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I'm Alex.
He's Paul and this is the Charging Status EV Podcast.
How are you doing, Paul?
I'm good.
Thank you.
How are you?
Not too bad.
Regular viewers or listeners will realise that Paul isn't Jim, so Jim at the moment
is in China with Cherry, he's seeing all the wonderful sights and sounds and the interesting
food that China has to offer at the moment, so he'll be back at some point, I'm not entirely
sure when, but for now we're going to record this week's episode with me and Paul.
So if you don't know who Paul is, do you want to give yourself a little bit of an
intro just to let people know who you are and what you do?
Okay, thank you.
Yeah.
Well, I'm Paul.
I'm in 60 Seconds, which is my channel name.
It's a fantastic name.
It's a play on words on my surname and the idea was that I would make 60 Second clips
for social media about what I like and dislike about cars, so five things I love about
and try and record it in 60 Seconds and that's morphed into full driving reviews
of cars.
I'm quite new at this.
My YouTube channel is pretty new and just starting really, but yeah, it's all very exciting
and that's me.
Yeah.
How long have you been doing it for?
It's a few.
Is it since like Maytime?
Yeah.
So May was my first ever event.
I got accidentally invited, I think, to something and I thought once you've got the invite,
you've got to try and make it work, try and do something out of it and let's
see how it goes.
Let's see what we do.
It seems to have caught the imagination.
Some people have really enjoyed it, so we'll keep plugging away and get into driving some
really fantastic cars.
Nice.
Yeah.
So far, what's sort of been your most favorite car you reviewed, do you think?
Do you know what?
My son was asking me this this morning, he was telling me what his favorite car was
which surprised me because his favorite was the Skywell BE-11 and my favorite so far
is probably the Polestar 3 because I really loved the Polestar 4.
I thought that was a lot of fun, but the 3 was just a little bit more usable.
Okay.
I felt like the 4 was very wide and almost too wide in certain some circumstances, but
the 3 was just a lot more daily usable, but also really fun to drive.
So yeah, I always get these mixed up because I haven't really driven a Polestar before,
but the 3, is the 3 the one without the back window?
No, the 4 is the one without the back window.
The 4 is the newer one with no back window.
Got you.
And it's like a lower, more sports car type of build, I suppose, but it's still like
a crossover SUV because they're all crossover SUVs, aren't they?
Yep.
But the 3 is just a bit bigger inside and a bit more practical.
It's a little bit taller and it has a real window, of course, so it's a win.
Nice, yeah.
And one car, which we've both recently driven, you've still got it with you, I think.
Yes.
It's the, I say brand new, it's not really brand new, it's the updated Genesis GV60.
Yeah, well, I suppose it is brand new because people can't buy it yet, can they?
It won't be in their homes until next year, will it?
It's the 26th release, isn't it, the one we've got?
I'm not sure when it's recently delivered to customers, yeah.
So I think they don't get it until next year, but we are obviously looking at this brand
new facelift and people can order it now, but I don't think it arrives, their orders will
arrive till next year.
OK.
I say not totally brand new because it is a mild facelift of the last version and
I've driven the last version twice and I really, really enjoyed it.
It's one of my favourite EVs, I think, because it just nails the brief on.
It's got some of that sensibility from Hyundai, so it's very similar to Biker Onyc 5 or something,
but it just takes it to the level I find, so how have you been finding the one you've
had this week?
I've only had it two days so far, so I've got a little time to go yet, but I think
we've got completely different versions, didn't you have the pure version, which is entry
level, if I'm right?
It's the base spec version, yeah.
OK.
I've got the performance version, which is the bells and whistles and madness that goes
with it, so I think it's going to be quite interesting to see how different they are.
Yeah.
Do you know what?
I love the interior and I love the way it looks on the outside as well, they're absolutely
nailed it, you're right.
I think the interior is super plush and it just feels really, really premium.
Yep.
Drive, as I've not had it long enough to give you a full verdict, but it pushes you back in
your seat and takes your breath away when you push down on the pedal.
Yeah, I think the performance, the one you've got, it's got some inspiration from the
Onyc 5N.
Yes.
But it hasn't got quite the level of horsepower, so I think the Onyc 5N's got around 600
and something, and this one, the Genesis has got about 500, so they've tamed it
down a little bit.
