56: A blank Slate, Hyundai gets inspired by Blade Runner, and does X mark the spot?
The Hook Turn Podcast
56: A blank Slate, Hyundai gets inspired by Blade Runner, and does X mark the spot?
The Hook Turn Podcast · Jul 3, 2026
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Car
Hyundai i30 Sedan
This is Hyundai's popular compact four-door sedan. It has a very sharp, modern look that makes it look like a vehicle from a science fiction movie, and it is designed to offer great fuel economy at an affordable price.
Car
Hyundai Elantra
The Elantra is a small, affordable sedan made by Hyundai. It is popular for being reliable, fuel-efficient, and packed with modern features for its price.
Term
CVT transmission
Unlike a standard automatic transmission that shifts through gears (like 1st, 2nd, 3rd), a CVT doesn't have gears at all. It uses a clever belt system to smoothly adjust your speed, which helps save gas but can make the engine sound a bit like a loud, continuous hum when you accelerate quickly.
Term
regenerative braking
When you take your foot off the gas or step on the brakes in a hybrid or electric car, the car uses its electric motor to slow you down. This action acts like a generator, capturing the energy that would normally be wasted as heat and using it to recharge the car's battery.
Car
EX60
The EX60 is a future, mid-sized electric SUV from Volvo. It is designed to be the electric equivalent of their highly popular family SUV, the XC60.
Car
iX3 (G08)
The iX3 is an electric version of BMW's popular X3 SUV. It looks and feels almost exactly like a normal gas-powered BMW, but runs entirely on electricity.
Car
I30N
This is the extra-fast, sporty version of Hyundai's small car. It features a powerful turbocharged engine, upgraded brakes, stiff suspension, and a loud exhaust, making it a blast to drive on twisty roads or race tracks.
Car
Volkswagen Golf Gti
The Golf is a famous, small hatchback car made by Volkswagen. It is known for being easy to drive, practical, and built with high-quality materials.
Car
BMW X5
The X5 is BMW's famous mid-sized luxury family SUV. It is known for being comfortable, spacious, and surprisingly sporty to drive, and the newest version is getting a radical futuristic redesign.
Car
Audi Q7
The Q7 is a large, luxury SUV made by Audi that comes with three rows of seats to fit up to seven people. It focuses on a smooth ride, high-tech screens, and safety.
Car
Audi SQ5
The SQ5 is a faster, sportier version of Audi's popular Q5 SUV. It looks aggressive and goes much faster when you step on the gas pedal.
Car
Mercedes-Benz GLE
The GLE is a mid-sized luxury SUV made by Mercedes-Benz. It is designed to offer a very smooth, quiet ride with a high-end interior and the latest digital screens.
Car
Volvo XC90
The XC90 is a premium, mid-to-large-sized SUV made by Volvo. It is highly popular with families because of its comfortable seats, elegant styling, and excellent crash-test safety ratings.
Car
Volvo EX90
The EX90 is a large, fully electric family SUV made by Volvo. It is designed to be extremely safe, runs entirely on battery power, and has a very clean, modern interior.
Car
BMW iX5
This is the all-electric version of BMW's popular X5 SUV. It has a massive battery pack that allows it to travel incredibly long distances on a single charge, and it can charge up extremely quickly.
Concept
hydrogen fuel cell
Instead of plugging into a wall to charge a battery, a hydrogen fuel cell car gets filled up with hydrogen gas at a pump, similar to a gas station. The car mixes this hydrogen with air to generate its own electricity on the go, and the only thing that comes out of the exhaust pipe is water.
Concept
Neue Klasse
This is the name for BMW's brand-new family of electric cars. It features a totally new, minimalist design style on the inside and outside, along with advanced battery technology that lets the cars charge faster and drive much further.
Car
BMW i3
The i3 is a small, futuristic-looking electric car made by BMW. It was built using lightweight materials and recycled fabrics to be as eco-friendly as possible.
Car
Hummer Ev
The Hummer EV SUV is a massive, fully electric version of the famous military-style Hummer. It is incredibly heavy, very fast, and can steer its rear wheels to drive sideways like a crab.
Car
Porsche Cayenne
The Cayenne is a sporty, high-end SUV made by Porsche, a company famous for sports cars. It is built for people who want a fast, luxurious, and spacious vehicle.
Car
Suzuki X90
The X-90 is a small, unusual 1990s car made by Suzuki. It looks like a tiny two-door sedan but sits high off the ground like an SUV and has a roof you can take off.
Car
Slate Truck
This is a unique, highly customizable electric pickup truck from an American startup company. The base model is incredibly cheap because it comes with almost nothing inside—no radio, no power windows, and no fancy screens—allowing you to buy and snap on only the parts and features you actually want.
Car
Ford F150
The F-150 is a very large pickup truck made by Ford. It is incredibly popular in North America for towing, hauling, and everyday family use.
Car
Ford Maverick
The Maverick is a smaller, budget-friendly pickup truck made by Ford. Unlike giant traditional trucks, it is easy to park, drives like a normal car, and gets great gas mileage.
Car
Chevrolet Chevy Chevrolet
The Chevy II is a classic, smaller car made by Chevrolet in the 1960s. It was built to be simple, affordable, and easy to maintain.
