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Which Car Should You Buy in 2025? Paddy & Nobby's Top Picks!
385 Plays1 month ago
If you're feeling overwhelmed by the sheer number of new cars hitting the market in 2025, you're not alone! In this episode, Paddy and Nobby break it all down, segment by segment, and reveal which models they’d actually spend their own hard-earned cash on. With their expert motoring opinions, they’ll help you cut through the noise and make the right choice for your next ride. Whether you’re after an EV, SUV, or a budget-friendly daily driver, this is the episode you don’t want to miss!
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Transcript
Introduction and Sponsor Shoutout
00:00:00
Speaker
Welcome to the Drivers Republic podcast, brought to you in association with Dundeele Motors, Ireland's favourite car buying web website. With the widest selection of cars from certified trust dealerships, most Irish drivers find their next car on Dundeele.
00:00:12
Speaker
Hello there Paddy. Hello there Mark, how are you? Yeah, hello from Cork. Hello from
Cork's Car Culture: BMW M5 Anecdotes
00:00:17
Speaker
Dublin. Actually, we've we've issues with, the why doesn't Cork like the BMW M5 Paddy? Why, have are they not sold any yet?
00:00:25
Speaker
One, one. I've actually, don't know what i've seen I've seen one down here. I also, I meant to tell you about this, there's a guy, an absolute hero in my village, I live in a small village and East Cork.
00:00:37
Speaker
And he's an elderly man who's, I'd say he's, could be into his 80s. And he drives a brand new Ford Focus ST, lower green, but he drives it everywhere at 15 kilometers per hour.
00:00:53
Speaker
And I mean 15 kilometers per hour. Has he traded it in for an M5, no? Maybe. Maybe he's the
Quirky Local Drivers: The 15 km/h Ford Focus
00:01:01
Speaker
M5 is in order. But um this guy, honest to God, because this car, I don't think it's ever got out of first gear. It's screaming revs.
00:01:08
Speaker
I don't know, did he win it in a raffle or something? but i But yeah, be very cautious if you're buying a second. and An ST. And it's yeah it's pretty much brand new. and And yeah, just be cautious if you're purchasing a ah used ST from Cork because...
00:01:23
Speaker
like p m It might be the best second-hand buy. has he Has he stopped to chat? have you just seen him? No, I'm just but habitually ah stuck behind him as I go to the local petrol station and as he goes for his morning paper at actual walking distance, walking
Porsche Boxster Tales: Mileage vs. Condition
00:01:40
Speaker
speed. That is incredible.
00:01:41
Speaker
And that's a good lesson as to why sometimes a car with low mileage is not air ah not always a good buy. Yeah, one one careful owner. Yeah.
00:01:53
Speaker
I mean, late last year, I went looking at a beautiful black Boxster S. It was in the north. Nice, nice. And I went up via Warren Point, which is if anyone's ever been up to Warren Point, you take the coastal drive. Oh, it's absolutely beautiful.
00:02:08
Speaker
And I've been chatting to this guy back and forth and it turns out he was a butcher. He owned his butcher's shop and he liked his cars. But he had acquired ah Category D, which I think is now a Category N, right off Boxster.
00:02:22
Speaker
And there was only 15,000
00:02:26
Speaker
kilometers on on this it was a zero seven and i went up and i i shouldn't have done this but like i said to him straight away i can't believe this is in the gn condition it's in because it was immaculate and apparently what had happened to early in its life it was in a porsche dealership one of those fire sprinkler things went off soaked the car and it was a brand new boxster at the time and it was a write-off and With the roof open in the showroom guess. With the open. Yeah.
00:02:54
Speaker
So it it was in a Porsche dealership in Essex. It made its way to the north. Wright's
Car Buying Advice: Knowledge is Power
00:03:00
Speaker
crash repair. One of their staff bought it because they would be able to put that back together.
00:03:09
Speaker
Put right. Boom. Boom. And then it went into this gentleman's hands and it was like absolutely immaculate. But the the point was, and and I didn't buy it in the end because I was just a bit nervous of ah all the ECU what if components and yeah, what if.
00:03:25
Speaker
Warranties and stuff. Yeah. But the point was it actually hadn't had any real service history even because there was so little mileage on it. So I'd probably nearly rather buy something that has a few miles on it that you know has been given some TLC rather than a Sunday car.
00:03:42
Speaker
Yeah, you're dead right. and We have a bit to cover in the news, but what are we going to do? Tell people what we're going to do after the break. I think we're going to we going to do some proper consumer information for once.
00:03:54
Speaker
Yes, for once, for once. um Well, look, you know, we are probably, strangely, the voice of, what would you say, knowledge, the voices of knowledge for people that really aren't sure where to go, what to buy, if they should buy at all.
00:04:09
Speaker
So we'll try and help you.
Alfa Romeo Junior Veloce: A Design Delight
00:04:10
Speaker
Yeah, like and I think, you know, if if you go to a dinner party or you go to ah the pub, generally, the if the chat turns to cars, people turn to us and go,
00:04:20
Speaker
I was thinking of getting one of these. What do you think? So we're going to expand on that a little bit today and we're going to go through all of the cars that we think you should buy. Well, it's the ones we would buy at least in all across the various categories. So everything from super mini right up to luxury EV, we're going to cover those off today. But where we're going to start this week is, ah is of course, with what we've been driving and more specifically what Mark's been driving.
00:04:45
Speaker
One video I saw ah You uploaded earlier in the week, stunning looking car is the Alfa Romeo Jr. Now, Alfa always make pretty cars. In the past, they weren't always the best, but this thing looks good. is it Was it any use?
00:04:59
Speaker
Yeah, it was. It was use. And I'd driven the normal electric version of the Junior. So this is the Junior Veloce. So you have the normal version of the car. There is a hybrid version of that car car coming as well.
00:05:11
Speaker
But also the Veloce version is quite a bit different. It has 276 brake horsepower through the front wheels, 254 pounds per foot of torque.
00:05:22
Speaker
So you're you're kind of talking... yeah You're at kind of Golf GTI, little bit more than the Golf GTI, which is always the benchmark for hot hatches. It has a Torsen limited slip. um They've lowered it. They've put a wider track on it.
00:05:36
Speaker
They've put better brakes on it. They, you know, they haven't just, Atlantis being they, haven't just, you know, put more power onto the standard car and said, be grand. So it's got a quicker steering rack, 20-inch wheels, better damping.
00:05:50
Speaker
and And is this in the sort of scale-etrics model of a different car underneath that they've put ah an alpha body on? Does it share any commonalities with some of the Stellantis EVs?
00:06:01
Speaker
It does in lots of ways. like It has the 100 kilowatt DC charging. It has the 51 kilowatt hour battery. ah So yeah, that that kind of stuff is is there. All the switchgear is there. In fact, if for anyone who did see the video I did of the original Junior this year, it even has the same bucket seats because someone had gone mad on the the extras on this car. The bucket seats are about €5,000.
00:06:24
Speaker
The difference with this one is this is there's a ah launch version, which is €56,000, and there's a €51,000 version, which has a few little less bits on it.
00:06:35
Speaker
But it's ah it's just over 1500 kilos, which is not light, but by EV hatch, it's light. ah For me, it's one of the prettiest smaller EVs on the market today. It's just a gorgeous looking thing. And, you know, Alpha always get that right.
00:06:51
Speaker
um Really interesting looking car. And this was a car that was due to be called something else. This was originally the Alfa Romeo Milano, if I'm not mistaken. Milano, yes.
Alfa's Market Aspirations: Attracting the Youth
00:07:00
Speaker
So literally the night or the night before it was meant to be launched to the world, the Italian government stepped in and said, this car is not Italian. You can't call it Milano.
00:07:10
Speaker
um And I think it's a bit like you can't call champagne champagne unless it's from specific regions of France. You can't call a Waterford blah, Waterford blah, unless it's baked in Waterford.
00:07:24
Speaker
Right. um I don't know what the actual rules are in Italy, but you can't call something and make it sound quintessentially Italian if it's made in Poland, which the junior is.
00:07:36
Speaker
and And look, you've but you've been looking at car registrations ah and we'll talk a little bit about that later. Do you think this is going to make Alfa Romeo clock up a few numbers this year?
00:07:48
Speaker
Well, look, Alfa are in a precarious place. I i don't think they they'll ever be sold off by Solantis. I really don't. I think like having been in Turin, when you drive past their headquarters, it's nearly one of the centre badges over their door.
00:08:02
Speaker
So it would be mad to think of them doing that. And ah Ireland is not going to, inverted commas, save Alfa Romeo with our sales figures. and
Dacia Bigster: A Competitive SUV
00:08:10
Speaker
But it is a car that Alfa apparently, not not this Veloce version, just the standard junior, they're apparently counting on a younger audience who maybe have never had an Alfa Romeo before.
00:08:21
Speaker
They don't care about the heritage as such. So the fact that it doesn't have a twin spark isn't going to keep them up at night. ah and that would maybe get them into this car but like a lot of cars particularly in that size it's too expensive like the entry one is 30 odd fine but as soon as you put anything but you upgrade your wheels get on the nice red color you're getting close to 40 grand now obviously that'll be a lot cheaper in the continent is is it a car that's going to save alpha I just don't know I don't know Yeah, they've had a lot of um near misses and I don't know if this is going to be ah a huge success for them. But look, a pretty car. And if you want to go and check out and Mark's review, now I'll be on Cars YouTube and you can get the full lowdown on that.
00:09:04
Speaker
Another car that you are driving this week is the Dacia Bigster. What is that? What is a Bigster? A Bigster is not a seven seater, as you might think by the name of it.
00:09:16
Speaker
So you still have the jogger for that. and The Bigster is a car that i suppose in in a way is trying to put it up to something like the Tiguan from VW. ah Now, it was announced in Europe that it'd be from €25,000. That probably means in Ireland from €29,000, €30,000.