Yes.
But it's still got the fake gear shifts and all that sort of stuff.
Yeah, it's got the fake gear shifts, it's got the engine noises, it's got all of that
stuff, and it's more than enough, you know, I don't think I could ever want for more
power unless I was going to a circuit.
Yep.
But yeah, it's fun, it's really, really fun to drive.
Yeah, I think I mentioned it in the review, one of my favourite things about the Genesis
line of cars is if you look at the Kia or the Hyundai, if you want certain things
on the car, the different options, you've then got a spring for, you've got a spring for
different trim levels of the car, you can't just stop and change, and that's obviously
for cost reasons, but with the Genesis you can spec pretty much any single option, there's
one thing you can't spec on every single version of the car, so if you want real-world
drive and more efficiency, you can get all the extras and stuff that you would get
on the other ones.
The only thing you can't get is the performance version is available with a dash cam.
Yes.
It's got a built-in dash cam, which is awesome, so.
Yes, and when you turn it off, it says dash cam is recording, so it's always recording
while you're not in the car, so it's there to, like the Sentry mode, I suppose, on the
Tesla, isn't it?
Yeah.
If someone tries to have a closer look at it, you're going to get a closer look
at them too.
Yeah.
Yeah, have you reviewed any Teslas just yet, or is that coming soon, do you
think?
No, not yet.
I've had to chat with a local Tesla dealership who are keen to sort something out,
and it's just getting the times set up, so that's coming.
Yeah.
Nice.
All good.
So, looking forward, sort of, sorry, I just looked, what cars have you reviewed so
far?
So, you mentioned the Skywile, you mentioned the Polestar 3, what other
highlights have you had, and what else have you got planned, do you think?
Okay, so, I mean, so far on the channel, we've got, the Hyundai
Ironic 9 is on the channel.
That was quite a short time with the car, but it was long enough to get a proper
look inside it.
The Smart Hashtag 5, which arrived in dealerships this week, I got a proper
look around the Brabus version of one of those, and I had a look, actually, in Munich
at the IAA at one of those, but I went to the Smart
dealership in Exeter the other day and got a chance, they invited me to go in and
make a video, so that was really good, that's a really, really nice car, very,
very good for the money, and it was the Brabus-tuned one that I made a video
of, so that video is already live, so I've got to admit, I really, really
like that car, not like it's a spoiler or anything, but we're discussing
when I can borrow it to take it out for a proper drive, and that'll be
quite exciting, I think, that'll look great.
I've got the High Under Insta video probably going live tomorrow, that's good.
Obviously, the Polestar one's already on, and I've got a Polestar 3 versus
BMW iX video that went live last week, which was great, because I had the
chance to pit them against each other in a top-trump style, which was
I thought was a fun game, because I would happily live with either of them, so it
was really, really difficult to make a choice. It's like choosing between your
favourite children. You don't have children, do you?
You don't have, I have that, I have my children telling me all the time,
but I'm your favourite, Dad. I don't have favourites.
See, as I mentioned earlier, you're quite new to this kind of thing,
how are you finding it so far? Because one thing I was struggling with
when I started, I think it was like two and a bit years ago, was who to contact
to get cars from all the filming nuances that go with it, all the technical
difficulties that you might run into. How are you finding it so far?
Yeah, that's a really good question. It's kind of a behind-the-scenes video,
isn't it? When you get this hair-brown idea to start this kind of
lifestyle, it's really difficult, because all this stuff is kept behind locking
key, isn't it? And you've got to beg and beg and keep begging until you
annoy someone enough to give you a car. Now, I feel really, really, really
lucky because Polestar have been really generous, you know, I've had two
cars for a week at a time, and they're like 70, 80 grand cars sat on my
drive that, you know, I've a really small channel, really, to start with.
