Annotations will appear as you listen
0:00
49:00
Car
Volkswagen ID. Buzz
A modern, fully electric version of the classic VW hippie van. It has a retro look but runs entirely on battery power.
Car
T-Cross Tcross
The Volkswagen T-Cross is a very small SUV made by Volkswagen. It is designed to be easy to drive in cities while offering a higher seating position than a standard hatchback.
Car
Dodge Avenger
The Dodge Avenger is a mid-sized four-door sedan that was sold by Dodge until 2014. It was designed as an affordable family car with sporty styling.
Car
Jeep Avenger
A small, electric SUV made by Jeep that is designed for city driving and is sold in Europe.
Car
Kia EV9
The Kia EV9 is a very large, electric family SUV with three rows of seats. It is designed to carry up to seven people comfortably without using any gasoline.
Car
Audi Q4 e-tron
A luxury electric SUV made by Audi that shares its underlying technology with electric cars from Volkswagen and Skoda.
Term
vehicle-to-load
A feature that lets you plug regular household appliances, like a laptop, a fan, or even a fridge, directly into your electric car to power them.
Car
Audi Etron
The Audi Q4 e-tron is a small, luxury electric SUV made by Audi. It runs entirely on battery power and is designed for daily family use.
Car
Zeekr 007
A luxury electric sedan from a Chinese brand that charges incredibly fast and has a lot of power.
Car
Audi A6
The Audi A6 is a luxury mid-sized sedan or wagon made by Audi. It is designed for comfortable long-distance driving and features high-tech screens and premium materials.
Car
A6 Audi A6 Etron
The Audi A6 e-tron is a luxury electric car made by Audi. It is designed to travel long distances on a single charge and can plug into ultra-fast chargers to refill its battery quickly.
Car
Volkswagen Id7
The Volkswagen ID.7 is a large, comfortable electric family car made by Volkswagen. It is designed for long highway trips and comes in sedan or station wagon shapes.
Car
BYD Atto 3
A popular, family-sized electric SUV made by the Chinese company BYD, featuring a unique interior design and a very safe battery.
Car
Fiat Grande Panda
A small, boxy electric car from Fiat designed to look like their classic, beloved Panda model from the 1980s.
Car
Ford Fiesta
An upcoming electric version of Ford's incredibly popular small hatchback, the Fiesta, which was discontinued in its gas-powered form.
Car
Ford Puma
The Ford Puma is a small, high-riding hatchback made by Ford for the European market. It is designed to be easy to park and practical for daily driving.
Car
Ford Capri
The Ford Capri is an electric family car with a sporty, sloping roof. It is made by Ford for European drivers.
Car
5 Renault 5
The Renault 5 E-Tech is a small, stylish electric car made by Renault. Its design is inspired by a famous classic car from the 1970s and 80s.
Car
Ford Explorer
The Ford Explorer is a family-sized SUV made by Ford. The version sold in Europe runs entirely on battery power.
Car
Ford Cougar
This is a medium-sized family SUV made by Ford. It runs on gasoline or hybrid power and is designed for everyday family trips.
Car
Renault Twingo
The Renault Twingo is a very small hatchback designed for driving and parking in tight city spaces. The newest version is fully electric.
Car
GAC Aion V
A high-tech electric SUV made by a Chinese company called Aion, known for having cool features like a built-in fridge.
Car
Renault Megane E-Tech
A stylish, fully electric family hatchback made by Renault that features a very modern Google-based touchscreen system.
Car
Polestar 4
A sporty electric SUV from Polestar that has no rear window, relying instead on a high-definition camera and digital rearview mirror.
Car
MG 5 EV
A practical, budget-friendly electric station wagon made by MG that is very popular with taxi drivers because of its space and reliability.
Car
Changan Deepal S07
A sleek, modern electric SUV from a Chinese brand called Changan Deepal, designed to compete with the Tesla Model Y.
Car
EX60
The Volvo EX60 is a medium-sized luxury electric SUV made by Volvo. It is designed for families who want a safe, high-tech vehicle that does not use gasoline.
Car
Porsche Cayenne
The Porsche Cayenne is a high-end, sporty SUV made by the German company Porsche. It is a larger family vehicle designed for luxury and fast driving.
Car
Mazda MX-5
A classic, small, two-seat convertible sports car from Mazda that is famous for being incredibly fun to drive and having pop-up headlights.
Car
Toyota GR86
A small, sporty two-door coupe made by Toyota that is highly praised by car enthusiasts for its fun, old-school driving feel.
Term
steer-by-wire
A system where turning the steering wheel sends electronic signals to a computer to turn the car's wheels, instead of using a physical metal rod.
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.
Oh, well this week on the Kilowatt Half Hour, as we are melting in order to be with you
today, we're going to be discussing Ford's plans to revive the Fiesta as an EV.
Aeons?
Ions?
How do we say that, Mike?
Do we know?
Either of those two would be acceptable, I believe.
Okay, anyway, they're basically bribing us all with ice cream, which we are very down
with at the moment, and also we've seen the new Škoda peak.
First, we'll tackle a Porsche vs Volvo buying dilemma and dive into all your comments.
Hello, Mike.
Hello, Nicola.
How are we?
I'm slowly, Mike's having the time of his life, right?
So if you're not in the UK right now, we're currently in the midst of a horrendous heatwave.
Yesterday, it was 37 degrees.
Our houses are, if you're in America and you start going, oh, no, it's not that bad.
Our houses are not designed for it.
Our houses are designed to contain heat, which means we're basically living in a sauna.
Everybody is living in a sauna, right now.
And it's stupidly hot, so this podcast is coming at you live from Satan's armpit.
And we have such a differing opinion on this, don't we?
Because Mike and I are like, oh, I love this, bring it on, bring it on.
We are just like the heat people on the team, and you, you and Manos, interestingly, Manos,
who is Greek, is just like, I hate this, this is why I moved to the UK.
Anyway, we're talking about the weather more a little later in the podcast, because we
did have some comments about it, and I am a bit concerned that this podcast is becoming
one about EVs and the British weather.
So shall we move on to, what have we been driving and looking at, and what's been going
on, going, Mike, go on, what have we been up to?
