CarCast+Edmunds - New Nissan Leaf driving impressions. Alistair’s review of the 911 Carrera T and the latest U-Drags race between the Corvette E-Ray vs the Porsche 911 4 GTS T-Hybrid.
CarCast
CarCastDec 8, 2025
CarCast+Edmunds - New Nissan Leaf driving impressions. Alistair’s review of the 911 Carrera T and the latest U-Drags race between the Corvette E-Ray vs the Porsche 911 4 GTS T-Hybrid.
The SEMA Show is a big event where people in the car industry come together to show off custom cars and parts. It's a great place to see what's new and exciting in the automotive world.
The Nissan Leaf is a fully electric car that doesn't use gasoline. It's known for being one of the first affordable electric cars available to the public, but earlier versions had some issues with how far they could drive on a single charge.
The Mercedes-Benz GLE is a fancy SUV that offers a comfortable ride and lots of space inside. It's packed with high-tech features and is designed for people who want a luxury vehicle. People talk about it because it's a great choice for families who want something stylish and comfortable.
Car
Mercedes GLE Coupe
The Mercedes GLE Coupe is a fancy SUV that looks sporty like a coupe. It offers a lot of comfort and high-tech features, making it a popular choice for those who want luxury and performance.
The Tesla Model 3 is a popular electric car that offers good performance and modern technology. It's priced to be more affordable compared to other Tesla models, making it a common choice for many drivers.
The Hyundai IONIQ 5 is a new electric car that looks stylish and has a lot of room inside. It's part of Hyundai's effort to make more electric vehicles.
The Chevrolet Equinox EV is a new electric SUV that is part of the Equinox lineup. It has a lot of technology features and is designed to be practical for everyday use.
Android Auto is similar to CarPlay but for Android phones. It connects your phone to your car so you can use apps and get directions on the car's screen.
CarPlay is a feature that lets you use your iPhone in your car. It shows your phone's apps on the car's screen so you can listen to music, make calls, and get directions easily.
A head-up display is a screen that shows important information right in front of you on the windshield, so you don't have to look down at your dashboard while driving.
The Porsche Cayenne EV is an electric version of a luxury SUV that is designed to be fast and comfortable. It's made by Porsche, a brand known for its high-performance sports cars.
The Hyundai Kona is a small SUV that's great for city driving and has a fun design. It offers good space for passengers and cargo, making it practical for everyday use. People talk about it because it's a good option for those looking for a stylish and affordable SUV.
The Hyundai Kona Electric is an electric SUV that is based on the regular Kona. It has a good range and is a popular choice for those looking for an electric vehicle.
The Hyundai Palisade is a large family SUV that has lots of room for passengers and cargo. It's known for being safe and having many features that make it comfortable and easy to drive. People talk about it because it's a good choice for families looking for a reliable vehicle.
The Ford F-150 Lightning is an electric version of Ford's popular F-150 truck. It offers the same truck features but runs on electricity instead of gasoline.
The Tata Motors Aria is a large vehicle made for families, offering plenty of space and features for everyday use. However, it hasn't been very popular in the market. People talk about it to discuss the challenges Tata Motors has faced with this model.
The Nissan Ariya is a new electric SUV from Nissan. It's designed to be eco-friendly and has modern features that make it different from regular gas-powered SUVs.
The Nissan Sentra is a small car that's good for getting around town. It's known for being reliable and economical, making it a popular choice for many drivers.
The Ford Model T is a very old car that changed how cars were made and sold, making them affordable for many people. It was produced a long time ago, from 1908 to 1927, and is considered the first car that was made in large numbers. People talk about it because it played a big role in the history of cars.
The Porsche Macan is a small luxury SUV that is known for being fun to drive and having a nice interior. It's a popular choice for people who want a sporty feel in an SUV.
A warranty is like a promise from the car maker that they will fix certain problems for free if they happen within a certain time. It gives buyers peace of mind about their purchase.
The Porsche Carrera GT is a super-fast sports car that was made in small numbers, making it very special. It has a powerful engine and is designed for people who love to drive. It's often talked about because it's one of the best cars Porsche has ever made.
GTS is a special version of a car that is designed for better performance and handling. It usually has more powerful engines and sportier features compared to regular models.
The Porsche 911 GT3 is a super sporty version of the regular 911, made for people who love fast cars and racing. It has a powerful engine and is built to handle really well on the track. People talk about it because it's one of the most exciting cars to drive.
These are rules in Europe that cars must follow to make sure they don't pollute the air too much. They can affect how cars are made, including how fast they can go without using too much fuel.
Second gear is one of the settings in a car's transmission that helps the car go faster without using too much power. It's used when you want to speed up but not go too fast.
Third gear is another setting in the car's transmission that helps the car go even faster than second gear. It's used when you're driving at a good speed on the road.
The Porsche 917 is a famous race car that helped Porsche win big races in the past, especially at Le Mans. It's known for its unique shape and powerful engine, making it one of the best racing cars ever. People talk about it because of its important place in racing history.
The Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray is a new version of the Corvette that uses both a gas engine and electric power to make it faster and more efficient. It's a mix of classic sports car features with new technology. People talk about it because it's an exciting step forward for the Corvette brand.
The Shelby GT500 is a super-fast version of the Ford Mustang that has a very powerful engine. It's known for its muscle car looks and thrilling performance. People talk about it because it's one of the most exciting American cars to drive.
The Porsche 911 Turbo S is a super-fast version of the 911 sports car that has a turbocharged engine, which helps it go really fast. It's a mix of luxury and performance, making it a great car for both driving and comfort. People talk about it because it's one of the best sports cars you can buy.
The Lexus LFA is a very special and expensive sports car made by Lexus, known for its beautiful looks and powerful engine. It's not made in large numbers, so it's quite rare. People talk about it because it's a unique car that offers a thrilling driving experience.
The BMW iX3 is an electric SUV that offers the same space and comfort as the regular X3 but runs on electricity instead of gas. It's a good choice for people who want to drive an eco-friendly vehicle. People talk about it because it's part of BMW's move towards electric cars.
LIVE
This podcast is supported by The RealReal.
Meet Christine.
She loves shopping.
And this is the sound of fashion overload.
Too many fabulous things and not enough space.
So Christine started selling with The RealReal.
I've always loved collecting designer pieces.
Gucci bags, Prada heels, but my style keeps evolving.
