Ferrari Luce is Ferrari’s first fully electric car, and it’s also meant to be a five-seater. The episode highlights that it uses a big battery and multiple electric motors to make very strong acceleration.
Johnny Ive is a famous designer who previously worked at Apple. The episode says he’s now helping design the Ferrari Luce, which is why people are arguing about how it looks.
Apple is mentioned because the designer behind Ferrari Luce previously worked at Apple. The hosts are using that background to explain why the car’s design is getting so much attention.
Person
Mark Newsen
Mark Newsen is mentioned as Johnny Ive’s design colleague working on the Ferrari Luce. The hosts are basically saying the car’s look comes from a very design-focused team.
A kilowatt-hour (kWh) battery is how much electricity the car can store. More kWh usually means the car can go farther, but how you drive and how efficiently the car uses energy also matters.
A quad motor setup means the car has four electric motors working together. That can help the car launch harder and keep traction better because power can be sent where it’s most effective.
Torque is the “twisting force” that helps the car get moving. Higher torque usually means stronger acceleration, especially when you press the pedal from a stop.
A driving mode is a setting that changes how the car feels and responds. Here, the hosts say the biggest power and torque numbers are for the car’s strongest/most aggressive mode.
AMG GT is mentioned as a well-known performance car to compare against. The hosts are saying Luce’s numbers are extremely high compared to other cars people know.
WLTP is a standardized test used to estimate how far a car can go on its energy. Your real range can be higher or lower depending on how you drive and conditions like weather.
Wheel size affects the tires and how the car moves through the air and over the road. That can change both how the car feels and how much energy it uses.
Bigger wheels can change how the car rides and how efficiently it uses energy. With EVs, that can affect how far you can drive before recharging.
Term
three light design
This is talking about the car’s rear light pattern—how many light elements it uses and what shape they make. Designers use these patterns so the car is easy to recognize, especially at night.
Electric charging infrastructure refers to the network of charging stations (and their availability/reliability) that lets EV owners recharge at home, work, or on the road. If infrastructure is limited or inconsistent, EV adoption tends to lag because drivers can’t easily “refuel” when needed.
The Yang Wang U9 is a Chinese electric supercar. The host is saying it competes with high-end brands in China and may offer a more familiar “supercar” look while still being very fast.
The Yangwang U9 is a very expensive, high-performance electric car. The podcast mainly focuses on how it looks and compares it to another car in the same general category.
They’re talking about finding a good balance in the car’s interior design. The idea is not to go overboard with screens everywhere—because that doesn’t necessarily feel luxurious.
Concept
performance is meaningless at this point with EVs
They’re saying that with electric cars, the speed differences between many models aren’t as important as they used to be. Their argument is that other things—like how the cabin feels—matter more now.
They mention the Yangwang U9 Ultra as an example of a Chinese electric car that’s likely quicker than the one being discussed. The takeaway is that EV performance is getting competitive across brands.
They mention the Xiaomi SU7 as another Chinese electric car example. Their point is that the best versions are already very quick, so performance isn’t the only deciding factor anymore.
OLED screens are a type of display where each pixel lights up on its own. The host is talking about how the instrument cluster uses multiple OLED screens, but they’re arguing that too many screens don’t automatically make a car feel premium.
The Hyundai Ioniq 5N is a high-performance electric Hyundai. Here it’s mentioned because it uses an artificial sound feature to make the driving experience feel more exciting. The host also suggests it responds to how you drive.
Because EVs are quiet, some cars add fake engine-like sounds. That’s what “artificial noise” means here. The host says the Luce tries to make that sound feel more realistic and responsive, so it’s more fun to drive.
This means the car uses a high-voltage electrical system. Higher voltage can let the charger deliver power more efficiently, which usually makes fast charging faster. The host is saying the Luce benefits from that setup.
The BMW i3 is mentioned as a reference point for battery size and how that affects range. The host says the i3 has a smaller battery than the Luce, so it’s expected to go fewer kilometers on a charge. It’s basically a comparison to help you understand the Luce’s numbers.
LFP is one type of lithium battery chemistry. Different battery types can behave differently—like how they charge and how stable they are. The host is wondering which type the Luce uses.
NCM (nickel-cobalt-manganese) is another type of lithium battery. It’s often chosen when you want more energy packed into the battery. The host is guessing the Luce uses this kind instead of LFP.
The Porsche Taycan is an electric car from Porsche. It’s a sporty sedan, and the podcast is mainly pointing out how impressive it looks and how well it fits into the mainstream electric market.
A “three-box” sedan is the traditional shape with a separate hood, a separate passenger area, and a separate trunk. This car doesn’t follow that classic layout because the rear opens like a hatch.
Aerodynamic means the car is shaped to work with air flowing over it. Better aerodynamics can help the car feel more stable and efficient, especially at higher speeds.
A front air wing is a piece on the front of the car that helps control airflow. The goal is usually to keep the car planted and stable when you’re driving fast.
Here, “exoskeleton” is a styling idea: the car has an outer shell that looks like it wraps around the body. It’s meant to create a distinct two-layer look rather than a single smooth body panel.
They’re talking about mixing two styles: classic, physical-looking gauges and modern screen-based displays. The idea is to get the best of both—easy to read like analog, but flexible like digital.
A digital instrument cluster is the dashboard display that uses screens instead of fixed needles and dials. It can show different info depending on your settings or driving mode.
A three-spoke steering wheel means the wheel has three main support arms/spokes. It’s a common performance-car design style and helps make the controls feel more driver-focused.
Term
Manettino switch
A Manettino switch is a driver control (often a knob or switch) used to change how the car behaves. It’s meant to be quick and easy to use while you’re driving.
That’s the car’s main screen for things like music, maps, and settings. Here, they’re saying the screen can turn so it’s easier to see from the driver’s seat or the passenger’s seat.
E ink is a special screen technology that looks clear in sunlight and doesn’t use much power. In this case, they’re using it in the car key so the key can show a color change or message.
Rolls-Royce is a very high-end luxury car brand. The host is saying that the interior design they’re discussing feels like the kind of benchmark Rolls-Royce is known for.
Bentley is a luxury car brand. The host is using it as an example of companies that are known for especially premium-looking and premium-feeling interiors.
This is about designing a car so some functions use real buttons or knobs, and others use the screen. The goal is to make everyday controls easier to use without forcing you to rely on touch menus for everything.
They’re using “glorified iPad” to mean a car that feels like it’s just a big touchscreen tablet. The point is that relying on touchscreens for everything can be less practical than having real buttons.
Touchscreen technology in a car means using the screen to control things like temperature and settings. The concern is that it can be harder to use quickly while driving compared to real buttons. So designers try to balance screen controls with physical knobs/buttons.
“Zeitgeist” means the dominant mood or prevailing cultural interests at a particular time. Here it’s used to say Ferrari has become culturally talked about again, not just among car fans.
The BMW M3 is a sporty BMW that’s built to be fast and fun to drive. The podcast brings it up because people are talking about what an electric version of an M3 could be like.
The Sealion 7 is a BYD car that someone in the podcast group recently bought. The conversation is about what it’s like to own it, not just how it looks on paper.
“On-road costs” are the extra fees required to get a car registered and legally usable on public roads. They commonly include items like stamp duty, dealer delivery charges, and compulsory third-party (CTP) insurance—so covering them can significantly reduce the total amount you pay at purchase.
Dealer delivery is the fee for getting the car from where it’s stored/shipped to where you’ll pick it up. Some promotions cover that fee so you pay less.
CTP is required insurance that helps cover injuries to other people if there’s an accident. It’s usually part of the mandatory fees you pay when registering a car.
“Fully online” means the purchase is handled through the internet instead of mostly in person at a dealership. Here, you put down a deposit and sign the paperwork on your phone.
A deposit is an upfront payment you make to secure a purchase while the contract is being finalized. In car buying, it’s often used to reserve the vehicle or lock in the deal terms.
A contract is the official agreement that locks in the deal. In this case, the buyer checks that the final price includes the extra fees covered by the promotion.
The Dodge Charger is a larger, sporty car. The podcast talks about charging it—starting with fast public charging and then switching to a home wall charger to make charging easier.
One-pedal driving means you can slow down mostly by lifting off the accelerator. Instead of using the brake pedal all the time, the car uses the electric motor to slow down and recharge the battery.
Term
region braking
Regenerative braking is when the car slows down and also recharges the battery. It uses the electric motor to create resistance, so you waste less energy.
Android Auto lets you connect your phone to the car and use apps like maps and music on the car’s screen. The speaker is saying they use Android Auto so they don’t care as much what the car’s own screen software looks like.
Hard buttons are real physical buttons you can press. The speaker is saying this car has physical controls for climate functions, instead of making you use the touchscreen for everything.