LIVE
Hello, everyone, and welcome to another episode of the Hookturn
podcast with my excellent friend, Sanviv, and you're talking to
us from your garage today. Sanviv, how are you?
I'm going very well. The topics, all three topics have like a
crazy amount to say, I'll be honest, like last week, again,
you could say the topics are a bit smaller, relatively speaking.
But this week, geez, like, two of them are like huge reveals,
relatively speaking, in the car world and mainstream cars as
well, not like super miniish cars. And the other one, we won't
get it in Australia, still an example of a different type of
car, basically.
Yeah, I think the like the first two are definitely huge, huge
cars for both of their sort of parent brands. The third car, I'm
actually really interested to talk about as well, because it's
just a different way of approaching an EV, I guess,
that's probably the best way to put it. But let's get started.
So our first topic is going to be the all new Hyundai i30 sedan,
which has been revealed in Korea under the Avanté name. So
that's what they call the i30 sedan in Korea, in Australia, I
think, I believe you'll be called the i30 sedan or will be
called the Elantra. I think it's the i30 sedan, but
that's also to TBC for the Australian market. Now, looking
at the, I think the sort of two aspects that I want to talk
about, firstly, is the styling, which I think is very, and
well, the styling is quite interesting. And also, maybe
before we spend more time on the styling, we'll cover off on
the specifications. So they haven't revealed full Australian
specifications, nor have they revealed Australian pricing. But
globally, there's going to be, they've announced two engine
lineups. And this is probably the sort of the, like the least
interesting aspect. So they have the standard to two liter
naturally aspirated four cylinder engine, which is producing
110 kilowatts of power, mated to a CVT transmission. So I believe
that's largely carryover from the current shape i30 sedan. Then
they've also announced a 1.6 liter hybrid powertrain. So that
that's almost like a Toyota style hybrid. That's producing
115 kilowatts of power. And they made some improvements to this
to this powertrain. So it has better regenerative braking. And
it also has the what they're calling hybrid hierarchical
predictive control, which quote unquote claims to analyze the
route and road conditions to control the battery charge
amount. So basically, I think it can use the navigation data to
figure out if there's a curve coming, or if there's like an
uphill incline or something, and it can essentially optimize
whether it runs on electric power, or the combustion engine or
a combination of the two. So basically, try to anticipate the
route ahead. And there's also a stay mode. So that's almost like
Tesla style, not a camp mode, but it can sort of keep the
climate on for an extended period of time, using the hybrid
battery.
Sandra, I think you are really excited about the design,
especially the exterior design. Do you want to talk about that? I
think they're using a new design language as well called the art
of steel. So what are your thoughts on that?
I think for the price, it looks a lot more expensive than what
it is. Assuming that it starts in the mid 30s, which you kind of
asked, especially with the Chinese competition in the Australian
market, for the mid 30s, you're getting a car that looks a lot
more expensive than what it is, I think. Fundamentally, that is
effectively like no one's going to look at this car and think
that it's a cheap car. But again, assuming that the price of the
i30 sticks to that mid $30,000 starting price and tops out for
an end line at a mid $40,000 starting price, beginning a car
that looks quite expensive. And yeah, it's very aggressive. I
think that it looks very clean. Sometimes it looks styled, but
not over styled. I think they just had enough restraint with
the styling. I like the HMO teeth at the back, which is really
nice. And almost like an HMO teeth at the front, but suddenly
at the back, it's got a clear HMO teeth. And yeah, just like I
said, I just like I'm going to assume that all the price images
are from the top spec. Yeah, I think that's even if the lower
spec. Yeah, even if the lower spec car is maybe not as thing,
even if it looks 95% the way it does, I think it will look
really, really like it looks just very clean. Like the current
i30 Sedan doesn't look bad, but this new one looks properly
like properly good. Basically, almost, it almost looks more
futuristic than some more expensive cars, like almost
like how cars Sedans of the future, we almost imagined it
would be. Interior wise, it looks pretty good. It seems to
have a row of physical climate control buttons, which is nice,
as well as large touchscreen, which is expected, digital
instrument cluster, as well. And Hyundai's current modern day
sort of styling, I'm sure the infotainment will be amazing,
and quite a good size screen as well. Even the base model comes
with a 12.9 inch or expensive with 14.6. Basically, it'll come
with the absolute latest Hyundai's infotainment. So that's
also good. And yeah, you're again, for the price, I think
it's a very good looking car. It does sound like the two liter
engine however will be pretty standard. The hybrid might be
the way to go that that will probably be closer to the 40s.
And yeah, and again, the safety tech and stuff with all the
car. So even if it's like most of it's in the base model, it will
be quite impressive. Now, obviously, it's not coming into
Australia till next year. So we still have a while to go before
we see it in Australia, but I'm looking forward to seeing how
it's priced in a string.
