Volvo EX60 1st Drive and Interviews with Lindsay Tingström and Florian Mockenhaupt, CUPRA Raval 1st Drive and Interview with Toni Gallego, Ford Ireland Supports Irish Tradespeople and Opel Ireland launches Mokka GSE
Nevo EV News Podcast
Nevo EV News Podcast May 27, 2026
Volvo EX60 1st Drive and Interviews with Lindsay Tingström and Florian Mockenhaupt, CUPRA Raval 1st Drive and Interview with Toni Gallego, Ford Ireland Supports Irish Tradespeople and Opel Ireland launches Mokka GSE
The Volvo EX60 is Volvo’s new electric car, and it’s designed to be run and updated by software. The hosts talk about different versions (rear-wheel drive vs all-wheel drive), different battery sizes, and how much range and cargo space you get.
The Cupra Raval is a new car from the CUPRA brand, and the hosts are treating it as a major first-drive story. They say they drove it in Barcelona to share early impressions.
SPI3 is the internal platform name Volvo is using as the foundation for this electric car. Think of it as the car’s underlying design that helps support the electronics and software features.
A software-defined platform means the car’s behavior is controlled by computers and software. That can make it easier for the car to get updates and new features after you buy it.
NVIDIA Drive is a type of computer system used in cars to help them “understand” what’s happening around them. It’s commonly used for advanced safety features that rely on cameras and sensors.
AGX here refers to a powerful computer chip used in cars for safety and driving-assistance features. It helps the car process sensor data quickly while you drive.
Term
Qualcomm 8255 CPU
A CPU is the car’s main computer. Saying “Qualcomm 8255” means the car uses a specific model of computer chip to run its software and control systems.
Pilot Assist Plus is Volvo’s set of safety and driving-assistance features. It’s meant to help the car stay in control and reduce driver workload, and the hosts say there are different versions.
Term
P6
P6 is one of the EX60’s different configuration levels. In this segment it’s linked to a specific range estimate and is the version the hosts drove.
Term
P10
P10 is a different EX60 configuration level. Here it’s associated with a higher range number than the P6 version.
Term
P12
P12 is another EX60 configuration level. In this segment they say P12 is the all-wheel-drive version, meaning power goes to more than just the rear wheels.
Usable battery size is the part of the battery you can actually use to drive the car. The hosts say the EX60’s biggest range comes from a 112 kWh usable battery.
AC and DC charging refer to two different ways electricity is delivered to an EV. AC charging typically uses the car’s onboard charger to convert power, while DC fast charging bypasses that conversion for quicker charging.
An OLED screen is an automotive display technology where each pixel emits its own light, enabling high contrast and deep blacks. A curved, large OLED layout can wrap information closer to the driver and reduce the need to look away from the road.
Term
11 presets
“Presets” are saved settings you can switch between quickly. If there are 11 instead of 3, it means more people (or more preferences) can be saved and recalled easily.
Google is the company behind the AI system mentioned here. The point is that the car uses Google’s Gemini AI features for the in-car assistant experience.
Gemini AI is Google’s AI system used for natural-language interaction. In the EX60 context, it’s described as being integrated into the car so the primary interaction can move from touch/menu navigation toward multi-turn conversation.
A multi-turn conversation means the AI can understand what you said earlier and keep the context as you talk. That can make it easier to give instructions without repeating yourself.
Parking cameras are cameras on the car that show you what’s around it when you’re parking. They help you avoid hitting things you can’t easily see from the driver’s seat.
“Driver distraction” means the driver isn’t paying attention to driving—like looking away too much. Some cars use cameras to watch your eyes and head position and can warn you if it thinks you’re distracted.
“Fatigued” means the driver looks tired. The car can use cameras to notice signs like droopy eyes or long periods of looking away, and then suggest you pull over and rest.
Here, “algorithms” are the car’s computer logic. It uses camera/sensor information to figure out things like whether the driver looks tired, and then decides when to warn you.
ES90 is another Volvo electric car mentioned in the context of sensor hardware. They say the earlier design used a LiDAR bump, and the new direction is to move away from that.
The Volvo EX90 is a fully electric SUV with room for more than two rows of passengers. It also uses special sensors to help the car “see” the road and traffic. People talk about it because the sensor setup can influence how the car is designed and how the safety features work.
A “LiDAR bump” refers to the raised housing on a vehicle that contains LiDAR sensors. LiDAR uses laser pulses to measure distances and build a detailed 3D map of the surroundings, which can help advanced driver-assistance systems interpret the road more precisely.
“Full self-driving” means the car doing the driving with little or no human help. In this segment, they’re saying they won’t claim it’s ready until it’s proven to be safe.
Cognitive load means how mentally “busy” the driver’s brain has to be. They’re trying to make the car’s screen and alerts easier to process so you don’t get distracted.
The “Hugon core system” is the car’s main software platform. Here, they’re talking about how it controls what information shows up on the screen and how alerts are handled so the driver isn’t overwhelmed.
UX principles are design rules for making a system easy and safe to use. In a car, that means showing the right information at the right time without distracting the driver.
A landscape screen is a wide, horizontal display. They’re saying this shape gives the car more space to show things like climate controls without cluttering the interface.
Los Angeles is where they say they showed this feature at the EX90 global launch. They’re using that event as a reference point for what they observed.
They’re describing the car as more than just transportation. In some situations, people treat the cabin like a temporary room—working, resting, or relaxing—so the design aims to feel calm and inviting.
Ambient light is the soft, mood-setting lighting inside the car. They’re saying people can choose different colors or “scenes,” but the brand tries to keep it tasteful so it doesn’t distract you while driving.
“High fidelity” just means the audio is meant to sound very detailed and accurate. Combined with spatial audio, it’s trying to make the sound both clearer and more surround-like.
Some cars put small speakers in the headrests. That lets you control audio for different seats, and in this case you can even turn those headrest speakers on or off.
Dolby is a technology brand that helps make movies and music sound more surround-like. In a car, it can help the audio system create a more immersive sound.
Bose is a well-known audio company that makes speakers and sound technology. If a car partners with Bose, it usually means the sound system is designed to deliver better, more immersive audio.
A tweeter is a speaker that handles the higher-pitched parts of music, like bright details in vocals and instruments. The transcript suggests the car’s design may physically move or reveal the tweeter for better sound.
OEMs are the actual car makers who build the vehicle. In this context, they’re saying the car company focuses on the basics like safety, and then partners with specialists for things like audio and software.
Bowers and Wilkins is a premium audio brand known for high-quality speakers. If a car offers Bowers and Wilkins audio, it’s usually aiming for a richer, more detailed sound.
Apple Music is a music streaming app. The host is saying that even a great car sound system can only be as good as the audio you’re playing through it.
Over-the-air updates are changes you can install in the car wirelessly, without going to a dealer. The idea is that the car can get new features or improvements over time.
The operating system is the main software that controls how the car’s screens and features work. They’re saying different devices and software versions can behave differently, which makes updates harder to manage consistently.
Opt-in means you have to choose to turn a feature on. They’re discussing how to let drivers decide which OTA features they want instead of forcing everything on every car.
“Fleet-wide” means the company is thinking about updating lots of cars at once. They also have to handle different customer choices, so not every car necessarily gets the same features at the same time.
Term
UI
UI means the car’s on-screen controls and menus—how you interact with it. They’re working to make the screens and buttons feel consistent across different cars so it’s easier to use.
The Volvo EX30 is an electric Volvo SUV. In this segment, it’s mentioned as an example of how Volvo tries to keep the car’s touchscreen and settings experience consistent across different EX models.
This means the car’s setup and learning process doesn’t have to happen all at once. Instead, the car can help you configure and personalize things gradually as you live with it.
A software-defined vehicle means the car’s features are run by software, like a computer. That makes it easier to personalize settings and improve the experience over time, sometimes even after you buy the car.
“In-car experience” here means the overall user interface and interaction flow inside the vehicle—how you navigate screens, set climate, and manage settings. The host is specifically comparing and aligning it with the mobile app so the driver gets a consistent experience.
The mobile app is the phone software that connects to the car. Here, it’s described as helping you set up and personalize the car in a way that carries over between your phone and the vehicle.
A “profile” here means a saved set of your preferences. The car can recognize you (via your key) and automatically move things like the seat to match your settings.
The Volvo EX-60 is a new Volvo electric SUV built on a newer “platform” (a shared vehicle foundation). They also use a large one-piece-style casting for part of the underbody to help the car slice through air efficiently, without losing the SUV look and feel.
