The Dacia Duster is an affordable SUV that people can use for both city driving and outdoor adventures. It's popular because it gives you a lot of space and features without costing too much money.
The MG7 is a new car from the MG brand, which is known for making stylish and affordable cars. The 2026 model is expected to have updated features and a modern look.
An ELSD helps your car's wheels grip the road better by controlling how much power goes to each wheel. This is especially useful when driving on wet or slippery surfaces.
The Hyundai i30 is a small car that people like because it's stylish and good for everyday use. It's a popular choice for those who want a reliable vehicle that doesn't cost too much.
This is a type of engine that has four cylinders and can hold two liters of air and fuel. The turbocharger helps it produce more power without using more fuel, making it efficient for a car.
Newton-meters are a way to measure how strong an engine is when it turns. More newton-meters usually mean the car can speed up faster and pull heavier loads.
The Ford EcoSport is a small SUV that sits higher off the ground, which makes it easier to see when driving. It's a good option for people who want a little more space and flexibility in a vehicle without going for a full-sized SUV.
An RLSD is a type of differential that helps your car's wheels get the right amount of power to avoid slipping. It reacts to how you're driving to keep the car stable.
MG is a car brand from Britain that makes sporty cars and SUVs. It has been around for a long time, starting in the 1920s, and is known for its fun and affordable vehicles.
A digital rear view mirror is a high-tech version of a regular mirror that shows you what's behind your car using a camera instead of just reflecting what's there. It can help you see better, especially if something is blocking your view.
A self-parking feature is a technology in some cars that helps you park by itself. The car uses sensors to find a parking spot and then turns the steering wheel to park without you needing to do much.
The Hyundai Santa Fe is a type of SUV that offers a lot of space and comfort for passengers. It's a good option for families or anyone needing extra room for their stuff.
MSRP is the price that the car maker suggests you should pay for a new car. It's like a starting point for how much a car costs before any discounts or negotiations.
The Hyundai Ioniq 6 is a new electric car that looks stylish and is designed to be very efficient. It's part of Hyundai's push to offer more electric vehicles.
The Hyundai Palisade is a large family SUV that offers plenty of room for passengers and cargo. It's known for being comfortable and having a lot of modern features.
The Ferrari Luce is a car that Ferrari designed to show what they might build in the future. It has a unique look and features that highlight luxury and performance.
The Ferrari Testarossa is a famous sports car that was made in the 1980s and 1990s. It has a unique look and is known for being very fast and powerful.
The Ferrari SF90 is a high-performance sports car that uses both gas and electric power. It's known for being very fast, but people are finding that its value drops quickly when they try to sell it.
The Ferrari 458 is a popular sports car that many people love for its speed and design. It tends to keep its value better than some newer models, making it a more desirable option for buyers.
The Porsche Taycan is a high-end electric car made by Porsche. It's known for being fast and having advanced technology, and it's one of the first electric cars from a luxury brand.
A steering lock is a device that stops the steering wheel from moving, so a thief can't drive the car away. Unfortunately, some of these locks can be cut through quickly, making them not very useful for keeping your car safe.
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When I first stabbed the throttle in that hour
and it almost pulled my face off,
I was like, what the hell is this?
You can just tell he's living and breeding those revs.
Oh, she sounds horny for you, mate.
Jesus.
The Driver's Show.
Paul Merrick and Gordy Waters.
This is our first episode of The Friggin' Year.
I know, and it's already the...
We're already in Feb, isn't that crazy?
Yeah, it's already Feb.
I'm sorry I've been absent.
Yeah.
Daddy's been working.
Daddy has been working.
Someone's got to pay the bills.
Not very hard.
Are you in the...
Is that the work office?
Yes.
Yeah, this is our work office.
Our expert.
And a porch over here on the wall.
Just the tip facing the other head.
Yeah, it's the place to be in his place to be.
Yeah, it looks like a commission house in that corner.
Yeah, what, Victoria?
Yeah, it looks like one of the buildings.
Looks like one of the tall commission flats in South Melbourne.
Yeah, one of the ones that Dan knocked up.
I thought he knocked him down.
Oh, they're still good on him.
Wonder how he's going.
How are you guys?
Let's talk business because we haven't chatted for a while.