Well, my buzz, my buzz is back, so I got rid of the T-Cross, T-Rock, I can't remember
it was, Lone Car, and so it's had all these battery updates and recalls and everything,
and it seems to be working fine, I'm delighted to say, yeah, they said that they had it for
two days, they did all the software updates it needed, and as I was driving back from
the dealer, the thing pinged up on the screen said software update is available, so I was
too scared to do it, because I had a couple of long journeys to do, and I was slightly
sort of scared that it might not work, so yeah, that's fine, it went slightly haywire
yesterday afternoon, all of a sudden it started charging, even though it's plugged in and
it is told by both the charger and the wall box, and the car rather, to only take charge
of, help us midnight, it started at five o'clock yesterday afternoon, so I can only imagine
the heat got to it a bit, sitting on the driveway.
I started doing all kinds of things at five o'clock yesterday afternoon when the heat
got to me, so you know, I can't blame the car, I won't blame the car, I have to say
though, Mike, because we were all together, weren't we, at the barn on Tuesday for like
a big team meeting day, it was really nice seeing you rock up in the buzz, seeing the
buzz pull in, in its bright yellow gloriousness, it was lovely to see again, I love the buzz,
love it.
It was nice, I was going to ride my motorbike there, but I just thought 37 degrees, I liked
the heat as discussed, but putting a full set of waterproofs and everything on and riding
in that heat, I thought I've got a car with air conditioning, so choose your battles.
I'm proud of you for making that decision, Mike.
Is it fair to say, Mike, that the buzz is like the temperamental child out of your family
of vehicles, because I just feel like you kind of love the buzz so much, but it also
just infuriates you, and it is like that child that you love that is just kind of like drives
you a bit mad, and he's always the one that doesn't do what they're supposed to do, but
you love him so much anyway.
That was me as a kid, so yeah, it's an unrequited love affair you have with the buzz, I think,
you know, I throw all my love at it, and it kind of occasionally just decides it's going
to throw up a drive mirror or something like that.
I would say touch wood, it has been the first couple of months, it was really temperamental,
and I don't know why it was settled down, I mean software, it doesn't, you know, it's
it's not human, it doesn't sort of settle down or anything like that, it is, you know,
it's either on or off, isn't it, but it did stop playing up, and it has been very good
since.
So yeah, but it is, yeah, it is a bit frustrating sometimes.
It's part of its charm.
Yes, we'll put it that way, shall we?
Pope, but he's nerf it, you know?
OK, so what have you been up to, Nick?
What have you been, have you been busy, been busy, busy?
A lot of things, a lot of things going on, I'm still in the Jeep Avenger, obviously,
because that's where my long term, but you know what, I really like that car.
I do.
Oh no, it was the new Manos, the new Manos.
I know, well, it's just because it's it's it's a little bit rubbish, isn't it?
It's a little bit rubbish.
But I think that's kind of what makes it great, is that it's just this affordable
little tinny machine.
I mean, the sound system is terrible whenever I turn the music up.
It's just it's it's so tinny when you sit inside it, but I kind of like that.
And I like the fact that, you know, I mean, the battery seems to be doing pretty well.
I mean, I was stuck in horrendous traffic getting up to the barn on Tuesday,
so I was getting like 4.8 miles per kilowatt hour.
But then when I was driving home on the motorway on the way back,
I was getting around three and a half.
So I was like, that's all right.
The hot weather is obviously working in its favor.
But there's a bit of that going on.
And then obviously the new Škoda Peak video has gone out, which is nice,
which we filmed ages ago, by the way, but obviously with VW Group cars at the
moment, they're kind of drip feeding bits of information.
And then sometimes we might film something back in, I don't know,
whenever it was May or something.
And then they're kind of the embargoes are coming out bit by bit.
But the Škoda Peak video is officially out and on our YouTube channel.
So you can go and have a peek at the peak.
Oh, I like what you did there.
It's very nice.
It's very nice.
It's a bit good.
I mean, I haven't driven it properly yet, but they're just being sat inside it.
The quality of materials, the way that everything just worked.
And it just felt like a really lovely place to be.
And even in the rear seats, the rear most seats, like right, right, right at the back.
I mean, Manos didn't have any leg room because he's six foot two, but I had a little gap.
I had a little gap between my knee and the seat.
So there's space there.
And it's so often the case that those rear seats just feel like an afterthought.
And I think that's the thing that we've all loved about the Kia EV9
is that you do not feel like the second class passenger in the back in the second row.
They are comfy seats.
You know, you have got your charging ports, you have room.
Yes, I'm not sure why it's going to love the rear.
So have we ever pushed you, made you sit in the back of the very rear seats?
No.
No, let's do that.
Let's do that.
Let's do that on a really hot day.
Let's do that.
Yeah, great.
That's tomorrow.
But you're about midday mic in it.
Is that all right?
Yeah, I'm busy.
Whenever is it?
When is it?
Oh, very nice.
And then what?
So you've also been to the Audi, haven't you?
The Q4, which is like a massive sell of that car, isn't it?
And it's a car that I don't know.
It sells huge numbers, but I always feel it's something that we forget a little bit
because it's been around quite a while now.
So it's had a facelift.
So what did you make?
Well, 2021 was where the first one came out.
And it is.
I mean, Audi was saying to us when we were there that it is that the UK is the
biggest market for the Q4, each one.
Most people go for the SUV rather than the Sportback and it's a huge seller for them.
But now it's had a little facelift.
So you've now got a new grill at the front and then the battery tech has had
a little bit of an update still drives pretty much exactly the same.
It feels exactly the same as the previous version, which is not a bad thing
because it's always driven well anyway.
But like the battery techs had an update, the charging has had an update as well.
So again, that video has gone up on our YouTube channel.
That was filmed in Munich last week and that was 34 degrees that day.
So me and John T. were a sweaty mess.
And obviously, right, here's a here's a beer behind the scenes for you, right?
So when we film the interiors of cars, if we have the fans on, it affects the
sand and you can't hear what's going on very well.
You can just hear this blowy, annoying thing going on.
So of course, whenever we film an interior of the car, we'd normally
tend to turn the fans off.
And when you're filming in 34 degree heat, I was so disgustingly clammy and sweaty.
It was gross.
So I think part of that made the video at the end, actually, of me going,
I know I have to turn the fans off and I'm not happy about it.
So let's just get this done as quick as possible.
But it's a good car. It's a decent car.
It's a decent car.
