Episode 86: The German edition - reborn TT, iX3 and VW’s new name game

Hello and welcome to the kilowatt half-hour. We're back from our summer break, aren't we, gang?

Hooray! Hooray! Everyone said very hard-heartedly.

Now, apologies, we didn't actually tell you what we were going on in the summer break.

We just kind of took one. We forgot to do that. But after doing, I don't know,

the best part of 120 videos that have gone live on the YouTube channel, close to 50 podcasts,

running a very busy website with lots of reviews, news stories, explainers.

We did all need to go and lie down in the dark room. In particular, Manos, our head of video,

who, of course, being great, went to line a hot beach in the bright sunshine.

But we haven't been too lazy over the summer. We've been covering loads of things

ahead of next week's Munich auto show. So we're going to be really looking

at all of that in today's episode of the kilowatt half-hour, along with, of course,

dipping into the post-bad tea, what you've had to say in answering all your car buying questions.

Welcome to the show. I'm Ginny.

I'm Vicky.

And I'm Tom.

Are we all rested? Or are we just knackered again because we've been covering so many cars?

Knackered again. I think we've been going backwards and forced to Munich a bit, haven't we?

We just should start a Munich office in August. It would be much easier.

Yeah, I do feel like we live in Munich at the minute.

We'll be there again, start on next week. Both Tom and I will be there

because it is this thing called the Munich Mobility Show,

which was really originally the Frankfurt Motor Show and it had a revamp, didn't it?

And now it's looking at mobility, so it covers lots of other stuff.

But of course, it has now become the place that all the German car brands

in particular want to launch their new cars, their concept cars,

and we'll be looking at loads of them.

So should we kick off a bit with what we've been looking at

and what we can talk about already?

Because we've signed lots of chunky embargoes, haven't we, Tom?

We have with big fines if we break them, so we're not going to, even for you, dear listeners.

We're not going to, I know.

Listen, I think probably the big news, if you're listening to this on Friday,

which is when we're putting this up, is that the Audi has shown the new,

well, what will be the TT,

but we've actually seen the production version, finally,

of this Neuer-class new future of BMW coming to life in the form of the BMW iX3.

And we've got a video live now on the YouTube channel over on the website.

We've got a full review. We've had a really deep dive into that.

And I mean, I don't know about YouTube, we use that term,

groundbreaking, shifts the dial, such a lot.

Particularly, car brands are very bad at announcing to us that their cars are doing this.

This, I think, is groundbreaking and it massively moves the game on.

I mean, just about everything is new.

It's got its own enhanced operating system.

It's going down that Tesla route of doing everything itself.

Got new battery technology, new cylindrical cells.

Brilliant for lots of different reasons, efficiency.

So we're seeing fantastic range on this, but also affordability.

And I think the big takeout for me about this car

is that you are getting all this latest technology

and very unusually for life at the moment,

you're getting it for a lot less than the outgoing model.

And we didn't believe the prices on we saw them, did we, Vic?

I was going, you're going, really? Really?

I was really surprised. I know. It's amazing.

So what is it? You said it's sort of £7,000 cheaper than the current iX3,

even though this is going to be, I've been trying to think,

I think it is the longest range electric car on sale in the UK

when it arrives, isn't it?

Which isn't too far, is it?

Delivery is next spring.

Can you give us some numbers?

Give us some numbers. How much and how many?

I can give you some numbers.

It starts at £59,000, isn't it?

It starts at £58,000.

Well, £58,750, that's for the entry-level model.

Range is going to start 421 miles, going up to 500 miles.

Charging, 400 kilowatt charging.

Of course, the caveat with that is you've got to find the charger

that can deliver the power.

But it's got, I mean, there's so much going on with this car.

There's a great sustainability story.

They've really thought about that.

BMW are the holders of one of our Green Hero Awards,

which we give out to cars that are looking much more.

And they've done so much to reduce the overall emissions

in the production of this car.

It's going to reach price parity

with a petrol equivalent after just 13 months,

which is seeing that number coming down and down.

And if you don't know what we mean by that,

and we talk about a car reaching, not price parity,

carbon parity, sorry, reaching carbon parity.

It's the electric cars produce more carbon

in their manufacturing.

So there's this period where it takes them to get

carbon parity with their petrol or diesel counterparts.

BMW really managed to reduce that now.

So there's just so much clever tech on it.

We've had an early drive of a prototype with one of the team.

Early impressions are that it's incredibly impressive

on the road as well.

So I think if I was Volvo, Audi,

I'd be looking at this today thinking,

okay, might need to think about pricing on some of our cars.

I mean, it's worth pointing out as well that this,

the carbon parity on the iX3 is particularly impressive

because it has got 108.7 kilowatt hour usable battery.

So it's not a small battery.

And we all know that the battery is kind of the big kind of carbon

intensive thing that makes EVs more carbon intensive to produce

than petrol or diesel equivalents.

