099 - The KIA EV5 review, and your calls on Electric cars
Two Blokes Talking Electric Cars - The EV Podcast
099 - The KIA EV5 review, and your calls on Electric cars
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Car
Kia EV5
The Kia EV5 is a new electric car that's smaller than the Kia EV9. It's designed to be more affordable and practical for everyday use.
Car
Kia EV9
The Kia EV9 is a bigger electric SUV from Kia, designed for families and those who need more space. It has lots of modern features and technology.
Car
Kia EV3
The Kia EV3 is a smaller electric car from Kia, part of their range of electric vehicles that includes the larger EV5 and EV9.
Car
Kia EV6
The Kia EV6 is a new electric car from Kia that looks sporty and is designed for performance, rather than being a traditional SUV.
Term
SUV
An SUV is a type of car that is bigger and taller than regular cars, often used for families because they have more space inside.
Car
Tesla Model Y
The Tesla Model Y is a smaller electric SUV that many families like because it has a lot of space inside. It's known for being efficient and having cool tech features.
Term
aerodynamic design
Aerodynamic design means the car is shaped to move smoothly through the air, which helps it use less energy. This is especially important for electric cars to go further on a single charge.
Term
MSRP
MSRP is the price that the car company suggests you should pay for a new car. It's like a starting price, and dealers might sell it for more or less than that.
Term
on-road price
The on-road price is how much you'll actually pay to buy a car, including taxes and fees. It's the total cost to get the car ready for you to drive.
Term
two-tone
Two-tone means the car has two different colors, like a different color for the roof and the body. It makes the car look more stylish and unique.
Term
infotainment
Infotainment is a system in cars that combines entertainment and information, like music, GPS, and phone connectivity. It helps drivers stay connected and enjoy their ride.
Term
drive away price
Drive away price is the final amount you pay to take a car home. It includes everything like taxes and fees, so there are no surprises later.
Car
Kia Sportage
The Kia Sportage is a small SUV that is popular for its comfort and features. It's a good choice for families or anyone needing extra space.
Term
EV
An EV, or electric vehicle, is a car that runs on electricity instead of gas. They are better for the environment and can save money on fuel.
Car
Zika 7X
The Zika 7X is a type of electric car that can drive long distances on a single charge. It's popular for being eco-friendly and fun to drive.
Car
BYD Seal
The BYD Seal is a new electric car from a Chinese company called BYD. It's designed to be stylish and affordable for people looking to buy an electric vehicle.
Car
Tesla
Tesla is a company that makes electric cars. They are known for their high-tech features and long driving range on a single charge.
Term
energy management
Energy management is a system in electric cars that helps you see how much battery power you have and how to use it efficiently. It can show you the best way to charge your car.
Term
running out of juice
'Running out of juice' means that the battery of the electric car is almost empty, which can stop the car from working until it's charged again.
Term
Tesla Supercharger
Tesla Superchargers are special charging stations for Tesla cars that let you charge your car's battery quickly. They're much faster than regular chargers, so you can get back on the road sooner.
LIVE
This is Two Blokes talking electric cars with Trevor Long and Stephen Fenwick, thanks to NRMA Insurance and UNIDEN.
NRMA Insurance helping people protect what matters most to them for 100 years, and they'll progress and do another 100 if they can.
And they're one of Australia's largest insurers of electric vehicles as well.
And of course, UNIDEN, the smart dash cams you can trust, you can find them at major retailers and at UNIDEN's own website.
Look for a front and rear camera, so you've got a bit of rear protection there, because peace of mind happens all around.
You need it. See what happens out the front, see what happens out the back.
But award-winning dash cams from UNIDEN. Stephen, great to be with you, mate.
Good to be here, Trevor. Lots to talk about.
Once again, we're going to take callers, we're going to talk about Kia in a moment. Plenty to look forward to.
That's right, and we'll take your calls.
Shortly, you can be in touch with us if it's your first time listening.
Welcome. Great to have you company.
And where have you been?
What's going on? What's happened? What have you got against?
Better late than ever though. Better late than ever.
100%. We'll take your ticket at the door.
You can send us a text, so open up your contacts, save it as the two.
Blocks 0477657, text or WhatsApp. We'll get your text, we'll try and get you on the show.
It doesn't matter what your question is, and there is no such thing as a stupid question.
I love the thing when people say that to us here or on the radio when we talk about tech.
I've got a stupid question. No, it's not because you think that you're the only person thinking that.
Trust me, someone else is thinking the same thing.
You'll help a lot of other people, correct.
You could be an EV owner with a stupid question.
Someone knows the answer, and someone else wants the same answer.
