Kilowatt Half Hour Episode 43: Dithering dealers, budget BYDs and the Pope's i3 | Electrifying.com

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This week, Mike and Tom discuss the Italian electric car scene (a very short conversation), the BYD Dolphin Active and ask why it's so bloomin' difficult to buy a car. The team also discuss a buying quandary, a charging puzzler and dip into the postbag to see what you're thinking.

And when we do discuss cars, we find out a lot. From industry gossip to the more mundane practicalities of electric car ownership, it’s the place where we dish the dirt on the cars we’ve been driving and deliver our own verdicts on the latest electric car news. We also like to have a good laugh at the daftest bits of anti-electric news that we’ve seen in the press.

We can’t promise that you’ll learn much. You probably won’t. But if you fancy 30 minutes of idle chat and gossip about the world of electric cars, we’re here for you. If you like it / hate it / think it’s too long or too short, let us know.

[glennlambert]

The Delorean was powered by petrol. it was the time circuits that needed the electric power. that is what Mr Fusion was for.

[jimross]

The highly reflective dashboard on the EV3 is only temporary. It’s because they have a peelable plastic on top of them to keep the screen clean when so many people are looking at them, sticky fingers etc. I have seen exactly the same thing on the EV3 demo in S. Korea and they peeled the plastic film back to reveal a very non-reflective dashboard underneath.

[ifanlappage]

The Deloen in back to the future, the engine still worked with petrol, only the time circuits were nuclear/lightning/electric.

[mikadavies]

I have a Citroen E-C4 on lease, as a family car. My 14yr old son is 6ft. All four of us fit easily. The best thing with the E-C4 is the comfort. The suspension is brilliant. Second hand they are without doubt a stunning deals

[Jawlf]

Wonderful again and always a fun chat between you both!

[BMWHP]

Thanks guys, always good work and fun.
That cheaper BYD Dolphin is more in the range of the Citroën ë-C3 Max.
About the same range, but the Max has the stronger motor, is cheaper, and my guess, the ë-C3 Max brings more comfort to the table.
The new EV Hyundai Inster has specially folding seats to accommodate a large bed.

[riccotube]

Hi Mike,
I will indeed say hello next time.
Thanks for the mention.

Riccardo

[pipstein]

On the subject of EVs on camera, can I recommend Good Omens II. Many of the street scenes outside the bookshop feature the same cars going back and fourth, from memory an ID3, an EUp, a Zoe and IPace. I’m assuming the in-studio production meant no tail pipe emissions was a real benefit.

[thecontinuedvoyage]

Winners Skoda garage Cinderford are good for EV cars. Great service and helpful. Our Enyaq was supplied by them, and we will certainly be back when the time comes to swap!😊

[PaulWilson-Smith]

The customer service with Cupra dealers is truly terrible, so good to hear that its not just my experience.

[anthonystevens]

Cracking pod cast this week as always. The irony of the comment about talking about the Enyaq was perfect from Mike as were the comments from Tom on the subject. No I don't have and Enyaq.

[pdecaux]

I met a man earlier this year who was planning a round Europe trip in an e- Up! It was kitted out with a bed, fridge and stove so he could camp in it

[PaulMeier-cuds]

A fun KHH, thank you.

It strikes me you are well placed to collect data about how we use cars, or use cases. Manufacturers can only collect this data for their brands. Many households have use cases across more than one brand. In the EV world compared with the ICE prices for filling up vary wildly and opportunities for filling up at home or publicly vary wildly too. So some kind of database of use cases and what works would be useful. It would be much better than the journalistic shorthand you use for “city cars” with small batteries and “range” for some guzzling investment in hugely heavy and expensive Li.

Collecting data on use cases would also be something quite a lot of businesses would buy back from you. £££.

[Startrek]

Well done guys we need a kwhr full hour not 30mins 😂 just 9nins more!

[stephenrussell]

Audi at Oldham near Manchester are fantastic for EV purchases. Great attention and knowledge, good customer service.

[MarkBott-rqce]

I like the idea of Skoda sending you a Czech

[stephenwensley]

For a 15k alternative to the C-Max, the early Jaguar I-paces can be had for that now and have 650 litres of boot space and are only a few centimetres longer than a C-Max

[GarethJordan]

I had an initial fairly long list of cars to look at from dealers (coming up for end of current lease). I really struggled to find a dealer that even had an electric car in the showroom let alone one for a test drive. When I asked, most of the sales people fobbed me off saying that they were hoping to get one in later in the year. The only exceptions were BMW, Polestar, KIA and Genesis. It has been very frustrating. I can only assume that they don't get much commission selling EVs.

[PaulNorman]

Q: Over the summer I was visiting my dad in Nottingham, and looking at lease deals as his current lease on a leaf is coming to an end. He loves the leaf, but wants something with a bit more range and a bit more boot space. I wondered if he might end up moving back to an ICE car, but he loves some of the perks of owning an EV, including in Nottingham a bus lane on a busy section of road that EVs are allowed to use, which allows him to drive past lots of queuing cars with a nice grin on his face. This set me thinking, with EV financial incentives currently being unavailable, what other ingenious free or low cost initiatives have anyone come across to temps motorists away from ICE cars and improve air quality in large cities?

[Hayles]

I love the fact that European cities like Paris, Italy and Rome have little ami’s driving around. I’ve just got my Ami back from the dealers. Careé (name) suddenly stopped on a roundabout and RAC got a breakdown truck to pick her up and dealer had her for 4 months. Drive motor, fuse box and finally a new traction battery later, she was good to go. Not. Great experience really from Citroën. Took them too long to approve the parts under warranty. Dealer hadn’t seen an Ami before so lack of knowledge too!!! Anyway, back in my little car 🚙 again.