So yeah, the fact that they've managed,

I think for me it's the battery tech.

I mean, I'm a bit of a battery geek anyway,

but I find this stuff really interesting

and that they've managed to make it lighter and cheaper

and more efficient.

It's, you know, finally we sort of feel like we've had

that sudden sort of leap forward with that,

which is just really important, I think.

So yeah, I'm with you.

I think the iX3 looks really interesting from a car geek

perspective and also just from the perspective

of anybody that wants a premium family SUV.

It seems like great value, doesn't it?

Tom, can you tell me,

when you look at the back of the iX3,

I don't know if you've really spent much time looking at it,

does it remind you of a sort of old alpha?

There's something that reminds me of a 1.9 sport wagon.

Yes, yes, you're one of those, yeah.

What is it that this looks like?

You're a pair of geeks, aren't you, you two?

Hello.

You really are.

I think just going back to that battery technology, Vic,

it is these really clever,

I don't know how much you've drilled down into this,

so they are cylindrical cells that's lost them now.

They've, you know, like the batteries that we see.

Don't drill down into batteries, Ginny.

I won't drill down into batteries, Ginny.

I won't drill down into batteries.

Try not to do that.

But what's clever is they hold,

I think it was either about 20, 25% more energy.

So they're able to get, obviously,

more batteries into a smaller space.

That gives them, you know,

more packaging options with what they can do with the car.

And they're also more efficient as well

and they're more affordable.

So it's just a win-win-win on that.

And I think when we talk about it being groundbreaking,

yes, it's nice to see the grills gone back to the grills of old

and we don't have that,

a wide-brown hug grill

for all of those of you watching on there.

But it's that, it's the tech.

It's the, you're getting more tech for less money.

And I think that's to be appreciated.

It is impressive.

It's still a bit piggy at the front though.

There's something a little bit piggy.

I don't mind it, the front of the eyes.

Anyway, if you're listening, check it out.

Have a look on that.

Because we've got all the info on the website

and have a look.

Because I do think that I think it's still quite divisive

the way it looks,

but I do quite like it in its own way.

The video's gone live as we're recording this, actually.

I've had a quick look through the YouTube channels

and it's getting quite a lot of positive comments.

Really?

So yeah, but that's only the early ones.

Let's see.

Let us know what you think.

Please, as always, podcast.electrifying.com.

You can let us know in the comments below.

Tom, what were you going to say?

Well, what I was going to say is that

we can't talk about it quite yet.

But if you're listening to this after Sunday,

you'll be able to go onto the site and see

a walk-around video of the Mercedes GLC,

which is, of course, a direct rival for this car

and also has some big numbers and some clever tech.

So that's all I'll say.

You might have seen some teasers of the big grill on that

as well, which we can talk about.

But otherwise, just have a look at the numbers on that

and the car and let us know what you think.

Yes, OK.

That's all I'm saying.

But we have a number of things that we've signed to say

we'll pay many, many, many euros if we say things we shouldn't.

So we're being very cautious today, D.

We don't have many, many euros in our piggy banks, do we?

Vic, what's caught your eye of this sort of the batch

of stuff that's happening at the moment

because there's been so much going on?

So I was quite intrigued by, now this probably might,

a lot of people might have missed this in the flurry of stuff,

but this Porsche has said that the new Cayenne,

which we've got a prototype drive off on the site, by the way,

is going to get wireless charging.

Now, we've talked about this is one of those tech aspects

of electric cars that's always been just around the corner,

just around the corner.

And it interests me because I remember as far back as like,

I think it was 2020, possibly even like 2021,

that BMW and Audi both put out press releases saying,

we're going to launch wireless charging.

It was going to come on the,

I think it was going to come on the i7.

And it never happened.

And I've talked to quite a few engineers from various manufacturers

about wireless charging.

And the problem has always been that you get these pads,

and this is what Porsche is saying for this new Cayenne,

that it's going to come on the new Cayenne.

And they've got an 11 kilowatt too.

So you get a wireless charging pad that you have plugged

into your charger at home or installed in your garage.

And then you just park the car over the top of it.

And just like you would when you put your phone on a

wireless charging pad, it charges the car.

I mean, if Porsche could actually bring that to,

you know, to production and offer it to people,

then great, I'd be interested to see how they've done it.

Because I know that a lot of engineers have told me

that there are issues with it being,

you have to have it planted so precisely.

The pad for it to work, that that makes an issue.

I mean, think about,

I have issues just putting my phone on a pad,

nevermind get like precisely enough, especially in car.

Yeah, it's not proper.

Go on, so Nick.

No, I was going to say another one.

I had an engineer tell me that one of the problems,

this might be, won't affect everybody,

but apparently because the charging pad can get warm,

it sometimes attracts your cat.

