CarCast+Edmunds - New BMW X5 and Genesis GV60 Magma.

CarCast+Edmunds - New BMW X5 and Genesis GV60 Magma. CarCast · Jul 6, 2026

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Car

Audi Q7

The Audi Q7 is Audi’s bigger luxury SUV. In this segment it’s brought up as a comparison point to the new BMW X5, even though the hosts don’t think it’s as big of a deal.

Topic

BMW design language shift

This part of the episode is about BMW’s new styling direction. The hosts explain why they think it will split opinions and how it ties into BMW’s newer “Neuer Klasse” plan and electric models.

Term

“Neuer Klasse” is BMW’s way of describing its next big generation of cars—basically a new direction for how their vehicles are built and designed. The hosts are saying it’s showing up first in concept cars and now in real models like the X5 and BMW’s electric SUVs.

Car

iX3 (G08)

The BMW iX3 is an electric SUV made by BMW. Instead of using gasoline, it runs on a battery and an electric motor. The podcast is talking about it as a step from concept ideas to a real production electric SUV.

Car

BMW IX5

The BMW iX5 is BMW’s electric SUV. In this episode, they’re using it to show that BMW’s new direction isn’t just for gas models—it’s also being applied to their electric lineup.

Term

crazy huge grills

They’re talking about BMW’s recent habit of making the front grille much bigger than before. It’s a styling choice that some people love and others dislike, and they’re saying the new look may do the same.

Term

kidney grill

A “kidney grill” is BMW’s recognizable front grille shape. It’s the distinctive grille design that looks like two kidney shapes.

Car

BMW X5

The BMW X5 is a luxury SUV from BMW. It’s important to BMW’s lineup because it sells well and makes the company more profit than some other models.

Car

BMW X3

The BMW X3 is a smaller luxury SUV than the X5. In the discussion, it’s mentioned as one of the BMW models that helped the brand move toward SUVs.

Term

SAV

SAV is a BMW term for its SUV-style vehicles. It basically means “sporty SUV,” and it was part of how BMW helped popularize this type of car.

Term

UR

“UR” is mentioned as an older label BMW used for this kind of vehicle before switching to the term “SAV.” The point is that BMW changed the name as the SUV category evolved.

Car

Land Rover Range Rover

Range Rover is a well-known luxury SUV brand. In this conversation, it’s mentioned as a rival to BMW’s X5-style approach.

Car

ML-Class Mclass

The ML-Class is an older Mercedes SUV name. Over time, that model line was renamed and evolved into what people know as the GLE. The podcast is mentioning it to explain where the SUV model history comes from.

Car

M-Class

The M-Class was the older name for Mercedes-Benz’s SUV that later became the GLE. It’s mentioned here to explain how Mercedes’s SUV lineup changed over time.

Car

Mercedes GLE

The Mercedes GLE is another luxury SUV from Mercedes-Benz. They mention it because it’s one of the main competitors to the BMW X5.

Term

powertrain options

Powertrain options are the different ways the car can be powered—like different engines or electric setups. They’re saying the X5 offers many choices depending on where you buy it.

Term

daytime running lights

Daytime running lights are lights that turn on in daylight so other drivers can spot your car more easily. They’re talking about how the X5’s headlights include DRLs as part of its new design.

Term

efficiency

Here, “efficiency” means the car tries to waste less energy—often by reducing air resistance. They suggest the new handle design may help the car move through the air more easily.

Car

Ford Mustang Mach-E

The Ford Mustang Mach-E is an electric Ford crossover. They mention it because it has a similar “hidden” or unusual door-handle style, where you press a button to open the door handle.

Term

belt line

The belt line is a line/crease you can see running along the side of the car. It helps define the car’s shape and how the windows and body relate to each other.

Term

greenhouse

The greenhouse is the part of the car that’s mostly glass around the cabin—like the windows and windshield area. Designers talk about it because it strongly affects the car’s shape.

Term

rear valance

A rear valance is the lower panel at the back of the car, just under the bumper area. It’s mostly about the car’s styling and proportions at the rear.

Term

taillights

Taillights are the lights on the back of the car. They’re not just for safety—they also help define the car’s rear design.

Term

touch materials

“Touch materials” means the surfaces inside the car that you touch every day. In a luxury vehicle, better-feeling materials make the cabin feel more expensive and better built.

Term

engine options

“Engine options” means the car can be bought with different engines or power setups. Different trims may use different engines, so buyers have choices.

Concept

old design language

“Design language” is the brand’s overall style—its look and design cues. If a car is “between” two design languages, it can feel like it doesn’t fully match the newer, more modern look.

Concept

new design language

“New design language” means the newer styling direction a carmaker is using now. They’re saying the X3 looks more like the updated look that matches the new X5.

Term

door case

“Door case” here means the interior door panel area you feel when you open the door and get in. Hosts use it as an example of how low-cost plastics can make a cabin feel less premium because the tactile experience doesn’t match what you’d expect from a luxury SUV.

Term

one charger for your phone

They’re talking about how many USB/charging ports the car gives you for your phone. Fewer ports means less convenience, which can make the car feel less “luxury” even if the rest of the cabin looks nice.

Term

piano black

“Piano black” is that super-shiny black trim you see on some dashboards. It looks fancy, but it tends to show smudges and tiny scratches pretty quickly.

Term

slate stone

“Slate stone” means they’re using an actual piece of stone as part of the interior trim. It’s a way to make the cabin feel more premium than regular plastic.

Term

projected strip

A “projected strip” is when the car uses a projector to show information on the dashboard area. Instead of a normal screen, it looks like the dials are painted or printed there.

Term

project the dials

“Project the dials” means the car shows the gauge readings by shining them onto a surface. It’s like a heads-up style display for the instrument information.

Term

projected onto the screen

“Projected onto the screen” means the display is created by a projector. Instead of only using a typical panel, the image is thrown onto a screen surface.

Term

Easter egg things

Here, “Easter egg” means a fun hidden feature or surprise in the car’s screen menus. It’s basically the car’s way of adding personality.

Car

BMW E30

An “E30” is a classic BMW 3 Series from the 1980s. An “art car” is a BMW that’s decorated by an artist, and the host is saying the car’s screen can reference that kind of BMW history.

Term

interior lighting

Interior lighting is the lights inside the car. Some cars let you change the color or style of those lights to make the cabin feel different.

Term

North-South

“North-South” here means the steering-wheel spokes are set up like a vertical line—more up-and-down than left-and-right. It’s mostly a design/feel detail the host is pointing out.

Term

kidney bar

The “kidney bar” refers to BMW’s signature grille styling—an elongated, horizontal interpretation of the classic kidney grille shape. It’s a recognizable design element that helps identify BMW models at a glance.

Term

propeller emblem

The “propeller emblem” is the BMW logo. It looks like a little propeller inside a circle, and it’s part of BMW’s recognizable front-end design.

Term

crash safety

Crash safety is how a car is built to protect you in an accident. Things like stronger structures and safety systems can affect the car’s shape, so many SUVs start to look more alike.

Car

BMW E36 M3

The BMW E36 M3 is an older BMW M3 from the 1990s. People love it because it feels very connected and “mechanical,” not like modern cars with lots of screens and software.

Term

V8

A V8 is an engine with eight cylinders arranged in a V shape. It usually feels powerful and has a distinctive sound. The speaker is talking about switching between different BMW engines they owned, including a V8.

Term

straight six

A “straight six” means the engine has six cylinders in a single row. It’s often described as smooth because the engine’s design is naturally balanced. Here, the speaker is comparing it to a V8 they had later.

Term

supercharger

A supercharger is an add-on that forces extra air into the engine. That extra air helps the engine burn more fuel and make more power. The speaker is saying they installed one to make their BMW faster and more fun.

Place

Hereth Circuit in Spain

They’re saying they did a launch event at a race track in Spain. The track name in the transcript sounds a bit unclear, but it’s definitely a real circuit. It’s included to give context for where they tested or debuted the car.

Term

big screen in the middle

This refers to a modern dashboard infotainment display mounted centrally, often integrated into the instrument panel design. Central “big screens” are a common styling and usability trend on newer cars, replacing or minimizing traditional button-heavy layouts. The speaker notes it appears “tilted over a little,” which is a specific design choice that can affect ergonomics and perceived cabin shape.

Term

Android Auto

Android Auto lets you connect your phone to your car and use certain apps on the car’s screen. It’s mainly for things like maps and music, using your phone’s interface.

Term

car play

CarPlay lets you connect an iPhone to your car so you can use apps on the car’s display. It’s commonly used for maps, calls, and music.

Term

split screen

A split screen means the car’s display is divided into two areas at once. One side can show navigation while the other side lets the passenger do something else.

Car

Dodge Ram

The Ram is a Dodge pickup truck. The hosts are using it as an example of a truck that can show different content on the screen for the driver and passenger.

Term

split tailgate

A split tailgate is a back door that opens in two pieces. It can be handy for loading or even sitting on, but the host says the newer X5 design dropped it because it takes away some trunk space and is harder to fit with the new rear shape.

Term

hatch in the back

A hatch in the back is the rear door that lifts up. They’re comparing it to another style of rear opening and saying that design choices can change how complicated and expensive the car is.

Term

split gate

A split gate is a rear door that opens in two parts instead of one. That kind of design can affect how complicated the car is to build.