Selling with The RealReal, game changer.
I earn more and they do everything.
Seriously, just drop off your items or schedule a pickup.
We handle the photos, descriptions, pricing, even shipping.
You just sit back and watch your items sell fast
to our 38 million members.
And I get peace of mind knowing I earn more selling
with The RealReal than anywhere else.
Exactly.
This, that's the sound of your closet working for you.
The RealReal.
Earn more, save time, sell fast.
And right now you can get an extra $100 site credit
when you sell for the first time.
Go to TheRealReal.com to get your extra $100.
TheRealReal.com, that's TheRealReal.com.
Drinking and driving will change your whole world.
The next time you're out with friends,
consider what would happen if you got pulled over
after drinking, like the legal fees
or the time in court or a DUI on your record.
Your decision to drink and drive
could change someone else's world too
if you hurt or even kill them in a crash.
Instead, what if a decision to call a sober ride
changed your world for the better?
Drive sober or get pulled over.
Paid for by NHTSA.
LIMU, LIMU, and Dug.
Here we have the Limu-Imu in its natural habitat,
helping people customize their car insurance
and save hundreds with Liberty Mutual.
Fascinating.
It's accompanied by his natural ally, Dug.
Uh, Limu, is that guy with the binoculars watching us?
Cut the camera.
They see us.
Only pay for what you need at libertymutual.com.
Liberty, Liberty, Liberty, Liberty.
Savings very underwritten by Liberty Mutual Insurance Company
and Affiliates Excludes Massachusetts.
Hello, welcome to the Admin's Car Cast Podcast.
I'm not the moderator, D'Andrea, here with Aleister Weaver.
How are you?
I'm good, thanks, Matt.
You guys always have a big end of the year crunch.
When most people are kind of wanting
to check out a little bit, you know,
somewhere between Thanksgiving and the new year,
I just want to, like, kind of phone it in a little bit more.
But somehow you guys manage to do this big end of the year crunch
as part of your business model.
It's Killy.
I was just talking to Matt Offair and saying how, you know,
it's a crazy, crazy time of year for us.
We have our awards, which go live in February this year,
but actually all the content shot next week.
And Thanksgiving was late this year,
so it's been a big sort of compression.
So next week is going to be like a 60-70 hour week for sure.
And then I've kind of got my end of year,
couple of end of year parties as well, and then I head to Europe.
So it's a bit of a crazy time.
It's always the way that we try and run the business
so we give people a bit of a break over the holiday season.
But that means we all kind of, like, work ourselves into the ground
so that we can kind of, you know, enjoy the holiday season.
So it works out, but it's a big effort right now.
Yeah, it's a lot to jam in.
When we talked about it last year as well,
when the awards were coming out,
sort of what's involved with getting this done.
And there's just so many cars and so much number crunching
and then the filming process and, you know,
in the testing process, like, it's just, I mean,
it's kind of done throughout the year,
but man, just jamming it all into sort of one big presentation.
It's it's way more involved than you would.
Oh, yeah, we're talking like 10.
Yeah, I don't even know how many individual pieces of content,
but it's, you know, it's it's it's tens of piece,
individual pieces of content.
So as I speak, I've got a front, a lot of this on on Monday,
then across the rest of the week.
So it's like I'm now paranoid about getting ill.
So, you know, every time the kids give me a hug,
I get a little bit paranoid, but yeah, we shall see.
So I'm glad we're doing this on Zoom.
So because I understand you've got a cult.
Yeah, you know, I just it was just time.
It was like I was at the SEMA show
and I was like, I just want to get to the SEMA show
and have it be fine.
And I came back and it was mostly fine.
And now it's just finally catching up with me
and I'm just trying to figure out, like,
is now the right time is now the worst time
like before Christmas, after SEMA, after Thanksgiving.
So maybe maybe I should just get it out of my system
and then get on now.
So now is the time to get it.
That's probably the time.
I mean, I rather not.
But yeah, now is the time I was actually last night
in my my local my local town that every year
they have a Santa's float that comes around.
Yeah, which is a Santa sitting
with like two surfboards behind him.
It's a really nice thing for the kids
and there's like a little app with a Santa tracker
and so you run out your house
when he arrives nearby and stuff.
And it's very it's very cute.
But I didn't feel for the guy
because he's basically got like several hundred.
You know, the course of a week
goes around the whole area.
So it's probably got like two thousand kids
like sitting, you know, coming and sitting next
to him, it's like this guy's got to get ill.
Yeah, I hope in hell.
Yeah, he only works one month a year.
Yeah. Yeah, I don't think he's got a big week coming up.
He's got a big week coming up as well.
He's been prepping the whole time.
He's been prepping the whole time.
I hope my kids aren't listening to this
because it's going to ruin the moment.
Well, I was going to I was going to ruin it,
but I don't want to.
No, keep the belief.
All right. So some interesting things
that you've been into recently
and a new you drags video.
But let's start with the Nissan Leaf
because we we talked a little bit about that.
The leaf when it first came out was, I don't know,
very underwhelming for me.
It was one of the first EVs I ever drove.
And I remember just getting on to the to the 405 down here.
And it was just suck in the battery way.
Now, like whatever the range was,
it said I had like 60 miles range,
but not at highway speeds.
Like nobody really figured that out yet.
So it was just and then
I basically didn't make it.
And I had to call Toyota.
I'm like, your car's on the side of the road.
I'm going to Uber home.
Like, I don't know why you call Toyota,
if it was a Nissan, but anyway.
Yeah, Nissan. Sorry. Yeah.
The Nissan Leaf.
I probably, you know what it was?
I was near where Toyota was before they went to Texas.
So I would have been interested.
I might have had some fun with.
They're probably looking out the windows, having a laugh.
Yeah. Like, look at that guy stuck
in his Nissan Leaf out there.
The new ones vastly different.
The new ones vastly different.
It's kind of interesting when you reflect on the leaf
because everybody thinks about Tesla
as being the founding fathers electric car,
but it was actually Nissan that really led the way
with those early, early Leafs
that are sort of semi affordable pricing.
Right. They didn't have a lot of range.
I was looking, I didn't quit Google early
and you can pick up used Leafs for next to no money.
And the reality is if you're,
if you're looking at as like a second or third car
for running around town,
they probably still make a lot of sense.
If it's got a hundred miles or whatever range left.