So let us help you both out, and we'll do that whenever we can.
But you mentioned the EV5, we drove it recently.
Look, obviously for me it's the baby brother, baby sister of my EV9.
And we talked about the EV3 a little while ago.
So this is the 5, so there's nothing between this and your car?
So it's a strange one with Kia, because really what they started with the EV6, right,
which is a sports coupé more likely. This is not an SUV.
So the 3, the 5 and the 9 are SUVs.
And I suspect there's more to come if they want to, but unlike Stephen Collins from BYD,
it's not like Kia's trying to fill every gap in the market with an SUV.
Although as we talked about three or four weeks ago, sales are pretty good overall.
They're not selling EVs more than they are petrol cars.
But they're doing okay.
The EV5 is a good, stout, good looking car, I reckon.
It's a good size family SUV.
Look, you can fit five adults in it.
You would absolutely fit a family of five in it.
Certainly spacious, yeah.
But you've got your kids in the back row bumping each other,
which is why we went for the third rows on the EV9.
But it's a good size car and I think bigger in simple proportions
and I think broadly interior space than a Model Y.
So a lot of families buy a Model Y
and because of that aerodynamic design,
the headroom in the back of the Model Y is not amazing.
Getting little babies car seats in and out, things like that are actually difficult.
So the Kia's got a pretty flat roof as well
so that it is consistent space throughout the vehicle.
It starts at 56, 770 on-road
and that's for the air standard range
and goes up to the two-tone GT line at 75, 990
and the Earth sits right in the middle at 68, 990.
Look, I genuinely think that if you went to all the car dealers
and got a great experience from every dealer,
that seems to have put a lot of people off care over time.
So if you were able to walk in
and maybe you went to the electric vehicle show in Melbourne or Sydney
and you got to drive cars,
I think the Kia would be top of most people's list.
Top three, brands.
You mean like Drive Quality and the whole thing.
The great fit and finish, they're a recognisable brand.
Their drive is amazing.
The roof infotainment is slick.
It all just works.
Ticks all the boxes, you're right.
And you're right about the roominess too.
I like how to me this car seems halfway between a Tesla
and another car.
It's not quite as busy as some cars
but not quite as sparse as the Tesla.
It's a nice balance.
The buttons are there for the right things like air conditioning.
Let's talk range.
The air two-wheel drive is 400 kilometres range.
The air two-wheel drive long range is 555.
So that's your pick if you're doing a bit of driving.
The Earth all-wheel drive long range is 500
and the GT line is 470.
So I would struggle not to recommend the long range
every day of the week.
So that's 550K range
and that'll set you back 63, 990.
Now when you compare that to a Model I
or the Zika we spoke about last week,
that is great value.
That's the drive away price too.
Yes, I'm talking drive away price.
That's pretty good.
That's cheaper than a Model Y
and even what's slightly cheaper than the Zika 7X then,
is it or?
Yeah, with that kind of range probably.
Wow.
I think the main thing is that they're comparable.
Well Joe drove this.
Joe drove the Kia at the moment.
She's got a Sportage
and she really loved this.
And while it wasn't exactly like her experience in the Sportage
she did appreciate the feel of it.
She thought, okay, yeah, it feels like a Kia.
Yeah.
And yeah, so she quite liked that.
She's very fussy with her EV.
She doesn't like all the EVs I bring home
but this one she particularly likes.
She doesn't like them all.
Well, most of them, you know, she goes,
oh, too small, too big.
And this one seemed to be the Goldilocks.
This one was just right.
I think most of our listeners would be amazed
to find out that Joe's fussy.
Yeah, mate.
She's got a very good taste.
It's still on you by the way.
Yeah, I know.
It's still on you.
Fussy.
Hey, she won Lotto every week.
Oh, hey, hey, hey.
Who won Lotto out of the two of you?
Yeah, I think I did.
Yeah, I think so.
Let's be real.
We both won.
No, but she liked it.
And so did I.
I actually started to see a lot of these on the road,
the EV5.
Yeah, very popular.
Yeah.
Because I think it's a great family car.
Yeah.
The only reason I didn't give it my family car award
is because I do think for most families
the size of the seven CDV-9 is the optimal
and there's just nothing like it on the market yet.
Yeah.
But that's a big car, eh?
The nine.
Your car's a big car.
Not everyone's comfortable driving.
It's also double the price of this friggin' thing.
I understand.
But the size, just talking size alone,
not everyone's comfortable driving a car that size.
Spot on.
This is a good size.
Yep.
Like I said, it's sort of the Goldilocks car.
It's just the right size.
Not too big, not too small.
Fits well.
Goldilocks car.
