Ep 101: The EV that broke Nicola, charging prices SLASHED and EV sales boom!
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Term
infotainment system
The infotainment system is the car’s screen and menu system. If it freezes or doesn’t respond, some controls may not work right. A reset can get it working again.
Term
heated steering
Heated steering wheels warm the steering rim using embedded heating elements. They’re controlled through the car’s climate/comfort UI, so a touchscreen/menu issue can prevent activation even if the hardware is fine. The host tries both the physical control and voice commands, but the feature doesn’t turn on.
Term
heated seats
Heated seats are seats with built-in warming. If the controls don’t work, the seat may not heat even when you want it. The host is trying different ways to get the menu to appear.
Term
voice control
Voice control is when you talk to the car to tell it what you want. Here, the host tries to use voice commands to turn on heated steering while driving, but it doesn’t work. That points to a problem beyond just pressing the button.
Concept
twin test
A “twin test” means they compare two very similar cars back-to-back. Since they’re closely related, it helps show what’s actually different when you drive them.
Concept
head to head
“Head-to-head” just means they’re comparing two cars directly, usually in the same kind of test conditions. That makes it easier to tell which one is better for real-world use.
Term
list price
List price is the sticker price you see before any deals or discounts. What you actually pay can be different once financing and promotions are included.
Term
brake pedal
The brake pedal isn’t just for stopping—some cars use it as a safety check before they’ll let you switch directions. If the car doesn’t “see” enough brake pressure, it may not shift.
Brand
Renault
Renault is a car brand. The speaker is saying their Renault cars had a similar “you have to press/hold things just right” behavior before the car will switch into Reverse or Drive.
Brand
electrifying.com
They mention electrifying.com as a website that will have EV reviews soon. It’s basically where you can read more about the cars they’re talking about.
Term
home charger
A home charger is a charging box you install at home so you can plug in your EV overnight. It’s usually easier and faster than relying on public chargers.
Concept
number plate changes
In the UK, car number plates change with the year. When the new ones come out, some people get excited and buy a newer car, so sales can jump for a short time.
Concept
new 26 number plate
The “26” is the UK’s registration identifier for that year/period. When it changes, it can make people want to buy a car that looks new and current.
Concept
plug in hybrids
Plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) are cars that combine a conventional engine with an electric motor and a battery that can be charged from an external power source. They’re often chosen as a “bridge” for buyers who want some electric driving but aren’t ready to go fully electric.
Concept
EV sales
EV sales just means how many electric cars people bought. When EV sales go up, it usually means more people are choosing electric cars.
Company
Octopus Energy
Octopus Energy is an energy company in the UK. They’re involved in EV programs, and here they’re offering a deal that can lower the cost of charging and parking for people who lease a car through them.
Term
kilowatt hour
A kilowatt-hour (kWh) is basically the amount of electricity you’re buying. If charging costs “X pence per kWh,” then the more electricity you put in, the more you pay.
Term
rapid charges
Rapid charging refers to faster public charging (often DC fast charging), designed to add meaningful range in a short time. It’s convenient, but it can be significantly more expensive per kWh than home charging, which affects whether people switch from petrol/diesel.
Term
off street parking
Off-street parking typically means having a driveway/parking space where you can install a home EV charger. Without it, drivers rely more on public charging, which can be more expensive and less convenient.
Brand
Jaguar
Jaguar is the British automaker being discussed in terms of its “rebranding” and product timing. The speaker’s concern is that delays (including furlough) could affect customer perception when new cars finally arrive. For listeners, this frames how brand strategy and release cadence can influence adoption of new models.
Concept
rebranding
Rebranding is when a company changes how it presents itself—its identity, messaging, and sometimes product direction. In automotive, rebranding often signals a shift in target customers, design language, or powertrain strategy. Here, it’s tied to whether Jaguar can keep momentum while waiting to launch new cars.
Car
Bentley Continental GT
Bentley’s Continental GT is a very luxurious “grand touring” car—built to feel smooth and expensive on long drives. If the speaker says another car reminds them of it, they mean it feels similarly heavy, comfortable, and premium.
Concept
electric virgin
They mean the aunt is new to electric cars—she hasn’t owned one before. The host is pointing out that getting someone comfortable with EVs can take some convincing.
Term
panoramic roof
A panoramic roof is a big glass section on the roof that lets more light into the car. It can make the cabin feel brighter and more spacious.
Term
reversing camera
A reversing camera shows what’s behind the car when you’re backing up. It helps you park more safely because you can see obstacles you might miss.
Concept
nine miles on the clock
That means the car has barely been driven—only about nine miles. It’s basically like buying new, but possibly for less money.
Car
Hyundai IONIQ 5
The Hyundai IONIQ 5 is an all-electric Hyundai SUV. People liked it because it looks cool, works well for everyday driving, and charges relatively quickly compared with older EVs.
Car
Kia EV6
The Kia EV6 is Kia’s all-electric SUV. It’s built on a shared EV platform with the Hyundai IONIQ 5, so it drives in a similar way, but it looks and feels different.
Term
costs $8.99 a month
The car’s connected features are charging a monthly fee. That means your ownership costs can go up after you buy the car.
Concept
connected services
Connected services are the online features in an EV that use a data connection. They can include things like live traffic and remote control features, sometimes for a monthly fee.
Car
Citroën C4
Citroën’s EC4 is an electric car. Here they’re talking about a charging-planning feature that’s supposed to help you route to chargers, and how well that software works in day-to-day use.
Car
Twingo
The Renault Twingo is used as an example of how low mass can make the ride feel better. The key idea is that lighter weight can help the suspension and dampers control motion over rough roads.
Term
subsidized
Subsidized means someone is helping pay part of the cost. They’re saying the Ami is cheaper in some places because it gets financial support, making the monthly payment much lower.
LIVE
Hello and welcome to the kilowatt half hour, a podcast about the world of EVs brought to you by the team at electrifying.com
Yes, we are back after stuffing our faces with Easter eggs and welcoming finally some warmer weather.
I'm going to say it, it's too hot.
Please don't hate me for saying it, I'm not designed for hot weather.
I'm really not, but probably by the time you're watching or listening to this, it's probably going to be snowing again in the UK.