The drag coefficient is a way to measure how “slippery” the car is through the air. A lower number usually means the car needs less energy to move, which can help range—especially important for EVs.
“SUV stance” refers to the vehicle’s overall proportions and posture—how high it sits, its ride height impression, and the upright look. The speaker frames it as something customers value, even while the team works to reduce aerodynamic drag.
It’s a small space between the wheel and the car body. Designers shape that area so air flows past the wheel more cleanly, which helps the car waste less energy.
Think of it like a shaped piece near the wheel opening. It helps direct airflow so the air doesn’t get chaotic around the tire, which improves efficiency.
It’s a designed edge on the car that influences how air peels away from the body. Better control of that airflow can reduce messy swirling behind the car.
This just means a gas- or diesel-powered car that makes power by burning fuel. They’re talking about whether aerodynamics will become even more important for EVs.
Diesel is a type of fuel used in some cars that burns differently than gasoline. Here it’s mentioned just to compare combustion cars versus EVs in how aerodynamics affects efficiency.
Here, efficiency means how well the car uses its energy. A more efficient electric car wastes less energy, so it can drive farther on the same battery charge.
A battery electric vehicle is powered by a battery and an electric motor, not gasoline. Since the energy has to come from the battery, anything that reduces energy waste (like air resistance) helps the car go farther.
Mega casting is when a car’s body structure is made using very large cast pieces instead of lots of smaller parts. That can make the car lighter and can also give designers more freedom with shape.
A platform is the car’s underlying “skeleton” and layout that multiple models can share. When the platform changes, it can change how the car is built and what shapes designers can use.
Battery control units are the EV’s control electronics for the battery. They help manage things like charging and safety so the battery works correctly. Here, the speaker is saying their location is part of how they fit everything together more efficiently.
Shock absorbers are the parts that help smooth out bumps and keep the wheels from bouncing too much. In this discussion, they’re talking about how the car’s design lets them fit the rear shock absorbers in a more efficient way. That helps make room for other EV components.
This is a styling idea about shaping the front of the car. A lower hood can help the car slip through the air more easily, but they’re also trying to keep the car from looking too low. They use bumper and protective trim to make it look more balanced and a bit higher.
Term
exterior design perspective
“Exterior design perspective” means the lights are designed to look good and communicate the car’s shape from the outside. The host is saying it’s not only about safety—lighting also helps the car look and feel intentional. They’re treating lights like part of the car’s overall design.
Welcome and goodbye animations are the light “shows” the car does when you get near it or walk away. They make the car feel more interactive and help it look distinctive. In this segment, they’re also connected to how important lighting is in darker climates.
A light signature is the unique look of a car’s headlights and taillights. It’s like the car’s visual “fingerprint,” so you can recognize it quickly. In this discussion, it’s also connected to how well the lights help you see in fog and at night.
“Thor’s hammer” is Volvo’s distinctive headlight design. It’s shaped in a way that makes the car easy to recognize, kind of like a brand logo made out of light. The hosts are saying Volvo sticks with it because it’s become iconic.
The Volvo 850 is mentioned as the earlier car where this vertical tail-light idea first appeared. The host says it was influenced by foggy weather, where better visibility helps you notice cars ahead. It’s basically the origin story for the lighting design.
Puddle lights are small lights that shine on the ground near your feet when you open the door. They help you see where you’re stepping, and here Volvo changed where they’re mounted so they stay on when the door is open.
The rocker is the lower part of the car’s side, near the bottom of the doors. Putting the light there helps it stay aimed at the ground when you open the door.
A “digital appearance” in lighting design usually means the light signature is broken into segments or patterns that look more like a display than a continuous light bar. The host says Volvo wanted the EX60’s signatures to look more digital while still keeping the recognizable Thor’s hammer shape.
A “grill-less front” means the car doesn’t have the usual front grille. On an electric car, you don’t need that grille for engine cooling, and it can also help the front shape be more efficient.
An auxiliary headlamp is an extra headlight unit. Volvo uses it so the main headlight outline still looks like the signature design even when the car is turned off.
Matrix LED headlights use lots of tiny light elements that can be controlled separately. That lets the car aim and shape the beam more precisely than a single fixed headlight design.
Residual value is what a car is expected to be worth later, like when you sell it or when a lease ends. They’re saying the EX60’s paint choices help it hold value because lots of people actually like those colors.
Resell value just means how much you can sell the car for later. They’re saying the right paint and interior color combinations can make that easier because more people will want it.
Term
SPA two or SPA three
SPA is Volvo’s shared “car building system” that different models can be based on. They’re comparing older versus newer platform generations to explain why the EX60’s exterior styling looks more subtle.
“Light catchers” are design shapes on the car that make light reflect in a more dramatic way. They’re saying the EX60 uses fewer of those sharp, eye-catching highlights than previous designs.
The speaker contrasts how modern consumers experience visuals through 2D screens versus older, more physically dramatic styling cues. They argue this “2D content” changes how people perceive what looks modern and progressive, influencing how the EX60’s surfaces and light-catching details are toned down.
Term
arrow targets
“Arrow targets” is about how aerodynamic the car is—how easily it moves through the air. A more aerodynamic shape helps an electric car use less energy, which can mean a longer range.
Term
scv
“SCV” is an internal shorthand for how Volvo thinks about building the car so it works in real life. Here, the point is that the design isn’t just about looks or efficiency on paper—it’s meant to stay practical for daily driving.
The Volvo XC60 is a mid-size SUV that’s designed to be practical for everyday life, like commuting and family use. It’s popular because it’s comfortable and has a layout that works well day to day. The podcast mentions it as a standard for what buyers already like.
This is a trunk design where the floor has a split section. That lets you reach storage underneath and load items like skis without having them sit across the middle of the cabin.
Term
kilowatt electric motor
Kilowatts (kW) are a way to measure how much power the electric motor can produce. Higher kW generally means the motor can deliver stronger acceleration, all else equal.
Front-wheel drive means the power goes to the front wheels. That’s a common layout in cars and it can make the vehicle easier to package and drive day-to-day.
Term
range of 311 kilometers
“Range” means how far the electric car can go on one full battery charge. A bigger number usually means fewer charging stops for most everyday trips.
This is a traction helper that improves grip when you accelerate. It helps prevent one wheel from spinning uselessly by controlling how power is sent to the wheels.
Launch control is a mode that helps the car accelerate as hard as possible from a stop. It manages traction so you get quicker starts without excessive wheelspin.
MEB+ is the EV “underbody” platform that Volkswagen Group uses for certain electric cars. It affects how the car is built and packaged, which can influence things like space and efficiency.
The Plymouth GTX is a classic performance car, meaning it was designed to feel quicker and more exciting to drive than a regular model. It’s usually remembered for its sporty look and stronger engine options. The podcast mentions it when talking about performance editions and what they’re like.
This describes how the car’s back wheels are connected to the body. A torsion beam is a simpler design that saves space, which can help packaging, but it may not feel as refined as more complex suspension setups.
Those are small LED lights that shine onto the door area. They’re often used for a welcome effect or to help you see better when you get in and out at night.
When they say “same platform,” they mean the cars are built on a shared basic design. That can make them cheaper to build and helps them feel related even if the styling and features differ.
“Standard range battery” means the EV comes with a smaller battery. That usually means less driving range than the bigger-battery version, but it can cost less.
“Compact segment” just means a smaller class of cars. The speaker is saying this new model is the first of several new cars aimed at that size category and customer group.
“Brand DNA” means what makes a brand feel like itself. They’re saying they defined key priorities so the car still feels distinct even though it shares a common electric-car platform with other models.
When one wheel starts spinning on slippery ground, the car can use electronics to reduce that wheel’s spin. The goal is to keep the car gripping and turning more predictably.
Sports seats are shaped to keep you more “locked in” during cornering. They have extra side support so you don’t slide around as much.
Term
knitted
Here, “knitted” means the seat material is made like fabric that’s woven by looping fibers together. The point is that it can be made to match the seat shape and use less leftover material.
Lateral airbags are airbags that protect you in a side crash. They help cushion your body if another car hits you from the side.
Term
100 percent sustainable percent recyclable
They’re saying the seat material is made to be more environmentally friendly and can be recycled later. It’s about what the fabric is made from and what happens to it when the car is retired.