Yeah.
It's just right.
I like it.
Yeah, I like it.
I genuinely recommend to people that they check this out.
It's a great looking car.
And I will say again, and we say it every now and then,
but our mate Aaron will absolutely be able to hook you up with a deal
if you're interested.
Once again, we get no kickback.
There's nothing in it for us.
Others will recommend.
It's all for you, not for us.
Others will do the buying attempt and help for you.
They're getting kickbacks.
We're just here to help you get a good price
because if you're thinking about an EV
and you've got a quote from a deal
and you're thinking, ah, you know what,
let's just sharpen the pencil for you.
That's all we want to do.
That's all we can do, absolutely.
No commitments.
We're in the market for IKEA and a bunch of other cars,
but not all of them, especially the Chinese brands
are not covered by Aaron's motor group.
But yeah, IKEA is definitely one of the marks you can get.
Send us a text.
Say, hey, I heard you talking about it.
I'm thinking about buying X, Y, Z.
If you don't ask, you don't know.
And you might, you could save hundreds.
You could save thousands.
I don't want to give you a number
because it depends on the car, the stock
and all those different things.
But yeah, well worth a look.
And all you need to do is just tell everyone
about this podcast.
That's right.
That's all we ask.
That's a fair deal.
Tell all your friends.
It's a very good deal.
Definitely.
And then what you can do is you can text your friends,
share the contact.
You've got the contact in your phone, two blocks.
Yeah.
Share that contact with your friends and say,
hey, talk to these blocks.
Yeah.
If you've got a question about electric cars.
They'll sort you out.
They'll get you straight.
Well, Stephen will set you straight.
I'll be very kind and generous.
It's what I do.
We've talked about it before.
I'm a very outgoing.
Yeah.
I love talking to people.
You love talking to people,
but not at a charger.
Don't go near Trevor to charge you.
You won't talk to you.
Absolutely.
Talk to you.
You've got to initiate the conversation.
If they said,
aren't you Trevor from the Today Show?
Would you say hello?
I'll be like, let's talk.
Say hello.
You need to initiate it.
Those are the rules.
Really?
Those are the rules.
I'm not initiating conversation.
That's my rule, mate.
It's remarkable that I'm married.
You've got to initiate.
Yeah.
It's remarkable that I'm married.
It is a miracle.
See, Blake's talking electric cars.
We'd love to have you company.
She deserves a medal, Amanda.
She does.
I admit that.
0-4-double-7-6-5-7-6-5-7.
Lovely to have you company here
on Two Blokes Talking Electric Cars.
As we do every week,
it's lovely to hear from you, our listener.
Listeners.
Listener.
We know there's more than one, I hope.
We know there's more than one of you
because we've had more than one of you
on the show.
Yes, that's right.
If only we had a production team.
Imagine we had a production team.
They'd tell us how many calls we'd actually had.
Yeah.
You mean all together?
Yeah.
Since we started the show.
I mean, it'd be a lot.
We'd be getting up there.
It'd be a couple hundred.
I reckon well over a hundred.
Yeah.
Easy.
Yeah.
Easy.
How many other people have spoken
a hundred electric car owners
or prospective owners in Australia?
Not many.
No, we knew as many as we could.
Well, you know what?
Whatever the number is, let's add one.
And that is Chris.
Chris is on the line.
G'day, Chris.
G'day, guys.
G'day, guys.
Mate, how long have you got
an electric car?
How long have you owned it?
Well, I've had it for just about a month.
Nice.
What did you get?
What did you get?
And what drew you to it?
That's a really fascinating thing to me.
All right.
I got the Zika 7X long range.
Nice.
EV.
Beautiful.
Beautiful car to drive.
Yeah.
I researched it over the year.
And I was listening to this guy on YouTube
and he was saying that the Zika 7X
was going to be over 70 green when it came here.
And so when they came up with the price of $63,900,
I jumped at it, you know.
Wow.
And it was beautiful, beautiful to drive.
So could I ask what were you looking at
before you settled on the Zika?
Did you do other test drives?
Yes, I did.
Me and my wife did the BYD C-line 7.
We took that for a drive.
And we thought we were going to get that.
And then I listened to this guy
and he was talking about the X-Ping 6.
Yep.
So we went and did a test drive of that.
And that wasn't going to be available until next year.
And then with the Zika 7X,
I never took the Zika 7X for a test drive.
Anyway, we jumped at that.
We went to a function and jumped at that
and put the deposit down and away we go.
So you were one of the first wave of owners.
Is that right?
You were one of the first?
Yes.
Yeah.
Straight in.