But it's borderline too hot here in the UK.
Welcome to the podcast, I'm Nicola.
I'm Mike.
And I'm Vicki.
Now, obviously the weather is very pleasant, but I tell you what wasn't very pleasant last week was your swery Mary rant about,
we played your voice note about your poll star four.
Not working if you didn't tune into last week's podcast.
It was right at the end, but I think we have to look at the elephant in the room here and say it wasn't acceptable.
We also found there was a part two to your voice notes, which we found on the thing, which I'm going to play now because the first one was so popular.
Right, I've parked up at Cobham Services.
So now I can go in, have a wee.
So the software has a minute to give its head a wobble and consider how utterly sh** it is.
Okay. Okay.
Honestly.
And then I got an email from poll star going, oh, so are you just making sure you're up to date on the software?
I am.
Yeah, I am.
I'm all up to date.
There's nothing more I can do.
But yeah, here we are.
Screen goes dead again, again.
Oh, believe you me, I don't want to go to Newton either.
But here we are.
Okay, I'm going in for a wee now just in case you wanted to know that extra detail.
Okay, love you, bye.
Well, I mean, there you go.
I mean, we had so many comments about him.
Vicki, can you can you read a few of just a few of the ones we got?
Oh, just a just a small selection of the comments that we got after your last one there, Nick.
So missy one gunk.
Nicola is even funnier when she's angry at Fingalbat.
I think we should have Nicola's niggles as a regular feature where she rants on about real world issues and modern day car ownership.
I'm all for that.
Actually, hopefully they opted to include the massage seats to calm her down before being let loose on the roads at Jack Byron 2149.
Incredible ending to that episode.
Not sure which was funny and Nick and his recounting of the incident or Ginny's terrified reaction.
Yeah, we like to do a bit of public service broadcasting on the podcast.
So and being angry and swearing isn't a particularly good example to set the youngsters who might be tuning in and listening, Nicola.
Yeah.
So I want you to do your best.
I want you to help out here.
I want your best calming Mark Suspenser's voice over voice here.
I want you to explain to fellow Polestar 4 owners how they can reset their infotainments.
Let's turn a negative into a positive.
Now I found some nice relaxing music massage pan pipes music.
So in your own time.
To reset the infotainment system on the Polestar 4, simultaneously press and hold the cancel and driver display menu buttons on the steering wheel until the display change.
Then relax and enjoy as your car comes back to life.
But then can I also add in, right?
So this week, so this week, the screens have so far stayed on, right?
Bear in mind we're recording this on a Wednesday.
So there's still time for it to go.
But this week, for some reason, the heated seats and the heated steering button isn't working.
So I've been pressing it.
It's a little arrow and then it should come up with a little menu and the menu is just not coming up.
So I'm pressing it and then I would get out the car, lock and unlock it, get back in, press it again.
It's still not working.
And I know what you're thinking.
You can use a voice control.
Hey, guess what?
That doesn't work.
So I'm pressing the voice control while I'm driving.
I press it and it comes up with a menu saying, how can I help you?
And I'm going, please turn on my heated steering.
Please turn on my heated steering.
And it doesn't do it.
I understand it's warm today, but this morning it was chilly and I had very cold hands and a very cold bum and I wasn't happy about it.
Right.
Right.
Yeah.
Okay.
So I'm sensing there's the things aren't exactly running as planned with the four.
It's a lot of bits.
It's fine.
I was writing about it yesterday because I was updating my written review because obviously with a long term review,
we do a video and then we do written reviews as well.
And as I'm writing it, I could feel myself typing even harder than I normally would on my laptop.
Well, I was typing because the whole car just, it just makes me really angry, but it's fine.
We are having a positive day today.
We are here at the barn.
Well, I'm here at the barn having a lovely day filming and that's fine.
So let's, let's move things on.
Shall we?
Let's move things on.
What are you driving at the barn today?
Oh, well, we're actually doing a twin test today,
which is one that I think we should have done a while ago, but now we're here because the micro has landed in the UK.
So we are putting the micro head to head with the Renault five.
And I know what you're thinking.
That's crazy because they're the same car.
And basically, yes.
So that's why we're here filming at the barn today.
But do you know what I found?
Because we're using Ginny's long term or her Renault five, her Yoda that she likes to call him.
And in the boot is the paddles from the Škoda dogs.
Shoot that we did last time we were here at the barn.
And that that that was one of the most chaotic days.
I think I've ever had in motoring journalism was that day at the barn.
It was how many dogs did we have?
I lost count.
I think it was, I think it was seven because I had my two.
Then there were two Greyhounds Ginny's dog.
Then there was the local barn dog.
What's his name Zeus?
Zeus the Jack Russell.
Then we had Manos dressed up as a dog.
We had a toy dog and it was it was absolute carnage.
But it was so much fun.
And I have to say Larry and Ziggy were very, very good boys.
And Rodney just enjoyed his day.
My smallest sausage dog.
He was he didn't end up being in the video in the end,
but he just had a lovely day just running around and eating loads of treats.
So yeah, we had a section at the start of it.
We're a bit like X Factor.
We were the Sco-Dogs.
Sco-Dogs got talent.
So it's like Britain's got talent.
And if you watch the video, it's on the YouTube channel about the Sco-Dorail Rock being a perfect car for dogs.
There's a short section.
It's only about 30 seconds at the start of it where we're doing the auditioning for the dogs and 30 seconds.
That was the entire day virtually, wasn't it?
If you see the dogs, they look like they're just doing stuff on command, but it just took.
Yeah, but can I just say, Mike, I mean, you're I did love that video.
And I thought that your, is it Craig Revel Horwood impression was particularly excellent.
I thought you made an excellent sort of Craig Revel Horwood.
You really did have that sort of super silly as kind of straight based, absolutely, you know, brutal, brutal for those poor dogs.
It's weird for Mike because Mike is such a dog person.
So I think Mike found it hard to say no, but like he wanted to say that all of them were good boys.
Like I was saying, but actually, but yeah, Mike is like the biggest dog person.
You would live in your best life that day, Mike.
Yeah, I had to act this part. So yeah, that's all I can say. But anyway, it was great fun to do.
