicle's been damaged
and can't be driven or it's you know reached at the end of its life but they've still got a
good amount of storage in them and we repurpose those into uh yeah commercial needs so give us
some examples of how they've been utilized yeah so we've got two main core products that we
that get the most of the demand one's our trailer battery so our power cube trailers and and
they have a range of energy storage from about you know 50 60 kilowatt hours up to 200 kilowatts
which you know a mid-sized trailer is enough to power a house for a week or run an event with
you know half a dozen food trucks or sound sages or um you know power up a few tools and some
remote welding and things like that so they're really good um solutions for where you need
you know emergency or rapid deployment for energy um so we're seeing them as a really good
alternative to quite often diesel generators um you know diesels are great they serve a great
purpose in many situations but you know there may be times where you don't want the noise or you
don't want the smell you know again if you're running uh food trucks or things or you want to
be able to have a more sustainable energy you want to be able to you know charge a battery
with uh with a solar energy and and be able to deploy that in your use yeah there is so much
to unpack there because the idea that you're basically and i've seen a picture on your website
of uh you know it looks like a box trailer uh that's been built up obviously the batteries are all
packed in there and we'll get through how you do that and then there's you know some sort of
inverter system or whatever to to create the plug-in power that people need but this is
essentially a trailer generator without the petrol the diesel the noise and so this could
be used i love that idea of a like we think we have a like a community fair you know the
school and there's you know six food trucks and all that stuff you don't want a diesel
generator a for the noise and pumping out you know exhaust emissions you can just
pull this thing up and it's like hey everyone plug in and we're running yeah exactly they've
been really popular we've had a few good use that exact use case you know a lot of fairs a
lot of local councils using us now rather than running diesel generators um during during the
recent cyclone outfit we sort of donated one to the sES uh for for a period of time and
you could see that they were running diesel generators we pulled up they turned all the
generators and you could just see the look of relief in everyone's eyes they're like i think
yeah that's that that noise is gone and uh we at the same time we donated one to a community hall
that that was in a suburb that had no power and uh what was interesting they again were running
multiple generators which just has that background white noise impact and it caused a level of
stress but it also they didn't have enough power to run their commercial kitchen defeat
everyone and as soon as the trailer came along noise disappears kitchen fired up and yeah we're
the most popular people in town so um yeah there's been a lot of great use cases for them for that
especially that emergency response or event management so the bit of engineering goes into
you can't just slap an old car EV battery into a trailer and then expect it to work
you've got the trailer you've got the shipping container model as well so what's involved in
acquiring them so and then now repurposing them yeah so again my background is i come out of the
insurance industry so i used to run a few different insurance businesses and my business
partner Sean who helped me set up the business his background is engineering so he's the
technical expert in terms of the wiring and how we got the process developed it probably took
probably about a year worth of r and d in terms of just getting it right working out how to
get the EV batteries get them connected get them charging and discharging the way we wanted to
you know because we have solar add-on packs as well so if you've got somewhere a bit more remote and
you're going to be isolated and it may be difficult to find a recharging source you know we've got
mobile solar packs that go with it um and but it also involves in developing a battery
management system so we've got 24 hour reporting and remote access so we can sort of charge and
discharge these we can monitor what power usage is being done we know down to an individual cell
level inside each of the car batteries what temperature they're running at what their
charge and discharge rate you know what their battery life is left to go so we get a lot of
great data that that also is a really good information source for many businesses as well
and so forgive my ignorance but if you've got a tesla or a key or whatever do you just
pull it out and put it in the trailer and then plug it in or are you pulling them apart into
the smaller components not quite the cell level like does it differ from battery to battery no
so we use them as an entire unit because they're just fantastically well constructed you think
of EV batteries they're they're made to be strapped to the bottom of a car driven slow fast
uphills downhills so their ability to be robust and you know great for dusty conditions mind
sites you know cooler temperatures hotter temperatures it just really made really quite
well we can open them up and make some changes or replace a fuse if it's blown or things like that
but generally we try and keep them intact as a single unit and there is some yeah
expertise in getting them connected but it's not a there's not a it's more of a software
and a design element more than a physical challenge so you know getting them out but
yeah effectively we drop them out of the vehicles and put them into racks of two and
then we'll put them into a trailer or we'll put 18 batteries into a shipping container which is a