And then they go and sit on it,

which isn't terribly good for the cat.

So you have to be a little bit,

a little bit careful of that,

but Porsche may well have figured out how to avoid this.

I don't know how to get rid of the cats.

It has that.

I've spoken to engineers as well.

And they've said the same thing.

It's that key.

It's the sensitivity of the charge level

and that it pops in and out.

And also then losing range as well from it.

So yeah, go on.

What's your thoughts on that?

Well, I think that it seems like a convenience

just to having this charge pad and that's it.

One of the other problems is it's not terribly efficient.

Now, if you're charging your phone,

you don't really care about losing a few.

But if you're losing a lot of power by doing that,

but just to think even further ahead

about what this could mean,

if you imagine now people are saying,

there's no charging outside my house

because there's only four charges

and there's six people who need it.

Now, if you have wireless charging pads on the street

and there are four of them

and cars are self-driving,

which they pretty much are these days,

it's not too great a leap of technology

to think that the car will move itself

onto a charging pad when you're ready

so it can get that precise location above it.

And then when it's charged,

it moves itself away

and your neighbor's car moves itself on

in the middle of the night.

And that suddenly makes you think,

oh, God, this could happen.

This could be the answer to everything.

So you don't need things in the lamp post

that you need to plug in manually.

That will seem so antiquated.

Your cars and your neighbor's cars

will move themselves around to take advantage of it.

And I think for all of you out there

who are going, oh, don't be delicious.

That'll never happen.

When we launched Electrifying,

we were talking about wireless charging for cars

and it just felt like it was so far in the future.

It was one of those kind of things

that was a bit like, yeah,

and we were all like, oh, it's skeptical.

And it's here, five years later, it's here.

So the advances are happening now so quickly.

And yes, this is on a high end,

very expensive Porsche, of course it is.

But again, look at vehicle to load.

Look at how we've seen that start to filter down.

The technology that we get on these high-end cars,

it will filter down.

So I think the charging hold, how we charge,

it's going to look so different in five, six years time.

I really do.

It's quite exciting.

Do we need to get out more?

We need to get out more, don't we?

I'm going to speak for the cynics here, Tom,

because I'm going to say,

I don't think that's going to happen.

I just don't.

But maybe one day, but here you go.

Pin this post and come back and tell me how wrong I was

when in five years time our cars

are moving themselves around and wirelessly charging.

I'm such a cynic, I'm not even convinced

that Porsche will actually bring this to market.

But we'll see.

Maybe they will.

But it will be interesting to see how much it's going to cost

and how effective it is.

And we'll go from there.

And if we can manage it, then good for them.

I'll get the nurse from my old people's home to do a video

recording and say, I told you.

Don't rain on Tom's parade.

He's been talking about that for about the last six years

that I've known him the fact that self-driving cars

will be able to park each other.

Honestly, that's his crystal ball moment.

So we need to just encourage him sometimes

with his future thinking.

What else should we talk about?

It's almost too much, isn't there?

Tom, tell us about what the new Audi TT might be like.

Yeah, well, I mean, that was a strange one

because I went into the studio having not seen it.

I mean, often we get like teaser sketches

or an actual picture.

So you know what you're getting.

So but this was a proper open the door,

look at it and go, oh.

And it was a, oh, do I like this?

Do I not like this kind of moment?

Because it's pretty radical.

Like the first TT was, you looked at that and thought,

is that beautiful because it's different

or is it beautiful because it's beautiful?

And I mean, it's a stunning thing that that TT,

I mean, it's not going to be TT money.

It's going to be at top end almost super car money

and it's going to be fast

and it's going to have all the range and everything.

But it's not a TT then, is it?

Because that's not the TT.

I don't know.

It kind of got more expensive, didn't it?

I think it's kind of halfway between a TT and an R8.

In fact, it's the same size as an R8.

So, I mean, it's a beautiful thing,

folding hard top like proper supercars,

no rear window like a Polestar 4.

So you have to rely on the camera,

which isn't something I'm keen on.

Although it's got proper wing mirrors.

They've got rid of the cameras

that they've got on production cars and put the, yeah.

But yeah, it's going to share all its bits

with the new Porsche Boxster.

So it's going to drive well, isn't it?

Yeah, I think it's a,

I thought it was a stunning car.

Reminded me of the Jaguar, but a bit better.

It's a very different beast to the Jaguar,

I think though, but I mean, who knows?

I don't know of it.

I think it looks great.

I think for me, the big disappointment

is where it's going to be pitched in the market.

Because for me, the beauty of the TT

was that it was that kind of fabulous design,

something really special and sporty

that was kind of attainable.

I know we've talked about this a lot on the podcast before,

like I want to see an electric MX-5.

I want to see, you know,

more fun 2C's at that end of the market.