Yeah, I've got two dogs.
Yeah, you could have bought your dog.
I couldn't believe I couldn't make it, but there you go.
I mean, also, I've got a terrier crosses a nightmare.
So probably would have been a bit of a bit of a pain, but there you go.
It was already a pain.
Yeah, I was going to say, you wouldn't notice any more chaos.
I've only behaved dogs to be honest.
Vicki, what else have you been driving lately?
I have been driving a Cherry Tigo 9.
Interesting.
Yes, indeed. In fact, a Tigo 8 and a Tigo 9.
So the Tigo 8 has just gone back and I haven't actually spent much time with the 9, but the 8.
So the 8 is the 7-seater.
It is the super hybrid.
So it's got an electric range officially of over 90 miles.
It's all right.
My sister's bought one of these.
That's true.
She's bought one.
Yeah, because it was mega cheap.
She's gone from a 5,008 to a Cherry Tigo 8.
Yeah, I think this is the thing, isn't it?
It's for, what, sort of 43 grand and up roughly, I think, for the Tigo 9 FEV.
And the 8 is, hold the phone caller.
I will tell you, list price.
I haven't looked up finance prices yet because this is what people are going to actually want, isn't it?
So the Tigo 8, you're talking more like 35 and up.
It's a massive car for that as well, the space.
This is the thing, isn't it?
You've got all the equipment.
You've got the space.
It's safe.
It's fine to drive.
It is a bit uninspiring.
The thing that really annoyed me about it, the one thing that I sort of came away thinking,
I don't know if I could live with that, is it's got the, on the steering column,
it's got the gear shifter per Mercedes and that kind of thing.
You have to be stood on the brakes so hard to get it to register that you want it to change gear.
So if you're trying to do a three point turn or if you're trying to reverse out of a space
and get anything, go from reverse to drive or vice versa.
It was so easy for it to not think you're not on the brake hard enough.
You don't actually want that.
And then it just goes into neutral.
And then you're just there going, no, no, I do want you to do that.
And somebody's behind you going, well, this woman can't drive, can she?
Blah, blah, blah.
And so then it takes far too long to just change gear.
And you're going, just change gear.
I just want it to go forward.
Bloody women drivers.
Bloody women drivers in your PSUVs.
And you're like, oh, no.
It does remind me a little bit of the Renault system because I find that with the Renault
systems as well, that you have to hold the thing, the stick down for it to actually
change the reverse.
It was exactly the same thing, basically.
But you also have to be absolutely standing on the brake pedal for it to do it too.
Or it goes into neutral and it does nothing.
And you're just there going, why isn't it reversing or going forward?
So apart from that, the space, the kit, it looks fine.
It's actually fine to drive.
It's really not bad.
It really isn't bad.
You said fine like six times.
It's one of those cars that's hard to love, but it's fine.
It's fine.
It's fine.
It's fine.
It's fine.
It's fine.
It's fine.
So yeah.
So check out electrifying.com.
There will be a review of both of those up very soon.
But they're interesting.
They are interesting cars.
And I think it will be, you know, as with your sister, I think people are there, you know,
as long as it's safe, it's got the space, it's got the kit and it's a good price.
What's not to like, right?
It was all about the price for her because it just, like she's, she had the 5008 basically
back to back just like upgraded her 5008.
And then she tried to do the same again.
And the price just jumped up so high.
And she was like, uh, no.
So she just went, I read this thing about this cherry.
So we bought it.
I was like, okay.
And then it took me ages to go around her house and basically set up the app and everything
had to open up the bonnet, get the engine number, all this sort of stuff.
So I sort of like sort out her shortcuts and all that kind of thing.
She's a bit useless when it comes to cars, but we've managed to sort around.
The one thing she needs is a home charger.
She doesn't have one of those yet.
But I'm hoping I might be able to do some dealings.
If you're listening to this now and you want to sort my sister up with a home charger,
then give us a call.
This is not the forum for blacks.
No, it's worth a shot.
If you don't ask, you don't get, you know what I mean.
Um, yes.
Anyway, so that was my experience of the TIGO.
So yeah, it's, it's an interesting one.
And it gets sticking with a Chinese car theme.
I noticed that the best selling car last month was, was Chinese as well.
It's a JQ seven.
So which is, and it was a bumper month for EV sales as well.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So Vicki, yeah.
Car sales figures.
Car sales figures.
So the best month ever for EVs in the UK last month, 86,000 EVs sold.
Now we do always expect car sales to spike a bit in March.
It's kind of a bit of a, a sort of heritage thing really,
because the number plate changes.
So you get the new 26 number plate and everybody goes,
Oh, a brand new car with a brand new number plate.
And that does tend to kind of really spur sales on.
Am I the only one that finds that a bit weird?
I don't really care.
My car's got 25 or 26.
I love new number plate day.
I love it.
It's just me.
I love it.
I love it.
I love seeing that first new number plate.
I find it so exciting.
26.
Yeah.
February when the dealers are desperate to get rid of them and get a better deal on
it.
But, but yeah, fair enough.
And so it's not unusual to see a spike, but I think because of obviously everything
that Donald Trump's rumbling around in the Middle East, obviously, causing issues.
And that also has, I think, encouraged a lot of people to go from petrol or diesel to
plug in hybrids, like plug in hybrids to sales have gone up massively for plug in hybrids.
So I think those sales have gone up for those 50%.
So for a bit of context, 86,000 EVs sold in March last year.
That's I think 25% higher than it was March last year.
So it's a big, big jump.
Yeah.
So, you know, good news in terms of, in terms of EV sales and people looking to electric
cars to just get out, get away from those petrol pump prices.
One pound 62.
I saw on the drive here this morning.
It's one pound 90 for diesel in the garage up the road from me.
Whoa.
No.
Oh my God.
For diesel.
That is.
It's not good, isn't it?
So it's quite, it's quite tough.
Talking of refuelling costs, segue into another news story here.
Octopus Energy, who have been, you know, I think they've been pretty good champions of
EVs over the years, haven't they?
So they've just launched a new scheme that if you use their leasing skills, please,
you lease a car from Octopus Energy.