A heated steering wheel warms the steering wheel so your hands feel comfortable in cold weather. It’s a comfort feature that can make winter driving much nicer.
The Mazda 6 GT is a Mazda sedan. The host is saying their 2017 Mazda 6 GT had heated rear seats, which they think is unusual compared to how people talk about heated rear seats today.
Term
digital gear
“Digital gear” here refers to an electronic gear selector/gear indication rather than a purely mechanical shifter. The host describes using a phone to unlock/lock and implying the car’s gear selection and related controls are integrated with modern electronics.
The Mercedes-Benz GLB is a luxury SUV. The host is saying they first noticed and liked the car’s ambient lighting in a GLB rental.
Car
BMW
They bring up BMW as an example of a nicer car that makes driving feel easier and less stressful. The idea is that the car’s feel and features can change how traffic driving feels.
Car
Volvo
They mention Volvo as another car they’ve had, and they’re saying it also makes driving feel less stressful. Volvo is often associated with safety and a relaxed driving experience.
Solid state batteries are a newer type of EV battery that uses a solid material instead of a liquid inside. The host thinks those newer batteries won’t be common in Australia for a long time.
Adaptive cruise control is like regular cruise control, but it can slow down and speed up to keep a safe distance from the car in front. It helps a lot in traffic.
Lane keeping assistance helps you stay in your lane by gently steering if you start to drift. Some people find it helpful, others find it annoying if it overcorrects.
Lane departure warning alerts you if the car thinks you’re leaving your lane. It’s meant to prevent lane changes you didn’t intend, but it can sometimes feel too sensitive.
Car
BYD
They ask whether the host has experienced driver-assist features in their BYD EV. BYD is a Chinese EV brand, and the question is whether the safety/automation features are helpful or annoying.
Child detection is a reminder system that tries to make sure you don’t accidentally leave a child in the back seat. It can be annoying if it keeps prompting you and won’t stay off.
This is a system that watches how fast you’re going and warns you if you’re going over the speed limit. You can usually turn the warning off in the car’s settings.
This feature tries to tell if you’re not paying attention or might be getting sleepy. It can watch for things like long glances at the screen or yawning and then warn you to take a break.
Term
tire take a break
That’s the car telling you to pull over and rest. It usually shows up when the system thinks you’re getting tired or distracted.
Car
T-Roc
The Volkswagen T-Roc is a small SUV. Here, the host is talking about how its cruise-control and lane-keeping features work—especially how well it stays centered in the lane and how much you have to watch it.
Lane trace is the part of driver-assistance that tries to keep the car in the middle of the lane. The host says one car handled the spacing fine, but couldn’t reliably stay centered, so you had to watch it more.
“Intelligent cruise control” is a brand’s name for cruise control that can also help keep you in your lane. The host is saying different car brands name it differently, but the idea is similar.
Travel Assist is Volkswagen’s name for driver-assistance that helps with both cruise control and staying in the lane. The host is comparing how well it works compared with another car.
They’re talking about how much you still have to watch the road even when cruise control and lane help are on. One system feels more trustworthy than the other.
Indicator noise is the sound your car makes when you use the turn signals. Some cars also make extra warning sounds for reminders, and you may be able to change how they behave.
A heads up display shows important info in your line of sight, usually on the windshield. That way you can see things like directions or warnings without looking down at the screen.
A 360 camera shows a stitched, overhead view of your car. It can help you park, but you still need to drive slowly and pay attention—especially to where your wheels are.
Combined range is an EV estimate that blends different driving conditions (typically city and highway) into one number. It’s meant to approximate real-world use, but your actual range can vary a lot with speed, weather, and traffic.
BP Pulse is a company that runs public EV charging stations. The point here is that you may need their app to use their chargers.
Brand
Tesla super
This is Tesla’s fast-charging network. If you use those chargers, you typically use Tesla’s system to start and pay for charging.
Brand
amp charge
This sounds like another EV charging network. The main idea is that public charging often comes from different companies, and each may have its own app.
Charger ratings are basically reviews or status info for EV chargers. They help you avoid chargers that are broken or won’t charge you as fast as expected.
A public charger is a charging station you use outside your home. These chargers can be different speeds and not always reliable, so it’s smart to plan ahead.
Fast charging speed is how quickly your EV can take in energy from a charger. It’s measured in kilowatts, and it can slow down as the battery gets fuller.
Term
DC
DC fast charging is the kind of charger that can charge an EV quickly. It uses direct current, which lets the car take in energy faster than slower home-style charging.
State of charge means how full the EV battery is, like 20% or 80%. Charging is usually quickest when the battery isn’t too full, and it slows down as it gets closer to full.
It’s how an EV’s battery and electronics are wired electrically. A higher-voltage system can take charge faster because it can move more power efficiently during fast charging.
DC fast charging is the high-speed way to charge an EV at special stations. It’s usually much quicker than charging at home or with slower public chargers.
The iX3 (G08) is BMW’s electric SUV. The podcast mentions it because it can charge in the way they’re talking about, which affects how easy it is to live with day to day.
A luxury car tax is an extra tax some countries apply to expensive cars. Here, they’re saying a particular EV version is priced/structured so it qualifies under the tax cutoff.
They’re talking about how some EVs use big screens for most controls. For them, it’s distracting—especially when you’re a passenger trying to look at something else.
The Renault Scenic E-Tech is an electric family car. The podcast says it’s not as well-known as some others, but it’s a model worth looking at if you want something practical.
MEB is a shared “electric car design” platform used by Volkswagen Group. It affects how different EVs are built and what kinds of software and features they can offer.
Connected services are features that use a data connection to make the car smarter online. That can include things like live maps and remote app functions.
This is an electric Renault Scenic. The big point is that it mixes touchscreen features with real buttons for things like climate control, so you don’t have to rely entirely on a phone or menus.
Smartphone mirroring is when you connect your phone so the car shows your phone apps on its screen. The host likes that this car can do key things without needing that setup.
A dealership is a store that sells cars for a brand. The host is saying that because Renault sells through dealerships, you might be able to negotiate a better deal.
WLTP range is a standardized test number for how far an EV should go on a full charge. It helps compare cars, but your real range can be different in everyday driving.
Massage seats are seats with built-in motors that give you a massage while you drive. Here, they’re being used as an example of what higher trims add for extra money.
The Kia EV5 is an electric Kia model. The hosts are using it to make a point that the lowest-priced version may have a smaller battery and fewer features than you’d hope.
Here, “power” means how strong the car feels when you accelerate. The host is saying that besides range, power is one of the main things that changes between versions.
A PR move is something a company does to get people talking—usually to build hype or credibility. The host thinks BYD’s ship delivery was planned to attract attention and make the story easy for customers to follow.
“Track the vessel” means you can follow where the cargo ship is going and where it is in its trip. The host is saying BYD uses that to make the delivery story feel real and current for customers.
“Vertically integrated” means a company handles a lot of the process itself, from materials to making the cars to getting them to customers. The hosts are saying this helps BYD react faster when more people suddenly want to buy.
A supply chain is the whole system that gets parts and cars from where they’re made to where customers can buy them. The hosts are saying BYD controls more of that process than many other automakers.
A wallbox is a home charger for an electric car that you install on your wall. It’s meant to charge your car more conveniently and often faster than the emergency/portable charger.
Seven kilowatts is how fast the charger can put energy into the battery. More kilowatts usually means faster charging, but the car and your home wiring still matter.
Three-phase is a type of home electricity supply. If your house and charger support it, it can help the EV charge faster than with a simpler single-phase setup.
A “granny charger” is a slow, basic charger for an EV—usually the one you can plug in in a pinch. It’s not great for regular charging because it takes much longer than a proper home wall charger.
Sentry mode is an EV security feature that uses the car’s cameras/sensors to monitor the surroundings while parked. If something is detected, it can record events and alert the owner through the car/app.
Schedule charging means you tell the car when to begin charging later. It helps you charge at cheaper times or have the battery ready for your next trip.
CarPlay is a way to connect an iPhone to your car so you can use apps on the car’s screen. It’s usually things like maps and music, controlled through the car’s interface.
Spotify is an app for streaming music. In this BMW, the speaker says Spotify could show up in the car’s screen so they could play music through the car.
The infotainment system is the car’s main screen and media controls. It’s what you use for things like music and navigation when your phone is connected.
iDrive 6 is BMW’s in-car computer system for the infotainment screen. It’s the interface you use to control things like music and navigation, often with a knob and buttons.
It’s the knob you turn to move around menus on the car’s screen. The speaker is saying they could control the infotainment using that knob.