You see, if you'd have been really, if you'd have really thought this through,
you could have got a what could you have got?
Could you have got like one of those really silent fans?
Like, although it's useless, I've got a silent fan in front of me now.
So you probably can't hear it, but it's actually blowing out very little air.
But you could have plugged one of those into the vehicle to load because it
now has a vehicle to load, doesn't it?
So they're fine with the 25th century and every other EV in the world.
Yes, well, they do.
They have a plug socket in the boot and then they have the adapter that can go
into the the charge port as well, which is nice.
So well done catching up.
I think the new the new charging speeds of the Q4 e-tron
I still don't think is quick enough.
No, it's considering that because it's gone up to 100 and 85
kilowatts. But, you know, I mean, you look at the competition
and they've all got 800 volt like the like the amount of detail
that people have put into their cars now and the rapid charging that you can get
now, especially in German brands, what Mercedes offer, what BMW offer.
Why are Audi not offering that as well?
It's very nice.
I just I would I would completely agree with you.
So I did that as a Zika seven GT, the driving impression.
Well, the video is live now and and it drives really well.
Honestly, I was I had really nice three or four hours driving that
in the mountains around Ronda.
But again, but like you say, it's the charging speed.
It's a 400 kilowatt peak DC charging.
So looking at the competitors that set around that, it's the Audi A6 e-tron.
It's probably the ID7 Tourer, 200 kilowatts on the ID7 Tourer,
270 on the A6 e-tron van.
And they're just not they're not getting there with those speeds, are they?
And I know this is something we've talked about on the pub before.
And for me, increasingly now, I don't necessarily want a car can drive for five
hours. I want one that I can talk about quickly.
And I really think this is going to become something that is going to to be
a real selling point for cars much more than range.
But let us know what you think, as always, in the comments below.
I just want to talk about another car that I've been driving.
Driven the BYD Ato too for the first time.
Yeah, that's my face.
Look at the look at this face I've had.
I know. Do you know what?
It's perfectly fine.
And I'm going to apologise now, because I'm sure there will be some of you
listening to this podcast who have bought one.
You've probably got it for a great price.
You're loving all the spec.
You're loving the fact it's got vehicle to load as standard.
And it comes with, you know, is it I think, does it get 22 kilowatt AC
charging? I think it might do a standard.
I'm probably going to be proved wrong on that.
But maybe I do. Maybe I do.
Oh, no, it's a heat pump.
It's got a heat pump for standard.
That's it. I knew it was some decent standard kit.
Oh, yeah, it's just kind of like, oh, something there.
Isn't it?
Yeah, it feels, do you know, in the early days of EVs, like,
and you'll remember this Microsoft people were all like, oh,
they're just basically appliances on wheels.
And then all these great cars came out that prove that, of course,
they're not. This does feel like an appliance on wheels.
It's just a shame when you consider what else BYD can offer.
Well, you know what they're capable of.
Like the little dolphin surf love that fun little thing.
You know, the seal seal is a cracking car.
Love it. Yeah, I just was really underwhelmed with it.
And yeah, I just and it's just very gray.
So they seem to only offer it in like some kind of very
bland colors. The infotainment screen when you've got a black interior
and BYD do have that very sort of gray and white infotainment system.
Don't know that is quite bland.
Oh, it just feels very bad. It's beige.
It's a beige car anyway, because you can even change within the software.
You can like change your backgrounds and stuff on your main screen.
But most of the options for the backgrounds are just gray.
And it's just kind of fine to drive means it's got plenty of space.
And when you know when you're sort of saying, well, it's very spacious.
It's got decent amount of space.
You know, you're basically saying it's the automotive equivalent
of somebody that's got a good personality. And it's that.
Yeah. Yeah. Have you driven it, Mike?
The Ato too? Oh, have you just gotten it?
You drove it. Maybe you forgot them.
I drove it briefly. Yeah. I mean, I kind of briefly
briefly is the key word in that sentence, Mike. Love that.
I think as a degree of a lot of people don't care as much as we do,
perhaps about the things we care about.
And it is a lot of times it is a purely a cost driven decision to buy a car.
And I think that's that's what that car possibly scoops up in the marketplace,
you know, and there's a place for everything. But I agree with you.
I wouldn't I wouldn't be on my list. But that's not to say it's, you know,
it's not effective at what it does. But yeah, I agree with you.
I mean, it's I think we were talking about the Ferrari the other day.
And there was a quote, an old designer quote, the research is that good,
good design cost the same as bad design. And, you know, it seems a shame that
something is quite so as almost as willfully dull as that. But anyway.
Yeah, it is, it is. And it's only got 155 kilowatt hour charging on the big
battery and even less on the small, which also is like, okay, right.
So let's move on. Sorry, I feel like we're maybe a little mean there.
But that was yeah, that's my anything else you want to drop in before we we move on to
the news stories. Anything else that's caught your eye that you've driven or seen?
I had a good look around the grand day grand day panda that we had up at the barn.
Vicky bought that. She kept very quiet about it.
And she was almost party around the corner, didn't she?
She didn't want to look at it.
She knew we'd all get excited.
It's a it's a very base level is the base level trim. So it comes with a white steel wheels.
It's a very nice sort of fetching aqua color, which which is actually an option.
But it's the bomb basic one that they have. I'm fair play to fit putting
that on the fleet because often car manufacturers tend to put, you know,
mid and top spec cars on the fleet and don't put any base ones on there. So
it was an interesting thing. I don't know how many people I'll be interested
to know what people think about steel wheels because I was talking about steel wheels.
I was talking about Volkswagen engineer a year or so ago and he said,
if we listen to journalists, all we build is estates with manual gearboxes and steel wheels
and we'd sell none of them. We'd sell no cars because that's the end car that journalists want.
And we want them to be green as well because we really like green cars on a bus.
Yeah. So so yeah. So in the end, they'll sell an SUV with a DSG gearbox and they'll sell
loads of those on very expensive, easy to curb alloy wheels. That's what the market wants.
I actually don't care if I never drive a car with a manual gearbox again.
I have no I I'm I'm kind of over that now. I've moved on with you.
I'm with you. Well, we've got some comments about that later.
Okay. Well, let me disagree with both of you.
Okay. Let's move on to the news, shall we? So news stories of the week.