You get a 50% cheaper on-street parking, on-street parking, on-street charging.
So they've done a deal with Eubatrizity and connected curb, which have all the lamppost
charges.
So you're going to be paying 22.5 pence per kilowatt hour across those 20,000 Eubatrizity
and connected curb charges.
So that's great, really.
I mean, it's not as cheap as charging at home where it can be seven pounds.
I think Helen got a deal where it's like 5p charge overnight with her stuff.
I haven't got that.
I've got like 9p, I think.
But it depends on the region you are, even for octopus go.
But still, 22p is a pretty good soft landing, isn't it?
If you can't charge at home and you can, but you can charge on the street and you're close
to one of those charges.
I mean, 20,000 sounds a lot, but you know, you case a big place, so it doesn't mean
they're on every street by any chance.
But it's good to see that somebody's trying to make the difference because I think if
you are using rapid charges and can't charge at home, you know, there's not a great financial
incentive for switching from petrol diesel to electric.
But you know, maybe we'll see that slightly different with the fuel prices spiking as
you've just mentioned.
But moving in the right direction, I'd say.
Yeah, exactly.
And we might even see things improve on that front, we hope, because obviously there's
light at the end of the tunnel potentially with that being cut on public charging as
well.
So it might drop from, it's currently 20% and it may drop down to 5%.
It looks very likely to.
So we're sort of waiting on final confirmation and when that might happen and what the fall
out from that will be.
But I mean, ultimately, it should be cheaper charging, but I think it's really good what
Octopus has done.
And a bit of a shout out for Electrobus, who we are not sponsored by, by the way, but I
use them because I get my energy from Octopus.
And they're pretty good for rapid charging.
You get slightly discounted charging.
And the app always seems to work pretty well with the, they don't work on all public rapid
charges.
But you know, the majority of the ones that I seem to use, they generally work with.
So it's good.
It's good.
So I'm pleased that they're doing it because, you know, we've sort of championed this before
that, as you say, the incentives for going to an EV, if you haven't got off street parking
and you have to use public charges, it's a much harder decision to make, I think.
So anything that we can do to kind of make that better, improve that situation is good,
isn't it?
I think.
Yeah, very nice.
Octopus.
Oh, by the way, on the podcast last week, Vic, we were talking about the cars we've been
driving and stuff.
Yes.
And I would say all three of us, so myself, Mike and Ginny, were all extremely jealous
of what you were driving last week, the Jaguar GT.
How is this fair that you got that long straw?
I didn't even see that invite coming, did you?
No.
I got nothing.
It's got to be some perks to being editor, right?
It's all good.
I guess so.
It's not fair.
How was it?
Spill the beans.
It was absolutely amazing.
And I'll be completely honest.
I've been a bit skeptical about Jaguar's rebranding and where the brand's going.
In fact, I will rephrase that.
I'm not skeptical about the rebranding.
What worries me is that I fear that the company is taking too long to just bring out some
new cars.
I really worry about what this period of furlough is doing for them and how people are going
to sort of take to them when they do get this car on the road.
So, you know, I've been worried about the brand as has many people.
But when I actually got to go out there and I got to drive the prototype, which is not
that far from finished.
Oh, my God, it's so good.
It's so good.
I can't wait.
Tell me more things.
Right.
So, I mean, you're talking about a car.
It's well over five meters long.
It's really heavy.
It's 2.7 tons.
Right.
So this guy was 120 kilowatt hour battery.
It's a big car.
But it's low.
The center of gravity is really low and it's got air suspension, active air suspension.
And I don't know what Jaguar does.
And I mean, I've said this about previous road cars that they've made as well, but they've
got a little bit of magic to their ride and handling because it doesn't drive like anything
else.
It's got such beautiful sort of fingertip responsive steering.
And it feels really, I know you're not going to believe me.
You out there in the comments section, say what you will.
I know it's heavy.
I know it's big.
It feels really delicate to drive.
It's got a really beautiful...
Yeah, get your comments ready.
It's got a really beautiful silkiness.
You know how?
I'm trying to think.
I have to say the only car that it brought to mind, I thought quite...
It really reminds me a little bit of a Bentley Continental GT.
The way that...
That's quite a sort of heavy handed, brutish kind of touring GT, but also it's got a lovely
kind of oiliness, kind of sort of slickness to it.
There's a reference point all our listeners will get.
Tell us something.
Well, everyone can use one of those.
Oh, yes.
I mean, a two or two, a penny, aren't they?
Anyway, for reference, and Jag's going really upmarket, isn't it?
And it feels really, really expensive and upmarket to drive.
And it's beautiful.
The handling and the ride, it just feels very...
It feels really indulgent and beautiful.
And surprisingly, like I said, sort of fingertippy and tactile and kind of you feel quite engaged
with it.
So I'm really blown away by what it's like to drive.
And also, I like the fact when you sit in it, it really...
It's like you're sitting in a hot rod or something because the windows are quite shallow and the
waist is quite high.
So it's going to take some getting used to.
But it feels really cool because it's just not like anything else.
It's really, really cool.
And you can actually get adults in the back.
They're actually quite comfortable.
And I've seen it uncovered and I can't tell you what it's like because I don't know, Jaguar
will leave a horse's head in my bed or something.
But I think people will like it.
I think it's quite...
It's going to be...
It's going to really have some presence.
I'm so chuffed that I got to drive it.
Yeah, we're chuffed for you.
Really chuffed.
Because you know, I like to shoehorn in references to really stupid old cars that nobody knows
about on here as well.
So I also drove a Jag XJC.
Oh, blimey.
Just beautiful three-door saloon that they're basing.
They've actually said they're basing the new electric GT.
That's the car they're using as inspiration for how it drives.
And really gorgeous.
Oh, it's so...
So I'm talking about a 1978 Jag here and it looks on point and it's got a really lovely
silky kind of acceleration and everything feels just so how you'd expect of a classic
Jag.
And weirdly, I think there is a similarity in the way that there's a peculiar kind of
echoes of old Jag in it.
So I was really, really taken with the new...
I wish they'd tell us what it's called.
New GT, four-door GT, Type 00, Type 01, electric Jag.
Who knows?
Anyway, who cares?
