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Volvo's EX90 tested & Paddy's LONG 300km EV journey!
445 Plays1 month ago
In DRP this week, Mark has been driving the new Volvo EX90, what did he think of it?
Paddy can't help his commute from Dublin to Cork but he attempts it in a Citroen eC3 - how many times did he have to stop to charge?!
Can you make enough money being a YouTube car reviewer in Ireland and should you get started at it? Paddy picks Mark's brain on this one.
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Transcript
Introduction and Sponsor Transition
00:00:00
Speaker
Welcome to the Drivers Republic podcast brought to you in association with Dundeele Cars, Ireland's favourite car buying website. With the widest selection of cars from certified trusted dealerships, most Irish drivers find their next car on Dundeele Cars.
00:00:13
Speaker
Mark, hello. Paddy, hello. How are you? Here we are in glorious video. Yes, I'm not sure if this is a good idea or a bad idea. we might delete later. Well, you see how um disheveled and wrecked we look at 7pm of a Tuesday.
00:00:28
Speaker
dare you Well, I speak for myself, Mark. You look beautiful, as ever. No, i'm i'm it's good job you can't smell me because I was in the gym a little while ago, so it's for the best. ah Yes, no, we have decided to video this episode. All things going well, you'll be able to watch us also.
00:00:45
Speaker
So, yeah, we've um we've had made the change from Dundee Motors to Dundee Cars. What's the difference? Well, it is more reflective of what Dundee does, really. and and And obviously, I've joined Dundee. I think people know that at this stage, do they? So they're not just a sponsor, they're an employer now.
00:01:02
Speaker
Yes, yes. Good employer. Good employer. Yeah, absolutely. Now, you're not getting rid of the vintage section. Please tell me. No, I'm going to make the vintage section nicer because um that's one of the sections that I love and lots of my friends, including you, do like. And I think it needs to be a little bit more of a comforting sitting room where you can, you know, pull up a chair, kick off the slippers just and just indulge in cars that you don't need.
00:01:29
Speaker
It's a, yeah, no, it's a nice, it's a nice thing to do of an evening and I have done it. Um, so yeah, we're not traveling. Well, I am traveling in the morning, but not traveling as much as last week's episode, I suppose, which is, which is a nice start.
00:01:42
Speaker
Yeah. Last week was pretty hectic, but, um, but yeah, we got through it. You got through it. You got a lot of video content done and, uh, and we managed to make a podcast in the middle of a very noisy airport.
00:01:54
Speaker
but yeah which worked quite well. It was really well. Having substand slightly substandard currywurst. I wouldn't like that to be your your best opinion of ah of of Munich. there There is a better place in in the other terminal.
00:02:07
Speaker
Yeah, that's no. not that thats I have had the nicest currywurst, obviously, in the Volkswagen factory canteen, which is where they produce currywurst. Have they still got the VW logo goes through the sausage? Yeah.
00:02:20
Speaker
I don't remember that, but i don't think I've examined it enough. But them but yeah, they they they did produce an awful lot of currywurst. So what a delicacy. It's great what Germany has given the world.
00:02:33
Speaker
I bet you they never had to stop or slow production for the Curryverse in the Volkswagen factory. Because of a cyber attack or lack of e demand. Lack of demand, yeah.
Cyber Attack on Jaguar Land Rover
00:02:43
Speaker
um So there's quite there's quite a few bizarre stories knocking around this week. So Jaguar have lost 40,000 cars.
00:02:51
Speaker
Yeah, a cyber attack has has hit JLR production. And you look, this doesn't come at a good time for the brand because obviously Jaguar itself, they're not producing cars.
00:03:03
Speaker
They are, you know, sort of on a hiatus currently because they just are rebranding. So Jaguar is going to become an electric brand. So they stopped production of their petrol models and they're looking at a whole new scheme of EVs coming down the line but the cyber attack has knocked out a whole load of systems in their other plants and the result is that they are hemorrhaging money an alarming rate. They say that you know this will be back soon but some commentators are saying that could be months before um before this is back on the line and that is worrying.
00:03:36
Speaker
This seems to only affect the F-Pace because that's the only car they're currently producing. Yeah, but it's, you know, i when they said JLR, I don't know, is this JLR as in Jaguar Land Rover? So there could be hell of a lot more cars. Have you only seen F-Type mentioned?