I mean, we asked that question
because I feel like in the last couple of months
we've had so many people that were
in on it before it even arrived.
It's got test drives as quick as they could
and shipped them in that first batch.
It's kind of fascinating.
And it's interesting to hear that price was affected
because I spoke about it last week,
but I looked at and I went the price.
Entry price is pretty much the same as a Tesla Model Y.
The Model Y can go much higher when you add the range
and performance and all those things.
So this kind of actually sits at a value proposition
compared to Tesla.
Was anything, was a Tesla a possibility for you?
Well, I looked at the Tesla early on
and I listened to a lot of people about it
and they were talking about the technologies in the Tesla,
a lot of the safety concerns, you know, so,
and then when the design of these,
the data cars come on,
I like the design more than the Tesla design, you know, so.
And this suits what we,
the 7X actually suits our lifestyle as well.
So you say this is your car?
The price was affected.
Is this your car?
Your wife's car?
Both of your cars?
Who was the decision maker here, Chris?
We both were.
Because I bought a couple of cars for my wife.
I bought a couple of cars early on and my wife wasn't excited.
And this was the first car that she was actually excited about.
She was really geared up for it.
Was that an instant?
Like, was it when she first got in the car
or was she excited just with the idea of an EV?
No, no.
When we went, they had a function here and they had the car,
and I lived in Perth.
And they had the function here in Perth.
So we went along and she said, I don't know,
she was on the other side,
I've seen all the smiles on all that.
She chose the color.
Happy wife, happy wife, happy wife.
Yep.
No, we got the blue.
Okay, interesting.
Mount some blue, I think it is.
And you should have the long range or two?
Long range, too.
Yes, yeah.
So let's talk about that.
You do a lot of driving then?
Is that why am I right to assume that?
Well, I do, I do urban.
So we do it for doing the urban work.
So it works out really well, yeah.
So you can catch an Uber in Perth
and you could pull up in a Zika 7X.
Yeah.
Wow.
And being the funny part about it
is being the first one.
I get a lot of people come out of the house
and I think some of it's due to them having a look.
And when we park up in car parks
and that get people taking photographs
and video and all sorts.
Wow.
Well, when we were in Channel 9,
Danica said to me, she saw my video
of the 7X and thought it was awesome.
Yeah.
So there is something about the look of that car.
It is attractive, yeah.
It is attractive.
It really is appealing to people.
So let's talk about what you're doing at home.
Obviously, you know,
what are you doing for charging and the like?
Well, the good thing about it
is the early adopters got the Zika home charger.
So I got that fitted on.
So that cost...
That was free.
That was free.
Wow.
Come with a car.
Sweet deal.
Sweet deal.
Is that seven kilowatt or 11?
Whatever the Zika one is, I'm not sure.
Or 22 because it is a 22 kilowatt car.
It might be.
One of the things that charges you.
Your three phase or your place three phase?
No.
No, it's not a fast charger.
Okay.
So I plug in it at night time
and I program it to charge between 11
and four o'clock in the morning.
Cheapest.
Yep.
So you get the...
And they recommend charging it at 90%,
up to 90%.
Yeah, that's for the battery health.
Is that what Zika said to you?
Is it?
That's a common, common for a lot of batteries.
I know my Tesla, I used to charge to 90%.
My Mercedes, I charged to 80%.
So Zika has given you the same advice
by the sounds of it.
It's got it on that.
When you go to energy management on the screen,
it's got it on there.
You know, safety charge to 90%.
If you do a long trip,
100% of course.
Yeah.
And look, I think just for people who are new to this,
and you might be discovering this show for the first time,
that doesn't mean you can't charge it to 100%
every single time.
It's totally fine to do that.
But what the belief is,
is that the 80% or 90%
will help prolong the life of the battery
and the extended range of the battery.
Although a lot of the data we've had
from Pickles and others is that
as long as you're only doing slow charging at home
and not using ultra fast chargers on a regular basis,
range or battery health is not directly affected
in a big way.
So it could well be that we find that, you know,
we're actually over protecting our batteries.
And, you know, it's a personal choice
whether how hard and fast you stick to that.
But, you know, is this a car that you think
you'll hang on to for a long time
or do you feel like it's the kind of car
you'll turn over as the years kick on
in terms of the new ones that come to market
and the like?
Well, no, this is the end car for us.
This is one we'll keep.
Yeah.
I'm sort of heading into retirement.
I'm 66.
So this is the last car.
Nice.
And the boss has put a foot down on that.
The Minister for War and Finance has spoken.
Yeah, yeah.
How does it go, as obviously, as an Uber driver,
you're out, you know, hours at a time.
How does it go?