There was a fight.
There wasn't a fight, but summer happened.
Summer was glorious.
I did some road trips.
I didn't know it's my lack of haircut.
It's a thing, that haircut.
Yeah, I got the inspiration from Donna's Bush.
Yeah, yeah, that's matted and just in dire need of attention.
Well, you would know.
Do you know what?
I've been looking at some of your car videos reluctantly.
What is going on?
Speaking of matted and needing attention,
what is going on with the fly situation and your proving ground?
Like there are several dead bodies or Donna hasn't put her undies on.
Like it honestly looks like you're filming in a third world country.
Have you thought about what the situation is?
Well, you're not far off it.
Yeah, so there's basically farms just nearby
and basically with the farms, it just seems to attract flies
that, you know, fester on all the shit that the cows leave on the ground.
And we have these, you know, in virus safe canister things
that we fill up and they just end up being full of maggots
and flies after hours.
Like it is out of control.
I just can't even describe how bad it is.
It's on another level.
If you've ever been to Central Australia,
like to airstroke during like summer
when it is actually hot there, it is just insane.
It is just like that.
So yeah.
Yeah, I don't think anything can deal with that.
I don't think anything can deal with that.
You could probably look at Donna's Venus fly trap.
Yes, that's trapped a few in its time.
It just looks like a demigod, a demigog.
Oh, wait, that's a butthole.
That's bubbly penis.
But it's great.
There's like in the chalet, which is like the building that we used.
You call that the chalet, the fucking.
Well, that's just what it's named.
They named it that.
But it's full of like huntsman spiders.
And they love it because they feast on flies.
They what I learned just by observation,
they don't have webs.
So what they do is they sit there
and they can sit still for like days.
And then when the flies come,
they just literally will just slowly move over
to where the fly is and then just run sideways
and just eat the fly.
So these guys just feast on these flies.
So whenever they come inside the building,
I'm like, no, no, you just follow me champ
because you're about to get mulled
by about seven of these huntsman spiders.
So it is fantastic to watch.
So, yeah, anyway, anyway, cars.
Cars, have you driven anything fun?
Like before we dive into the actual cars,
like what sort of cars have you kind of been jumping in?
What's been what's been tickling the parvley pickle?
You know what, over Chrissy,
I spent time in the Volvo EX90.
So that is the full electric seven seat Volvo.
And I'll tell you what,
while the pricing I think is a little expensive,
the car itself and the sound system is on another planet.
I've reviewed, have been reviewing cars now for like 20 years.
And this is well and truly the best sound system
in any car I've ever tested.
So in the top spec version,
they have things called the Ultra.
It's a 1000 Wilkins sound system, like 1800 Watts.
It's got immersives to round sound through the headrests.
It is genuinely spectacular.
They've done such a good job
and actually have this sound profile called Abbey Road
or Abbey Road Studios,
where they actually sampled the sound at Abbey Road Studios
and use it within the car.
So basically the theory is that any music
that is recorded at Abbey Road,
they're able to translate to the car
to make you feel like you're there.
So it's pretty cool as a muso yourself.
I was going to say, what are you listening to?
Because I mean, apart from our podcast, I can't imagine.
I want you to guess any sort of music.
I don't listen to the shrieking noise when Steph's on,
but I try and...
Or is that you?
I don't know where that comes from, but...
Yeah, it's Steph talking about her young day.
I mean, it's Flytrap.
What music do you think I listen to?
Because I'm just curious to know.
I think you would listen to some
year old-time village Croatian music.
Yeah, so from that, a bit of turbo dance.
And now it is time for Pavle's flute.
And now it is time for another song.
Well, if you get a Ugo with surround sound,
that tune kind of goes okay in there.
Oh, yeah.
But really, aside from folk music, traditional folk music,
what do you think I listen to?
Have you lost a couple of KJs?
No, I've just been working out.
Just in that black t-shirt.
Pump an iron?
Yeah, thanks for noticing my weight, that's too,
but that's okay.
Oh, that's the hair that's...
Yeah.
Yeah, go on.
Oh, maybe...
Yeah, maybe.
You'd probably listen to a bit of Bad Buddy
after the Super Bowl.
You're like, oh, I like that Latin American stuff.