00:03:55
Speaker
Well, yes, but I mean, while don't think lost a load of Range Rovers or anything, I mean, 40,000 a lot of cars. Now, when they say lost, like they could be in dealerships. They just don't have a digital record right now because the files or whatever ever have gone.
00:04:11
Speaker
and But then the knock on effect could affect Land Rover, not in the physical car sense, but in the just the cyber end of things as well, which is not good. Yeah. PBC are reporting that it's costing the company at least 50 million a week in lost production.
00:04:26
Speaker
And they said JLR would normally expect to build more than 1000 cars per day. So that is a, that is an alarming number to be, yeah to be down at. but Yeah. 1000 cars per day. Wow.
00:04:37
Speaker
Yeah. it's a huge number. So, so yeah, I mean, they, they don't, they're not committing to when this will be back and online, but yeah, as you say, that number 40,000 could, could increase. Yeah. oh So that was one of the the newer stories this week. and i want to Sorry, and another one i saw this week, just ah ah by the by, is that I don't know if you spotted it, but Ford for are looking at how they might change production of in in the US, and and which might trickle across the rest of the world, which is ah in relation to their EVs. So traditionally, there their production of a normal car and you know goes along a line and everyone dips in and out and gets under the body and
00:05:17
Speaker
every all the timing has to be right. And then there's the marriage at the end of the chassis and the engine and everything else. so But Ford have come up with this new production method, which will involve splitting the car into three.
Ford's New EV Production Method
00:05:28
Speaker
and so So the car will be in three parts and will end up in the middle. And it ah it allows duplication and allows people to be working on on, several people to be working on different parts of the car once. And apparently it's going to increase production speed.
00:05:43
Speaker
Are they legitimately selling cut and chutz? Yeah, pretty much. Yeah. Well, I think the, the, the, ah the onset of EVs allows that. So, so yeah, it's an interesting story. here that So they spotted in the States, the U S Ford U S media side is an interesting one to have a look at. And and that has ah said that. So yeah, interesting times ahead from Ford split into three. Ooh.
00:06:05
Speaker
So I'm driving two very different cars over the last week. And last week there was lots of, ooh, what's that? God, ooh. And then today, um someone I know actually took picture of me arriving in the car I'm driving this week.
00:06:17
Speaker
couple of reasons. One, maybe the size of it compared to last week's car, but also the color. It's lime green because it's a BYD Dolphin Surf. This
BYD Dolphin Surf Discussion
00:06:26
Speaker
is a car that was launched officially and while we were both, I think, in...
00:06:30
Speaker
yeah Munich at the IAA and you obviously jumped into it early. It's a small EV, another of the sort of in and around 18, 19,000 euro. thousand you Starting from, yeah.
00:06:42
Speaker
Rising to mid-20s if you want the bigger battery. um it's a mark it's a mar It's a more substantial car than the Insta and the Spring. Is it? Yeah, I mean, the pictures don't dictate that. Do you think, though, that there was some mischief going on with the pricing when they saw Leap Motor drop their pricing? It was unusual that the the car was just that little bit under it.
00:07:07
Speaker
yeah I don't know, it's your background from an OEM. Do you think they can, can they pivot that quickly with prices? Yeah. I think they can pivot it that quickly in an entry price because no one buys the entry model. Really, the entry model is sort of the bronze.
00:07:22
Speaker
ah You know, most most people, if you you know if you go to a restaurant, um you know, people buy them the middle bottle of wine. They don't buy the cheapest one. They don't buy the dearest one. I buy the glass.
00:07:32
Speaker
just Yeah, like there's, you know, comfort line, The old trend line, comfort line, high line, everyone bought the comfort line. So a lot of the efforts are put into making the middle one and more attractive. So the entry model, very few people, if any, buy, you know.
00:07:48
Speaker
So that's a 30 kilowatt hour battery. it's I think it's just shy of 18 grand. i still, I need to find out how much the MDL delivery charges is because on some bigger cars, it's 1500 euro. I'm not sure here.