LIVE
Hello everyone and welcome to another episode of the Hook Turn podcast with my very good friend
Sandvib. So how are you tonight Sandvib? I'm very, very good. Interesting topics to talk about,
both electric but one is extremely mainstream and the other one probably won't be mainstream in
the slightest but as captured everyone's attention in the car world over the past week or so even
people who aren't really interested in cars have been you know reading about it and looking at it
and giving their opinion on it. Yes so for today's episode we're really going to touch normally we
do three topics because there's so much to talk about with both of these cars you know as Sandvib
said one of them like has captured the world's attention the second car has captured Sandvib's
attention we're just going to talk about two cars today and they're both electric but they're on
wildly different ends of the spectrum so the first our first topic is going to be the Ferrari
Luce so this is Ferrari's first electric car and also actually Ferrari's first car with five seats
so that's quite interesting and it's also the first car that Ferrari has contracted out to
Johnny Ive to design so just for background Johnny Ive used to be the chief design officer at Apple
he was responsible for so many different iconic Apple products the the original iMac the iPhone
iPad just to just to name a few and he is now together with his very close colleague Mark
Newsen who's actually an Australian has decided to take their hands at designing a Ferrari so
I think the design has been by far the most controversial aspect of this car so
we might touch off on the specs fairly quickly because I think I mean they're yes they're
very very good but they're not in the world of EVs where you know it's you can have very affordable
cars produce insane performance figures and acceleration times the specs by themselves
really are nothing like absolutely incredible to write home about so there's a very big 122
kilowatt hour battery which is a huge battery powering four motors so there's a it's a quad
motor setup and it produces a total of I think 722 kilowatts of power in the most powerful
driving mode and at 990 newton meters of torque so really incredible you know powering torque
figures you know it's eclipsed by you know other models like I think the new AMG GT
four-door coupe the electric one has similar outputs if not probably slightly higher but
basically the acceleration zero to 100 kilometers an hour in two and a half seconds I think the
200 kilometer an hour acceleration figure is 6.8 seconds which is you know faster than most cars
accelerate to 100 kilometers an hour so very fast acceleration the range is you know for such a
huge battery not incredible I have to say so 530 kilometers on the WLTP cycle which given how huge
the battery is is not amazing like it's okay but not not incredible I think that's partly down
due to the wheel size as well so there are 23 inch wheels at the front and 24 inch wheels at the back
which is huge so that's I mean that's a massive massive wheel and probably those rail wheels are
I think the largest or at least one of the largest wheels in production on a like a non-off-road SUV so
yeah I think Sandeep so you want to do cover off on what your thoughts are initially
with the design and how and what some of the reaction has been because that's really where I
want to focus on so like maybe we'll start from the outside and then we'll talk a little bit
about the interior and then we'll cover off on what this might mean for the rest of the industry
like okay so I think a lot of that criticism of the design is a bit overblown I sort of get what
people mean when they say it doesn't look like a Ferrari I remember I saw this parody where they
actually chucked an Apple logo on at the front and you know and it almost looks like an Apple car
at least from the back the rear kind of gives I guess if you associate that three light design
three sorry two like red light circle red light design with Ferrari I guess it kind of looks like
a Ferrari but yes I will say the front looks more like a like a car that would be made by a
manufacturer that specializes in like technology rather than a Ferrari so I will say that however
it does sound like it was the intention because really unlike unlike every other Ferrari obviously
wasn't designed internally by Ferrari and I think that that's partly the reason what like if they
wanted this EV Ferrari to look like every other Ferrari they would have not you know they would
have just designed it themselves right so I think it was a deliberate decision to make it look the
way it does right or like look a bit different now what's the logic of why you know they wanted to
make it look different maybe because they felt like the market for this would be a bit different to
the market for a regular petrol combustion engine Ferrari so they might have thought okay if the
market for this sort of Ferrari is going to be different then maybe they might be looking for a
slightly different design compared to a regular Ferrari say
and the interesting thing is is that I wonder who the audience for this is for because
because it's an EV I don't know the specifics of what electric charging infrastructure is like in
places like Dubai but I have to imagine it's not that great in America we probably are not going to
see a whole lot of success in terms of like for this car obviously design is quite controversial
and on top of that it's also like being an electric car it's not exactly a very good environment for
electric cars right now in the US so then we're left with sort of Europe and we're left with
effectively China right those two countries those two regions basically have the electrical
infrastructure to support electric cars have the take-up etc so China I mean okay maybe might sell
a bit but really funny enough Ferrari's main competition in China will be their domestic rivals
right a lot of their domestic Chinese manufacturers even extremely high end ones actually I would
say the Yang Wang U9 while the terrible name looks way better than this car right a lot more
traditional super car like probably just as quick too and so you know there will be competition
and in Europe maybe but then it's like who's got the amount of money to spend on this sort of kind
would they be willing to spend it on an EV so it'll be curious to see who actually ends up buying
it I mean I'm sure it will sell out to the extent it will be probably manufactured in
extremely limited numbers but and you know some people just buy it for the novelty already even
if they've no intention of driving it but it'll be curious to see you know who ends up buying it
now in terms of everything else so exterior wise you know I reckon it will grow on people
and I reckon once like you see it on the more like we probably will not see it on the road for a
very long time but eventually once people start seeing it on the road it won't look terrible what
I will do admire is the interior they actually did do a pretty amazing job on the interior there is
no question I think it's exactly I hope the Chinese copy this and I hope other manufacturers copy
this because like obviously with not as expensive technology but the core idea of being like okay
yes you know when no one's going to go back to analog buttons and you know no screens that would
just be ridiculous but recognizing there's that balance to be like okay just simply sticking a
whole bunch of touch screens everywhere and screens everywhere it does not make interior
luxurious I think I'm glad that the lucha has shown that and hopefully other brands will take note
and be like okay yeah like this car for example compared to most modern cars it was a very small
touchscreen right so it's it's really good to see that they're focused on like being like okay what
actually makes a good interior because sometimes you know if you just want big screens in a couple
of years time a 30000 dollar Chinese electric car will give you probably the same size
screens that Mercedes Benz and stuff are giving you now those super sized screens so screens are
not really going to be something that's going to define luxury anymore or how expensive a car is
anymore so it's good and so in that sense I think the interior of the lucha will be remain
quite timeless in a sense I don't think it's going to people are going to look at it in
in fact if possible it might actually be set the benchmark in terms of what
future car interiors could look like and hopefully other brands like as with many technologies other
brands will look at this and be like implementing too much cheaper cars so this sort of technology is
available to everyone um otherwise I mean there isn't that much to say in terms of like
it you know as you mentioned already performance is meaningless at this point with EVs as you said
you can get Chinese EVs that are maybe only a tiny bit slower than this car
obviously in terms of driving there'll be faster ones as well I'm sure you can get faster Chinese
EVs like this probably as well I wouldn't be surprised with yang wang u9 ultra yeah
it's quicker than this car right yeah and even like the you know whatever xiaomi su7 but whatever
the top of the range version is now so yeah yeah I think I was reading that the for the instrument
cluster there's like three OLED screens and the tittle is real yeah like I can't imagine how much
engineering that would have gone where they've got OLED screens but they've actually had to stick a
real needle through it I believe they're all sams these custom samsung on their displays yeah
that they're using so we're talking like some of this technology it looks subtle but it's very
very very sophisticated and that's exactly the kind of thing that you want in sort of luxury cars
like that understated sort of look um other than like and as I meant and also you know they've
like yandere onik 5n while it pioneered this from what I understand the artificial noise that the
luce will make is quite different it will basically try and be like I mean the while the onik 5n also
and the onik 6n now I guess also reacts to how you drive I think this car doesn't in a much more
sophisticated way so again that noise that EVs tend to lack um will you and you know and many
critics of EVs are like you know yeah it can go fast but you don't get the visceral experience of
you know uh when you go fast in a regular combustion engine car they are trying to make
up for that um and yeah and obviously it's uh extremely quick charging 800 volts architecture so
all of that is good um and the range finally enough is actually pretty solid as well 530 kilometers
that's assuming that's WLTP that's a pretty solid range because often performance EVs don't have
great range so given how huge the battery is it's I would say it's like I mean it's on its own it's
okay like I mean but given how like it's a 122 kilowatt hour battery like that's a huge battery
and then I mean you have like just for a context owner this is a completely different segment but
the BMW the new BMW i3 that has like a you know 108.7 kilowatt hour I think net battery and that
produces 900 kilometers of range of course it's a that's a significantly shorter model a shorter
vehicle so this is the the luce is like much much a much longer car and has way more performance and
just for context like it's I mean it is it's not atrocious but it could be like
like and it's understandable given how performance oriented this car is but
I wouldn't say it's like the most efficient EV by any means but I mean that is also not the
focus of this model so do we know whether it uses the LFP or an NCM battery?