So I've been really lucky with them. But getting hold of cars is quite
difficult, especially when you don't know anybody and you haven't made
those contacts. Because I think it's how the press people at the dealerships
or at the manufacturers trust you. And a lot of it is based on how
much they like you. I don't think I've met enough of them yet to build
those relationships. So the first event I went to was the SMMT Society of
Motor Manufacturers Drive Day in May. And I was so excited that I was
invited, I just went and drove all the cars. I didn't really talk to
anyone, I was like, oh, can I drive that please? And they're like, yeah,
I don't know. So I spent all my time just making short videos and
driving. Whereas what I didn't spend time doing was chatting to people
and building those relationships. And I think that is something that I
personally would have done differently if I was going back to do that
today. Yeah. So I've had to send people lots of emails and hope
they don't just fall straight into the shredder. Yeah. And I think
most of them do fall into the shredder. And those that have like,
I've chased people on LinkedIn and added everyone I think I can and
tried that way as well. Yeah. And it's kind of it's kind of work
because I keep finding myself in cars, which is great. Yeah. But
another big thing for me was building relationships with local
dealers. So my local BMW dealer, I bumped into him at an award
ceremony and chatted to him and he's like, yeah, we can support
you. Come down and take a car for a test drive for a day and see
how you get on. And my first ever full video was a mini
countryman that he'd lent me for the day. Nice. Yeah. And that
was like, excellent training for me because it was the first
one. And it was a really good kind of way in because then I
had something I could show to other people and say, look,
this is what I think I can do. And I appreciate it's the first
one. And then you asked about tech. Well, I mean, everything I
filmed so far has been on my phone. Yeah, I've got a decent
iPhone with 4k cameras and stuff. And I pretty quickly
realized I needed to buy some decent microphones. Because
audio was killing it in the first couple. It was really
bad. And then I bought some road Bluetooth mics. And then
I've just bought some new cameras. So I've just bought an
Osmo pocket and a new GoPro so I can upgrade and get better
because you always want to get better, don't you? Yeah, provide
slightly better content, especially now I feel like I'm
taking it a little bit more seriously. And I've now started
to dream that this could perhaps be a real job. Yeah. So I
think, yeah, that's kind of behind the scenes. That's
exactly where we are. And it's constantly trying to improve
and get into more cars, isn't it? And enjoy more different
feeling cars and being able to articulate that. So
Yeah, 100%. And the thing I was interested in is, because we
met each other in person at the Munich Motor Show a few months
ago. I didn't get a chance to ask you, what sort of
motivated you to get into car reviews? Because I know, for
me, it was I was super interesting cars. I just wanted to
drive more new cars. If I ever took my car into test car to get
serviced, they give me a loan car. And I thought that was so
exciting. And yeah, I just I just really wanted to drive more
cars. And that was not the beat on end all but it was one
of the motivating factors is you get to test all these
cars. So what was it? What was it for you? Because my
story is bonkers. And it yeah, strap yourself in. So as a
little lad, which is a very long time ago now, and I think
I'm quite a substantial amount older than you. I absolutely
loved cars. And I've always loved motorsport, especially F
one. And when I got into my teenage years, the internet
was just becoming a thing. Yes, I am now. And I started
blogging about formula one, I got invited to some events and I
ended up going to the Mercedes launch and all sorts of things
over the years. And I got to a point where I could either
crack on with that or do a real job and actually see my
children. And I chose to stay at home and see my children
and have a real job just because I thought that's
probably more important. And I'd certainly regret it if I
disappeared off and did other things. But the passion for
cars has always been there. Now, the mad thing is, at the age
of 41, I took and passed my driving test last year in
January. So I've only been driving just under two years.
Right, okay.
Because I've always lived near where I've worked and I've
always seen it as just I desperately want to drive, but
I've got children and I'd rather spend the money on them and
do things and I've just never got round to it. And I just
I thought, you know what, I'm just gonna do it. I booked my
test. I did my theory test and just booked my test. And I
phoned up a driving instructor and said, right, I want this
many lessons and I want to do my test on this date and
within three months I'd passed. Fair play. And that was
it. That was it. My first car was a Ford Galaxy, which I
know isn't electric or fun. But when you have so many
children, yeah, absolutely. Dad car is exactly where I am. And I
had that and it was a bit beating up when I got it. And
that's fine because it was my first car. And I bought and
sold a few cars since then because I've got bored of that
after six months and it needed a few bits doing so I
sold it to someone else and bought something else. And then
I've got bored of that and bought something else and sold
something. And my daily at the minute is a Land Rover. But the
passion for trying lots of different cars and just driving
things has always been there. So yeah, I find it really,
really exciting. Every time I sit in a new car, I'm excited
to find out about it and work it out. Yep.
