Kilowatt Half Hour Ep 84: Merc’s mistake, Škoda’s loader and plugging in where the sun don’t shine

#electriccars 2025 #podcasts #kilwowatthalfhour

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Every week, the Electrifying.com satisfy online to discuss all the important matters at hand. Such as the weather condition, what we're all having for our tea and who disposed who in last night's Love Island. In between these heavyweight topics, we also talk about electric vehicles. A lot. Most likely an unhealthy total up to be truthful.

And when we do go over automobiles, we learn a lot. From industry chatter to the more ordinary practicalities of electrical automobile ownership, it's the place where we dish the dirt on the cars and trucks we've been driving and deliver our own decisions on the latest electrical vehicle news. We also like to have an excellent make fun of the daftest bits of anti-electric news that we have actually seen in the press.

We can't promise that you'll learn much. You most likely will not. But if you expensive thirty minutes of idle chat and chatter about the world of electric cars and trucks, we're here for you. If you like it/ hate it/ believe it's too long or too short, let us understand.

00:00– Introduction & Today's Subjects.
Welcome from Nicola, Tom, and Mike; preview of Schod's electrical estate, Mercedes charging problem, and the EV grant legend.

01:08– Festival of the Unexceptional.
Tom discusses wacky classics, including an early Prius and old electrical vans.

03:24– Ben's iPace Charging Problem.
Discussion about faulty cables, charging speeds, and Enthusiasm customer service ideas.

04:46– Mike's Week: Cupra Born & Renault 5.
Mike shares his experiences with the Cupra Born and taking temporary custody of the Renault 5.

07:16– Nicola's Diva Moment & Car Charging in Wales.
Nicola states a trip, hotel charging, and a diva‑ish welcome.

08:44– Flat Tire & First Time Towing.
Nicola repairs a puncture with foam and finds out trailer towing (with Ford Ranger pulling tech).

12:15– EV Grant Delays & Manufacturers' Discounts.
Frustrations over the continuous grant unpredictability; carmakers offering big discount rates in the meantime.

14:38– Mercedes Charging Muddle.
CLA charging limitations– just 800V chargers– and why it's a huge issue.

18:03– Very First Indoor Charging Center.
Plans for a covered EV charging hub in Aberdeen; pros and cons of indoor charging.

19:50– Skoda Vision Zero Teaser.
Sneak peek of Skoda's upcoming electric Octavia estate and VW's brand-new SSP platform.

22:59– Barnard's Bargain: Polestar 4 Deal.
Tom highlights a remarkably inexpensive lease deal, plus utilized EV deals like the Seat Mii Electric.

25:13– Listener Q&A: Insta vs BYD Dolphin & PCP vs Cash.
Advice for Andrew Palmer on picking in between Hyundai and BYD, and financing vs paying cash.

28:50– Listener Roadway Trips & First EV Experiences.
Favorable stories of long EV journeys, including trips to Spain and the New Forest.

31:05– Joining the EV Club.
Shoutouts to brand-new EV owners with BMW i4, Dacia Spring, and Kia e‑Niro.

33:30– EV Must‑Have Features.
Listeners discuss heated seats, heated guiding wheels, and adaptive cruise control.

38:11– Tech Likes & Dislikes.
Blended sensations on auto‑braking, reversing sensing units, and safety helps.

42:15– Worthless Features: Gesture Controls & Digital Mirrors.
Why BMW's gesture controls and digital rear‑view mirrors irritate many motorists.

46:41– Unusual Functions in MG IM5 & IM6.
Conversation about MG's "crab walk" and practicality peculiarities in brand-new IM designs.

48:34– Finishing up & Listener Phantom Braking Complaints.
Last listener stories about Tesla phantom braking; group indications off.

50:03– Next Week's Strategies.
Nicola's Ferrari track day at Silverstone, Mike's quieter week, and the closing thanks.