00:09:34
Speaker
But then that won't be the extreme version, which is the one you always want in Dacia, which could be, I don't know. Even if it is is still mid to high 30s, that's still a lot cheaper than some of the competition.
00:09:47
Speaker
But when you go into your dealership and you work out the monthly figures and the residual values, will a Tiguan actually be much more expensive per month than ah Bigster? I don't know. um It still feels very much like I saw it last, ah I don't know, October, September in Berlin.
00:10:05
Speaker
um And it still feels very much like the duster up the front. and There's no huge, big differences in materials or anything like that. It's just there are some nicer bits, nicer colours. As I mentioned to you last week, you can get a glass roof on it.
00:10:19
Speaker
um So we've been driving that around Marseille this week. And ah have a look at the YouTube video when it comes out for more details.
00:10:30
Speaker
um Yeah. There's a lovely sort of Tonka toy look to this thing. And that's the, that's the appeal for me. And I just think it's ah I think it's a really, really good looking, chunky utilitarian vehicle. Hopefully it now, and and and you can go over to see Mark's review. Hopefully it it it lives up to the looks at least.
00:10:46
Speaker
Yeah, like it's... um it They reckon it's 20% below average price of the C SUV segment. That's essentially where they're going. And they say it's a car that they they hadn't really tapped into before and in terms of ah segment. and And they feel like they've kind of conquered B segment cars now. So that's the next...
00:11:05
Speaker
strategy is to impede in the C category ah next. And this is, ah it sounds like this is the first of a few. Sorry, no I want a really big jacked up jogger. That's what I want.
00:11:17
Speaker
A jogger on stilts. That's that's the that's the the dream
Xpeng G6 Review: Tech Battles Tesla and BYD
00:11:20
Speaker
for me. And I think to protect jogger, that's the reason this isn't a seven seater because it is quite a, it's quite a large car. Like lengthwise, it is 4.57 meters long. It's got a wheelbase of 2.7. So that's, you know, that's a Kia Sportage type wheelbase.
00:11:42
Speaker
1.8 meters wide. and ah a 667 litre boot so that's where the ah that's what people i think were wondering why is there not two seats in there it's quite a large boot yes to protect that jogger i guess um yeah look interesting one another car you've been driving this week uh the xpeng or i thought it was xpeng but it's xpeng for for ireland anyway g6 another ah mid-size ev 45 ish grand suv in the market um how did you fare with that ah Mixed bag, ah good car.
00:12:13
Speaker
It's essentially there to take shots at the Model Y, ah certainly the last Model Y because there is a new one imminent. and I thought the software was a little bit overwhelming and that's coming from someone who does like software in cars. Like, for example, even trying to find the equaliser for the speakers was a challenge and I actually didn't manage to find it in the week I was driving the car.
00:12:34
Speaker
and There is a voice activated feature which does really help and you can say, hey, Xpeng and this little, remember the paperclip man on Microsoft Windows? Yes. It's kind of like a robot version of that. Yeah.
00:12:46
Speaker
Minus the paperclip. So that pops up. That does everything from turn on your headlights, your heated seats, change the radio station, you name it. And there are rumors that, and you know, there are only rumors that.
00:12:57
Speaker
ah few Some years ago, they kind of either bought over some people from Tesla or just had an awful lot of looking at their software because there are bits of the car that you kind of go, that is like it has sentry mode like Tesla.
00:13:11
Speaker
It has that little lane screen with your speed on the top, just like Tesla. Except you can't move it over to the right hand side of the screen, which would be more native to right hand drive cars such as ourselves.
00:13:25
Speaker
um Look, it's a good price. The delivery charge is fairly substantial on it. It's almost 3000 euro from MSL. That does include a service pack, which I think gets you two. services during the yeah the course of your three years whatever. um It's got 258 brake horsepower, sorry, 251 or 280 something ah for the long wheel, sorry, the long range version. They're all rear wheel drive in Ireland, in this part of the world. There is an all wheel drive version.
00:13:55
Speaker
m Compared to maybe the obvious one, which is BYD, I thought the interior was actually a little bit nicer. live in it this had the white kind of white interior including white seatbelts so from a dirt point of view some people aren't into that rode pretty well definitely rides better than the again the last model model Y but apparently that is night and day the new version they have you know started from the ground up with that I asked some people who have bought these cars how long it'll take the app to be set up because I was able to scan the QR code. A lot of press cars, you don't get the functionality of apps when you test them because they've only got maybe one login or whatever.
00:14:34
Speaker
Now, in fairness to some brands, anytime I've asked, they do it. I still get notifications about my Skoda Elrock all the time. and It's even named after me. But, so I couldn't actually get in, even though I was able to cure the app. And then it just says, oh, you'll be able to access this, but it doesn't move beyond that. And I remember reading that about BYD as well. It took quite a long time for the app to be functional on people, on customers' phones after
Audi's Restructuring: Efficiency and EVs
00:15:00
Speaker
they bought their cars. Like we're talking on weeks. Wow.
00:15:02
Speaker
Okay. So don't know what that is and why. Yeah. But look, at another player in in that segment, God knows there's an enough competition there. yeah' Just how people are going to start telling these apart, though. I mean, I pity the consumer who's trying to get their head around these things, these new entrants.
00:15:19
Speaker
I mean, the front of it's okay. The rear is memorable in maybe not as good a way. But look, everything felt premium in it. I love the way, literally, the only difference between the long-range version and the standard is how far it goes.
00:15:32
Speaker
Everything else spec-wise is exactly... the same you don't get any extra gear you're literally paying for a bigger battery the entry car is an lfp battery which is a little bit cheaper that also probably helps with the the cost of uh of the price of it um and look a solid a solid thing i just especially at 50 there's more familiar names out there to people Yeah, guess any word on warranties and things like that, anything special about those? So warranty is five years or 160,000 kilometers on there the car. Standard enough.
00:16:02
Speaker
And then what his thought was was odd was it doesn't increase. So you get eight years on the battery or also 160. Now BYD are doing bigger. Certainly they're covering more. 200,000 kilometers.
00:16:13
Speaker
So I thought that was an interesting one because... m I suppose they're, I don't know actually how much of a competitor they are in China. Like, they're not as big as BYD. They're only around 10 years.
00:16:24
Speaker
But I just thought it was, so NVIDIA chips for anyone who likes dabbling in the stock market. Car is powered by them. So it's it's really tech heavy. Yeah. Okay.
00:16:36
Speaker
Which means, you know. Interesting video video up on that yet? Videos up on that yet. I will say one thing about XPeng. People are very interested in them. um That's the second video I've put up featuring an XPeng and they just kind of take off.
00:16:48
Speaker
I'd nearly say there was good reviews of Skoda. Bad news this week from Audi. 7,500 jobs are being cut. They've announced a big enough restructure. So they'll lose 7,500 jobs by 2029. They're calling it a socially responsible reduction.
00:17:07
Speaker
They're saying there won't be any mass layoffs. It'll happen gradually and there'll be job security for others. The remaining workforce, they say, are protected until 2033. Why is this happening? It's apparently to cut costs, boost efficiency.
00:17:19
Speaker
and focus
Tesla Vandalism: Public Perception of Musk
00:17:20
Speaker
on electric mobility. Some of their executives as well are taking cuts, bonuses and profit sharing are to be adjusted as well. um This is a bit of a sign of the times and we've seen this from Volkswagen and now Audi as well following suit.
00:17:34
Speaker
What is a socially responsible... cut of jobs? Like, it what's what's, how are they being responsible? Well, I mean, that's ah it's nice PR language, all right. Is it? I think they will, yeah, it is. It's ah it's a good spin.
00:17:49
Speaker
and ah We can only imagine that it's, it's doing it in ah in ah in a careful way and they're they're trying to, you know, spread it out over various ah elements of the business and not dramatically doing it. But um yeah, look, it's it ah it is a little bit of a spin because they have to reduce costs, you know. Yeah, it is. i mean, it's nice to hear that some of the the big wigs are taking bit of a haircut as well.
00:18:14
Speaker
But look, I mean, literally off the back of us talking about XPeng or Xiaoping, These sales have to come from somewhere. And i'm not saying they're a direct competitor of Audi. I don't really think they are. But when you look at worldwide Audi sales, they are in decline.
00:18:29
Speaker
And have been for quite a number of years. And we've seen plant closures in Belgium and the likes. And they're saying it'll save them over a billion per year and future-proof their German plants. Now, and that remains to be seen. But yeah, it's it's ah it's strange to see such a big brand like that. And, you know, we would have always seen Audi as a huge powerhouse and um definitely been affected by by the move to EVs and and the influx of of brands like Xiaoping, you know.
00:18:57
Speaker
Yeah, and look, I mean, i I'm a big fan of Audi, really. I think that, like, there can be a little bit tight in what they give you a standard spec, but, you know, the e-tron GT is a cracking car. um Is, that you know. Yeah, and that A6 C-tron I just gave back as well well. I was, I was, tears in my eyes this morning handing that car back, but, but you know. But it did have €20,000 of options on it, though. Oh, my God.
00:19:26
Speaker
um But there's probably not a huge amount of money selling e-tron GTs compared to, or maybe there are, I don't know. um But this is like
Listener Engagement: Tesla Owner Experiences
00:19:40
Speaker
we've had the mess of this. So I think they're rolling back on the model designation. The idea was they announced a few months ago that all the even numbers are going to be electric and all the odd numbers are going to be internal combustion.
00:19:50
Speaker
And now they've kind of said, which is, I think, why we got the a five the A4 turning into the A5. ah But now they're saying, oh, yeah, not sure about that. Because the A6 was supposed to be the a seven And then the electric was, you know, the A6 e-tron. But the A6 Avant was supposed to be the A7. And what was happening back on that to
Upcoming Car Recommendations
00:20:10
Speaker
the actual A7? That's a beautiful car.