Yeah, that won't go away for quite a while. I don't think
that feeling so that's never gonna go away. Is it? Because
every time you get in a car, there's something new to learn
and explore. Yeah. And you have to pick it up very
quickly because I I live in the middle of nowhere. So I
take for those who don't know when you get these cars from
the the the manufacturers, they usually get delivered to
you. So someone will drive by himself or herself. And then
they have to get back somewhere. So you've got to
take them back to the train station. So absolutely. So
you sort of get in the car for the first time is driving
some stranger back to the train station. So you've got to
your brain's got to work very quickly to work out how this
car works. It's funny because I had that even this
morning. Yeah. Like it's mad. The first car that I ever
had delivered was a Polestar and that was delivered on a low
loader was actually delivered on on a trailer. Right. And
that was great. Yeah, cool. And then the next car that
I had delivered was I can't remember which one it was
now, but he just turned up with it. Yeah. Oh, do you want to
hop in at the station? Oh, that'd be amazing. Thanks. Yep. And
I live down here in Devon where everything's a bit more
rural. So it's yeah, like you you're in the middle of
nowhere and it's all good fun. But I had one guy turn up
with a folding bicycle on the back of the car. Don't
worry about that. I'll take you to the station. It's
not. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's it is interesting how
certain people get into this kind of thing. But as you
were saying earlier, I think me and Jim have had this
conversation before, but no one is there to sort of give
you any advice or anything. I've been quite lucky
because Jim's given me advice along the way. But and I
think it is needed, I think. And yeah, it's a bit
unknown. Jim's Jim's brilliant. He's a good
laugh as well, isn't he? And I must admit, I when
I went to that first test day, I messaged Jim
beforehand and I wasn't sure whether he'd reply and
he did. And he's like, yeah, yeah, I'm there and I'll
chat to you and we met and had a chat and he was
just so kind and helpful. So that that really helped
the confidence as well. So yeah, because I don't
know if you've been to any, well, you're probably
one at some point, some brand launches.
Yeah, not yet. No, no one likes me enough for
that yet. Jim Jim's always mentioned, I don't
think a problem goes away for me is that in fact,
you feel like an imposter at those things. And
yeah, I think I think even even still, I think a
lot of people probably feel that especially
independent people like me and Jim, because there's
all the people from the magazines which are
there and all the big people. So they turn up
in packs, don't they? They turn up with their
camera person and their, you know, and their
sound person and all those sort of things or
there was a group and then they go and do
their things methodically as they do and we
turn up and we're just like, I think I'll have a
go in that and I'll see how it goes. But yeah,
it's, you do feel like an imposter because you
you see all the people that you've seen on TV
and YouTube for years and you think, what am I
doing here? I watch your YouTube channel, what
am I doing here?
Sort of some some cars for 2026, what kind
of stuff are you hoping to cover? Is it
obviously this electric car podcast, but you
more interested in one or the other of you,
very, very open minded in terms of what you
review because I'm personally I'm very open
minded, even though me and Jim do an EV
podcast. But yeah, yeah, no, I'm really
open minded. Like at the moment, I've got
the Genesis GV60 and I've had an
Isuzu? Is it Isuzu or Isuzu? I don't know how
you... I think it's Isuzu.
Which is it? You should have a vote or
something. Is it Isuzu or Isuzu?
No idea.
A D-Max truck on the drive and that's like
a big diesel truck and I'm really excited
about driving that. But I am quite
passionate about electric mobility. I must
admit, I love EVs and I always have.
In fact, where I used to work in my
day job, we bought electric vans to do
our local deliveries and I'm going back
to them in a couple of weeks to do a
video where we get both of the vans
together and talk about how compelling
it is to buy used EV, right, a van.
They've got an ENV 200s, which are a few
years old now and they've got an 80
mile range. But for them who deliver
everything within three or four mile
radius and just shuttle between
stores, it's really, really useful and
a really compelling purchase,
especially if you can pick one up now
at a couple of a couple of grand.
