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Episode 85: Elon’s electrons, the Polestar that couldn't stop and the Corsa cometh

Episode 85: Elon’s electrons, the Polestar that couldn't stop and the Corsa cometh

The Kilowatt Half Hour Aug 18, 2025 41 min
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About this episode

The hosts dive into Tesla's UK energy supply plans, highlighting their application to become an electricity provider and potential vehicle-to-grid services. They discuss Polestar's impressive 581-mile range test, emphasizing efficiency over raw distance. Vauxhall's upcoming electric concept car teaser sparks excitement, alongside a comparison of affordable sporty EVs like the Alpine A290 and VW Born. Listener questions cover used BMW i3 battery health, electric cars with large boots for big dogs, brake wear from regenerative braking, and opinions on adaptive cruise control. The episode blends news, personal stories, and practical EV advice with a lighthearted tone.

Topics: tesla uk energy supply polestar range test vauxhall electric concept alpine a290 vs vw born used bmw i3 battery health electric cars with large boots regen braking and brake wear adaptive cruise control experiences leasing vs buying evs indoor ev charging hubs
Technical Too Afraid to Ask
Volvo XC40
Alexander Migl (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Car

Volvo XC40

"Well, it was it was a little while ago now, but I think I was in an electric XC 40 and I was on the M 25. And you know, the section of concrete, which is always really noisy"
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Dodge Charger
Ermell (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Car

Dodge Charger

"...299, isn't it? They'll give you a a dolphin and a charger and free electricity, basically. So but you have ..."
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Hyundai Ioniq
TTTNIS (CC0)
Car

Hyundai Ioniq

"... not going to impress anybody that's got high end Ioniq, is it? You know, the old it's it's it still feel..."
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Chevrolet Corvette
Matti Blume (CC BY-SA)
Car

Chevrolet Corvette

"... we both know who worked as a PR turned up with a Corvette, which of course nobody cared about the economy f..."
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Toyota Prius
TTTNIS (CC0)
Car

Toyota Prius

"... had a variety of vehicles and including we had a Prius and we had various others and we had it was basic..."
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Volkswagen Gti
Vauxford (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Car

Volkswagen Gti

"...d say I'm more interested in this than in the 208 GTI, and maybe we should just leave. Yes, yes."
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Car

Alpine A290

"...st appearance in the leasing prices of the Alpine A290. Three hundred and five pounds a month, which is ..."
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Tesla Model 3
Matti Blume (CC BY-SA)
Car

Tesla Model 3

"...leage Teslas recently. We had the Model S and the Model 3 in the last year. And both of them were on sort o..."
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Tesla Model S
Granada (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Car

Tesla Model S

"...ouple of high mileage Teslas recently. We had the Model S and the Model 3 in the last year. And both of the..."
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BMW i3
Frank Schulenburg (CC0)
Car

BMW i3

"...saw was in 2020 with Ginny reviewing the used BMW i3. Fast forward five years"
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BMW i3s
Matti Blume (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Car

BMW i3s

"...could be an issue. But I think you can look at on i3s, you can go into the menu"
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Skoda Octavia
Matti Blume (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Car

Skoda Octavia

"...y's 9887, he says, I'm pleased to hear there's an Octavia estate plan for the future."
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Volkswagen Id7
Alexander-93 (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Car

Volkswagen Id7

"I'm sorry everybody, I am gonna talk about the ID7 again because I think an ID7 Tora would be a bett..."
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Peugeot 5008
Alexander Migl (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Car

Peugeot 5008

"So you could look at, so the Peugeot 5008 has got an enormous boot. So that's, if you don't..."
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Tesla Model Y
Alexander Migl (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Car

Tesla Model Y

"...ort of covers the obvious ones. You could look at Model Y, I have to say, because they are really good for ..."
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Born Bourne
Matti Blume (CC BY-SA)
Car

Born Bourne

"...you know, people get funny about on cars like the Bourne, there were all these people on YouTube saying,"
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Mazda Mx30
Calreyn88 (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Car

Mazda Mx30

"a petrol engine and the battery. I did try that Mazda MX-30, which was utter nonsense. Because it had the fuel consumption of a Range Rover"
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Land Rover Range Rover
Alexander Migl (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Car

Land Rover Range Rover

"...onsense. Because it had the fuel consumption of a Range Rover when it was running in petrol mode."
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Car

Dacia Spring

"...he deals that were on, I think at the moment on a Dacia Spring and the Leap Motor C10,"
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Chevrolet C10
GPS 56 from New Zealand (CC BY 2.0)
Car

Chevrolet C10

"...t the moment on a Dacia Spring and the Leap Motor C10, which have been quite frankly,"
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Aston Martin Rapide
Calreyn88 (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Car

Aston Martin Rapide

"...rrible, terrible person. Who ain't the charger of Rapide? Let's see if we can play."
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21 cars featured

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