00:20:13
Speaker
I know. Love a Pretty thing. Lots of nice ones secondhand as well, if you're brave enough. Yeah. But yeah, pretty, pretty car. and ah More news this week as well, Mark. And I don't know, is it the sign of the times? and Over the weekend, a Tesla dealership in Belfast was vandalized. 20 vehicles were damaged.
00:20:35
Speaker
um wing mirrors smashed dents in the body work and
Consumer Trends: Navigating Car Choices
00:20:40
Speaker
we can only imagine that it was an anti-elon musk action and is this a start of a backlash against tesla so are these far-right people protesting at the far right or who are these people Well, look, I mean, it could be just plain old being a gurrier, but, you know, they don't need much of an excuse to to smash up some stuff. You know what? You could be right on that. It could just be a coincidence. Obviously, there's a lot of...
00:21:11
Speaker
resistance online at least with with Tesla over Elon Musk I think he's definitely a PR problem for the company right now ah so in ah in any other company you know that there'd be ah an extraordinary board meeting and yeah you know the the the boss would be ousted but it doesn't look like that's something that is likely in Tesla's case no no I don't think that's going to happen um its It's a very strange. But ah on the on the targeting of a dealership, I mean, that is kind of crazy. It's, you know... to That's mindless violence, of course. but like but But, I mean, I just wonder would it have happened necessarily, know, in the current climate and in other...
00:21:58
Speaker
brand or maybe it's a coincidence but um but yeah certainly certainly ah a sign that there's a bit of disquiet around that brand. I'd love to hear from someone actually and feel free to email us um and let us know driversrepublicpodcast.gmail.com you know it can be anonymous if you like we don't read our names but like if you own a Tesla has a major question your purchase would you maybe like if you could get rid of the car just because of not that it's a bad car renter but just By association, you're sitting there at the tra traffic lights and you're wondering, are people judging you? Or maybe you really don't give a damn. And like I do ah do stand the side of judging people because of a purchase they've made. It's kind of crazy. um
00:22:36
Speaker
Yes. yeah yeah And we we haven't seen in Ireland the full impact of sales yet. Generally, their deliveries are sort of slightly odd times. Yeah. and it remains to be seen whether our and Irish consumers are backing away from them to the extent that they are in countries like Germany, which have seen really massive drops in Tesla sales. There's so much unrest in the world right now. It's very hard to compare the Elon sentiment to war, for example, but certainly the people he's now involved in.
00:23:05
Speaker
But I think the Irish people are are not very tolerant, probably because of the troubles we had to endure for so long, and probably more so our friends across the border, that when any of this kind of stuff kicks off, when any sort of hatred or racism ah surfaces, um or in Elon's cases has been alleged, you know, supporting absolutely craziness,
00:23:31
Speaker
ah I don't think we're not very accepting any more of it. No, tolerance levels have gone. and And, you know, maybe that's a good thing in some cases, but I think it can be taken to the extreme. And I think we're seeing some examples of that for sure, you know. So, so look, I mean, let us know. It would be good to hear from from from some Tesla owners. What do you think? Let us know. I mean, it's public podcast at gmail.com. To add insult then, Elon is in a photograph with Conor McGregor and Donald Trump.
00:24:00
Speaker
And, you know, the i think a lot of people on Paddy's night were looking at them that picture going, oh, Jesus Christ, what is going on?
Small Car Segment: Affordability and Practicality
00:24:10
Speaker
Yeah. yeah So...
00:24:13
Speaker
it's ah It's a podcast for another day. and Well, look, ah coming up after the break, get and put the kettle on because Mark and I are going to um pull up but pull up a couple of stools and discuss what are the best cars in every class, from small to big, from family to luxury SUV.
00:24:31
Speaker
and We're going to figure that out. So join us after the break. Welcome back to the Drivers Republic podcast brought to you in association with Dundeele Motors, Ireland's favourite website for car buying. With more certified trusted dealers than anywhere else, you're sure to find the right car for you on dundeele.ie. Fair play to Dundeele. We love your work.
00:24:50
Speaker
So we're heading towards the end of March and I'd imagine new car sales now we've already like January is always the biggest month but I feel like especially with our number plates maybe as well the way the the year splits in two people are probably now already looking to the what are we out now 252 plate or even in the short term you know if you're picking something up or you're thinking about picking something up it it's definitely ah a window shopping time of of cars. And we just thought, there's a reason why a lot of the national newspapers every December or January will do a guide to what you should buy.
00:25:25
Speaker
ah Because people obviously need a little bit of a ah hand-holding in order to try and decipher, where should I go? i mean, my thoughts are maybe that, I mean, you can correct me if wrong, patty, people will probably maybe look at a wider list of cars than they might...
00:25:43
Speaker
Narrow it down, try and funnel it into something else. As someone once said to me, from from what I do on YouTube, which is kind of consumer-driven car reviews, people said, like, I'm much higher up the funnel than you are. And I was like, ooh, that sales talk.
00:25:58
Speaker
um But i see I suppose people do. they They come to maybe YouTube for the decisive... opinion on maybe the final three cars of shortlisted it down to whatever it is well i think that's you know and i think that's the benefit of someone like yourself mark who has an opinion unfortunately when there's an awful lot of content out there that doesn't have an opinion and you know it you can certainly watch stuff that's a bit of an online brochure and that's fine at a superficial level but people who are investing into a new car need
00:26:33
Speaker
You know, they need someone much to say, look, this is what's good. This is what's bad. I don't like this. I like that. and This could be better. And, you know, that's the benefit of of proper consumer motoring journalism. So, um yeah, I think, you know, there's so much information out there. People do their research now on the Internet at home.
00:26:51
Speaker
and And as Lee Fitzpatrick said on the podcast a couple of weeks ago, you know, by the time it gets to him, most people have a fair idea, you know, and from watching videos like yours, you know, what, you know, what they want, what an idea, what they want, but with so much choice out there and with all of these new entrants coming into the market, it's not hard to see why people would be confused. So,
00:27:12
Speaker
but Mark and I thought it would be an interesting exercise to to really go through some of the segments and talk about some of the cars that we think, at least, and are the ones you should be paying attention to.
00:27:22
Speaker
It doesn't all have to be EV, by the way, and and it won't be. um And it's it's interesting when we'll kind of chat through it, but some of the segments now in Ireland are really heavily based on either plug-in hybrid or full electric.
00:27:37
Speaker
um Not far off 50% of the share of a segment, which is, you only hear the the top-line figure of, oh, 16% of car sales are BEVs in Ireland as of 2025 so far.
00:27:49
Speaker
But actually, when you fine-tune it, it can be a lot higher in ah in a particular segment of car. and So i don't know where you want to start. I mean, look, we've we've I've waxed lyrical about the Insta a lot. um It was only when was... Well, yeah, lets let's start small, I suppose. For people who are, you know we're talking new cars here and we can do news cars another day, but for people who are starting...
00:28:11
Speaker
off at ah at a lower budget if you like or you know generally that we would have called it the city car super mini segment but there are now cars which are cheaper than there were two or three years ago the the entry point for a new car now is an awful lot cheaper than it was three years ago for example So, Mark, for for the small car segment, so traditionally people would have looked at cars like, you know, Ford Fiestas, in the past Fiat Puntos, Toyota Yarses.
00:28:42
Speaker
that That water has been muddied now by a raft of new small EVs, for example, but there's still a mix of some of the traditional ones out there. So you've mentioned the Insta. Why has that made such an impact?
00:28:53
Speaker
I think it's a good example of how you can make affordable mobility without having to make it feel really, really cheap. And the power train in it is almost irrelevant for me. Yes, it is electric, but it's got a decent range with the size of the car.
00:29:08
Speaker
It's just it's the clever use of space, relative affordability. Now, as we said, not the cheapest interest rate when you actually do a calculation. and I saw a good old pal of ours, Blake Boland, do this exercise online.
00:29:22
Speaker
And he compared the price of the Dacia spring to the Inster and the finance rate was so much lower on the spring. The monthly figures were vastly, vastly different, even though they were kind of closely ish priced.
00:29:33
Speaker
and So it's not even that it is actually the most affordable car on the market. It's not, but it's just the whole package that I think is really, really good. It's good to drive. It's fun. You know, you can do lots of things by dropping the seats, making like it hasn't got the biggest boot in the world, but you know, it makes up for it in the rear leg room.
00:29:48
Speaker
And if you do need a bigger boot on a given day, It has a flexibility. And you have to remember as well what these cars were going to do. What's their purpose? Generally, they you know they would have been for nipping around town, dropping the kids to school, and going and doing a small bit of shopping, not necessarily crossing the country four times a week. No. So for that sort of size of car, yeah you know in some cases, they might have been bought by younger drivers. In some cases, and even the other end of the extreme by older drivers who you know want something that's easy to use, easy to get in and out of. And for that, the Insta just does such a good job. It really does.
00:30:21
Speaker
And I've been watching Mooney's Long Mile. friend of mine works there for donkey's years. So I follow him on Instagram and I've been looking at the type of customer who's buying an Instagram.
Small SUVs: Toyota Yaris Cross and Beyond
00:30:30
Speaker
And it is a mix. It's young people. It's couples. It's it's definitely retired people.
00:30:34
Speaker
um Hyundai said themselves it was a car that they felt would get younger customers into it just probably purely because of the price. But I suppose it's a bit like maybe when you get to a certain age in life and you go, I don't need this house anymore.
00:30:46
Speaker
I'm going to downsize it. Maybe the same thing catches people's eyes in an, in an Insta. I do think overall though, Irish people are, are we a bit snobby about small cars? you think? I know. I, I'm weirdly for someone my size, like a small car. I always did. And, um, you know, I, I'm very much someone who thinks, right, you know, buy what you need rather than what you you think you need.