So we're going to do a video on those
and I think that's really exciting
me just as much as a brand new 70
grand Polestar was on the drive and I
love it. And I think I've always
been into even Formula E racing as
well as Formula One because I do
love the electric racing and I do
really care about the environment and
how the electric mobility is helping.
A spoiler alert, I've got a video
coming that I haven't filmed all of
it yet on electric buses.
Oh, really? OK. So I've been behind
the scenes at the local stagecoach
depot and they've just had the
deliveries of new electric buses
that go live later this year and
we're going to explore how cool
they are and how much better for
the environment they are and better
for the passengers and better for the
company. That's like 50 million
quids worth of investment and I
think that is a really exciting
also. Yeah, it's huge because I
used to get the bus and then it
would be very, very, very, very
vibrating in the back. And then
if you'd walk in the town next to
the buses, it just smells. So
there's a sort of a selfish point
of view to make things quite
quieter in the town, wouldn't it?
So yeah, it's a game changer.
It really is. And if you get on a
bus in Torbay, you'll hear my voice
on the bus because I do the
voiceover announcements for the
next stop announcements.
So you'll hear my voice.
Yeah, you'll hear me just saying
the next stop is and it'll
just be like that. So yeah, that's
a face to the name, if you like.
But that's
yeah, that's quite exciting going
forward. And I think that'll make
a really interesting video.
Not that I'm allowed to drive a
bus.
But I know
many people who are and I think
it's going to be really interesting.
Yeah, especially so they've at
this place than they've got. Is
this in quite a big built up town
or is it a bit more rural?
So the depot is in Exeter,
which is a city.
Oh, yeah. And but
the first depot that will turn
electric is Torbay, which is
Torbay painting and bricks and
which is where I live.
And that's going to
be the first depot in the
southwest to turn completely
electric.
Well, and the buses
for that have started arriving
and the infrastructure is
currently being built.
So it's definitely exciting.
There's a lot into it as well.
There's a lot of work that goes
into the background of how
you prepare your bus service
to take that kind of change.
Yeah, especially when you've
got people who have driven
buses and taken buses for years
and you're used to running
them in a certain way and
it has to be done very
differently.
I can imagine. Yeah.
I could only just imagine also
the the local paper
sort of reaction to it as well.
Yes, it will be when the first
one breaks down and someone
with a diesel generator needs
to turn up in a diesel van
to plug it in or something.
That will be when the paper
gets excited.
But yeah, it's going to happen.
You know, it's going to
happen where someone thinks,
yeah, I can get I don't need
to stop at this charger.
I can I can go to the next
one because the drivers
are a breed, aren't they?
And it'll be.
Yeah.
Yeah, there's lots of different
areas which can go electric.
So I haven't like one that I
filmed the video just haven't
edited it properly yet.
But I've last week I drove
an electric tractor.
Oh, wow. OK.
So yeah, I haven't quite
finished the video for that yet.
So it should be out at some
point on the channel.
But so one of the tractor
manufacturers called Fent Fent
that didn't help well.
People know tractors, but
they essentially got the first
two electric tractors in the UK
that they sell.
Everyone else is a bit a bit
far behind in the brands.
But that was that was quite
exciting.
And what was quite
interesting to me is that they
were really keen on on making
the what do you call it
compatibility with other
implements and all the
infrastructure goes with it
exactly the same because
they were quite surprised that
people were driving it and
thinking, well, this isn't
very different.
And they were like, good.
But yeah, it's not meant to
be.
So that's amazing.
Surely surely it makes loads of
sense because you've got all
that talk.
Yeah, just move the wheels.
Yeah, that is traditionally
the bit that the engine has to
push in and do so much for.
So yeah, surely the the
hardest bit of getting a
tractor moving is way easier
with an electric motor.
Yeah, it was very smooth,
very quiet.
All the what's quite
interesting to me is that
they still got a gearbox.
Oh, it's got a low range,
high range and well,
no, I couldn't quite work out
how it worked.
There was a there's got a
transmission in between the
electric motors and the wheels.
And then for those, this is
going to get very into it now.
But tractors have what are
called PTO systems for driving,
I don't know, a mower or
something.
And traditionally that is
coming off the engine.
But they've fed that system
directly off the motors.