Is it living up to its range?
Oh, yeah.
Expectations?
Oh, very much.
Like, we deliver and I use,
for about five hours, I use up about 15%.
Five hours work.
Wow.
That's all.
Wow.
Not much at all.
Just on a complete side note,
how long have you been to Ubering for, mate?
Three years.
And do you do it at your own time,
your own pace?
Like, it's a funny thing,
because we've been talking about Uber
for a long time since they launched,
and people talk about,
ah, the pay and it's not a job.
It's never meant to be a full-time job.
Do you just see it as a way of easing into retirement?
For example, is it something you plan to do
for a while just to get that cash
and get out of the house and meet people?
Or are you doing it as a, you know,
this is our income?
This is our income.
This is our income.
I lost my job,
so this is our income for the last year.
I've done this.
So it works out really well.
So I looked at the EV to cut down the fuel
and the maintenance costs.
Yeah, I mean, that's smart, right?
And on the Uber app,
there'll be people that choose the EV by default
and you get paid better, don't you?
Electric, yep.
Yeah.
Yeah, no, no.
And on, I was going to say,
so it works out really well.
We've taken it along on a trip as well.
What's that like in Western Australia?
What's the charging infrastructure like
in Western Australia?
I don't think we've spoken to too many people.
It's fantastic.
They've got the Tesla Chargers all around the place now.
So I can charge them on the Tesla app,
on the Teslas as well.
So the charging infrastructure's there pretty well.
So you can plan your trips
and I've got them all the way across the Nullable
from the guys up to me.
They're that perhensive about bringing them across
the Nullable at the moment.
But yeah, it's getting better.
And Western Australia is good.
This being your first EV, Chris,
but before you bought that,
were there any, did you have any doubts
and sort of fears about the range?
Was there any, you know, you hear a lot of myths
and people sort of maybe bad, bad-mouthing EVs.
How did you approach that?
Did you do your homework
or was there still a little bit of a worry
at the back of your mind?
No, well, as I said to you guys,
I looked at it over the period of time
and there was this YouTube channel guy,
he's got a guy in China
and I had range anxiety
when they first come out as normal.
You go, oh, you know, can I go here, can I go there?
And the reason, that's the reason I got the long range
because I was said, look at the long range
because it's got 680K range.
So you're looking at about 630 highway trill, you know?
So that's the reason I went up to the long range.
Yeah, and it's paying dividends,
literally with the lower costs of maintenance,
lower costs of ongoing fuel, as we would say.
Are you getting the comments from your passengers
that complimenting you on your car, Chris?
Oh, no, I do Uber Eats.
I do the eats, I don't do the drive.
Oh, you don't do the passenger?
Yes, right.
Interesting.
I don't have the passenger out there.
Different type.
I wouldn't deal with mugs like us
wanting to get in your bloody car.
You don't want anyone in your city in your car, do you?
No, I had you two in the car.
It was quite entertaining, I think.
Well, mate, if we come to Perth, we'll look you up, Chris.
We'll look you up, Perl, looks at the very least, mate.
We'll get picked up at the airport in the Zika 7X, mate.
Yeah.
Listen, I'm going to say something.
Can I just say something about the 7X?
Yeah.
When people buy it, I listen to Trevor the other day
about the automatic doors.
Yep.
And you only get the automatic doors,
the air suspension, and the blinds
on the all-wheel drive with the extra motor.
All right?
Okay.
You can get them on the 7X.
Well, I've got the long range, but you've got to pay for it.
Right.
So are you recommending to take my advice
and get the long range and just use the bloody handles?
I find them fantastic because the thing is
you've got to get used to when the handles come out.
You can't pull them because there's no, they're frameless.
So you've actually got to wait until the handle comes out
and then the window comes down a little bit,
and then you put your hand behind it,
and then the door just opens.
Yes, it's not mechanical.
You don't pull it.
Hang on.
So you're saying even with the handle,
it's still a motorized opening?
Yeah, because you put your hand behind the handle.
You don't pull the door.
And that activates it.
You can pull the door.
Yeah.
But it feels weird.
It feels like you're pulling against resistance,
like you're pulling against the motor.
No, it's quite, because you've got to get used to the electrics.
Everything's electric, so you've got to get used to it.
Honestly, just give me a bloody hinge, OK?
I just want a hinge.
That's all I want.
A hinge.
A handle.
From a two-h kind of guy.
A handle and a hinge.
That's all I want.
Anyway, I'm a great car.
But learning about what the car is and all that,
I just Google a lot of it and the information's there,
and you learn piece by piece by piece, you know.
You'll have a great experience for a long time with that car, mate.