Posted

October 6, 2025

Electric Vehicles

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Tags:

#tesla, benz, brand, byd, charging, china, chinese cars, cla, cost, electric cars, electrifying, Elon Musk, enyaq, ev tax, evnews, expensive, explained, first car, Fully charged, fullycharged, goverment, grant, grants, Hyundai, im, im5, im6, insurance, ioniq, kia, land rover, luxury, maintenance, mercedes, Mg, mg im, Model 3, mokka, musk, new electric cars, news, Nissan, podcast, polestar, polestar 4, price, prices, regen brake, Renault, roadtrip, sale, sales, seal, sealion, Service, skoda, tarrifs, van, VW, weeklly news

Comments

28 responses to “Kilowatt Half Hour Ep 84: Merc’s mistake, Škoda’s loader and plugging in where the sun don’t shine”

@TonyWatts-i2h

August 2, 2025

Hi guys
Another great show .
Reversing
Put hand at bottom of steering wheel
If you want trailer to go left move your hand to left ( 9 o’clock )
And right move hand to right (3 o’clock )
Dad had a ski boat .
Coming up to end of 3 year lease vw id3 won’t go back .
Tempted to 2nd hand purchase cupra born .
But some great lease deals around ( barnyard bargains )
Keep charging ahead
Tony

Reply
@neilrwilliams218

August 2, 2025

Heated rear seats, surely it would be fairly easy to link them into the seat belt sensors – if the seat is empty the heated seat can’t go on.

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@richardpiper4828

August 2, 2025

I guess the reason why chargers are not installed in warehouse spaces is because the operator would have to pay (expensive) business rates (as well as rent).

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@brianevans8127

August 2, 2025

Hi guys about finance. I did a fairly quick comparison between lease deal(s) and paying cash on a Tesla model 3. The lease deals turned out cheaper for the first 6 or 7 years overall. It’s well worth doing the calculations. Cheers

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@davidclabon1138

August 2, 2025

I’m looking forward to Nicola’s long term BYD Seal review, I have leased one for 3 months so far and I’m loving it to bits, Hope Nicola is experiencing the same. Great Podcast guys/girl, keep em coming!

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@LesGreenSIB

August 2, 2025

Just on my way back from Easter Poland in Model 3. 3k miles in 2 weeks. This time in LR, previous 3 times was in sr+. Planning on cla for 2026 trip but afraid I will miss the stops. However, extra battery and range comes handy in DE and PL as high speeds of 140 kmh or more get model 3 below 3 mpkWh. Rented Taycan and ix2 were barely getting 2mpkwh at 140 kmh. Uk motorways are awesome for evs. 3 lanes for autopilot bliss and 70 mph for great efficiency

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@albertoporras04

August 2, 2025

Re Adaptive Cruise Control. I think a lot of the issues people have are largely perceptual/physiological. For example, when people complain about “panic braking” I don’t think they are referring to incidents in which they are cruising down the motorway and the car suddenly slams on the brakes and they come to a screeching halt in a cloud of tyre smoke, at least I’ve never encountered this. I have had the car slow fairly sharply and , from my point of view, unexpectedly from, say, 70 to 60. When you’re not the one initiating the braking and you don’t expect it, this can subjectively feel like “panic braking”. However, it might simply be the system reacting to a potential hazard you didn’t notice (e.g. another car ahead of you starting to drift over from an adjacent lane) in a prudent manner. I know when I’ve been a passenger in a car, not really paying attention , and the driver has done similar it felt like a much more severe “braking event” than it actually was.

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1. @GregS-UK
  
  August 3, 2025
  
  My car has occasionally reacted to cars in the lane to the left when it didn’t need to, but it just starts to slow and I push it on through. Nothing like “panic braking” though.
  On the other hand I’m more than familiar with the over anxious collision avoidance when reversing and getting out thinking you have hit some hidden lump of concrete and it’s just because you were a bit closer to the wall at the side than the car thinks is safe (which is any nearer than about a foot in my car!).
  