Dynamic projections are light animations that get projected onto parts of the car. Here, they’re used on the door area to create a “welcome” style effect.
Travel Assist is a set of safety features that helps the car drive more on its own in certain situations. It can take over some tasks like steering help and speed control, but you still have to stay alert and be ready to take over.
This is the car’s parking help—features that make it easier to park in tight spots. The car may guide you or assist with steering so you can park more accurately.
A double-floor trunk means the trunk has a raised platform you can move or use to create extra storage. It helps you fit more stuff and keep items organized.
Term
NML platform
A platform is the car’s main “foundation” that affects how the car is built. Saying the NML platform shows the benefits usually means it helps the car fit more space inside without making the car longer.
The Ford Transit Custom is a van made for work, like carrying tools, parts, or equipment. It’s built to be practical for daily routes and frequent loading and unloading. The podcast mentions it because it’s being delivered to customers for business use.
The Ford E-Transit is a van that runs on electricity instead of gasoline or diesel. It’s made for work like deliveries and transporting equipment, but with no tailpipe emissions. The podcast mentions it because people are receiving it for business use.
The E-Transit Custom is an electric work van based on the Transit Custom. It’s built to carry cargo and handle daily business driving, but it uses an electric motor instead of a fuel engine. The podcast brings it up because customers are taking delivery of it for work.
The E-Transit Courier is a small electric van for business use. It’s meant for things like local deliveries and carrying tools or packages. The podcast mentions it because it’s being delivered to customers as part of electric van rollouts.
That’s the big rechargeable battery that powers the electric motor. A larger capacity (like the 54 kWh mentioned) generally helps the car travel farther.
Term
torsion multi plate
This is a type of traction-control inside the drivetrain. It uses multiple friction plates to help power go to the wheel with better grip.
In an EV, there are special high-voltage parts that handle the battery’s electricity. They’re what make the car convert stored energy into power for driving.
The motor inverter is the electronics box that turns battery power into the kind of electricity the motor needs. Without it, the motor couldn’t produce controlled acceleration.
Adaptive cruise control is like regular cruise control, but it can automatically keep a safe distance from the car in front. When traffic slows down, it slows with it.
Enhanced emergency braking is a safety system that can brake for you if it thinks you’re about to hit something. It’s meant to reduce the chance or severity of a crash.
Side blind spot alerts are warnings that tell you when another car is in the area you can’t easily see. It helps you avoid pulling into someone’s lane.
Lane positioning assistant helps the car stay in the lane by watching the road lines. If you drift, it can guide you back toward the center.
Term
wireless home charger
They’re talking about an included way to charge the EV at home. The “wireless” wording can be confusing, but the key point is that you can charge conveniently without hunting for extra gear.
Electric vehicle route mapping is navigation that helps you plan a trip with charging in mind. It tries to route you through places where you can recharge when needed.
An unlimited mileage warranty means the warranty coverage doesn’t run out just because you’ve driven a lot. It’s based on time/terms, not mileage limits.
LIVE
Welcome back to the Nevo EV News podcast. If it's Tuesday, it must be Nevo EV Newsday.
On this week's episode, since the last time, we are now able to talk about driving the Volvo
EX60. We're going to chat about that, but also have a couple of interviews with the exterior
designer and the interior UXUI lead product team member. So two good interviews there.
We've also been out to Barcelona to drive the Cupra Raval. My colleague Simon has been already
to look at it at the first look back in February. I think it was when I was away on holidays.
As well as that, we've just got an announcement from Ford Ireland backing skilled tradespeople
and an email in yesterday from Emma in Opel, Ireland saying that the Maka GSE arrives in Ireland.
And would you believe it was down in Waterford at our Nevo driving experience in partnership
with Bank of Ireland last weekend. So got a look at that, looked great. For those who don't know,
my name is Derek Riley. And on this podcast, we chat about all things electric vehicles.
Nevo Ireland's only dedicated EV platform. Are we covering where we were this week,
what we've been driving and what we've been doing between the podcast. If you haven't already
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enjoyed the episode, please leave us a rating in a comment. It really helps us out and it
doesn't cost you a thing. So let's get stuck in straight after the ads.
So the Volvo EX60 built on that SPI3 platform. So it's their most software defined platform
within the Volvo group. Same carbon footprint as the EX30. It's also got a super set tech,
super stack tech deck with an NVIDIA drive, AGX, ARN and a Qualcomm 8255 CPU. Pilot assist plus,
it's all about the safety comes in three different flavors, P6, P10 and P12, delivering 620, 660 and
810 kilometers of range. The one we were driving, we were both actually P6 was 620 and then P10 was
660. The P12 is a all wheel drive version as well as the P10. The P6 uses a rear wheel drive,
a couple of different battery sizes, 80 kilowatt hour, 91 kilowatt hour and then that big 810
headline figure comes from our 112 usable battery size. Very practical boot as well,
523 liter, drop the seats down, that brings you up to 1647. It can tow between two and 2.4 tons.
It also has a frunk, super fast AC and DC charging 10 to 80% in 19 minutes.
Price is in Ireland starting at 66,695 for the P6 and then the P12, 76,595. We will see the P6 and
P10 in September, October of 2026 and then the P12, the long range will be coming in the start of
2027. Driving wheel is smaller for sure. The drive selector stocks and the indicator wiper
stocks on the other side of the column are a different shape to what we've seen before in
Volvo. It has a 15 inch curved OLED screen and the seat belts have been updated so now it has
11 presets rather than three. The rear axle housing is now a mega casting made in Sweden and it
removes around 100 individual pieces and putting it all into one. Let's jump into the first interview
on the Volvo EX60. Hi, my name is Lindsay Tingstrom. I'm a UX design manager at Volvo Cars.
Very good. Lindsay, not a Swedish accent? Not a Swedish accent. No, I'm a mixed breed. So
father's Swedish, mother's American, many years in US, about 12 in Sweden now. Please don't ask me
to speak Swedish. Your English is very good though. Volvo EX60, we're here and we're in
the global press drive. It's been touted as Volvo's most intelligent car specifically because
it's the first to launch with Google's Gemini AI and the Huguen. Is that the way you pronounce it?
Huguen core system. So breaking down Gemini and I'm a Google Android user myself. I have
Gemini around my house and cars and phones and all the rest of it. It's the first Volvo with the
integration with Gemini. How does the UX design shift when the primary interaction moves from
touch and menu to natural multi-turn conversation? I'm not sure we're doing full shift to that. I
think we're trying to make space for both but I think we've had the interesting challenge of,
you know, assistant has been there, it's been present for a while but as we're moving to this
we want to help the user understand to what sort of situation they're in and dealing with and what
the system's capable of. We're really happy so far with kind of what we've been able to explore
with it and over time we're looking to integrate more of the onboard tech in the car to feed data in
if you give permission for that as a user to make even richer experience. So we're pretty excited.
I've talked to the manufacturers and they were surprised how much interaction drivers have with
agents. Dr. from Breeds etc etc. This is a beta at the moment in the xxt. Exactly. When you envisage
full rollout or is that when it's ready you'll roll it out. It isn't a time specific. I mean
it's a little bit more on Google to be honest. I mean of course it's up to us as well but I mean
they're going slow. They're starting with the US market. I think right now it's one percent in the
US and they're going slow because we don't want to go too far too fast and so we're working super
closely with that. I don't think we have a firm timeline but we're moving in that direction and
we're really happy to be. Have you had feedback from the other journalists from multiple countries
over the week with regards to I know you asked in English at the moment the different variations
of English and the different accents. I think it seems to be managing okay from what? Okay but
that's great to hear. That's an Irish. Yeah no I mean there are some that are I think easier for
Google to digest than others. I haven't had anyone say absolute failure speaking different
flavors of English but obviously we've had some people going out in Germany and we've had in
German and we've had to remind them not yet. Not yet. It can a little but it's not it's not
starting there so. Very good. Contextual awareness the Huguencore with the car's ability to see
what the driver sees via exterior cameras. How are you designing the UI to present that information
and how do you ensure the car feels like it's thinking with you rather than being without it
being intrusive? I think it's a really interesting space we're figuring out right now. A lot of what
sort of the cameras are seeing the human doesn't necessarily need to see of course parking cameras
yes that's absolutely valid but a lot of it it's more how do we help you in the situations where
you you need it or you might want it and keeping aid things like that or driver distraction how do
we indicate hey you know it seems like you're might be fatigued because your eyes are getting
droopy or you're looking away too much. We've spent a lot of time and I think the last couple
years really like dialing in those algorithms as well so that we're not you know getting a little
bit too uppity about it and we're actually targeting when you are tired and when you might need to be
like okay yeah that's fair I might need to pull over and have a coffee and then get back at it.