You've done well.
Well done, Chris.
Great to hear from you.
I hope you're enjoying it.
And hopefully some people,
the Uber Eats is arriving in luxury.
In style.
That's right.
That's right.
Yeah, yeah.
And it's quite quick.
And it's great.
And it's quite quick, too.
Lovely to hear from you, Chris.
Thanks for getting in touch, buddy.
You're welcome, Chris.
Oh, you're welcome, guys.
And I've listened to you guys for a long while
on your different apps.
Even when I was driving between Perth and Sydney.
So, yeah, yeah.
Mate, very kind of you.
Thank you for taking the time to listen, mate.
We appreciate it.
No worries.
Thanks, Chris.
You have a good day, guys.
Cheers, buddy.
You, too.
Good on you, mate.
That's awesome.
What a great story.
Look, I talked about it last week,
but the doors,
it's the only thing I changed on that car.
It's the only thing I changed.
But glad to hear it's...
You can't have it in the door by yourself.
Is that what you're saying?
Is that what you're telling them?
This is my review last week.
I just want to open the door on my own.
It's really, really quite simple.
Thank you, Zika.
Anyway, if you're like Chris,
and you've just bought a new car,
get in touch.
Hit it, sir.
0-4-0-7-657-657.
Ah, two-bike story electric cars.
Great to have you company.
0-4-0-7-657-657.
The number you can not call.
Text.
Text or WhatsApp.
And we'd love to hear from you.
And we'll try and get you on the show
the next time we're recording.
It's hard because we only recorded
a certain time of the day,
a certain time of the week.
And so it might not suit you,
but we'll be in touch and see if it does.
And hopefully you'll make changes
to your entire week schedule.
Just for us.
Just as...
It'll be worth it.
Well, I mean, that's what people do for us.
That's exactly what people do for us.
I can tell you right now
that our next guest
has changed everything about his day for us.
He's off the couch
and he's talking to the two blokes.
G'day, Lucas.
How you doing, mate?
Good.
So how you going?
Well, you're still just on the couch, mate.
I'm on the couch.
I was doing the fennec head bump
to the stinger.
Ah, there you go.
Oh, hey, hey.
There you go.
There we go.
Nice.
Well done.
All right.
Fantastic.
So, mate, what's your EV story?
You own an electric car.
What do you own?
Yes.
We've chatted before.
I drove to Tassie
in my Y with the misses.
Model Y Tassie.
Yes.
Good.
Still got it.
Yes.
Still got it.
Still loving it.
I still love it.
It's good.
I'll think of that.
Nothing wrong with that, mate.
Nothing wrong with that.
That's great.
Nothing wrong with that.
You're thinking about the next one already.
Ah.
Yes.
Will that be an addition
or an upgrade?
The model Z.
X, Y, Z.
Upgrade.
Ah.
So you're going to go
a better model Y.
Is that what you're saying?
I'm thinking about.
Well, okay.
Well, I'm thinking about the model Y.
Yeah.
I told you about my travels to Tassie
and how we almost ran out of juice.
It was tight.
Because we had the bikes on the back.
We've all been there.
Yep.
And I'm planning a trip to Uluru.
Wow.
Okay.
Once I get to Renmark,
there's just not enough range
in my current car
to get to Alice Springs.
Right.
Because there's only two charges
and one of them is pretty unreliable
according to plug share.
Yeah, right.
That's not a place in the market
you want to have a potential
for unreliability in a charger.
It's fine.
It's fine to have to wait
and queue up for someone,
but you don't want to have
literally not working.
Unless you want to strap
a solar panel to the roof
of your car.
I'll take you five days
to get another hundred kilometers.
Yeah.
So your thinking of the upgrade
for the purpose of getting
more range from the newer vehicle.
Yeah?
Yep.
Yes, with a bike strap
to the back of it.
Yes.
Very important
because that really does ruin
the aerodynamics, mate.
You're aware of that.
Yes, it does.
Wait to the car, too.
Just stop cycling.
What are you doing?
Okay.
You're a grown man.
What are you cycling for?
I'm getting fixed for a time
and getting fixed for a time.
That's what I'm doing.
We're doing the opposite, Trevor.
We're doing the opposite.
Yeah.
So what's been your experience
then with charges?
Because your message
to us via the text line
was pretty full on.
Pretty frank.
I'll read it out directly.
EV charges are shite
and getting worse.
Yeah.
There it is.
Please explain, Lucas.
I was pretty frustrated.
Probably...
So my experience with EV
in general has been pretty good.
But in the last three months
it's just gotten worse.
And you know how they set up
that thing where you can
just plug and go
so you're telling the app.
