Charging etiquette just means being considerate when you’re using a public EV charger. For example, you should move your car when you’re done so someone else can plug in.
The charging curve is how fast your EV charges at different battery levels. It usually charges fastest in the middle, and slows down near very low and near full to protect the battery.
Peak power is the highest charging speed your EV can take at that time. It tends to happen when the battery is not too empty and not too full, and then it slows down.
In-build protection is the car’s built-in safety system for the battery. It reduces charging speed near the beginning and near full so the battery isn’t stressed.
80% refers to the battery’s state of charge target where many EV charging plans become less efficient. The speaker notes that charging is “way, way slower” after 80%, and that 80% is often enough to reach the next stop while avoiding higher costs and charger slowdowns.
An overstay fee is what you pay if you leave a fast charger after the time limit (or after the charger’s pricing changes). It’s meant to keep chargers available for other people.
The Audi e-tron is an all-electric Audi. The point here is that fast charging works best when your battery isn’t already almost full.
Term
state of health of the battery
State of health is basically how “healthy” the EV battery is. If you keep pushing it too hard—especially charging it to very high levels—you can wear it out faster.
Charging to 100% means topping the battery up completely. It’s usually okay occasionally, but doing it often (and especially fast charging) can stress the battery more than stopping earlier.
LFPs are a type of EV battery chemistry (lithium iron phosphate). They’re generally considered more tolerant and long-lasting, especially compared to some other battery types.
Term
semi-solids
Semi-solids are a different way of building a battery, using a semi-solid electrolyte instead of a fully liquid one. The idea is that it can charge more efficiently and may be gentler on the battery.
Charger etiquette is basically being considerate when you use a public EV charger. The host’s point is to avoid tying up the charger longer than you need so the next person can get going.
The Dodge Charger is a large car that’s built for power and performance. People talk about it because it can feel quick and exciting to drive. In a podcast, it might come up when discussing how drivers handle charging or getting power for their cars.
Junction 14 is the specific motorway junction the hosts are using as a real-world example of EV charger etiquette. They describe how the charging area layout (bank of chargers plus waiting bays) affects queue behavior.
Range anxiety is the fear that your EV battery won’t last long enough to get to the next place you can charge. When people feel that pressure, they can drive more aggressively or impatiently.
The Volkswagen Passat is a regular, everyday car that’s meant for commuting and long drives. The podcast mentions a 2.0-liter TDI version, which is a diesel engine. People bring it up because it’s usually practical and efficient for daily use.
“2 liter TDI” means a 2.0-liter turbo diesel engine from Volkswagen. Diesel engines like this are often picked for good fuel economy and pulling power in everyday driving.
A plug-in hybrid is a car that uses both a gasoline engine and an electric motor. You can charge it from a plug, like an EV, but it also has a gas engine for longer trips.
Low-down torque means the engine pulls strongly even when you’re not revving it high. That makes the car feel easier and smoother to drive in normal traffic.
They’re talking about an older BMW 520 diesel wagon that used to be a great long-distance car. The host says it’s harder to get now, especially in Germany.
Fast charging points are EV chargers that can add a lot of battery energy quickly. The host is saying there may not be enough of them when more people start using EVs.
Circle K is a chain of convenience stores and gas stations. In this episode, they’re also mentioned as a place where EV charging stations can be found.
An easy-go fob is a small card/key tag you tap to start charging at some EV stations. The host is saying their fob didn’t work at those chargers, so they had to use a different way to pay.
A 50 kilowatt charger is a charging station that can deliver a fairly high amount of power to an EV. More power usually means you can add energy faster, though the car still controls the final speed.
ESB Networks is an Irish company connected to the electricity grid and power infrastructure. The host is saying that EV charging involves multiple companies, and that mismatch can make chargers harder to use smoothly.
Charging to 80% means you stop charging when the battery is about four-fifths full. Many EVs charge slower after that point, so stopping at 80% can save time and free up the charger for others.
Disabled spots are parking spaces reserved for people with disabilities. They’re meant to be easier to reach and safer to use, so they shouldn’t be taken by others.
Mother and baby spots are special parking spaces reserved for parents with small kids. The idea is to make parking easier and closer to where you need to go.
A red light means you have to stop. The speaker is frustrated because people sometimes don’t stop, which makes the next green light feel less predictable.
The MGF is a small two-seat sports car designed for open-top driving. It’s known for being lightweight and fun rather than for carrying lots of people. The podcast mentions it as a reference point to MG’s earlier cars.
Homologation is the paperwork-and-testing step a car has to go through before it’s allowed to be sold in a country. It’s basically how regulators confirm the car meets local rules.
A kilowatt-hour (kWh) is how much energy the car’s battery can store. More kWh usually means the car can go farther, though it depends on how efficiently the car uses that energy.
MG Cyber is an MG concept car they showed at Goodwood. It’s an electric car concept with a very sporty, dramatic look—people are reacting to it a lot online.
MG Go is an MG concept car they showed at Goodwood. It’s meant to be a small electric car—like a city car—aimed at people who want something compact.
Concept
used
Here, “used” means buying the car secondhand instead of new. The host is saying the prices might stay higher than people expect because there aren’t that many of these cars around.
Term
over 25,000 pounds
That’s just money—pounds sterling in the UK. The host is saying you can find cars in that price range when shopping used.
“Low mileage” means the car hasn’t been driven much. People often use it to guess the car will be in better shape, but it doesn’t automatically tell you how good the battery is.