00:31:06
Speaker
Um, and, and, and, you know, for some of these, some of these small, I like a really well-equipped small car and a nicely put together small car. And, and, you know, the the the level the bar has really been raised with cars like this um but so another one that which caught my eye recently and i spent some time in was the suzuki swift you know not on paper a very sexy car but you know for the money for what you get for the price well absolutely astonishing equipment levels as you said you like a well-equipped car that car has absolutely everything that anyone needs you've got climate control you've got blind spot
00:31:42
Speaker
got electric everything you've got think you get alloy wheels if you want um it's got a lovely manual gearbox in it it's it's just it's a cracking little car to drive and again the top is the top spec is 22 yeah grand and it has literally everything on it and you know stuff that you don't see and um and in some sort of medium premium cars heated sea so really really impressive little thing yeah Yeah, super, super little. Yeah, yeah I did say that they they they own my only issue with the heated seats and the Swift is has one setting, which is a nuclear. So
00:32:21
Speaker
youre it's either freezing cold or your're you're on fire. or nothing much over that But you know what, Suzuki, or fish they were one of the few brands as well during COVID who didn't increase their prices. Their prices stayed the same.
00:32:33
Speaker
Yeah. and and and And look, and I think that, you know, their sales are okay as well as a result. It's funny though, are are cars like these and and the ones we've mentioned, are are they starting to ease into the likes of the more traditional ones that we used to talk about?
00:32:45
Speaker
The likes of the Skoda Fabian, know, the the Toyota Yaris, which are cars which are are good, but have got a lot more expensive. Well, they have got a lot more expensive, but the Yaris is still top of the pile here in Ireland.
00:32:57
Speaker
That's not the Yaris Cross, by the way. That's a separate category. um Just the Aris, then the Sandero, the Hyundai i20, the VW Polo, and yes, of Corsa, for anyone who hated that ad last year.
00:33:11
Speaker
The Corsa. Did you do that ad? I did not do the that ad, no. No. In fact, Ireland, wanted to blame you for that the Irish marketing department didn't do that ad. I thought they did. um i think that was a kind of wider Stellantis ad, but they they made it their own.
00:33:25
Speaker
um um And do you know what? I mean, the Corsa is actually one of the more expensive ones in there. the Sandero probably offering people a lot of value. um I'd imagine, though, a Yaris is just, if you have a Yaris and you like it, you're just going to go back into your Toyota dealership and go, can I have another one of them, please?
00:33:42
Speaker
Of course, yeah. And you're probably on your fourth or fifth in some cases because that you know people go back for those. and And once you get into one, and I haven't driven one in a while, but once you get into and you go, oh yeah, it does make sense.
00:33:55
Speaker
and Everything works really well. You know the maintenance is going to be absolutely painless. The ownership is going to be painless. Your dealership is going to give you... a brilliant price when you go back after three years and make it super easy to jump into another one so um so yeah that you can see what makes sense but it's funny because and and it's it's something that makes sense when you look at the sales figures what we think might be the best cars and what people just go out and buy anyway are often two very different things probably a few things driving that but I think it's I think it is just a case of as we've just said it's just a case of what you know um like the Fabia for example is 22 and a half thousand euros so it's in and around the Suzuki Swift money it probably feels like a ah little bit more of a sturdy car and the equipment levels are much better than they used to be as well you know yeah things like
Medium SUV Spotlight: Hyundai Tucson's Reign
00:34:50
Speaker
kilos entry and even at entry point and air conditioning and
00:34:53
Speaker
you know Stuff that would have been optional years ago is now is now standard fit. and And on the Fabier, yeah, it's it's ah it's it's a tried and trusted recipe. And same with the polo as well. It's one of those ones that if you were you know if you were but if you were a son or daughter and you were...
00:35:09
Speaker
ah charged with putting them into a car suddenly you start thinking differently and you'd be thinking polo and or fabio rather than maybe so maybe something a little bit lighter and cheaper the suzuki swift is light and that that kind of makes it half the fun when you're when you're driving it um like i've i was in ah think marseille again right about a year ago with the launch of that current uh suzuki swift and bob flavin was driving and i was passenger and And we were going through a vineyard on a really twisty road and we were stuck behind a really smelly diesel Alfa Romeo.
00:35:46
Speaker
And all right Bob was obviously going through some of his health stuff at the time and I didn't particularly like the smell of fumes either. But... he decided that he was going to overtake this Alfa Romeo in the Suzuki Swift.
00:36:00
Speaker
And I can only describe it as, as I never thought a car could scream quite, quite the way Suzuki Swift does in second and third gear when you were redlining it. Uh, left hand, not a fast car, left drive car.
00:36:14
Speaker
The two of us in it, all our gear in the back. And, uh, it felt like it went on forever on the wrong side of the road, but we got there. um So i can I can vouch for its lightness. It doesn't necessarily mean it accelerates that quickly.
00:36:31
Speaker
But it was a some of that some of the yeah Some of the other new models that are arriving now and and lots of people are talking about, Renault 5 is one of the big headline acts. and I haven't haven't driven it yet. You you have had a spin, bound to be a success, Tucker. I think it'll do wonders for Renault, to be honest with you. um they kind of They're not on their own in this, but they they have a lot of very similar size cars.
00:36:57
Speaker
um Like you have the Rafale. You have the... What's the mid one? the I can't even think the... arc and No, arc well, sorry, you have the Arcana.
00:37:09
Speaker
You have the Captor. But there's something else in the middle. Austral, that's the one. They just sound like Turkish soaps to me or something. don't know. The Renault 5 kind of stands out on its own. This week on Austral. Yeah.
00:37:22
Speaker
um The Renault 5 is very unique. And it's it's a card I'm genuinely excited about. I'm kind of excited that maybe people... i I also like it's it's one of the first the Honda e was a bit retro but it wasn't really trying to reminisce about something else the round of five is obviously for anyone who's and again interested in cars knows what it's what it's trying to be an EV version of.
00:37:47
Speaker
So it'll be interesting see, you know, will you get older customers who remember those cars buying it or will you get people who, again, just look it and go, oh, that looks cool, that looks retro, whatever it is. think it's going to be all of the above.
00:37:58
Speaker
mean, the Ioniq 5 had a bit of that, but it was quite polarizing. Like, the Renault 5 is cute, it's small, it looks great in green, great in yellow. It'd probably look great in lots of colors, want to see it. But... it's it's just it's a sense of fun. And and that's, you know, talking at the start of the podcast, this episode, that's what I kind of really liked about the Alfa Junior and what I liked about the Renault 5.
00:38:18
Speaker
Yes, they're electric, but it's just trying to bring the fun back. And, you know, there's there was always a lot of fun in a front-wheel drive petrol hatchback. And I think EVs can kind of emulate that in ah in a different way, but quite close to what but it should have felt like.
00:38:36
Speaker
Yeah, for like for me, I think the five is, I think I'm going to have one at some stage. So so i'm I'm kind of curious to drive it. I hope it doesn't disappoint because it's a car I've been sort of looking at from afar for a while now to think, ah you know, I think it's a perfect replacement to what I have. So um not to mention the turbo they announced over the weekend.
00:38:55
Speaker
Oh my God. Yeah, for what, a couple of hundred grand is it? It's huge money, isn't it? I don't think it's going
E Segment EVs: Tesla Model 3 and Competitors
00:39:00
Speaker
to sell too many. Just before we move on, it was something like 2,000 newton metres of torque per rear wheel. It was like... Yeah, motors, individual motors on each rear wheel. It's just bonkers. But yeah, a fabulous, fabulous looking thing.
00:39:14
Speaker
Another car which harking back to its retro pass is that Fiat Grande Panda. um Another one, which would be in and around the sort of mid-20s, I suspect, harking back to the the the original Panda and EV. and There will be a hybrid version, I think, is there? I think the EVs are going to come first. it's It should be here in days, to be honest with you. It's meant to be landing from it from April. and There will be a smaller Panda as well, but this is the Granite Panda, which still, again, by our standards, quite a small car.
00:39:42
Speaker
um Decent to drive. ah Yes, it it should be in the round. heard talk of maybe 19 for the the petrol version. It definitely wasn't going to be in a par with the EV version, unlike its sibling, and the Citroen EC3 or C3. That'll be the same price whether you want petrol or electric.
00:40:01
Speaker
and But again, yeah, more of these cars are good. So, right, I'm going to put you on the spot. So, but but of of each these segments, I'm going to ask you and and i' I'll give you my view on what you would buy yourself. So, what would you have from this small car segment?
00:40:15
Speaker
Small car. we were in Are we including Renault 5 there? Yeah. I'm very excited about the ID2, but it's not here yet. No, it's not here, so it has to be here. Okay, okay. It'll be a toss-up between the Insta and the Renault 5, but I just, I love the look of the Renault 5. I think they've really nailed it.
00:40:31
Speaker
I agree. Probably Renault 5. Honourable mention to the Saeed Ibiza, which is a car we've probably forgotten a little bit about, but... um Wonderful, wonderful car and great value as well if you get a nice FR version. But yeah, for me, for me, Renault 5. The only thing about the Renault 5 is when you add on the nicer wheels and the nicer color and everything and the bigger battery, it it is, it's going to be a 30 plus car.
00:40:54
Speaker
In which case the Insta is, you know, eats its lunch all day long because, you know, you can be 21, 22 for, it's about pretty much the been the most you can spend on on, I think, isn't it? Yeah, and we should give an honour and mention as well to the Kia Picanto. I'd forgotten about that car. That car is still selling quite well in Ireland.
00:41:11
Speaker
It is, and and and with good reason, because it's a little belter. so So yeah, that'll be our top choices and in in that segment. Moving on though to the small SUV segment, and that's one which is really growing.
00:41:24
Speaker
and We love our SUVs in Ireland, as the rest of the world seems to as well. and For me, car that stands out in this one would be the Toyota Yaris Cross.
00:41:34
Speaker
um Brilliant, brilliant little car. I know there's ah there's a Lexus version now as well, but the Yars Cross is just such a good, perfect recipe in terms of a small SUV that you know looks the part, ah drives really well, easy to park, you know good enough specification.