Actually, you know, might make a lot of sense to people
as a, as a, as an additional car for next to no money.
Yeah. The new one, the previous generations,
I mean, the first one was kind of odd looking as well,
wasn't it? But the,
now it's kind of morph like everything else
from being a hatchback into something more akin to an SUV.
It's a sort of kind of curious, almost like a,
like a fastback at the moment.
It looks a bit like a kind of scaled down
Mercedes GLE Coupe.
It's an interesting looking thing.
And the big push as always with the Leaf was
we're going to make it,
we're going to make it affordable.
So it starts at about 30 grand
or just over 30 grand with destination.
It goes a long way.
We did the Edmunds EV range test doing over 300 miles.
So this is like a, you know, as you say, the,
the original Nissan Leaf was kind of, you know,
a first foray into the market,
but this is a very usable car at a,
at a very sensible price point.
The first one was like a hundred miles of range.
And that's if you're lucky going downhill.
Whereas this thing's got, you know,
over 300 miles on our Edmunds EV range test,
charge it with a, with the Tesla, you know,
the Tesla charge, there's a lot of things,
a lot of things in its favor.
It's a decent size.
There's not tons of space in the, in the rear,
but it's a decent size.
It's got Apple CarPlay, Android Auto.
It's, you know, there's a lot going for it.
The only challenge for it really is at 30 grand,
I think it starts to make a lot of,
makes a lot of sense.
But then if you go up a trim or up a trim again,
and the one that I've got is, is the sort of top trim.
And then you've got like bows surround sound
and all sorts of things.
Then you're getting close to 40 grand and you're like,
well, I can get a Model 3, a Tesla Model 3
standard edition for 38.
I can get an IONIQ 5 for 35.
And I think that's Nissan's challenge
that you start off and say 31 sounds like a great deal.
But then there's a lot of other cars in that market
that once you get to say 35, you know,
an IONIQ 5 is, is a much bigger,
more sophisticated car than the Leaf.
Plus you're up against used EVs
and you're up against all the gas alternatives,
which, you know, Nissan, you know,
Nissan does plenty of, you know,
the Rogue starts at the same price as the,
as the Leaf and the Rogue is, you know,
a much bigger SUV than, than the Leaf.
So, you know, it's not, it's not straightforward.
And, but it's, you know,
it's an interesting choice at a, at a sensible price point.
Looking at a few of the photos,
it looks like it has both the Tesla plug
and the other plug.
Yeah, I think that's generally the,
I can't remember which way to set it up.
I think, well, you also,
I remember you have the fast charging in the Tesla,
then you also have the level two charging as well
for when you're at home.
So there's, you know, different, different combinations,
but it, you know, it's a vast improvement on the old car.
You know, you can debate the appearance,
but that, that kind of hatchback tail gives it,
gives it some practicality.
The interior technology works pretty well.
You know, the, the, some of the plastics,
they've aren't, you know, like mega premium,
but then it's a 30 grand car.
So looking at some of the competitors
in this price range, like, is it Chevy Equinox?
Yeah, Equinox EV.
Yeah, and you said Ionic five.
I mean, the Ionic five is intricate
because Hyundai has just decided
that we're going to throw a load of money
against the Ionic five and they want to sell volume.
So suddenly that's getting it under 40 grand.
Tesla has the Model three at 38 grand,
the, the Model three standard,
which is a really good car.
And, you know, it feels like a more premium alternative.
So there is now like genuine choice
in that 30 to 40 grand mark for, for EVs.
And I think, you know, most,
let's face it, a lot of,
a lot of families in the US are two car families
or sometimes more than two car families.
So, you know, this sort of car
is an interesting alternative.
Maybe as a second car, you know,
maybe this isn't your big road trip car
because it's size and scale.
But, you know, if this is a, you know,
this is a decent car for, for running around.
Yeah. And we're flicking through a couple of the images.
I mean, and the interior looks good.
I mean, the interior looks good to me.
I mean, compared to, we were talking before about
where you cut some of your prices
on like a cheap plastic steering wheel and stuff,
but it seems like it's pretty good.
I don't know.
I mean, we're probably looking at the higher trim model.
Yeah. I think you are, you are looking
at higher trim than I might, but I was looking,
and I've got the higher trim,
but I'm also looking at the spec of the entry level.
And, you know, they've,
they've got wireless car play
or wireless Android Auto.
So once you've got that, you can have done,
you know, this we talked a lot about on the show
about like the democratization of technology.
And it's like, well, I don't need like built in Google.
I don't need, you know,
I don't necessarily need Bose surround sound.
There's a lot of stuff you don't need.
If you give me car play or you give me Android Auto,
then I've got all the music.
I've got all my telephone functionality.
I've got all my navigation functionality
because my smartphone already does that.
So I'm done.
Yeah.
And after that, I don't, you know,
the rest of it's just, just window dressing.
I mean, I drive so many cars that have got, you know,
Google integration or this and that.
And you're like, well, why am I paying for this?
Cause my phone does this.
And I think that's why actually Toyota have been quite smart.
Yeah. They charge you a subscription
if you want to do it through your car,
but probably accept that most people
are just using car play anyway.
Yeah.
And I mean, even that's what I'm doing.
I just like when I get in my car,
it's all like all the maps, everything's just car play.
I'm still waiting for more cars
to be able to have some sort of split screen
where you can change the presets on your radio
while you're using car play
instead of switching back and forth to car play,
which seems annoying.
There's only a couple of cars that I've seen
that are doing that, but.
I think we're also seeing now more integration.
So I, you know, I was in the Lexus GX last week
and now like Google Maps from car play
is now in the head up display system
and things like that.
So, you know, it's not, it used to be,
here's the car and here's Apple or here's Google.
And I think everything's getting a lot better integrated.
So that's kind of good to see as well.
And also kind of what I do like about the Leaf,
you know, we talked before about,
and we were talking about the Cayenne EV,
weren't we, last week about like stupid,
you know, 1100 horsepower.
The Leaf's not like that.
It's like fast enough.
It's quite, you know, it pulls quite nicely.
It's fine.
It's front wheel drive.
It's like a sensible little car.
And I kind of like that.
It's honest.
I mean, there's two levels of horsepower.
The base is the Leaf S, 174 horsepower.
And then there's like an S Plus or a Platinum Plus
and it's 214 horsepower.
But I don't know, does it affect the range that much?