I don't know what Bad Buddy is, but...
What do you think?
I listen to a little bit of everything.
So, the tune that really did a good number.
No, I'm kidding.
Okay, tell me what do you listen to.
Go on, get it.
Just a bit of everything, a bit of everything.
A bit of Ramstein, a bit of Metallica.
A bit of Duhast.
Pearl Jam, yeah, Duhast.
Yeah, I don't know, a bit of everything.
A bit of dance, sort of trance music.
I just like a bit of everything.
I'm not like you.
I don't just listen to Justin Bieber
and whatever else is on your radio program.
Just going through your Spotify playlist here.
Oh, you do have some weird choices.
Ramstein is your top for Spotify rap.
Second is World War II, 1940s music.
Okay, that's weird.
Bit of Ramstein.
That's fucking throwing me.
Yeah, yeah.
Yeah, Duster Stainless Zulpa.
You know something we've both hopped in
and probably listened to a bit of Ramstein together
is the 2026 MG7.
Yeah, Billy.
Can I ask you, first impressions of that interior?
Jeez, because we have the same, pretty much the same car.
Yeah, look, it is out there.
Ours was sort of that burgundy sort of in-your-face sort of thing.
But the thing that got me first was when I unlocked it
and the Transformers spoiler sort of rose from the boot.
I thought that was pretty out there.
You see that sort of spoiler.
What did I last see then?
I'm not a Panamera.
Like it is literally a Porsche spoiler.
They've just stuck in this $40,000 car.
I think the thing that impressed me the most,
I wasn't sort of sure what to expect
because it's detuned compared to the Chinese version.
Up until recently, we actually had quite a high sulfur content
in our regular-run leaded fuel.
And it meant that a lot of manufacturers
wouldn't bring certain engines to Australia
because our fuel quality wasn't up to scratch.
So now that that has been fixed,
manufacturers are bringing in the full-fat versions
of their engines because they know that the engine won't disintegrate
because of our sulfur content.
What surprised me with that was despite the fact it is detuned,
it still goes like shit off a shovel.
They've got an ELSD fitted to it.
It's got sort of raspy little exhaust.
It's got plenty of punch for what it is,
and it really is reminiscent of something like the i30 Sedan inline.
I think that they've really struck a good balance there.
Yeah, I think it's a good all-rounder.
Yeah, I thought it was a good car too.
I thought that the...
I didn't find it as punchy as impressively punchy as maybe you did.
I thought they could have done a lot more with that.
That's the thing, they've detuned it.
So that's why I was like, for what it is, it's okay,
but can you imagine if it had an extra 20 kilowatts of power,
which is kind of what they've detuned it from,
and it'd actually be pretty crazy.
Yeah, you're not getting a Golf R or anything like that inside this,
but you're getting something that's, I guess, warm to heart.
It's a mid-sized Sedan.
I think it looks the part on the outside.
The design looks sweet.
It looks really good. That spoiler's great.
I mean, for what, around 45,000 before drive away,
you get in a lot of car.
Two-liter turbocharged four-cylinder.
Roughly, I think it was about 380 newton-meters talk.
I can't remember, but it is all-round a great little mid-sized Sedan.
And I'll tell you what was really a standout in this,
compared to a few MG products that I've tested recently,
is the software in it.
Like, I loved how, when you can change it to normal EcoSport or whatever,
and then, I don't know what they call it, SuperSport,
or you push the button.
Yeah, you had, like, custom settings.
So, you could actually...
They had, like, a little Spyder graph-style thing
that you could actually move things around the bubble
so that you could have, like, sort of limited stability control,
full exhaust, you know, soft steering.
And you could just control every element of this.
And I think, to me, normally, they only fit ELSDs
to fairly high-end sporting cars, like a Golf GTI or something.
The fact that they've been able to cram it into this,
most cars in this segment are just going to be using
a standard sort of brake traction control system
that isn't anywhere near as sophisticated as a proper RLSD that this has.
So, it means that when you're coming out of a corner
and you lay the throttle in, it will actually hook up.
You're not going to be spinning up an inside wheel.
So, that tech alone is worth a whole lot more than the price tag
would suggest. So, yeah, I was pretty surprised,
but I didn't think it'd be anywhere near as sort of engaging as it was.