We don't believe we do but I would strongly wager it's an NMC battery like I would
I would be very surprised just because we do know like the weight figures and I don't think it's
actually like I mean it is heavy like it's more than two tons but it's not like given the size
of the battery I'm surprised it's not like 2.7 tons or more than two and a half tons so I would be
shocked if it's an LFP battery. Okay cool yeah but otherwise yeah you're like I think
I think that while the criticism is overblown it does remind me you don't remember when the Jaguar
yeah type 001 yeah that was revealed that was also similar I mean to be fair that was also
more because of the ads more so than the car itself and we still haven't seen the production
version of that car to be fair. I believe it's being revealed soon sometime this year isn't it?
It is but we've only seen the concept so far and then done like I think there's some of the
monitoring journalists have done like a bit of a preview drive in like a camouflage prototype but
yeah yeah but yeah it's good to see I guess traditional high-end manufacturers being a bit
more experimental with the electric cars but funnily enough we already have the blueprint of what
successful performance EV should look like from a mainstream brand and that's in the Porsche
Taycan which is a very objectively an amazing looking car no one looks at that and it's like
that's an ugly car apart from it it was an amazing looking car when it launched it still looks really
really good and you know and and Porsche didn't feel like oh this is our first EV and therefore
we need to try and make everything different now as I said Porsche even the Taycan the interior is
like basically like every other Porsche whereas obviously Lucha has a very different kind of
interior to every other Ferrari but I wish that basically Ferrari had basically like even if it
was a derivative of the Porsche Sangway I would have said that you know that's a very very good
looking car and I guess it wouldn't have been that divisive and but it kept the same interior
it would have been a really good blend of I suspect basically they well I mean I guess they
wouldn't have been in the news as much but I suspect then it would certainly wouldn't have
got the amount of criticism that it has got yeah okay and I think just for you know
for our audience and like if if they haven't seen photos of the Lucha like this is something
that you really need to see photos of to understand the design but I'll give a little bit of an
explainer on the exterior so it's like a I mean it's essentially I think the best way to describe
it in terms of its body style it's like a fastback sedan so it has like a hatchback sort of lift
or a lift back tail so it's not a traditional three box sedan by any means with a separate
you know boot or anything like that but it is it's not an SUV it's like a more of a
I guess four door coupé or five door coupé style like car with a with a yeah hatchback
tail and it just has like I mean I think this is also one of those cars where the photos will
tell one story and there's been a lot of keyboard warriors who are you know launching a lot of
vitriol and a lot of hate on this just from how the photos look and it does like based on the photos
it kind of looks like honestly kind of looks like a bar of soap like it just has from the outside
just has like no hips like yeah it has no hips it doesn't it has like a weird it's almost like
and the way I remember the way that Ferrari sort of described it it's almost like it has a very
like it's almost like a two-piece exterior design where you have this black inner
component which is very sort of aerodynamic and you have like a it's very sort of downward
sloping and then that's surrounded by what is essentially like a shell so you have this huge
front air wing or front spoiler that allows air to go through like right from the front and then
flow over the over the bonnet and over the windscreen and then you know towards the
rear of the car so it's almost like you have this car it's like a shell design so you have
you have like like what is an inner design and then you have what what Ferrari are almost calling
an exoskeleton and that's where the that's essentially the the colored painted part so the
the inner part is painted black the exoskeleton is painted yellow or red or this baby blue color
whatever sort of color you you really want and that's it's almost like a two-piece sort of
design and it's hard to describe in audio until you sort of look at look at some of the photos
but I do feel like this car the devil is in like sort of when you actually look at it in person so
that's I feel like the lot of the proportions might make more sense when you when you see this car
at a dealership and then you sort of understand okay this this is the actual stance this is how
the length and the width actually you know translate to making it potentially better
looking than it does in photos um yeah it's quite a it's a very unique design I don't think it has
from a design perspective any sort of direct competitors honestly like especially at that
price point it's just it's just different that's kind of the best way to describe it the interior
I have to say is a work of art like I completely agree with Sandra with what you're saying
and every sort of material that they that they've used is genuine so anything that looks like
metal is metal anything that looks like leather is leather anything that looks like glass and
aluminium you know is glass and aluminium and there's a lot of innovation that is happening
in a very sort of subtle way and so I know sam but you mentioned the instrument cluster and
yeah it's actually quite insane what they did so they to your point they did ask sam some to produce
like one sort of big OLED screen but then cut out three holes in that OLED and put in three separate
smaller OLED screens and then somehow have like a physical needle
within like sandwich within those screens so it's like it's almost like the benefit of that is that
it's like the seamless merging between the analog and digital world so you have all of the benefits
of like a digital instrument cluster like you can change what each smaller screen displays that you
can if you wanted to display maps you can just do that if you want to change the scale on the um
you know power meter and the speed you can do all of that you can change the um you know when
you change the driving modes the color changes and and all of that so it has all of those benefits
but it has that sense of perspective and that real sort of um you know genuine like mechanical
analog feel that you can only get from you know like a physical physical sort of
product so it's almost like each aspect of the interior is designed as its own product so
the steering wheel again you move um you know it's almost like a reference is all of this classic
Ferrari steering wheels like it has that classic three spoke design it has physical switches like
that physical manatino switch so going back to that um really sort of taking inspiration from a
lot of those iconic designs the infotainment display you can it can sort of swivel from the
driver to the passenger so that's really cool because you know it can be driver focused when
you need it to be but then if the passenger wants to have a look you know they can they can have a
look as well even things like the key for example that's the world's uh the innovation there is the
first um use of e ink technology in a key so you know e ink technology is typically something that's
only used in like your amazon kindle or your cobo e reader and this is actually using it in the key
so when you uh when you put the key in the center console the color it's normally a yellow key and
that will transfer that that color transfers into the gear lever so it's almost like you're it's almost
like creating this sense of ceremony and you're like it's transferring it's almost trying to
symbolize the transfer of power from the key to the to the car so it's all of these like very
small touches like on its own they don't like necessarily mean much but when they you know
they it's when they combine together it's clear you can clearly see that they've put an insane
amount of attention to detail in the interior and it's really like a benchmark like you think
that more like Bentley Rolls Royce um you know they're sort of have have been setting the benchmark
for luxury car interiors but I think Ferrari while not traditionally known as like an out and out
luxury car maker like their performance manufacturer their focus has always been on
performance and driving but they've kind of like taken the even their interior game a real step
forward here so um I think that's quite like very very impressive and um I think same up to
your other point about you know set like setting the direction for the industry I really do hope
that you know obviously you know they can't replicate all these materials and everything
in like a much cheaper car but I do hope that that same like essential philosophy of having
genuine materials having like a right balance of physical controls and digital controls and
not just sticking everything into like what is a glorified iPad I hope that um that is adopted
by other car manufacturers so you know don't over complicate things if there's a if it makes
sense to have a button so for example the Lucia has buttons for all of the air conditioning controls
and you know have a have a button where where it makes sense to have a screen um you know to change
settings or for Apple CarPlay then obviously you need a screen but um yeah it's I think from a
philosophical perspective I hope it correct this car acts as a bit of a course correction for the
rest of the industry and just allows people to take a step back from you know just because touch
screens are popular in phones and tablets and and laptops these days it doesn't mean they translate
um to uh the automotive space like like it needs to be a much more considered use of of touch
touchscreen technology and having that right balance with physical controls as well yeah
Sandro do you have any thoughts on what the um pricing might be of this car well I don't we have
rough European pricing if I'm correct yeah I think I mean I I assume it will be a million
dollars plus like surely in Australia like in Australia we are a million on a 400
and 40000 pounds which would be yeah yeah like 908 maybe eight yeah yeah so
800 yeah it'll be a million plus yeah um really in Australia it will sell in single digits
yes it's really quickly um so I don't think Australia is really going to be a market for them
but like I said earlier we curious to see what this car does in Europe itself and um
I'm trying to because as I said uh traditionally the kind of customers that would be willing to
spend the kind of money that people spend on these supercars probably don't live in countries with
really good uh EV infrastructure I don't think the sort of Brunei will be you know buying himself
a Ferrari luce yeah um so yeah you'll be curious to see basically uh who actually ends up being
the customers for these cars and yes as you mentioned um let's hope that you know when this
releases like all the Chinese car brands probably will purchase one the big ones will probably
purchase one for themselves and then see basically what they can take and hopefully give it some of
these sort of more unique technologies to more mainstream cars yeah I definitely agree and you