Well back to safety again and Volvo is renowned for that. We've stepped away momentarily from
the LiDAR bump that we would have had on EX90 and ES90. That's just I suppose focusing on
baby steps again and that full self-driving is aspirate not aspirational but it's a journey to
be had. I think that's a really good way to put it is a journey to be had and we are a safety brand
and we're going to do it only if and when it is completely safe so we're on that journey.
Reducing cognitive load the EX60 features a larger high density central screen with so much
data available via the system the Hugon core system what UX principles do you use to ensure the
driver isn't overwhelmed by information? We talk a lot about the safe display of information and
the differentiation between like what you need to consume and what requires action. I mean there's
a lot of different levels of alerts that we talk about visual especially and if it's if it's necessary
to be intrusive while you're driving or not and if it's actually absolutely critical how we handle
it we have sort of different levels of that with this system as well. I mean we
try to have as much commonality across our cars as possible when the hard work can support it and
obviously we have different screen layouts. This landscape screen has afforded us a lot more real
estate we're really happy with sort of the the ability to have climate omnipresent in the bottom
we're working with the kind of the controls that are on the driver's side to be able to be
contextual as needed we're also working towards customization there because I think
the idea of like giving me what I need but don't overwhelm me we've done a lot of work around
the settings as well so that we don't want anyone sort of like menu diving we want to have what you
need there obviously Gemini changes the game a bit and I think we'll learn a lot from that too
what what our drivers are actually using voice for and what they're not so it's it's a really
interesting learning journey but we've made a lot of we've done a lot of work with like
how do we surface the right functions at the right level time. Remember seeing
this on EX90 at the global launch in Los Angeles a couple of years ago and it was it made so much
sense when I saw it first when it was at slower speeds it was the camera would appear yeah or
when you're driving in one pedal would appear and I just said like why is nobody else doing this
because rather than multi menus multi options as you alluded to diving into them it's this is what
I would potentially need at this time right and even with your media apps we're working with that
as well that it's like what are you using the most if you're ideally if you're in your own
profile you and your partner may share a car but in your own profile what are the apps you're
using the most how do we surface those in the contextual space as well so that it's like this
is my setup this is what I need based on the situation of the car or my personal preferences.
And you were saying that it's most if the screen is broken down like you've mentioned
HVAC at the bottom most used apps along the side obviously I've come from a right hand drive country
bush that just mirrors over to the other side yeah I mean we're really into like putting the
right functions in a reachable distance for the driver so in right hand drive it's obviously mirrored.
The curved screen is really interesting is it curved to the sake of being curved or is there
actual let's involve more than just the driver in this. It does invite for that and we found
from testing that it makes sort of like a little bit more visibility for everyone in the vehicle
and it's very very slight curve as you probably noticed some people we find don't really even
notice it but it is it's just a slight curve and just through rigorous testing we found it's a
little bit more inviting and also a little bit more visible. One of my co-pilots today
and other Irish journalists I said how do you find the curved screen it goes what curved screen so
you prove the point. Very gentle curve. There's an engineer somewhere crying listening to this
conversation because there was a lot of work put into that the exact angle of the curve.
The living room ambience Volvo describes the interior as a Volvo describes the interior
as a calm living room. How does your team approach the UX with six of the six illumination themes
like the forest light projection to ensure digital technology enhances rather than
distracts from the physical materials. Yeah and I think that's sort of the the collaboration space
where we we intersect with UX and interior illuminations it's somewhere there. I think
as you alluded to we like to have sort of the the the nod to the space that we were born with
the seams you have forest bath things like that. I don't anticipate as a brand we're ever going to
be projecting our logo anywhere for example we really try to find that space that we talk about
the the interior as a room and we are talking a lot about like with how quiet the car is that's
obviously intentional. How do we create this calming space we're also talking a lot more on
the last couple years about like other use cases of the vehicle obviously driving is primary but
secondary in some markets it is sort of a secondary living space if you will for short
periods of time of course so how do we like keep a calm welcoming environment if you need to sit in
your car and work for an hour in some places people nap in their cars so how can we create a
a little bit of a nice environment in that way without getting too flashy or obviously distracting.
I found there was a while there where it was how many different colors of ambient light was
available was the big thing and the joke was always somebody had to count them and there was
128,000 colors and so it's interesting to see that we're curating a number of scenes that we think
would work best yeah I'm sure the option is there if I want to blue light it the blue light is there
or maybe it is these are the themes that we think yeah I think we talk
a lot about that about like how far we want to go with sort of letting people choose but it's also
how do we keep within our brand and how do we not overwhelm we're always walking that line I think
with ambience with features even that it's like do you give everyone a full buffet I'm not sure
that that's like always appropriate in a vehicle because we want to drive do certain
things and what is the Volvo brand I mean Scandinavian design is like in our core too so
if you've got some sort of rainbow flashy situation it's not it's not really Volvo anymore no okay so
it's you're buying the car this is what we think you should have and yeah and like hopefully over
time we have we're offering more customization options but I don't think we're ever going to say
here's 256 lighting scenarios go nuts it's just not really our our brand the audio visual synergy
the new 28 speaker system Dolby Atmos the Volvo EX60 is kind of a theater on wheels
how does the UX design it to manage the high fidelity spatial audio in a way that feels
native to the driving experience that's a good question I'm not sure that we've I mean obviously
there are extra levels of controls when you have such a complex system but then there's also the
idea of how do you help the user understand if they just want to have the system on and listen
that's fine and if they want to dive a little deeper we try to support that as well you can
actually turn off and turn on the speakers in each of the headrests which is really crazy if you
after dinner if you're sitting in the the demo car up there try it because you can be sitting next
to someone and they can be playing the audio and like you don't hear it so it's like how do you
how do you give the option of like I just want this really good sound system and I want it to
run but you can also dive a little bit deeper into that customization as well leaning into
the expertise and I love when brands work with other brands that are experts in their field
exactly you could spend millions not out on r&d and become audio experts to a certain level
but by partnering with Dolby or Bose or our Wilkins and Kyle from another EV youtube channel
says there's a bit of a snobbery in the Volvo world when you see the tweeter open the windscreen
it's like I spec the top trim here but it's great when you work with those partners because
it's on them as well exactly and I think I mean we are in a space where we're trying to navigate
what do we do best as our brand and where can we bring in a partner to like build an even better
experience because at the end of the day I think OEMs are about vehicles that perform vehicles
that are safe and then we can partner with Google as we have for many years now and bring in their
products to the car and we can bring in I mean we still offer carplay we have that option because
we do know that some of our customers desire that Bowers and Wilkins it's an amazing amazing
experience and like how do we work in that space that are kind of aligning those partnerships that
really are in line with our brand and our customers are happy with that and then we were
featured today with regards to the sound using the provider that has the best audio output then
as well so Apple music etc so there's it's only as good as the equipment that is played on via
etc etc exactly like we had a couple people hopping in the car and they were connecting their phone
their phones with Bluetooth to like use music that way and I was like you know you can do that
but if you really want to if you really want to have this superior experience you're going to need
to use for example Apple music with the Dolby Atmos you know audio that's available then you
we actually did a test I think the first night we were here listening to the same song I think it
was a Tiesto song in just sort of normal audio if you will I'm making air quotes but and then
listening to it in Dolby Atmos and it's it's insane just sort of how it moves around the cabin
and so it's it's really lovely when you see that too that it's okay yeah I see the difference it's
if I remember correctly ES90 had a demo mode as well in the audio section is that the case in
EX60 I know that there was kind of an immersion experience this the Bowers and Wilkins yes it's
in this car as well perfect very good final question but we may continue talking continuous
evolution via the over-the-air options since the EX60 is software defined and built on the
superset tech stack never easy to say how does the UX design team plan for features that don't
exist yet how do you build a future proof interface that stays intuitive over years of updates
I think it's a super interesting space and maybe you're aware that we've just
pushed a new sort of interface to all of our legacy cars that was a massive undertaking
and I think we learned so much and it's it's really interesting to have gone through that
process and then also at the same time because we work across all platforms we're not we're not
like the rest of maybe the organization that is shipping one car and then one car we're working
on our teams across everything we have on the road well and so it's really interesting to
take the learnings from that and then think forward I think over their updates are super