It doesn't go by the
gearbox, but a load of work
has gone into a load of
engineering.
And it's it's promising.
But the the two
downsides, one, they cost
100 grand more than a diesel.
And roughly, they do
about half the amount of time,
work time than a diesel can do
before the before he's charging
again.
But that's like five or six
hours versus 10.
So but it's good in there.
And for a lot, a lot of use
cases, it can be it can be
quite successful.
Yeah, I then I suppose you
need to look at the cost to
charge it compared to the
cost of the diesel.
Yeah, yeah, that's one thing
I was going to work out before
I published the video is getting
that sort of stuff nailed.
But it's it's promising,
though, for the one of the very
first ones on sale
in the UK.
It's pretty cool.
So yeah, yeah, that's really
interesting.
I'm looking forward to that
video already.
I want to see that.
Yeah, I did like a little
interview with.
Well, I didn't do much.
I did some talking in the
video.
But the product one of the
product guys walked me
through all the bits and
pieces and drive it.
And so it's more of a
interview slash sort of
me driving the tractor sort of
thing.
So now you asked me
before I got sidetracked
talking about buses.
Oh, yeah, about cars in 2026
and what I was most looking
forward to.
Do you use the only thing
you're particularly looking
forward to?
Is there a like a particular
car that you're really
excited by?
Well, it's the very end of
this.
You mean ones I've going to
review or ones that are
coming out?
One's that are coming out
that you'd like to review.
Oh, the new Polo, the new
electric.
The new Polo.
Yeah.
Yeah, that makes sense.
And that naming structure
makes so much sense as well,
doesn't it?
Oh, it's so much better.
Yeah, instead of three, four.
What is it?
Everyone knows what a Polo is.
Yeah, everyone knows what a
golf is.
Yeah, I think.
The ID three I drove to
Germany.
It's it was a very good car.
But it was lacking something.
So it's lacking a bit of a
little bit of character, I
think.
And I think based on the
interiors, we've seen from
the ID cross.
We're just going to bring back
some of that nicety that VW
have had before.
If that's going to look like
that in that Polo, I think
that'll be a winner, I think.
Yes.
And small electric cars
is something that interests me
greatly.
So I've got the Insta coming
up in a few weeks.
Yeah.
I reviewed the Renault five
and that was insane.
It's just so good.
I see.
I like the Renault five to
look at.
I thought it was a little
bit clumsy in how it was
delivered, like in terms
of how it felt to actually
drive.
I thought it looked better than
it drove.
Yeah.
I think Jim said the same thing.
He wasn't too impressed.
But the takeaway I had was that
that car was essentially
replacing the Zoe.
And the Zoe was never amazing
to drive either.
So I think I think with that
car, they've made it really
like sexy and appealing by
the exterior.
Yeah.
And then to drive it is just
a car.
So I think they kind of
I think that's kind of fine.
And it's super efficient
as well, which is good.
So but these small electric
cars are one of the most
exciting areas of the market
because they just get so many
SUVs now.
So and it's a real really
growing segment, isn't it?
Like so many people are
starting to cut on on and
starting to nail it.
Like I mean, I know you've
not had the Insta yet,
but it's such a cool looking
car.
Yeah.
And I've driven it and I
can attest to it being much
better to drive than the Renault
five was.
It's a lot of fun and it
looks fun and playful as well.
Yeah.
And I think you want that,
don't you?
You want fun, playful cars
rather than everything just
looking formulaic.
Yeah.
And as you drive as people
sort of you drive Hyundai
or Genesis or something,
there's a there's a little
sort of synergy between
the brands and in terms of
how the UI works and how
the entertainment system works.
Yes.
If you do happen to have
a car from each brand or
something along those lines
sounds stupid, but there's
there is a bit of family tree
sort of stuff working
with those cars, which I quite like.
So because even the little
Kierpikanto, there's certain elements
which work the same as
a Genesis, for example,
which I quite like.
So yeah, I must admit I was
quite pleased that when I got
into the Genesis, the button
to turn off the speed limit
warning was the same push
and hold button as it was
in the EV3 I drove.
Yeah.
But yeah, what about you?
What what cars are you
looking forward to that
are going to launch next year?