Mike, what have you got to hit us with? Come on. You're the one doing all the work this week,
basically, aren't you, Mike? Nick and I just melting. So it's fine. You're the designated
grown up on the planet. As always, indeed. Yeah. Well, Sam has written a very good story.
Just a reminder to the fiesta is coming back as an EV, which we kind of knew anyway. But
Ford's signed a deal a while ago to use two Renault platform to build two cars on Renault
platforms, unspecified as yet. But we know one of them, small one is going to be the fiesta.
Obviously, the background to that is that Ford stopped making the fiesta.
Is it a couple of years ago now? Feels like it was last year, but it may have been a year before.
It's a couple of years. Yeah. A couple of years ago. It's so expensive for them to make,
they used to make it in Europe. The margins on small cars are absolutely tiny and you have to
absolute ton of them to make any money. And Ford was selling loads more of the Puma,
which was the SUV based on the fiesta platform. So they saw electric coming down the way,
down the line. So that's cut our losses. So the new fiesta is going to be based on the Renault
5 platform. Good news for you too is that it won't be like in this end, Mike, it won't just be a
wee badge. Yes. Very good. It will have their own body. So I think the industry turns a top hat
isn't so much as you use someone else's platform when you build your own hat on top of it. So
that's what it's going to be. Can I ask a question? Will it be called, because it's called a fiesta,
will it actually look like a fiesta or are they just going to slap a fiesta badge on it and make
it look like a car that looks nothing like we ever remember a fiesta being as they have done
with the capri? Well, I don't know. I mean, I guess they're kind of,
they could see how well retro stuff's gone. And what if they made the new one look like a,
you know, a modern version of the first generation fiesta? What if they tried to capture a bit of
that? About the only brand who hasn't gone down that retro route to sell any cars, isn't it?
I just don't think Ford are up for doing that. I don't think they're fun enough.
You're not saying? No, I don't think they are. They play it safe.
They really do. I mean, I would love that. I'm actually just looking at one now. I've just,
and as you've said it, oh, yes, just a Mark 1 fiesta. Let's do it like that, please, but they
won't. Then they can make a little ST. That'd be lovely. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Well, my understanding
is that RS might come back because I guess it's kind of putting two and two together,
isn't it? Because you could just use the Alpine bits and box and stick that into that. So it's
kind of, it writes itself. But yeah, I don't know. I mean, but it's going to be at least 18 months away.
Is that too late? I mean, the Renault 5 is going to be out there. Of course it's too late. That's
ages. They'll be on the second gen Renault 5 by then. Yeah. You know, we'll have all the VW group
little cars. There'll be even more fun stuff coming and it'll just be like, and they're not
going to make it like a Mark 1 fiesta as much as we beg them to. My suspicion is it will come
along then it'll just be a bit like, oh yeah, okay, well it's cheap and it gets the full grant
if there is a grant then because it's built in Europe, sadly. I would love it not to be that.
I pray it's not that, but that's my strong suspicion. What I noticed though about people that drive
Fords is they drive a Ford and they stay with Ford by light, basically. They're proper passionate
about staying with their Ford. Because you tend to get a good deal with Ford if you then,
you know, change it every three years and stick with Ford. So if you started with a fiesta,
then you'll upgrade to a Puma. Then if you've suddenly got kids, you're probably going to,
I don't know, get a petrol cougar or something and get an Explorer and then eventually as you get
older, then you downgrade again back to a fiesta. So people just tend to stick with what they know
and they tend to do that all the time with Ford. So I think, you know, they'll sell them
to the Ford fans. They will. Well, they'll sell them because they'll make them cheap.
Because if you look, the Ford Puma, it sold out, didn't it? The electric Puma sold out
because it was the first car to get the full government grant. And we've had that car in
loads and it's another perfectly fine car. I quite like it. It's okay, but it wouldn't be even in the
top 10 on my list of cars if I was looking for something like that. And I think this is Ford's
problem, as Mike said, I just think they're not doing any of this quick enough. It's like,
guys, China are building cars in 18 months and even Europe now. The Twingo, the Twingo was built in
two years. Like, you know, the world is really changing. We'll have a new E208 by them. We'll
have the new electric Corsa. These brands are thinking more about design than Ford is. So
I do actually really worry for Ford in the bigger long term picture because I just don't know if
they're getting it enough, if they're exciting enough. But I don't know, maybe it's just a
nice thing. Let us know what you think in the comments below. It's interesting how they're
doing it by sharing platforms with so many different brands. I mean, you look at the Explorer,
you look at the Capri and that's all shared with VW and now they're going to do the Fiesta shared
with Renault and it's like, what are they going to make their own thing eventually?
Yeah, the van. And the van, you know, and the transit. Transit is Volkswagen, isn't it?
Yeah. Yeah. No, they're not going to do their own thing. They're just going to keep like,
copy and everybody else's homework. Yeah. I should technically point out that the
transporter is the rebadge transit rather than the other way around. But that's just me being
pedantic. That's Ford's design. That's why you're here. I get that. Okay, I do get that. All right,
sorry. I stand correct. Okay, what else have you got for us in the news, Mike, that we can round
I love we're all hot and sweaty and ranty, Nicola. I'm like, yes, yes. The heat makes me angry.
It's quite cool here, but I didn't want to say that in case you sort of throw anything.
Please don't, please don't ever say that again. Thank you. Carry on.
Would you, would you two like an ice cream? Yes, I would. Well, you can, but there's a catch.
You've got to go and take a test drive of an AON five, because in a, in a combination of
circumstances that not even the most optimistic AON boss could have envisaged.