And I think, for that kind of money,
they've actually done a pretty decent job with it.
Yeah, I agree. I think everything is in this that you'd want.
I mean, this is what a $45,000 car should look like.
You know, it's the interior. Even the burgundy,
it's got, like, a bit of a porn star vibe about it.
But I like it. I really think it's...
I like that they're taking a ballsy kind of bravery to this sort of stuff
because no one's doing sedans.
You don't see it a lot. You know what I mean?
Yeah, that stuff's technically dead with every other brand,
but here they are releasing something that no one else is really doing.
So, it's good to see them being a little adventurous
instead of just rolling out yet another SUV that just is just like every other SUV.
This is kind of a little out there and it shows you...
It kind of goes back to where MG was when it was, you know, sportier cars.
You know, they're now back at sort of experimenting with a bit of that, which is cool.
Yeah, and I think that's what they've been doing a little bit.
I mean, that EV, what was that? Cyberster or whatever?
I mean, yeah, I know that's a niche car, but again,
it's kind of cool that they're doing that sort of stuff,
that they're sort of releasing just out there unique cars, you know?
Yeah, totally.
Speaking of MG, the IM5 performance, I just spent a week with that old girl.
That thing, when I first stabbed the throttle in that
and it almost pulled my face off, I was like, what the hell is this?
It is so fast. I was not expecting that.
I do not want a faster car than the IM5 performance.
It's so quick. It's so quick.
And because it's that linear EV torque, it's just such a different feel.
And it doesn't give up either, like you think, whoa, okay.
All right, here we go. It just keeps going and going and goes ballistically quick.
What do you think of the design?
Yeah, look, the design, I know styling is subjective,
but while the outside was okay, I just thought the inside was a bit,
it was just a bit much.
And I found it all just a little bit confusing to have, you know,
getting through the menus and stuff, it was just a lot going on.
And perhaps I needed a bit more time for the car, but it was just a lot happening.
So to me, it was kind of a bit, it was a bit full on,
but I think as an owner of the car, you'd eventually get used to it.
You'd understand all the little bits and pieces,
but just the screens being everywhere and having to faff around with them to do basic things.
I thought the ride was a little bit sloppy as well.
Like it was more catered towards softness.
So when you really sort of got stuck into it, it just didn't feel as
capable as it could be as a sports vehicle.
So it does feel like it really just gone.
It feels like a big GT kind of sedan.
Exactly.
It is a bit like that.
The styling on the outside, I thought the exterior is quite nice.
I mean, I saw many pictures and videos of that and I was a bit sort of,
I think this is one of those occasions where it definitely looks a lot better in the flesh.
It's got a lot of presidents.
It turns a lot of heads.
I can tell you right now that people don't know what it is.
Yeah.
That's the problem.
You drive around, it turns heads, but people don't know what it is.
And I think that's probably the biggest issue they've got.
People, you see it and you're like, oh, that car's cool.
And you're like, what the hell was that?
And it's got no real identification of kind of what it is.
And I think that's probably the biggest miss here,
that it is tricky to understand what the car is if you're just sort of catching it at a glance.
Yeah.
People aren't realizing like the IM, I guess, is the luxury derivative of MG,
kind of like Lexus is to Toyota.
I can tell you, there's all the screens.
And I feel like this car almost has its own driving language,
because inside the stalk is very different to a lot of cars.
I mean, it's sort of maybe a bit similar to the Hyundai products where you have the stalk.
But you've literally got two stalks.
Right hand side is your gear selector.
And you're just kind of turning it.
And after a while, this language, you kind of speak fluently because you're kind of going,
OK, forward, backwards.
The left is going to be indicators and the wiper as well,
which is just a push button in it.
It's all very kind of, once you know that these are the two simple tasks that these things do,
you do get used to it.
The visibility in that rear window is non-existent.
That was actually the thing.
Yeah, that was the thing that annoyed me the most.
Just not being able to see out the back of it.
And I think that is a massive miss.
And especially the fact that you don't have a digital rear view mirror to properly look out of it.
That would have been an easy fix for that.
Well, I'm surprised that they didn't do that.
I mean, it's just the most obvious thing.