00:41:56
Speaker
you know in that segment you know what are your front runners well first of all it's a very convoluted segment I i think these days because you could have a T-Rock in there and a CHR in there and yeah to me they feel like bigger cars um the Yaris Cross have you you haven't sat in the back of one have you I haven't attempted that feat no okay because I'd say it say might be tricky well I was in an Uber which was Yaris Cross a couple of weeks ago with Graham Lennox viious And we were driving around Dusseldorf.
00:42:28
Speaker
And ah yeah, we're in the back of one of them. And it came back to me when I compared to when I had reviewed it. And I was like, yeah, this this is this sounds familiar, it feels familiar. It's just, it's quite tight in the back, even for like small kids, I'd imagine. know So my only issue with, and I don't want to pick on the Arras Cross in particular, but a lot of these titles even of small SUV kind of irks me because ah like they're not SUVs.
00:42:52
Speaker
and No, they're tall crossover ish hatchba cars. cars. um But yeah, again, it's it's leading the way in that area. In fact, that's one of Toyota's real kind of strongholds.
00:43:07
Speaker
Yaris Cross, Corolla, Corolla Cross, CHR. CHR as well. There's a lot of like and that is a really popular segment in Ireland. So far we're at over 13,000 cars sold in 2025 from that segment. and But Toyota have is it five or six cars in the top 10? They usually do. Some crazy number.
Marty Whelan's Car Passion
00:43:30
Speaker
Yeah.
00:43:31
Speaker
Maybe it's not that many, but it's always, it's a huge number. So they are actually knocking it out of the park at the moment for sales. I don't know if it's the same comparison, but there was upon a time, a bit like BYD and X-Pan coming into the market here, there was a time when Toyota were a newcomer in Ireland.
00:43:48
Speaker
And I think the Japanese are still very impressed with how strong Toyota is as a brand here in Ireland. um Like they're obviously very aware of our our market share size. They're not a huge country, but they're you know, I've heard stories of executives from Toyota coming over here and just being very, very respectful of the O'Mahony family and everyone else who got involved. Yeah, well, I mean, do we they've done and an amazing job at marketing the the the brand for Ireland and it's, it's it you know, they they they didn't just hit Dublin, they managed to make it ah so sort of the first choice of every parish in the country at at various stages and, you know, they're they're so really part of the Irish fabric, I think. and So, yeah, no, we do we do like a Toyota in in this country. um Look, the LBX, which you alluded to from Lexus, is a Yaris in a fancier dress.
00:44:39
Speaker
But that car has changed sales for Lexus. um I don't know beyond here. I can only assume it's probably been replicated a bit in the UK. But that is a car that has shot up market share for Lexus in Ireland. Yeah, I think it's a double their sales, if not more. Yeah. um but Overnight because it's, and and again, it's one of those sort of really well equipped.
00:45:01
Speaker
It's like a Yaris Cross with a really nice finish and and, you know, they haven't let the standards drop in terms the quality. But for some people who don't necessarily need the the rear space, who don't, you know across the country that much and who can just spin around town to do it in a luxury package you know is is a very appealing prospect for lots of people could we fit the Honda HR-V into that category that'd be a bit of a stretch yeah it's not it's not cheap though is it expensive car it's about it's similar enough to the CH-R which has also grown price like the cheapest CH-R is 40,000 euro wow okay
00:45:33
Speaker
who okay And it's one of those wider conversations about the fact that, you know, our people start stopping looking at the list price and looking at the monthlies and figuring out how much it costs them per month and going, okay, well, I can afford an extra 30 quid so I can get into the,
00:45:49
Speaker
you know, the CHO or the Honda because, you know, gone are the days where people are going in and or and and going to their credit union necessarily or or their local bank to to get a loan for a car with so much finance around. And with PCP, it's changed the way people look at the price and value of cars, I think.
00:46:09
Speaker
And all that has done is probably help manufacturers sneak up the prices because people aren't, they aren't going, Hang on, this was how much? Four years ago? What's happened? It's only €300 per month though. Yeah, I know.
00:46:24
Speaker
with zero percent finance ten thousand your deposits And Yeah, like I was only texting my own dad today. He got an update on his Elrock on the app. And ah it said like expected delivery June. And i was like, but the car's just actually been built. It's three months.
00:46:40
Speaker
And ah he said, ah, don't worry about It'll help with the balloon payments. It makes it smaller. you're not going to register in June, are you? You'll wait till July, are Well, that's the thing, yeah. So would you classify Elrock and the likes into that category? And out of all of those cars, I have to say, i mean, I do like the CHR. think it's a little bit overpriced with the size of the car. That's the only thing. Like, the Elrock is a far more practical car.
00:47:06
Speaker
it's got a bigger boot it's got more rear leg room so ah you know I was and obviously it's fully electric so you can fuel it for next to nothing so I probably i mean it's not on our list because it's it's only literally gone on sale but I think I would have to pick that out of the small SUV section but I will say do not go near a sportline version because it makes it 50 grand and the whole point of the LROC is to not be an Enyak priced car Yeah, but then, then ah you know, it it shows about how these segments straddle. What do we call the Tucson then, the
00:47:40
Speaker
best-selling car in Ireland for the last 8,000 years. Is that a medium SUV? Is that a small SUV? I think that's a medium, yeah. Yeah. yeah Isn't it? Interesting. Yeah, medium, I would say so. so why you see so but so what um So of the small SUVs you're saying, Elrock, and um key EV3 doesn't get a mention?
00:48:00
Speaker
Well, see, the EV3 pops up then in... It's a bigger one, I think, though. If we're confused, i pity I pity people out there. You see, and and that's the thing, in the cars are getting bigger. I mean, is the EV3 now, is it ah is it a hatch more than a mid-size? I guess, look, Kia EV2 would be in this segment um and Kia EV3 would probably be in the bigger segment. Although we do have a smaller Skoda coming as well.
00:48:27
Speaker
Epic, isn't it? Or E-peak? E-peak? Yeah, m or Epoch or something, I don't know. Like I would put an EV3 again, it seems kind of weird maybe because of the price, but an EV3 would be compared to a Golf.
00:48:40
Speaker
yeah that's Even that's a tough one. By the way, speaking of the EV3, it is doing very well. So in that category, you have Octavia, best selling Corolla, then you've Golf and then EV3, which is not a cheap car compared to those vehicles, which I think is the point.
00:48:55
Speaker
know And the focus comes after EV3. So I don't know, you know, is it spec? Is it GT line versus Earth that people are buying? I'd have to ask Cahal at Kia Ireland. and But for that car to quickly be in that segment of Octavia Corolla Golf, just slightly behind them shows that ah it it obviously is doing very well.
00:49:15
Speaker
So you you're going Elrock. I would probably go Yaris Cross for me in that segment. but um But yeah, I just have a of strange grot for that car. and And look, I'm not the only one. Lots of people like it. It is a strange grot, yeah. of a lot of books You've thrown that one at me.
00:49:31
Speaker
Paddy likes the Yaris Cross. Yeah. I do look i just i love the Yaris Cross. what are my One of my favorite small cars, yeah. i I do have a slightly odd taste in cars sometimes and the Irish Cross is one of my one of my perhaps slightly odd tastes but love We're going to move on to the D segment onwards um after this short break so if you need to go and relieve yourself or whatever you need to to do I'm not talking about you just people listening.
00:49:56
Speaker
Or you. Whatever. Thanks. Back in a second. Welcome back to the Drivers' Public Podcast brought to you in association with Dundee Motors, Ireland's favourite website for car buying with more certified trusted dealers than anywhere else. You're sure to find the right car for you on dundeele.ie.
00:50:10
Speaker
If you've just joined us, which you probably haven't because hopefully you're listening since the start, but Paddy has just declared his love for the Toyota Yaris Cross in that segment of cars. His winner. If he was buying with his own money, that's what he thinks you should also buy.
00:50:25
Speaker
which is fair enough. Yeah, pause for um pause for intake of breath. But and yeah, no, I'm sticking with that. Again, are these cars slightly bigger? I don't know. So like take the Megane E-Tech, take the Astra, which to be honest with you, the Opel Astra is a bit of an underdog here.
00:50:41
Speaker
It's not particularly expensive. You can get it in a tourer if you want the estate. Yeah. Some of the versions are barely 30 grand. They are as sexy as your granny, it has to be said.
00:50:54
Speaker
you know, and that's, that's an Opal problem. Or maybe it's just beyond help. Maybe I'm beyond help. Yeah. I don't know. The Astor is not a bad looking car. No.
00:51:07
Speaker
i so I had one last year, white with kind of black alloys with bits of orange on it somewhere. It looked good. i had I ended up on the holidays and with one as a rental car, actually, and I loved it.
00:51:19
Speaker
I have, I have, um you can tell a lot about what car is practical from what people like us book on our holiday cars. So last year i booked a Peugeot Rifter because I could fit everything in the back.
00:51:34
Speaker
That was my rental car. And this year... You never get what you order though, do you? I did this time, yeah. And then this year I've i've actually ordered Astro Tourer for Gran Canaria in July.
00:51:46
Speaker
I'm hoping I get it because it'll take all the suitcases. That or it's yeah or the alternative. You'll end up with a jogger or something. Oh, was it a Logan? Pretty sure had a Logan before.
00:51:58
Speaker
I was like, what the hell is this? This is awful. Now, it was good enough for every taxi driver in Lanzarote or wherever it was, but my God, it was a, that was a rough car.
00:52:10
Speaker
If you, if we're looking at the bigger segment though, the D segment, and we're looking at cars like Skoda Octavia. Are we, are we, are we in the, is that, we would talk about a D segment or a C segment? Well, if the superb is D segment, then an Octavia has to be.
00:52:26
Speaker
Yeah, it has to be a C segment. Yeah, it has to be C segment. But this is a car which has been absolutely knocking out of the park for the last couple of years in sales wise. My neighbor is on, I think his fourth one and I was only in it last week and it's the first time he's ever had heated steering wheel and heated seats.