I'd like, I'd love that car,

even more that Audi concept,

if it was going to be, you know,

slightly more affordable and pitched at

a slightly different mass market.

I don't know, what do you reckon, Vic?

Yeah, it's tricky, isn't it?

Because I'm with Tom in that I actually think

it looks really pretty cool.

I actually really quite like the look of it from the back.

It looks quite Bugatti-esque at the back, doesn't it?

Which I think it's quite cool.

Although I'm with you again on the rear window.

Yeah, no, I agree.

I mean, I think for me, as you say,

the GT was always a joy because it was

kind of an attainable car, wasn't it?

It was this kind of sports car for the masses,

so to speak.

And this does feel like it's sort of

edged a bit away from that.

But maybe it's a case of, you know,

what Audi can do,

how it can actually make money on it for the price

and where it needs to be pitched.

And maybe this is another, you know,

put up internet and come back in five years

and hopefully we will have a legitimate

electric MX-5 rival.

I don't know because nobody seems to be able

to produce, you know, as hopefully,

BMW has got these lighter batteries.

Maybe we'll see technology make that possible.

I know, I hope so.

But I think, honestly, don't get me wrong.

I think it's absolutely stunning.

And, you know, and I can imagine that.

I actually love it when they don't show you

the cars ahead of time and you just go into

the studio and see them.

And I can imagine you were like,

oh, yes, when you saw it.

It's just that.

And I guess my gripe is more of a gripe

at the industry generally, which is,

as you said, Vic, it seems to be so hard

for them to get.

But I don't understand why.

Because we've got smaller electric cars.

Why can't we get smaller electric sports cars?

Yeah, but all the smaller electric cars

have only just turned up, haven't they?

And also, you're looking at a different kind of person

who's going to buy an Audi TT at 40 grand

as to somebody who's going to buy an EC3 at 20.

And so if they can't get a battery in it

that will do more than 200 miles range,

I think it would be, we'd probably be looking

at the new Audi TT with a 200 mile range.

Do you know what I mean?

It's that kind of range, doesn't it?

So then you Audi's between these two sort of situations

where it's like, well, we want to make the car

and this is where they pitched it.

And I agree.

I'm a bit sad for the consumer,

but it's got to start somewhere, I suppose.

If you want the boring technical reason

for why these sort of sports cars can't happen,

as far as I understand it is that the new TT

or the Concept C and the new Boxster,

they have the batteries down the middle

between the driver and the passenger

and behind you.

So it's like having a mid-engine car.

So they're stacked behind you.

And that means that you can sit low

and the car can be low

because you haven't got the battery pack underneath you

like you would in a normal electric car.

So if you think, well, why don't Volkswagen

or Audi do a new cheaper sports car

which is based on, I don't know,

an ID3 platform or the new ID Polo platform.

And you couldn't because they've got the batteries

stacked underneath the driver and the passenger

so it would have to be high up.

And if you put it high up, it's not a sports car anymore.

Yeah, I think, yeah.

No, I get that, but I just think

I want a bit more fun now in cars.

And I think one of the things

I've talked about fun that I'd love to see

is I went to see that Instruid thing

that Hyundai did this week.

There's a YouTube show on it

and we've got a sort of a Q&A,

everything we know about it on the website.

So they've basically just taken the Instruid,

given it loads of energy drinks,

transformed it with stacks of Aero

and it now looks like an 80s rally car

and it's bloody brilliant

and it's got a boombox in the back

and sports seats and all the gimmicks,

all the gadgets, all of the stuff.

Honestly, I was a bit like,

I'll go and have a look at it.

And I loved it when I saw it.

It's such a fun thing.

And I was talking to them saying,

are you going to build it?

And they were saying, no, no,

it was just like a fun thing

that the kids did in the studio,

the younger designers.

And then it was Simon Loseby

who's like their sort of head of style

I think he is at Hyundai.

He said, no, we looked at it

and we're like, oh, that's really nice.

So then there was this,

well, okay, let's just do some kind of,

you know, and move it to the next step.

So there was some renderings and stuff done on it.

Oh, okay.

Well, could we find the money to build it?

And they've built it.

And it looks absolutely bloody brilliant.

Absolutely.

Like just so fun.

And it made me smile.

And I think they were saying,

we're not going to build it in that way

where they were not in going,

but we could and we might.

Maybe we will.

And he was talking to me a lot about

the Bonkers Renault 5 Turbo 3E.

And just how, you know,

they've been a success for selling that.

You know, they've had a lot of orders.

I wouldn't be surprised if we see that car,

the InstruOid coming out of the,

you know, Hyundai's N Motorsport division down the line,

because it can completely be built.

It's basically based on the same

underpinnings as the Ioniq 5.

So it could be done.

What did you think of it?

It's bonkers.

Well, if you, if they don't build it

and you really want one, Ginny,

all you have to do is buy an Ioniq 5N

and an InstruOid.