00:07:59
Speaker
um I think with lead motor, for example, there's no Android auto. There is on the BYD. So that might be a deal breaker for some people. Yeah, and, you know, look, neither of us have driven the leap motor yet, the T03.
00:08:15
Speaker
But,
Citroen EC3 Review
00:08:16
Speaker
you know, we're looking at, ah you know, the arrival of some of some of these smaller EVs, and I'll be talking with the Citroen later on, but they um some of them feel lighter and...
00:08:26
Speaker
flimsier than others. yes You know, Dacia Spring feels like a very different thing to, you know, Hyundai Insta. The Citroën feels quite substantial. leap mayage The not. The BYD doesn't feel more in the substantial Yeah.
00:08:42
Speaker
it's it's but It's like a baby dolphin and a dolphin kind of was a small car. And there's there's a couple of Instars in my estate and I was walking the dog before this and I was just having another fresh look at the Instar. mean, the BYD is also less than four meters long, but only just.
00:08:55
Speaker
um And the Instar is just a ah squishier kind of car. And I really do like the Instar. But I think if if if you're someone who maybe is going to do a good bit of motorway driving, albeit in these smaller cars, you're probably less likely to have people sitting on your bumper in one of these.
00:09:12
Speaker
Although I did have a mate of mine who's in the ERU who messaged me tonight to say, was that you on the M50 at about half three today? That was us in the t Tuareg up your arse.
00:09:23
Speaker
And I said back, no, it wasn't me. I would have break-checked you. You are not... doing, you know, you're not going to be doing anything you're not supposed to be doing in that BYD because, wow, it is bright. Do you remember the name for the colors? It's lime green. So it's the only color they don't charge you for. I can only assume that's to give themselves some free marketing when you're driving around in yeah um and your car.
00:09:46
Speaker
But I have to say, I do like it. Now, like a lot of these EVs, it really struggles to get the power down even in the dry. So if you accelerate any way hard from a standstill, you're getting tire screech.
00:09:58
Speaker
Which is kind of embarrassing my age. What tires do they have on Do you know what? I actually haven't checked. I must see are they Ling Langs or something. I don't think they would be. Although the Leap motor cars I saw at IAA were Ling Lang tires. Yes. So because I spotted that when we were recording. On the spring, wasn't it? We were recording in Gowan.
00:10:20
Speaker
and the C10 had Dunlop Sportmax and the T03 had Linglangs or Linglongs or whatever it is. I don't know what they're called but they're... No, I think it is Linglangs.
00:10:31
Speaker
And they're just, they were on the Dutchess Spring as well. So I think they're an Indian manufactured tyre. They are not good. No, ah they are not good and... When you have a light car and lots of available torque all at once.
00:10:45
Speaker
and And if they're spinning their wheels on a dry road. Yes. Yes. Yikes. But, and boot is kind of ridiculous. It's barely 300 litres. and But the interior is good.
00:10:58
Speaker
the steer I love the steering in it. It has a lovely weight to it. It doesn't have full automatic climate control, but it does have like sliders on the screen. and you can So you set the fan speed, you set the temperature, but there's a lot of adjustability in it.
00:11:11
Speaker
There's heated seats. Yes, the driver monitoring is a melt because you can only put a shortcut to the speed beeps to the driver monitoring part. And like I even I ah look to scratch my nose and I open the window and both times, for example, please pay attention, please pay attention.
00:11:29
Speaker
and It's getting you know infuriating to the point of you know people are going to just shut everything off every time. Yeah. um you know this is it's It's crazy. It's crazy how the levels of... you know i'm Certainly the Citroen, which I picked up yesterday, has some similar them grumbles, but you know some some of those systems are there just they're counterproductive because people are just going to be switching everything off. It's too much.
00:11:57
Speaker
Too much. Yeah. um I mean, is now a good time to talk about your Citroen EC3 experience? Because they're kind of all similar cars. Yeah, I think we can. And look, you know, let me clear. I'm not shitting on on these these type of cars because, you know, i I have one. I have a Volkswagen E-Up, which is actually pretty decent at those longer runs. But I've noticed there's a, you know, because i do that run a lot. I pick up a car on Monday. I drive from Saniford to Cork, East Cork.