00:52:41
Speaker
he's gone from the 1.0 litre engine to the 1.5 because I don't think they're doing the 1.0 litre anymore on the Octavia um and they're only subtle enough upgrades for the 25 model year but he's loving it um so they actually come pretty well specced and again it's one of those cars that you look at the Skoda website and you go is that really the price of it because you know ah as we've been talking about at length ah car prices have gone up but you can still get a Skoda Octavia for 31,000 euro i was in europe I think that's bit of bargain. It's a huge car for that. Huge car. Massive of space.
00:53:16
Speaker
Really well built. You know, so reliable. 600 later built. Yeah. yeah just and you know It's if to one of those cars that nearly the answer to every problem is Skoda Octavia. Combi.
00:53:32
Speaker
Oh, absolutely. Yeah. We have to add the caveat in of a Combi. I drove down today from Dublin in the RS model ah petrel And I was getting 4.7 litres per 100km All the way down So even the fast one Is fuel efficient And beautiful beautiful thing Another neighbour mine has 2024 black RS He proudly told me It's one of the last diesel ones And I said that car is going to be worth money in years to come And he said I only said that to the missus If you want to annoy Ray Leddy Friend of the show Guest number one Is call it the VRS Oh, if you want to see Ray get exercised.
00:54:09
Speaker
I was on a trip for the ORS last year and Ray specifically put in the WhatsApp group. It's not called the ORS. And he sent on a reason why. And actually the reason why it is only called the VRS in the UK was because Ford said, ah, ah.
00:54:25
Speaker
ah And I don't know why it was only in England, but they cared. Because, um yeah, Ford and I know you forwardd i suppose Ford to Europe are more focused on the UK, aren't they? but So that's the reason people in the UK call it the vor VR. VRS, mate.
00:54:39
Speaker
No, RS. But even even when I was driving down, the the if if you remember from the petrol one, you were in it a couple of weeks ago that the V on the steering wheel is in red and the RS is in almost you know blacked out so when you look down at the steering wheel all you see is a massive V on the and the bottom of the steering wheel so it's easy to get confused it's a great all rounder I mean look we have to mention there are other cars are available so you got the Citroen C4 is just being facelifted the MG4 is in there but even that feels weird comparing an MG4 to an Octavia they're just not comparable in so many ways no
00:55:14
Speaker
I just like I think we're in agreement here if you need a sort of medium sized family car and unless you're absolutely needed to be an EV although we have started to see the first sketches of of the Octavia EV you're going to need to just buy a Skoda Octavia right?
00:55:31
Speaker
And you get an umbrella in the door what's not to like? Yeah what is not to like? And a nice scraper in the fuel cap and So anyway, look, sales are kind of tracking what we're saying. So best selling in this segment in Ireland currently this year, Octavia, Corolla, Golf, EV3, Focus.
00:55:48
Speaker
Now moving on to the D segment. Okay, really popular electric, Model 3, Tesla. Yeah, it's technological tour de force, really, you know, the handling is good the interior is better now than it was um still a lot going on with the screen you know won't be for everyone but um it's no doubt that they do what they do really well that the the charging is excellent the the software works well um it's a better car to drive than the previous one hopefully the same can be said of the y when that comes but um
00:56:25
Speaker
The owner aside, there's a lot to be said for the ownership of a Model 3 or a Tesla because it's just really simple... Ownership and I think for for a lots of people who weren't car people that's why they navigated towards that brand like looking at the website now and they always kind of fudge their numbers a little bit you know do you want to know the price the car before savings or after savings and it's nonsense like it's it's basically it imagined you were paying for petrol it takes it off the price from what from what I can see.
00:56:57
Speaker
on the website a model 3 rear wheel drive no extras just as it comes 39 990 so 40 grand but again yeah 0% at the moment as well I think it looks like it is yeah yeah now it does irk me that they pay they charge uh how much is that lovely red paint 1500 or something or more and i love the fact you go on the website and it goes right you owe 250 euro non-refundable deposit and you ordered a car with your card done you could order a model 3 in about 40 seconds it's just oh yeah it's three clicks or something and you're in you're into one um so yeah it is but you know our sales are being hit across europe we've talked about that already in the news but you know for an ownership experience if you want a car that
00:57:41
Speaker
is has really predictable range is really fast the tech is great then you know a Model 3 is in EV terms a really simple thing to own your owny man now next in this segment for sales is Superb which is ah more expensive car it has had some money taken off the price in the last few weeks so if you were looking at a Superb a while ago and you thought oh go back and have a look because you might be surprised and followed by Audi which is the new model again is obviously doing well BYD seal and last in the top five in this segment in Ireland is ID7.
00:58:17
Speaker
ID7 has sold nearly four times as many as ID5 this year in Ireland. Yeah, but I'm not sure that's good news for either model, though, is it? um I just don't know if they needed the ID.5. It's one of those cars that it' asked a question answered a question that no one asked. Yeah, it's an ID.4 with a spoiler.
00:58:35
Speaker
Yeah, and then we've seen the Ford Capri as a result and you know other... Oh, so that's the ID.5's fault. It's not the necessary cars. that's yeah Let's play the ID.5. I would have thought we'd have seen more ID.7 sales. You know, the Passat was a big seller. There's no Passat anymore. That's the spiritual successor and the the numbers aren't remotely the same. But I know that that segment has been chopped up by SUVs. Maybe the Superb is getting a bit of love because of no Passat.
00:59:05
Speaker
and And also Skoda have the segment for diesel pretty much wrapped up because there's so few other brands doing diesel now that I think it's one in four, one in three diesels full stop are Skodas. And I know it was one in four last year. i don't know if it's the same this year.
00:59:21
Speaker
Now, it's a very hard segment to call because they're all equally different and and have merits in some ways. Like the Audi I really liked it. Again, the press car I drove was €90,000. I think it starts from 60-odd.
00:59:34
Speaker
You can't realistically sit here, I don't either of us can, and say the Model 3 is a far inferior car to the a five in terms of you know driving it every day. Is it going to do anything amazingly that the Model 3 can't?
00:59:50
Speaker
And it is. well, it's it's at least 20 grand cheaper. It's hard to ignore that. it's it's an It's an executive car with supercar performance for 40 grand.
01:00:01
Speaker
The BYD seal then, again, consumer value, you probably have to slot in second. It's not it's not second in terms of sales in Ireland. It's fourth. um And the ID7 is coming fifth there. As much as I love that car, I think everyone, including the people of VW, wish it was maybe a 50 grand car. If it was cheaper, I think they'd certainly to be selling more. and But there is, you know, it's one of those cars that people want SUVs now. And, you know, the estate model was, you know, in Ireland was never going to do huge numbers. We don't we don't love estates here.
01:00:33
Speaker
I don't know why, but um but yeah, it's I think the numbers domestically have been disappointing, even though they've done well and across Europe. So if you don't want the Elon factor, the next best thing is the BYD seal, I think. It's not a curve driven, but looks wise and what you get for the money, it's hard to ignore that. And I've certainly recommended it to people and and I know some people who bought them and they love them.
01:00:57
Speaker
it's It's a stunning-looking car, and and it's hard to to look past it, I think, in that segment. You'd have to technically allow the 3 Series in there. Okay. It's more of a mid-sized executive, really, isn't it?
01:01:08
Speaker
Yeah, I would say so, and certainly in terms of price it is. And, you know, those cars have got bigger over the years. The 3 Series used to be a totally different thing, and now it's it's a much bigger car, same with its key main rivals. But, yeah, I guess you'd have to throw it in there. Well, no, if you...
01:01:25
Speaker
Go and buy what you're saying there. Maybe maybe it's not. i don't know I actually don't know where it exists, really, in terms of segments anymore. that i was going to say, look if you're if someone is shopping for a Model 3 or an 80A5, I would have said is going to be shopping for a 3 Series either.
01:01:38
Speaker
I'm going to say, leaving all the Elon stuff aside, I think I'd still buy a Model 3. Right. Okay. I think I'd go seal personally, but, um but, but look, either of those two cars, you're going to have a good looking car ah with them. Ton of, ton of kit, good range.
01:01:55
Speaker
And, a you know, you'll be a probably pretty happy guy. PCP or higher purchase and rear wheel drive on a higher purchase is 604 quid a month.
01:02:10
Speaker
ah Now you do have to put 10 grand down. If you don't want to do 10 grand, you can do six and it's 617 a month on PCP. um But then take off the money you'll be spending on petrol as well.
01:02:22
Speaker
Man maths. There you go. Perfect. but And it's not like you can walk into the dealership and say, oh, can you take off the money I... going to save on petrol. I'll give you that later. But I get, you might want to support, you might want to be seen. It's the message it sends out. I get all that and that comes back to our argument of any other company, he'd be on a nice extended holiday in Barbados.
01:02:42
Speaker
Yeah, for sure. and But that's not not likely to happen anytime soon, unfortunately. Right. What have we got next? Okay, the medium SUV. Tucson has been literally killing it. This is a big one. Killing it.
01:02:52
Speaker
It's been number one for four, i want to say four if not five years. Now, the Tucson is not a new phenomenon in Hyundai. It's been out many, many times. A bit like the Kia Sportage.
01:03:03
Speaker
and But they were God awful looking things. They were horrible. Horrible on the inside. Horrible on the outside. The last model, if people remember it, it's kind of a boxier version. you You'll probably still see some of these as Garda cars, maybe.
01:03:19
Speaker
um that was That was an improvement, but it's only the kind of current gen. I know it's had a bit of a facelift as of last year. But the current gen Tucson was the one that ever went, oh, God, that is gorgeous.
01:03:29
Speaker
It has that angel wing grill on the front of it. ah Yeah, it has. and And, you know, people are coming back year after year. And this is, you know, runaway leader every year as as number one. Now, I think it's a pretty smart model they do insofar as.
01:03:46
Speaker
Hyundai order loads of them. They're all in four courts in November, December. And then people go in and they go, do you want a black one or a silver one? And out you go. so i think there's a dark petrol blue as well.