Term
charge very fast
This is about how quickly the electric car can refill its battery at a charger. The host is saying the early cars didn’t charge quickly, so stops took longer.
Carbon fibre is a very light, strong material used on some performance cars. In this case, it sounds like someone added a carbon-fibre look to the car for style.
The Renault Twingo is a small car made for city driving. It’s easier to park and drive in tight spaces than bigger cars. In a podcast, it may be mentioned as one of the cars someone is talking about trying or comparing.
The Toyota RAV4 is a compact SUV, which is a practical car with more space and higher seating than a sedan. People like it for everyday driving and for trips. The podcast mentions it because someone wants to try it or compare it to other cars.
Straw bales are placed along the track as a simple barrier. They’re meant to help protect drivers and spectators, but the speaker still feels very close to what’s happening.
The MG Cyberster is a newer MG sports car that’s being talked about as part of the brand’s upcoming designs. It’s the kind of car that gets attention because it’s different from older MG models and is meant to be exciting to drive. The podcast mentions it because people involved with MG’s design are connected to it.
Aerodynamics is about how air moves over a car as it drives. If the car is shaped well, it pushes through the air with less resistance, so it uses less energy and can go farther.
Conserving energy means using less power to cover the same distance. When a car is more efficient, it can travel farther before it needs charging or fuel.
LIVE
Welcome to the Drivers of Public Podcasts, an association with Dundial Cars. Free history
checks are now available on cars from trusted dealers, so you can buy with real confidence
because buying a car should feel this good. Hello, Mark.
Hi, Paddy. You have a bit of diviment in you this week, because you're a giddy, whatever you're...
But you know what it is, I think I'm just fucking sweating.
I think everyone is. I was tempted to go. Well, I have me jocks on, but that's it,
and I have a t-shirt. I am boiled. And I'm in the attic, so the heat in these,
you know, I know this is a very first world problem, but these modern houses,
you try running two houses, it's very hard to tell you. The heat in them, they're great in the winter,
but in the summertime, oh my God, they're disgusting. Well, the climate, where I live
is actually a converted barn, and the guys who made, who converted it obviously were
experts in insulation, because I've never put the heating on here. And in the summer,
it's basically like sauna. So I'm sitting here. I'm older. I've had about three showers today.
Have they used horse hair or something? Like, depending on when it was done,
that could be old, old. No, no, no, this was recent, but honest to God, it is boiling all the time.
I only, when I woke up this morning, I realized I'd left the whole front door open.
I do live in a very, thankfully, quite a remote place.
Yeah, but isn't that nice that you can do that? That you can leave a car lot?
I'm in the middle of nowhere, exactly, yeah. So, yeah.
Like, you don't have to deal with scrouts looking over your wall at three in the morning, walking
up and down roads, like without a care in the world. I have to deal with cows looking over the fence
at three o'clock in the morning and moving during stuff. Well, look, firstly, how are you doing?
How's things? Good. I'm back in the land of a traveling, I don't consider myself a hack,
but I was away at Goodwood more about that later on. We spoke to Carl Guttum, who still
has the coolest name in car design, as far as I am concerned. Batman. Exactly. He is Batman.
He's a Batman of car design. And we will talk about some of the unveilings at MG, where the
great and the good gathered. You see, they've already announced next year's dates for Goodwood.
It's just, it's just to see in the sky of helicopters all day long, just swarming,
landing, swarming. And I was there for you. I've only been there once before, but the heat was,
it was still July, obviously, but it was fine the other day. Oh, my God. Boil. Oh, I know. It's
a little bit, we're complaining and Sherlock will be freezing again in no time. I know. I know.
I wanted to start this week and on something that is close to your and my heart. I was on
not morning on Dave McCullough earlier on in the week, and they asked me to come on and talk
about charging etiquette. And look, we barely scratched the surface with it. But look,
I've noticed it more recently, and you probably have as well, especially as there's been more EV
sales, sales up 50% this year, et cetera, et cetera. Dundee cars searches up 100%.
There's more EVs in the road. There's more people charging at fast chargers.
And it's getting a bit hectic out there. And all the naysayers will say, I told you this was
going to happen. Yeah, I know. They're on to you there right now. And look, it's getting to a
point where people are queuing, getting a bit ratty. And I've noticed it. I certainly noticed
that I was in awfully in my brother's pub and was coming back down to Cork, and I stopped at Junction
14, big, big charging bay there. And there's a lot of match traffic. There's a lot of people waiting,
and there's a lot of people jumping cues because they couldn't be bothered. They needed to charge
already really quickly. But I've also noticed that people are staying and charging their cars to
100%. And I wanted to make the point that, and I think, apart from in fact, look, don't,
you know, you need to have some sort of manners, but manners aside,
I think, Mark, we need to explain to people the charging curve.
Yeah, maybe we do for people that aren't industry people listening to us. So you get this kind of
peak power from 10, 20%, about 60, depending on the car you're driving, it starts to slow down.
So the battery has this in-build protection at the start and the end basically of the
lump of energy. And to protect it and preserve it, it doesn't charge as fast towards the end.
Then you'll see with your phone as well. If you have a phone, it'll tell you how long it'll take
to get to 80%. Number one, it's way, way slower than when you started once you get to 80%. Also,
80% is enough to get home unless you live in Timbuktu. And it's also usually the point where
you're going to pay for an overstay fee. And really, like once many years ago,
myself and Bob Flavin had a proper row with a guy in a van. And he was a Heineken rep. So he
wasn't paying for the charge. And he was literally there at 99%. And I had to get the school collection
and I had no battery in an Audi e-tron. And they just said, is there any charge? I'm charged with
100%. There was no point trying to explain because you're not going to get into chemistry lessons
with people that are sort of a charge. And I don't claim to be a chemistry expert anyway.