00:12:26
Speaker
and And it's, you know, it's got to 300 kilometers. not I wouldn't expect a small EV to do it. and And, you know, yesterday I picked up the EC3 and I thought, right, like I'm going to try and aim for Formoy.
00:12:38
Speaker
and i didn't leave on 100%. I wanted to leave on 100%, but I didn't get the car at 100%. Never mind. and Got it at 91, 92%.
00:12:49
Speaker
So it's 44 kilowatt hour battery. um i you know, I've done this a billion times. um It's not like I don't know how to drive an EV. And I was taught by the great Blake Boland, friend of the show, who who is is ah has a sort of, clear you know,
00:13:05
Speaker
he said Twinkle toes. He's Olympic EV driver. And swimmer. Yeah, he's a good swimmer. and So look, I set off um and I thought, right, but if I, you know, I had a predicted range of 276 kilometers. Now that doesn't mean anything. and Obviously whoever was in it before um was reasonably efficient.
00:13:25
Speaker
And I set off.
00:13:28
Speaker
16 degrees, um a hundred kilometers per hour did not pass. And, um, I, I had to give up my aim of getting to Fermoy, which was 225 kilometers. I stopped at Doro to charge up again. Cause I wasn't getting to Fermoy.
00:13:47
Speaker
So essentially, and Essentially, it was doing about 19 to 20 kilowatts per 100 kilometers. Now, how have you worked that out? Because it's not like the car helps you.
00:14:03
Speaker
No, it does not. This car in particular does not have any way of telling you the instant consumption. Now, you can figure it out based on the fact that, okay, I got it at, you know, I got it at 91%. The battery is 44 kilowatts.
00:14:18
Speaker
I traveled X kilometers, et cetera, et cetera. A little bit of mats on the back of ah ah a beer mat. but And that 44 is probably the gross battery size? In the Citroen, it's pretty much the same figure. Okay. So there's very little difference in in that. So...
00:14:34
Speaker
and So, yeah, it's just, you look, at I spoke to, I rang Blake from my my EV consultant from when I was charging up. I was like, Blake, come here, what's going on here? goes, oh, Pat, it's the wind. It's the wind.
00:14:47
Speaker
So that it was 30 kilometer winds. yeah It was 30 kilometer hour winds and coming across. There are people in their diesels now laughing going, the wind. They are laughing.
00:14:58
Speaker
but But he was like, Paddy, this is a light car and youre you're driving you're driving not into the wind, but you're pretty much getting a side wind on. So um if you were driving the other way, you probably would have done it problem. Tailwind.
00:15:11
Speaker
Yeah, exactly. So look, and so yeah, I pretty much had to stop at Dora. Look, I would have had to stop anyway. Again, I'm not shading on the car. I would have had to stop him from white charge up and to get to where I live.
00:15:23
Speaker
Um, cause I'm, I'm, you know, fair, fair, I'm just short of 300 kilometers away. So, um, it wouldn't, it wouldn't have done that anyway. I didn't expect you to do that, but, um, but I ended up charging it twice.
00:15:36
Speaker
So I charged Enduro and then I got to 80%. I'm not going to sit there for another, 30 minutes to get it to 100%. anyone doesn't understand charging cur curves, the the car, you know, the EC3 will charge at speeds up to 100 kilowatts.
00:15:53
Speaker
and the But at 80%, you're down to 20 kilowatts. I'm laughing, by the way, because my myself and Bob Flavin a couple of years ago nearly had a physical fight with a sales rep from Heineken.
00:16:05
Speaker
who was adamant he wasn't moving his Opel combo off the charger, despite it being a 99%. And we really just wanted to get a bit of juice in so we could both collect our kids into a 94. I think he was having none of us Yeah, because you're going to get, you will almost, it'll almost take as long to get from the 80 to the 100 as it does from, course like, you know, you might have arrived on 25, 30%.
00:16:31
Speaker
To get to that 80, you're going to be half an hour or so. If you don't believe us, watch watch your smartphone next time. it It'll fly up to 80 and then it will slow down. Exact same thing. It does this to preserve the duration, the length of the battery. so So you're not melting your battery, essentially.