Chop the top off the InstruOid

and dump it on the body of the...

Simple.

That's a bit harsh, I think.

Well, I've got a welding torch.

I've got some ice upon filler.

I'm sure we can do that.

Is that a project for us down the line?

Yeah, yeah.

I don't know.

It just made me happy it was there, you know.

It just was like,

I just like this kind of the fun elements,

you know, that we see.

And I suppose that's what my gripe

is a little bit about.

We want more sort of smaller fun cars.

I don't know, Vic.

Do you think it's utterly ridiculous?

I think it's absolutely ridiculous.

I want them to make it.

And I want one.

Yeah, absolutely.

Bring it on.

I think it's fantastic.

I love it.

I mean, it's like a,

it's a Pike's Peak Instru, isn't it?

It's just absolutely off the wall.

And I love that.

It's great.

Why not?

Yeah.

I'm all for it.

Okay, right.

If you're listening,

which I know you are,

all of us would just like you spilled it.

All right.

Come on.

Next year for the Goodwood Hill Climb, please,

we'll draw a straw between the three of us,

whoever gets to take it up the hill.

I don't know.

I feel like we've been going.

What else have we still got cars to talk about?

Haven't we?

We have.

I need to talk about the Volkswagen naming thing.

Oh, yeah.

Go on.

So they confirmed,

well, I think we're suspected,

which is that they're going to dump for electric cars,

having a numbering system.

And they're going to,

for the future generation of electric cars,

they're all going to have names,

which relate to that size of car from a Volkswagen.

So the ID two, all concept you might remember,

and it was all the ID two,

so it's going to be ID three.

That's going to be the ID polo.

And then you can imagine that the next ID three will be the ID golf.

ID seven will become ID per sat.

And then you've got these nice names.

So that makes sense.

They confirmed it.

And the one which again,

if you're watching this after the weekend,

you'll be able to see is the ID cross,

which is a,

we used to be called the ID two X in concept terms,

but it's now the ID cross,

which means it's a electric version of the T cross.

So imagine the size of it makes complete sense.

You can see how customers will now be able to understand

where those cars fit much better.

It's much more straightforward, isn't it?

Okay.

And Vic, what else have you got for us?

I wanted to talk about the L rock because Skoda's added a long range

version, which does 355 miles WLTP.

But I mean, I think obviously the L rocks eligible for the,

it's this long range one is eligible for the grants.

You get 1500 pounds off,

which means that after the grant,

you can get this 355 mile L rock SEL 85.

It's called the 35,560 pounds.

So long range for the money.

Yeah.

And that's something in a really good car as well.

So, you know, I think that's going to do really, really well.

I think that's, you know, a really interesting prospect.

I mean, that's another thing, isn't it?

That, you know, we're just, you know, the day where we,

we, you know, we're excited about a car that was getting 250,

275 miles of range.

It just doesn't seem that far ago, that long ago.

Does it?

And, you know, look at this now.

I think we're going to do something a bit different.

We're going to catch up with one of the big battery manufacturers.

So it's probably one of the biggest companies in the world

you've never heard of, Cattle.

So they provide the, you know, their batteries are in,

is it around two thirds of cars, I think?

Something like that.

Of the electric cars on sale.

They are a huge manufacturer.

So we're going to go out there.

We're going to catch up with them.

And we're going to, we'd like,

we'd like some help with this, wouldn't we, Tom?

Why don't you explain?

Yeah.

Well, I've got lots of experts in front of me

who are going to tell me lots of things about battery

and answer all my questions about it.

And I have lots of questions about LFP

and cooling and fast charging and all that sort of thing.

So if you have any questions, not too technical

because I've got to ask them.

And as I know what I'm talking about,

but if you've got any genuine questions about battery technology,

whether it's degradation and recycling,

then let us know what you want to find out.

And I will ask the experts.

Oh, yeah, please do.

So you can put them in the comments below if you're listening,

if you're watching on YouTube

or you can drop us an email podcast at electrifying.com

with any of your battery questions that you want to put to,

I think it's fair to say,

probably the leading battery battery,

battery manufacturer in the world.

Okay, right.

Let's move on to bargain.

Shall we now?

Have you got a bargain for us, Tom?

I have.

Well, from the used section.

So I'll use car pages on the website.

I thought I'll go for one that's a little bit more affordable this time.

So it's below £10,000.

So £9,950.

And it's one of your favourites, Ginny.

An E208.

Do you remember those?

Oh, I love it.

You've had one for what, a couple of years, didn't you?

Yeah, nearly two years I owned an E208.

Oh, and it was, honestly, I still love that car.

Do you know I had a very nice message from somebody recently who said,

just bought my first electric car

and I bought the E208 because of your reviews.

And they were very, very happy with it.

It's a fun thing.