interesting and we're at this space right now too where and my team is work my team specifically
is working with this about like as we're getting to the point where we can even change the functionality
of the car what do we need to do alongside that to help the human understand because obviously
that's critical right and some features we pushed the car over the air maybe even changing driving
behavior they may require legally education so we're in that space right now where we're kind
of trying to figure out okay this should be a delight we've already moved that you can do it
remotely from the app which is great I mean I don't want to do it in the car I want to drive in
the car I want to do it from the couch and then see okay the update's done but how do we then move
towards okay this is functional change in your vehicle how do we prepare you for it before
during and after and I think that's the really interesting space because I think OTA opens up
a lot of really interesting opportunities for us and also gives us this idea of like
longer lifespan of the car yeah it keeps getting better and that's the promise but like you say
and we found out with the android operating system you have a fractured ecosystem where
different phones have different versions etc etc and the ideal a la apple it's it's done it is what
it is there isn't opt-in opt-out it is though so there's an interesting conversation there
how you manage that across the fleet as you said it's not just one car yeah one model it's
it's fleet-wide well and how do we differentiate maybe also like operating system otis versus I
would like to maybe opt-in for this feature or purchase this feature how do we kind of separate
that as well as we go forward not just like shipping everything to everyone if they don't
want it if we have these super sort of specific things we can do as well so I think that that's
sort of the direction we can be looking towards in the future very good two final questions but
yeah questions and biggest challenge in ex 60 that you and your team came across
I think what I spoke to before when we were developing a Volvo car UX and like to carry
back as well working with all of the different screen sizes and making something that actually
like we don't talk parody obviously because you have different hardware
functions but like how do we create as much as possible an experience that like a human getting
in most of our cars doesn't feel lost we're really not trying to do that and with the x60 we're
obviously trying to push it forward and I think we're bringing in our most forward looking obviously
functional capabilities but UI there as well working with landscape was something new for us
but it as I said it opened up a lot of more real estate for certain things that our
customers been asking for we've had a lot of asks for okay as all OEMs are walking this line between
what's the right place to land with physical and digital it's open up some spaces for us to have
larger touch targets in the screen it's open up spaces for us to place climate there always
so I think maybe that's not challenges maybe it's more opportunities that we were able to
capitalize on but then how do we as I said like harmonize so you're in a Volvo it feels like a
be that ex 30 all the way up to ex 19 there's a similarity it won't always be the exact same
yeah I like the I use the opportunity terminology rather than the challenge language
last piece and this is a tough one and I always ask my interviewees your favorite part and I know
it's your favorite child and all that kind of stuff but is there one thing that you say do you
know what I really like that or enjoy developing that and I can see that's my favorite part
you all in the media drive don't see this but we've done a lot and we work with it specifically
in our team with onboarding to the vehicle and onboarding over life cycle because we're talking
about software defined vehicle to some people this is like yeah tech and some people it's a spaceship
and we've also found over time that like we want when you get in the car we want it to be a delight
we don't want to overwhelm you and we want you to maybe be able to set things up over time
so we've done a lot of work with that and how we harmonize the in-car experience with
mobile app and we're working towards doing things even before you get your car too
so I think that's been something really fun that our team has worked with to try and
give you this experience in the onboarding that you can also be set up for learning over time
if you want it and deepen your personalization with the vehicle how do we then okay make it
just very obvious that you know this is your space and each individual has their own profile
if you're sharing your car um you connect your key to your profile and then it just becomes sort of a
thing you don't even think about you're walking to the car with your your phone in your purse
through your pocket it's changing profile the seats are positioning you're there and it's
your personalized thing I think we've made a really big jump with this car there and we're
pushing even more so that's been something I think we're really excited about you mentioned
delight a couple of times I think there's you take great pride in that as you you want people
to feel that emotion when they get in the car whatever car that may be yeah I think it's like
bringing in emotion when we can and in like an authentic way is really nice I think we talk also
a lot about like how do we find the way to make the tech very humane because we want to be a very
humane brand we don't want to sort of I would say confuse you or overwhelm you or like if you're too
intimidated to use a function that we need to do something a little bit better so I think that's the
interesting space to play in I think Lindsay thanks so much for your time thank you so much
my name is Florian Möckenhaupt I'm the head of exterior of Volvo cars Sweden very good
large cars is that what I saw on correct large cars and strategic yes very good so the EX-60
represents a massive shift for Volvo being the first vehicle built on the SPI 3 platform
and utilizing the mega casting for the rear underbody so balancing drag and presence the EX-60
achieves a drag coefficient of 0.65 if I'm not mistaken yet it maintains a confident SUV stance
how did you balance the need for extreme aerodynamics efficiency with the upright
protective Volvo SUV DNA yeah you straight away touched upon the biggest topic that we had to
deal with because like you just mentioned and have identified that's basically the two polar
opposites that we have combined in that car because of course the SUV body style is exactly what
aerodynamics don't want to do right if you ask them every car would be low and teardrop shaped
and but then of course you wouldn't get the SUV feeling across anymore because we know from
today's EX-60 that's exactly what our customers worship the higher-in-command seating position
the bit more rugged stance so that was actually the biggest task that we had on that car and
I think I mean you had witnessed the car yourself I think we succeeded quite well
and when you walk around the car actually you find a lot of small details that we have implemented
to achieve this efficiency and still arrive at a car that feels like a true SUV for example is only
I think a centimeter lower than today's car and actually slightly wider and has slightly bigger
wheels which is contrary contradicting a good aerodynamics figure so what we did with the
base shape is basically more of a true SUV and then we took a lot of solutions all around the car
that helped us make this car quite efficient like for example when you look at the front wheel from
the side you see the gap between the car basically and the wheel which we call the finger gap and
then you see in front of the wheel there's a little black thing actually arching into that
wheel opening which we call a finger gap or an arrow bridge because that really helps the air
that comes from the front end to reattach on the wheel because for example especially wheels
are quite a tricky area because of course they generate turbulences and that is something
that aerodynamics really don't like so that's one of them or the door handlers that we you've
probably witnessed today they help to contribute to a tiny tiny margin but because we were chasing
the 810 kilometers with a p12 and the 170 kilowatt hours we had to look into every single detail
even the spoiler execution when you look at the rear spoiler on the deck lid compared to
today's car you will see that we have an aerodynamic separation edge going all the way even connecting
the spoiler into the tail end and that is something where traditional spoiler basically arches forward
into the seat pillar and then the tail end starts and exactly that triangular void is quite detrimental
for aerodynamics because that creates a vortex behind the car and that is then basically killing
the dead water area behind the car so it's a ton of little tricks all around the car that
you can find how we manage that but of course spa 3 architecture helped quite a lot because this
now has a very sleek underbody I don't know if you did crawl under the car but then you would
see that it's basically a closed surface from the bottom do you think that combustion engine vehicles
will start to lean into the more aerodynamic side of things or do you think it's going to be an
electric vehicle area that's going to be more niche there obviously that turbulence we talked
about on a standard vehicle as we'd inverted commas here that turbulence was causing drag
on a diesel or a combustion engine vehicle but it just never got the you said you weren't chasing
that figure of 810 or whatever it may be interesting question actually I haven't thought about this
but I mean when you reflect about it of course efficiency is always nice right and that's something
I think everybody and every brand should be striving for
the pressure though is not that high on ice cars I mean our chief technical officer will
probably give a speech tonight and he gave it yesterday night and then you really see why
our efficiency currently is so important on battery electric vehicles because he has a nice
example I don't know which one of the battery sizes but it holds the equivalent equivalent
energy of 10 liters of fuel if it's fully charged and I mean imagine where you are when you go get
into a combustion car with 10 liters of fuel right you basically have a warning sign that you need
to go to the gas station and we squeeze I mean 600 something up to 810 kilometers out of that
amount of energy and then it really makes you understand why aero efficiency is that much more
that much more important on a battery electric vehicle of course combustion engines have been
this technology has now matured for a long time and even though we have made massive steps in the
battery electric vehicle sector compared to combustion engines that technology is still
fairly young so if you basically future forecasts where that technology can be at one point
the pressure I'm pretty sure already on the next generation of cars to be that extremely
aerodynamic will probably be slightly less because the battery be more and dense the
electric motor be more efficient etc etc all these things basically the technology will just