Yeah, and I think I want to touch on the design like I understand
with your you seem to be a big fan of the design I am. I think
this is a car that you have to see in person to understand the
design a little bit more like I sort of get the appeal like it
looks very it looks almost like it's from a sci fi movie like it
could be from something out of like Blade Runner or something
like it has like this like lots of sharp creases. Actually, I
wouldn't say lots of sharp creases, but it has a very
defined sort of rare haunch where it's like half the rare
door is sort of like being creased outwards like it's like a
yeah, it's sort of like a these the wheel arches are the front
and rear wheel arches and the surrounding sort of body work
bodywork is sort of bulging out from the rest of the car. So it's
a it's a yeah, it's definitely an interesting design. I think the
proof is will be in the pudding. And by what that what I mean by
that is that it looks not bad in the photos. But I feel like in
person that that's kind of kind of going to make or break the
design of this car. But I do applaud the fact that Hyundai
appears to be taking a little bit of a risk with the design of
this car like it's not just some bog standard boring sort of
design like they they've taken they've taken a couple of
gambles with how out there this design is. So I do applaud them
for that. I think just in the interior, touch on a few, a few
points there, especially with the technology. So I think this
car is using what Hyundai is calling the Plios Connect
infotainment system, which is like a new generation of
infotainment. And I believe it's also based on Android, Android
automotive. So it has like the inbuilt sort of Google Maps and
and all of that stuff. So and I believe it has the Google App
Store built in as well. So that's Hyundai is another now
another brand that is sort of using Android automotive as the
basis for their infotainment systems. So that's, I think
that's pretty, pretty cool. And I like the fact that a sandwich
touched on it does have that, despite having a big touchscreen,
it does have that row of physical controls at the bottom.
That's really important. And it's good to see that Hyundai sort
of kept that in place. It's interesting that unlike the current
shape i30, it doesn't have that sort of asymmetric driver sort
of oriented design, this is more like evenly split with more of
a standard central console design between the driver and the
front passengers. So if you look at the current i30 shape, in
the interior, it sort of had this like curved center console
that was almost like geared a little bit more towards the
driver. And this is going more, this one has a little bit more
of a balanced focus. Some of the materials, they look good in
photos. But again, we're going to have to see how much how many
soft touch surfaces there are in in person and so on and so forth.
And the other thing I want to touch on is the the instrument
cluster. So it seems that Hyundai has taken a bit of a leaf
almost out of like BMW and Volvo with the EX60 and the Anoya
cluster iX3 to a small extent, because they don't have this
instrument panel in front of the directly behind the steering
wheel. It's sort of perched on the top of the dashboard. So it's
almost like it's almost like a head up display, but it's it's
own sort of slimline digital screen. But it's not like a 12 inch
instrument cluster that's directly behind the instrument
behind the steering wheel. So you have to when you're driving
this car, you have to look above the steering wheel to look at
your speed and so on. You don't look through the steering wheel.
So I think that's sort of a bit of a trend in some brands
nowadays and Hyundai is sort of copying some of those European
brands in that respect. Sambib, I know you touched on the
pricing. Do you think this is going to support Hyundai from
that onslaught of Chinese brands? Like do you think the design
is different enough or or is it not enough of a step forward
when you can buy like so many cheap Chinese EVs now like you
know, Leap Motor and Cherry and BYD for like maybe like the low
to mid $30,000 mark as well.
I think that first, obviously, this is an EV so we still have
killed to those who aren't looking for one and it has a
hybrid option and killed to those people as well. Look, the
market for this is going to be relatively small, even if
Hyundai market as well. And obviously the design goes for it.
Not too many people are going to be spending that much money on
it. The current I 30 actually sells decently, I imagine like
it's definitely not low seller. And as I said, if thanks to the
competition, Chinese competition, we've got here,
if Hyundai still keep the starting price at around mid 30s,
which it kind of has to as you alluded to, because otherwise
you just get a Chinese car anyways. And you know, some of
those look pretty good as well. We'll talk about the Leap Motor
maybe next week, the new hatch that they've announced for
Australia. But yeah, you're when you've got cars like that in
that mid $30,000 category, which are offering massive type
screens nearly every luxury feature under the sun, it's
pretty clear Hyundai need to compete. And like even if they
start at mid 30s, they can't just have like a rental spec type
car thing at that price, it more or less needs to be doing
quite a bit if that's the case. I think also well, the more
interesting thing is that the Hyundai i30N is still a pretty
good seller. So I'll be very curious to see that will they do
a full end version of this, we kind of know that the end line
will also only get an end line. But the full end, yeah, the
problem is if it's
the full end even for the current gen is in the mid 50s,
this would be like 60 at least, if not in the 60s. And at that
price, you're competing with much more expensive cars are
getting into full golf GTI territory there. And the whole
point of the i30N was being a cheaper alternative to the
golf GTI, right? Effectively. So yeah, I'll be curious to see
but yeah, a lot depends on pricing, but certainly designed
by the interior and exterior, I've already gone a long way. I'm
glad that Hyundai is still investing in sedan design. So
it's showing that it's not dead. And yeah, it's good to see.
Yeah, I'm definitely excited to see this car on the road. And
even just for the fact that it's, you know, it will be a
reasonably affordable car with a unique design to say the least,
to not to say the least. So that in itself is is big from Hyundai
and it's like, you know, it's on the on the surface level, at
least from the photos, it's definitely an exciting design,
it will generate opinions for sure. I think it's one of those
cars where you either love love it or hate it with the exterior
design. I think the interior is a little bit more acceptable.