Car

Ford Focus RS

The Ford Focus RS is a high-performance version of the Focus. Here it’s mentioned as an example of how engineers sometimes have to compromise on features because of cost or complexity.

Term

dampers

Dampers are the shock absorbers in the suspension. If you change the damper setting, the car can feel softer or firmer and handle bumps and cornering differently.

Term

column stalk

The “column stalk” is the set of steering-column controls (commonly for turn signals, wipers, and sometimes drive-mode functions). Using it for damper controls is a packaging/cost workaround so drivers can change settings without adding extra buttons.

Concept

cost and complexity

This means it’s harder and more expensive to offer lots of different powertrain options. Each extra type adds engineering work and parts, which can raise cost and create more things that can go wrong.

Term

48 volt mild hybrid system

This is a small electric-assist system. It helps the gas engine with things like smoother starts and some acceleration, but it usually can’t drive the car purely on electricity for long.

Term

plug in hybrid

A plug-in hybrid can be charged at home or at a charger. You can drive on electricity for some distance, and when that runs out, it uses the gas engine.

Term

EV

An EV is a car that runs on electricity stored in a battery. Instead of a gas engine driving the wheels, electric motors do the work.

Term

diesel and hydrogen

They’re talking about non-gas options. Diesel is a different type of engine fuel, and hydrogen usually means a system that makes electricity from hydrogen to power the car.

Term

fuel cell hydrogen

Fuel cell hydrogen means the car makes electricity from hydrogen while you drive. That electricity then runs the electric motor, instead of using a gas engine.

Term

internal combustion engine

An internal combustion engine is the classic kind of engine that burns fuel inside the engine to make power. Here, they’re talking about doing that using hydrogen instead of regular fuel.

Term

onboard power source

An onboard power source is the car’s own energy system inside the vehicle. For hydrogen cars, it’s what turns hydrogen into electricity while you’re driving.

Term

electric motor

An electric motor is what actually turns the wheels using electricity. In a hydrogen fuel-cell car, the car first makes electricity from hydrogen, and then the motor uses that electricity to move the car.

Term

hydrogen fuel cell car

This is a car that makes electricity from hydrogen while you drive. Instead of burning gas, it uses hydrogen to create power for the electric motor.

Term

hydrogen combustion engines

This means burning hydrogen inside an engine, like how a gas car burns gasoline. It’s a different approach than making electricity from hydrogen in a fuel cell.

Term

range extender

A range extender is an extra system that helps the car go farther when the battery is running low. Think of it as a backup generator that keeps the electric drive going.

Car

Honda FCX Clarity

Honda made a car called the FCX clarity that ran on hydrogen. Instead of using gasoline, it used a special system to turn hydrogen into electricity to power the car.

Term

platinum

Platinum is a costly material used inside hydrogen fuel cells to help the chemical reactions work. Engineers want to use less of it to make the technology cheaper.

Term

membrane

The membrane is a key part of a fuel cell that helps separate the hydrogen from the other side of the reaction. It also helps the fuel cell work efficiently.

Term

electric infrastructure

Electric infrastructure is the network of power systems and charging stations that electric cars rely on. If more people drive electric cars, you need more of this support.

Term

hydrogen source

A hydrogen source is where the hydrogen comes from. For hydrogen trucks to work, you need places to get hydrogen along the routes you drive.

Concept

lock in theory

“Lock-in” means once a country starts investing in one approach, it can become difficult to switch later. Here, the idea is that policy and infrastructure pushed people toward electric instead of hydrogen.

Concept

road haulage

Road haulage just means delivering freight by truck on roads. For trucks, the fuel/energy plan matters a lot because they drive long distances and need quick, reliable refueling.

Brand

Tesla

Tesla is an electric-vehicle brand best known for battery-electric cars, and the speaker mentions it in the context of building large trucks. The point is that heavy-duty trucking is a major test for whether battery-electric or hydrogen fuel-cell solutions can scale.

Term

EV trucks

EV trucks are electric versions of delivery or freight trucks. Because they’re heavy and go far, they need big batteries and fast charging to work well.

Term

massive batteries

“Massive batteries” just means a very large battery. Bigger batteries usually help vehicles go farther, but they also cost more.

Car

Ford Lightning

The Ford F-150 Lightning is Ford’s electric pickup truck. The host mentions its battery size to help explain what “massive batteries” means in practice.

Term

kilowatt battery

They’re talking about how big the battery is using a power-related unit. For EVs, battery size is usually measured in kilowatt-hours, and bigger numbers generally mean more range but higher cost.

Car

Cadillac Escalade

The Cadillac Escalade is a very large luxury SUV. The host is using it as an example of a big, high-spec vehicle—like they think BMW is targeting with large battery numbers.

Term

battery pack

In an EV, the battery pack is the big set of batteries that stores the electricity. A bigger battery pack usually means you can drive farther before needing to recharge.

Term

European cycle

The European cycle is a standardized way cars are tested to estimate how far they can go. Because it’s a test, the results can look better than what you’ll get in real driving.

Term

kilowatts

Kilowatts (kW) are a measure of power. For EVs, higher kW usually means the car can charge faster—if the charger and battery support it.

Term

faster charging speeds

Faster charging speeds means the EV can add electricity more quickly at a charger. Even if the car can charge fast at first, the speed often slows down later as the battery fills up.

Term

all wheel drive

All-wheel drive (AWD) powers all four wheels. It can help the car grip better in rain or snow, and it often costs more than rear-wheel drive.

Term

electric cars

“Electric cars” are cars that run on electricity from a battery. Instead of using gasoline like most cars, they use an electric motor.

Term

plug it in at night

This means charging the car at home overnight. If you do that, you can start the day with a full battery even if the car’s daily driving range is limited.

Term

battery integrated more into the vehicle

This is about where the battery sits in the car. Instead of being just a flat pack under the floor, the battery is built into the car’s structure and even parts of the body.

Car

BMW iX

The BMW iX is BMW’s electric SUV. The host is saying BMW is changing its SUV strategy, and that the new model will take over for the iX.

Car

BMW i5

The BMW i5 is the electric version of BMW’s 5 Series. Here it’s mentioned to show how BMW is organizing its electric lineup across different models.

Term

standalone electric vehicle

A standalone electric vehicle is a car that was designed specifically to be electric from the start. The host is saying BMW previously had some EVs that were built this way, but now they’re changing strategy.

Term

one platform

“One platform” means using the same basic car design underneath for different versions—like gas and electric. The idea is to save money and speed development, but it can mean compromises in how perfectly each version is engineered.

Brand

Porsche

Porsche is mentioned as an example of a company that thinks mixing electric and gas development on one shared base can lead to compromises. The host uses it to make a point about EV strategy.

Term

electric version

It means taking a regular car design and making it run on electricity instead of gasoline. Usually that requires major changes under the body to fit the battery and electric motors.

Car

Ford F150

The Ford F-150 is a very common full-size pickup truck. Here it’s mentioned as an example of a gas truck platform that people might try to turn into an EV.

Term

drive shaft

A drive shaft is a mechanical part that sends power from the engine/transmission to the wheels. EVs often don’t need it because the electric motors are arranged differently.

Concept

from scratch

“From scratch” means building the EV design specifically for electricity, not just modifying a gas-car design. The goal is to make the battery and motors fit better and work more efficiently.

Term

EV division

An “EV division” is a company team dedicated to making electric cars. Instead of treating EVs as an add-on, they build the whole plan around electric vehicles.

Car

BMW Series Bmw

Term

battery underneath it

This means putting the EV battery in the floor area of a car. It can be a quick way to make an EV, but it may limit how well the car can be designed compared with building it as an EV from the start.

Concept

universal platform

It’s a car “body and engineering base” that can be used for different versions. Here, the same basic design is meant to work for both gas cars and electric cars so the company doesn’t have to start from scratch.

Term

EV version

An EV version is the electric version of the same model. Instead of a gas engine, it uses an electric motor and a battery pack.

Car

Dodge charger

The Dodge Charger is a popular American muscle-style car. Here it’s mentioned as an example of a company trying to figure out how to offer an EV option alongside the gas version.

Term

tariff perspective

A tariff is a tax on imported products. “Tariff perspective” means the company is thinking about how where the car is built changes the extra taxes it might face when sold elsewhere.

Term

buttons on the interior

This is about the physical buttons inside the car. The hosts are saying some cars are removing them and putting functions onto screens instead, partly to save money.

Term

air vent controllers

Air vent controllers are the knobs/buttons (or screen controls) you use to set where the air blows and how the climate system behaves. They’re discussing the change from physical controls to screen-based controls.

Car

Tesla Model Y

The Tesla Model Y is an electric SUV. Here it’s mentioned because Tesla changed how you control things like the power seat—using the screen instead of separate buttons and switches.

Term

physical controls

Physical controls are the real buttons and knobs you press to control something. The point here is that the car can do the same job using the screen instead of separate buttons.

Term

wiring

Wiring is the set of wires that carries electricity and signals to parts of the car. If you remove buttons and switches, you may need less wiring to make everything work.

Term

supplier

A supplier is an outside company that makes parts for a car maker. In this example, the seat is sourced from a supplier and priced as a package.

Term

power seat

A power seat is a car seat you can adjust using buttons or switches. It moves the seat for you with an electric motor, so you don’t have to adjust it by hand.

Term

touchscreen

A touchscreen is the screen in the car you tap to control features. It’s like a tablet screen, and in cars it can control things like settings and media.