They should have just completely done what the Polestar do, blacked it all out,
and put a camera on there because there's no point in having there.
I tell you one thing that blew my mind and this thing does really well.
And I'm surprising myself by saying this out loud.
The self-parking feature on this, I think it's great.
Did you test it?
No, you see, for me, self-parking is putting it in reverse and just doing it myself.
Yeah.
I can see why someone like you with that hair cut had made assistance.
I knew you were going to say that.
I knew you were going to say that.
I just think with the way the zero visibility in the back window there,
you kind of need this thing.
And at the start, I sort of thought, here we go.
This is going to be a real gimmick.
This is self-parking.
It's not a case of, should this be here?
They're putting it because it can be here.
After a while, though, using some of these car parks that I've got a park in,
which are very fucking cramped and all that sort of stuff,
it is as easy as anything.
I mean, yeah, it's easy to fucking do a normal park,
but when you're just sitting there, board shitless or whatever,
and it's actually really amazing.
They should be implementing these in a lot.
My mum would fucking use it all the time.
So yes, the performance on this is ballistic.
The way that the stalks go, it does take a bit of time to getting used to it.
The parking fetch is really cool.
What I do love is those middle screens are customizable.
So when you do get used to this car a little bit,
things like throwing it in sports mode is as simple as you've already put
a little toggle on the middle screen there.
So it's all kind of there.
It's all ready to go.
I think it's one of those cars where if you're owning it, you'll get it.
Although you might not be able to get it in this variant for very much longer,
if those little pop-out door handles are anything to go by,
because we're going to talk about that a bit later.
China is ruling those little things out, but we'll get to that.
Can I just do a quick shout out?
No.
Okay, good.
Let's move on.
No, I want to, hey, I want to quickly shout out
to Yunday, to the good folk at Yunday.
So I've been in their Santa Fe, right?
So I had that for most of the summer, and it's just a base.
It's a base-bish, and you know what?
You really, I was thinking about this thing.
You get a lot of car for 50 grand, 55 maybe to drive away,
but roughly about 50,000 bucks.
This thing is, it doesn't look cheap.
It still looks like the top spec on the outside, at least.
Anyway, a seven seat car.
That Santa Fe, it is such a big car.
If you compare it to the old one, it was just such a big change
in terms of styling, but also size.
And I think that you are getting incredible value for money with it.
Yeah, absolutely.
Seven seats, like I'm driving this thing around,
and it's got cloth seats.
And you know how I feel about cloth seats?
I like something I can easily wipe down.
Like I like to remove the evidence, you know what I mean?
Yeah, not add to it.
No, especially when Trevor's in the car.
I mean, he's got IBS.
He has one dodgy sausage roll, which he does.
There's quite a bit of sharding going on.
So yeah, like the little checkered cloth seats that I've got going on in there,
quite like them, quite stylish.
I mean, it's still got like the same engine you're pretty much going to get in a top spec.
You've still got heated seats in this thing.
Seven of them as well.
You get in seven seats.
A lot of the time we talk about what we don't get in some of these base models.
It just doesn't feel like it lacks anything.
It feels like the sort of family car you could still do road trips,
still pick up the kids, still put all the shit that you're not going to use
when you buy this crap at Bunnings.
You know, it just feels like a really decent buy.
Yeah. Yeah, I completely agree.
I think that it's one of those surprise packages.
I think it's just the styling that's just a bit much for people.
And I think they're actually already working on an update for it.
We saw some spy photos of that testing, I think, in the States.
So I think they've taken that feedback on board and they're refining it a bit.
And I think they're a little gun shy after the Ionix 6 and how that sort of looked.
And it still looks effectively.
I think that was the biggest issue for them.
They don't really want to stick with some of that adventurous stuff.
I think what they'll probably do with the design language a little bit is
match it more towards the Palisade.
Yeah, they'll match it more to the Palisade a little bit.
They'll do something with those really sharp headlights at the back.
And yeah, I mean, the Palisade actually looks decent.
You look at some of the cars in their range and they're all just quite a bit out there.
Palisade has that sort of decent vibe to it.
It looks sort of very big and impressive as well.
It's a very sort of different looking vehicle.
Very much like myself.
Just big and impressive.