one megawatt hour which is a huge amount of power so that's a you know a great energy source for
again remote communities mind sites you know emergency backup options so they really are a
great resource and a bit as you said in the intro we you know my simple view is as a planet
we go through a lot to produce every one of these batteries so we really want to make sure
we're getting the most amount of usage out of them we really can and that sort of admission
of my new energy was we want to get at least another 10 years life out of 10 000 batteries
so that's what we're trying to make sure you mentioned some disaster areas or you mentioned
there were cyclones and i'd imagine like flooded flooding areas and when you wheel your your
batteries you know there'll be a lot of people glad to have power again yeah yeah that's exactly
right so it's one of those things you take the ground until you don't have power in your house or
in an area and you realize how much your life even if it's just charging phones you know we worked out
just for fun one trailer would charge a phone for 34 years but even just little things like that to
make sure people can be connected in times because often in emergency situations you know
that that communication is vital being connected to emergency services people know who you are
know where you are and that you're safe coordinating logistics but having a power to keep you know even
food you know cold and stored and so it doesn't go off so you can last out a few days you know just
having access to that remote power is critical and again that's the disaster stuff but equally if you're
going on a road trip out the middle of nowhere and there's no power source you know it's a way
to have a good quality of life when you're out on the next camping trip i'll give you
massive respect for one big thing about your business is i can go to your website and i can see
that your trailers started $104,500 like we're just these are just a product you're just selling them
but is your market medium to long term just creating these things and selling them
or do you see a middleman where like a kenards or someone starts stocking these as a as a thing
that they then rent out to the school carnival or is that going to be you like where do you
go with this over the next few years because this could be massive yeah yeah look it there really is
we're actually talking to a couple of the big higher places at the moment and we design them to be as
simple as possible so for instance if you know for for a kenards or a codes hire they want tools
or equipment that's just easy to deploy you know it doesn't need any special expertise to set up
or anything and our trailers fit that mold really well you know they're easy to charge you can
plug them in with a three phase we've also got rapid car charges on them as well as option so you
can you know you can put two rapid car charges and have a an EV event somewhere in the in a remote
community put some solar there and all of a sudden you got a you know you got a versatile
recharge station for EVs anywhere anywhere in the country mobile charger yeah well that's
my only last question really is i forget the container because that's a whole other thing but
with the trailers do you just back it into a supercharger and just charge it back up from a
normal charging site yeah yeah well you can charge it from and so we've got a couple of
different options they come with they usually standard a three phase inlet so we we charge them
from solar power where we can um you know at our main offices and construction we've got solar
panels that we use so if we're renting them out ourselves um they'll all be solar solar charged
but you can charge them with any you can charge them from a diesel generator you can charge them
from the grid you can charge them from a solar um and they're just here great the one thing i'd need
to update the website we've got a new version now that's only 45 grand which is a single battery
trailer so about a 60 kilowatt and again that's great and that'll come with you know a dozen
outlets on it so again for tradies or people working in constructions just are really useful
because an 80 percent of the trailer is empty on the inside so um you get to open it up and
still it's got a false floor in it so you can still put all your tools and all your stuff in there
it's just got a whopping big battery in the bottom of it mate unbelievable stuff genuinely had no idea
this was being done it gives me great faith about the the aftermarket of batteries even more so
because you just pull them out and put them in you're not having to resource the the the
nows let alone the knowledge and the skills to actually pull the batteries apart which is
also you know safety risk too so brilliant way of reutilizing the most important part and we should
say just finally i think this is a critical thing um i'm assuming that you repurpose batteries in
crashed cars that are written off but also um batteries that no longer will meet the needs
of an electric car so they let's say they get below 70 percent battery health that may not be
enough to power an electric car but it's still enough to generate or give power for
you know general ac is that is that correct yep that that is absolutely spot on and we're just
getting into that stage in australia now we've got an aging fleet so we've got enough vehicles that
are sort of getting to that stage um but yeah we because again we'll we'll still get another 10 or
15 years life out of those vehicles even that from 70 down yeah brilliant mate well done great
business idea and uh and you're smashing it really well done it's called my new my new energy
and mate we really appreciate your time great great to hear about it thanks thank you guys
absolute pleasure absolute pleasure what a what a great idea great idea like and i think people