But um, yeah, the exterior, it's like, you know, you might need
to take some time to sort of get get used to the styling. And I
will just say with the exterior, I do hope that, you know, it
looks like the press photos that we have are of the top spec
model, which makes sense. But I do hope finally that this is the
generation where even the absolute base model comes with LED
rare indicators, because the outgoing i30 had this huge light
bar at the rear, but then it had halogen indicators and you just
it just looks so odd when you had like, you know, this LED light
bar, but then these really cheap indicators. So I hope this is
the generation in which I and I finally banishes that approach
and sort of sticks with all LED lighting from the full LED
exterior lighting from the absolute base model up. Okay,
Sandra, did you have anything else to say or should we move on
to our next topic?
I'm just like I said, I'm glad that a hand is still producing
good design along with Kia, even from the sedans and yeah,
can't you see on the s'mores next year?
Yeah, definitely. Okay, look, we might move on to our next
topic, which is the new BMW X5 and the iX5. So there's huge news
from BMW. So the X5, as many of our listeners will know, is sort
of BMW's essentially full size SUV. It sits between the X7 and
the X3. It's their oldest SUV, it was their first sort of SUV. I
think the first generation came out in what, 1997, 1997, 1998.
So it was the first model that wasn't a sedan or a coupe or a
hatch from BMW. So a big, very significant car for the brand.
And I think the effort they've put in, it just goes to show how
much focus they're putting in on this model. So there's a lot to
talk about. I think in terms of where I want to start is firstly,
I just want to start with the powertrains because that in
itself is a huge, huge talking point. So a few weeks ago, I
think, Sam, we covered the Audi Q7. Is that right? I think.
Right, yeah.
Yeah, that's right. So we covered the Audi Q7. And we were
talking about one of the points we were talking about was how it
only had, what was it, a diesel, essentially, in Europe, it only
was available with a diesel powertrain in, I think, two states
of tune. And then in the US, they revealed an SQ5, which had a
petrol powertrain. And the Q7 is sort of like a direct
competitor to the X5, along with the Mercedes GLE and the
Volvo XC90 and EX90. But unlike the Audi and also unlike these
other models, the BMW is being offered in five different
powertrains. So that's that in itself is, I find that to be
absolutely insane. So just let's just list them quickly. So
there'll be a petrol, engine, mild hybrid petrol, mild hybrid
diesel, then you have a plug-in hybrid. Then you also have the
full battery electric IX5 and also a hydrogen fuel cell X5,
which I find to be really interesting. And that's coming
out of BMW's collaboration with Toyota. So they're using some
of the technology from that and combined with their own
technology. And they're saying with the hydrogen one, there
won't be any compromises in space or practicality compared to
the battery electric model. But I mean, I find the fact that
they're making a hydrogen IX5, sorry, X5 to be quite interesting
in its own right. And the other thing to note is, unlike the
Mercedes and the Volvo, that all of these models share sort of
like a very, very similar design and styling. So they're
essentially indistinguishable from each other. They're all
using the Neuer-class design and technology that we saw on the
IX3 and the I3. So I thought I'd pass to Sanvi. What are your
initial thoughts on the design and the technology? Do you think
it's too out there? Or do you think it's, do you sort of like
the design? Or what are your thoughts?
I think that certainly the rear looks amazing. The front also
weird enough, the bigger size of the X5 I think makes the
design look a bit more clean than even in the IX3, a bit less
squashed, but the IX3 doesn't look bad. It certainly looks great.
But I think I prefer the design on the IX5 a bit more, I guess
the X5. Interior wise, I mean, it's the same effectively as
far as I can tell as the IX3 and the I3 as well.
With the passenger screen in the front.
Yeah, I guess the passenger screen is the extra thing, but
broadly speaking, they're all following the same design either.
So there's not as much to say there. I am very, very glad and
like they say they aren't just going full screen. And the
passenger display is optional as well. And I also suspect that
it won't actually be an option that unless if you're really
thinking a lot of people would take, because it doesn't actually
do anything for the driver. So unless if you're planning on
carrying a lot of passengers, then it's kind of like pointless.
And on top of that, most passengers would rather spend
time on their own phones rather than on some tablet in front
of them. Yeah, but yeah, so otherwise, yes, it's just the
perfect size in terms of screen, not overwhelming, but still
obviously there. From what I understand, the software on the
BMW OS is very sophisticated. Now it's as like pretty much
next to a Tesla in terms of the sophistication of the software.
And yeah, as you mentioned, it's interesting that if I'm
correct, reading it between the lines, it sounds like the base
model, the cheapest one will still have that mild hybrid
diesel. And then the petrol might be slightly more expensive,
they're fair more expensive than that. And then obviously the
IX5, the full electric one 845 kilometers on a single charge,
that's pretty amazing. And on top of that 4.6 seconds 0 to 100
is unbelievably quick. So but as you mentioned, it's really
great to see that literally BMWs this car offering every single
powertrain that you can get. Diesel, petrol, fair, hydrogen
and electric, are there any powertrains that are missing?