00:16:46
Speaker
So, yeah, so I was only charging to 80%, but I did have to stop again Formoy to charge up. So... That's the killer. Like, that's... Yeah. So I let... I was... My sequence of events was I got to Automotive at 5.30, had a chat with Fergus, went over, got a burrito Zambaro. Oh, yeah, good one. No, I should have gone to Zaytunas. Zaytunas is good. Couldn't deal with parking situation.
00:17:10
Speaker
And so I got home at midnight. Oh, no. So six hours. I was pissed off by the time I got there. You don't know I would be. You would be like, that's, you know, it's it's a three hour journey without stopping in a petrol diesel car.
00:17:28
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, to Formoy, because to Formoy, which is very, very North Cork, was two hours, in a normal car, it was two hours and 10 minutes. Yeah. So, and so yeah, you're mid, you know, and again, look, don't buy this car if you drive up and down the motorway lot. But I was only built for it. I was only talking to someone on Boris.ie who was trying to you know, they were they didn't have a big budget. They had sort of maybe 300 quid a month.
00:17:54
Speaker
They'd seen a deal about the Dacia spring. They had a pretty much a round trip, but not a motorways of 200 kilometers a day. And and I said to them, said, you're you're not unless like you're going end up sp publicly charging that car at whatever it is, 56 cent on the slower charger.
00:18:10
Speaker
You want to make sure you really can do that journey without having to use public charging. And and they're just, they're not for that. But people are considering because they're cheap. But Mark, the Insta will do it. The Insta is a totally different car. And, you know, have no allegiance to anyone here. i I had the Insta and charge it in Roach's Town, which is a very sort of another side of Cork.
00:18:36
Speaker
i fully charged it and drove all the way to Drada without stopping at 120 kilometers per hour. It's that thing was unbelievably efficient. I didn't stop. And that's, that's, that's, it was 310 or 320 or something. It was a long spin.
00:18:51
Speaker
and ah That's very impressive for, yeah. You know, because it is, okay, it's a little bit, it's actually, that's a cheaper car than the C3. Cheaper than the C3. You wouldn't do that in the spring. So let's rule out this now, the C3.
00:19:04
Speaker
I would love to try the Dolphin Surf from BYD as well, just to see. well Well, this is like, look, look i you know, i i am this is going to be a series
EV Performance on Long Journeys
00:19:14
Speaker
series. Every EV I do, I'm going to do the same journey because is good test gives me gives me data.
00:19:22
Speaker
Now, obviously, and you know, the only car, it's funny because from talking to Ferguson Automotive yesterday, the only car that I think I would have gone down and back comfortably in was a Polestar 4.
00:19:35
Speaker
Absolutely, incredibly efficient car. I did drive from my house to Cork Airport in the Ioniq 6 and I stopped in Cashel for nine minutes. Yeah, another another car. i didn't I haven't driven that down and back.
00:19:48
Speaker
That's a brilliant car. I actually don't see too many of them. um and I know it's very polarizing in design, but if think about it, it's quite like Polestar. It's built for aerodynamics. and Nine minutes at Ionity, no one can argue with that. absolutely. So the only the only issue so I do only issue have now with this Citroen, let me be clear, I i charged up in Fremory again i went, right, I'm not going on the motorway again.
00:20:11
Speaker
I'm going back roads. And I don't really have a huge amount of data, but I know it was performing totally differently because I was driving at kind of 60, 70 kilometers per hour. and So driving around town, that car is a totally different beast yeah than if you hit the motorway in it and whatever it's the shape, or but the fact that you can't, and you know they're they're telling me it's a software or it's going to be on a later model that the press cars are early models.
00:20:39
Speaker
that um there is literally no way of telling but what the car is doing. Bar Max at the end. That car has been out in France for a year now. I mean, i I tried the Grande Panda in February in Milan. um think was Milan. Anyway, it was this it was the same same thing. you you could And it's obviously it's the same car underneath. You couldn't get it to display the fuel efficiency or are they the consumption. I don't know why that is. Are they hiding something?
00:21:04
Speaker
Why? Well, I i doubt they're hiding anything, but I think it's probably just not pretty when it's at 100, 110, 120. You know, those figures, because I did not cross 100 kilometers per hour yesterday.