The AON five comes with what's called a cool box thing. I can't remember the name. It's called,
it's called a cool hot box. And it's an option as part of a package on the AON five. And they get
this right, but it cools down to minus 15 and heats up to plus 50. So you say you can keep,
you know, if you, if you suddenly need to keep a bag of frozen peas cold on a journey
or make sure that your bargain bucket stays warm by the time you get home,
obviously not at the same time, you can use this, this box. And the AON, AON's marketing team have
woken up the fact that it's a heat wave this week and offering free ice creams,
unspecified, but on the, on the press release picture they sent out, it looks like those kind
of orange lollies that your mum used to buy because they were cheap from B jam. Oh yeah,
the ones that used to be like 50p. And they also, it's also melted. It's also a bit melty on the
press picture. It's just like mildly flavoured water. That's all. But you can see like all the,
all the orange lollies started to melt within a few times, isn't it? Yeah. So that's not really
inspiring me. Can I just also point out, as I got my, I was just going to point out, we're not
going to tell everybody about this, but you really, really must go, a hundred percent must go and
check out this story at Electrifying.com in the news section that Mike wrote, if only because
of the main picture. And I'm not going to tell you what it is. I know the picture. It is utterly
brilliant. And it made me literally spit my tea out when I looked at it this morning was like,
what's this story about the free ice creams? Oh my God. So please do go and check that out
Electrifying.com in the news section. Mike, all I've got to say is you are genius. That was Mike's
work. It's brilliant. It's what he does. He's so good at that. Yeah. Anyway,
sorry, you were going to say, we're, we're, you know, what, what ice lolly would you like Mike
there to be in there? Go on. Well, something of premium quite maybe a magnum, something like that.
Oh, there's a proper lolly, you know, I feel like a white magnum or like an almond magnum.
I'm not fussy, but I mean, probably an almond magnum would be nice, wouldn't it? But maybe the
highest spec ones, you get that. And on the inventory level car, you get the kind of Iceland
lollies. Yeah. And in the mid spec, you get like a Twister or something.
A Solero in the middle. Yeah. I love a Solero. Yes. But then you also get the benefit, don't you? A
few hours conditioning, you know, because the boost that on and the license, maybe it will boost
sales. I don't know. Maybe we need to chat with them next week and just see how many uptakes they
got on the ice lolly promotion. Is an ice lolly enough to make you want to go to your local
Aeon, Aeon dealership? There's only eight of them. So you might have a distance to go and
drive to find one, but yeah. Okay. All right. Good. Okay. Good. Good. Good. On to the next. What
else have we got? I just wanted to double check that we've covered all the videos that have gone
live lately, but oh, the McGann, the McGann's gone live. Oh, yes. The new Renault McGann.
And I mean, that's a very chaotic video, by the way, because our flight got delayed in it,
eight into our time with the car. So I had 10 minutes and we did it all in one take.
But she has had a facelift because everyone tends to forget that the McGann exists because
Renault are churning out such good stuff at the moment. So, you know, you just think of the Renault
four, the Renault five and the Twingo and all that kind of stuff. So you then you're like, oh, yeah,
there's the McGann. I forgot about the McGann. So it's had a very, very mild facelift. I mean,
you can kind of see the difference on the front end and maybe a little bit at the rear.
And the battery has also had a mild update, but I think they've just kind of done it just to kind
of remind everybody that the McGann exists. Yeah. Over here. Don't look at all the shiny new things.
I'm just saying, yeah. Yeah, basically, yeah. But that, yes, that's up on YouTube as well. So
you can upload that. Okay, good stuff. And we've got a bar, shall I do a Barnard's bargain for you
all? Yeah, go for it. Okay. On a lease. Okay, this is a new one. Oh, because a new one has just been
announced. Sorry, I've read that completely wrong, because I'm very hot. So it is a Polestar four,
200 kilowatts. Sorry, I'm reading this really wrong, because I'm so hot. I can't even read.
It's basically a Polestar four, long range, single motor. So there are some bargain leases on the
outgoing model, because there is a new one announced. And that is from 410 pounds a month.
You are putting down 3,691 pounds over 36 months, 8,000 miles, and they have them in stock. Now,
we have quite a lot of people that we know, and including Ben on the team who has one, and
quite a few friends of mine have snapped up Polestar fours a year on decent finance deals.
So that is not a bad deal, is it? What do you reckon to that one, you two? And Nicola,
you're not allowed to answer this. Just not. Just go, yeah. Okay, let's move on. We've got
another one for you. MG five. Right, this is what I love, because I remember the MG five.
Remember the MG five. I always remember what he's saying in his video of the MG five, this car is
just like a hammer. That's a really good intro, yeah. And it's a great intro, and I can't remember
why. I think it was to do with the functionality, but go and check out that video, because it's
still just really good views. That's one of the very first videos we made on the YouTube channel.
And it is that brilliant line, this car is like a hammer, and I can't remember why he thinks it's
like a hammer, but it's great. Anyway, MG fives are now coming in under that magic 10,000 pound
mark on the used market. So honestly, the number of used cars now that are good cars that you can
get for under 10K, that's making me really happy. So we've got one in the use listings at the moment
over at Electron.com slash used cars, I think it's 115 kilowatt exclusive. It's got the 61 kilowatt
battery. It's a 2021 done just under 40,000 miles, 10,000, I know it's 10,357 pounds. So
you could have that last 400. You could have that. all that. All one previous owner
and you know, 250 miles a range, that is a lot of car for that money. And it's a car that actually,
I think, even now we would all say really good solid car that we do all like, agreed? Yeah.
And also by looks of things, quite reliable because there's a lot of them. I mean, down here
in Sussex, where I live and also I've spotted in London, a lot of cabbie Susan, and they just,
they do so many miles in them and a lot of cabbies tend to use them around here. So
you know, there's a bit of reliability going on there, which is good. Yeah. So yeah, good purchase.
Good. Right. Shall we say a little electric version of the week? Yes. Yes. So this is
it's almost, almost a virgin, an electric version of the week. This is
from Roger Longdon who emailed in. And if you do want to drop us an email, that's podcast at
electrifying.com. Roger says, I'm pleased to say that you've now become a staple of my weekly
pod tunings. Thanks for the time and energy you put into it. Yay. Thank you. Leave us a comment,
recommend us on the podcast platform thing. What do we have to say here, Nick? You're better at
this for me. Just to subscribe. If you're listening, then click the follow button. If you're
watching, click subscribe. We love the comments because it's good for the algorithm. Click the
bell button, then you get notifications every time a new video goes live and tell your friends.
What she said. Brilliant. And Ginny, great headmistressing. Oh, great headmistress energy
keeping everyone in check. That's what my mum was. My mum was a headmistress. What's she?