i'm gonna reinforce that i think people don't realize that when we talk about battery health
you mean battery health gets down to 70 percent as we learned from a previous caller is the is
broadly the number where it's unusable because it can't give enough power to give you that
instant talk and all that stuff but it's got plenty of power to you know charge a
van that's running a running an oven for your house yeah absolutely mate so good such a great
thing uh look it up folks my new my new energy
what about your dead i thought i'd cut to me no expression stupid stare no expression that's
well i mean sometimes what do they call that the gen zed stare mate is that the one that's that
one it's the millennial steve let's give us one seven no is that it i don't know that's just me
okay i'll give it a go yep there you go that's huge something like that yeah rest resting bitch
oh four double seven six five seven six five seven we'd love to hear from you thanks for
vodafone send us a text or a whatsapp uh panelope's on the line the great panelope is back
hello hello how are you triggering steven we are awesome great by our calculator our
calculations you'd be six months into ownership of the smart hashtag three how's it going um loving it
yes yes that's about right with the six months yes it's a great car like we love evs complete
converts now to refresh our listeners minds you you were you drove what was it 16 test drives
16 17 test drives that you it's very thorough in your in your australian's most thorough
ev test driver and to come up to so to decide on the the smart car the hashtag three
that that's a big deal because you've driven nearly every other car on the market so
you said you're happy with it with everything tell us six months on yeah what's what's the story
you're still loving being an ev driver yes i am so like if we break it into two areas um if we
specifically talking about an ev um the thing that we really love is the convenience of an ev
the fact that you don't need to go to stop at petrol stations um we're fortunate we can charge
at home so i can just plug it in when i get home um the first uh i think the second month
that we had the car i was having to drive to him um to hospital daily for treatment five days
a week um and on some occasions i'd be coming home later i would have to go back there so it
was just such a great thing that i didn't have the added burden of having to find a petrol station
on the way home i could just plug it in and when i needed to leave to go pop back in to see him
i didn't have to worry about it so when people worry about the um the not being convenient
i've actually found the exact opposite because when you're driving in metropolitan melbourne
you're not driving long distances anyhow so um i think we're talking about that average that average
of you know 30 or 40 days a day and i'm assuming you're just plugging in at night every night is
that how you manage the well um oh when i remember but like like the other thing is is um you know
when i'm driving i can see how many k's it's got left on it so go all right okay it's coming
down to about i don't know 80 k's 60 k's i'll just plug it in um and look for the right time
to plug it in um because at the moment because the solar is not great because i'm in melbourne
i just go for the off peak periods and yeah and then just and because it charges up relatively
quickly um because we've got a wall charger single phase um yeah it's you know it's it's great it's
like six hours i think six or seven hours yeah the second aspect you'd break it down into other
than battery and range anxiety uh so look it's quiet it's powerful although the family has to
tell me to take my foot off the accelerator sometimes you know that really quick take off
because oh yeah that really quick take off um you know that that's when i want to burn off other
cars no that's not true um never do that um yep are you happy with uh i understand smart is like a
sub brand of Mercedes so it's kind of a just a partner brand but yeah yeah that'd be the way
you'd expect you'd expect high quality you're happy with the build quality in the actual yeah
yeah so if i was asked tim and i were talking about it this morning we love the quality of it
it's not too plasticky you know so it's got that letter finish inside um the thing that i that everything
is bundled um so like when we bought the car there was lots of extras that just came with
it automatically um one of my my brother and his wife have just bought a murk ev i think it's
the same one that one of you have i've got the i've got the sedan i've got the sedan ecu
your sister in law has the suv did you say yeah i've got the sedan suv yeah yeah yeah yeah so um
they just i think they got ev mv i'm just teasing them but i think and so within like two months they
bought one and i but you'll you love this i keep saying to them but has it got a heated
steering wheel and i don't and i keep saying no it doesn't but ours doesn't no no and
there is no i don't have heated steering wheel i've got a heated steering wheel i've got heated
seats i can heat my seats up and i'm blown away by that i wonder if not that i know option i want
not that i know i've got the amg option mine is mine is amg yours is the eqe 350 amg yeah no let's
start it's the e 53 amg but mine's got amg um features on no but it's not the amg model
i know it's not the next one up with the massive screen no i wonder if it's got a heated
mate that is unbelievable yeah i got a heated steering wheel for 65 grand you got gypped well
that's lovely exactly right i would agree with you in melbourne's way well i said i'm never going to use
that never but i use it on the way to jim so yeah so i just um i've eaten my words on that one so i
just keep saying to them has it got a heated steering wheel so they're the extras that you