Concept

margin of three to one

This is a business term for how much profit you keep after costs. The point here is that fashion/cosmetics can make bigger profits per dollar than car companies can.

Brand

Ferrari

Ferrari is a famous high-end car brand. The host is saying that most brands have to watch costs closely, but Ferrari doesn’t have to be as constrained.

Car

Rivian R2

Rivian R2 is an electric SUV that Rivian is planning to sell. The hosts are using it to talk about how even small interior design details can change how much the car costs to build.

Term

Bluetooth speaker

A Bluetooth speaker is a small speaker that connects wirelessly, usually through your phone. Here, it’s brought up because removing it can save money on the car.

Term

high performance line

A “high performance line” just means a company’s lineup of faster, sportier versions of their cars. The idea is that these models are built to feel more exciting to drive than the regular versions.

Car

Bmws M

The BMW M Coupe (E36) is a sporty BMW coupe made by BMW’s performance team, the M division. It’s based on an older BMW 3 Series generation (the E36). The podcast is bringing it up as an example of BMW moving toward more performance-focused cars.

Brand

AMG

AMG is Mercedes-Benz’s performance brand. It’s the part of Mercedes that makes the sportier, more powerful versions of their cars.

Term

Magma series

The “Magma series” is Genesis’ name for a set of special performance versions. The hosts are saying the GV60 Magma is the first real production car showing what that performance line will be.

Brand

M-Power

This is the host’s shorthand for BMW’s performance branding. The idea is that BMW uses a special badge to mark cars that are built to be sportier and quicker than the regular models.

Concept

performance sub-brand

A performance sub-brand is like a special badge for the “sporty” versions of a brand’s cars. The point is that many luxury brands want a clear identity for their fastest, most exciting models.

Brand

Equator GmbH

The host is naming a company tied to Audi’s performance branding. It’s brought up to show that different brands organize their “sporty” identities in different ways.

Brand

Hyundai N

Hyundai N is Hyundai’s “sport” badge. The host connects it to motorsport so listeners understand it’s meant to represent the brand’s performance side.

Brand

Genesis

Genesis is Hyundai’s luxury car brand. In this discussion, it’s used as an example of how a luxury brand tries to prove it can build performance cars too.

Car

Hyundai Genesis

Genesis is Hyundai’s luxury car brand. The podcast is saying Genesis also competes in racing events like the World Endurance Championship. That’s used to show the brand isn’t only focused on comfort and style.

Topic

World Endurance Championship

The World Endurance Championship is a major racing series focused on long-duration races. It’s the kind of motorsport where brands go to prove durability and performance over time.

Place

Le Mans

Le Mans is one of the most famous long-distance races in the world. The host is saying Genesis targets big endurance events like this to show it can compete at a high level.

Term

prototype cars

Prototype cars are early test vehicles that automakers build to try out new ideas. They’re often very dramatic-looking because they’re designed to explore performance and tech before a final production car exists.

Term

coupes

A coupe is a car shape usually with a fixed roof and two doors. The host is saying the brand’s sporty identity can be reflected in cars that look and feel more “coupe-like.”

Term

GTs

“GT” usually means a grand touring car—built for fast, long-distance driving. The host is saying the brand’s sporty image can translate into GT-style cars.

Term

British racing green

British racing green is a classic dark green paint color used in British racing history. The hosts are talking about how different brands and countries often have their own signature racing colors.

Term

tariff issue

A tariff issue means extra government taxes on imported cars. If the car is built overseas, those added costs can make it more expensive to sell or lease.

Car

Hyundai IONIQ 5

The Hyundai IONIQ 5 is an electric SUV that’s generally cheaper to lease than the Genesis GV60. The hosts mention it to show how production location and pricing can affect sales.

Car

Genesis G90

G90 is Genesis’ top luxury sedan name. The speaker corrects themselves from “GV90” to “G90.”

Car

Genesis GV80

The Genesis GV80 is a luxury SUV that Genesis already sells. The hosts use it as a starting point while talking about what’s coming next.

Car

Hyundai Ioniq 9

IONIQ 9 is an upcoming Hyundai electric vehicle name. The point here is that Hyundai plans more EVs beyond the current models.

Car

Genesis GV80 Coupe

This is Genesis’s SUV with a more sloped, “coupe-like” shape instead of a boxier SUV roof. The hosts are saying it looks cooler, but it costs more per month to lease compared with the regular version.

Term

Cayenne Coupe

This is Porsche’s way of making an SUV look more like a coupe by reshaping the roofline. The hosts are saying the Genesis GV80 Coupe is aiming for a similar look.

Car

Porsche Cayenne

The Porsche Cayenne is a luxury SUV made by Porsche. It’s meant to be comfortable for daily driving but still feel sporty to drive. The podcast mentions a Cayenne Coupe-style concept to describe a more stylish version of the SUV formula.

Car

Genesis GV60 Magma

The GV60 Magma is Genesis’s sporty, performance version of its electric GV60. The hosts compare its overall vibe to Hyundai’s IONIQ 5N, but say Genesis dresses it up with more upscale styling cues.

Car

Hyundai IONIQ 5N

The IONIQ 5N is the sporty, performance version of Hyundai’s electric IONIQ 5. The hosts are using it as a reference point to explain what kind of performance vibe the Genesis Magma is going for.

Car

Acura Integra Type-S

The Integra Type-S is the sportier version of the Acura Integra. The hosts are saying the Genesis Magma/Hyundai IONIQ 5N approach is similar in spirit to how the Type-S tries to feel more exciting and youthful.

Term

boy racer vibe

“Boy racer vibe” is enthusiast slang for styling and cabin cues that feel aimed at younger, performance-focused drivers—often loud colors, sporty graphics, and aggressive exterior details. In this segment, it’s used to describe the visual attitude of the IONIQ 5N and how the Genesis Magma channels a similar energy.

Car

Honda Civic Type-R

The Honda Civic Type-R is a sporty, track-oriented version of the Civic. It’s known for being loud and exciting to drive, and the hosts are saying another car feels like a calmer, more thoughtful take on that vibe.

Car

Volvo V60

The Volvo V60 is a luxury wagon, meaning it has extra space behind the seats for cargo. It’s designed to be comfortable for daily driving. The podcast is mentioning it because it seems like a proper wagon, not just a small compromise.

Term

600 horsepower

Horsepower is a number that roughly tells you how strong the car’s power is. The hosts are saying 600 horsepower is a big deal, but it also helps explain the high price.

Term

85,000 parts

“Parts” means the number of individual components inside the car. More parts usually means the car is more complex, which can affect cost and how hard it is to service.

Term

comfort settings

“Comfort settings” refers to driving-mode calibration that softens how the car responds—typically by making the suspension and throttle/brake behavior less aggressive. In this segment, it’s contrasted with more aggressive “race or track” settings.

Term

race or track

Race/track mode is the car’s more aggressive setting. It’s designed to make the car respond faster and feel more “ready” for spirited driving.

Term

flappy paddles

These are paddle shifters behind the steering wheel. Even though an EV doesn’t shift like a gas car, the paddles can still change how the car responds to make it feel more like gear changes.

Term

simulates gearships

This is when an electric car pretends it’s shifting gears. It does it by changing throttle response so you feel a jolt like a real gear change.

Term

cuts the throttle

This means the car briefly reduces power. The goal is to create a noticeable “jolt” so it feels like the car is changing gears, even though it’s still an EV.

Term

engine notes

This is the fake engine sound an EV plays through the speakers. The host says you can turn it off in a comfort setting if you want a quieter drive.

Term

R version

“R” is often used on cars to mean a sportier, higher-performance version. In this conversation, they’re basically asking why “Magma” isn’t as instantly recognizable as an “R” badge.

Term

GT version

“GT” is a common car label that usually means a sportier, more performance-focused version. Here, they’re saying people look for a clear “top performance” name like that.

Car

Genesis GV60 Magma

The Genesis GV60 Magma is a special, more performance-oriented version of the Genesis GV60 electric SUV. They’re talking about how the “Magma” name should help people instantly understand it’s the top/fast version.

Car

Nissan Gtr

“GT-R” usually means the Nissan GT-R, a fast sports car famous for being quick and grippy. People bring it up as a top-tier performance car.

Car

M4 CS

BMW M4 CS is a special, sportier version of the M4. “CS” generally means it’s tuned and equipped to feel more aggressive and track-ready than a regular M4.

Car

Mercedes-Benz Mercedes Benz Amg

The Mercedes-Benz AMG GT is a sports car designed for performance. AMG is Mercedes’ performance brand, so the car is meant to feel faster and more exciting than a regular Mercedes. The podcast is bringing it up in the context of how AMG is used across different models.

Term

sports brand

This is the idea that a “sports” badge can lose credibility if it’s used on too many cars. If it’s not really a performance upgrade, people may stop believing the badge means something.

Place

Nürburgring

The Nürburgring is a well-known race track in Germany. Car makers use it to prove how fast and capable their cars are, because it’s hard to drive well.

Place

Goodwood

Goodwood is a famous UK venue where car makers and racing fans gather. The host went there to watch a car get unveiled.

Term

mid-cycle facelift

A mid-cycle facelift is when a car gets refreshed halfway through its generation. It often means updated styling (and sometimes new features) to keep it competitive.

Term

retuned

“Retuned” means the car’s settings have been adjusted. That can change how it responds when you press the accelerator and how it feels while driving.