Cause I would kind of just go for the most range
with this car.
Well, and also probably, you know, 170 horsepower.
So, you know, you're not really buying this to go fast.
Yeah.
And I think a lot of these cars tend to work better
at their lower trims.
I mean, things like the Nissan Kicks as well,
which, you know, Nissan is pitching itself
as being a value alternative.
And you know, one of their big calling cars
is we have plenty of cars under 30 grand.
And, you know, it's, we were talking,
Michelle, a couple of weeks ago,
I spent time with one of their marketing executives
and he said, what we're trying to do
is come up with cars with the functions
that people want and get rid of engineering
and stuff that they don't want,
which just adds cost to nobody
that people don't care about.
And I think that's very, very sensible.
And most of their range makes more sense
at the lower price point.
So I remember driving a Kicks,
which was in the, you know, 30 plus ground
and you're like, it doesn't make sense of this money.
Whereas, you know, at sort of a little,
you know, 20 grand or a little over 20 grand,
then actually it's a great value proposition.
And again, as we said, your car player, whatever,
then you don't really feel like you're wanting for much.
You know, we talked about a competitor being the IONIQ 5,
but we don't really talk much about like Kona and Nero.
Yeah, you're right.
And actually they're sometimes overlooked
because there are cars that are offered in gas
and everything else as well.
But, you know, both of those
are sort of decent, honest, little EVs.
Yeah.
And you're right.
And they're small.
They're smallish, yeah.
And they do, you're right.
They sort of fly under the radar a little bit.
Yeah.
I guess, yeah, I'm not sure why it hasn't really come up
in conversation that much, but there's,
I mean, I guess I have to kind of look at the sales figures.
It looks like IONIQ 5 just sort of took off as being,
you know, the cool kid of that lineup of, you know,
the EV lineup, the sort of the compact EV lineup,
but they've got to be selling them.
They've got to be...
Yeah. And I think that like the Kona Electric
is from like 33 grand-ish.
Yeah. I think the IONIQ, the trouble with the EVs
is they sell as many as they're willing to put money
against, particularly at the moment.
I mean, we're starting to see figures come through
from like October.
Not surprising because the tax credit
at the end of September that there's a massive crash.
Because if you wanted an EV,
you were going to buy in September.
So it's not surprising that nobody bought them in October.
But what's happening in the market,
what seems to be happening in the market at the moment is,
if a manufacturer wants to shift EVs,
they have to put money against it.
And I think that's what Hyundai is doing with the IONIQ 5.
So make money on the Palisade, lose money on the IONIQ.
And then kind of hope that the market comes to them.
I mean, Ford's got that problem.
Ford's got backed up.
Ford's got more F-150 Lightnings
that he knows what to do with.
They've got more Mackies than they know what to do with.
They're not building any Lightnings at the moment,
but they've still got plenty to sell
through the next model year.
I don't think they're going to build any at all.
I think they're kind of done with that.
That's the thing, it's suspended.
Nissan said the same thing with the Aria.
I was like, oh, an Aria's gone.
No, well, no, it's suspended.
I mean, what does that mean?
Yeah, it's debatable whether Lightning comes back at all.
But in the meantime, they've got a hell of a lot to shift.
Yes, they do.
And I don't even see the ads popping up too much on those.
But when you do a holiday break, you do something like Thanksgiving
and all the dealers want to start pushing deals,
trying to get you in for that weekend.
I was getting all kinds of ads for Mach-E.
Oh, yeah, on a lease deal at the moment.
Mach-E, they just got a...
I remember coming out of the pandemic
when we got the Genesis going into a Ford dealer
and being quoted like 900 bucks a month on a three-year lease.
And I was like, that's insane. I'm not doing that.
Yeah.
And getting this whole narrative,
oh, well, we've got supply problems.
He said, but we've suddenly got 20 in stock.
That's very unusual for us.
And I was like, yeah, I think this is the sign of the times.
And now, 250 bucks a month.
Yeah.
So either they were getting incredibly fat
on 900 bucks a month, probably,
but are they making money at 250 bucks? No.
So...
No, but definitely keep in mind
when you read the fine print, they'll go, listen,
for 450 a month, you can come in at zero down
and lease this thing.
At 250 a month, you got to come in with like 6,000 down.
Yeah, the scary thing is that that's right.
You've got to look at the overall cost.
And really, you've got to look at the overall cost
across the life of your lease.
You're right.
But sometimes you look at these deals and you think,
ah, well, the fine print is going to tell me
that it's 10 grand down.
And then you look at the fine print and you go,
wow, it's two grand down, you know,
that they really are, they really got problems.
They just got massive oversupply
and you've got to get rid of them.
And this has been the, you know,
this is the problem right now.
Yeah.
All right, let's take a quick break
and we've got some fun stuff to take.
We'll be right back.
Hey guys, it's Matt again.
I just wanted to give a big shout out
to everyone who's been coming out
to our Bravago Hard Seltzer tasting events
and ordering online.
If you haven't tried it yet,
here's what you're missing.
Bravago is lightly carbonated, stevia free
and bursting with flavor.
And guess what?
It's not just great on its own.
It's a perfect mixer too.
Throw in a splash of gin or vodka
and you've got yourself a next level cocktail.
Find it online at drinkbravago.com
or at our next event.
That's drinkbravago.com.
All right everyone, let's talk about drinking and driving.
A decision that will change your whole world.
Things will never be the same once you get a DUI
because legal fees, time and court are just the beginning.
Getting into a crash is another way your world
could be irreversibly changed after drinking and driving.
Your vehicle may not be the only thing
that gets damaged in that crash.
You could face a life-altering injury or even death,
but you're not the only one
who could face those consequences.
Your decision to drink and drive
could permanently change someone else's world.
Whether you injure them
or leave their loved ones grieving.
The next time you're out drinking,
call a rideshare, a taxi, a sober friend
or a designated sober driver.
Always plan for a safe ride home.
The only decision that will change your world for the better
is the decision to call for a sober ride.
It's never worth it to drive drunk.
Don't risk it.
Drive sober or get pulled over.
Paid for by NITSSA.
G.M.U. G.M.U.
And Doug.
Here we have the LEMU-EMU in its natural habitat
helping people customize their car insurance
and save hundreds with Liberty Mutual.
Fascinating.
It's accompanied by his natural ally, Doug.
Uh, LEMU, is that guy with the binoculars watching us?