It's wonderful to drive.
I love it.
Who cares?
Who cares?
We had a great day and that's all that matters.
We're all thrilled for her.
We really are.
We're really pleased for her, yeah.
Yeah, yeah.
There you go.
Shall we have a little look at the comments and the questions that have landed this week?
Oh, welcome to the Electric Club.
So we've got a bumper crop this week.
So we have at PHX Renegade who says, my elderly aunt has just bought a brand new LeapMotor
TO3 for 14 grand.
She's an electric virgin.
It took some effort to convince her that electric was better, cheaper, et cetera, but she loves
it.
It's a great car, panoramic roof, reversing camera, alloy wheels and great tech at the
price.
If it had been a...
Oh, if it had had a Ford badge on it and was called the Fiesta, they wouldn't have been
able to make them quick enough.
So basically, very, very happy with that, with the TO3.
I've never driven the TO3.
No, nor have I.
I have.
Of course you have.
Are you not?
Look.
Of course, yes.
How does it compare with the continental GT?
Well, I think there's not much difference.
Tell the readers, tell the listeners.
Do you know what?
I'm going to say it's really, really, really tactile.
It's really, really tactile.
It's only what you'd expect, a 150 grand car.
I think the TO3 actually is not bad.
I've said that already about this podcast.
Weirdly, I quite like it in a sort of...
It's quite bad, but it's quite charming and cheerful.
They'll use that in the ads now.
It's quite bad, but it's quite bad.
It's quite bad in certain respects.
Do you know what?
I kind of think the Elite Motor TO3 is slightly better than the Dacia Spring.
Sorry, Dacia.
Yeah.
I think it's kind of...
It's actually all right.
I mean, the kit you get and it's...
14 grand.
They've put reasonable buyers on it and it's kind of cute and okay.
It's really, yeah, for the money.
Yeah.
I mean, I think my problem when you get to that point in the market,
as a lot of people have said,
is that you kind of go,
ooh, do I buy that or do I buy, you know,
really quite a nice used, you know, whatever, Renault 5
or what, you probably can't get those for that yet.
But you know what I mean?
A used electric, something else.
But I think the lure of something new,
going back to what we were saying earlier,
that number plate and the smell.
Number plate, yeah.
You know, something that you can do once in your life,
maybe buy a new car.
It's, yeah.
So, no, I wouldn't,
I wouldn't knock the TO3 for the money.
It's quite a, it's quite a cute, you know.
Hey, she loves it.
It's my little thing, actually.
Exactly.
She loves it.
She loves it.
Yeah.
You can keep your continental GT, Vicky Parrot.
Yeah.
She loves it.
She's not going to trade it.
Yeah, you're failing, Vicky.
Right.
I've got another one.
We've got another one from Atwill,
will be 8852.
I've finally gone fully electric after having a Volvo S90 hybrid.
Now, it says here,
I've downsized to a Volvo EX90.
I mean, how big was an S90 that you downsized to a...
That doesn't make any sense.
Anyway, an EX90 is what it says in the email,
email, ultra, single motor, extended range,
and it's bloody brilliant, pardon my French.
It's super quick and I'm still averaging
around 3.5 to 3.7 miles per kilowatt hour.
Do I dream of that?
Which I think is pretty good.
I think that's an EX30.
Do you reckon?
I think so.
You won't get that in the 90s.
With that kind of might,
with that kind of efficiency.
It does come out as well, doesn't it?
So maybe not.
I charged with a three-pin plug,
which gives me 50 plus miles every night
enough to cover my commute.
Win-win.
Well, there we go, Mike.
We don't know what Volvo you bought specifically,
but it sounds like you're very happy with it,
which is good.
Welcome to the club.
Hooray!
Yeah, I approve of that.
I like the EX30 a lot.
And Mike will no doubt be talking about more about that,
his Volvo very soon, I'm sure.
Yes, I will.
We spoke about it last week
because Mike also gets the screen at death
that I get in the poll star board.
I'm not sure if I've mentioned it before,
but the software is very similar
and the software is terrible.
Maybe if you enjoy your voice note.
Get Mike's sent every square voice note,
see if people like that.
I wouldn't tell you.
You have an angry voice note
every week from somebody on the crew.
Right.
OK, so we have also got a,
got comments.
Will Lilleburn Quick.
Good name.
He says, OK, I'm still an EV virgin,
but I've just had a first,
second and third EV date.
First off, Audi e-tron, lovely car,
but those camera mirrors look expensive
if they get knocked off
and 95,000 miles on the clock a bit much.
I hate, hate camera mirrors.
I'll just add that in
because I can't help myself.
There you go.
I'm with you on that.
Clean slate.
Next, an IONIQ 5,
half the mileage of the Audi,
not as well, but more practical.
A real contender at 16K.
Yes.
Good choice.
That cheap, aren't they?
Finally, out of my price range,
but still looks plausible.
An EV6 X demo with nine miles on the clock
at 34,000 pounds.
That's not a lot of money.
A complete steal.
Wow.
Thanks for all the great information
to help and encourage me on this journey.
My goodness, that is tempting, isn't it?
We all went through a phase, didn't we,
when they first released the,
when it was like the IONIQ 5
versus the EV6.
And I was an EV6 kind of girl.
I'm still an EV6 kind of girl.
We all know that you're an EV6 kind of girl.
We know.
Yeah.
Totally am.
For me, I love the kind of rear end,
I love the hips that it's got on the rear end.
And I just think it drives beautifully.
I'm such a big fan of that car.
I think here in Hyundai,
they did an absolute stellar job on those two
because they're obviously the same platform,
but they're very different cars, actually.
Yeah.
I think they're quite different bio profiles.
I think the sort of people that would go for them.
Because I really like both,
but I've got dogs and a kid,
so I'd go for an IONIQ 5
because it's just a bit more practical, isn't it?
And it's sort of a bit slightly different.
I'll be a little bit there.
I bought a 5, as you know.
And it was in the middle of that semiconductor shortage.
So it had a really weird spec.
So it's supposed to,
the door handles or the flush door handles,
but they're supposed to, when you unlock it,
sort of ping out a bit.