know there's been um I think the cool thing is that it's I mean I guess from Ferrari's benefit
like there was some news when they revealed this car that what was it the share price dropped by
like what seven or eight percent or something um yeah there was there was that news but I do think
it has put Ferrari back into the sort of zeitgeist so to speak and and back into pop culture just
just because of how controversial this design is and to that like to that point it's had the
similar effect that you know Jaguar had when they sort of revealed their new sort of brand
philosophy and that type 001 as well so um yeah the the design definitely like uh very unique
you can see definitely clear influences from you know Johnny Ives previous sort of portfolio of
work especially from the exterior design perspective but from an interior like I mean the easy way
you know the easy option for Ferrari would have been again to just you know put a giant
touchscreen in the car like every other you know Chinese EV manufacturer and most other
car brands these days you know Mercedes included especially and and just call it a day and the
other easy option would have been to just let's just make an electric you know f80 or an electric
296 and which I mean technically it would have been very possible but I I do think they deserve
credit for pushing the boundary a little bit and you know we don't know like maybe this car will
you know fall flat on its face and completely fail like that's entirely a possibility but
when you won't fail to the extent there will always be enough people people wanting to you know
like say that they've got the new Ferrari but in the long term unsuccessful at the end yeah yeah I
mean that's the thing like I feel like Ferrari also like they'll be releasing another new model
you know fairly soon after this and then they'll so this won't be the latest Ferrari for
for a very long time but but yeah I think it is like it's a definite like you know it sets the
I hope it does set the direction for the industry for years to come in terms of wear design wear
to aspire to with interior design okay and I think speaking of setting direction I think
should we move on to our second topic Sandvib? Yeah we should so also talking about an EV but
very different kind of EV I think yes yes so this is a car that Sandvib has had a personal
love affair with so to speak so we might have hinted at this in a previous episode actually
I think when we had Mike Castello on we touched on this but Sandvib actually bought a new car
which was the what is it the BYD C-Line 7 right or is it? Is that what it's called? C-Line 7 yeah
C-Line 7 yeah so this is an electric SUV it's essentially the BYD's sort of direct
rival to the Tesla Model Y although it's more of a coupe SUV so to speak as well so
Sandvib did you want to do talk a little bit maybe do you want to start about
you know why you like the buying process why you decide to choose this car and what other
options you are looking at if any? So yeah I decided like a lot of people after petrol prices
started to rise you know after the war in the Middle East began prior to that I had been thinking
since the beginning of the year of getting an electric car but I probably wasn't really seriously
considering it until the petrol prices started to increase and then the timing worked out that
BYD were running in promotion where basically for the C-Line 7 and two other cars which I can't
remember they were basically covering all on-road costs and so that meant that I would save about
4000 dollars and so I figured that okay this might be a good time to jump in so
I sort of went to a local BYD dealer just to check out not to purchase it from there but just
check it out I've checked out the space etc and then I came away quite liking it so I was like okay
this feels like it will be a good purchase and again because that promo was running where yep
you wouldn't have to pay any of like on-road costs like stamp duty, dealer delivery, CTP etc
I was like all right might as well purchase it now because it's not like it's going to get any cheaper
so yep I purchased it it was fully online it was weird how simple it was you just literally
put your name your email address and pay a thousand dollars a deposit and that's it that's all I had
to do then about three weeks exactly three weeks after I got an email with a contract where I think
the contract took me about 10 seconds to sign you tap you don't even need to sign anything you tap
on three predetermined things did you read the contract I did read the contract you tap the
main thing in the contract really is that just to confirm that I was getting the price with the
on-road cost covered that was really all I cared about and it confirmed that otherwise there wasn't
much to it you tap on three things I did on my phone I didn't even do it on a laptop and then
signed it there submitted it and then another three weeks after that I get a call from
BYD Paramatta and they're like your car's ready to pick up in three days time I was like okay
and then yeah that was it it was it was weirdly like if for such an expensive purchase it felt
very straightforward I know Tesla and other brands are exactly the same and
weirdly enough I think it's actually a very good tactic because when you reduce barriers to purchasing
things it makes it much easier to purchase it like people are going to be more hesitant if they have
to sign a thousand things or click through a thousand steps before they can purchase their
product so by sort of doing this I guess it meant that yeah it was easier to um sort of
make that decision so then I picked it up I got I've always been driving it now for a number of
weeks and yeah it's been interesting because your um because obviously I have the warbox I didn't
have a warbox installed for the first few days or first week or so so I did have to use a rapid
charger to keep it charged but once I installed a warbox now I haven't more or less haven't had to
use a rapid charger and even then like with a warbox with my driving I really only need to
really charge it once every five or six days so it's hardly like I'm charging it all the time
and yeah Yorah it's been quite interesting now first of all I remember when I was driving it
out of the dealer for the first time I was like I wasn't sure what I was expecting but it was my
first time ever driving an EV because I've never driven I've been a passenger in a Tesla multiple
times I've never driven one um and obviously yep never drove a BYD before I purchased it so I was
curious to see what it would feel like just a flag I recommend that people test drive their cars
before buying them but a standard place continues yeah so I was like okay I wonder how this tries
but very quickly I realized it didn't feel too dissimilar from a petrol car the only thing that
felt uh in like more um you know different was first and this wouldn't have even felt that different
had I ever owned a powerful petrol car but obviously it felt a lot quicker than any car I'd
owned previously and then secondly obviously the fact that when you accelerate it makes so noise
otherwise I felt like I was like okay this is like when I drive it now it it doesn't feel like oh
I'm driving an electric car but that's where I think BYD and a lot of the Chinese brands are
quite thin because from what I understand Tesla does drive a bit differently to petrol cars whereas
BYD and other brands try and make sure that if you are jumping from a regular petrol car it doesn't
feel too different so it doesn't have one pedal driving obviously that's the main thing it has
got region braking but no actual one-pedal driving it has got partial one-pedal driving in the sense
that if you put it on high region braking it does slow down but it won't come to a stop completely
when you lift your foot off the accelerator and if you put it on standard then it literally drives
like a normal car completely it doesn't like yeah you have to brake to stop it basically
um and yeah otherwise it's been quite interesting it and also it's like obviously BYD out of all
the Chinese brands it's probably the most it is the most assumption or probably the most
assumption it is the most I would say MG is also pretty well established oh yeah I guess I yeah that
is true I I guess I don't think about MG as much because they obviously uh have while they do have
electric cars in fact actually we'll probably talk about the S6 another time yes but uh you're um
they do have electric cars but I guess I do associate them still with their first products
like the MGHS and the ZEDS which were more just regular petrol cars yes but yes MG MG obviously
and I mean like Geely, Zika, they Cherry yes they've all got um quite similar things now the other
thing is you know people often say oh the software experience on Chinese cars isn't as good as Tesla
when I'm sure they aren't but really I just use Android Auto the whole time so for me it doesn't
really matter what the like the regular infotainment is like because I don't even see it apart from the
climate controls and even then there was a lot of thing about oh the climate controls are on the
touchscreen it's actually not too different I first was thinking that you had to change the fan speed
by actually going to the venue but then I realized if you just swipe the screen left to right with
three fingers it automatically adjusts the fan speed and since then even that hasn't made a problem
temperatures adjustable at all times it's got a shortcut bar at the bottom so fan speed temperature
and then on top of that unlike a Tesla it's actually got hard buttons for
functions such as automatic climate control and the demister so I don't if I need to like demister
front uh window I've got a button for that um so again it's it's those features where it's why for
example I wouldn't have considered a Tesla because I quite like the fact that just everything
isn't centralized onto the screen it has got a instrument cluster it's got a heads up display
it's got buttons uh it's got a proper gear stick of et cetera so in that again it feels like and
also as I while I'm sure Tesla's navigation software is amazing I still like having things like
ways especially because ways it's not even the navigation that matters too much it's um it's also
the fact that it's worth properly now on your yeah it does that was my phone that wasn't the car's
problem I think the phone that my phone was um because you know the GPS my phone for whatever
reason was a reading um where the location was but yes you're a ways yeah you're you're missing out
on all other features of ways such as the hazards and you know knowing where the police are all those
sorts of small features so it's not just the nav so in that sense yeah it's been thing and and
really it's funny because like the features list even the performance right apart from the fact that
it's obviously significantly more powerful only comes with two actual extra features only one of
which is relevant to the driver which it comes with a heated steering wheel and it also comes with
heated rear seats um it's funny heated rear seats are such an exclusive feature yet my uh two cars
ago my master six 2017 master six GT had rear heated seats so and now it's like locked to like super
expensive cars yet that car had front heated seats add rear heated seats yeah that was the GT