  Reply
@GruffSillyGoat

August 2, 2025

On the CLA, I hope they add the 400v boost converter as a costed option rather than as a standard feature so raising the price of the car, as the converters can be quite expensive units. Like most, I charge at home and occasionally charge publicly, and when I do I always seek to charge at an 800v charger (Kia EV6 in my case) rather than a 400v one; and would particularly do so if Merc offer Ionity membership with the car (being one of the owners of the network).

Although, I suspect that Merc will not be using Hyundai/Kia’s approach of using the existing motor inverter controller and rear motor as a low-cost boost circuit, given they’ve stated it’s an add-on module in the Norwegian market models. The 400v option can then join the likes of a 22kW AC charging option as an additional feature for those who need it, rather than raise the cost of the car for everyone.

Similarly, I don’t like heat-pump costs built into the price of a car, as being in the South-West with its mild climate the extra cost of the heat pump will never pay for itself.

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@stephenwensley

August 2, 2025

I had hoped the hybrid crutch would die out after people experienced the electric mode, but the EREVs appearing suggests people will be pushed into crutch phase 2. What is the point of an EREV in Britain? BEV range is more than enough for the vast majority in this country.

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1. @markbennett6658
  
  August 3, 2025
  
  I agree but perhaps EREVs have a place for those who tow regularly in rural areas?
  
  Reply
2. @stephenwensley
  
  August 3, 2025
  
  @@markbennett6658don’t even think that’s a major issue. What does towing do, half your range? The current serious tow cars (EV9, iX, Ioniq 9) all tow 2500kg and manage 300 miles plus. 150 miles is probably just about enough between recharges. Those ranges are only going to improve with solid state batteries arriving allowing higher capacity for the same weight and tow vehicles which are EVs in their own right which negate the range drop (based on the dethleffs caravan & Audi etron experiment over the alps back in 2021)
  
  Reply
3. @markbennett6658
  
  August 3, 2025
  
  ⁠Again I agree with you and feel that any kind of hybrid is an interim solution or ‘gateway drug’ at best. I was only suggesting the EREV might have a place as a short term solution for a small niche market.
  
  Reply
4. @GruffSillyGoat
  
  August 3, 2025
  
  True EREVs don’t have a clutch as the generator-engine can only charge the battery.
  
  If the vehicle has an ICE that can connect to the wheels at any point, as well as charge the battery, so requiring a clutch, then it’s not an EREV but a PHEV (of the series-parallel variety).
  
  Agree the need for EREVs is lower in the UK market, but there are niche cases where they may apply and like PHEVs some will adopt them as a cautious transitional step to BEVs.
  
  However, with the falling cost of batteries (20% again last year and projected another 50% into next year) it’s likely that EREVs will be the more expensive option so will likely be bought just for the more niche needs.
  
  Reply
5. @stephenwensley
  
  August 3, 2025
  
  @GruffSillyGoatcrutch not clutch
  
  Reply
@JjaysYoutube

August 2, 2025

Haha as a kid from the 90’s up till now if Ur car was doing the ‘crab walk’ you knew Ur tracking was off or wheel alignment 😂 now it’s a special feature 🤦

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@stephenwensley

August 2, 2025

Perhaps crab walk is for yachties who are used to steering in one direction and the tide taking them in another

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@PaulMeier-cu3ds

August 3, 2025

As ever enjoyed KWHH and was struck by the discussion on towing. It was evident the team did not do much towing and found reversing with trailer weird, which may help to explain why towing does not get included in the practical part of a road test but is merely mentioned as a potential capability in discussion of the specs. There is a significant rural car market where towing is taken for granted and where people have grown up reversing trailers usually with a significant load on them (>2,200kgs) for horse, other livestock, crops, hay/straw, machinery, and other loads. It is not all about caravans or the trailer for your racing car, though we live near the Shelsey Walsh hill climb so see a few car trailers. Where the car being reviewed can do serious towing it really would be useful if you could review towing with a load as part of the review.