Yeah, I don't think so. I think they've covered pretty much
every basis like it's yeah, unless you consider like what like
the Toyota style hybrid to be but they already have a plug in
hybrid. So I don't think yeah, exactly. And the plug in hybrid
can work as a hybrid if that makes sense. Exactly. Yeah, so
yeah, so yeah, it's impressive. They did mention that it does
also mean that the IX probably won't exist anymore. It sounds
like the IX5 will replace the IX, IX was relatively
revolutionary when it came out, but obviously has kind of been
surpassed. So that's another thing. And yes, while hydrogen
obviously won't be offered in Australia, it is curious to see
that they're offering hydrogen cars. So maybe yeah, but yeah,
like I said, really, it sounds like doesn't matter what you
want, you'll have an option. Now out of all those options, I'd
probably, I probably go the full for IX5, but I would have to
see the price difference. If the price difference of the IX5 and
the plug in hybrid was really large, I'd probably just go the
plug in hybrid instead. So you'd have like so until we know
the specific prices of the in the range, it's, it's hard to
judge basically exactly which model you get. I think petrol and
diesel, especially with the current prices of both is not as
necessary to get, especially with the IX5 with 845 kilometers of
range. I don't think anyone can be worried about range anxiety
at that point.
And I just want to touch on the IX5 a little bit more because
you know, the battery, I'm just looking at the battery
capacity. It's hundred and depending on how it's measured,
but 140, it's essentially 141 kilowatt hour battery, which is
huge. Like that's ginormous. I don't think I've ever seen like,
I mean, what else has a bigger I'm struggling to think of any car
that has a bigger battery, like the only thing that I can think
of is like the Hummer EV, which is like sold in America only,
and that is like some gigantic 200 kilowatt hour battery, but
is still not very efficient. This is like, I mean, for a model
that's sold globally in this size, like, I like it's, it's a
huge battery, like it's, you know, it's way more than the Porsche
Cayenne electric just for comparison. That's probably the,
I mean, the closest direct EV competitors. I mean, you look at
the EQE SUV, it's much bigger than the EQE SUV, it's much bigger
than the EX90 as well. I think both of those, what is the EX90
battery capacity? I don't think it's more than what, like 100
kilowatt hours at most, then it actually might be even less than
100 and 100 kilowatt hours. So it's, yeah, it's significantly,
it's significantly smaller with the, then with the battery than
the EX5. So yes, I'm just having a look, Bobby X90, 111
kilowatt hour battery pack. So this is significantly bigger.
And that's, I mean, that's an insane, like, that's an insane
battery capacity. I'm just, I'm honestly like very pleasantly
shocked at how impressive that is. And the plug-in hybrid still
has 100 kilometers of EV range. So that's still pretty decent.
Yeah, but this EX5, like 800 volt technology, six-gen battery
cells, and that's even more, it's a bigger car, worse aerodynamics
than the EX3, but it also has more range. So for comparison, the
EX3 has WLTP rating of 800 kilometers. And this is, yeah,
goes an extra 45 kilometers in a bigger car, which is generally,
you know, bigger cars from a car manufacturer go have less range,
but this is, you know, they've really upped the anti with the
battery capacity. So yeah, I'm very impressed by the EX5, I have
to say that. Yeah, other things to touch on, yeah, the Neuer
cluster design, yeah, I think, Sam, you've covered off on those.
Would you, what would you expect the pricing of this to be,
Sandra, would you expect it to be in the mid $150,000 mark?
150 is a bit much, I think then at that, if it's at 150 might
become a bit too uncompetitive. Obviously, it's going to be
more than the EX3, which if I'm correct, quite remember of the
time, it starts at a bit below 100 if I'm correct.
Yes. And then the dual motor is 110 or 109, I think.
Yeah, correct. So be more than that. I reckon it'll start, it's
and also, okay, that's pure electric, this still has a
petrol and diesel option. So I wouldn't be surprised if that
base model diesel should start at, it should, if they're trying
to be competitive, it should actually effectively start at a
similar price to the EX3, because it's a diesel, it's not a
petrol car. So like, surely they can't and the EX5, that's a
bit different. Obviously, if they obviously can, they'll have
to obviously charge more for that. But just for the diesel
base model, I don't see how they can charge more than 100
really. If they did that, then that would be, yeah, it would be
yeah. So yeah, to that extent, yes, and then the EX5 can be,
yeah, the EX5 basically can be a bit more expensive, that
could be in the 130s or so.
Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I mean, I'm just, I just feel like the EX5
will be, like given how much battery there is, like the
batteries are the most expensive component in an EV and given
how big the battery is, I'll be, I mean, I'll be surprised to
see if there's much change from $150,000. Like, agree the
petrol and or the diesel models, they can be closer to that
sort of $110, $115,000 mark, I feel starting base.
How much does the current EX5 cost? Let me just quickly check
because that because they can't, they can't, okay, the current
EX5 starts off, the current EX5, we might have to up this, the
current EX5 starts at $137.
$137 for the current EX5, sure?
Yeah, yeah, the EX drive, 30D, yep, $137,600, I'm on the
website now.
Oh, wow. Okay, that's okay, okay, yeah, okay, okay. So that's
also like, okay, yeah, here, I was thinking to myself, maybe we
should check because currently, the X drive 50E is $152 for the
current gen.
And that's the plug-in hybrid, right?
That is correct, that's a plug-in hybrid. So the X drive 30D,
the base model diesel starts at $137, the I, the petrol starts
is a $141, and the plug-in hybrid is $152. So let's up that.
Okay, yeah, let's start again.
Yeah, let's add another $50,000 to our station.
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
Okay, so I think the EX5 based on that's probably towards
$200,000, let's, let's see.
And I think it'll start probably the base diesel or base
specification, regardless of its petrol or diesel, towards the
140s, I feel like, pretty, pretty comfortably.