Yes.
Auto charge, they call it.
Yes.
And I discovered
that it was only certain
of their charges
and the ones that Sutton's
forest on the way back
from my mum's
were not auto charged
but they have just been
out of action for a week
to be upgraded.
So now there's new charges
with auto charge.
So good news.
So I like that feature.
I should specify too
that we're talking about
the EV...
EVIE brand of charges.
Not just EV charges.
Yes.
Like a competitor to charge
Fox essentially.
Yes.
So you don't like
the auto charge
or is there a problem with it?
No, I love it.
And
there's a charge in me
that I used all the time
and then for whatever reason
it just doesn't work anymore.
Like it's not on the app.
It's not working at all
or the auto charge
doesn't work anymore.
Well the auto charge
doesn't work anymore.
I used to plug in
and just walk away.
And now it's saying
well actually I've had a few
issues with that particular charger
and it's actually locked
the charger in my port
for 10 minutes.
Oh my God.
So you couldn't get it out.
Well I was waiting for it.
You couldn't get it out
for 10 minutes.
No.
And then it finally
released it
and then it was like
yeah I'll not plug it
back into that one again.
Did you report it?
Is there any sort of recourse
you have there?
Could you talk to somebody
about it?
Yeah.
There's a
1-800 number that you can call
and I've had to use it
a few times now where
you plug it in
and it just doesn't communicate
for whatever reason
and then they have to
start the charge.
Oh.
But it's a bit of a hassle
because they
like all help desks
they have a script
that they go through
and it's like yes yes
I've done all that
just can I just get to the
you know
let's plug it in
then let's go
but I just noticed
because there's
probably three
that I use regularly
in my area
and
I used to be able to do
the auto charge
on two of them
which I knew worked
the other one was
yeah it didn't matter
but yeah
it just
recently hasn't
sort of
picked up the car
and
done the right thing.
Well I've just gone through
our logs
and found
we spoke to
Bernard
Canoplia
from EV Networks
now I don't know
if he still works there
but I assume he does
I'm going to send him a text
so let's hit this straight
out of the park right now
name the locations
if you want to
and I'll tell him
what's happening with auto charge.
Okay
well there's
Wright in the ACT
as in WRIGHT
Yes
yeah
Franklin in the ACT
all right
which is near my work
and the other one
is in
Deakin
ACT
which is near the swimming pool
because there's
I think there's two
and so to be clear
charging works
you can get a charge
but auto charge
is no longer working
at those locations
and it was before
yes
and
at
those sites as well
the comms
has been hitting me
slightly
when you plug it in
and then it'll just go
oh
can't communicate
pull it out
plug it back in
this is a real issue
for yeah
it seems like a minor issue
and
a bit of a hassle
but
a non-EV owner
listening to this
will go
that's another reason why
I don't want to buy an EV
it's a bit of a black mark
against the whole thing
which normally
let's face it is
99% of the time
it's all fine
works well
but it's these little
1%
that can come back
and
leave a bad taste
in your mouth
yeah
Yes
and WRIGHT's
just
a new
kind of built up area
so
it gets hammered
yeah right
okay
and
the other thing
with that one in particular
is
it's in a
car park
so
I don't know
it might be
phone reception
or something's not good
in that one
and you know what maybe
I'm just going to
self-diagnose
on the behalf of
EV networks here
but
if communication is
poor
therefore
the telco connection
isn't great
I think that would
affect auto charge
you've got to remember
you plug it in
and your car
your car is transmitting
a number
it says okay my number is
73191227xy
and then
the charge has got to go
to the internet
and say
okay is this car
on our network
yes or no
and then boom
if it doesn't
within let's say
20 seconds
if it doesn't say
it knows what it is
it's just going to
sit there
and wait for you to
initiate the charge
another way
so my guess is
that it's actually
the communications issue
that falls here
issue
I think that's probably
what's happening
possibly
but the other two
sites I mentioned
they're out in the open
so
I don't know
what the problem is there
there's no communications
issues there
okay
what about
Tesla charges in your area
down there mate
are they Tesla charges
superchargers
there's only two
there's like
and they're
both on
the opposite ends
of camera
which kind of sucks
for me
because I'm in the middle
I feel like
people are driving too
for tourists
not for residents yeah
yeah
I've never had an issue
with either of those
when I've used them
they have
like
bugger all down time
I don't think
I've even seen one
that's been dead
and they get hammered
yeah
alright well look
I've sent a text
to our man at
Evie
we'll find out whether
there's any known issue
and we'll report back
as best we can
but we appreciate you
no worries
thanks lads
look forward to talking
when you get that fancy
new car
we want to talk to you
from Air's Rock mate
on a live report
yeah
no worries
I'll do that
the Evie at Air's Rock