Term

central gravity

This is about where the car’s weight “balances.” If that balance point is lower, the car usually feels steadier and handles better when you turn.

Car

911 GT3S

That’s a Porsche 911 model that’s built for track driving. It often has a big, noticeable rear wing, and the host is comparing another car’s wing to that look.

Car

Beetle Volkswagen Bug

The Beetle is a small car with a very recognizable, rounded design. The podcast is comparing it to a “Volkswagen bug” because of how it looks. It also mentions a turbo version, meaning some models use a turbocharged engine for extra power.

Term

aerodynamics

Aerodynamics is how the car’s shape interacts with the air as you drive. It affects things like how hard the car has to work to go fast and whether the car feels stable or “light” at speed.

Car

Audi Tt

The Audi TT RS is a sporty version of the Audi TT, made for quick driving and strong performance. The podcast is also talking about issues that have affected some Audi TT models. That’s why it’s being brought up—so listeners can understand what to watch for.

Term

lift at the rear

Lift at the rear means the back of the car is being pushed upward by the air. That can make the car feel less planted, so engineers add features to push the car down instead.

Term

rear wing

A rear wing is a spoiler on the back of the car. Its job is to help keep the car stuck to the road by pushing down at speed.

Term

downforce

Downforce is the “push down” effect from the car’s shape. It helps the tires grip the road better, which improves handling at speed.

LIVE

Hello, welcome to the Ambitz Car Cast Podcast, I'm Matt, the moderator, D'Andrea, here with

Alistair Weaver.

Alright, before we get into it, a word from FanDuel, and right now, new FanDuel customers

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How are you?

I'm good, thanks Matt.

Yeah.

A little sleepy?

I was.

My little boy woke me up at six o'clock this morning.

It's ready for his day.

He needed some help at six o'clock this morning, so that was my night over, so I'm a relatively

early riser, but that cost me half an hour of sleep, so yes, it was a bit hard.

Now it's in.

You paid for it?

Exactly.

Payed for it.

Okay, well, some interesting stuff in the car world.

I think the big news is the BMW, new BMW X5, although there's a new Audi Q7 and that's

not quite as impactful, although I really like that and it looks really nice.

Maybe we save that for another time if we don't get to it today, but let's talk a little

bit about the BMW X5.

This is a departure for them as far as what they've currently had.

I think it looks very interesting.

It's going to divide people again like a lot of BMW's designs have done the past few years,

but that M3 concept that they had looked good and this is playing toward that now, so I

guess this is part of their future of design.

Yes, it's the Neuer Classe, as they've been calling it for a few years, so they've teased

this whole design departure in various concept cars along came the IX3, the electric SUV.

Now we've seen it introduced in the X5 and the IX5, which is the electric version.

We went over to Munich.

Nicky was on the show last week.

He went over to Munich to have a look at it.

It's an interesting thing.

I mean, look, BMW has been criticized for the last decade for their design and they've

gone into this kind of world of these crazy huge grills and really polarizing stuff.

This is their new design language, which is also proving controversial, but personally,

I like it a lot better and it's almost gone from one extreme to the other on the grill.

Now we're back to this kind of small kidney grill that, for me, harks back to the BMWs

of the 1980s, but this is a real heartland vehicle for BMW.

I mean, when I was growing up, BMW was about the three series and to a lesser extent the

five series.

Now, BMW is about the X3 and the X5 because those are the ones that really sell and the

X5 in particular is a higher margin vehicle for them.

It's really important.

So it is the kitchen sink vehicle though, throwing everything at it and from what we've

seen, we haven't driven it yet, but we had a good look at it in Germany.

It looks impressive.

The X5 is, it's an interesting sort of category that they try to create this sport activity

vehicle.

Right?

That's what they, I think they were the first to use that, the SAV instead of the UR.

Yeah.

I mean, I think a Range Rover might have something to say about this, but yes, the whole idea

was, I think this is now the fifth generation, if memory serves, it goes back to about 1998-ish

for the very first one.

And it was, you know, if you think back then, Mercedes-K didn't have the, what we now call

the GLE.

I think it was originally called the M-Class.

Nobody, none of the other luxury brands are really doing SUVs.

It's crazy to think about it now, isn't it?

In the last 30 years, you know, BMW was just focused on the five series.

Then along came the X5, the X3 followed it and we were suddenly in this world of SUVs.

Mercedes had the M-Class, then they did that weird R-Class thing and so on and so on.

And, you know, today we look at the market and we say, well, you know, if you want your

German, it's the GLE Mercedes against the X5, BMW against the new Q7 from Audi.

And that's the lineup.

And those are the vehicles itself far more than the Sedans because really they're just

a better family car.

Yeah.

All right, let's go through this X5 a little bit, some of the new things that are sort

of catching our attention.

I probably start with the exterior before we even get to the interior.

And of course, the tech specs, right?

Like looking at some of the powertrain options, which worldwide, globally, this is quite a

list of options.

Yeah, if you look at the exterior, there's some quite interesting detailing.

So the headlights have got these daytime running lights that describe an X, but Nick went

to see the vehicle and if you don't like the idea of the X for X5, see what they've done

there, you can actually turn one of them off and then it just becomes like a slash.

So you've got an option there and then they've got rid of traditional door handles and you

now have these little pop-out wing things, which are presumably for efficiency.

Now, we saw that on, I was thinking about, I was watching Nick's video, but I think I'm

sure I've seen this before.

Of course, Ford Mustang Mach-E, that also has like little wings instead of a door handle,

but on the Mach-E, you actually then push a button and pull the door out.

I think these are much more touch-sensitive and I don't know how much difference it actually

makes to efficiency, but it's kind of interesting.

And there's still a lot of, it's still quite a slab-sided vehicle and you've got a lot

of metal relative to the glass.

If you want to get to technical speed, you call that the belt line, the kind of relationship

of the metal to the greenhouse, the glass, but it basically, we've sort of gone away

from sort of bigger windows, it's back to having kind of more presence, more metal work.

So it still has SUV proportions, it's a little bit bigger than the previous one, gives you

a little bit more space inside, but I kind of like it.

I think it takes like a lot of modern design, there's a lot going on, takes a bit of time

to get used to, but I think it's much more effective here than perhaps it is on the smaller

iX3.

Yeah, I do kind of like it.

Like we're looking at the profile right now and we're taking this style of SUV and it's

tough to sort of reinvent this basic shape again and again and again, right?

You do a couple subtle changes, you can always kind of change the front and the back, right?

You look at the nose of the car, you look at the face, you look at the back, the rear

valance, how you handle the taillights, but from the side, there's so many that kind of

look the same.

So there's fewer things that you can do to make it more special.

So them trying to go with a high belt line and kind of go in this flat edge portion above

the fenders to give it some personality to make it distinctive among everything else

that's out there.

But overall, like I get it, you know, I like it.

I think it's better than what has been out there.

Some of the, like you said, the big grille stuff that BMW has been doing.

And I think with this particular car, because it's such a big seller for them as well is

it will get into some more of the details.

They put in a lot of the time and the effort to make it interesting, like the touch materials

and the luxury, you know, of course, there's engine options and, you know, there's not

a lot of cutting corners.

There's not going to be, I mean, I don't know what the base version is going to be like,

but it's not that base, you know, it's a nicely equipped vehicle.

It is. I mean, look, this thing starts at over 70 grand in the US.

So, you know, let's not pretend that it's it's cheap in any way.

And it needs to look like the one big criticism, Edmunds owns an X3.

And the X3 was this weird vehicle that it was kind of between the old design language

and the new design language.

And so the X3, which is the electric one, looks like much more closer to this new X5.

The X3 is a sort of halfway house.

And I think most people agree that it that it sort of feels a little bit ungainly is

almost kind of the the lost child in the in the lineup.

But in the X3, particularly what we've been very critical of is the plastics are quite cheap.

You know, you get in, you feel the door case, you feel some of the switches.

It doesn't feel like a luxury car.

We've talked before about like Genesis, for example, for the interiors of a Genesis

feels way beyond what a BMW X3 offers.

Even down to little things like you only get one charger for your phone instead of two.

You know, basic stuff that actually, you know, makes a difference

if you're trying to sell a luxury product.

From what we've seen and for full disclosure, I haven't personally sat in it.

But not not. Nick came back super impressed with the with the quality,

both in terms of things like the leathers.

But there's also some interesting use of materials.

You've got like a literally slate for one of the switches in the middle.

So there's they're trying to like stone instead of the like piano black,

like they're using an actual piece of like slate stone in there, which which is

stood out to me too. I saw that in his video, which is really interesting.

And I think that as you try to charge for a luxury item, you need to differentiate it.

And people, you know, people don't want to get into a seventy,

80000 dollar luxury car and feel like it's the plastic pluck

from a, you know, 20000 dollar Nissan.

So it feels like they've gone to town on making it feel special with the proviso

that I think the cars that we've seen and all manufacturers do this

when they when they launch your vehicle, they show you the poshest versions.

So, you know, I think it'd be interesting to see some of the more base models

further down the track. But, you know, it looks it looks nice.

I mean, the it's another vehicle where everything's about the screen.

And yeah, you know, you've got a screen for the passenger

this sort of weird trapezoidal screen for the center of the car.

Then you've got this little sort of projected strip.

So the on the at the bottom of the windshield, you don't have a screen per se.

It's actually a script, a strip of black that they project the dials onto.