It's not as fun as a Renault 5 now,

but I think when looking at what it was when it came out,

it's such a fun car to drive that.

Love it.

That's good. That's pretty good.

Go on.

Yeah, and it's the third of the price of a Renault 5, isn't it?

So £46,000 this one, which is,

and it's £580 lower than the average,

which is why it caught my eye.

And because it's from one of our preferred partners on the website,

it has a battery health score as well.

So 91 out of 100,

which I thought was pretty good for a £46,000 car.

That size.

Pretty good.

That's pretty good.

Good.

Okay.

Go on.

Leasing, yes.

Leasing.

It's a good would you rather.

So these are both 24 month deals with nine months down

and a Peugeot E508 GT

with the 73 kilowatt hour battery,

£311 a month.

Okay.

Not that.

311.

Okay.

Or would you pay 327 pounds a month?

So a little bit extra.

Again, a 24 month deal, 8,000 miles a year

for a Skoda ENYAC Sportline 4x4.

Now, I know what you're going to say, Ginny.

Vicki.

We all know what Ginny's going to say.

Well, do you know what?

I'm going to play devil's advocate here.

I mean, I would rather have the ENYAC in terms of the way

it drives and stuff.

So maybe for my life.

But can I just point out that E508 is a seven seater

and the ENYAC isn't.

So actually, I think in my life that is quite useful

to have a seven seater.

So I might take the E508 for that.

I think that's, I think the packaging,

the interior of that car,

there's lots of other sort of still advocacy bits

that might be a bit more frustrating

than it would be in the ENYAC.

But I really like the E508.

So on this occasion, I'm going to,

I'm going to go for that

because I think the 70 layout's great in it.

I'm actually going to,

so I'd happily take either of those really

because for that very reason that I think obviously,

I think the ENYAC is a great car.

It's a nicer car to drive.

And actually the packaging with the massive boot

works really well for me with the dog

and putting, you know, the dog's travel credit

and all that kind of stuff in.

And, you know, I love that car.

But I do think Nick is running an E508 at the moment.

And I do think that that is

it's a great package for the money

that for the seven seater.

There's two seats in the back and not too cramped.

There's a lot of really good stuff about that car.

I think I think I'd happily have either of those,

but I would probably, if you know.

Here's another interesting little thing

that might swing it for you.

So the Skoda is cheaper, I think,

because it's a pre-registered.

So it would be a 25 plate,

whereas the Peugeot would be a 75 plate.

Now, how shallow are you?

You'd want that on your drive.

Oh, I don't care about that.

I don't either.

Does anybody care about that?

Let us know if you really do want the latest plate

on your drive.

I do a little bit.

Oh, Tom.

Are you as shallow as Tom

or are you as down to earth as me,

Vicki, that you don't really care?

Oh, I really don't care.

I'm surprised that Tom doesn't care

because I know that most of the cars he owns

are about 30 years old.

So true, so true.

I saw my first 75

and it was a bus,

which was terribly disappointing.

Right.

I'm going to move on to a warm welcome

to the world of EVs to Noel.

I only have the word, the name Noel.

Sorry, I don't know anything else about you.

But Noel has said,

you may or may not remember that I emailed

a couple of months ago regarding

Carwood's my drive

and a pending test drive of a Skoda LWAC.

I do remember that.

Do you remember, we talked about it

on the podcast about

there were some very specific requirements

to get on to Noel's drive.

Can you remember that, Tom?

Yeah, yeah.

Well, here it is.

It fitted.

And I am now the pro donor

of a Skoda LWAC Sportline 60.

Going electric has been a no brainer

for me as I live on the out of white.

So no, he's not far distance wise

and I can charge at home.

Yes, I would have liked the bigger battery,

but you know, the longer range

would have only been needed

a couple of times a year.

And I was, it was a lot to pay an extra road tax

because it was over 40K.

Just a couple of niggles.

Yes, it would benefit from a panoramic roof.

The Sportline trim is very dark,

which Nicola also commented

in her LWAC BRS video.

The other thing is the other point

is something I should have thought about

before buying it, but I didn't.

I'm too short to wash the roof.

I wonder if you can help with that, Tom.

Is there a gadget?

I do have, yeah, there is.

Yeah.

Oh, go on.

Brilliant.

Well, there's a,

do you remember the bucket

that got run over at one of our shoots

and I was very upset?

Oh, yeah, I do.

And it's made by a company called Ava,

and it's a car washing bucket,

but it's also got a lid.

So you can turn it into a step

or you can turn it into a seat

to sit down and wash your wheels.

And I love that bucket.

And it was really good for doing SUV roofs,

but it got run over by one of our video authors,

not Manos.

Who is it?

What was the bucket again?

It's called Ava.

Ava.

And who makes the Ava?

That's the company.

Yeah, I think if you Google Ava bucket,

it will come up with it.

I really love it.