mature in every little aspect and then the air efficiency is still important of course but
I could imagine that the extreme pressure that we now had on aerodynamics will probably be
easing off a tiny bit again speaking about newer technologies the impact of the mega casting with
the shift to the SBA3 platform and mega casting even fewer structural components to work around
in the rear how did this manufacturing breakthrough give you more freedom in styling the rear
proportions and the tapered body sides that actually is also an interesting question because
as you can tell well done you do your job very well because as you can tell you obviously don't
see it but it did help us not necessarily so much on the generation of the exterior but it helps us
a lot to make things more efficient because you don't need to get into a piece that is quite buried
in the car for welding with a welding gun for example so we managed to basically make everything
around the mega casting much more package efficient so when you get into the car we have a nice
criteria I don't know the official work but basically how you rub your bum on the ceiling
right there's no official work there probably is but I have now lost that but all of this stuff
we can package all of this much more tightly and also the battery control units that sit at the
end of the battery all this the packaging of the shock absorbers to the rear wheels and towards the
underbody in the rear car all of that is now much more efficient and now that we have pioneered
that technology with this piece you can bet on that we have now this big forgery in Sweden
Torslanda that we are looking very heavily into what else can we do with this and we have already
found a lot of things that would massively benefit from being mega casted instead of being
built in a traditional way and that you will probably see in future models no more to be said
no more to be said 100 pieces roughly it's mega casting is replacing as a single piece roughly
it's a bit more than that and we actually have an installation upstairs as you can have a look at
later where it's really quite obvious how much superior that is unbelievable and it's great
that it's made in Europe as well the low front philosophy the ex 60 features a notably lower
hood line compared to the exe 60 beyond the aerodynamics how does the low front design
language communicate the car's electric identity to someone seeing it on the street for the first
time it's mainly what you already mentioned the aerodynamics that we were chasing but
at the same time we are trying not to make the car look too low exactly for the scv impression
and if you have looked at the cross country today where we wanted the car to look even higher
there we actually have designed the bumper quite differently to give you exactly that feeling so
that has a much higher water line of protective protective parts versus body color parts to
lift the center of gravity on that car even more and but in general basically we're bringing the
lamps quite high up even though the center of the car is quite low to keep the center of attention
higher so to say yeah very good um lighting as a sculpture you've introduced complex welcome
and farewell light sequences from the exterior design perspective how are you using light
not just for safety but for materials to define the car's luminous space like the wing grip handles
on the door sills we usually approach exterior illumination or interior illumination definitely
with practicality in mind but also with the scandinavian mindset because if you've ever been in
scandinavia it can get dark sometimes exactly you might realize that the light is a very sparse
resource in some parts of the year and in other parts it is there in an abundance and that is
something that i personally learned when i moved to scandinavia scandinavians really celebrate light
quite a lot so if the sun is out everybody's out and so they worship that they have a very special
relation to light and that is of course something that we think about when we scout our cars because
two scandinavian car brands let's say the last scandinavian mainstream car manufacturer if i
may say so so we always try to export a little bit of scandinavian culture to the rest of the world
and dealing with light in a very specific way is an essential part of this and like you said
yes we have quite some nice welcome and goodbye animations because of that and we also have quite
some unique headlamp and tail lamp signatures like the Thor's hammer that you guys know has
become a very known and identifiable iconic light signature that is something that we obviously
hold on to if you have achieved something like this with a design brand of course you don't
let go of that and then i personally quite like our vertical tail lamps that you can also find on
the ex60 because that has been born out of the safety thinking i don't know if you know they
were first introduced on the 850 i think because of the Gothenburg weather so it was it really helps
in foggy conditions to see more cars in front of you instead of just the one in front of you very
good and the practicality like the light in the handle sometimes brands don't think about
where is the handle and people that don't know the car for the first time you've got a little
light signature on that wing handle as well so that when you walk towards the door your eye is
attracted towards this illuminated piece in the right turn correct and we have actually
changed that a little bit because in the past we had our puddle lights in the door handles
but we actually have come up with a puddle light that is in the rocker because the problem with
puddle lights in the door handle is you open the door and the light is gone and that is obviously not
really fit for purpose so we have now split that into two so we still we have the puddle
light in the rocker so it stays there regardless of how you move the door but then we added the
light source in the door handle because otherwise like you just mentioned in the darkness you might
have trouble finding it very good and signature tors hammer evolution how has the iconic tors
hammers d l d r l evolved from the ex 60 to integrate more seamlessly into the grill less front
and while still ensuring the car is instantly recognizable as a Volvo so what we have done
with the headlamp and the tail lamp actually you might have noticed that the signature is now
segmented and we wanted to give the signatures a bit more of a digital appearance as a slide
not also to the core compute technology the hugan core that we have in the car and the
tech stack to showcase that a little bit but at the same time keep our very recognizable
tors hammer headlamp and the grill is front we deal with that in a way that we actually
make the headlamps quite a bit longer to fill up that void a little bit touching back up on why
there is no grill because aerodynamics it is of course much more dynamic to not have a grill and
as on a battery electric cars there is no real cooler up there there was no reason for decoration
and what we've also done now we have actually split at the headlamp in two that is not something
that is unique to Volvo but that gave us the chance to make the main headlamp unit at the top
hammer shaped even when it's not lit so even when the car is off you see the outline of the lamp
is already a hammer shape and why we have done that with this auxiliary headlamp is because
the ex 60 has a extremely progressive and high performing headlamp technology with the matrix
led hd unit and that of course is quite big and we didn't want to make the headlamp unit
in a not so nice shape and therefore we have split that into on the ex 60 very good and we're
talking a lot about technology but sustainability and surface you've introduced new colors like
farris lake and aurora silver how do these specific paint finishes work with the ex 60 surfaces to
highlight the scandinavians less is more philosophy and what we do with colors in general is we get
a lot of inspiration from nature and if you have been in scandinavia you will realize there's a lot
of nothingness right i'm sure the tourist board would maybe use a different phrase probably they
have different opinion but yes there's vastness exactly it's vast and what that results in is a
great relation of scandinavian people with nature just because you are in nature quite a lot
and this some designer called it the scandinavian zen or serenity and that is truly something you
can feel and that is also reflected in our colors because they're all quite not earthy tones but you
can tell that is a color tone that you could find on a coastal shoreline for example and that is
something that we strive for some journalists said but i would really like to have a flashy green or
a flashy red but that's not something that really fits our identity and it's also something this
nice side effect of this is that we usually score quite high in our residual value scores so the
resell value of our cars because we curate the color so carefully is quite high because a high
percentage of people actually like those colors because you know yourself you i'm guilty of this
maybe in your past life you have to configure the car with a yellow interior and the green exterior
and good luck selling that to the next guy so that is something that we also take a lot of care of
and then on the x60 we have shaped the surfaces slightly let's say with slightly more tension
so if you compare last generations bar one for example to now spa two or spa three there is a
less a little bit less of the traditional flicks and light catchers that used to be there and that is
due to that that is more like the whole zeitgeist because the general public is faced with much
more 2d content nowadays because a lot of stuff you see is actually based on 2d screens and that
has actually impacted the whole perception of what is modern and progressive and that's why we
still use these tools to make the cars have a good stance on the car but it's much less dramatic
than it used to be that's why the cars look a bit more sheer so to say very good two final questions
and that these the ones i always ask my interviewees number one your biggest challenge slash opportunity
while designing the exterior of the Volvo ex 60 yeah we already spoke about this quite intensively
it was the extremely tough arrow targets versus making sure it's a true scv with the everyday
practicality that people love so much about our current xc 60 because as you know our best selling
car ever so we were very no pressure at all so we took extra care to make sure this is definitely
identifiable as the next generation of an xc 60 and used all the things that we already talked
about to make it equally efficient as what we wanted to be last question you're taking all
the things we talked about if you were to select one thing that you're happiest with your favorite
item and i know it's like your favorite child if you were to pick one thing on the Volvo ex 60
but would that be and you can't give a politician's answer of everything is great well i will not do
that and i'm it's easy for me to say because it's actually something on the interior i think the
interior team has done a fantastic job on that car and to me it's something that's