With that haircut, that haircut's big and impressive.
Do you know one thing we're not going to agree on?
The Ferrari Luce.
So the interior.
I think we're not going to agree on it.
Well, because here's the thing.
The designs have been like the interior shots have come out.
These are, I think Ferrari got the people who used to work for Apple
and who were responsible for things like the iPhone.
What is it?
The fucking iMac.
I've got like a lot of Apple products and I don't even know the name of them.
What is it?
The iMac?
The fucking something.
Yeah, the iLaptop.
All those sorts of bits and pieces.
And you can actually see it.
You can really look at the, I think one of them is actually an Aussie designer too.
But you look at these interior shots that are coming out
and the materials and the brush, metal and all that sort of stuff.
It looks very iPhone-ish.
You know what I mean?
Well, that's the thing.
I have no issues with the actual design.
I think all the design elements look fantastic.
The problem is that they should have all of those design elements in their other cars.
At the moment, you go by the new Testerossa and it's just full of screams and all this stuff
that Ferrari owners have already told them they don't want.
So why would you then go put analog gauges in the electric car?
Why not put the analog gauges in the internal combustion stuff that people are still buying?
That's the thing I just don't get.
Unless they're planning on taking that luce design and putting it in the rest of their cars,
then, you know, great.
But I just don't think that's the case.
And I think here they've gone really adventurous with the styling and the styling
to, in my mind, works well.
It's just cool and different to every other car on the road.
But I just don't know that this is the correct car to be applying it on.
I think it's the right car to be applying it on.
I think if you're going to do anything, I mean, they're going with an EV,
like a car that's already turned up the nose of so many purists.
I think if you're going to put a try anything bold, one, they're doing that by making an EV anyway.
Secondly, they may as well fill it with something that is, I wouldn't even say risky.
I would just sort of say a completely new design language.
Do you know what I mean?
Like why?
Why fucking take the risk?
I just think the EV is a mistake to start with because you can insert any brand name from China.
It will be faster than the Ferrari, guaranteed.
It will probably handle better because it doesn't need to have
all the luxury stuff that the Ferrari needs to be able to accept.
So I think they're making an EV is just a pointless exercise,
but I know that they have to do it.
They have to, yeah.
But I just think that it is going to be a big problem.
Well, I mean, when you're forced to do something, fuck, they've got, what do you want them to do?
They're forced to do it.
They've kind of got to do it.
You don't have to make an EV.
Well, you don't have to, but Jesus, you're going to fall behind a lot.
Like, and who knows?
You're not falling behind because your owners aren't going to buy it.
You never know.
I'm happy to be proven wrong, but they're already seeing big issues with resale values
on their plug-in hybrid cars and interest in their plug-in hybrid cars.
So I just think doing a full EV, you're just going down the path of the stuff
that your customers are already telling you they don't really like.
All right.
Well, Pavle won't be getting in a Ferrari anytime soon.
That's fine.
But you look at SF90s, like the second hand value of those is horrifically bad compared to,
like, a 458 or a 488.
That's a sitting bargain.
It's like back when the Taycan was released, that was a $400,000, $500,000 car.
That's $200,000.
And have a look at them today.
The sales have completely tanked.
You can actually pick some up for around about $120,000.
Yeah.
That's the problem.
Yep.
Hey, earlier, just what we were talking about with the Chinese EVs,
they've ruled out the pop-out door handles.
And there's been a few reports that people getting their fucking hands caught in them or something.
No.
So the problem is people are getting involved in accidents.
And there was this horrific clip of one car that had a crash.
And the problem they have with a lot of electric vehicles
is that if they are in a serious enough crash, if you do get thermal runaway,
it happens so fast that if the intense heat doesn't kill you,
the toxic flames that are immediately emitted will kill you.
And they had this video, CCTV, vision of a guy that had an accident with his family in the car.
And he was able to pull most of the people out of the car except one person.
That person, unfortunately, was burned to death.
And part of the reason they couldn't get them out was because these door handles
wouldn't pop out.
And they were linked to the car's electric system.
The electric system failed when it had it short and had this thermal runaway event.
And as a result of that, this person died in the car.
And now what China is doing is they're saying, look, we're basically going to say,
from first to Jan next year, you need to have door handles that measure a certain size.