that wasn't even the top spec attends um but yeah so it's been uh quite good and yeah I've now
got quite comfortable driving the car it's a nice having car with the app associated with it on top
of that I really enjoy the feeling of like like most new cars you've got the digital gear on your
phone so now just unlock and lock it with my phone which is really handy I don't like Tesla and stuff
do that as well but it's you know it's nice to have it on any sort of car I think um it's got some
cool tricks like ambient lighting which I'm really liking I first experienced ambient lighting
on a Mercedes Benz uh we rented when I went to the UK and the Mercedes Benz GLB that had
ambient lighting as well which I really liked and I've got a car with ambient lighting which is
pretty cool it's funny though when I'm driving at night I don't really notice it unless if I'm
stopped at the lights then I but when I'm driving I'm just looking at in front of me and obviously at
the heads up display you don't really notice it in fact a lot of the features actually feel like
they're for passengers more they more so than for um the driver itself but yeah I I know like like
I'm sure you remember when you had the BMW as well when you own a nice car or a new car
driving doesn't feel like a chore like even if you're stuck in a traffic jam unless if I'm late
to work or something it doesn't feel stressful because it's like you know I mean a pleasant place
so to speak so yeah that's um and I mean I guess the same with your Volvo for now but yeah and and
also I guess now it's cool that I've got an EV because I mean we just spent the time talking
about something like the Ferrari Luce which you know very different kind of EV but but and um and
while petrol prices have dropped it it's weird like I was thinking to myself I now no look at
petrol prices themselves I don't know what the petrol prices are like right it's quite interesting
and freeing feeling so yeah I'm quite liking it and and I like it'll be relatively future proof I
don't necessarily think that like yes they're saying that battery technologies will improve
and I'm sure they will improve but really over the next five years I don't think I think solid
state batteries are the next big evolution I doubt we'll see them in Australia for quite a while like
yes it'll come out in China and stuff but I very much like that it will take a very long time to
hit Australia so I reckon this car's quite future proof for quite a while um yeah and yeah that's
about it yes so I know like um you know one of the concerns that people have with Chinese cars is
you know how well some of those uh advanced driver assistance systems work like you know adaptive cruise
control and sometimes there's some worries about all you know this is things like the driver alert
or driver attention warning is too irritating or the lane keeping assistance or the lane departure
warning is too intrusive is that something that you've experienced with the with your
BYD or are you sort of like more comfortable with it now? Funnily enough there's only one feature
that I find really annoying and it doesn't turn off permanently which is the child detection
and the reason that's super annoying is that the what's the child detection is
basically uh if it thinks you've got someone sitting in the back seats and the car's turned
over start blaring however the problem is it doesn't matter where the kid is where you're
sitting so um this happened uh sometimes you know if you want to sit in your car yeah while um you
know while it's turned off yeah you have to go into the menu turn off the child warning and
before you do that because otherwise after like a couple of minutes start blaring oh and it's not
even if someone's sitting in the rear seats okay I sort of get the logic if someone's sitting in
the rear seats even if it's just you in the driver's seat he'll do it and it's so irritating so
like you either do that turn it off or well and I read this on the facebook group yeah it's an EV
right so unlike a petrol car you can just leave it on because you know with the petrol car you
put it in park turning it off because otherwise it's burning fuel and stuff with the electric car
it's not really doing anything so they were like if you don't want that to happen just leave the car
and put it in park and leave it on so like you don't need to treat it like an electric in fact
you can treat it like a phone it's not like when you stop using a phone you turn off your entire
phone right and the car doesn't automatically turn off or anything it just stays on if you walk away
it's correct yeah it stays so and so that's the way that if you just want to sit in your car
without the thing going off and you don't want to have to turn off that child warning every single
time uh that's what you do so now if I do sit in the car leave the car on that way it doesn't
happen the other thing is uh so the intelligent speed warning uh thankfully uh once you turn
it off it's permanently off so turn that off and that doesn't bother me anymore finally enough to
drive or attention monitor yeah I've actually found it's okay okay it it it genuinely actually does
do its job like when I'm looking at the touchscreen too long it actually does warn me but otherwise
it's perfectly fine if it sees me yawning yeah it tells me your tire take a break but like the
times it warns me about driving the thing it's actually like it's not a false alarm it's been
pretty accurate okay I've actually been quite surprised so that's not actually been a problem in
this life yeah um yeah your um otherwise and uh the lane departure is exactly the same as my
T-Roc no difference yeah so I haven't had a problem with that okay that's good yeah safety systems
the systems have not had any false alarms no problems with that the only thing is that the
well like all of the um past different names for it but you know um basically adaptive cruise
control with lane trace yes so BYD call it intelligent cruise control voxwagen call it
travel assist but all of them basically do the same thing yes that is definitely not as good as
my voxwagen okay it's not terrible but the other day I drove to Gosford and if you drive to Gosford
from Sydney the M1 it's a bit uphill yeah and it really was not liking it it was constantly
disabling it and like I'd have to take back control of the car whereas with the T-Roc no problem
like my old voxwagen T-Roc no problems could it like sort of maintain the distance
to the car yeah when I mean it turned itself off the adaptive cruise control part was fine it
just couldn't stay in the middle of the lane yeah so that's what it was struggling with yeah okay okay
so yeah on a flat road it's mostly fine yeah but yes it's but even then I have to monitor it a bit
like with the voxwagen and Toyota thing you can basically almost close your eyes right it's so
accurate and so reliable you can basically close your eyes but yeah you can trust it a little bit
more yeah yeah you can trust it quite a bit yeah correct so yeah that's the only thing that you
know isn't quite as rock solid as you know my old car but otherwise I have had no issues whatsoever
with you know with any of the tech inside it's all highly customizable in the you know within
the settings as well or that reminds me you'll remember this initially the indicator sound the
default indicator oh yeah that very annoying sound so I think we should just for clarify so for context
I have sat in Sandvib's car once which is I think what like the weekend that you bought it wasn't
the same weekend like three days or the weekend after yeah maybe the weekend after and like I mean
look I have to admit that Sandvib and myself we have like different preferences with our cars
like we we have different tastes but you know I I did decide to sit in Sandvib's car and we drove
to like a restaurant and had dinner dinner but um yeah the one thing that infuriated me was this
this bloody indicator noise which sounded like it sounded like this sound like the warning chime you
get in every other car when you when somebody has forgotten to put their seatbelt on so the same
irritating noise and it really like it was really pissing me off but yes Sandvib you found a solution
yeah you can switch it from it so that was on the brand indicator literally there are two sounds
of course that indicated one was brand which was that sound and the other was standard so I switched
up from brand to state I don't even know how you can describe it as brand like what a strange thing
for a second but yep I switched up from brand indicator sound to standard indicator sound and
now it's the traditional click indicator so that's that's now fine but yeah no um so small quirks like
that have been interesting and yeah I guess uh you know with the Tesla everything is extremely
refined but as I said Tesla first I cannot imagine not having Android Auto and especially not having
weighs and also not having everything on the touchscreen it's funny because the touchscreen
on the Tesla and the BYD are exactly the same size I believe 15.6 inches I think the newest
Tesla's have a 16 inch screen but we're talk basically they're all the same screen size right
yet your um BYD wasn't like okay we've got the same screen size as the Tesla therefore everything
should be on the screen right uh it's got like and the heads up display especially has been so handy and
the brilliant thing of this apparently doesn't happen with a lot of heads up displays that um
it gives you nav directions with smartphone mirroring some heads up displays only give you
nav directions only if you use the native navigation and some only support apple carplay for example
for their directions whereas I've got android and still supports android order on top of that it
supports weighs as well not just google maps so it's a very very nice feature so you know and
and yeah it's been incredibly impressive it's incredibly spacious but to be fair all EVs are
so that's not really a unique selling point I don't think it has a big of a um as big of a
boot as the Tesla Model Y but still quite impressive I will say if I had a bigger budget
and I guess yeah if I had a bigger budget probably needed a bigger car or had even more space I would
maybe picked up like got a zika 7x because yesterday's objectively a much better car
but that's a very popular as well at the moment yeah yeah it's extremely popular
and um you know you're uh finally enough apparently got some update today
that added a bunch of new features yes yeah um but yes I would have maybe got that but that's
actually a like that's almost like that is a luxury car really it's not almost luxury car that is a
is effectively a luxury car um and so yeah that probably would have been a bit too much
but yeah otherwise and also I'm just having to be a bit careful with um you know and uh when the
Ferrari Luton is a 23 inch wheels I'm like oh my gosh like yes they might look good brand new but
yeah you're driving around curving your wheels yeah you've got a high risk of curving your wheels
360 camera didn't help there or was I just 360 camera can't help but sometimes you don't
necessarily want to be looking at the 360 camera doing slow drives all the time right
so yes I was thinking that like you have to be extremely careful basically yeah um yeah yeah now
I know the so I was having a look at uh the specs um for the so you've got the premium model which is
like there's so there's two I think you touched on this there's two specifications for the