If anyone from the Ava bucket team is listening,

please, please, please send us a new one

so we can make Tom happy,

because I do remember that day.

He was absolutely gutted.

So, no, there you go.

There you go.

Well, listen, we've got answers

to all your questions here

on the Kilowatt half-hour

and at electrifine.com.

Shall we go on to some car buying questions

and car questions?

We've got the good and the not-so-good this week.

Who wants to take the first one?

Shall I do Gary over it?

Yeah, you do Gary.

So, I'm coming to the end

of my current electric car,

at least in looking for a new one.

I've narrowed it down to a Polestar 4,

BYDCL, Mercedes-CLA,

and the new Tesla Model Y.

The started test driving

and the self-drive facility

offered by Tesla this weekend

is absolutely brilliant.

You simply book a one-hour slot

between 10 a.m. and 10 p.m.,

seven days a week using the app,

uploaded my driving license

and it was set up.

I turned up the location

just before my lotty time.

When the hour started,

the app showed the car

and my phone was then the key.

There are lots of tutorials

that showed me how to use the car

and my son and I had it out for an hour.

No pressure from a Tesla dealer.

We turned the car within the hour,

walked away, locked up,

ready for the next person

to test drive it.

Could this be the future

of test driving cars?

Well, it should be the future,

shouldn't it?

Because it's great.

It's just brilliant.

Not everybody wants that though.

Not everybody wants that,

but it would nice

to have that as the option,

wouldn't it?

Carl, and if you were the...

I mean, if you're a Tesla dealer,

it's slightly different, isn't it?

You'd be a bit nervous, wouldn't you?

What might happen in that time,

I suppose?

You've got all the cameras

in the Tesla,

watch it and make sure

you're not doing anything irresponsible.

I mean, could this be

the future of car sharing as well?

It's probably already kind of there, isn't it?

That's the sort of thing

about that,

but that's the thing about Tesla,

isn't it?

All that tech stuff does,

they just make it work well,

whereas, you know,

I've got a Volvo EX30

at the moment

and the mobile phone app on it.

It's really annoying

because it's just half the time

the car doesn't recognise

that you're there

and half the time

it sort of unlocks the car

when all you're doing

is walking through the living room

and it's kind of a peculiar,

sort of it's a bit frustrating,

but that's cool.

That's quite an interesting way

of test driving a car, isn't it?

I don't know,

I don't know the answer.

I don't know,

what do you guys think?

Yeah,

I mean,

I'm tempted by the CLA personally,

but...

Oh yeah,

that's the car buying question.

I haven't driven the CLA yet,

so a car,

I'm not so sure about that.

I do,

I prefer,

the seal of the Model Y

are different, really,

aren't they?

Because the seal's more

of a Model 3 rival.

I do like the seal a lot,

really,

it's a very nice car to drive.

I think I'm one of the outliers

that I quite like the Polestar 4.

You know,

I know Tom's frowning at me now,

massively,

but the real window thing

doesn't bother me.

I quite like it to drive at,

you know.

I don't think it'll fit

on your drive, Ginny.

I think serious,

I don't think it will.

I've had a van,

I've had a transit van

in my drive most of the summer.

Yeah, I think it's,

it's wider than a transit van,

I think.

It's huge!

I've got to say,

the Tesla Model Y,

as much as I embrace the,

the test drive experience,

would not be my first choice

out of those four cars.

Polestar 4, seal,

and the Mercedes CLA,

even though I haven't driven it yet.

I suspect for me,

it would come down to the Polestar 4

and the seal.

I don't know.

What do you reckon, Vic?

Yeah, I don't know.

I mean, I actually like

the way the Polestar,

I don't mind the way

the Polestar 4 drives.

I don't love the rear window

and that kind of thing.

I don't know.

I mean, I,

if, yeah,

the CLA's a while away as well,

so I don't know.

I'd probably,

I'd probably end up with the Tesla.

Probably.

I know a lot of people might hate me for that,

but if I wanted it sooner

rather than later,

I just don't particularly

want to Polestar or a seal,

even though I know

that they're both really good cars

on their own way.

So the CLA and the Tesla

appeal to me most.

So, yeah, we'd say,

yeah, I don't know.

I'm a bit torn with that one.

I think for me,

it will come down to the deals.

And if you look at the deals

on the Polestar 4 and the,

the BYD at the moment,

they are pretty keen,

especially that the Polestar 4.

So, you know,

if it's a hundred pounds a month less

than the others,

it's a no-brainer, isn't it?

Yeah.

Can I get a Polestar 3 instead?

Would that be,

I'd have a Polestar 4.

Anyway,

right, go on.

What else have you got for us, Vicki?

Ah, so what we've got next.

We have got Bill Gardner,

not so good.

Did you know

that the hundreds of Renault 4s

ordered using the R4 pass

will not get the £1,500 grant?