And then you can configure all these different it looks a little bit like

Lincoln has it has a similar thing where you have like a long strip

across the the top of the dash.

But this is actually projected onto the screen.

And apparently, there's some little gimmicks that you can have,

like BMW cars, if you want a picture, which feels kind of odd on your dashboard.

But yeah, at least they're trying to make it different.

You can upload your own photos if you want like a desk,

almost like putting a picture on your own desktop.

You can do that.

So if you want a picture of your pet or whatever, then customization is the theme here.

You're right.

So being able to go through and find options and add some Easter egg things

like the old BMWs or an E30 art car or something like that,

or maybe an M1 or M1 Pro Con.

And I'm exactly sure what's in the lineup there.

But the main screen, which, you know, would normally have some generic background

or some sort of cityscape or, you know, you know, the woods or, you know,

ocean or whatever, you can pick from different ones like you can on your phone

and you can customize it.

There's a way to add your own photos.

Right. So you could put, you know, pictures of your dog, kids,

you know, whatever there.

So that's kind of a neat idea, a way to customize it,

but not something you have to fuss with all the time.

A way to sort of like, you know, you get in your car, you got it, it's new.

You read through the manual, you can do some customization and kind of set it

like interior lighting and different colors and stuff.

You know, there's a picture that we're looking at, by the way,

this is that slate piece that you were talking about, like kind of a stone piece,

which it looks great.

I'm sure it feels amazing and we're kind of done with like piano black, right?

We're totally done with piano black that just leaves those are finger marks

and hopefully slates better for that.

And you need these little bits, don't you?

The bits that you interface with, the bit that, you know, we talked about,

you know, Chevrolet putting plastic steering wheels on their cars and stuff.

The bits that you interface with need to feel special, particularly spending

this kind of money.

It's got the sort of bonkers steering wheel from the X3 as well,

where the spokes are on North-South.

Yeah.

I think there will be optional ones available.

But there has been in the other cars with this steering wheel.

There's there's I don't know what it's called.

Maybe there's some sort of sports steering wheel or other option.

Listen, it's a great way for them to go, hey, you know, for some amount of money,

800 bucks, 1500 bucks, why don't we put a regular steering wheel?

Yeah.

You can have a you three spoke steering wheel.

Who knew?

I mean, one of the things that strikes me about this is, you know,

when you look at the vehicle, yes, we've got the kidney bar,

you got kidney grill and we've got the propeller emblem and everything else.

But there's not a lot here that you look at.

And there's not a lot of heritage here, is there?

There's not a lot that you look at and go, oh, this is stereotypically BNW.

If you think about the journey from kind of the 70s, the 80s into the 90s,

you know, BNW has had a lot of really iconic design features,

the dashboard that that tilt a little bit to the driver to emphasize

this was a driver's car, those very kind of iconic typeface on the dials.

And it's one of the kind of analog feel to it all.

And there was, you know, you got into a bit.

I remember I grew up with my my dad had a had a Mercedes E glass.

My, you know, but his friends had five suits.

My grandfather actually had had a BNW five suits

and he got into it and he knew exactly where you were.

And it felt very different from the Merc, very different from anything else.

You know, and it's harder now because the SUVs,

as you say, are all built to scale the the exterior.

By the time you put in the crash safety and the aerodynamics,

it's quite hard to distinguish them.

The interior assembly, you've got to put people in it.

You've got to do certain things.

You need a screen.

And so, you know, it's all kind of variations on the theme.

So it's I know there's it's it's what BMW about this.

It's hard to say.

Yeah, I had, you know, I had an E 36 M3 had an E 46 M3.

But now that I'm, you know, that's 26 years ago or whatever that, you know,

I mean, I owned it more recently than that.

But the 46 was, you know, 20 years over 20 years ago, 25 years ago,

whatever, you know, but 99 or 2000, 2001 through whatever.

The V8, yeah.

And no, no, the 46.

It's oh, sorry, the 36 was the straight six.

That's right. Yeah, yeah.

I had the 36 and then the 46.

The 46 I had was modified when I put a supercharger on it

and had a lot of fun with it.

I'd be now now around long enough to remember that I did the original launch

with that at Hereth Circuit in Spain, the 46, the V8.

Yeah. Yeah.

Gary, anyway.

Yeah, cool car, cool car, but you're right.

That's kind of for me, that's where I left off with BMW.

So seeing some of what's going on now is such a departure from what I was relating

to when I had my, you know, what I relate to now because of what I had was

the 46 was the most recent.

As you said, on the interior, some of the pictures that we looked at

has that big screen in the middle, which is kind of tilted over a little,

gives it a weird shape.

The one in front of the passenger, I guess it depends on the trim model.

Not all of them will have that.

That's an optional screen.

I hate those.

I'm kind of getting.

If you don't like them.

Yeah, I don't like that.

It's a personal thing, but, you know, I just feel like I spend my entire life

staring at a screen and yeah, I mean, I guess, yeah, it's supposed to turn it off.

It could turn it off.

And I I guess it's supposed to like allow the passenger to have some control over

like your sound system or the entertainment while you can still focus on the main screen.

I don't know if one changes the other.

Again, you know, we weren't there in Germany at the launch, so I don't know

how the interaction works with it.

Now, what would be interesting to me would be, for example, if you're hooking

up your Android Auto or a car play and you've got your navigation on the main

screen, and if the other screen that the passenger was controlling could still fuss

with your, you know, your radio or series exam without removing the navigation

screen from the main screen, right?

Because we have a lot of the idea that, you know, that cuts down the distraction

because the passengers doing the bit that requires more of the interface or

they're watching a movie or they're doing something for themselves.

And yeah, I don't know.

We don't have like a lot of cars that do the split screen.

And I've been wondering about this.

I wish it had this, but I think the Dodge Ram has this with with its big screen

where it'll take half of that giant vertical screen and load your car play map.

But underneath that, you still have a visual of your entertainment system.

You can see your presets.

You can see your radio stations.

You can see what music is playing.

Even in my Ford Lightning, you only get sort of a small portion of that.

Like you can on the screen, it's so much space.

I don't know why I can't see more of the radio when I'm using car play navigation.

You still have to click back and forth to do it.

I want to say a loser does that.

But that has like a screen at the top and a screen at the bottom.

You can kind of move between the two.

But yeah, I look, I mean, this is this is where we sat.

There's a few, the one big thing they're talking about, you know, sort of heritage

that does seem like a major mission.

They've got rid of the split tailgate.

Now, Nick said that the PR spin on this was it was all to do with the fact

that it actually compromises practicality a little bit to have the split tailgate.

You lose a little bit of trunk volume and because of the shape of the rear,

it was harder to do than if than it was in the kind of traditional,

the more traditional X5 kind of slightly more slabby rear end.

But honestly, that that that was a big signature feature of the car

going back five generations.

I think it works for an SUV, you know, like if you go skiing or whatever,

where you go hiking and you want to sit on the tailgate and put your

put your ski boots on or hiking boots or, you know, change the kids or whatever.

It feels like a big emission.

It may well be for a cost thing, because it's probably quite expensive to do as well.

That was my initial thought.

That's what I was going to add is going, you know, that single,

you know, hatch in the back versus the split gate, like you're talking about.

I would imagine that's double everything.

That's more electric motors, twice as many electric motors,

two pieces that need to be manufactured.

It's double the cost, you know, or close to it.

And they're like, I've sat in some of these meetings in my previous life.

You said then say, oh, how was the what's the justification?

Everybody knows it's cost or complexity or whatever.

I remember sitting in the one with the Ford Focus RS.

We should in documentary, we talk about it now.

And there was a big debate about the fact that they couldn't afford to put

a different button in the car for changing the dampers.

So we ended up on the end of the column stalk.

And I said, look, guys, this is obvious, right?

What you need to do is come up with this story about, you know,

the chief engineer was so determined to deliver that kind of maximum driving

interaction, right?

And he even put the button for the dampers on the end of the column stalk.

So you could you could change the damper setting

without taking your hands off the wheel.

They were like, yes, yes, I love that.

I love that.

And then I read so many.

You know, this is I shoot the documentary, I should have kept my mouth shut,

but it was really funny because then afterwards you sort of read the piece

as, oh, you know, credible commitment to, you know, to driving dynamics.

And, you know, that you could even even soften the damping

without taking your hands off the wheel.

I was like, no, Ford couldn't afford to do an extra switch, basically.

But yeah, I love stuff like that.

And I think somebody sat there and said, yeah,

every dynamics and vehicle range and everything else.

And I think you're right, cost and complexity.

And probably, you know, it's probably also something that can go wrong.

OK, well, maybe they're just shifting their their budget

to someplace else like powertrain.

So this is what I'm going to run through this.

You correct me if I'm wrong.

There's going to be a gas engine option with a like 48 volt mild hybrid system.

There's going to be a plug in hybrid.

There's going to be an EV.

A diesel and hydrogen.

But we probably won't get diesel and hydrogen.

So we'll probably get here.

I think that's right.

Yeah, it's sort of gas with a bit of hybrid plug in hybrid.

Diesel, which we won't get in the US, right?

Sadly, because actually, I think you could do vote.

I think it actually people could get past the stigma and actually buy it.

And they'd find it would be a great choice over here.

Yeah, hydrogen, full electric in various different guises.

There'll be a whole range of electric vehicles, eventually.

And then the hydrogen, which I would be amazed if they bring here.