Yeah, great, yeah, so it's good that I checked.
I was like thinking, I was like, okay, just as a current, as a
thing, I should probably check how much the current one costs
because I would be out of date.
Yes, the IX3, I've also checked, yes, it's basically starts at
$100, the current IX3, but the IX3 is a lot smaller as well.
That's right, yeah, and I mean, and I know like the interior is
fundamentally the same, but like they have up the finishing in
the IX5, like I was watching my favorite YouTuber or automotive
YouTuber, Thomas from Out of the Fool, and the finishes and the
quality are a little bit like more sumptuous in the IX5 and
the, sorry, the X5.
So, yeah, it's going to be quite a bit more expensive than
the IX3, unfortunately.
But yeah, look, I don't, I know there's been a little bit of
controversy with the design because especially the DRLs
have that X-shaped, which is taking inspiration from the
BMW X branding, but you can actually turn that off so you
can make it look like a regular sort of just the diagonal DRLs.
You can turn off the X-shaped, so you can, if you don't, if you
can, you can customize that from the infotainment display, so
you can make it look less controversial, I suppose.
But yeah, it's definitely a very strong competitor.
Yeah, technically, it seems to be ahead of its main rivals,
like I have to say that.
And yeah, looking forward to seeing it on the road.
All right, look, we might move on to our final topic, which is
the new X5, but this is, this particular car is almost like a
new approach to EVs, and we're going to, it's called the Slate
truck. So this is a, Slate is a US startup that's been backed
by Jeff Bezos of Amazon fame. And Sam, did you want to talk a
little bit about what this actually is like? What is this
concept of the Slate truck?
It almost is like a modular car, basically. I believe ideas to
this have been thought of, the idea that you start with an
incredibly cheap sort of car that basically only has absolute
fundamental functions, and then depending on what you want, you
can add to it. I think, weird enough, EVs have probably made
this easier because of the way that electric cars can be more
flexibly designed. It probably makes more, it's probably easier
to do it with them with a petrol car, which automatically
constrains the kind of design that you do. I really appreciate
the name of the absolute base model, the blank Slate. That was
very clever. Starts at 25 US, so 36,000 Australian dollars. Now,
I will say, for 36,000 Australian dollars, you're basically
getting nothing. So it's not necessarily good value for money,
even though it sounds cheap.
Well, in the Australian market, yeah.
Yeah, in the Australian market, it really isn't good value for
money, because effectively, the base model doesn't come with an
infotainment, doesn't even have power windows. No stereo, no
speakers, like just gray composite panels, physical climate
control. So to that extent, it's not cheap. If you think about it,
even 25,000 US, I'm pretty sure, not as familiar with the US
market, I'm quite confident you can get proper cars with every
feature under the sun for 25,000 US. So really, if you think
about it that way, even though the headline price sounds cheap,
it's not really that cheap. I mean, like, yeah. And then after
that, from what I understand that you can, but like the idea
goes that you can turn into one of car you want. So even though
it's not cheap, the idea of it being so flexible in terms of
what kind of car that you want is reasonably cool. Going to the
Slate's website is really interesting. So if you go to their
website, it actually shows the unbelievable level of
customization that you basically can do. Now, from what I
understand, they have some pre done, like basically, you can
pre done designs, which so you don't have to literally
customize every single aspect. And it's like almost like playing
game. But yeah, so the blank slate 24,000, then you can start
putting body kits. Right. I'm just going to go to the interior
right now. Yeah. So adding in dash panels, you need to add in
an armrest, a door bolsters, dash panels, power armrests,
yep. Key fob for the audio, you need you need to put in
speakers because it does the best doesn't even come with
speakers, Bluetooth, etc. utility. Okay, it also doesn't come
with, like, even a bunch of stuff that you need for
practicality, like cargo hooks, copy organizers, okay, all of
that needs to be done. The tech again, you need to basically
add like infotainment for you. They can I like the name, it's
called a, well, actually, I can't even tell what it's called.
But yes, your expectation is that you basically bring your own
tech almost. And yes, and as I said, you're after that, you
know, you customize it the way you look. The website is cool, I
will give it that you can do you make it look like quite a few
different things. But as I said, really, it's I feel like the
concept is cool. But and I'm sure there's a market for it. But I
think in reality, it's actually not necessarily as cool as it
could be.