Cut the camera. They see us.
Only pay for what you need at libertymutual.com.
Liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty.
Savings very underwritten by Liberty Mutual Insurance
Company and Affiliates Excludes Massachusetts.
Net credit is here to say yes
because you're more than a credit score.
Apply in minutes and get a decision as soon as the same day.
Loans offered by Net Credit
or lending partner banks and service
by Net Credit applications.
Subject to review and approval,
learn more at netcredit.com slash partners.
This podcast is supported by The Real Real.
Meet Christine.
She loves shopping.
And this is the sound of fashion overload.
Too many fabulous things, not enough space.
So Christine started selling with The Real Real.
I've always loved collecting designer pieces.
Gucci bags, Prada heels.
But my style keeps evolving.
Selling with The Real Real, game changer.
I earn more and they do everything.
Seriously, just drop off your items or schedule a pickup.
We handle the photos, descriptions, pricing, even shipping.
You just sit back and watch your items sell fast
to our 38 million members.
And I get peace of mind knowing I earn more selling
with The Real Real than anywhere else.
Exactly.
This, that's the sound of your closet working for you.
The Real Real, earn more, save time, sell fast.
And right now, you can get an extra $100 site credit
when you sell for the first time.
Go to TheRealReal.com to get your extra $100.
TheRealReal.com.
That's TheRealReal.com.
OK.
So Nissan Leaf, you drove it.
Like it?
But you like it?
I'm about to swap it tomorrow for Nissan Center as well,
which I think is quite an interesting car.
Again, 30 grand per night.
We just had some data at Edmunds
that the average transaction price the first time
is really nudging on 50 grand now.
Yeah.
Which is not.
The Nissan Leaf, you like it in mostly its base model form,
right?
Long range.
If you're looking at it, I would say get the 30 grand one.
It makes less sense for me.
The ride quality is not fantastic.
It's not the best car to drive.
It's compromising some areas.
But at 30 grand, it's an intriguing proposition
if you want a new EV at a cheaper price point.
Once you get 35 to 40, then I'd be looking at a Model 3
and Ionic 5.
And the other thing with a lot of these cars
is think about it.
The used values of EVs, the depreciation is so bad
that a used EV is actually quite an attractive proposition
to me right now.
We can talk about this on a future show,
but we're about to sell our Macan.
We spent 100 grand on it.
It's done 13,000 miles and been quoted 50.
And it's kind of horrifying that we've dropped 50 grand.
But then at the same time, I was like, well, I have 50 grand.
I might not think it's worth 100 grand, but 50 grand.
That's actually quite an appealing product.
That's a nice car.
Right.
So the market sort of flips on itself.
If you look at a used EV, there's
some fantastic deals to be had.
I agree on that.
I think that I was interested in seeing
what's going to happen to that EV market when the incentives ended
a month or two ago or whatever.
And it hasn't really changed.
It's not like all the used EVs started to really
climb up in price.
The ones that did go up, they went up not even 10%
is what I've seen so far.
Me even just looking at the market on my own truck,
on my lightning, or getting a quote,
like getting a Carmack's quote or whatever,
it's barely changed from six months ago to now.
That's why I think there's actually
quite a lot of attractive deals.
I think there's a lot of the used EVs
make a lot of sense right now.
And people are nervous about them
because of what happens when the warranty runs out
and everything else.
But I think a used Model 3 or something like that,
Tesla Model 3, is actually quite an appealing car
for 25 grand, say.
Yeah.
All right, so another car you drove,
other end of the spectrum, you could probably
get a Nissan Leaf for the price of brake pads and tires
on the next car.
Or the insurance.
Probably just, yeah, the annual insurance fee, who knows.
Although somebody quoted, I'm not going to say which company,
but somebody quoted me 35 grand for a front door the other week.
I was like, the world has gone quite mad.
I said 35 grand is what I spend on a car,
not what I spend on a front door.
But anyway, the other end of the spectrum,
I finally got my pause on a current generation 911 Carrera T.
I love the 991 Carrera T. This is the 992 Carrera T, which
of course is the manual version.
But this has been, you've been a fan of the T
for a long time.
For several years now, you're like, T is the way to go.
It's the most, I don't know, authentic.
I don't want to even say analog because it probably
has still every bit of technology in the world.
But to make it feel analog again,
but the T has always been pretty much
across the range like the enthusiast choice.
So they take the best bits of the GTS,
put it onto a standard Carrera.
It's manual only.
They do it as Coupor or Cabriolet on this generation.
And yeah, it's the pure choice.
It's the, if you're proper enthusiast,
it's almost like the badge to have,
unless you can get into a GT3 or something.
So yeah, I was desperate to drive it.
I really like the standard 911 Carrera.
I think for as a road car, you don't need any more performance.
I prefer the fact that it rides a little bit better
than the S or particularly the GTS,
which get pretty stiff for an everyday car.
Yeah, it's 388 horsepower, doesn't sound like a lot,
but Porsche horses are always proper thoroughbreds.
They say 388 horsepower, but when we put it
to the track, it's always like,
well, it's done zero to 60 in four seconds.
And you're like, well, okay.
So I was very excited to drive this thing.
I think it's great, apart from one really significant issue.
Okay.
Well, two really, one is just the general problem
with the current 911 that it's got really big.
But we can't really change that, that's just what it is.
But the other thing is the gearing.
Because of European emissions regulations
and the way that they measure all that stuff
and fuel consumption and everything else,
the gearing is insanely tall.
So like second gear is geared to well over 70 miles an hour.
So what you want is something that's like really fun
and the gear changes lovely.
It's like, the previous generation manual
was a bit kind of springy.
This is a really nice solid gearbox.
It feels really good.
But you kind of go everywhere in sort of second gear
and third at most.
Once you get past third,
it's like you might, you just go straight to sixth.
So fourth and fifth gear are basically irrelevant.
And if you want to kind of enjoy it and hear the engine
at a speed that's sensible and legal,
you've either got to do it in first or,
well, even second gear, you're getting into illegal speeds.
So it's just such a shame that it just,
it's just crying out for shorter gear ratios
and something that's very kind of bop, bop, bop, bop, bop.
And if you remember with the ST,
that special edition that they did,
which they didn't need to worry about emissions
and blah, blah, blah.
That's why they had the change the flywheel,
the change the clutch,
they changed the gears and everything else.