But just when you get to 80%, even beyond 80%, just get enough to get home. It's too expensive,
anyway. And then move. But also, look, I've done the maths. And if you use the example of Vox
Organ ID 4, right, it's going to cost you about 38 quid charge out of fast charger, ESP, whatever
the stinkiest pay you go rate is. It's going to charge you about 36, 38 euro to charge 10 to 80%.
If you charge from 80 to 100, given the amount of overstay fees you're going to have 50 cents per
minute, you are going to be paying another 28 quid on top of that. So your charge,
which was pretty reasonable, is now costing you a lot of money for not a whole lot more range,
because that range that you get from 80 to 100%, right, it's not a huge amount more in the grand
scheme of things. But also, when you go to charge again, if your battery is too full, what's going
to happen? You are not going to get the best amount of speed at your fast charger, because
you're going to be on the wrong end of that charging curve. And we also need to talk about
what happens if you fast charge your battery too much, because you will decrease the longevity of
your battery, the state of health of the battery is affected. Interestingly enough, Mark, I had
always, I'd spoken to a company called Avalu, I think you know who they are, they do
devices to check the state of health of batteries. And I'd been at a talk with them earlier in the
year that said fast charging has the greatest impact on the state of health. But another thing
that they said to me this week when I asked them was about charging to 100%. They said,
it's not so bad charging to 100%. It's the amount of time that you spend on the fast
charger getting up towards 100%. So if you're going in there and you're trying to charge from
70% to 100% on a massive deal, if you're in there charging from 10% to 100%, that's what
it gets messy for your state of health of your battery. It's more ease for starters.
Sorry, I would charge my phone to 100% today, because I was going to the Dublin match,
and you use your phone to pay for absolutely everything. I still think Dublin were a little
bit rough, by the way. Sorry, Kerry. Well, it would be rare that I would do that, because
the basics of these batteries is they don't like to be charged. And we can get into LFPs and,
you know, MG, we're talking about their semi-solids last week and, you know, they're spread. That was
one of the big points. I mean, God, we were put through death by PowerPoint for about an hour and
a half with guys who are engineers, but they're Chinese. Obviously, English is not their first
language, but fair play to them. I don't have any Chinese, but I think sometimes these, I know
the engineers wanted to deliver the message to the people directly, but sometimes I think just
things get lost in translation. Anyway, the point is the efficiency across the range of a semi-solid
state battery is way better than this, again, this curve that doesn't really exist as much.
So you get more heat. It's costing you more. You're wasting your own time. You're annoying the
person who's behind you trying to get to the match. But there's no signs on charges. There's
nothing. I mean, if you go into the e-cars app to use them as an example, I'm sure it does
say something about an overstay fee, but it's not very obvious. There aren't big red stickers that
says, do you know your car will take, you know, 50% longer to get to 100% or whatever, and you'll
pay more. And then maybe say, and be courteous to the next person who needs to use the charger.
They may be in a hurry. Why don't we put those kinds of messages somewhere?
But I think you're right. But I think we also maybe need something new or certainly into the
future anyway, fast chargers in terms of do we need some sort of a barrier at them where
that allows people to know who's next, a way of stopping people who are going into McDonald's to
have their lunch and iron and diesel sat from parking in the spots. What I noticed on the really
busy day that I was there at Junction 14, it was one of the hurling matches, I think,
the Limerick Club would be playing. And there was a lot of people, people in Audi 4s,
the big popular EVs, and it was very much every person to themselves. So people are driving in,
they're a bit anxious, they have range anxiety, they're cutting in in front of each other.
Junction 14 has two waiting bays at the end, so that's the bank of charge and then there's two
waiting bays. I was in one of the waiting bays, some lady drove in in an Audi Q4, just ignored
everyone and just went straight into a parking spot. And then eyes front, I'm not looking left
or right, put the charging thing in and then screwed off for supermax. That's just a pig
ignorance person. But there's a behavior associated with people who are stressed driving EVs that
doesn't necessarily exist in other areas. It doesn't exist. Like this week I'm driving the
Passat that you also drove, 2 liter TDI. Oh yeah, we have to talk about that a bit.
12 to 1400 kilometer range. As I was driving home in the AM50, the range was getting larger.
Yeah. And it was doing 4.6 liters per 100 kilometers. I haven't filmed my video yet,
but I will be saying in a spoiler alert, careful what we wish for, because we are killing off cars
like this. And while they may not be suitable for everybody, for people that need them,
they are absolutely brilliant. The build quality is better, the interior is better.
And with the time of what's going on with Volkswagen now in rooms of 100,000 jobs,
that car to me is what Volkswagen stands for. Amazing build quality, looks boring,
but looks nice, huge boot, does everything your family needs it to do, and we're killing those
cars. Do you know what, I couldn't agree more, and I'm glad you brought up Passat because
that car is also only 50 grand, and I say only the Verticommas. Yeah, well the plug-in hybrid is.
Yeah, the diesel one. It's an eight grand premium, and then the Oraline is 60 grand. It's built in
the same plant just outside Prague in Skoda. They even have the Skoda umbrella, but it has a VW
logo on the top of the handle. It's very Skoda, but I collected that car like you in Dublin. 1200
kilometre range. I drove to East Cork, and I had 1080 kilometres of range left. I drove from there
to Dráha, Dráha back to Cork, Cork to Waterford, Waterford to Dublin, and I put 20 quid in this,
just to not be horrendously ignorant and land back with fumes. But I did sport.