01:04:00
Speaker
Yeah, there is. But it's, a you know, it's it's it's ah it's definitely been a huge success. It's funny though. and And it was something I was thinking about yesterday. i was in i was in a center car park and like that, I was looking at a previous generation Kia Sportage. It was a 212,
01:04:17
Speaker
And it looked ancient. Yeah. And it's something that, that about the Korean ones. And, you know, if you're, I think if you are driving a previous generation of some Hyundai or Kia in particular, you must feel really annoyed because the new one is radically different by and large than the one that you own.
01:04:39
Speaker
And a car that's only a few years old can look can end up looking ancient. Whereas, you know, brands like Volkswagen or Skoda, say, for example, they mightn't change their cart their car so radically in terms of design. There's always a theme that keeps going and keeps going. You know, a Mark V Golf is not too far from a Mark VII Golf.
01:04:58
Speaker
But with those brands, you know... the 212 one looked ancient. It looked a hundred years old compared to a newer one. And I only 2013, 5,008 two days ago.
01:05:10
Speaker
And the exact same. It's like, it bears no resemblance to the car it is today. Um, look, maybe the designers just needed to do more with those cars. um And maybe they'll slow down now because where do you, like, if you're a designer of the Tucson, where do you go next? Surely you'd want to just kind of keep that look of car going because it's been so successful.
01:05:33
Speaker
But it's the same, like, think of the Hyundai Santa Fe. yeah Think of the how different the current one it looks from the previous one. I mean, they're not even comparable. And it's the same car underneath.
01:05:45
Speaker
Look, i don't see I don't see anything knocking the Tucson off its perch anytime soon. No, I mean, RAV4 is there, as Sportage is there, Kodiak and Tiguan, all doing decent numbers. it's There's nearly 17,000 cars in that segment this year so far. It's probably the biggest segment we've discussed so far and and will be.
01:06:02
Speaker
What I thought was interesting was the Qashqai owned that space for years. And this year, the Qashqai has 881 units. The Tucson has sold 2,500.
01:06:13
Speaker
Now, it is worth pointing out the Tucson registration figures there will also include a large Garda fleet. and I don't know how many of that 2,500, but they will be in there.
01:06:24
Speaker
Yeah, but the same could be said for Skoda with Kodiaks as well. There's a big Garda numbers. waiting that. What would you have in the segment? I do like a Kodiak. I've owned a Kodiak. I've had a Kodiak before. and i do I was really impressed with the new Tiguan.
01:06:41
Speaker
You know, there's not much between them, but probably now I'd probably have a Tiguan. So not too far away from where you have. I also, honorable mention to the RAV4 PHEV, That car was doing close to 100km on ah on a hybrid battery long before quite a lot of others were.
01:06:56
Speaker
and And it's fast and handles well. and Not cheap though. Not cheap, but you'll be really good car you'll get your money back for that car. I mean, that that is a car that, you know, you you get cars that come into dealerships and before they're even cleaned and washed, they're gone again. And that is one of those cars. Yeah, yeah.
01:07:13
Speaker
All day long. yeah ah so So, look, neither of us have chosen the Tucson, but no one will care because they're just going to keep buying them until the next one comes out. i do like I've seen a few Tucsons in N-line in black, and it does look good. And and it's just, that you know, I suppose it's recency bias in some cases that we say, okay, it's number one and there's loads of them and look at the new shiny thing.
01:07:34
Speaker
But when people are going out to spend their own money, they keep going back and buying Tucsons. Massive drop in the next segment. Only 1,500 units sold. The E segment, which now includes something like the 5 Series, the Audi A6, Mercedes E-Class, and the Kia EV6.
01:07:49
Speaker
Is that more because of a price it's in that segment? or like it's it's It's hard to compare an EV6 with an A6. No, and you could say, well, why is the Kia EV6 not next to a Tesla Model 3 or BYD seal? I have a friend of mine who's on a second EV6 and he would have been shopping for those cars with those cars in mind. Yeah, absolutely. yeah you know so and So yeah, it's it's strange that the EV6 is in there, but the EV6 is a great success story. And I've said these two before, I have a theory...
01:08:22
Speaker
and that I haven't proven yet that the EV6 is the EV that holds its value the best of any EV. I'm pretty sure that's true from countless hours trawling Dundeele, but I think they hold their value incredibly well.
01:08:38
Speaker
So if you're if you're worried about residual values in and and in an EV, go buy a key EV6. No offence, Dundeal, but have you not got Netflix or anything that you could, you know, be doing in the evening?
01:08:49
Speaker
Yeah, well, I mean, everyone has their hobbies, but the classic car vintage car section on Dundeal.ie is the one that I spend the most on. I will say this E segment is now dominated by electric.
01:09:03
Speaker
So, yes, some of it is plug and hybrid. I was behind 530E only yesterday. But 35% in this segment is electric. Yeah, because it's taken the price down because the VRT is, you know, the lowest rate of VRT of cheap tax.
01:09:20
Speaker
and And, you know, you're looking at cars that would have been probably 80, 90 grand are now starting to appear with the six are so in front of it. Yeah, well, that's the the five series was was a queer one, as you'd say in Ireland. Like, even the 520i was, put an M Sport pack in it, was about 70 grand.
01:09:40
Speaker
people are People are still, I think, hurt by the fact that you can't get a 520D in the UK or Ireland. Yeah, that was that was the default setting. Yeah, that was it. That's all the car you ever needed for a while, it wasn't it really was. It really was. And I think you used to get, and maybe not an M Sport, maybe an SE for low 50s, manual six-speed box.
01:10:00
Speaker
Get your M Sport wheels on it, carbon black, look class. What would you have in this segment? I think the 5 Series. I'm going left field again. course, sir.
01:10:10
Speaker
course, sir. Lexus ES. Lexus ES. Yes. yes Sorry. Sorry. I literally only talked someone into buying one of these a few months ago. My old boss. That's what I love. Oh.
01:10:21
Speaker
Yeah. it's It's a traditional luxury so sedan and it feels like, it feels like a, almost like a resto mod because it's a car that we would have had ah few years ago. Yeah.
01:10:32
Speaker
you know against a 5 Series or an E-Class but it's you know right up to date and it's good value as well relatively good value honest I mean a few years ago it won't be as cheap now but there was a time when I think Lexus sent out a a kind of release about this and compared to the A6 and the 5 Series and possibly the E-Class as well their car was 51 grand and compared to those which were quite a bit more um and yeah literally talked to them and you know what it wasn't really on their radar and I said what about the Lexus and they were like Yeah, i like Lexus. And I said, well, why don't you try that? And this person went from a, they had a year gap, but they went from an A8 PHEV to that Lexus and are happy out. Now, the CVT gearbox in it,
01:11:14
Speaker
A little bit of an off-putting thing. Yeah, but it's one of those cars you just stick in D and just go. Cruise around. You're not in a hurry. Listen to Lyric, Marty in the morning. Away you go.
01:11:26
Speaker
Marty, by the way, for anyone who's not, Marty Whelan is a big car head. He definitely has, he's an old MG.
01:11:36
Speaker
uh oh what is it yellow i think um i don't i don't know what like it's not his daily car but he's he definitely likes cars i remember oh do you remember drive magazine yes our friend of the show neil briscoe used to be the editor of um i think marty wheelan was in it about eight times with his you know star in the car
01:11:56
Speaker
He's good value guest. Himself and Ronnie Drew, pretty much. They were the ones with it who used to have the luxury cars in the 80s and Right, we won't have to disagree to agree on that one that
Large SUVs: Safety and Luxury
01:12:07
Speaker
segment anyway. So, 5 Series and Lexus.
01:12:09
Speaker
ah Large SUV, right? So, this is where SUVs should actually have that title. and A weird mix, up to almost 3,000 units sold so far this year. 5,008 falls into the same category as an X5. Is that a bit strange? Yeah.
01:12:23
Speaker
Okay, that is very strange. and So certainly not not the same price anyway. in ah In order of sales, 5,008 X5, Sorento from Kia, Santa Fe, which is essentially the same car, and the Volvo XC90, which I'm just going to come out straight now and say, Paddy, I'd buy the Volvo.
01:12:43
Speaker
And I would agree. It is about 90 grand. But I'd still buy it. yeah just Yeah, I would agree. i've ah with The XC90, it's one of those cars with a perfect image.
01:12:55
Speaker
I think, you know, large SUVs don't have a great image, but I think you can get away with spending... you know, 90, 100 grand and one of these not really pissing too many people off?
01:13:07
Speaker
No. And they're safe and everybody will be safe and that there is a statistic that I need to go and refresh my memory with but pretty much and it goes I know the one you're going to say Nobody has been killed. one...
01:13:22
Speaker
ah passenger in an XC90. Yeah, no, it's on their ad. And have it with people saying, where'd you get that? They're hardly making it up. Like, it's Volvo.
01:13:34
Speaker
But I mean, ah over the course over the years I've been to... to Volvo's crash center in Sweden, and I'm sure you've you've heard heard the stat as well, is that in in Sweden, when there's a Volvo involved in a crash, they take the car to back to Volvo to analyze it and, you know, look at the real world data on the on the crash.
01:13:55
Speaker
um And, you know, they really study to the nth degree what's happened in that car. And if, you know, if you're if you had the means, it's an expensive car, but if you had the means, what else would you want to put your family in in a car like that? I know someone has bought used one, I think three years old recently, and they absolutely love it. And it still was strong money. And this was his, he was, again, kind of what we're talking about here. he He came to me and said, think of this versus that? Because the price of this is, you know, 60 odd grand and it's a few years old. And I said, yeah, so just buy it.
01:14:25
Speaker
Just, it'll be fine. yeah Yeah. And you have to feel, and I'm basing this on no evidence at all. You feel like the person who buys the XC90 in the first place is probably going to service it well and mind it and take care of it.