strikingly simple when you see it but somehow why hasn't nobody done that before and it's the
underfloor in the trunk that is split so that you can now have the door cage even though i don't
even have a dog the door cage but still access the compartment under the trunk or you can still
have four people in the car and load skis through that without having them lying on the middle console
in the front that i think is actually exactly what i like about volvos this everyday street
smartness sort of practicality yes flow thank you very much for your time thank you for the interview
thanks to maria in volvo irland for arranging those interviews and for helping us out with
regards to that drive and getting access to the car next up was off to barcelona to drive the
kupra reval and it was with caroline and mark from kupra we have an entry coming up from with mario
no tony um from kupra product and so we're gonna be chatting about that but just to run through
some of the headline figures we don't have a price yet it's going to come in five different
trim levels urban one which is urban v1 is giving you an 85 kilowatt electric motor
it's front wheel drive 115 horsepower giving you a range of 311 kilometers this is on the
standard range battery which is 52 kilowatt hour um and then performance zero to 111 seconds
and charging time on dc is less than 60 minutes so that i think has a cap on its dc charging of
50 kilowatt hour on the v1 v2 then increases the electric motor to a 99 kilowatt or 135 horsepower
a slight increase in range up to 323 kilometers zero to 109.9 seconds and the charging time on
that jumps down to 28 minutes endurance v1 and v2 then give you an 155 electric kilowatts on the
range then jumps up because it's the bigger battery to um 448 kilometers zero to 107.4
seconds and charging time drops again to 23 minutes and then the vz is the one i was actually
driving it's the video that we have up on the channel that has a 161 electric kilowatt electric
motor giving you 226 horsepower 394 kilometer range performance zero to 106.7 seconds dc charging
of 23 minutes again um and the max top speed is 175 kilometers an hour drag coefficient
drag coefficient of 0.27 uh 1.5 k 1.5 tons um yeah do you know what and it's going to really
manaze and boot size as well uh infotainment screen is now android based you can get 17 or 18
inch wheels has wireless android auto apple care play the has sports suspension and then in the vz
it has dynamic chassis control um electronic limited slip differential launch control etc etc
so the video is over on the channel uh and amazing that's my first time driving the hatch
version of the meb plus i have driven a covered id cross different beast id crosses families this
revel is very much younger audience demographic more sporty styling and sport you're driving
it has um different the vz version is a wider track a lower chassis setup it is an amazing drive
really really good disc brakes all around so the brake feel is excellent yesterday just put out a
video on the voltswagen id 3 gtx fire nice edition and just still had that same meb and so if you're
in the market for a id 3 gtx even the fire nice edition hold keep your money in your pocket and
just get this reval vz and it's a beautiful car uh has because it's got torsion rear beam suspension
and has a surprisingly large rear uh storage area boot um it's only downfall probably is
this rear bench space i fit it in now i had to move my seat forward but it is a b-segment hatch
like i'm six foot two it isn't going to be for super tall people in the back but i think it
does it very well and the styling is excellent has little led projectors onto the door and all
this kind of stuff but blind spot is built into the ambient light strip um yeah if the price is
right and we showed the prices before the end of may um we know the prices of the voltswagen id
polo coming in at 19885 we also know the prices of this go to epic also
based on the same platform uh starting off at 25885 or 995
um and so revan is going to have to sit in between there somewhere on that 25 or sub twenty
five for the standard range battery and the vz probably we see you can see english prices
25000 pounds gone up to 35000 pounds so the vz i think is probably
going to be around about 35000 euros as well but listen enough of me waffling
on about us and you can go on have a look at the video um let's have that interview with the kubra
representative hi my name is tony tony gallego and responsible for the kubra rebel in kubra
problem marketing and it's a pleasure to be here today with you tony you've had two long weeks
today is the last media day so i'm going to ask you the same questions that you've been asked all
week but uh we were chatting about how urban rebel was my first experience with the car back in
2022 in uh tara mar the race course and things have come a long way since and today we were driving
the there was an exciting journey from these dates yeah until today it's really exciting yeah to to
put this this new baby in the streets because it's a long journey from these dates uh luckily we are
already there you know we experience this exciting moment and this momentum of the
ultimate brand of the game changer we call internally here in the in kubra because it's
transforming the world company you know the this car is not only a new model it's something more
and beyond yeah but this is the the car will be the first model that started with a new era
of the of kubra brand it's really exciting living these moments from the world premiere
now with the imd and the rest of the events are coming the next few few months yeah coming out of
the bigger level with kubra we have the born to start off with a great car we see it on the road
in ireland a lot and then we have to have a scan another always on he's talking we got the transfer
from the airport how beautiful it still looks still a great car but now we're coming in at a
different price point different size with reval and real spanish blood is there yeah and you're
leading the way within the vault so i can group because it's going to be manufactured in spain
as well so tell me a bit more about reval yeah the way we say this is the game changer is because
of this you know we are transforming the the world company we're training the employees we have a
coordinating the the world cluster also here in the avian peninsula you know with the with
immatoria and pamplona and then this is a challenge also for us you know to to work in this same
cluster in this same platform and with four new models and the reval is the first one to
with the leading yeah in this career of four models in the new compact segment is a challenge
also for the company because we are entering in a new segment with a new target customer
we want to bring to the brand yeah these new gensets that are the one that we don't have in the
in the tribe and that's the idea yeah to bring to the brand new customers with the gavel we got
really really uh yeah uh secure that it will be i like the the language of bringing the tribe
in the tribe yeah very good m eb plus platform um what i love what vaults working group have done
reval polo id cross epic also different yeah right looking and reval has that real coopera
dna and this uh uh this is also the uh a challenge yeah because uh when we started with the project
we are also in uh in coopera coordinating the rest of the clusters or the rest of the models
and we have to position very well every every single car yeah and to differentiate within the
the cluster which is the brand dna of coopera and when we send to the technical center our
requirements we had very clear what is the main three pillars of coopera just to put the
highlight that we want for this car just to position the car and to differentiate for the
rest of the brands because it's a i think it was a real challenge yeah because at the end every
single model wants the best of this platform but with the smartness we have this difference
issue in the and you can see in the press now that all the models are completely
different in terms of heads yeah and today we were driving the vz yeah so it's even more coopera
than the normal coopera they all look great but this one really has even the better tweaking
with regards to suspension yeah electronic slip differential uh a wider track lower track
and so a real uh driver's car if they want they want the capability of it yeah right this is
electrifying performance we call internally yeah and this is one of the main pillars of the brand
in coopera it's our pure dna you know this is what we want from the beginning yeah to request to
to the technical center we want the best car ever the best fun to drive car
in the road and we we have it yeah because at the end the position of the these three elements
yeah the dcc sport the electronic differential and the the sport is still in necklace also very
relevant in this car because of the camber yeah the camber makes these cars really really appealing
in the roads you know and then the other elements are complements dbz not only the design
this shape this muscular shape you know makes this car not only driving performance in terms of
dynamics also in design because when you look at it it's a clear hatch i interviewed hore a couple
of years ago at iaa and we were looking at the dark night at the time and so it's really great to
see that design language is still coming through and design is one element but cooper does a really
great job with color as well and today beautiful matt green pearlescent purples i'm not going to
correct names don't get me wrong bush right this is one of the elements also in the in the coopera
commercial offer we are the unique salient point in terms of exterior course when we the design
that the color is also a part of the design and then we have these exclusive colors the manganese
and the plasma with this in the effect and more is coming in the next few few months and in the
life cycle just to complete the portfolio with this exclusive and short press effect yeah we want
to send to the our audiences very with the design not only in terms of shapes also in terms of elements
yeah and speaking of elements internally as well you have really striking interior design
and sports seats but also you're using knitted very sustainable materials but also no waste
because it's knitted to the exact shape of the seat that you're looking for right yeah this is
one of the we're starting with the sports seats from the beginning that's exclusive in that because
it was an dynamic performing performance brand but we want something iconic yeah in the in the
portfolio that's why we want to to be unique also with the seats that's why we are unique in terms
of performance in with the seats and design that's why we implement a new technology also not only
if you look at the city cup buckets it's not only a a usual bucket as in other brands we have
the independent cases in the in the airbags lateral airbags and we have this exclusive
textile yeah it's made with an unique yeah I know how to say knitting process yeah
from the beginning 100 percent sustainable percent recyclable as unique is local made here
a hundred kilometers from the factory and this is really really relevant in there
it's a usb and also a communication highlight for us excellent it's unique and really easy to