oh we got with the smart that um i didn't yeah that some cars don't come with automatically
so um look you've sung the praises of the car is anything that you don't like or that you would
change about the car um look i think um the bings and the bongs but my understanding is that that
just seems to be a standard thing with any cars new car so the door here that's warnings laid
ass warnings all the safety alerts yep yeah which is just crazy because they're actually
distracting however having said that um there is a user profile um so i have got my default
settings where i'm able to mute a lot of those sounds so um i feel i've you know eventually figured that
out so i can i just um as soon as i'm logged into my profile which is automatic um i'm okay so look
apart from your sister having a is it your sister they've got the eqe she's in law sorry so apart
from your sister or having the evnv have you also spoken about this to your friends of
have you influenced them perhaps maybe yeah but no no look i think i would you know i'm not an
early adopter but i'm an adopter i think um oh actually i think one friend is going to buy one
sooner sooner than later but another friend bought just a an isaver christmas but that was because
she had to buy it quickly so you know i i tried but you know i didn't convert people but um yeah
you do want the best for yourself you can influence other people so hey you've got the beauty of
evnv over someone in your family that's a winner yeah um for finally it's you know what i love about
this penelope is that you you know often the test drives whether they're 10 minutes or a day
don't expose everything and and you've you've been able to uncover it seems like you've uncovered
nothing that you that you wouldn't have wanted to know before buying is that safe to say um
yeah probably um oh i'm just trying to think look look the the thing that oh look the one thing that i
did notice with the car and i think i would need to explain this to people trying out evs it is a
heavier experience when you're driving it initially and you think oh first few days i was like
oh i don't know that i'm going to get used to this but within you know a month of driving it
every day i just like at the start i'm completely used to this now i understand the braking i
understand it's a slightly heavier car it's not as nippy as the corolla you could imagine like a
little Toyota corolla you can zip around in that so i would explain that to people that it's slightly
heavier but there's that outway um the pros outweigh the cons yeah um look i i drive it up to
mount puller which is a ski resort um down in victoria and um you know i had a bit of range
anxiety dealt with that um on the way home on the way down the mountain it used no energy
generator oh my gosh yeah amazing so i love you had a one percent or two percent more
that's exactly right yeah yeah oh that's awesome to hear and hopefully Tim's health is is good
Penelope and uh you can enjoy the car for for many years to come and uh and uh keep influencing
many more people i'll try i'll try i do get stopped people do it look at the car and compliment
well there you go you are any of your efficient even i am style efficient as well apparently well done
good on you Penelope always lovely lovely thank you so much okay good on you okay great great to
hear from Penelope again uh yeah that's a that's an interesting one you go up to the mountain
when you literally go up the mountains the return trip is going to be an absolute winner on range
percent in the battery after that and a tip from me on that if you use plug share the website um
to do a route plan so if you guys i'm going from Sydney to Yang or Melbourne to Mount Bull or whatever
it is there is an elevation button it'll actually show you so it's fascinating sometimes because
i looked at the Sydney to Yang one which is a drive i do a bit and the first 150 k's is
broadly uphill and that's why kind of i the usage that i get on the way to that first
charger at pheasant's nest is higher than i get pretty much for the rest of the drive
ah that's why you see because you're going uphill so it's because you don't notice it on a
over 150 k's doing it it's a gradual incline right um so yeah there's a lot of things to learn
about owning an evo that's what we're here for every day's a school day i say are you the teacher
you can learn stuff well we're both the teachers everyone's a teacher and everyone's a student
thank you mr fennec there we do and you can be part of the class uh you can you can text
your submission to join the class to 0 for double seven six five seven six five seven we're taking
enrolments uh right now text for what's free enrolments by the way but you do need to speak
on the show and it's easy which just us two blikes chatting to you talking electric cars that's
what the show is steven let's do it all again next week i reckon i will be here in my ev ready to
go ready to roll
Request an explanation for:
3 cars
3 cars featured
Request an Explanation
Heard something you'd like explained? We'll add it to this episode.
Sign in to request explanations for terms you heard.
Want to learn more?
Browse our glossary for plain-English explanations of automotive terms, jargon, and concepts.
Help improve this episode
See something that's not quite right? Our annotations are AI-generated and can sometimes miss the mark. Click the flag icon on any annotation to suggest a correction.
Report incorrect info
Suggest better explanations
Flag missing cars
More from Two Blokes Talking Electric Cars - The EV Podcast
122 - The all-electric Ute? This landscaper owns one!
May 31, 2026
121 - The Farizon Electric Van owner review, and our Skoda Reviews
May 24, 2026
120 - Why is Zeekr booming? Plus Government incentive clarity at last
May 17, 2026
119 - Another month of EV sales booming, and your calls on your first EV!
May 10, 2026