And then later ones were,
they did kind of come out enough so you could pull it.
But they obviously didn't have the semiconductors to do that.
So you have to kind of jab your finger in one end
and then the other could come out.
It's like the emergency door opening with,
yes, shut up.
You're better than that.
Yeah, so there was lots of things like that.
But it didn't have what she was supposed to have.
But yeah, it was a lovely car.
Yeah, I mean, I'd lost a ton of money on it,
but it was a nice car to have.
And what car haven't I lost a ton of money on?
I mean, when I died,
the S&MT would have me stuffed
and put in a display cabinet.
That's services to the car industry.
Industry doesn't keep going without people like me.
So anyway, we've had some more questions
from the congregation.
You'll see what I've done now.
One of the first ones from David Faithful.
Oh, that's beautiful.
Really nice.
It writes itself.
This one this week did anyway.
I love everything about electrifying.
Thank you.
But my experience with this Citroen EC4
has been deeply frustrating.
The app is unreliable,
rarely connects,
and it now costs $8.99 a month
despite offering little value.
I think that's for the sort of connected services,
isn't it, so you get the traffic
and all that kind of nonsense.
I think Citroen 1 runs out after a year.
It's really tight.
I think other people give you at least two years, don't they?
So anyway, it says that even more concerning
are repeated system shutdowns,
including at speed,
which have shaken my confidence in the car.
Each time the systems reset,
features stop working,
and I'm left deeming with warning alerts and disruption.
I've contacted Citroen multiple times
and had numerous updates,
but nothing has improved.
So real shame because I really like the car,
but the poor tech and support
have completely undermined the ownership experience.
That's a shame, isn't it?
Because an EC4 is a fundamentally really nice car.
It's really good used by as well, isn't it?
Yeah, I think that's not the first I've heard of issues like that
with Citroen, actually.
Okay.
Yeah, I mean, I've heard the EC3 had problems
in so much as a lot of stuff that was promised
when it first came out,
like the preheating and everything.
I'm not sure it even has yet appeared on the app.
I don't know, but I was like you.
I mean, I've done a couple of Citroen.
I did the EC4 facelift launch,
and they were very proud about how the system worked,
and they had like a real-time charging
route planner kind of thing built in.
So, yeah, but clearly it doesn't work for David.
He's got some sort of issues with it.
So you can join your club of annoyed.
It seems to be more and more common, isn't it?
Is that the cars themselves are great,
but the thing that lets them down is the software reliability.
The software, yeah.
It seems to be such a common issue.
It's the touchscreen stuff and the app stuff.
And it's so important to how you, to living with the car,
that kind of stuff.
I mean, I hate to, you know,
I know they've got major kind of brand issues,
but I hate to sort of mention
that I think it's one of the things that Tesla's done really well,
is that all of that satellite technology
and software with the cars, it just works.
It's really reliable.
So, you know, when I lived with that Model 3,
that was the thing I love most about it was just that,
not the touchscreen itself as such,
but just that the app worked so well,
and everything connected brilliantly,
and the keyless entry on your phone,
everything was just faultless in that respect.
It was really, really good.
And, you know, plug and charge and all of that.
So it just felt really effortless in that respect.
I mean, in the Polestar 4,
the app actually works really well.
Oh.
Yeah, it does on the Volvo, actually.
That's the one thing that works.
Yeah.
It's like they're a different bunch of people doing the app
and different bunch of people doing the car,
because one works really well, and the other one,
that's the side effect.
The keyless entry on that Volvo.
Don't get me started.
Oh, it's the same on the Polestar.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Just put a button on the key.
Just put a button on the key.
Just punch the bloomin' thing.
That's the bloomin' thing.
Right.
the P826,
who says,
can your industry contacts tell you when the Renault 5
will get the update
that brings one pedal drive
and adjustable regen panels?
So it was announced last year,
paddle, sorry.
It was announced last year,
and it now has it in other markets,
but no news from Renault UK,
and I can't seem to get a reply from them.
Now,
today we're filming the head to head
between the Renault 5 and the Nissan Micra.
And the Micra has the flappy paddles.
It has it.
And I know,
I've heard all the same things.
It's coming to the Renault 5,
because we know it's in the Renault 4, we know it's in the micro, so we know that it's coming.
I haven't heard anything. Have you heard anything, Vic? Yeah, I have heard something. I was out on the
Twingo launch. She knows people. Yeah, she does. She knows people. My people called some people
and I was out on the Twingo launch and I cornered the boss of Renault comms and said,
when is the Renault 5? Getting exactly that. Went to get in the region and the one and he said,
oh, it's already got it. So I was like, has it? So I think what's happened is it's probably already
on Renault 5s in Europe, but I think it's not in the UK yet. What that means is it will be here
very soon, but hold the phone, dear caller, because I will call Renault UK this week or drop them a
message and find out if they can tell us exactly when that update will land because it is about
time, isn't it? I completely agree, but I do know he seemed surprised that it wasn't even there yet,
so I will corner somebody in the UK specifically and ask, but I can tell you it should be here
very soon if it's already out there in Europe. So we will follow up as much as I know so far.
I got as far as asking somebody and I haven't chased up the UK specifics, but I shouldn't think it
will be too long. In fact, I would think it might even be here well before the Twingo gets here,
I would have thought, but I will let you know. There you go. Thank you, Vicky. Pleasure. Well,
we've got Andrew G. He's contacted us and said, often in reviews, you talk about performance
and urban driving. Country roads are mentioned, but not in the context of their state and how
cars cope with potholes and rough poorly repaired roads. I live in a rural area of Scotland and
rarely drive in urban areas or on motorways. What I need to know is which EVs perform well in such
conditions. We had a Polestar 2 before we moved to Scotland. It couldn't cope with the roads and
became a nightmare to drive. I've had an Ioniq 5 for the last three years, but although better,
still could be much better. Could you do a video on the best cars for poor road conditions? That's
a good idea, such as I have described, which cars have the best suspension, which do better on
poor roads. I want to change our cars soon, but one that will cope as well as possible. That's
not a bad shout. I certainly think maybe it would be a written article and we'll have a think about
video, I don't know, but that's a really good idea. I like the idea. I mean, my brain instantly
just goes straight to Citroen, because Citroen are just nice and squishy and just kind of cope
with that sort of thing a little bit better, I think, because they're just known for being so
super soft. Although, don't read up on the articles and messages that we've been getting on this
podcast about terrible software. Maybe that'll be fine. I quite like the EC5 aircraft, talking
about Citroens. The ride, I think the EC5 aircraft is a really lovely thing actually,
so that's, and that does ride very nice. It's very soft and squidgy, so you do get quite a lot
of body lean, so as long as you don't mind the payoff for that really soft suspension.