00:21:18
Speaker
and And I, you know, I must have been doing 1920. i don't think you'd want to in that car. No, no. But look again, and Citroen will say, look, this isn't that car. This isn't the car for you. They have a petrol one. They have a hybrid one.
00:21:30
Speaker
You know our job is to test these things out, see what happens. and So yeah, I had a six hour drive home. I i also did, i also drove a spring back from and ah in the same trip. And that was also, sorry, that down was fine.
00:21:47
Speaker
was summer, back was cold in the morning and it was not so fun. And plus the speed of the charging meant hours and hours and hours. So and So, look, I'm i'm really keen. I'm in the b way d i' mean your BYD in a few weeks' time, not not too soon, but a couple of months' time, it'll be a bit colder, but I'm interested to see how that performs and in that.
00:22:10
Speaker
But look top look, for anyone who's driving those long distances, they're probably not going to do them that often. No, but it is very interesting what you're saying there, and and it's a good it's a really good way of testing these cars.
00:22:20
Speaker
If the Insta can do that, and it was summertime, to be fair, but it would be the reason for you to single out one of those cars, to have that in the back of your mind, if you ever did want to do a long journey, even though it's a small urban car, it's possible.
00:22:37
Speaker
Yeah, now look, it's totally possible, but would I want to do it off? No, because the other thing to factor in as well is I'm charging... at 75 cents kilowatt on these fast chargers.
00:22:48
Speaker
and So, um you know, I've comfortably put a tank of petrol on another car in just to get down. Yeah. And that's, you know, it's very, very expensive.
00:23:02
Speaker
um Because where else are you going to go? you're You're not going to sit on a 22 or 7 because you just never get there. so Be still on the way. You have to go to an ESP fast charger. You have to go to Ionity, Apple Cream, whatever. And those are all 74, 75 cents kilowatt.
00:23:20
Speaker
it Like that's the same for any EV. So yeah, you might have a bigger car that can do a better range, but if you're ever going to have to rely on the public network, it's, it is currently, and I think petrol prices, we've spoken this recently, they've, they've stabilized, they've not dropped it a little bit.
00:23:35
Speaker
Yeah. it's It's just too expensive. Like i last week, I was driving the Volvo EX90, 107 usable battery.
Charging Costs for Volvo EX90
00:23:42
Speaker
If you were to charge that on an ESB public fast charger, which is currently 66 cents, it's going to cost you 70 euro to charge that car.
00:23:52
Speaker
And will you see 400 kilometers? Maybe. Yeah, and if you're in a hurry and, you know, have the shoe down and you've loaded up with people and luggage, maybe not.
00:24:03
Speaker
And it tows, I mean, in a good way, it tows 2.2 ton. But again, that will, I've actually never towed anything with an EV. There is a Tesla I'd like to try. See much it affects range. sam I think it's interesting. All right, yeah. No, look, in summary, you know, as I said, and ah you know, I'm not downing the Citroen. I want to see how it's like normally.
00:24:23
Speaker
And as a car itself feels nice. Equipment levels are really good. Steering handling is quite nice. It seems like a lovely little car, but those limitations are there. Look, and even on a normal commute, if I was living in Drada and going to Dublin every day up and down the motorway, would it matter a dam? not ah Not a bit. Because 50 kilometers, right, I might use...
00:24:46
Speaker
you know I might use quarter of the battery each way. It's lot less. um Who cares? And it's cost me half nothing. So, you know, i we were putting, we were testing something that shouldn't happen.
00:24:59
Speaker
Don't buy this car if you drive to Cork. Absolutely. You know, it's a good time for me to remind people I have a Nissan Ari in my house. It's been charged on public charger once. I have solar panels and a 10 kWh battery. And that car, is especially since sort of February, it has been charged for free.
00:25:16
Speaker
essentially it has it has another thing i'd like to card love to mention is is one i just dropped back and look at you you've driven it before but it was my first experience with it with the dasia bigster and i'm really really warm to that car and i didn't expect it like i was in it with you we did our video which is on your channel of bigster versus used kodiak but um i read something really gelled with me in the bigster. I really, really like it. It's a car I quite happily own.