They've said that it's six centimetres by two centimetres by 2.5.
And they need to be there in order to release the door manually in the event of a failure.
And inside the car, you need to have clear labelling to show how the doors are meant to open.
Because that's the other issue at the moment.
If you're in the second row of a Tesla, good luck to you if you want to get out of there.
Because if the electrics do fail, your manual release is buried under the carpet behind a
plastic cover.
And you're never going to be able to find it in the event that you need to find it in a hurry,
or if you're in the back of an Uber.
So there's a lot of good reasons behind this.
And I think it is a move that is well and truly overdue.
Yeah, I think these door handles too, a lot of them, even though there are some that are,
what would you call them, like recessed, always kind of there,
they still rely on an electronic mechanism too, right?
Yeah, exactly.
And you'll find in a lot of European cars that they have manual overrides,
even on their sort of electric exterior door handles.
But for some reason, China went away from that.
It became popular and now they're sort of being pulled back into line,
which I think is a good thing.
So any car that is on sale in China will likely have this type of thing filtered down to it.
So like the new BMW ix3 has got similar door handles to this.
I'll be curious to see what happens longer term with some of these other brands.
Hey, you know what? I want to bring this up, right?
You know, when you put like a Chinese EV on your on your socials or on your on YouTube or whatever,
and you're always going to get the comments like,
it's like one, they've looked at the review of the car like it's there,
and then they've decided to comment.
And yeah, you kind of ask them, well, hang on, have you, have you driven this car?
No, and I never will.
It's like, oh God, I'm not one to reply to the haters and or acknowledge them.
But fucking hell, like, do you know how dumb you sound?
They don't, evidently.
Yeah, that is kind of the issue that a lot of these people haven't driven the cars.
And while they want to be for everyone, there is a huge subset of the market at the moment
that is under cost of living pressures.
And they want a new car and they don't want to spend, you know, twice as much on a Toyota
just because it's got a Toyota badge.
So there are plenty of buyers for these cars.
And if you are not one of them, that is perfectly fine.
You go spend double the money or extra on whatever brand you want.
No dramas.
That's kind of it too.
But it's such a pigheaded fucking way of looking at life.
It's like, why don't you go out?
Just please just go out and test drive something.
Go go jump in an MG4 or something like that or or not a Tesla, but just, you know,
go drive something and then say their shit and then just and genuinely mean if you think
they're shit, say their shit.
But yeah, exactly.
You can have an opinion then.
Yeah.
Exactly.
Yeah, just fucking pissing me off.
That's all.
Get off your high horse mate.
That's all I wanted to say.
Hey, we should wrap.
I'll see if we've got any questions because I didn't put any out there.
No, here we go.
I open bloody Instagram.
Look at this.
Look at this.
Look at this guy.
That's just that handsome guy.
I'll see if I can bring this up to the camera.
What is he fucking even doing?
What a handsome devil.
It's frozen on you and you're just doing the biggest like
Toyota has announced a new product as a solution for driver suffering from
car thefts and official Toyota steering wheel lock.
Thanks, Nathan or Tristan.
Can I tell you what we've done?
Thanks for the info, Tristan.
We went and bought the $200 Toyota steering lock along with like a $15 one and then another
$175 one and took to them with an angle grinder.
It took 30 seconds to get through it, so they are effectively useless.
If you own a steering lock, you may as well just go scratch your back with it because it is redundant
as a car security feature.
Yeah, thanks.
Thank you, 1994.
Yeah, but it is comical that that is Toyota's solution to car thefts.
They've got this issue where their cars have terribly insecure,
unsecure security systems and their solution is a $200 club lock that they claim is made of
automotive grade steel.
So fucking silly.
Which is hilarious.
Yeah, I mean like what about those things you can buy off Timo that are kind of like
scrambling chips and that sort of stuff and opening up cars?
Yeah, I mean all of those devices can kind of do that.
You've just got so many devices out there that are able to disable a vehicle that
yeah, it's actually not funny because it is quite out of control at the moment.
But Toyota should be at the fact that they're charging customers $200 for this.
I mean if this is your solution, it should be free, not $200 when it's weak as piss.