sea lion seven so there's the premium model and then there's the performance so the premium model
has I think 482 kilometers combined range so I thought I'd ask like you know do you have any
idea given you know what in your sort of daily drive you know what sort of range figures total
are you are you getting like do you have any sort of estimate on when you charge it up fully
weirdly enough it saves 580 okay it's very optimistic on my drive to and for work it loses
about five percent okay and how many kilometers is your drive to and from work I believe 26 or not
I think 13 kilometers each way okay so 20 okay 26 and okay yeah and obviously in traffic so which
EVs really like so low-speed driving relatively speaking so yeah it works out quite nicely but
yeah I've never so I took it to Gosford um and it was like I never had to worry about range either
like broadly and also like as I've realized uh with oh so that's another thing obviously when
you get an EV you have to install probably a couple of apps if you're regularly are driving
far you have to install basically every single EV charging app BP pulse amp charge Tesla super
charger thing charge fox EV like the EV IE one etc so you've got to install a bunch of the apps
on top of plug share which basically tells you where where you are where the nearest
chargers are and you can filter depending on you know whether they're even accessible for you or not
and also a better route planner which if you're going on a road trip tells you okay this is where
you should stop etc etc that's where from what I understand Tesla's are amazing because Tesla
you don't even need a better route planner the inbuilt nav will do that yeah I thought I thought
even like um you know google maps on android order doesn't have that fit it probably does but I think
a better route planner customizes it to your car and probably it's a bit better and also does like
charger ratings and stuff so like they don't give you charges that are not working or you know don't
have like proper things so yeah that's probably okay and if you had to charge your car like maybe
on your gossip trip did you have to charge it at a public charger or a decent yeah I briefly
topped it up not because I needed to but just just in case so I briefly topped it up by uh 40% or so
and at a BP pulse okay how was that what was the charging speed like about 100 kilowatts which
isn't that fast but it's not terrible either okay and how long how long did it take uh 40%
took about 20 minutes so that's from like it was about it was literally from 44% charge to 85%
charge took about 21 minutes yeah okay that's I mean it's not terrible um yeah I mean I think 100
kilowatts DC so I believe the maximum or the peak fast charging speed is 150 kilowatts DC
that would be I assume that would it would only because what I noticed uh actually that day is that
the closer you get to 100% the slower more it slows down the rate of charge yes because it went from
100 kilowatts as I approach 85 it dropped it to 75 sorry dropped it to 85 and then dropped it to 75
and they literally say on the screen it's doing it for battery management purposes yeah so I believe
you'd only get the 150 kilowatts if you're trying to charge it from like five that's when it was
yeah like they're lower like 10% 10 to 20% or 10 10 or 20% yeah okay yeah I think that makes sense
that and I believe typically EVs like they start with a very fast peak charging speed if that's
whatever's the maximum is possible and then they sort of tail off uh as the state battery state of
charge um increases so yeah that's I think that's fairly typical I will say that you know like the
latest um EVs with the 800 volt architecture can charge quite a bit faster so you know like the
for the Tesla but the Tesla Model Y I believe is still on 400 isn't it I think so yeah yeah so
that's that I believe that Model Y's DC fast charging speed is I think it's 250 kilowatts that
that's the peak um DC but then you know like models like the you know ix3 for example um that's
that can charge that with the that can charge at 400 kilowatts for the I think the 50x drive and then
the one that they've just announced which is the 40x drive which is the one that slips under the
luxury car tax I think that can still do like 320 kilowatts DC fast charging so yeah I was reading
though in Australia there are only four in sorry in Australia there are not even just in yourself
well there are only four chargers in the entire state that's what that really high speed charging
that's uh hopefully they introduce more DC fast chargers and buy fast chargers like
hopefully they're these 350 kilowatt kilowatt DC fast chargers not not 50 or 100 or 150 kilowatt
DC fast chargers because yeah that that goes just to the broader point that the charging infrastructure
in Australia is still a little bit limited um compared to what you find in Europe in particular
so yeah yeah and you've driven your dad's Tesla Model Y how do you find that yeah look
I'll be honest like I think it is um you know the performance is amazing and you know the handling
is really good but I just don't like having everything on the touchscreen either and that goes
for Tesla it goes for all of these Chinese brands as well um so I I have this is probably just me
but I have this tendency to get very carsick when I start looking at a screen and especially the
Tesla in particular when everything is on the touchscreen and even as a front passenger I try
to look at something and it's very I just find it incredibly distracting so um my dad has somehow
gotten comfortable with it but I think like if I was in the market for an um EV of that sort of
in that sort of price range I probably wouldn't be buying the Tesla just because I find it to be a
bit bit more so what would you buy then if you're looking at it I would be looking at um I think the
one model that is a little bit off um people's radar that I would be looking at is the Renault
Scenic e-tech just because I think I thought you're going to say the Skoda um no no I think the I mean
the Skoda like I don't like the Venyakia yeah I don't like the Skodas or the current um MEB vehicles
in Australia because they don't have the connected services and I feel like their interior is a
little bit cheaper as well like they don't have the app um that um that Teslas or BYDs for that
matter have and I think that's a pretty cool feature I think in that budget yeah I personally
um really like the uh Renault Scenic um e-tech just because I think it has the best balance
between physical and digital control so it has so just for context it has google maps and I think
it has ways built in as well so you don't even need to worry about smartphone mirroring and
you can just use all of that natively um so that's really cool the other thing is that
it has all of the climate controls all physical buttons um fan speed changing the fan speed or
physical changing the air vent direction or physical um you know the steering wheel has all
of the physical controls as well um you know everything from the gearshift to the indicators
and all that stuff it has a proper instrument cluster um I really and I like the um yeah I just
I think it has um a good range as well so the WLTP range is I think 620 kilometers which is pretty
good for its price um yeah and I like the design as well so that would be that's sort of the model
that I would look at first so it is of course very um you know not something that comes first to mind
in many buyers um and Renault doesn't really market it but yeah I would look at that and
because it's nobody really buys it I try and haggle and get a good deal on it as well because
they Renault still uses dealerships so I think they especially if I was looking now um you know
with end of financial year coming up I would be looking to haggle and try and get a good deal on the
on a scenic um e-tech yeah I think it's I think that car is a little bit underrated um and I kind
of like the design and that sort of balance between physical and digital controls but
yeah that yeah that's fair um yeah and and yeah that does make sense I think that
that I I simply want to consider because I think it's just overpriced isn't it in the 50s the price
I uh I think so I think there's two specifications I believe it starts under 60 but then the
what they call the S3 actually let's have a look Renault uh scenic e-tech fly scenes and specs
I think um so so it starts from 55 990 before on road costs so that's the sort of the base
model and then and so that oh sorry pardon I should um there's three specifications so it starts
at 55 990 plus on road costs for the smaller battery so that's 60 kilowatt hours 430 kilometers
WLTP range then very short range yeah very yeah relatively short range yes agreed then the long
range is 59 990 which is the bigger 87 kilowatt hour battery that's 60625 kilometers of range
more power as well and then the top spec S3 Alpine is 65 990 so yeah I mean I would maybe consider
like the mid spec techno longer long range I think that gives you sort of decent um
I mean decent decent features as well it has all the safety tech um yeah I think for under 60
I would try and probably have all to maybe fit that price drive away um so that would be sort of my
pick um yeah I think it's um and I think in terms of what the top spec adds uh I think
massage seats power adjustment so that's pretty disappointing that the power there's no power
seats it seems for the um long the mid spec model that's a bit and this is where again
these european brands and they're like the chinese brands they're throwing everything even in the
base model yeah yeah they don't like their trim levels I mean often they don't even have trim
levels but even their base trim level really doesn't need to be wanting right um they were
saying the BYD after one even the essential version has a lot of you know core features
yeah from the technology perspective yeah in terms of technology so again like they need to
realize these european brands if they want to be competitive with the chinese their base model and
the Kia EV5 is the same right they often are advertising the Kia EV5 uh the cheapest one
is 4990 drive away but then when you look at the feature yeah it is nothing yeah it's got an
incredibly small battery and like it's like a poverty spec car almost yeah and and yeah so
and it's yeah it's the same with like the EV3 as well like they have like a lot of the
nice good features are locked to the what is it the GT line yeah yeah so exactly which is in the
60s for a small yeah so value for money wise the the europeans they think they simply cannot
compete with the chinese in terms of like you know the features like like i said in my C line seven
i feel like really yeah i mean the performance has heated steering wheel and heated rear seats but
broadly speaking there's almost no feature i'm like man i like it has everything basic really
that unique yeah yeah so yeah and i guess Tesla too its credit does the same as well even if you
buy a base Tesla model y pretty much everything it's only the range and the power that really
but unfortunately the european brands and the korean japanese yeah the non chinese
brands basically yeah yeah and i think that goes to that central sort of question where you know you
want to you want to decide like what's important to you like of course if you want all the features
and all the ticket you want to take all the boxes at the lowest price then you can't yeah you