I make chassis control. It has a head-up display. It has everything. It drives so well. It's so
comfortable. So comfortable. Back in the day, I would have said that a 150 leprechaun per car
isn't enough. 200 would be amazing, but it has plenty of low-down torque from low-down in the
rev range. It is just a brilliant, brilliant car. It is expensive, I will say that. Yeah,
if you drive for a living, and if you spend every, you know, a lot of time in your car, there's
no, still no better type of car than a diesel estate. No, I mean, I'm back in the day that
would have been a 520 diesel. UK and Ireland BMW obviously made a decision to kill that car off.
You can't buy them in Germany. You could probably import one as well if you want in lifetime drive.
So those options are gone. So we really are quite limited now in terms of new stuff
if you want that kind of car. And look, again, they really aren't for everybody, but it even
handles well. Yeah, it does everything well. Brilliant seats, infotainment system is good,
screen is good, the ALAS isn't too annoying, you can switch it off. And we don't really have to
talk any bit of the last 15 minutes of this podcast. None of it is really relevant to a car
like this. And I'm just, it does make it kind of go really, are we really making, I mean,
it's great we're making inroads, it's great the numbers are up, but I think we've kind of tarnished
anything else now. Everything else is bad. And it's not. But look, I think we're getting,
we're going to be at a stage reasonably soon where fast charging points are going to become
an issue. We know that there's issues about them all charging at the one time. The numbers are
increasing. There's a ton as well. However, with the sales, if you look at the imports,
there's a lot of EVs coming in from the UK. The actual imports coming in from the UK are
lots of plug-in hybrids, lots of EVs because other cars don't make sense to bring in because of ERT.
So there's EVs coming in at all angles. And we're going to get to the stage now where people are
falling out with each other at charging points. And that's going to be a problem.
Yeah, I could see it being a problem. And I don't think the speed of rollout is happening as fast
maybe as the increase of year on year. And the other day, I put up a picture of the Circle K
Chargers, which don't seem to work with easy-go fobs. And I had to go back to the old reliable.
It seems mad that if you're a tourist here, the last place, if you're getting a ferry with your car,
which is highly likely in Dublin, the last experience you're going to have is possibly a 50
kilowatt charger. You'd be leaving Ireland going, I thought this is a modern country.
Well, Lakeview, sorry, Lakeview, what?
Oh, I was going to say Lakeview, Lakeview and Middleton Circle K. It's one of the busiest
Circle K's in Cork. And for two years, the Circle K Chargers and points have had the
signs up coming soon. Yeah, sorry, this was a point. As soon as I put up the post,
people were saying, do you remember the Circle K's that I made? And I know it's not Circle K's fault
and someone regularly follows me who's involved in the whole connection thing. And every time he
gives out to me, he says, e-cars and ESB networks are two separate companies. Yeah, but it doesn't
matter. Could someone just meet for a coffee and have a chat and go, lads, we have covers in these
chargers. What is going on? Like, ridiculous. I know some of the people are retired from ESB
and they're like, oh, it's paperwork and it's, this isn't talking to that. But that doesn't
help anybody. You know, and you just, you get into your business, you fill it up in five minutes
and you're gone. Yeah, or don't fill it up if you never have to continue the time. Yeah, look,
so look, it's my rant for the week, but people need to start charging to 80% and move on.
Or charge as much as you need to charge to and move on. Charge at home. It's always funny as
you talk to anyone outside of this country and they'll generally have a really good experience
of Ireland. They'll talk about how, how, how hospitable we are and we're such lovely people.
But sometimes actually when, when we're talking about dealing with each other in the country,
we lose all that. The cave meal of fall should goes out the window with things like charging
points, parking the mother and baby spots, disabled spots, cutting people up on the road.
It's very strange. I think we behave differently when we're in a car in this country. Yeah,
breaking red lights. That's the, the red light. Like I actually, I was about to roll down the
window yesterday going, are you, are you colorblind? Are you like, this is a good four seconds
through the, through the lights. And yeah, it's very frustrating. Because you're having to do
that now. I'm having to sort of wait to see who's breaking the red light when I come out of it,
when a green light goes on. Yeah, rather than, rather than responding, you know, you can't respond
to green anymore. You have to look at the green, then look at see who's broken it.
Yeah. So yeah, unfortunate. Right, look, we'll, we'll be back after the break and we're going to
talk about Goodwood and Nobby Hobnobbin at the Goodwood Festival. Welcome back to the Drivers
of Public Podcast Association. Dundee Cars is a new way to buy with confidence free history checks
now included in cars from trusted dealers. So you can feel reassured you're making a good choice
because buying a car should feel this good. I was very jealous of the Instagram posts from Goodwood.
Have you done it before? No?
Have I been there? I don't think so, or I've forgotten one or the other. No, I definitely
haven't been. I would have remembered. It's, it looks great. And I certainly, did you get to drive
anything or was it just visuals? No, no, it's all visuals really. I mean, I think going with a car
brand, it would only be visuals. I mean, you could do the whole thing and park and do all that stuff.
Obviously, plenty of fields to park a car in. So no, it was all visual. Second time ever,
I've been both times invited by MG Ireland. So thank you very much to Natasha and team
there. Appreciate it. Are you Mr. Humphreys? Me and Dave Humphreys, we both were wearing shorts,
but there isn't too much online evidence of that certain day of anyway. I did thank him for, you
know, not turning up in long trousers and making me look silly. So we both look silly equally.