I mean, I think even there's a hydrogen pump very close to our office.

And that's what I think of two in LA.

So I've seen a few and there's always a line of Marais there.

Yes.

We our chairman used to have a Honda, the FCS Clarity, which was.

Yeah, I drove it a few times and drives great.

But BMW has had this weird obsession with hydrogen.

They've kept they've kept going.

But instead of doing the excuse me, instead of doing the fuel cell hydrogen,

they've always persisted with this idea that you can do an internal combustion

engine, which runs on hydrogen.

And I think this is what they're doing here.

I don't think it's just a hydrogen car is actually just an electric car.

Yeah, with an onboard power source.

So basically, you take the hydrogen, you mix it with oxygen, you create,

you create, you turn that into electricity, you create electricity,

if you like, in simple terms, and that powers an electric motor

or charges a battery and away you go.

And in theory, you get much bigger range and you just fill it up at a gas pump

like you would, you know, a traditional gas car.

So that's the thinking behind the hydrogen fuel cell car.

But the problem has always been it's quite expensive to do.

And you just don't have the infrastructure in place.

And how do you create the hydrogen?

Because if you're in Scandinavia and you've got hydroelectric

or if you're somewhere where there's tons of wind, then you can create hydrogen

very in a very environmentally friendly way.

If you're in America or China, it gets more difficult.

And if you start burning coal to create hydrogen,

that's, you know, suboptimal, right?

So it's I think BMWs continue to have this obsession with

we'll we'll do some hydrogen combustion engines.

And I don't really understand why.

On the EV version, I agree.

I mean, hydrogen is interesting.

They've been doing it for a long time.

And it's it's interesting because you were saying the hydrogen combustion

engine versus the EV that has a hydrogen, you know,

power plant, if you will, to create that energy, which now we've been talking

so much in the past year about these range extender, you know,

Rams range extender, maybe the new Ford Lightning scout

with some sort of range extender, small motor.

It's kind of what the fuel cell version of hydrogen was.

You're right, actually, I had not thought about it that way.

But I shot a film for Honda, God, like 20 years ago now,

which was all about explaining the FCX clarity.

And I think I drove one in Japan 30 years ago, 25 years ago.

So, yeah, and all this was explaining how it worked.

And we literally went to a filling station in Frankfurt in Germany,

filled it up like you would a gas tank.

And this was and the thing worked great.

And at the time it was like, this is going to be the new technology.

All we've got to do is cut down on the use of platinum in the

in the membrane in the system.

And we've got to sort out the source of hydrogen.

Yeah.

And then basically all the politicians came along and said,

now we're not doing hydrogen.

We're going to do electric and we're going to invest in electric infrastructure.

So you got this kind of lock in theory that hydrogen was out and electricity was in.

But I think where it is really interesting is for big, big road haulage.

So I know Tesla is looking at doing, you know, big trucks and others.

But actually when you need that much energy

and when you're going from place to place, so let's imagine you're FedEx

and you're starting off in LA and you're driving to Vegas

and you can have your own hydrogen source in LA and your own hydrogen source in Vegas.

And then you just drive between the two and fill the truck up when you get there.

Yeah.

That makes a ton of sense or LA to San Francisco or, you know,

pick your city at New York to Philadelphia, something like that.

When you know that you're going from one location to another location

and you can create your own infrastructure, then hydrogen makes a ton of sense

because you have to have massive batteries and massive recharging

to do sort of EV trucks or EV boats.

So having, you know, hydrogen for shipping, hydrogen for, you know,

for, you know, big haulage makes a lot of sense.

I don't get it in an X5.

I just think that, unfortunately, rightly or wrongly, that ship has sailed

and, you know, we're all on EVs.

OK, so their EV version of it, though,

they're talking about a pretty decent range, but they're doing it with a massive battery.

I'm thinking of my Ford Lightning that has some hundred and something,

100 and 31 kilowatt battery.

And I think BMW is is I mean, they're kind of going after this

like the like, you know, like the Cadillac Escalade

because the specs that I saw said 100 and 44 kilowatt.

Yes, I was just looking it up in my in my notes.

I did a bit of prep for these shows.

Yeah, 100 and 44 kilowatts.

That's double the size of a model three.

I think the top of my head tells the model three is just over 70 kilowatts.

So that's that's where a lot of the cost is, of course.

So twice the twice the size of the model three battery pack.

So they're claiming, you know, over 400 miles of range,

which, you know, sort of makes sense with that.

Well, they're saying 400 and 35

Yeah, four or five.

You have to be careful because sometimes they quote the European cycle.

And then so the European estimates are always very optimistic.

But that does kind of make sense.

If you think that something in like the Hummer is over 200 kilowatts,

this is but obviously that's a much bigger, heavier vehicle.

This kind of makes sense.

You'd be somewhere around the 400 mile range.

But yeah, interestingly, they've gone down that route.

A lot of costs, a lot of weight.

Yeah, but they obviously feel that, you know, in this vehicle,

it's it's critical faster charging speeds.

You know, and I think that's the first battery.

Maybe they will do ones with slightly smaller battery going forward

to try and bring the cost down.

But the interesting thing, I mean, we haven't got all the prices through yet.

But when you look down at the I've just got the bringing up the prices here.

So six cylinder starts at just over 70 grand.

A little bit more if you want all wheel drive, rather than rear wheel drive,

plug in hybrids, 80 grand and then the fully electric.

The first one, which is going to be high pad is just over 80 grand.

So they're probably not making money or making very little money on the electric cars.

But, you know, they've they've obviously made this conscious decision

that we cannot price the electric car, you know, 20, 30 grand more than the.

Right, even yeah, it needs to be within within reason.

So it's going to be interesting what they're going to push.

You know, they're going to go, hey, listen, we got a new X five.

They're all good, but you should definitely look at that.

That's six cylinder.

The interesting one is that is the plug and hide in between,

because I think they're talking about sort of 44 miles of range,

which is not bad, actually.

You know, if that 44 miles is most people's city commute.

So, you know, 20, we talked about this for 20 miles, hopeless, 44 miles.

That's, you know, if that's a genuine mileage, that's for a lot of people.

If you can plug it in at home, you know, do you commute on electricity?

Plug it in at night.

That starts to make more sense.

I mean, that's 26 and a half kilowatts.

That's quite a chunky battery in the plug even.

So for the full EV version, again, Nick, who is there, Nick on your team,

who is there talking with some of the, you know, the BMW people and the engineers

there can probably explain it better.

But it doesn't sound like this has a massive like rolling skate of a battery.

It's the battery somehow integrated more into the vehicle, throughout the vehicle,

almost in the body panels.

The sheet metal of the vehicle is kind of how I understood it, but without

seeing sort of some sort of visual of it or some even a sketch or a rendering

of how it's, you know, some animated thing of how they made it.

I'm not exactly sure how they're getting that done.

But there's there's a theory there that we can do a large 140 plus

kilowatt battery, but not have it be the length of a escalator, a Hummer.

Yeah, it's and the other thing about this vehicle is it's replacing the IX as well.

So in, you know, if you think about BMW's line up to date, you had the

well, I've still got the five series, the I five, which is the electric version

of the five series, but then they for the SUVs, they sort of split,

they had a split strategy.

So you had the the X five and then the IX, which was a standalone electric

vehicle and was always challenging to look at, but actually great, great car

and great interior.

We've always been big fans of it.

But that's now going and you will just have the IX five.

And BMW seems to be mastering a Mercedes is going down this road as well,

which don't do don't do an electric car and a gas car.

Let's do one platform, which can take all these different options.

And this was the thing that Porsche said you must not do because it compromise,

you know, you're too compromised.

You compromised on the gas car, you compromised on the electric car.

But I think for financial reasons, everybody's saying, well, this is all

we can afford to do.

We can't simultaneously develop an electric car over here and a gas car over

here. We need to develop one thing and then bolt pretty much whatever power

plant people want into it.

And that depends on where you're living the world, what the legislation is.

When you go to Norway, it's like 90 odd percent electric now.

So, you know, yes, you probably compromise a little bit here or there,

but it just feels a much, much more sensible way of going about designing

cars. I mean, it's still more expensive than the old days,

because you've still got to do what six different options or something.

It's interesting how that idea has changed a little bit.

You're right.

Like companies were saying, hey, let's just take what we have.

Let's throw a battery in it, see if we can make an electric version.

Of course, my truck, the lightning is a good example.

Let's take an F-150.

Let's get rid of fuel tanks and drive shaft and everything else underneath it.

And let's just throw a battery and some electric motors and we're going to go.

This is why we can make it, you know, fairly affordable, which not quite, but,

you know, at the time when they were all releasing it, yes.

And then they were saying that was confusing.

It didn't really work out quite the way we hoped.

So let's do something from scratch and Ford launches their whole EV division.

What's interesting though is BMW is saying,

if we plan this correctly from the beginning, right?

This isn't taking a five series BMW and putting a battery underneath it.

And they said, we could do that.

We tried it, but what we need to do is really plan from the beginning and saying,

what sort of universal platform can we design from the day one that can have both a gas engine

and an EV version of it and still makes sense financially.

Dodge is attempting it with their charger, right?

Yeah. Yes, that's right.

It actually charges another example attempting being the right word because I don't think the EV

is going to last too long.

And the problem that the charge has done is, well, actually it's 20 grand different or whatever.

So you've really got to want the EV or they massively got to incentivize it to bring the price.