Ah, yeah.
See now I asked the question
back to you because I still
hadn't thought of an answer.
Smart, is that smart?
Yeah, yeah, I know.
But then you're supposed to think
of an answer by the time
it comes back to you, aren't you?
And do you know what?
I saw at the IAA in Munich
on the X-Peng stand
and I now now know it is
coming to the UK is there
and you're not going to
guess this before I say it.
But it's their people carrier.
Oh, G is called the G9.
Yeah, I think so.
I think so.
But it was proper plush.
And you know, you see these
in Japan and China
and you see them everywhere.
And if you want one here,
you have to import it and stuff
like the Elgrand and stuff like that.
But this it's a real one
being released in the UK.
Oh, sweet.
And I'm really excited about that
because it's kind of ticks
all those boxes like great for the family.
It's like a van
when you've not got the family in it.
But it also looks really cool and futuristic.
So I'm quite excited about that.
So do you find them
when you're carrying your kids around
that an MPV type of vehicle
is a bit more practical than an SUV sometimes?
Yeah, well, like I said,
my daily is a Land Rover,
which has got seven seats in it.
And when they're not in it,
it's a van, basically.
So I can go and put all my kit in it
and go and do a DJ gig somewhere
with all of my my gear.
Or you can take all the family away
in comfort and still have room for luggage.
So I haven't driven the EV9 yet, actually,
to be honest, and I'm led to believe
that that will have a similar kind of property
in terms of being huge and really good to drive
and all of those things.
So that is something I'm keen to get into.
But the IONIQ9, actually,
I suppose it's the same car, isn't it?
It is pretty much, yeah.
That was excellent.
I could see myself driving that as a daily car.
Oh, yeah?
To replace the Land Rover.
Nice, yeah.
Those sort of there.
I think when I drove the EV9,
it was last year sort of time,
it had good efficiency, but it wasn't,
I think at that point,
I had driven a good amount of EVs,
but I hadn't driven enough, if you don't mean so,
I hadn't quite understood the efficiency side of it,
but it was getting like 2.5 to nearly three miles per kilowatt.
I was thinking, hmm,
but then when you think, this car's gonna rival
a massive diesel Range Rover or something on those lines
or big V8 Range Rover,
and it's gonna cost you so little
to actually run it in reality,
then it doesn't actually matter that much.
Absolutely, and on that very subject,
I drove a Polestar 3 to Newcastle and back.
Oh, yeah.
Which is 400 miles each way.
Now, I wasn't taking the family,
so I didn't need the Land Rover,
but I'm really glad I had the Polestar
because if I'd have taken the Land Rover,
it probably would have cost me
best part of 200 pound in diesel.
Yeah.
And the Polestar, I was really lucky
because I just did one top-up charge on the way
and one top-up charge on the way back,
and it probably cost me in total about 100 pounds
in charging because I did charging it
like public charges, but that was 800 odd miles.
Yep.
And I got home with another 100 miles still on the car,
so it was like half the prices
it would have been in the Land Rover.
Yeah, yeah.
And I didn't notice any inconvenience.
I let the car choose where to stop,
and both times I pulled up at a Tesla supercharger,
just plugged in, went for a coffee, went to the toilet,
and by the time I came back,
I was charged enough to go.
And when I booked where we were going,
I booked somewhere that had a charger.
So it was no hardship.
You just click that button on hotels.com and it came up.
Yep.
Airbnb it was actually, sorry.
Yeah.
And there was somewhere that came up.
So it was no planning at all.
No.
No stress, just go.
And it was the most relaxing drive I've ever done.
And for me, it's the furthest I've ever driven
in one go.
And it was just really, really relaxing.
It was a fun drive to have.
Yeah.
One thing I've had about doing long distance journeys
in an EV is that compared to,
I've got up as my daily driver, it's an up GTI.
So it's not the most quietest inside.
It's quite a cheap car.
And I find I can do probably double the distance
without feeling as tired.
And you can get out the car at the very end
and it's like you really haven't gone that,
you haven't done it, if you know what I mean.
Yeah, yeah.
I always find it's just a more relaxing way
of getting about to be honest.
Yeah.