that we're going to install
just for you
and get a photo
at that NRMA
motoring services
charger that's
fueled by diesel power
that everyone gets
the ear it's about
because it's
in the middle of nowhere
and it's like
how else are you
going to get power
idiots
thanks buddy
here's no worries at all
yeah
I mean
it's a great feedback
and this is a challenge
with running a
charging network right
is
yeah you've got to know
you know what they say
the squeaky wheel
gets the oil
you tell them
they don't know this problem
unless you tell them
like you can't sell a secret
you've got to let them know
I was pretty delighted
that they upgraded
the Sutton's forest ones
because that's
the one that I would
use most if I could
it's kind of perfectly
located for me to
stop there on the way home
and it just felt like
such a really
just being drive to
your mum
all the way young
and this is
it's also
it's like the biggest
mackers on the run
it's a big stop
for people
so it's the perfect place
to have a presence
so I'm glad they upgraded it
because it gives the
it's like
it gives the
the real experience
or the modern experience
of charging as opposed
to the old school one
definitely
all right
two blokes
talking electric car
we'd love to hear from you
get in touch
anytime
doesn't matter what
you want to talk about
if it's about electric cars
we'll take your text
I love doing the look
towards the end of the show
isn't it
I love doing the look
where I'm disappointed in you
we just
we just have a bit of fun
that's what we do
we have fun
nothing wrong with having fun
nothing wrong with having fun
expressing ourselves
thank you very much
for listening folks
we're
we're rounding out
the year
let's be honest
we're early in December
it's my birthday
it's already December
can you believe it
Steven didn't get me
electric car for my birthday
that I know of
you never know
there's still time
there's still six days
so that's fine
but
yes
we're rounding out the year
we'll pump through
another couple of weeks
before we take a little
Chrissy break
and then we'll be back
in mid January
the January the 12th
so we'll do a show
up until 22nd December
our 101st show
so
actually next week
is our 100th show
unbelievable
really
this is huge news
100
huge news
100
let's go baby
congratulations
yeah well done
I didn't think we'd make it
we're probably only
still here because
we've got other shows we do
every weekend
just pray as well
just part of it
put another log on the fire
will you say
we'll do episode 101
on December 22
and then we'll be back
mid January on the 12th
so you can have
a couple of weeks off
Christmas
if you want more of us
just go back to the start
yeah we've got
a 99 other shows
I'd probably push through
to about episode 20
that's when we can't
start to hit our stride
oh you reckon
episode 20
mate we hit the ground running
what are you talking about
okay
I think people might disagree
but also
over Christmas
feel free to download
all of our other shows
we have the best movies
you've never seen
that's our movie podcast
where Stephen introduces me
to a new movie
each and every week
two weeks talking tech
which is our longest running
podcast
coming up at 15 years
in a few months
my god
February 15
I've been saying
in our 15th year
trying to make it sound good
but now we're actually coming
close to 15 years
it is
that's unbelievable
yes it is
we should definitely do
a big outreach at that point
of course
we should go back on the telly
and talk about it
why not
let's go mate
of course there's a
tech guide podcast
from Stephen Fenwick
and my own EFGM podcast
there's lots going on
if you want
entertainment over Christmas
best value podcast channel
you can find
two blokes have got you
covered
and if you do enjoy
our mad witty banter
we do a private feed
every week
which is a little bit
hard for the kids
but it's just us talking
rubbish with each other
about the world
it's us being us
yeah that's it
anyway that's enough for us
and we'll be back again
next week
with episode 100 Stephen
100
lucky I looked at that
happy days
happy days
see you then mate
bye bye
About this episode
Trevor and Stephen dive into the KIA EV5, discussing its family-friendly design, spacious interior, and impressive range options. They compare it to competitors like the Tesla Model Y, highlighting its value and practicality for families. The episode features a caller, Chris, who shares his positive experience with the Zika 7X and the challenges of charging infrastructure in Western Australia. The hosts also engage with listeners about their electric vehicle queries, making it an informative session for current and prospective EV owners.
Original notes
We drive the KIA EV5 and discover a slick car with strong premium finish and a build that is befitting a legacy brand and impresses in the EV space.
Chris buys a Zeekr 7X and has a great use for it.
Lucas has strong views on the EV space and some issues with a few EVIE chargers.
Share your thoughts any time via text or WhatsApp on 0477 657 657 thanks to Vodafone
Two Blokes Talking Electric Cars - The EV Podcast
Trevor Long and Stephen Fenech
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37:33