It also probably helps bring in the luxury market because then you've got a little bit more margin

to play with, you know, you're not, you know, it gives you a little bit of flexibility.

But of course, the X5 is built.

The other thing is the X5 is built in America.

So from a tariff perspective, this vehicle is in a better place as well.

They got rid of the split tailgate.

So there you go.

That's where the door handles as well.

They've got some fairly basic stuff and get rid of door handles and buttons on the interior.

They've got rid of buttons like Nick was ranting and raving about the fact that,

you know, the air vent controllers are in the screen.

I know, we've talked about that.

That's another cost thing, right?

Although you'd think it's a cost thing, it probably, it is a cost thing.

But no, I think it's a physical control.

Would that be a cost thing?

Because you've still got it now.

You still have the vent.

So the vent with a knob on it versus a bit without a knob.

But now you're adding like an electric motor to it and you're adding.

Yeah, you think that doesn't say cost.

I think that's more expensive.

So you would imagine so.

I remember doing the Tesla Model Y standard car.

And, you know, when you look at the cost cutting and getting, you know,

one of the things that they were telling me, they got rid of the

physical controls for the, for the electric seat and they moved it into the,

the iPad thing in the center of the car.

And it says it's really significant.

Yes, because we not only were getting rid of the switches,

we're getting rid of the wiring, we're getting rid of the production associated.

You know, we're not getting rid of the wiring.

It's still there, but we're getting rid of the switches

and the manufacturing that goes with that.

And even if it saves us 20 bucks or 50 bucks, you know,

if you're selling a million cars a year, that's actually a ton of change.

Right. It's kind of interesting.

You're, you're going to your supplier typically, right?

Because they're not making the seats in house.

You're going to your supplier and going, I want a power seat.

And they go, great, it's X amount of money.

You know, for the sake of argument, it's $200.

And then you go, what if I get it with no switches on the side?

They go, I don't understand. It's a power seat.

How do you want, well, how much would it cost if it wasn't switches,

but it was still power?

And they go, I don't know, $180.

You go, I'll take it because you're like, I got a, I got a touchscreen

that I could just extend the wire two more feet and get it, you know,

get it to my touchscreen.

And I'll just have our software engineers do it

because they're working on it anyway.

So now you're, I'm buying power seats for $180 instead of $200.

And my software engineers are just like, they're more efficient

and we can get it done cheaper.

I guess that's the argument.

It is, it is staggering when you get into these cars.

And I think that Tesla was a good example

where you could see how they were just ripping, you know,

trying to rip dollars here and there out of the world.

It's, you know, everything is, we talked about, it's a bad industry.

I mean, the thing is the car industry is a tough, tough industry.

You know, you go working fashion, you've got a margin of three to one,

you know, cosmetics, whatever it may be.

You know, the car industry, the margins are so tight.

Yeah.

You know, unless you're Ferrari, but for everybody else,

the margins are so tight that you save 10 bucks over here.

You know, it's really down to those details.

And a lot of the decision making is, you know, where do I,

where do I put that money?

So we're talking on a show the other week about the Rivian R2.

A big debate about whether you keep the little torch in the, in the door,

because it's actually an expensive piece of engineering.

Right. Yeah.

But it's now a signature of the brand.

So they kept that, but they got rid of the Bluetooth speaker.

Right. No speaker.

Yeah. So BMW saves probably actually quite a lot of money

by getting rid of the split tailgate.

But now you get a nice little piece of slate inside.

So, you know, pick your, pick your poison.

Okay. Let's take a quick break.

I know we're overdue for that.

We've got a couple of the things we're going to touch on,

but we'll, we'll, we'll get through it.

We'll be right back.

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Okay. We're back.

Let's talk briefly about Genesis.

Genesis announced a while ago their efforts

toward motorsports and a high performance line,

like AMG and BMW's M.

And now we're finally seeing, you know,

the fruits of those, you know, of that, that labor there.

They've got the Magma series.

We knew the GB60 Magma was going to be the first of it.

We've seen it on an auto show and potentially some ideas

on what they're going to do in the future.

But now, now we're getting to see the car,

the production version.

It's going to be heading here pretty soon, right?

That's pretty soon, I think.

Yeah. It's pretty soon.

We just been to Carrillo, Emmy Hall,

went to Korea, part of the team.

So yeah, Genesis is, you know,

they're very ambitious with this brand.

You know, they're still not selling in vast numbers,

but they're kind of really layering on different models,

different thing.

And now Magma is going to be, you know,

what AMG is to Mercedes, what M-Power is to BMW.

They want to build a performance sub-brand.

And I think in their view, you cannot be a genuine luxury player

without a performance sub-brand.

So Audi has, you know, Equator GmbH, M-Power, AMG.

I mean, Hyundai internally, their sister company has N.

Has N, right. But that's Hyundai.

Yeah.

And Hyundai, and then even in,

even defining terms of what motorsport you do,

so Hyundai N does rallying.

Genesis, being posh, does World Endurance Championship WECK.

So they go off and do Le Mans,

and it's all very kind of terribly middle class.

And, you know, the cars look like, you know,

the prototype cars look incredible.

And then you can spin these beautiful GTs

and coupes off that kind of sporting ethos.

So it's very, very carefully worked out, like who, you know,

who does what.

And so, you know, this is their new sports brand,

bit of an odd name, if you ask me, but okay.

They've done this orange paint scheme,

which is their kind of signature launch color,

caps and attention.

I don't think McLaren's going to like it.

It is very McLaren-esque, actually.

It's very papaya.

Actually, I hadn't thought about that.

You're right.

I was been looking at this thing for like two years or something.

I mean, McLaren has their papaya color,

and these guys, I guess, call it orange.

I don't know if they have a fancy name for the orange.

No, they must have a fancy name.

It's not called orange.

But also you're talking about what sort of racing

they're going to get into.

And, you know, they want to go up against McLaren.

Well, they are going up against McLaren in the sports cars.

So, I don't know that orange was the right way to go.

Yeah, I mean, where do you go?

Because green is Lamborghini, orange is kind of McLaren.

Ferrari's red.

You can't do red.

Ford blue.

You've run out of what Bentley is green.

I mean, Aston Martin's got their green, too, I guess.

And Aston are both British racing green.

Yeah.

I don't know what they're doing.

All these historical things aren't they?

British racing green, red for Ferrari, Italy,

blue for Bugatti and France.

What would, I don't know if there was a Korean.

Yeah, I guess it could be shared.

It's weird because you're right.

Blue, Bugatti, Ford, they have that.

There's a couple of greens out there.

I guess there's room for more than one orange.

I just don't know why.

Like when I saw it, though, it just screamed McLaren to me.

I mean, there's worse brand associations.

Yeah, right.

If you had better be associated with that, then.

Maybe they did it on purpose.

Yeah.

So this is the GV60, which is a car my family owned,

and we actually loved.

And I think as a company as well, we like the GV60.

And this is actually the only Genesis to be based on a Hyundai and Kia.

All the other Genesis cars are actually standalone,

which is interesting to be pointed that out.

You were saying Genesis has a lot riding on its shoulders.

They want to do a lot with this brand and enter into motorsports

and advance it as a luxury brand.

But Kia and Hyundai have done so many interesting vehicles

and won tons of awards and continue to give us new stuff.

Where Genesis has been a little bit stale for a while.

We haven't seen the EV launch from them.

We haven't seen the latest and greatest whatever hybrid from them.

We're seeing this GV60 magma, but they already had the GV60,

and now we're just getting the hot version.

And they're not selling very many GV60 satellites.

They're built in Korea, so there's a whole tariff issue.

Whereas the Hyundai IONIQ 5, the sister car,

which is a bit bigger and a lot cheaper is sold,

is built here in America.

And the lease on a IONIQ 5 is less than half that on a GV60 at the moment.

What did they happen their lineup?

They're coming soon, like a GV90.

The GV90 is the luxury car, the G90, sorry.

So they've got the GV80, which is...

Well, they have a large EV.

They've got a 3-row on the way.

Yeah, they've got a version of the IONIQ 9, I think, on the way.

Yeah, so that's probably going to be what's next that we see.

Yeah, the GV80 is a nice thing.

GV80 Coupe's a bit interesting.

It's like a Cayenne Coupe for less money, lovely interior.

I will tell you, we just looked into this recently.

So the GV80 SUV, you can lease that thing for like $6.99 a month.

But if you want the Coupe version, no deals.

It's like $1,000 a month.

It's like a significant jump.

Like if you just want...

It's a really cool thing.

But is it $300, $400 a month extra cool?

I don't know if it's that cool.

I think I would buy the Coupe and perhaps lease the traditional one.

Yeah.

Yeah, so we went...

Anyway, Magma, we went into Korea, drove this thing.

It is basically a Hyundai IONIQ 5N, but in a Genesis form.

So we talked briefly last week about the driving around the Acura Integra Type-S.

And it is the same principle that Hyundai does the IONIQ 5N,

which is very kind of lary and it looks very kind of...

It has that sort of boy racer vibe about it inside and out.

Genesis still has the big spoilers and the orange paint screen,

but it's more kind of sophisticated, a little bit more kind of couture

in a way that Acura is trying to be a slightly posher version,

slightly less extrovert, slightly more considered version of the Honda Civic Type-R.

So that's what they're trying to do with it.

And honestly, I love the IONIQ 5N.

I love the standard G for V60.