So, I think it's fabulous, but that is a shame.
Yeah.
I think that long first gear is a trick
that these manufacturers have been doing
to improve that zero to 60 time,
knowing that you can go zero to 60
and still do it in first gear.
And then beyond that, you'd have to shift
because if you needed to add that shift,
you know, it would add a couple of tenths or something.
Yeah, but that's just not what this car's about, right?
I mean, I come out of the one,
I don't know, I'm not coming with a one is geared for 60,
but I mean, two is geared for well over 70.
Yeah.
And you know, so then fourth, fifth, sixth,
the kind of like so close
and kind of irrelevant really are on the road,
which you know, you want to be enjoying
you got this lovely wooden gear stick,
which is a throwback to the old 917,
you know, 970, 917 race car, Le Mans car.
And I mean, it's still the 911 I'd have.
I mean, it's sharp.
It's still the car I'd have actually.
I mean, like if you tell me one car drive every day,
this is still a, and it's a, you know,
in 911 terms, it's sensible money.
The car that we had with the options on it,
all of which were fairly sensible
was like 158 grand,
which these days is actually sensible money for a 911.
You know, I'd have one of these ahead of an S or a GTS
or whatever, but it's just, yeah,
just those little frustration made me think actually,
would I buy a new one of these
or would I buy a used like 997,
which is a couple of generations ago, GTS,
which you're never going to lose money on
because it's a collector's piece.
Yes, it might not have all the latest gadgets,
but you can now retrofit carplay.
I'm a big fan of carplay, as you can tell.
Yeah.
You can retrofit carplay.
I mean, and then you haven't got, you know,
you've got a smaller car.
You've got a more agile car.
You've got a bit more character to it.
I don't know.
It's a, that would be a tough call
and you're never going to lose money.
But I do like this.
Yeah. Okay. I mean, it's good.
And yeah, I'm with you on this.
These days when you have, you know, carplay,
it's, you know, it's such a big selling point
for so many cars now
because it's an easy thing to do to integrate it.
So some of the moves like from GM
and maybe is it Rivian that's like, we're not doing it.
It changes the experience.
We're not doing carplay.
It's kind of a deal killer.
It's all the, I mean, for Rivian,
they're trying to do their own software
but then so same to Tesla.
GM, it's all about like,
the big challenge is who owns the data.
And I think company like GM,
they're saying, well, actually we want to,
you know, we want not to effectively own it all
rather than giving it away.
But then they integrate Google Maps
and everything into their own systems.
But I mean, the weird thing about carplay
that I think most people realize
is carplay is an app.
Yeah.
It's not a, you know, it's different.
It's an app basically
that then gives you functionality.
So it's an interesting mobile.
I think we, I don't think there's any coming back
whatever GM thinks.
I think we're going to end up in a world
where there's more and more Apple
or Google integration into your vehicle.
Because frankly, it's just what people want.
But it does mean that, you know,
I went from a 911 to a Leaf
and had exactly the same interface.
In fact, both of them had like
Bose surround sound as well.
So it was like, it really doesn't feel
that much of a differentiator.
I mean, one of them went like hell
and all the rest of it and the other one didn't, but,
you know, since.
And then, so the Carrera T,
it starts at like 143, but you know, Porsche is, it's.
Yeah.
It's every 150 something.
At least.
Yeah.
I think, I think, I, I did that, you know,
everybody plays a rather arm of the Porsche
configurator in a bored moment.
And I think I'd get one for about like 160 ish.
You know, there's certain little thing.
Like you need the Bose hi-fi
rather than the standard ones.
The standard one's not very good.
And you need a few,
there's like a handful of little things
that you'd add paint or whatever.
But.
You need floor mats and paint.
Yeah, exactly.
You need it delivered.
That always costs you a bit of money.
That's always a thing.
I like the noise me.
Just the whole delivery charge thing.
It's like when you buy a sofa.
Oh, yeah, we're going to charge you like 500 bucks
to get you delivered.
What am I supposed to do?
Can I come and pick it up?
No.
Well, don't charge me for delivering it though.
Yeah.
A little feature that I like is,
we were just looking at it,
but this is a sticker of the shift pattern
in the Porsche.
And it comes on this car
and it's in the side windows of the car.
That's like walking up to somebody's house
and seeing the little alarm sign
that says this house is protected by whatever
because so many young people today
can't even drive stick.
This is like an anti-theft sticker
is going, this car is only in manual.
I'm told about it that way.
Yeah, that's the best security device.
Yeah.
Yeah.
You just walk up on it and go,
what is that weird pattern in the window?
What does that mean?
I go, oh, it's a manual.
Yeah.
Anyway, I like that.
All right.
So keeping on with Porsche,
I was watching the latest U-Drags video.
This one was very exciting
because it was a very close race.
I'm going to bring it up.
You can talk about it.
This, we've got the...
This is the Corvette E-Ray.
This is the Corvette E-Ray
versus the 911 GTS, which is the hybrid,
the T-Rex.
The GTS, as we talked about in a previous show,
this is the car that I thought I was going to be,
thought was going to be like the most fabulous 911
because it's not as,
it's slightly easier to live with than the GT3,
less money, but it's got, it's so much fun.
I mean, don't get me wrong,
I think it's a fabulous piece of engineering,
the way they've integrated the hybrid system is awesome.
I just felt slightly under,
and it's massively fast,
and it does really well in the,
in the kind of Edmonds U-Drags format,
but it's quite different.
We had, we're not going to give the game away slightly,
but we have a race coming up
because we film a whole bunch of these to get,
you know, on a couple of days.
We drove the Carrera S,
and Jonathan and I like got out of the Carrera S,
then got into the GTS
and pretty much expected to be the same thing,
but a bit faster.
It is noticeably different.
It is much more lively,
both under power.
You know, you got to,
I think they deliberately set it up to be
much more tuned to like real enthusiasts
who want a car that moves around and does a lot.
Yeah.
The Carrera S,
Brake, turn,
beautifully responsive,
does everything that you want and expected to do.
GTS, you're like, what,
both of us were like,
whoa, there's really hanging on to it.
You know, you got a little bit about,
you know, getting a bit of push,
you're getting a bit of,
you know, getting slide out of the corners a lot to,
it was much harder to get the best time
out of a GTS than it was out of an S.
It's not just faster version of the same thing.
And also it sounds a bit different.