I did like the hat choice. I thought it was very functional.
Well, it is a fun. I bought this hat in Spain last year, and it's a proper good eye mate without
the cork hanging down. It does look absolutely ridiculous, but it's a proper white breamed
hat. It covers my bald head, probably my shoulders and Sherlock. It is functional.
We did get straw hats from MG though, should we wish to partake. So good words. Yeah, it's just
chichester. It was a 15, we stayed in a hotel, a five bedroom hotel called Presence, and it's in
chichester, chichester village. And we reckon they must have, they must have had a cancellation
because it was booked maybe three before we went and the food was incredible. The rooms were roasting
because it's a small five bed hotel. And when we were leaving the next morning, breakfast didn't
start too late. So we missed that unfortunately, but it was chat to the lady who was the kind of
front of the house. And her son is about to start an apprenticeship in Rolls Royce, which isn't too
far away. And she was telling me that her and her husband and the son were gonna, they were getting
the parents tour this week basically of where his new job will be. And I was in Rolls Royce
earlier on this year as well. And for such a massive company, for such a prestigious company,
which I suppose does make sense in one way, you've got three generational families working there.
And they seem to be very loyal to their staff. But anyway, she was incredibly proud. Jumped into
a Bentley. Nice. And the the chauffeur that we had, he had managed to, we used him the last time
we were there, he'd managed to secure residence permits this year. So even if you have all the
stickers on your windscreen, they will still bring you the long way around to get into Goodwood. We
were able to drive through like a local, we were there door to door in 15 minutes, arrive in
there's three singer porches hanging off the main sign opposite Goodwood House.
It cost over a million euro to display your car at the front of Goodwood House.
And singer had three. I don't know if it's three per car or it's just for the stand,
because two years ago, MG had an MG Roadster, I think, and they had the new Cyberser. So they
also had a nice stand with, again, we can't get nice things in this country. They have some IM
vehicles that were there, which are stunning looking. Absolutely stunning. Why aren't we having
them? I mean, there's no VRT reason for that. So homologation is one reason. I think particularly
with that car, there was a tariff issue and homologation, which we have discussed before,
in the past, before Brexit, we were able to row in with the UK. Now we can't. So we have to
test with Malta, Cyprus, ourselves, I think somewhere else. And it's just it's cost prohibitive.
Now there's nothing stopping you, because that car is in right hand drive and like the 520 diesel,
you can go to the North, go to an MG dealer and import one of these cars. And again,
because the VRT is so low, the same with the new MG9, that's not going to be available here,
but you can go and import one. That is a very good idea. But particularly the IM, it's gorgeous.
Really gorgeous. They did have some dancing robots there that I saw them
were controlled by humans with iPads. But let's not spoil the magic. The kids were very impressed.
BYD, of course, were there waving their you know what and everybody with a
ginormous yangwang and BYD stand. They had the biggest stand, I think, again. Ford were there.
How big is your yangwang? Is that what you're saying? How big is your yangwang? They were waving
their yangwangs all over everybody. Kimmy was there, Mercedes were there. I think Glando was
there at the weekend. Alex Dunn went over. It was just it's just a great vibe. There's no,
I remarked, I don't know in English. What do they call them? Gougers, the guards call them over here.
There's no Gougers at Goodwood. No riffraff. It's just night. They're not all posh heads.
There's people like me, normal people in the cars, but there's no mess. There's no,
everyone's having a good time. I couldn't have been curious while I was listening to you there.
mervinstuart.com up north. MGIM 5 39 450 and the IM6 47 9 out 5.
That's sterling. So yeah, he's getting one in for 60. You're not going to get grants,
I assume, if you import. There's a lot of power though. There's a lot of power and it's a good
looking car, really good looking car. 751 horsepower, three and a half seconds to 100
kilowatt hour battery pack and 800 full charging. It has a look of a Neo, maybe office, you know.
Now there were launching two cars at the Goodwood. What were they?
MG cyber, which will not be called, which won't be what it'll be called, should they make it,
which is kind of like a Ferrari meets a Cobra. And then they had the MG go, which again won't be
called the MG go, but it's like it's their super mini ish. It's a bit bigger than a super mini,
but it does look like a mini and some people said an MG two or something. That was their original.
Well, that would be the obvious choice. Yeah, but I don't know if they will call it that because
maybe you need something a bit more fun. It's their Cooper of Val. You know, it's their
subtle nods to the MG GT Metro Turbo Z or EX4 loads in there. Yeah. And like it's obviously
it's just a concept. So inside we couldn't see it, but on the outside it was getting a lot of
attention and I not even enough put up the video thinking, oh, I don't know how this will do. It
was late that night. I got home. I didn't bring laptops with me because I'm just, it's too hot
for walking around. That video flew. I put the videos up on Reels. It's like 200,000 views on
Instagram of this MG car. So if anyone's in any doubt that there is no interest in electric cars
as an MG, well, those figures speak for themselves. Huge interest in them.
Yeah. It's funny you mentioned in views eight seconds of me saying, this week I'm in the
Volkswagen Passat and it has 1200 kilometers of range. The last time I looked it was at 418,000
views on Instagram. You see, you don't have to be young and cool to be an influencer.
We can do it. I'm neither of those things exactly. So, but people go man for the old range
and ran for the old diesel. Yeah, they do. They love an old diesel. And like someone said to me
on Instagram, I did that question thing and they said, you know, when will these people are 35
grand so I can buy them when used? I don't think, I mean, that oil line is just over 60. I think
that is less and less of availability. It's just basic economics with commodities. I don't think
you will see these huge drops in these cars because they're not being bought, they're not
being made. So it's funny though, I did watch a video yesterday on the YouTube and like names
gave me, I'm sure you know who he is. And it was talking about the prices of EVs in the UK.