Yeah, I feel like I mean, it's interesting, like, I applaud Slade
for taking this concept and sort of going with it. I feel like
this concept sort of works well in the American market for a
couple of reasons. Firstly, because pickup trucks or utes, as
we call them in Australia, are huge. They're like that. I mean,
this is much smaller than the Ford F 150. But the F 150 is like
the biggest selling car in the US, like the most popular selling
car in the US. So trucks generally, they're a huge
market. And also, I feel like the my sense is that the US market
is very big on, you know, that sort of morning scene and
customizing it and the car essentially being an expression
of your identity. So, you know, US, I feel US customers are very
individualistic, they want to their the regulations are sort
of flexible enough that you can do a lot with like, you know, body
kits and different colors and different, you know, wheel designs
and other add ons and so on and so forth. So I feel this car sort
of caters a lot to that sort of crowd. I don't see it sort of, I
feel like it's probably a bit too basic to, for the blank slate
to sort of work in the Australian or the European markets,
just because I don't know what additions they would need to
comply with our sort of regulatory requirements, like
things. And, and we also especially in both Europe and
especially more in Australia, we have so many Chinese brand
that, and this is something that Sandeep touched on that offer
you know, very sort of comparative products, not they're
not youths, but like in terms of SUVs, which you can convert this
slate into they offer a lot, a lot of there's options
and there's a lot more competition that is way more fully
featured for similar, similar pricing. Like I don't think, you
know, hypothetically, if this was sold in Australia, I don't
think it would be a direct conversion from, you know, 25
US, 25,000 US to like 36 Australian, because that US
pricing also excludes all of their taxes and stuff and other
things that you would typically include even before the
100, 100 costs in Australia. So, you know, hypothetically, if
this is sold in Australia, I wouldn't expect it to be that
much cheaper than like, you know, 50 to $45 to $50,000. So I
see, I think from a, if you look at this in the Australian
market, maybe not incredible value, but for the US market
where you don't really have any Chinese brands, and trucks are
really popular there, people love that sort of modding scene.
It's a really that price is like, very sort of headline
grabbing. And I think what's the, what's the range? I think the
base range for the blank slate is what 205 miles on the EPA
100 and something kilometers, correct? Yeah, which is, I mean,
330 kilometers, which is, you know, not incredible. Like, let's
be honest, and that is without having anything in it, because
assuming this is a truck, so people are gonna carry stuff in
it. Exactly. And I don't know how the range would be affected
by the different body styles. So like, that's, that range is, I
feel it's probably for the blank slate, like the ute version.
But then if you start adding like, you know, you start adding
the, the SUV or the fastback, whatever they're calling like,
which is like a three door. So firstly, there's only, even if
you call it an SUV, it's still like a three door SUV. So it's
not like a, you can't convert it into a five door SUV. But if
you start adding like that, that roof that makes it into an SUV,
I don't know how that affects the aerodynamics and the range,
but I would assume that it would reduce the range quite a bit.
And then yeah, the features like, it's really, really spot on
like things like, you know, you have manual windows, no
infotainment, you have like manual climate control. There's a
tiny instrument cluster that shows the absolute basic
information in front of the steering wheel. And like this
company Slate, I feel like they will they have
they're advertising this price of $24,950 or just under $25,000.
I don't think anybody will actually pay that price. Like
that's a
Yeah, correct.
Yeah, that's a good price to get attention and to get people
onto their website and to start designing the cars. But I feel
the money that this comes, the profit is all in the
customization and in the accessories that are sort of
exclusively designed by Slate. So they're saying that they'll
have more than 200 accessories and so on. That's where the money
that's where the money will be made for the
company. And because I think the assumption there is that, you
know, oh $25,000, let's get in. Oh, once you start adding those
wraps, you know, the armrest and the other features that Sam
touched on, that's only another $5,000, $6,000. If you want to
make it an SUV, that's another $5,000. And this is all US
dollars, by the way. So then you once you start adding it and
making it like a more comfortable car, or a lifestyle
oriented vehicle, then it's then it's probably not that
comparative compared to other options.
It's funny, I was just reading. So the idea of manual windows.
Now, the apparently, the people at Slate were saying that no
company in the US still produces manual wind down windows. So
they had to go to a company in Brazil, in order to get there,
which makes sense, because I was like thinking power windows has
been a thing since for 30 plus years, right? Yeah. So how the
hell is a car in 2026 that's brand new still having wind down
windows. The other thing, if again, going on to the Slate
Auto website, one cool thing is that lots of people wrap their
cars, but they're all done aftermarket. Slate has a bunch of
what's called starter packs. So if you don't want to start with
blank slate, they've got a bunch of starter packs on their
website, where like it's some of the stuff is pre done. And I
will admit, some of them look really cool. Like you can I do
really like, like they'll look extremely unique on the road. And
as you touched on Europe, people, especially in the USC car as
expression of identity. And again, rather than having an
aftermarket wrap, having one straight from the factory, it
would be a very cool thing. And the starter packs that Slate
offers. Quite good. I imagine most people won't actually start
with the blank slate. I imagine that's why they're producing
these starter packs. Because so because they sort of know that
that's actually what people will be interested in. And yeah,
Slate's website shows a lot of them. And yeah, I'm like, like,
like, there's one called area 51 ice house. There's one called
retrograde, which looks really cool. There's another one called
Nightway. The retrograde one looks really cool. I'm like, wow,
it looks like a Jurassic Park style. One of those old jeeps.
Other really interesting thing again, going on to their website.
It's tiny. So on their website, they actually compare it for
1985 Toyota. Yeah, it is tiny. It's the size of a car. It's the
size of a youth from 40 years ago. They compare it to a Ford
Maverick. It's like significantly smaller than
even a Ford Maverick. And a Ford Maverick is a small truck and
compared to Chevy Chevrolet, it's like being it. So like, that's
probably another thing it is really, really, really, and for
the US market, where like, like the bigger the truck, the
better it is, that I'll be interested to see how it goes. But
even by Australian standards, this is a very small mute.