She apple doesn't fall far from the tree, does it? Is that what basically my role now is at
Electrifier? I'm just like everybody. I'm like the headteacher of you all, am I? Yeah, I do get
scared when you walk into the room sometimes. Like I've definitely probably done something wrong
and you're going to tell me off. Anyway, thank you for that. I am really happy, Roger, that you've
noticed my headmistress energy. Nicola clearly was and still is the mischievous one at the back
of the class. And yes, that is true. She was absolutely... I can't argue with that. Yeah,
nailed them. Although to be fair, I was also the nausea one at the back of the class at school,
much to my mum's dismay because she was the headmistress, not at my school. Anyway,
Roger is not an EV virgin far from it. He's now on his fourth car with a plug,
but he's now gone Chinese. This is why we've included Roger and on to a Chang and Deeple
SO7 because A, it actually looks pretty good. Not like an appliance jelly mold like a Tesla or
an X-Pang or other cars that we may mention. B, it is amazing value for money. I've got on
business lease, 12,000 miles, 295 pounds down, 295 pounds a month for three years, less than a
half of what he was paying for the Coupre. Wow. Awesome. The quality of service from my dealer
in Accrington has been exceptional. So there you go. I know you can't hurl a cat without hitting
a new Chinese brand coming on the market, so please give a shout out to all of us Changan drivers.
Much love from the North, Roger. There's a lot to love about that email. I love the fact that you're
from Aki because one of my ex-boyfriend from years ago, he was a veteran my fiance for a while,
played for Aki Stanley. Accrington Stanley. I love Aki. Oh, Roger. That's so nice but also
great deal that, isn't it? Really good deal that. That's brilliant. Yeah. So they're
brave and welcome Roger and do feel free to let us know if you are just on to your third,
fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth EV. We'd like to find the person who has owned the most EVs.
Shall we set that challenge to everyone? Yeah, do it. Yeah. So what was Roger on?
Roger is the current leaderboard. It's only fourth. Fourth. Yeah. Right, we're going to start a leader
board which will give somebody a real headache in the graphics department but let's have a leader
board and so far at the moment we have Roger from Accrington who is on his fourth EV. Okay. I spoke
at the Octopus conference on Monday, so Octopus Energy had a really cool, like a sort of a green
tech day and they had some amazing people speaking. There was like Jimmy Whale from Wikipedia and they
had Tim Peake and or Boris Johnson was there so I'm not sure whether we think he's amazing or not.
I'll lead that up to you long to decide but I was also there, obviously not so amazing as some of
those people but it was brilliant because there was a guy in the front row who was on to his,
I think it was his sixth EV that I was having a bit of a chat too. So let us know what you are
on to. What your EV tally is and we will start a leader board. EV body count. I didn't want to
say that Mike but I actually thought Nicola might say that. Yeah, EV not on the bed post is how my
brain instantly went. Yeah, you've both slightly gone down in my estimation, both of you. I've been
watching Love Island so I'm in that wrong kind of mindset. Oh, you filthy bugger. I'm a little
disappointed in you both. Do you not just expect it by now? Surely. It was all quite
a nice pleasant podcast wasn't it and you're just bringing the term down just a little bit. Yeah,
but it's got to be done though, isn't it? Right, I have a reader question of the week.
So it says, hello Jimmy and Nicola. I'm also going to include Mike in that because obviously
it was just a reply to when we did the podcast together. So hello Jimmy, Nicola and Mike. Thank
you for your incredibly helpful and entertaining reviews. I look to you for electrifying guidance
like that very much. Money aside, would you buy a Porsche Cayenne electric base or S or a Volvo EX60?
That's a huge question. I would also consider a BMW iX5 electric but it seems that the cows will
come home before it comes out. Also, I would love to see a button that would instantly reveal only
cars that sold in the USA. Sorry about Trump. I think it would be dramatic. I think it would
dramatically increase interest from across the pond. Love you both. I'm going to say love you all.
From Dan Nadel. Hi Dan. Hi Dan. Oh, that's such a good question. I've got news on the BMW iX5
electric. It is, I mean, it's quite a long time off still but we will be seeing and I think driving
it in the autumn. So you know, it's on its way. Well, I can tell you, so I've driven the new
Cayenne electric and it's, it's utterly fantastic. It's, I mean, it's a really fantastic, really
brilliant, lovely, excellent car. That's, that's my point of view on it. I haven't driven the EX60
so I can't make that comparison. So Ginny, you're going to have to tell us what that's like.
Yeah. Do you know what? They're really different. I think they're different cars.
Yeah, they are. It's quite, you know, obviously they're different but you know,
and also I haven't as yet driven the Cayenne electric. So this is where it is quite difficult
for us to be objective because I've driven, obviously spent quite a lot of time in the Volvo EX60.
I think it's absolutely brilliant. I think it's one of the best cars Volvo has ever built.
Certainly the best electric car they've built and also I would say one of the best cars they've
ever built. The interior is beautiful. It drives, oh, it drives so well and I don't want to jinx
things and I'm going to touch the table because it's made of wood when I say this. But honestly,
the tech stack was a fantastic on it. The tech and the software works amazingly. So they've got a
whole new tech stack on this, a whole new software stack that they've developed and it's brilliant.
And the ADAS systems, which used to drive me mad in the EX, well, in Volvo's just generally
because they always felt a bit like reactive and got things wrong. Oh my goodness me, it's
so smart. So for me, it's difficult because I think the EX60 is possibly one of the best
electric cars on sale at the moment. There we go. Well, I think the KN is one of the best
electric cars at the moment from driving and experiencing it. I do think that the turbo
is the best one that you can buy, but I think the base or the S is still very, very good.
And if you can opt for that rear axle steering, you are onto a winner. And I just think it's
utterly brilliant. So I hope this helps, Dan. Do you know what? Why don't we do a twin test just
for Dan? Should we do a twin test? This is just for Dan. If you're not Dan, go away. This is just
for Dan. We want to put one view on this video only. No, no, we just need Dan. No, we can't do
that because we actually need Dan to watch it like 100, like 250,000 times to get the views up.
So if we make this video for you, Dan, you've got to promise us you'll watch it 250,000 times.
And maybe we'll just go around his house. It's in America. I'd do that. It's just an excuse to go
to America, though. Absolutely. Right, we're going to do a twin test on that. Let's do it. Right,
put it on the list, Dan. If you can hang on, we'll try and get those cars in, which
wouldn't be till the autumn, actually, because I don't think the Volvo is not here in the UK until
August, I think. So that's a good twin test. Let us know also what other twin tests you'd
like to see. Especially for Dan. Think of it as you're like personal shoppers. That's what we are.