Which is awful, isn't it?

Why is that?

That's really bad.

So he's saying lots of buyers are now

cancelling their Renault 4 orders.

He says,

I bought a Renault 4 pass a day or two

after the government announced the ECG,

which is the grant.

The dealer ordered my car on the 15th of July,

only to be told two weeks later

that I wouldn't get the grant

or his money back for the R pass.

So he cancelled his order,

as I think probably most of us would.

So lots of dealers have that problem now.

That's a bit mad, isn't it?

That is great.

Yeah.

Now I have,

only one of the past couple of days

heard something very similar from my neighbour

who regular listeners might remember

ordered a Renault 4

a couple of months ago

and was very excited about it.

Anyway, it was due to be delivered

on the 1st of September.

It's been delayed by a couple of weeks,

but they realised

they're not going to get the grant.

So they went to their dealer and said,

well, what's the score here?

They said, well, you ordered it

before the grant,

so therefore you're not going to get it.

And they're like, yes,

but it's the date of registration.

The dealer said, no,

there's absolutely no chance

you can get the grant.

So they're now faced,

they put down a £1,000 deposit.

They're now faced with losing

the £1,000 deposit

and cancelling their order

and going to another dealer

and ordering an identical Renault 5

to get £1,500 grant

and therefore making £500 profit.

Now, for the dealer,

that means he's going to be left

with a car in stock,

which he's only going to be able to sell

if it's cheaper than the other ones

with the £1,500 grant on them.

It's just crazy.

So I'll ask Renault for some clarification

and they haven't commented back yet.

We'll report back on that next week

because it's just another example

of just why the scheme,

great intentions, very badly executed

because it's caused so much confusion.

Personally, I think if I was Renault,

I'd be looking at helping those people out,

but that's just me.

Well, God, I feel like we need to go down

and lie down in another darkened room again.

We've got so much stuff

coming over the next week.

There's a load of cars that we've got

that we've not been able to talk about

for those who have mentioned

rather chunky vines in euros

of many, many, many euros.

So if you aren't already subscribed

to the YouTube channel,

so you do know when all those are landed

because they are coming thick and fast.

And you've been getting loads of

like top secret previews

and reviews upon the website as well, haven't you?

Yeah, we've got loads of stuff coming.

So keep an eye on the website

because there's loads of really interesting new cars,

all the info about those and all that stuff.

So yeah, it's all happening.

I think we're not going to get time

to get to many of your comments,

unfortunately, this week.

We will hopefully get to more next week.

So as always, do drop us an email

podcast at electrifying.com

if you've anything you want to share with us.

You can also leave your comments

just in the comments section below

if you're watching on YouTube.

I thought I might leave you,

leave us all with just one comment

there that caught my eye,

which was a complaint

because we are with the official

complaints department as well, aren't we?

So we had a complaint

about adverts.

Slartyism has complained

and said, have you guys increased

the number of adverts during the show?

There were loads on the last episode.

I don't mind if you, but this was extreme.

We have to say we're really sorry,

but that's got nothing to do with us

because it's YouTube.

YouTube places the adverts.

We've got no say

in where they go

or how many they run

or we have to a degree,

we have a say in what they are.

So yeah, it's got nothing to do with us.

I'm afraid if you really do

want to go out for free,

you can always listen over

on your podcast streaming platform

because there are not adverts

on those.

But yeah, sorry about that.

We can't do anything about that, can we?

It's just that the podcast

has gone in popularity

and YouTube wants to put the adverts in.

Well, that seems like a really down note

to end it on.

Do we need to come up with a new ending?

I just remember

I brought the whole vibe down that, didn't I?

Tell a joke or something.

Oh, go on, Tom.

Oh, by the way, we will end on

if there is a video landing

this in the next few days

for the T-Cross.

We could say it's the ID-Cross.

There are more puns in that video

than I think I've ever heard in 10 minutes.

So do you want to leave us with a pun, Tom?

I couldn't help myself.

No, I'm not going to do any puns.

I'm not going to ruin them,

but I couldn't help myself with that

because this kind of has a special feature

which is unusual, shall we say?

I'm OK.

I made the most of it.

So yes, we'll be back next week

with a kilowatt-half hour.

We'll be bringing you all the latest news

from the Munich Mobility Show

also known as the IAA.

But from now, from all of us at the kilowatt-half hour,

see you next time.

Bye.

See you next time.

Bye.

Episode 86: The German edition - reborn TT, iX3 and VW’s new name game

Bmw Ix3

Porsche Cayenne

Audi Tt

Polestar 4

Porsche Boxster

Citroën ë-C3

Volkswagen Id3

Renault 5 Turbo 3E

Hyundai Ioniq 5

Peugeot E508

Tesla Model

Tesla Model 3

Polestar 3

Renault 4

ID.Cross Idcross

About this episode

Original notes