upgrade believe me because this process of knitting make that is in life cycle you can
replace the designs and the texture very good as well as color and design etc light plays a huge
factor externally and internally and in terramar a couple of years ago we started to see the new
headlight signature with the triangles and in the rear lights we started to see what the brand
was going so outside it's you can see a cooper now on the road but now inside you have ambient
light you have status lights and moving lights on the door as well something i've never seen before
yeah this is good to to comment because this is the third pillar of cooper and conventional
solutions always there we want always to make this surface effect also in the in the interior
when you enter in the car no you look at these door projections it's really impressive it was
for me as product manager was a big challenge in the project in terms of solution because it's a
unique development that today in the market in this segment and in the other segments
to put dynamic projections in the door panels believe me this is a challenge for this parametric
session in the door with these projectors and this effect with this resolution and these
different modes i think this they've done a great job highlight of the motor model it's not just
about design and sporty driving it also has a lot of safety features as well so it's got the 3.0
driver assist system so a very safe car as well yeah yes we have the a pack that bundles both
and it is a driving assistance system the travel assist as in we have in the other cooper models
and we have also smart solutions in parking because it's an urban car it's a compact car for the
cities and we have also the the e-pass the rpa's and also working on a more solutions for the
driving conditions in the cities yeah yeah we have full packed with all the elements really
demanding in these new coming years very good semi-autonomous solutions yeah and the last piece
is the practicality as much as it's an urban vehicle the trunk or the boot as we would say in
Ireland it's so big it was all it was also a surprise for us you know when we measure the car
and we open the the boots it's really amazing you know when you have the this double floor and you
open it even more double space there it's 441 units this is amazing more than far away from the
competitors and yeah we are really happy and we are communicating this is not our cupra dna
may highlight but we want to communicate also this is not a car only for the young couples
or the single ones it's also for small families because you have the versatility of this uh
storage in this storage place and and not only the the the trunk is also the interior of the car
really amazing you know you have this leg space room headspace you see i invite you to test every
single place in the real side because it's really amazing this nml platform is really
showing the benefits it's only four meters uh length but the interior is of the wheel base
yes 2.6 meters the car will really be excellent Tony thank you so much for your time very welcome
thank you so much thank you next up we have a piece from forward Ireland with regards to how
they're supporting um a trades people and so today actually the day I'm recording this Tuesday the
26th of May it launched this official transit team directory accord of skilled irish tradespeople
nominated by the local communities as part of the launch an assembled team are invited charities
community groups and youth clubs and local organizations across Dublin to put forward
projects in need of practical support as part of a new nationwide initiative the transit team
directory or ttd celebrates skills tradespeople who help communities across Ireland's running every
day when recognizing the vital road for transit continues to play in supporting irish businesses
from the ground up this campaign also reinforces the forward power promise helping tradespeople
transition confidently to the next generation of electric and electrified commercial vehicles
through connected services charging support and customer care the official transit team directory
or ttd uh following the nationwide public nomination process the five standout tradespeople
were selected to join the newly launched ttd each receiving across the forward transit
for 12 months to support the work in the wider businesses andy duff from carpenter on the hill
received a forward transit custom phev Dylan Doyle from eden landscaping received the forward
e-transit trend dean milleady from plumb lest limited received the forward e-transit custom
Dennis carney from sapphire decor received a forward e-transit custom and mikey sharden from
lighthouse electrical received a forward e-transit courier on the reveal of the ttd john manning
the managing director of ford ireland said the forward transit has supported our tradespeople
and businesses for generations and this initiative is to is about recognizing an increasing contribution
through these skilled workers make to communities across the country every day through transit team
directory alongside the support for the pro and ford power promise commitment we want to ensure
that ire's tradespeople are included in ireland's eevee journey and feel confident embrace in the
future of commercial mobility while continuing to support the communities that they serve i'll
stick a link up on the description for that story and congrats to the five tradespeople for
getting selected to help that out and if you are a community group charity etc that's looking for
some assistance i'm sure if you supply if you apply to the ford ttd transit team directory
to for some help it would be great to see some stories on the back of that next up we have the
opal maca gsc arriving in ireland the first units of the eagerly awaited new opal maca gsc 281 horsepower
has arrived in ireland the most powerful electric road car ever produced by opal and winner of the
golding steering wheel 2025 last year the maca gsc is inspired by the new maca gsc rally and
packaged in a unique gsc moner sport design special order model in ireland retelling for 39410 euros
inclusive of grants and vrt rebate the maca gsc offers sportiness with maximum safety and comfort
and the gsc will be joined by the new corset gsc model at the end of this year james brookes
managing director for opal and ireland said the new maca gsc is a showcase of pure driving pleasure
all electric efficient practical and highly emotional in every respect it is always an
award winner it receives the highest performance gsc opal badging of old and it looks into the
future today standing on step four grand sport electric the opal maca gsc offers high performance
of standard peak output of 281 horsepower or 207 kilowatts is it just as powerful as the motor sport
counterpart it is just as powerful as the motor sport counterpart the maca gsc rally with immediate
torque of 345 newton meters it accelerates to an uncompromisingly completing from a dash from
zero to 100 in just 5.9 seconds great power comes great responsibility and top speed of 200 kilometers
an hour is determined whilst high performance race grade alcon 380 millimeter ventilated front
discs are fitted to deliver the optimal stopping distance three distinct drive modes sport normal
and eco ensure that 336 wltp can be covered locally emissions free from its 54 kilowatt hour
lithium ion battery curb weight of less than 1.6 ton exemplary for a battery electric vehicle
and the sophisticated technology inspired by the rally care also contribute to the exceptional
performance for example the maca gsc has a torsion multi plate limited slip differential as well as
a chassis with specifically designed axles and new hydraulic shock absorbers it's all high at the
all high voltage components and the standard maca gsc such as the motor inverter battery and
wire hangers come straight from the rally version the steering system chassis and brakes have also
been designed to particularly sporty and optimized thanks to the opal experience in draw electric
rallying numerous designs and equipment details and remind customers of its racing dna including
the gsc inserts and lettering on the body the wheel type cart wheel tire combination specifically
developed for the maca gsc and clearly visible yellow gsc for piston brake calipers at the front
in the interior the driver and front passenger set a special black gsc alcantara performance
seats with integrated headrests acceleration and braking commands are also given via
via aluminium effect sports pedals retailing from 39 for 10 inclusive grants and standard
equipment with the includes the 20 inch gsc performance diamond cut by color alloy wheels
with the michelin pilot sport ev tires the gsc badge sports bumper and high glass black with
the performance inlets and gsc badging in tele lux matrix headlights always a top feature on opal's
front and rear parking distance sensors camera adaptive cruise control so it's not just a sporty
rack track mobile it is very much about an everyday driving enhanced emergency braking
with pedestrian and bicycle detection lane positioning assistant side blind spot alerts
would flank guard for collision alerts keyless entrants exit heated front seats vegan leather
steering wheel satellite navigation and electric vehicle route mapping built in with a wireless
home charger and a electro-climatic frameless rear view mirror five-lear unlimited mileage warranty
as standard and if you're interested in the maca gsc reach out to your local opal dealer today
that is this week's episode of the nevo ev news podcast hopefully you've enjoyed listening to
some of the interviews if you are finding the podcast beneficial or you'd like us to cover
something different jump into the comments and let us know we'd really appreciate it and I really
look forward to chatting to you next week
About this episode
Nevo EV Newsday opens with Volvo EX60 first-drive details: the SPI3 software-defined platform, Pilot Assist Plus configurations, and practical storage/towing figures. The conversation then zooms into its Gemini AI debut, fast charging, and a calmer cabin built around Dolby Atmos audio and a curved display. Interviews cover camera-based fatigue detection, reducing distraction, and OTA software evolution. The show also brings CUPRA Raval and its compact-segment strategy, plus Ireland-focused Ford Transit support and the arrival of the Opel Mokka GSe.
Welcome back to the Nevo EV News Podcast. If it's Tuesday it must be Nevo EV News Day. My name is Derek Reilly and on this podcast we chat all about EV. Nevo is Ireland's only dedicated EV platform and we'll be covering where we were this week, what we've been driving and what we've been doing between podcasts. If you haven't already subscribed or followed us wherever you are listening please do so and if you enjoyed the episode, please leave a rating and comment, it really helps us out and it doesn't cost you anything. Let's get stuck in.
Volvo EX60 1st Drive and Interviews with Lindsay Tingström – Design Manager Car UX and Florian Mockenhaupt – Exterior Design large car
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Df8Gya-NdA
CUPRA Raval 1st Drive and Interview with Toni Gallego Global Product Marketing Manager at CUPRA