You know, it doesn't have,
it doesn't quite have that sonorous raw
that the T does or the S does.
And so I'm a bit,
I don't love it as much as I thought I would,
but it is, if you get it right,
it is mighty, mighty fast.
But then so is the E-Ray,
which I think is a massively underrated car.
Yeah.
Speaking of the sound,
it's something that I picked up in the,
in the video that you guys posted,
the interior sound of it,
both cars really just kind of have
an interesting unique sound,
that combination of the electric motors,
and in the E-Rays case, a V8 with electric motors,
what I can pick up on through that microphone
and what I heard in the video, interesting.
It's got a, it's got a kind of a,
it's interesting because you got the engine
and I don't know if it's just happening
naturally with the electric motors
or if they're dialing in that sound a certain way,
but it has an interesting sort of futuristic effect
to it as well.
Yeah. And the GTS is single turbo.
There's like quite a different,
the whole proposition is quite different.
So, but that, that E-Ray,
I mean, it's almost like the forgotten Corvette
because everybody focuses on the,
the Z06 and the ZR1 has been the kind of track inspired
cars and understandably so.
And the E-Ray is kind of slipped in the middle of it's,
maybe it's not, you know, maybe the Corvette owner
isn't saying, I don't want to hybrid,
I don't understand all that,
but it's a really good piece of engineering
and it takes this basic standard Sting-Ray
and then really turns it up.
And what was striking is,
in the U-Dress, of course, you have a very heavy break
then into a, you know, into the U-Turn at the bottom
and the speed that you could carry through the Apex
is crazy.
The race I did against the GTS,
I thought I'd just overcooked it
and I was expecting to basically push too wide
and lose a load of time.
We're going to have to rerun it.
And the thing just, I went for the power
to basically get the almost effectively counteract
the push and the thing just gripped and went.
And if you look like race two,
I think it was probably why I'd better run of any car.
It was just, the thing is good.
And the way to the front end,
there's just counteracts the, you know,
you can use the throttle to balance the,
effectively balance the car.
And it's really, really good.
Some of the cars that have been out there,
sometimes there are issues with hooking up
something you brought up many times with like the GT500.
But man, watching this video,
seeing the difference,
both of these cars launched so hard.
Yeah.
Yeah, it really do.
I mean, obviously both of them have got all-wheel drive.
And, you know, the way they just,
I mean, the Porsche in particular
just sort of picks it up,
itself's up and sort of chucks itself down the road.
But the Corvette was, you know, was right on its heels.
I'm just pulling up the figures on my computer here.
Yeah, I mean, the,
the GTS goes ninth in our leaderboard,
31.6 seconds, 10.9 seconds for the quarter.
I mean, it's only just,
it's only 0.8 of a second behind the outgoing 911 Turbo S.
E-Ray is just a 10th behind it.
It's really that class.
I was going to bring up the leaderboard,
but I didn't know if you wanted to give away the results here.
Oh yeah. Well, you know, you still got to watch it.
I mean, Matt, but-
Yeah, you got to watch the video.
But here's the-
Here's the video, but that GTS is,
you know, it's 9-11.
It's almost 9-11, old 9-11 Turbo fast, not quite,
but you know, you've got some very exotic stuff
ahead of it.
Which interesting to me is I always kind of thought
the E-Ray was supposed to be,
I'm trying to figure out the order of Corvettes.
Is it C8, then is it Sting-Ray,
and then E-Ray, and then Z06,
and then ZR1, and then ZR1X.
I guess that's kind of the order they meant.
I thought maybe E-Ray was supposed to be above Z06,
but I guess not.
That's always been the challenge really,
that the E-Ray and the Z06
are basically the same money.
So it's, I think it's a,
I haven't looked at the recent sales figures,
but it's a tough, it's a tough sell really,
because the Z06 is the flat-plane crank,
and it's the race car for the road,
and it has all that visceral appeal,
and the E-Ray, I think the way that they belt
some of us billing it is the E-Ray is like the GT car.
It's the Sting-Ray with more performance
that you use every day.
The Z06 is more like take it to a track at the weekend.
Whether the Corvette owner really kind of buys into that,
I don't know.
But the E-Ray is a much easier car
to live with day-to-day than the Z06.
But I mean like, I'd have the Z06
because he just sounds unbelievable,
and you've got that throttle response,
and you know, but you haven't got the all-wheel drive,
you haven't got the, you know,
the E-Ray is in the real world,
probably actually a faster vehicle than the Z06 on the road.
But yeah, it's a tough tell for that community as well,
I think.
I mean, watch the video,
but it is really quite startling
how good the E-Ray is relative to the GTS.
We always knew the GTS was going to be really good.
I was surprised how hard you have to work
to get the performance out of it,
which I think is probably a very deliberate thing
from Porsche.
This is going to proper enthusiast car.
But yeah, E-Ray, which are both Jonathan and I,
came away really impressed by it.
Well, it's a fun video to watch.
So definitely do that,
hop onto the Edmunds YouTube channel
and watch the latest U-Drags episode.
Yeah, it's cool, it was fun.
I'm going to go and read the comments.
Reading the comments is always entertaining as well.
I always take out the pinch of salt,
like I'm either the world's best driver,
or the world's worst driver,
there's never anything in between.
Well, this was a good video.
This video made it look like you were the better driver.
So.
Well, that's pretty rare to be honest.
That doesn't normally happen, so.
Jonathan's really, really,
Jonathan's really, really good.
Yeah, he's good, but this one.
Jonathan's a very talented driver,
so he's metronomic.
He's an engineer by schooling,
not a historian like me,
and he cares a lot about it.
He's really, really good.
We're very privileged in the team that we've got.
You know, Jonathan, Kurt Niebuhr as well,
the test team who are really, really talented
and just very, very consistent.
Yeah.
All right, so we're here,
we're recording the show
and a day before Toyota's announcement,
which I'm kind of interested in,
for sure, and for those of you that don't know,
I don't know, this has just been interesting to me.
But we're like a day away from Toyota
sort of unveiling what they've been teasing
the past few days of three new cars,
one of them a racing car,
but the GRGT, which is,
I don't think they want to call it an LFA replacement,
because the LFA was expensive and so good
and 10 cylinder and that.
And was he so good?
I don't know, it's probably a show
for different things.
Did you drive an LFA?
Oh, I drove a bunch of them
and I went to the track with them.