The Land Rover is great in that it's like driving your sofa,
but it is like driving your sofa
whilst being hit around the head with a pan
because it's super loud.
And it is like tractor loud, isn't it?
Yeah.
And then I remember driving to Gatwick in it
and it was pouring down the rain
and you could hear the wind and the rain noise
and everything and it was horrific.
Yeah.
But no, in the Polestar it was just silent
and just cruised all the way up and back
and it was really, really nice.
Yeah, pretty good, yeah.
Yeah, it's surprising.
So I was gonna ask you what brand of chargers you used
and if it was, I was gonna say try out the Tesla ones
because they're really cheap
but you've already done that, so.
Yeah, and it was interesting actually
because I'd never used one before.
Yeah.
So to anyone that's never used one
and is unsure about it,
I just went up to it, plugged it in
and I pinged my card on it
and it took 20 quid off me.
Yep.
As like a pre-authorization
and it was just 20 quid.
And then, well the time I came back
and I left the charger, it told me,
oh it's gonna be 35 pounds or whatever
and then the rest just came out of my bank two days later.
Yep.
It was seamless, there was no stress,
there was no apps to download.
No.
I don't have a Tesla app, it was just ping
away you go.
Yep.
And there was no worry about it not working
or anything like that, it was just super, super simple.
So you'd have to recommend that.
If you're going anywhere that has Tesla Chargers,
it's just so easy.
Yep.
No, I agreed.
I've mentioned this on my podcast before
but when we drove to Germany,
all I used was pretty much,
I think apart from one or two hotel chargers
was Tesla Chargers.
Yep.
And it was, again, it was super easy.
What I did is for that I paid for the membership.
So it gives you, I think 10 quid or something
and you get a big discount on the charging
and after one charge, so it pays for itself.
So you get the same prices as what Tesla owners
would get at that price, so.
Okay, yeah, that makes sense.
Yeah.
I think what I need to do is buy a really old Tesla
and get free charging for life, that would be good.
Yeah, Johnny Smith has just done that.
Oh, yes, yes he has, yes, yes.
Yeah, it's a good idea.
There's quite a lot for sale with free charging.
So it's a good idea.
Yeah, and the batteries do last forever, don't they?
They last for a very long time, yeah.
A lot of them are 10 years old roughly now
that I for sale with free charging,
but I found out the only issue with that is apparently
if the car's gone back into Tesla ownership,
like it's a trade-in,
then they wipe out the free charging, so.
Oh really?
Yeah.
That's cheeky, isn't it?
So it has to stay in the sort of public ownership.
Okay.
So yeah, that's cheeky, that is.
Yeah.
Yeah, well, I think that is a good place to end.
Okay.
If people want to find out more about you and your channel,
just remind everyone what your channel was called.
So it's called Gorn in 60 Seconds, that's all one word,
and Gorn is spelled G-A-W-N-E, Gorn in 60 Seconds.
It's amazing.
I'm sure Alex, you'll put in a link in the show notes.
Yeah, I'll put a link in the description on the YouTube video,
and if you're listening to this on Apple Podcast,
there'll be a link there as well.
I do like these clever names with the channels,
because there's a guy I know, he's called Naveed,
and his channel is Naveed for Speed.
Oh, I like that.
And it's amazing, that's great.
So these clever channels are quite a good idea.
So yeah, thank you so much Paul for standing in for Jim,
it's because Jim's exploring channel at the moment,
so.
Yeah, and we'll have to do this again sometime,
but yeah, it's been really good.
Thank you.
Thank you very much for inviting me.
See you.
Thank you.
About this episode
Paul Gawne shares his journey as a new car reviewer, discussing his YouTube channel 'Gawn in 60 Seconds' and his passion for electric vehicles. The conversation covers his favorite EVs like the Polestar 3 and Genesis GV60, challenges of building industry relationships, and behind-the-scenes insights into content creation. Paul also highlights upcoming EVs, electric buses, and tractors, emphasizing the growing electric mobility landscape. The relaxed chat touches on long-distance EV driving experiences, charging ease, and the appeal of practical family EVs versus SUVs.
Jim is away in China this week - so Alex sits down with Paul Gawne to chat all things EVs, starting out as a car reviewer, some chat about electric buses and how to pronounce Isuzu.