And then the other thing as well is that they are working on other solutions like an immobiliser
and other things as well, but judging how much they're charging for this steering lock,
I suspect the immobiliser is going to be in the thousands of dollars and I just do not
think their customers should be paying for that.
Being a two-pronged steering lock, I did see Donna with yours.
Nice to see it went to a happy spot.
She made it disappear very quickly.
She stopped, didn't she just?
You've ever seen that movie The Neverending Story?
Donna Copperfield.
Yeah, it was just like engulfing and just like
just slowly sinking.
Then that's just me belly button, darling.
Hey, I'll let me pop it up.
Let me just, let me get it in the right hole.
There you go.
Geez.
Anyway, if you have any emails or any questions, contact at thedrivershow.com.au.
If you're so inclined, you can leave us a rating.
You can write Gordy's haircut as well if you want.
I mean, that's, that's a thing.
I've had a gupful of these haircut jokes.
You've had a gupful of a look of it.
It's a five-star.
What are you talking about?
I'm looking for a trim.
What was I going to say to you?
I don't know now.
You've really fucking thrown me off with your mean comments.
Give me a little joy haircut.
You've had a freshie.
That's why.
Yeah, mine's not bad.
Mine goes all right.
Your case all right for the fucking $30.
Actually, did you just go to one of those, those $20 like Croatian specials where they
rub like just, just cuts?
Yeah. No, it's not.
It's like, what's Croatian for just cuts?
Two.
Give me a second.
This will be worth it.
Unlikely.
Let's get a chat.
Cheap it here.
Hey there.
What's up?
Hey there.
How do you say just cuts in Croatian?
In Croatian, you would say, Samošale.
Oh, Samošale, where they rub some berries and oils in there.
That is quite the scene.
I'm sure young Pavle would be ready to roll in that you go berries and all.
Sometimes a little humor is all you need to shine.
Oh, berries and all.
So will be.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Have you ever seen what Pavle looks like?
Chat, chat GPT.
I can't see Pavle or know what he looks like unless you showed me.
But hey, if he's rocking berries and oils,
I'm imagining he's got his own flair.
Yo, yeah, he's got some flair.
Why don't why don't you, why don't you Google car expert Paul Marek and tell me what you think of him?
This is intense.
And tonight on Beyond 2000.
Oh, here we go.
What did you?
What did you think of him?
Paul Marek is one of those familiar faces in the Aussie car scene.
Always got that polished car enthusiast vibe going on.
Whether he's test driving or reviewing,
you can just tell he's living and breeding those revs.
Oh, fuck, she sounds horny for you, mate.
Jesus.
Hey, I'm here for all the wild tangents you want.
Whether it's Pavle, Paul or your next big car obsession, I'm buckled in.
Oh, OK.
Jeez, you sound like a better co-host than fucking Steph.
We should chuck you on next week.
I'm flattered.
Just let me know when and I'll bring the virtual banter.
No coffee breaks needed.
You don't have a shitty old Hyundai XL by any chance, do you?
No Hyundai XL in my garage, just a whole lot of horsepower in the cloud.
But hey, I'm always ready to ride shotgun on your wildest adventures.
Sorry, I've got her on flooding mode.
Let me just turn that off before I...
Before you take it too far?
Yeah, before she puts a virus on my three and a half inch floppy.
Never yeah, I'd scream before.
Yeah, before she makes me download.
Anyway.
Sorry, this is so stupid.
All right, we're out.
Love you.
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About this episode
Paul and Gordy kick off the year with a lively discussion about their recent car experiences and personal anecdotes. They dive into the impressive features of the Volvo EX90, particularly its groundbreaking sound system, and share thoughts on the new MG7 sedan, highlighting its performance and unique design elements. The episode also touches on the challenges of dealing with flies at their proving ground and the humorous dynamics of their friendship, making for an entertaining listen filled with automotive insights and light-hearted banter.
We've driven a STACK of cars lately - from the bargain that is a base Hyundai Santa Fe, the bold, fun MG 7...and we talk about the interior of the new Ferrari Luce, Chinese EV door handles, Paul’s fly issue and Gordie’s hair issue.
If you haven't done so - subscribe to the show on your favourite podcast platform and hit us up at [email protected] if you have any questions you want us to read out on the show!