But you're going to get that. If you want to deal with the potholes, you need to deal with the body
roll. You can't have both, I'm afraid. Wheel choice is a big one though, isn't it? You specify
20-inch wheels and make a huge difference over 18s, which might look dreadful, but they're going
to be a lot better. I mean, I'm too vain to go for small wheels. I like the way they look,
because my buzz is on 20 ones and the ride is a bismol, but I know that's just the way it is.
Well, we've got long-term Skoda L-Rock, which, you know, you spent quite a bit of time in as
well, Mike, and that's on little wheels, which I expect specifically because I thought, I know,
I'll go for a spec that nobody will ever actually buy in the wild, but we'll find out what Skoda
L-Rock on little wheels. It's a weird spec, isn't it? And it does ride really well,
because it's on 18s, so it's really nice. So I think an L-Rock on little wheels
is probably a really good shout on that front, especially if you need something. I was thinking
Polestar 2 size. I was thinking about small cars, because the thing people don't talk about, yes,
wheel size, but also going for a lightweight car helps. So if you go for a really light little car,
I know this sounds weird, but like I said, I was out driving the Twingo recently, and that actually
rode really well at the damper because it's really light. It's 1200 kilos, so that helps a lot.
Go for a little lightweight car. Yeah, I don't know. We'll have to have a think on that, but I
think it's a really good shout. We should definitely do a feature on that. Someone write it down,
add it to the spreadsheet. Thank you. Start another tab on the spreadsheet. We've only got 30 on there
so far, so I wonder. Not that this is a sore point for Mike at all, as you can hear from the bitterness.
And someone will say, but I put it on the spreadsheet. Which one?
Put it on the spreadsheet, and in the WhatsApp group, not knowing that we have six
WhatsApp groups with an electrify. We need to go back to Walnut with one
share, one page, and it's a start again, because it's just come this beast that we can't manage now.
I'm going to go through some of the comments that we had last week
on the podcast. Thank you very much. I think we had 160 or so comments, which is amazing.
Thank you very much for spending the time and just giving us a little feedback. On the subject of
bland interiors, last week we discussed interiors, didn't we, Nicola? And we said we were fed up with
grey interiors, black interiors. We are not the only ones. Richard Piper 4828 says, I'm rather
despairing of the bland, minimalistic interiors of nearly all new cars. They either seem to be
mimicking Tesla or following the Toyota School of Making Everything Black. It's a shame that no
other manufacturer has really come close to the interior design of the BMW i3. Here, here, the
best car interior ever made. I've had two, both with a light half leather lodge interior, which
looks like a geography teacher's blazer, which I added that, and a sunroof, which bathes the car
with natural light. And to be honest, I'm happy with the iDrive controller and eight shortcut
buttons and a frustrating and dangerously distracting central touchscreen. Well, here, here,
yeah, I think the i3 interior is sort of peak EV interior. I don't think you need,
you need to go any further than that. I love it being funky, but I do have to say, even without
the iDrive click wheel, I think the iX3 still has that nice bit of funkiness that BMW have done so
well over the years when it comes to their EVs. I know that the steering wheel is very marmite,
I get it. But I think when you get so bored of sitting in these normal bland meh cars and then
BMW go, what do you think of this steering wheel? What do you think of this funky long screen?
That is cool. I really like it. And I like this. They're adding in some jaunty bits. We like a bit
of jauntiness. Yeah, I think so. Yeah, I sort of agree with all of that. I mean, I do think the i3's
interior was absolutely, you know, peak interior. I think it was so lovely, especially for a little
car like that. So good. We've had on subject of small cars with good interiors, we've had a comment
from AtGFEP1PF and they are agreeing with you, Michael. They say, I also prefer the interior of
the Twingo to the 5. It feels brighter, more spacious in the back, and I prefer the dash.
Love the ability to slide the seats. It is such a cool little car. Yeah, I mean, you've been in
both, haven't you? Which you prefer out of those two, Vicky? I think in terms of the design,
I suppose, the sort of cheerfulness of it, I do probably prefer the Twingo, but I think the Renault
5 does feel a bit sort of just, well, I mean, as it should really, it does feel a bit sort of
plusher and a bit more upmarket, a bit sort of, a bit more, what's the word? A bit solid,
more solid, I think is the word I'm looking for. So I like both interiors, but I suppose, yeah,
I think the design of the Twingo, I just love the little colorful little inserts and the graphics
and all that stuff, it's so cool. Yeah, it's really, really good. Yeah, we've got a message here from
Stuart Hargreaves who says, yeah, Ginny's so right about interiors, I love my EV, but my black,
colorless interior and gray exterior is doing my head in. So can I hit you all with a curveball
and say, we are not seeing enough grande pandas out on the road? All right, that is the f**kiest
thing. You're like, come on, I remember going to the Fiat factory, standing up on that roof after
a couple of glasses of champagne, walking around the car, I guess I did drink on that, but I wasn't
driving so it was fine. So I had, but seeing the interior and the exterior design of that car,
I was like, yes, funkiness, we love the funkiness and then took it for a drive and I was like,
yes, people that want something a bit more quirky, amazing. And then that was probably,
God, what, a year and a half ago? Why has that taken so long? I was going to say, the reason you
haven't seen any on the road is because they've literally only just started delivering them in
the UK. Why? Because apparently, well, I believe the line is that they're making,
that the demand is strong enough in left hand drive that they've been delaying right hand drive
production. But I may need to check my contacts for the official line, but it does seem to take a
long time. I don't believe that for a second. I don't believe that we drive in other countries
all the time. And I've never seen, I've never, even in mainland Europe, I have never seen a grande
panda, never. I've seen a few, I've seen quite a few in France and Italy, but yeah, yeah,
they are out there. But I don't know whether it's something to do with the factory stuff. I don't
know why it's been delayed. It's really frustrating because I agree. I think they've lost the sort
of the wind and the sort of that launch kind of, you know, the momentum you get from the launch
and everybody going, wow, that's so cool. Look at the curly cable. And now everyone's forgotten
that it exists. And it's only just actually arrived in the UK, which is a shame because it is cool.