can't beat the chinese brands if you want you know if you want a little bit more balance between
you know so-called tech technological design sophistication um then maybe and you you want
that balance with physical controls and stuff then maybe you look elsewhere a little bit as well so
yeah but it but as we've constantly said it's thanks to the chinese brands that these other
brands even semi-competitive yes so yeah like even if you aren't planning on buying a chinese EV
you should be incredibly grateful that they exist because it's the reason why the european EVs and
the korean EVs can't like the charge even more for they can't yeah okay now the other thing we
should touch on with BYD was some of the recent news with uh was it they had a ship they had their
own ship come and deliver cars yes that's correct and like i said it is completely meaningless in
terms of actually what it it because they didn't need to do that they could have done what they
do which is get other carriers to you know like deliver but you know in terms of marketing having
a BYD ship deliver 5 000 BYD cars to australia having pretty much every mainstream news brand
report upon it yeah they are probably our perspective yeah yeah it's it's an incredibly
almost like a literal almost literal chinese invasion of course yeah yeah exactly so basically
it's a very clever PR move um you know the fact that if you go on BYD's website they're
allowed you to track the vessel you know yeah and that at least tracked the vessel like while
it was coming to australia uh so yeah you're um very very slick marketing and and like i'm very
curious to see there was second in april third in uh March i'm curious to see what are they
going to be like and when may be facts i i reckon they'll still be top three um but i probably dropped
under third i don't know hold second but we'll see you know that could be wrong yeah but very
slick marketing and yeah yeah i think it goes to show that go from a broader point like how
the adder two after the that yeah yeah agreed and the adder two as well from what i understand is
and looking at the facebook groups and stuff is becoming extremely popular small it's a v35
thousand dollars like it hits every mark so that's as i reckon after the sea line seven
will be another huge hit and it's also a pretty good looking car because unlike the adder three
it's it's cheaper than the adder three but it actually looks more conventional and more normal
both exterior and interior compared to the adder three yeah and i think the point that i was making
was that it goes to show how vertically integrated b yd is and like some of the benefits of that like
you know if you you can respond so rapidly to demand like b i think b yd almost literally said
look we have our own ships we control the supply chain end to end from everything from
you know mining the raw materials for the batteries to actually making the batteries to
you know owning the factories where the cars are made to the obviously the design engineering
of the cars themselves to the marketing and the selling of the cars and what that means is
okay look in Australia there's a spike in demand we've noticed that you know there's
lots of people have been putting in orders like including yourself send it for the you know models
like the c line seven um you know b yd shark so okay look let's just redirect a ship or let's just
immediately um you know put up put these more cars on it put 5000 cars on a ship and because we
controlled the shipping schedules and you know and the booking for the for the ships and everything
we can we can just you know easily do that ourselves and just have like a ship come in
within a couple of months okay here 5000 cars customers here you go you don't have to wait
so long and you know done so and the pr as well because if they hadn't advertised it then no one
would hear about it but you know the advertisement alone like lots of people now were like oh wow
b yd like got their own ships yeah and you literally had more articles than the sydney morning
herald and the um you know i think i saw an article on nine uh not an article but a clip
on from like nine news as well saying you know these are you know there's pictures of this big
ship with b yd on the sat on the side saying you know docked in docked in port melbourne or um
sorry yeah it's um it's definitely a good pm you can't deny that so yeah um okay look i think we've
talked for quite a bit so is there anything else you wanted to talk about with your ownership
experience uh actually we should just confirm because we didn't how much did you actually
pay for the car and how much did the uh wallbox installation cost send it uh so i paid uh 56 for
the car because i also paid 1500 for the like another color other than white so okay so and
that's drive away drive away correct so my contractor mentioned that i saved 4000
dollars since i would have had to pay 4000 more in terms of dealer delivery
stamp duty they paid okay tp etc and like display and stuff all covered by them um yeah and
wait what was the other question so how much was the wallbox and the installation all right yes um
so the wallbox was from amazon it's the d power wallbox i think that was about 500 installation
was pretty cheap it was about 700 dollars as well so all of about about a bit less
than $1,000 for that so and that's um now you can get more premium wallboxes um but that but the
one i've got it's fine it's got an app that allows me to remotely control the charging
speed and stuff so i've no complaints when you plug it in and charge and and what what's the
do you know what the ac like what's the power is it like a do you have like a three phase or like is
it seven kilowatts or 14 kilowatts wallbox yep seven kilowatts wallbox yeah obviously you can get
11 kilowatt wallbox but i don't do much thing driving seven kilowatt wallbox charges the car
to full if you have it overnight and that's all you need yeah okay so yeah it's perfectly more
it's more than enough um i did find that the three point granny charger that comes with the car that
charges the car way too slow that's like really only for emergencies so yeah like i again i haven't
had to use that since installing the wallbox because it's incredibly slow but yeah that's like
you keep it in the car just for emergencies yeah okay okay and have you used the
frunk at all uh no i haven't even opened the frunk actually i don't know how to do that
i believe there's a button on the top screen i've found enough the only time i opened the
frunk was when i saw it at the dealer i haven't actually done on my own car okay i didn't have
the demo car at the dealership okay but yes i yeah i haven't even seen what the frunk looks like
okay um and just for context the the reason i'm laughing so much is uh two cars ago
when sandbub had his uh master six um quite actually infamously um sandbub bought it from
the dealer and completely forgot that the bonnet was open and drove it to my house with an open
bonnet and i was only slightly agile it's not my car uh yeah but it's still open like come on like
and then i was like what on earth are you doing why is your bonnet open like
oh i forgot my i didn't realize so yeah no thankfully here uh you can't drive because it's
got the sensor it won't tell you that honestly i'm a bit surprised the master didn't tell you
that the bonnet was open either but anyway well hey as we said that car had rear heated seats which
now you know apparently uh nearly 10 years later a feature locked again to a more expensive trim
so yeah back then i didn't even think of anything about that car had rear heated seats and that's
apparently an extra luxury feature but it's true in pretty much all cars only the top trims have rear
heated seats yeah okay yeah yeah that is a i think that's a fair point yeah yeah and the app have
you do have you yeah the app is great um the app is really good the app did it regularly you can
unlock lock you can set the climate control okay check the location um you know there's like
there's nothing to complain about is there like a is there a sentry mode like as well with like
tesla no unfortunately that's uh that's something i need tesla so yeah you can yeah and also you
can schedule charging of that as well yeah yeah and yeah and also do if you're worried like you can
also remotely turn the car alarm on of some description yes like i assume if you've ever
lose somehow lose the car or something yeah okay um but yes it's a very comprehensive app um and
yeah i like and uh like i said even though it's it's no different to having a key and even though
car comes with nfc card i like unlocking it with my phone okay yeah and it's funny you know the first
time that i had saw a car with smartphone connectivity was your was your bmw um prior to
that i never seen a car well my i mean my bmw it didn't have it didn't it didn't i mean it had the
option of carplay but i don't think i ever used the smartphone connectivity with it because it had
Spotify built it in like when you connected your phone it didn't have i don't think the bm the bmw
like it you could i could have paid to download carplay on it but i didn't it had smartphone
connectivity in the sense that it had an app and it had um i could send navigation directions from
my phone the bmw app on my phone to the car's infotainment system but didn't have smartphone
mirroring it did have like when i connected my phone it did have Spotify like i could Spotify
if i showed up in the iDrive system and i could natively through the iDrive controller the rotary
controller because it had iDrive 6 i could play music from the bmw's native infotainment system
and i could send destinations from my phone to the car that was cool but i didn't have
and it had the option of downloading carplay and android but i didn't have that option in my car
so yeah yeah anyway um cool okay look i think we might end it there for this week's episode
of the hawk turn podcast so uh look thank you very much for listening to us we really appreciate
our audience and sticking um with us through many many episodes so um please remember to like and
subscribe give us five stars on apple podcasts uh Spotify podcasts whatever a cast whatever platform
that you listen to us on and um we're looking forward to talking to you next week thanks so much bye
About this episode
Ferrari Luce takes center stage as Ferrari’s first five-seat electric car, with a 122 kWh quad-motor setup and 990 Nm torque—plus a design that sparks debate and even pop-culture attention. The hosts then zoom out to EV reality: WLTP range claims, staggered wheel efficiency, and how charging infrastructure shapes success. From OLED instrument clusters and e-ink keys to BYD’s online buying, wallbox charging, and partial one-pedal driving, the conversation connects luxury design choices to everyday EV usability.
In this week's episode of The Hook Turn Podcast, we discuss two cars that have captured our attention.
Firstly, the Ferrari Luce, the storied brand's first EV, whose controversial design has captured the world's attention. And secondly, on the other end of the spectrum, the BYD Sealion 7, which has captured our co-host Sanbib's affections.
Show notes:
- Ferrari Luce: https://www.carexpert.com.au/car-news/ferrari-luce-revealed-first-electric-ferrari-takes-bold-design-approach
- BYD Sealion 7: https://www.chasingcars.com.au/reviews/midsize-suvs/byd-sealion-7-premium-rwd-2026-review/