The other subject which caught my eye was Tom’s discussion of cash buy versus PCP for a new car. The monthlies versus interest in the bank is clearly important. For me the big issue with that decision is the guarantee of the residual value at the end of the PCP contract, especially given recent depreciation rates for EVs. Do I take the depreciation risk with a cash buy or palm it off to the finance company? Will I keep the car long enough for it to have fully depreciated anyway? Will it be old enough to have become a classic where depreciation is clawed back?

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@urbanstrencan

August 3, 2025

I really think that Ford has one of the best trailer back assists. And also really excited to see what their skunkworks will show on 11 Agust as a project “model T”.
And finally we are getting Škodas brilliant Octavia EV 🤩🤩😍😍👍🤩⚡⚡
Great podcast episode keep it up, and regarding previous podcast I was asking about Mercedes Benz making Baby G-Wagen on their new MMA platform is it still planned?

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@Pierwalker

August 3, 2025

I find adaptive cruise control quite alarming when driving on a motorway and the lane to the right stops or slows down because of congestion etc. but my car sees nothing ahead and ploughs on, undertaking vehicles to my right at high speed!
Very worrying!
Otherwise it’s wonderful! 🙂

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1. @GregS-UK
  
  August 3, 2025
  
  Yes, I’ve had that. Also, the very first time I tried using it, I came up behind some traffic which was stopped at lights and the car slowed appropriately, but I then moved into the left filter lane, which was empty – at which point it started to accelerate towards the red light 🤦‍♂️
  Now I’ve spent far more time using it and I love it and have it enabled most the time. However it is extremely important to always be aware of whether it is switched on or not and to know how it is likely to react to events ahead, so that you can disable it in advance of any situation where it could cause problems.
  It’s a shame as it would otherwise be a great safety feature for all the easily distracted, slow reacting drivers around – but I think those drivers are also the ones who would never anticipate how it will behave.
  
  Reply
@Josh-yy8xv

August 3, 2025

I am surprised that a team of people who deal with EV’s day in day out don’t know the differences between type 2 cable variants! Ben did not have a “16 amp cable”, he had a 32 amp single phase cable, which is what you need at home to pull 7kw. 22kw public chargers are three phase, and require a 32 amp three phase type 2 cable (with the extra two pins) to pull the full rate. You can also get 16 amp cables at one and three phase, a three phase being able to pull 11kw and the single phase just 3 ish. If Ben actually had a 16 amp cable he wouldn’t get the 7kw rate at home.

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@1stcarltoncummins

August 3, 2025

Using warehouses may be tricky… you have to find ones with very high power connection ( over 300kW dedicated) which probably isnt that common…

Yes you can support lower power with batteries but this will increase your planning permission and ROI

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@Petelmrg

August 3, 2025

Regarding the safety features, I would like to give a shout out for the latest id4; this is our 4th ev and replaces a Tesla M3. I don’t have to turn off the speed and lane assist as they are so subtle and the autonomous speed limit control has been virtually infallible – it’s a car that has really improved on the original, including a hefty chunk more power.

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@Tradewind25

August 3, 2025

Reversing a trailer: as someone who used to tow glider trailers regularly the rule I was taught was simply this. Place one hand on the bottom of the steering wheel. If you want the rear of the trailer to go right, move your hand to the right, and vice versa. Never turn the wheel too far, and drive slowly.

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@stephenwensley

August 3, 2025

On the cash versus finance. Recently heard a story of someone calling a car supermarket to enquire about a specific car. The first question from them was finance or cash, when being told car the car was suddenly already sold – they don’t get commission on cash.

I’ve also heard of people taking out a lease to get a cheaper deal, then paying it off in the first month to avoid interest payments

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1. @andrewpalmer999
  
  August 3, 2025
  
  Yes, when I bought my second I-Pace (not new BTW) I took the finance to get the Jaguar deal of extended warranty, free service etc that was on offer and then paid it off after the first monthly payment.
  
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@Pottery4Life

August 3, 2025

Thank you.

Reply