Where you're electrifying.com personal shoppers. If you've got a dilemma on this car or that car,
this or that will help you decide. Lovely. Mike, do you want to take a view on that? You've driven
neither of them. So which should Dan buy? Which have we solved the best?
Yeah, well, I'll end up offending one of you, if I choose one over the other.
Just, just, just. You sit on that fence, Mike. You sit on that fence.
I've got splinters in my arse from sitting on the fence.
Right, I said money aside, so I'll have both. There we go. Job done.
Oh, fair enough. Okay, fair enough. Right. Okay, let's return to the old manual versus
automatic debate. So this was about, oh, a lot of comments. This was about us saying, you know,
my son wanting to learn in a manual, and I was like, I'm just saying to him, just do it in the
automatic. Well, if you'll pass first time, it'll be dead easy. And then you can, I didn't say he
should never learn in a manual because he will want to drive some classic cars. His dad's got
like an old mini that I know he'll want to drive. And, you know, I know he will. But I just think
for ease, get yourself in a manual. Anyway, we've had a lot of comments. Thanks to James
England, 7461 who in caps. I love the ones in caps.
Jeannie teach your son to drive a manual. He will cherish that bonding time forever ever.
He may, but I don't know if I will. I don't know if I'm up for the job. But anyway, yes.
Daddy Coolio, he wants to learn in a manual. So one day he can drive a classic car same as
my son who's already saving for his mart one MX five and what a car to say for
pop up headlights. I used to own one of those. Nice. Where's the electric Mazda MX five? Just
saying Mazda, come on, get with it. Where is that car? Auto trawler and with your son,
Jeannie, in every driving car enthusiast, in every driving car enthusiast should know how to
drive a manual. And most of the cheats buy and ensure cars are manual, although that is changing
massively. Oh gosh, there were a lot. Somebody else wants to take some. I'm a bit hot though.
How sad that Mike doesn't want to drive a manual says Simbed 3304. Here's an idea.
Why not employ some real car people rather than someone who clearly has no interest in the automotive
industry. In automotive history, in fact, Mike. Well, as you know, I'm very much, you know,
Johnny come lately to this car business. I've only been working working in it sort of 30 years.
But yeah. Yeah, not low. No. Do you know what? And you alluded to it earlier, Jeannie. I mean,
I'm past it. I don't want I had this. I mean, this was all triggered because I had a loan car
that had a manual gearbox in it. And I was I sat there looking at it for a couple of minutes
just to work out. It must have been 15 years since I've driven a car with a manual gearbox.
And what a faff. Honestly, I mean, I'm sure driving a Mark 1 MX5 manual was probably
lovely or a 911, but a, you know, a three cylinder 115 horsepower Volkswagen with a manual gearbox
was horrible. And I'd be happy never to drive another one again. Absolutely. And I'm completely
with you in that it's a to do with the car, right? There are certain cars, you know,
absolutely. But I don't want my daily driver to be a manual anymore.
Nicola's got a hundred. Go on, Nicola. Are you going to be controversial now?
I love a manual. And I think I always will love a manual. Obviously, driving
electric over the last few years, it's just been automatic only. And every now and again,
I get a craving. And so I've got I've currently got a Toyota GR 86 on the drive so that I could
have a little bit of fun when I head up to Silverstone. That's not that's a fun manual,
but that's a fun manual. But but if they released like a normal electric, if the Avenger was an
electric car with a manual gearbox that had like a fake manual gearbox, I'd take it and I would
drive it. And I think I would enjoy it because I love if I enjoy that that's convolved in the
experience of dry. I enjoy I enjoy changing the gears myself and feeling like I'm fully connected
to that car rather than literally just sitting and putting my foot down and then putting my foot
on the ground. I love changing the gears and you know, I love all of that. So yeah, more of that
with actual gear knobs. Yeah, you've got me. You are what that is coming out. There are now
steer by wire manual gearboxes. So there is absolutely now the the possibility that you
can have an EV with a steer by wire manual gearbox that you can also then just put into
auto mode. I'll take it like shaking his head. Anyway, gearbox is a device to make up for the
inadequacies of the revolutionary cycles of an internal combustion engine. It's a thing to
fix a problem. So it's not a kind of device. Well, judging by the amount of comments, I think
everyone's going to be on my side of this conversation. So where do we stop? Are we adjusting
valve clearances as well? That's the old days. I mean, I'd like the manual gearbox in the same
way like a vinyl record. It's nostalgic. It's fun, you know, but I don't want to live with it.
But trust me, we are going to have steer by wire. So you will be able to have that. That is an
absolutely going to be a thing. We had a couple more didn't we that just agreed? Should we just
do the agree the agree as my octa octa range. Hey, my partner passed his test in March since
we are only likely to own an EV. He took an automatic test past first time with zero faults.
Brilliant. Congrats to you. But he's also destroyed the other wheels on the up. Maybe not so good.
And NR 5494. How ridiculous that VW have petrol manuals as courtesy cars. This is a really good
comment actually. They're clearly using the cars nobody wants. But why on earth not give
non-EVG owners the chance to try an EV? Isn't that a yes? Yes, it is. I have asked this before
when my BMW used to go in for a service. So he used to give me a diesel or something or other.
And I said, why don't you give EVs? He said, because most people are terrified of EVs. He said,
and they all bring them back. They walk out to the car park, see they've been given an EV and
come back. So I can't drive that. I need, I need what you need. So they said, they just don't
bother with that anymore. They just say, well, it's easier to have. They won't be doing it much
longer if you've got all the youngsters learning how to drive in automatic only. I mean, my niece
is now learning how to drive. She's done automatic only. My two other nieces learned to drive in an
EV. So now they only drive EVs, both their cars, EVs. And it just seems like, yeah, unless you are
a car person or connected to car people and wanted to be a car enthusiast, then it seems like, yeah,
everyone's just learning automatic, aren't they? Yeah. Should we move on? Yes. Because we are.
Okay. We have been recording a long time now. Should we do one more subject? One more. One more.