I think this has got all the hallmarks of a really great car,

but it is going to be a real chunk of change.

Yes, 600 horsepower.

Yeah, 85,000 parts.

But it's...

Potentially.

Yeah, it's actually smaller than the IONIQ 5N.

And if it's going to be priced out in nouns yet,

but it's going to be somewhere in that region, 80, 85, then that's a lot of money.

It is.

It's a lot of money.

It's an eccentric choice, isn't it?

It's a proper discerning.

I really want one of these choice.

What you were saying about the Honda Civic Type-R versus the Integra Type-S,

right?

The Genesis, similar to the Acura, has a more comfortable suspension.

Obviously, the luxury appointments to it, but a little bit more compliant,

a little bit nicer to drive in its comfort settings.

But it has more adjustability or more different settings,

more aggressive settings, I guess, between their comfort setting and their race or track

or sport version of it.

So the nicer riding version of the IONIQ 5 is the Genesis G60,

even in the Type Performance variant.

I am the chance to speak to her me since she got back to it from Korea,

but she talks in the piece about it sounding like a V6.

So it's interesting, I think they've changed the engine note,

because the Hyundai is very much a four-cylinder.

It sounds like a four-cylinder, a bit more rally-ontated,

whereas it makes sense that you would have a slightly more cultured fake engine note.

But it also still has the flappy paddles like the IONIQ 5N,

so it simulates gearships, still cuts the throttle,

so you get that little jolt that makes it feel like it's changing gear, even if it's not.

So I can't wait to drive this.

I don't think they're going to sell very, very few, sadly.

I think it's going to be a real kind of like in-the-know car,

but this really will appeal to me.

As an everyday car, this would be fantastic.

It would be so much fun.

The IONIQ 5N is already so much fun.

Yeah, because if you just can't be bothered,

you just put it in comfort, turn all the engine notes off,

let it drive itself, and you've just got a really fast EV.

And then when you're in the mood or you're on your own,

you turn all the systems on, you've got the little flappy paddle, it's great.

I'd love an IONIQ 5N, really would.

Yeah, it's a super cool car, it's fun.

And this is just a slightly more discerning version of an IONIQ 5N.

So yeah, very cool.

So it would be interesting to see,

are we going to get magma versions of the current lineup of Genesis vehicles,

or are we going to get the new lineup of Genesis vehicles

and get the magma versions of that?

So I'm not sure how far out we are.

So it makes sense that they needed to do this GV60,

because the platform is there, the IONIQ 5N is there,

and they announced this effort with magma and their efforts in motorsports.

And if they waited five more years before they even gave us a street car,

you know, the high-performance street car, I think it's,

we're just going to forget about it.

Yeah, it's, you know, I mean, I still think it's a lot,

because people are only, you know, Genesis brand recognition,

people are only starting to get used to the idea of Genesis as a luxury rival to Audi or Lexus.

And then you're sort of bolting on another sort of sub-brand,

so now you've got to communicate the idea.

You've got Genesis, and then it's Genesis magma.

I don't understand why they haven't just called it like Genesis R, or something that, you know.

I guess everyone else has done that.

I guess so, yeah, but Genesis.

Right, there's always an R model, an S model, there's some.

But there's a reason.

Yeah, there's a reason for it, there's a reason.

Well, listen, you're right, it's interesting.

It's like, it's okay to do, you know, what others are doing, because as consumers,

you know, to be able to look up the high-performance version, go,

is there an R version of this?

So like, who cares what brand it is?

It's like, where's, you know, where's the GT version?

Where's the R version?

You know, like, we're fine with doing that if you did a, you know, a GV80 GT or a GV80 R.

Like, I'm okay with that.

But, you know, Magma, I can't help but just not think Austin Powers the whole time,

this liquid hot Magma.

That's all I think about when I see it, when I hear the name.

It's a, it just feels like it's a long way from somebody walking into a bar and it's like,

hey, Matt, I drive a Magma.

Yeah.

You know, just to build that kind of brand recognition, when you're already,

you've already got a journey to go with Genesis is, it's difficult.

But, you know, good look to them.

If, at least initially for anybody getting the GV60 Magma, you can just say you have the

Genesis Magma because we all know it's a GV60.

It's the only one out there.

It's going to be the only one there for a while.

So you can just say I got the Genesis Magma, right?

Or you could just say the Magma.

We know what you're talking about.

I didn't buy an M3.

I bought a Magma.

Magma.

I mean, I mean, people say all the time is like, what do you have?

I have a GTR or LFM.

We know what that is.

Or an M3.

Yes.

And look, this is an enthusiast car.

So you are talking to a community that is supposed to know this stuff.

Yeah, I've got an M3.

I've got an M4.

I've got an M4 CS.

I've got an M4, you know, competition.

Right.

You can take the brand out of it.

You know what it is.

Well, see.

I've got an M3.

What's he called?

The hand shelter or something?

Hang on.

Yeah.

Actually, it's a better name than hand shelter.

That is, it is better name.

And then Mercedes, what they're doing, there's just so many.

I don't know.

It's like Mercedes, Benz, AMG, 4C63.

Well, they've got the other problem that they've just put AMG on too much.

So you've got AMG line, which is basically just a tarted up version of a standard C class.

So, you know, I think, and Empire have done a little bit of this as well, that, you know,

you've, you've, you get danger of diluting the sports brand by sticking it on too many different cars.

So, you know, and, you know, well, we'll see.

We'll see.

But I wish them well.

Like I like a lot of what Genesis is doing, what Hyundai is doing.

I love the Ioniq 5 end.

I do too.

I mean, I, I just drove like a GB80 and the GB80 coupe and as much as I love them,

I was driving and going, I know, but do you buy one?

Because shouldn't something else come out now?

These are getting a little bit older, but it's still great to drive and they still sell well.

And there's, you know, there's an audience for it.

So yeah, we'll see.

I think this is a tough, I hope it works, but I think this car is a tough sell.

Yeah.

The GB60 is a tough sell generally, which is in my opinion, I, you know,

I think it's a great, great little car, but at the moment it's just showing up too expensive.

You know, this is, this is, but, but I, but I like the idea.

I like the idea of, you know, you turn up as a very self confidence choice.

Haven't bought a BMW.

I haven't bought an Audi.

I bought a, I bought a Magma.

Yeah.

I bought a Magma.

Yeah.

Maybe at least the Magma.

See how that goes.

Maybe at least the Magma.

I look of all the cars this year, and I say this absolutely seriously,

of all the car this year, I'm looking forward to driving.

This is high up there.

Yeah.

You know, I, this is topic for another time, but soon we're going to see a Nionix 6N

that I understand it just like made some kind of record around the Nürburgring.

Like, yeah.

So this is really good.

I actually went to Goodwood last year to see the unveil of this car.

They're not bringing the Aionix 6N anymore because nobody bought it.

It's ugly.

It's a sad face.

The facifted one is really nice.

The midlife, mid-sized, one of rare cars, the mid-cycle facelift actually really improved

the looks of it.

And I love that sort of 30 streamliner vibe.

The N version is an Ionix 5N in sports sedan form.

So that only bodes well.

And apparently it's been retuned a little bit and everything else.

The central gravity will be fractionally lower even if the batteries are kind of in the same place.

And the Magma is basically another version of the Ionix 6N.

So yeah, the Ionix 6N I think will be very cool.

But again, that's even more of a discerning choice.

You're now saying we're going to buy a version of a car that they can only buy the N version of.

Yeah.

I don't like it.

It doesn't look.

I actually think it looks better in the non-N form.

That wing looks a bit OTT.

We're showing the pictures now.

It's got like a kind of 911 GT3S rear wing.

Just the car to me was just like the profile.

The car is like a big sad face.

And it's weird that it goes, it, it droops down so hard in the back that it's tough to do these

sort of wings that pop off.

It just seems Volkswagen bug to me, you know, like the little turbo one when it had the wing.

It just, it just misses it there.

Like this is like, it seems like you just can't do a wing.

It just slope it down or something.

Yeah.

Because the whole point is it's a streamliner, isn't it?

It talks back to that kind of 1930s, early days of aerodynamics.

It's a streamliner.

But you basically looked at it in the same way they had the problems with the Audi TT,

that kind of original Bauhaus, I think it was 1998 car, wasn't it?

And then, and then it was like, oh, it looks incredible.

But from an aerodynamic perspective, we've now got a problem with lift at the rear.

So, you know, this thing is a very fast car.

So what we need to do is whack a rear wing on it, it.

Rear wing, God, it's been a long day, hasn't it?

Rear wing, whack it, it.

Whack a rear wing on it.

Give me some downforce.

Yeah.

All right.

I guess it's been a long day.

Wait to see we, when we wait to see it in person again, when we see it out.

I can't, I look forward to driving it.

That's for sure.

Yeah.

And I'm very much looking forward to driving the Magma and the X5.

It's been a good week.

Okay.

We're going to, yeah, we're going to wrap things up and yeah, we got more.

Coming back next week.

Well, I am, you might be out.

I might be, I might be missing next week, but yeah, let's hope subscribers don't go up.

We'll come up with something.

So have a good trip.

Oh, I just mean, I hope I don't get back and actually we've added 10,000 listeners in my absence.

That'd be okay.

I don't think it'd be your fault that it drops.

It goes back.

All right, guys.

Thanks so much for listening.

We'll see you guys next week.

And until then, keep the air in the spare and the peg in the wheel.

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