01:14:36
Speaker
Yeah, there might be a few mashed bananas in the back seats, but generally you feel like they've and serviced it well. Mashed bananas and chocolate biscuits. um Yeah, look, an X5 is obviously an honorary mention to that iconic SUV at this stage.
01:14:51
Speaker
I know someone who has a Mark 1 X5 with, I think, 50,000 miles on a black. um It's a 2001. don't think he's ever going to part it. But yeah, they they they were revolutionary when they came out People were like, whoa, what is this? It's like This is American thing. An SUV that goes around corners. Well, it's not the same category. It's
Luxury Market Insights: Porsche and EQS
01:15:10
Speaker
a €200,000 car, but just looking at it, because I saw one today, BMW XM, a car that was announced over the weekend, has sold even less than the Z4 that was no Z3. Yeah, we saw the same thing. They're getting rid of it as well, I think. But they've sold 200 Ireland this year. Because there isn't there a 50 as well than the M version? Yeah. Yeah.
01:15:33
Speaker
So look, and look the Santa Fe is impressive. it's it's It kind of looks mad at the back. and like It has an ultraviolet cleaner for your stuff in the glove box. You know, there's lots of clever touches in it. um I just, I think I'd rather not have my ultraviolet cleaner than have my Volvo.
01:15:49
Speaker
Thanks. Perfect. We're coming towards, i suppose, the pointy end of the pyramid now at this stage. So luxury segments. In terms of numbers. 102 cars so far in the entire country for the luxury segment.
01:16:00
Speaker
Now, luxury by this definition is stuff like Panamera, S-Class, Taycan, 7 Series, Mercedes EQS. 81... These must be EVs, are they? Well, 81% of this segment is either PHEV or BEV. 81%. I wonder how many of those people plug in well the PHEV. I do know a few people have Panameras and they've never plugged them in. then I but do know some people that did have them and and and did um because it was the only way to make the car work in terms of affordability for...
01:16:29
Speaker
for running it ah I mean even the S-Class can be plugged in now it's a hybrid but out of all them look I'm going to be Porsche snob here the lucky position I'm in that I have a petrol Porsche I couldn't justify buying a Taycan and I think in that segment I'd either think I'd go 7 Series if we're talking i7 anyway If you want, yeah, if you want it to be luxury and if you want it to be, you know, opulence, you know, because Panamera or the likes, okay, sporty and luxurious, but, you know, are we talking something that you'd like to sit in the back end now and and and again and and and waft?
01:17:10
Speaker
Then, yeah, you've got to be looking the 7 Series or something like that. something or or yeah Or the EQS. EQS is a car it za car I have a fondness for because myself and Blake Boland, a friend of the show, were the first people to drive the length of Ireland on one charge in that car.
01:17:27
Speaker
I remember that, yeah. Even today FM wanted to talk to you. Yeah, they did. But ah that was um that was an that's an impressive car. Yeah, that's a car that Enya could be transported around in. Yeah.
01:17:38
Speaker
could be transported around and um equally any could probably be transported in an S-Class or a 7 Series but I don't think any would go around in a Taycan or a Panamera. Definitely not. I think that's judgment firm for that category. Yeah, so so you're going 7 Series?
01:17:53
Speaker
Yeah, I7. Yeah, I mean I've been in them in the continent where it has the screen in the back and the seats are so comfortable and it has this huge pillow for the back of your head and the seats rise up and you can literally lie flat in that car and yeah as you said it's meant for sitting in the back of and my brother's getting married in May and BMW Ireland are very kindly giving me one for the week to do wedding duty stuff in and it'll be perfect for that well I'm going to go EQS for nostalgic reasons and for the fact that it's just an amazing piece of kit so yeah that's what I'd have did you share the driving with Blake with that or did he do more were you the one being wafted
01:18:30
Speaker
Blake did more of it. And there was a reason for that, because when we we we started off in Cork, and so we did Mizzen to Mallon, and Blake did the first leg of the journey, and then I got in, and we quickly realized that when I drove, we weren't going to make it So, because and and not that I'm particularly leaden footed, but Blake is like some sort of EV ninja.
01:18:56
Speaker
and So he was able to draw extraordinary if bits of economy out of that car. see like if we If I had driven more, we would have failed. I remember meeting these guys from the UK who were doing a challenge for, um for tires, for ah for Bridgestone.
01:19:14
Speaker
And there was these guys that drove to John O'Groats at three in the morning at like 20 miles an hour to extract every single kilometre out of an EV. is Is Blake one of those kind of guys? Yeah, he is. And it's just, it's a gift, and you know, but he we were, we made that drive. We made that with about 20, sorry, I think it was 17 kilometers left. can't remember the videos on AA Ireland's YouTube channel, but um we just about made it. and and And to be fair, Blake did the huge bulk of the second part of the journey. So, and so yeah, we would have failed if it was me driving.
BMW M5 in Ireland: Sales and Speculations
01:19:48
Speaker
Good. And now he's driving buses. So whatever you did to
01:19:51
Speaker
Yeah. And finally, finally, just on the performance stuff. So let's let's give an honorable mention to a a case of if you build it, they will come. I don't have the previous figures for the M5 sales in Ireland, but you know what I'm i'm going to do with me for next week's podcast. I'm going to go back for the all model beyond and see how many we sold year on year.
01:20:11
Speaker
So far this year, the road tax €170, the plug-in hybrid, the MW M5 has sold 60 cars so far, and we're not even at the end of March yet.
01:20:25
Speaker
How much is the M5? ah so the M5 is less than the M4 there has been zero M4s registered this year so the M5 you could argue has killed the M4 the price of it is it's hundred and it's about 150 grand no no less less way less Now, obviously you you put on that. It's because of the VRT.
01:20:47
Speaker
No, well, yeah, because of the VRT. that pack that the press car had was was a about 20,000 euros, but that had carbon or was it ceramic discs? had, you know, lots of other bits.
01:20:59
Speaker
No, the, let me just search here while we are live and dangerous. Your website is very, very busy. very busy Very busy indeed. People buying M5s by the look of things clearly.
01:21:16
Speaker
Where the hell is it? Okay. M5 Saloon. Oh, there's the touring. The touring is not, it's only two grand extra for the touring. Why would you not buy the touring?
01:21:26
Speaker
yeah You'd have to. You'd have to. 137,000 euro. But it's 60 grand cheaper than the last M5. So it's 8,220,000 euro worth of BMW M5s on Irish roads already.
01:21:40
Speaker
Jesus, when you put it like that. And I'd love know what the most popular colour is. I can probably find that out as well. Probably that blue, part of my blue or whatever they're these days. um I liked it. Yes, it's heavy.
01:21:51
Speaker
ah They've put so much power into it just to compensate for it and make sure no one gives out about it really, you know, relatively speaking. um I mean, look, you're going to put that performance pack on or whatever it's called if you have the means.
01:22:02
Speaker
But also, I'm sure it's still a fine car out of the box. Yeah, it looks like looks stunning. haven't driven it, but it I'd imagine the weight doesn't really... like d It's not like you're putting it on the scales. Does it feel heavy? Does it not do what you want it to do? The only time I could really say that it felt heavy was when it would slide.
01:22:22
Speaker
Now, it didn't have Michelin Pilot Sport tyres on the press car for some reason. It had, think, Hancock tyres. There were a couple of roads. I wasn't going particularly fast, but they were a little bit wet, and yeah, would it would slide fast.
01:22:34
Speaker
relatively easily um ah but I think like I didn't drive it hard enough it you're quite conscious of really any press car but certainly a car like that you don't want to be the one who has to make the phone call to say I'm after putting the back of this car into a wall or whatever. So I really wasn't driving it to that level, but I would imagine like any M5, it can get you into trouble if you act them up with it.
01:23:00
Speaker
Very few of the 60 units that are driving out there will ever be driven in furious anger because... you really wouldn't want to. It's a lot of power. It's a lot of power. um You want to make bloody sure there's there's good tyres on it and yeah, just to be mindful of it.
Closing Remarks and Listener Interaction
01:23:16
Speaker
I have driven an M5 on a track and that was a totally different experience.
01:23:19
Speaker
um But also felt like one of the safest cars I've ever driven because of how quickly it could stop. I do have a fondness though for the 5 litre Oh yeah. That was a, yeah, that was, that was an M5. I'm sure there's a few of them in vintage section of Dundale now if you go off and have a little look later on.
01:23:35
Speaker
Yeah, Chris Harris has one. I've watched a couple of his YouTube videos and I've also seen some of the repair builds that he's, uh, paid out so he's a man of means thankfully for him but um i wouldn't I wouldn't want to be scraping money from the back of the couch to buy V10 M5 think what you wouldn't be driving it too long no no try replacing that never mind how much does your EV cost to replace the battery how much does that engine and that M5 cost a lot if you have to ask you can't afford it
01:24:08
Speaker
Right. Well, look, I hope we have helped in some way. I know we've gone through an awful long list of cars there, whatever was relevant to you. Maybe people skip forward, jump back, whatever. If you do have any questions, you can always write to us, driverspublicpodcast at gmail.com.
01:24:23
Speaker
and And we might do it. We might round up a few questions and do a sort of Q&A at some stage where you ah we we we go through your your choices and we give our we give your opinion. How about that? I think we're going to also have to find ah price limit on Dundeele and find the best used car to buy for whatever, under 20 grand or maybe engine size is irrelevant. yeah And I just want people to stop putting cars in Dundeele for a pound or a euro, please.
01:24:50
Speaker
Just please. Why do people do that? What's wrong them? It's so they appear at the lower end of the search. Just pay for the extra ad that bumps you up the top, will you? Cheapskate.
01:25:01
Speaker
there should be some There should be a rule that if you put it in as as a euro, the fine is that you have to sell it for a euro to whoever pays. On that note, go spend a penny um because this has been a particularly long episode of Drivers Public Podcast. But we do really appreciate you listening.
01:25:17
Speaker
Thank you very much for doing it. See you next week, buddy. Take care. Bye for now.