EV apps. We discussed this last week. And to my horror, I discovered that Ginny doesn't really
use the app. I don't think you do either, do you? Not really. Okay. So we've been taken to task,
Alastair Hughes says, everyone I know, everyone he knows, uses their apps. I have a Kia,
my friend, another Tesla, another Skoda, and we all use the apps. Everyone. Literally,
everybody knows. Anyone he sees in the street, they all use an app. App Bubble Wrap Me says,
on the subject of apps, could you please include app functionality, functions, reliability,
connectivity with your reviews? I'm concerned there are several EVs with very four apps.
This is a good point. And I think it works for long term as you two aside, because it is a
quite a key part of car ownership. But when we have a car for a week, setting things up for the
app, and some of them, you require a credit card to register with, you know, with a provider,
that kind of thing. It is an almighty fact to start with. So often when two of us drive a car,
we switch cars after a day or something like that, or we only really drive them for
location, that kind of thing. We don't have the time to do that. And also,
practically impossible to do with setting up accounts and all this kind of give to close an
account. And sometimes we literally just do not give it. We can't, because there are logging
codes and there are users. Cars are set up for guest mode. Yeah. So this is the problem,
that it's not always. In fact, should we read out the next one? I feel like the next one is
relevant to this. Grissman994 says, somewhat disappointed that you can't be bothered to
install the apps for the cars for an extended period, except when cars have extended period.
Apps are a key part of the ownership experience. And a bad one would be a factor in making a
purchase decision. Please, please read this out. That's not what we said. No, it's not,
but it's also not what we said. We didn't say we couldn't be bothered. No. So when I have a
long term, I'll always install the app. Okay. Yeah. If we're given, if we're given a lot,
you know, we'll always do that, particularly when it's a long term run. The point we were
making was that personally, I don't use them as much because, and certainly, I think I was
taught, I was talking about the Renault five in that the functionality in that was just so good
for what I needed to do. I didn't actually find myself using the app because it was set to charge
every night on my own peak. It was set ready to go in the morning when I needed it to go at the
temperature I needed it. All that was actually done from in the screen. And I know that as a group
and probably a lot of people listening to this podcast, you are that sort of deeper level of
knowledge of EVs. But I cannot tell you the number of my mates who have gone into EVs and don't,
and even if I say it's a really good app, you should try it. They don't want the faff. They don't
use it. So it was simply a point that there is very much as two, yes, apps are fantastic and
they do great stuff. And of course we try them. But there are still a lot of people like that who
might download it and might just not use it. So I think that was the point we were making,
not that we're too lazy to download them. So please don't think that. Yes, well said. Okay, okay.
What does that mean? I don't know, it's just nicer than a clock. I like that. Do we click
when we do something good? Well, no, this is a thing. Jenny, the headmistress. Now,
might they clap? It's a thing. It's a thing that like Gen Z does now. Well, they do snaps,
or they do, or they do this, which is just like clock it. Yeah, nice. This is just nice because
it's so nice to have a younger on the team, isn't it Mike? Well, I'm not Gen Z, I'm millennial,
so I still prefer a clap, but I thought I would just do that. Okay, okay. Right, I feel like we've
been going for 50 minutes and this is now nearly a kilowatt full hour, so shall we? I'm so desperate
for a wee. I'm actually calm. I can't, I need to go and stand in the cool air of the garden. So
please forgive us if we sign off now. Should we sign off? Yes. Did we get, just before we go,
did we get anyone shouting at us for our goodbye last week? We did. Yeah, some people seem to like
it. I don't know whether that means we should repeat it, but what did you do? What was last week's
goodbye? The week before, the three of us did the podcast. We had a lot of goodbye. Goodbye.
And it was very mixed. The reaction was very mixed. Bye bye then. Okay. Anyway,
should we wrap up in a slightly more professional way? I can see the heat's getting to us. Thank you
for joining us. As always, drop your comments in the comments below and we, you know,
we couldn't do the show without them, so please email us at podcast.electrifying.com. Drop a
comment. Do all the things that Nicola said you need to do. All the things. All those things she
said earlier. All the apps. And we'll download enough and we'll be back next time. And thank
you for listening and we wish you, we wish you well wherever you are in the world. Bye bye. Bye
bye. Bye Ben. Bye. Bye. Goodbye. Bye bye then. Bye.
About this episode
Hosts Nicola and Mike brave a brutal UK heatwave to dissect the latest EV news, starting with a look at the newly updated Audi Q4 e-tron and its charging capabilities. They debate whether Audi is falling behind rivals like Zeekr on charging speeds before diving into Nicola's impressions of the new Škoda Elroq. Plus, Mike shares his ongoing love-hate relationship with his temperamental VW ID. Buzz, and the team discusses the surprising charm of the budget-friendly Jeep Avenger.
Audi A6
Audi A6 e-tron
Audi e-tron
Audi Q4 e-tron
Byd Atto 3
Dodge Avenger
Fiat Grande Panda
Ford Capri
Ford Cougar
Ford Explorer
Ford Fiesta
Ford Puma
Jeep Avenger
Kia EV9
Mazda MX-5 / Miata
Polestar 4
Porsche Cayenne
Renault 5 E-Tech Electric
Renault Megane E-Tech
Renault Twingo
Skoda Epiq
Toyota GR 86
Volkswagen ID.7
Volkswagen ID. Buzz
Volkswagen T-Cross
Volvo EX60
Zeekr 007
Original notes
This week on the Kilowatt Half Hour, the Electrifying.com team discuss Ford’s plans to bring back the iconic Fiesta as an electric car, Skoda’s all-new 7-seater (or has it “Peaqed”?) and the unusual lengths one Chinese brand is going to in order to tempt buyers – with free ice cream on offer for test drives.
There’s also a look at what we’ve been driving, including the Zeekr 7GT, Volkswagen ID. Buzz, Audi Q4 e-tron facelift, Polestar 2 and Skoda Peaq, plus Barnard’s Bargains with the best new and used EV deals.
In Almost an EV Virgin, we hear from a listener who’s swapped to a Changan Deepal S07 and wants to spread the word about one of China’s newest arrivals to the UK.
Our reader question tackles a luxury SUV dilemma: would we choose the upcoming Porsche Cayenne Electric or the Volvo EX60?
We also dive into your comments on learning to drive in a manual, the importance of EV smartphone apps, Audi’s electric future and Zeekr’s UK launch.
As always, thanks for listening, and don’t forget to subscribe, leave us a review and send your questions or comments to [email protected].
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The Kilowatt Half Hour
Electrifying.com
0:00
49:00