And it made me fall down a auto trader in the UK, Robert Hall. You can get a take on over 25,000
pounds. Like it is, they are there. And the other one that really struck me was the, you know,
the, the OG idea Tron, you know, they're cheap enough here, but in the UK, like they're cheap,
you get a nice one for sort of 18 to 20 here. They're 11 grand in the UK for fairly low mileage,
but the big large, the big original one, yeah, which was a bit of a dog. But it was a big squishy
comfy thing. It was a dog in the sense that it was a small, which it wasn't a big enough battery
for the car. Yeah, the rain was around us and it didn't, it didn't charge very fast, but it was
early in early doors, EV technology, but like 11 sterling, like if you found one of those in the
north, he wouldn't be paying much more. I think that's a lump of a car. I know a few people that
have bought them and they say, Dave Moore has one from today FM, a few other people as well.
And yeah, they're, they're good. I've put a few people into them and they've been,
they've loved them. And like the first question is, look, do you drive very far? No.
And that's, that's number one. And then beyond that, it's fine because I know,
you know, someone who was driving just from Stilorgan to city centre for work every day,
and they're in one now paid 22 grand for it and absolutely loves it. And a very well,
nicely built car because I knew the early EVs were, you know, they're really paid attention to.
So, well, it was two outies in Goodwood. It was a beautiful RS2.
Absolutely stunning in that kind of blue, purpley sort of colour. The new RS5 was there,
which you've heard maybe arriving on our shores. It is coming in August. Someone had
puked carbon fibre all over this car. I've done a video with Matt Watson,
specking one up on his own YouTube channel for his daily driver. Because of course,
he needs a long term car to go along with the other half a dozen cars he has.
UI3 was there. It's not if it's Motorrad or Moto, Motorrad.
They were there. RS Turbo Renault looked absolutely gorgeous.
That new Honda Super N. Please, please, can we have that car here?
Karen Cusick, are you listening? You probably are, so come on.
The Twingo is there. The RAV4, which I still haven't driven. Come on, Toyota Ireland.
I can bring you news on this. Oh, yeah. August as well.
I did voice my concerns. It's true, a facelift for them.
I did voice my concerns. Well, yeah, it'll be just to a very nice man and he said,
I know, I know, but we literally are selling every single one we have.
So we hope to put one on in August.
Look, it's a good complaint.
It is a good complaint. I'm seeing them now with layers of dust and scratches on them,
but it's everywhere in Cork. It's a big selling car down here.
But yes, anyway, just to finally wrap up on Goodwood, if you ever get a chance to do it,
whoever you are, do it. Bring comfortable shoes and a sun hat and I'm sure prepared
to huge money. But I met these two young flasks that can't be more than 17.
And I was trying to take a picture with the MGS and they were like,
do you want us to take a picture of you? And I was like, yeah, yeah, grand.
And they were like, what do you do? And they looked at an Airbnb and it was kind of,
it was refreshing to see proper young flasks at a car event like that, you know,
they obviously have to have the goo. And I said, no, stay up,
topped up in the water lads. Yeah. And they're like, yeah, no, thanks very much.
You know, they, it really was, it was scorching. But I also love about it as well as in this world
of health and safety, you can really get close to the action. If you burn your leg off and exhaust,
that's your fault. You know, you're not, no one's going to be able to blame the driver.
The car is going up the hill. I mean, yes, there's lots of straw bales, but
you know, you're close to it. Yeah, it still seems to have that still very visceral feel to it.
It's like you're still a part of the action. And if it wasn't that, then I wouldn't be the same,
you know, while you were there, you did catch up with someone from MG
Design. I did. So Carl Gotham, who's their head of design. Brilliant name. It is a brilliant,
brilliant name. He, and he'll tell you himself, he doesn't take the credit as a bit like Andy
Mint as well. The best designers don't take all the credit. He would have been across the
cyber stir, which is in fairness, one of the most beautiful modern, modern cars, but
they were all in proper car design or retire. So sports jackets. And I'm talking like it's
30 odd degrees and they're all sweating. And they're, they're right in front of the cars.
And you've got journalists coming up to them, but you've also pointers and he's happy enough to
talk to anyone who knows. He said, like, I don't get wreck noise ranting. I said, oh, I know. But
you know, sure, car fans. Anyway, it was my turn. I said to him, do you want to go just around the
corner? I know there's a, there's a spot where there's a bit of shade. So the two of us went
around the back of the MG stand where the golf carts are parked up, nothing glamorous about it.
And the two of us leaned up against a hoarding wall where we'd a bit of shade and we had a chat.
No, it's fine. I've only had one interview so far. It's fine.
I'm live in Goodwoods, 2026. I'm with a man who I still think is the coolest car designer named
the business, Carla Gotham. Hi. Welcome to the podcast. We spoke about you before. You're obviously
involved in Cyberster, head of design and MG, some new cars unveiled today. I suppose your role now,
are you as much of a mentor to the next generation? Oh, that's a great question,
actually. No one's ever asked me that before. I think, to be honest, I think absolutely. My
style is to create the space for people to do their best in the design team. We've got this small
studio in London, small team, young team. And actually, yeah, I mean, some great talents. We've
had always had great talents for the studio. And I think when they are given the right opportunity,
they can really do some brilliant things. And the results from our studio, the brand, the way
things are going, hopefully that's showing. And was that kind of help around when you were
starting out or has it changed? I think it probably has always been there. I mean, it depends on,
I think it depends. There's lots of different personalities and characters in this business.