And you're right. Cool interior. I had a yellow one with a little yellow kind of like the really
cool, like clear yellow. It's so cool. It's such a great design, really, really cool.
And they had Shaggy doing the adverts and everything. We need Mum and Shaggy doing the adverts.
That's what they need. They call me Mr. Pandustic. That's what he sang in the adverts.
Like that is amazing. They know their audience. They knew how to win me over by getting Shaggy
on the advert. Absolutely brilliant. Absolutely. I'm with you. Bright colours, cool interiors,
Fiat have done a great job with the Panda. So, yeah, it'd be really interesting to see the
sort of prices involved in that and whether, you know, whether people take to it. I hope they do
because I like it a lot though. And where's the Topolino? Where's the Topolino? Like you're
showing that? There's one of those when I went on, I spent a few days in Palmer a couple of weeks ago
and there's one parked outside one of the apartments there with the rope door
thing. And it just looks beautiful. It's in that beautiful kind of green hand. It's got me in the
same way that, you know, the Ami. The Ami leaves me a bit cold the way it looks. There's a little
bit kind of festival toilet, but this looks. Are they definitely bringing the Topolino to the UK?
I'm out of the loop on this one. Well, yeah, I think there was a, there was, when I spoke to
somebody from Citrin, who's no longer at Citrin, a while ago, they said, you know,
it was a bit annoying because all the magazines and electrifying included that
pestered us to bring the Ami in. You know, they said, I'll bring the Ami in. You know,
you'll love it. It was my favorite car, blah, blah, blah. So we bought it in. Of course,
they've sold about six since then, don't they? And I said, Royal Accounts, Fiat were considering
bringing the Topolino in. And he said, everyone at Citrin is saying, oh, yeah, it's a great idea,
do it. Because we don't want to be the only idiots who bought the car. We don't want to look back and
say, yeah, it was only us that decided to bring this in. But yeah, I mean, the Ami works in
in other places because you're paying 20 euros a month for one, you know, with a sort of subsidized,
you know, it's cheaper than the phone. Whereas in the UK, whenever we look at leasing things,
200 quid a month, you know, which is, you know, it's not going to work, is it? Because it's
going to be super cheap in order to use it. Well, it still says register your interest. So I think
that might be a little bit of a TBC on the on the UK sales thing, because I wonder what they'll do
with that. But I mean, I'm with you, it looks spectacular, doesn't it? So for the listeners
out there, so that if you're not sure the topolino is the Fiat version of the Citroen Ami, as Mike
said, but it looks really kind of cranked up the roll top roof. It's a rope for doors, you know,
if I could see quite a lot in Rome, so that and they look great in Rome as well. Yes. Nice for
them. So yeah, you'll see them everywhere in Monaco as well. Yeah, it's Twizzies, Amis and
topolinos everywhere in Monaco. It's funny because I went out there because I was doing
doing a racing thing while I was out there. And I was out there with a friend of mine and we
were both went out car spotting and he was looking for supercars and I was looking for Amis.
Oh my God, it's another Twizy. Oh my gosh, another Ami. And he's like, there's a Ferrari like
right there. Yeah, it's topolino. Look at that. Yeah, amazing. Topolino is much more interesting.
I agree. Right. If you've got any comments, any questions or the things put it in the
comment section below if you're watching on YouTube or you can drop us an email podcast
and electrifying.com. Is there anything we missed this week? Have we done all the things?
This is very organized. I know it's very organized. We haven't got a barnards bargain this week. I did
email him, but it was too late. So I'm going to say go and buy a Puma. There you go. That's my
Mike's bike. It's the first thing I can think of.
And you can't but yeah, we'll go and buy a Grand Epanda. There you go because they're
actually on sale now. Go and pass them. Yeah, there you go. Yeah, lovely stuff.
Well, make sure you subscribe and stuff and we'll see you next week probably.
Yeah, let's hope so. Lovely. All right. Thank you all. Bye. Bye.
You
About this episode
Nicola, Mike and Vicki kick off with Polestar 4 frustrations—dead screens, buggy heated features, and a rant that turns into a quick infotainment reset tip. The crew then heads to the barn for a head-to-head: the new Micro vs the Renault 5, both sharing the same platform, plus talk of upcoming Renault 5 updates like one-pedal/adjustable regen. Vicki reviews the Cherry Tiggo 8/9 (great value, but annoying gear-shift logic). EV sales are booming in the UK, Octopus launches cheaper on-street charging via leasing, and there’s plenty of listener Q&A on charging, software reliability, and suspension for rough roads.
Original notes
We’re back after Easter (and far too much chocolate), and yes… we’re starting exactly where we left off. Nicola’s now-infamous rant about the Polestar 4 infotainment system returns for part two – complete with your brilliant reactions and a slightly more… calming reset guide. Public service, Electrifying style.
Elsewhere, it’s been a busy week behind the wheel. There’s a twin test fresh from the barn, Vicky’s been driving the Tiggo, and we’ve even squeezed in a first go in the new Jaguar GT.
In the news, EV sales are booming, and Octopus Energy is shaking things up by slashing on-street charging costs – in some cases making it cheaper than charging at home. Is this a turning point for EV drivers without driveways?
We also dive into your comments and questions, including first-time EV buyers, real-world efficiency wins, and one listener’s frustrating experience with the Citroën e-C4. Plus, we tackle everything from Renault feature updates to which EVs actually cope with Britain’s worst roads.
And finally… are modern car interiors getting a bit dull? You’ve got thoughts – and we’re here for them.
If you’re still with us, thanks for listening! Don’t forget to follow, review, and check us out on YouTube at Electrifying.com. Or write to us at [email protected].
See you next week ⚡
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