Yeah, I think it's that good.
I went to Nürburgring with it.
I mean, I love the best,
one of the best-selling engines of all time.
That's it, that's the selling point.
It's just the engine.
I thought the rest of the car was a bit like,
well, yeah, nice, but not like,
it doesn't deserve it's like otherworldly reputation.
It's just the engine's unbelievable.
The engine's unbelievable and that's enough.
Like for me, that was enough.
Because, yes, I didn't really,
I don't really think I drove one on the street.
I just drove it on the track for a couple of them.
I got taken around the Nürburgring Nordschleife
by one of the test drivers,
was it Toshiyo Suzuki,
who spoke not a word of English.
There was no telling him to slow down.
And he was just like pointing out or...
He was in a race suit and a helmet
and I was in like a borrowed helmet and jeans.
And I do remember like him applying
quite significant corrections at times
and me thinking, yeah,
this is kind of exciting, but.
Yeah, that's gonna get horribly wrong.
Anyway, so Toyota's gonna have this new,
I don't wanna say super car, it's a sports car,
and then something else.
I don't even remember what the third car was.
Yeah, I mean, they've got,
you look at their range now,
they've got a real spread
and they're trying to bring a bit more excitement
back into stuff and a lot of it came from the top.
Toyota's on at the top of the business
was a real car guy and yeah,
it's, yeah, they're doing well
and I think, you know, of all the companies,
they're the one that's kind of
bet the right way at the moment.
We're gonna do hybrids, we're not gonna go,
we're not gonna bet the farm on EV.
Yes, and this sports car or whatever it's gonna be,
the GR GTs, what they're calling it
is gonna be a V8 hybrid, as far as we know, right?
They're saying we don't need the V10.
Hybrid is the business model, right?
That's what they've been pushing
as the experts in hybrid technology.
So this should be a hybrid.
But look, if you get one out to UDRAX,
if it's anything like that E-Ray
or that Carrera T hybrid.
Yeah, it's getting, everything's getting a bit fast.
You want the ZR,
the Z, you know, wherever it can,
can we beat the ZR1 and I don't know,
ZR1X is the one that we're waiting for.
Yeah, ZR1X, that'll be interesting.
All right, we're gonna wrap things up.
Anything else we got?
No, I think we'll probably talk next week
about, you know, BMW iX3, which is a huge deal for them.
You know, another EV,
but it's very much kind of a generational shift for BMW.
So there's a, you know, there's a lot more coming from them,
which will be both gas and electric.
Yeah, new three series, electric and gas three series.
There's gonna have, you know,
different range of power trains.
There's, you know, normally we get into this time of year
and things quiet and down.
Frankly, this time of year, it's a bit crazy.
So, you know, we are working relentlessly.
Yeah, all right.
All right, so we'll be back next week.
Thanks so much for listening.
Until then, keep the air and the spare
and the bag and the wheel.
The holidays mean more travel, more shopping,
more time online, and more personal info
and more places that could expose you
more to identity theft.
But LifeLock monitors millions of data points per second.
If your identity is stolen,
our US based restoration specialists
will fix it guaranteed or your money back.
Don't face drained accounts, fraudulent loans,
or financial losses alone.
Get more holiday fun and less holiday worry with LifeLock.
Save up to 40% your first year.
Visit lifelock.com slash special offer.
Terms apply.
Here we have the limo emu in its natural habitat,
helping people customize their car insurance
and save hundreds with Liberty Mutual.
Fascinating.
It's accompanied by his natural ally, Doug.
Uh, limo, is that guy with the binoculars watching us?
Cut the camera. They see us.
Only pay for what you need at libertymutual.com.
Liberty, Liberty, Liberty, Liberty.
Savings very underwritten by Liberty Mutual Insurance Company
and affiliates exclusive Massachusetts.
Mariette Bonvoy is the official hotel partner
of US soccer.
Join Mariette Bonvoy today to get closer to the game
with exclusive perks, unforgettable experiences,
and benefits that go beyond the pitch.
Spring Hill Suites, part of Mariette Bonvoy,
offers complimentary hot breakfast
and spacious all-suite accommodations perfect
for the whole team, with room for up to six guests.
Make your next getaway a win.
Learn more at springhillsuites.mariette.com.
I'm here on the job site with Dale,
who's a framing contractor.
Hey, good morning.
Dale traded up to Geico commercial auto insurance
for all his business vehicles.
We're here where he needs his most.
Yep, they sure are.
We make it easy for him to save
on all his insurance needs, all in one place,
with coverage that fits his business and bottom line.
Oh, I shouldn't have looked down.
It's all right.
We're so far up here.
Look at me.
Take a deep breath.
No, I'm good.
So good.
Get a commercial auto insurance quote today at Geico.com
and see how much you could save.
It feels good to Geico.
Let's be honest.
The idea of buying a car is exciting,
but actually doing it, not so much.
Dealers calling you, asking you when can you come in,
bait and switch sales tactics, yuck,
and you definitely don't want to spend an hour
listening to a guy named Rick check with his manager.
That's why Car Edge's AI negotiator is a game changer.
It contacts the dealer and does the haggling for you
and it costs less than tank of gas.
It's powered by real-time market data
and trained to spot dealer tactics and pricing patterns
so it knows exactly what to push back on
to get you the best deal.
Here's how it works.
You pick the car you want,
Car Edge creates an anonymous email and phone number for you
and then your AI agent reaches out to the dealer
on your behalf and handles the entire negotiation.
No weird phone calls, no pressure sales tactics,
and no quote, I can knock $200 off the price
if you buy it today, nonsense.
The AI goes back and forth with dealers
until it hits the best price.
You get the full chat history,
full transparency, and zero headaches.
It's like sending in a car buying assistant
with zero patience for sales tactics.
You can try it today back at caredge.com slash AI.
That's caredge.com slash AI.
About this episode
Driving impressions of the new Nissan Leaf highlight its significant improvements over earlier models, boasting over 300 miles of range and a more SUV-like design. Alistair shares his thoughts on the 911 Carrera T, praising its manual transmission and driving experience, but notes the tall gearing limits its performance enjoyment. The episode also features a thrilling U-Drags race between the Corvette E-Ray and the Porsche 911 GTS, showcasing the strengths of both vehicles in a competitive setting. Insights into the current EV market and Toyota's upcoming sports car announcements add depth to the discussion.