Yeah. And I think like, they essentially using these wraps as
a substitute for paint. So this is like, these are all vinyl
wraps. And it's like, you know, so the actual, I think they're
only offering like really one fundamental paint color, which
is that blank slate that the gray that the dark gray that it's
offered in. But yeah, you could spend like, I can imagine
people spending hours and hours like I, I'm having a look at
this website in a little bit more detail now as well. And I
want to spend like, you know, heaps of time trying to
customize my own slate, like you look at some of these, you
know, like there's an option called high visibility, which
looks really fun with the yellow wrap and the gray sort of
bonnet and everything. It looks like, and I mean, you can see
how it makes sense from like a business perspective, because
the more time you spend on the website, the more likely you are
to be engaged with the brand and so on. And then you get like,
oh, maybe I could, maybe I could actually buy this car, you
know, it looks so cool. I spent so much time customizing it and
everything like it definitely like, it has probably the best or
the best like, configurator of almost any of any brand I've
ever seen like this.
If you have a look at a starter pack, I just picked the
retro grade starter pack, just the thing and then you could
build. And then it's crazy, the price shoots up from 25,000 to
39,000. Oh, well, that's just the very first starter pack adds
14,000 US onto the price. Yeah. So there you go. Yeah. That's
without adding anything else. That's just the starter pack.
Yeah. And all the accessories that that starter pack comes with
and that's it.
And is that an SUV configuration?
It is in the SUV configuration. That is true. Yeah. So
basically, it adds, yeah, all of the different things that it
adds. Yes, it's handy because basically, I just realized,
because you can break then when you look at the starter packs,
it breaks it down into exactly which accessories it's
automatically ordering the starter packs effect of returning
into a normal car. And as a normal car, as we just said, it's
about $40,000.
Yeah, I'm just clicking on the there's one option that's called
the professional and I'm just curious because it has big wheels,
how much it's actually going to know. I'm just curious. I
don't know. It doesn't say the price.
No, the professional start designing. I want it now. The
safe thing. It is $37,529 US.
Oh, where are you getting?
If you click see your design.
Okay, well, there you go. So that's, yeah, that's already pretty.
Yeah, that's already pretty expensive. So yeah, I mean, we're
already we're on this talking on this podcast, we're already
spending so much time on this slate website. So, you know, it's
pulled us in. There you go. You can already tell the effect
that's having. So very cool website. And I can see it
working in the US market. If everybody buys the blank slate,
this company is done. But if people start customizing it and
actually buying these personalized options and the
accessories, then I can see this company having like some level
profit and success. So, so yeah, very, I mean, it's very
exciting to see. I don't know if it if this concept would work
outside the US market, though, because like as we've touched on
a lot of this customization and the pricing really works well in
the US market, but maybe not in the European and Australian
markets where there's a lot more competitive Chinese options.
Okay, so did you have anything else to talk about with the
slate?
I know, like I said, in Australia, it doesn't make much sense,
because as I said, the reality is is that at a low price, you
can already get really great car options. But as I said, it's a
cool concept. And like, it's one of those things, it's a cool idea
and I'm glad someone's doing it or a company's doing it. But in
reality, like really, unless you have a lot of money to burn, it
doesn't necessarily make the most sense.
I mean, it reminds me a little bit of when like modular phones
were going to be a huge thing. Like, I think like, you know, you
look like back 10 years ago, and I think Google had something
called what was Project Aria or Project Aria, and they were
going to make a modular phone and that sort of completely
failed. Yeah. But, you know, that's sort of taking the same
philosophy and maybe it will work in the car space, we just
don't know.
Even this, I have a feeling that most people just stick with the
startup packs, even the people.
Yeah, that's true. Yeah. Yeah. And I mean, the startup packs are
where they come because they're sort of heavily customized
pre configurations. That's probably where the company will
make most of its money. Yeah. Yeah. Okay, look, we might end it
there for this week's episode of the Hooktown podcast. So thank
you so much for listening to us. We really appreciate it. Please
remember to like and subscribe, give us a rating. We're on
Spotify, Apple podcasts, all the major podcasting platforms,
and we're starting to have a little bit more of consistent
audience numbers. So we're hoping we can keep it up as we go
forward. So thanks so much. Bye.
About this episode
Hyundai's bold new i30 sedan takes center stage as the hosts dissect its futuristic, Blade Runner-inspired "Art of Steel" design. They break down the powertrain options, including a clever new predictive hybrid system, and explore the Android Automotive-powered cabin. With rising competition from budget-friendly Chinese brands, the discussion turns to whether this striking sedan can hold its ground in the Australian market, alongside speculation about the future of the high-performance i30N variant.
Original notes
In this week's episode of The Hook Turn Podcast, we discuss Hyundai's futuristic new i30 sedan (also known as the Elantra or Avante). We also cover BMW's impressive new X5 with a whopping 140 kWh (!) battery, and examine whether Slate's innovative modular truck concept is enough to bring it success in the US market.
Show notes:
- Hyundai i30 sedan: https://www.carexpert.com.au/car-news/2027-hyundai-i30-sedan-new-generation-small-sedan-gets-fresh-tech-muscular-styling
-BMW X5: https://www.chasingcars.com.au/news/future-cars/new-bmw-x5-locked-in-for-australia-with-diesel-petrol-phev-and-ix5-electric-power-on-offer/
-Slate truck: https://www.slate.auto/en
The Hook Turn Podcast
Vivek Shah and Sanbib Ahmed
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49:55