And there's no right or wrong, I think. It just depends on your certain experience and exposure.
I think I was always lucky enough to have exposure to, let's say, relatively small teams and small
groups of people where actually it meant working together, like really pulling together and having
the ability to, I don't know, to be able to communicate easily to know what we're trying to
achieve. So yeah, so I think that's probably stayed with me and carried me through. But
you know, we don't, I don't think our brand, also our brand is not about pretense. We're not a
pretentious brand. We're trying to be, it's always been a brand for accessibility and approachability.
And I think in some ways that's still embodied in the culture of what we're doing in the design
studio in London. I suppose compared to a lot of other brands that are China based,
you're obviously based in the UK, which helps. But is your job the envy of other Chinese brands
in the sense of you have the heritage, you're British, you know what a good car design is.
So would you say you are the envy to a lot of the competition?
I can't speak for the competition, but I think it's certainly something that we
have to our advantage. We can tell stories of our past and future, to be honest. It's not just
about the past. I mean, it's not relevant to just always bang on about the good old days. I think
but it absolutely is something that this brand has, which is unique to us. I mean,
it's unique to a lot of not just Chinese brands, to be honest. This brand that's British, 102
years old now, it's made all these little sports cars, it's kind of touched people's lives across
the world. It's very, most people will come and say, oh, my father or grandparent had an MG
or they remember it from when they were in their childhood. It kind of touches
people. And I think that's unique anyway, really. It's something that people remember
about our cars in the past that maybe don't from other brands. But yeah, I think there's lots of
new brands coming from Asia. And yeah, I think everyone's got to find their narrative and their
story to tell to people. Their groove. So two cars available today, the Go, which I suppose is a
B segment. It looks like it would be a two door hot hatch of the days, but it obviously will be
and then you have the Cyber, which to me is like a Ferrari met something else at the front. I don't
know. I mean, these striking designs, they're amazing in concept. We did see it come to fruition
with the Cyborgs and stuff. So I mean, are the two cars, do you think they'll both be delivered?
Yeah, these cars are previews. They're conceptual previews of what's coming in the not too distant
future. So the Go, that's been, you know, that we've done the production car on that. What we're
showing here is a preview to that. So in many ways, the production is led, what we're seeing here
today. So yeah, that's an authentic story to tell. The same with Cyber, that is a preview of a
production car that's coming. That's got less confirmation on when it will arrive. But yeah,
we're not trying to showcase anything that is a fantasy anymore. We're trying to show things
that we're going to give to people and continue to build on the successes of the brands achieved
so far. We've seen things like the tail lights and headlights in cars these days can have
different messages and kind of phone elements of that. To you, are they a gimmick? And is there
something that, you know, you see down the line that you think, no, that that is actually really
cool? Yeah, yeah, I think it's all about the, so the technologies are now there. So, and I think
why would we not try to use them in the right way for the right cars? So, so yeah, the Go
absolutely is something we're playing with the, you know, the configuration and personality and
the personalization of, let's say, the digital aspects of the car so people can have a little bit
more of their own engagement and twist on the product and the message that they're sending to
the rest of the world. I think, why not? I mean, we do it, we do it every day with phones and
whatever else. So why not with the car? If the technology is there, we should let people,
yeah, play with it. But yeah, we want to make sure it's delivered in a sophisticated way in the
right way for, hey, the segment, the brand, the products, you know, there's different ways of
doing it. So I think to a lot of people, maybe you're, you're a particular part of the automotive
industry, it's might feel hard thing, an unattainable thing. It's quite a, I don't want to say a closed
shop, but just you've got to be good, bloody good to get into the top. If you were a graduate or,
you know, you were maybe even before leaving school, you're interested in like, what would your
steps be, your advice be? Yeah, I think, I mean, I think it's probably harder than ever. I mean,
it just, it just seems to get harder and harder to be honest. There are a lot more jobs in the
industry than when I was trying to look. So in a way, it's kind of everything's, everything's
raising, the standards are raising, the requirements are raising. There are more brands that are
probably, you know, bigger studios. Teams are more complicated in terms of the makeup of, you know,
we're not just talking about exterior and interior designers, we've got UX designers,
you know, and, you know, we're doing a lot with design strategy and design communication and
all these things are kind of important for building coherent design teams. And, you know,
and more and more there's merging over with product planning and marketing. So I think design has a
lot of, you know, it has a lot of effect in a business. And I think probably recognizing what's
your passion early on is really important. You know, if you're, if you're an exterior, if you're
just an exterior guy, you want to be a girl, you want to be an exterior designer, then you, you
are fighting against the cream of the crop, right? You know, you're, you're narrowing your chances,
but, you know, maybe you've also got something else to offer. You love it and you're passionate about
it, but maybe you're a little bit more technical or, or you're, you know, more interested in the
form or surface quality or something. So the digital route modeling still, all of these,
these skills are still very relevant. So, so I think that recognizing playing to your strengths
and leaning into it and embracing it and, and, but probably even more important than that is,
is just going for every single opportunity. And, and yeah, you've got to look for that all over.
We have a design competition every year. I can, you know, sort of plug that now. We're,
about to make a selection on the shortlist. We bring in six, normally around five or six people
from across the UK studying in, in design. We open a brief, we, we, we invite students,
undergraduates and kind of recent post grads to enter our competition. And then we, we select
from that and bring them in. They do a placement working on their own project, not working on our
stuff. We kind of nurture them and build them up in terms of their skill set. And sometimes we
take them on. Sometimes they go off and get jobs elsewhere, but we're, you know, we're, we're helping
to, to, yeah, to nurture that, that next generation, bring on the next generation. Last question,
Carl, AI, double-edged sword in your business? Well, I mean, we've got a, we, you know, we, we,
we, we are using it, but it's like how and when you use it and it's got its place.
It's something that is now another tool in a design kit, if you like. But yeah, it's difficult
because you don't want to rely on it. You don't want to become too dependent on it. It's also
needs a level of discipline and control. Quantity doesn't always mean quality. You've still got to
have a strong idea. You know, you've got to input the right things to, to get the best out of it.
So, so it's still, again, it's, it's a skill in itself. It's not just, it's not just something,
we can all use it. You know, everybody can use a journalist or using it to generate images. So,
so this, so how do we, you know, how do we protect the value of design? And that's all about the
thought process, you know, where the idea is coming from, you know, how to, how to challenge,
how to challenge the tool, how to challenge AI, even folks, how to challenge
your own ability to sketch a form, you know, because even when you're drawing with, with
pens and pencil, you're still not, you know, the first thing is kind of hard to get right. You
know, you need to keep, keep trying, keep trying to get the perfection or the other thing that you
want to capture in a character. It's no different with tools like AI.
And I suppose in your line of work, computers have nearly for the longest time, they've been
part of the process. Anyway, yeah, absolutely. Yeah, I mean, I graduated in 99, which,
and at that time, when I was at Coventry, they weren't teaching Photoshop. I taught myself
Rhino 3D at the time was one of like three or four people in our year. So we were sort of,
let's say on the cutting edge of that cohort. But yeah, it moved very quickly. I went into
the games industry, actually, and the thing I got from the games industry initially was the
ability to use all of the Adobe suite and, and, and, you know, those 3D modeling tools, 3ds Max
and stuff, which that exposure allowed me to really bring a, you know, different skill set back into
vehicle design. So yeah, I'm personally what I saw you do a little bit of flying online. Are you,
are aerodynamics as forefront of your mind when you're flying? Or is that to take your mind of
everything else? Well, to be honest, that that was just a that was a birthday gift. So it was a
one-off experience. I mean, it was, it was amazing. It was terrifying, the same time. I think it was
the day after Goodwood last year. But yeah, I mean, it was amazing experience just to be in something
so, you know, that's such a small aircraft. And you really feel, you really feel everything is so
exposed. I've done a little bit myself. I like the feels get a bigger cows getting smaller,
like control maneuvers. Yeah, yeah. But yeah, I mean, aerodynamics obviously is super important.
You know, cars need to be efficient. We need to be thinking about not not it's not just about
the number. It's about conserving energy in the modern world. You know, we need to think
how do we make cars more efficient and go further with less basically. So yeah, so aerodynamics
plays a big factor. Well, Carl, continued success. And thank you for talking to us today.
Thanks so much. Thank you. Well, that was a good insight into into MG design. And and look,
you did thankfully sound a little bit cooler than the normal. So yeah, he's good. I'm sure he's been
asked the AI question many times. But I suppose it and that's why I said to him, you know,
his job is probably always had computers in it anyway. And that's, I suppose, in a sense,
that is all he is. But I suppose when you have now, anyone can go, I can design a car. Look at
this. You know, it must have crossed their minds and annoy them. Yeah, exactly. Right. Well,
I think we need to go and watch the football now, Mark.
Yes, we do. We do, Paddy. Yeah. Are England going to be in Argentina, by the way?
Well, I have England in a sweep. I put 20 quid in and I'm due 100 euro if they win.
Right. But I don't know. Messi versus Kane. Do you really see that happening?
France is Spain tonight, which is going to be a good one. Yeah. Probably France.
Well, I don't even know what history tell you. I mean, Spain haven't got to the final that often.
France have a bit more experience there, but, and they haven't bad pay. And
I don't know. It's a hard one to call. I could maybe see France and Spain going to penalties.
By the time you listen to this, we'll know what happens. But yeah, exactly. All will have been
revealed. Remember, the Drivers Public Podcast is brought to you by Dundeele Cars Field.
Go on about your next car. Choose from Dundeele's trusted dealers.
Now with free history checks of standard, giving you confidence from the very first click.
Would you bet on England to win the World Cup and Mayo to win the San McGuire? That's the question.
One of those is more likely than the other, I think.
Certainly Mayo, I think, is more likely. But Mayo needs to do it at some stage.
Yeah, they do. They beat my county loud, though. I have to shout for them now.
After what happened to Dublin, I'm going to cheer on Mayo as well.
Right, well, we'll join you again soon. And by then, we'll know lots more about Gaelic,
the World Cup, and we'll be back to talk about Mark's motorbike career.
Yes, I did see it on a BMW, a new one today. I made a very nice fell in the garage,
but I can tell you about it another time. Until next time, take care. Bye-bye.
About this episode
Goodwood returns as a backdrop: Mark’s been away at Goodwood, and the hosts swap highlights from MG’s stand and the Cyberster, plus the sheer spectacle of the hill-climb atmosphere. The conversation then turns practical and slightly heated—EV charging etiquette, why fast charging slows down, and how queueing gets “a bit hectic.” They argue for charging to around 80%, not hogging bays, and explain how the charging curve and battery state of health shape both cost and speed.