00:25:44
Speaker
and I don't mind the scratchy plastics. It's kind of got that utilitarian feel to it. Handling i and steering, I thought, was really good. you know, really quite impressive. And, you know, when you push it on, it drives incredibly well for an SUV like that.
00:25:58
Speaker
and Yeah, it's not cheap. ah You know, at the obviously the entry sticker price is cheap, but then once you get up the range, it's a bit more expensive. But um I think that thing will fly. Yeah, well, I like that at least they have a lot of range options in terms of trim. um So, you know, if you don't want to spend 40 grand, you don't have to.
00:26:15
Speaker
presume you're in the 155 And got kilometers from a fort tank How many? 977. Wow.
00:26:27
Speaker
That's all right, isn't it? it what? Unreal. Now, this is also at the time that Dennis, is it Laveau? I'm not sure you pronounce his second name. V-O-T. My French isn't great.
00:26:37
Speaker
and So he's recently left Dacia. ah He was a very charismatic kind of company CEO because some of them are very, very standoffish with journalists. he He embraced journalists.
00:26:48
Speaker
He kind of was was very cheeky and he would say, oh, How many of you here turned off lane keep assists on the way to this event? Everyone puts their hand up. Well, why are you asking me about five star end caps and dashes?
00:27:00
Speaker
So the rumor is he was expected to get the Renault job that came up a few months ago because your man's gone off to sell handbags. yeah He didn't get it. Did you see? i saw a video of him this week. He's got very old looking.
00:27:12
Speaker
Yeah, so I think Salma Hayek is his boss now or something like that, or who her husband. So the rumour is he thought he was going to get that Renault job and he didn't. So he left. So he's left.
00:27:24
Speaker
But he's left he' left some good cars behind because Paddy Common likes his his bigster. Well, it struck me and like I know... I know your your Irish car the year season is coming up um soon. you know What are the two, three, four cars, if you can say, that i have struck out in your head this year so far? I'd be interested to.
00:27:43
Speaker
Well, obviously the Inster, the Renault 5. and um Bigster in there? Bigster would have to be in there. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. um And the Bigster, i mean, the categories are really difficult these days because cars, as everyone knows, are are getting so big.
00:28:00
Speaker
You could technically put a five-seater Bigster in the same category as a five-seater Tyron. from VW. Yeah, you could. You could. and i don't i You know, I don't want any the task you guys have of of categorizing those with any credit. You've got, you know, you've got a lot of BYD product, C-Line 7.
00:28:21
Speaker
um that That kind of family SUV space is really, really crowded and really, really tough. um I think everyone is kind of assuming the Renault 5 because it's just been such a showstopper, but I don't want to put words into anybody's mouth. I,
00:28:35
Speaker
can only speak for myself. There's quite a number of jurors on the panel, quite a lot. um Yeah, look, ah the Renault 5 has been my favorite car. um You know, is it the best car?
00:28:50
Speaker
You know, Insta would have to be up there for me. I just think it's such a revelation. I'd agree, yeah. and And Bigster would be in and around there. You know, it's there's a head and a heart thing with it. The Insta...
00:29:04
Speaker
yeah Especially given the pricing, it's just a a remarkable addition. and But heart-wise, the car I would love to be in and I'd love to be jumping into outside now in a few minutes is is the Renault 5 for sure. yeah And I only, last week I was in Rotterdam to drive the Nissan Micro, which is the same car. You can get the two battery sizes, the 120 versus the 150.
00:29:24
Speaker
And pretty much on the inside, especially Nissan have just taken the the Nissan badge and put it off the Renault badge. The interior is pretty much identical. Does it have the charm? and No, like but at the same time, apart from like the old turbos and stuff, it is the strongest Micra that's ever probably been available. like you know It's got a lovely interior, it's got bucket seats, it's got two-toned roof, it's got things that Nissan Micras just didn't really have.
00:29:50
Speaker
I mean, you could get Bose speakers in the last few models and stuff. there was you know and And some people have said it's still too posh. like There needs to be a trim level that just has hubcaps on it Because in the old days, you would have got a Nissan Micra with hubcaps, not diamond-cut alloy wheels.
00:30:05
Speaker
But driving it for a couple of hours in Rotterdam, which is a very cool place to go to, by the way. I don't think I've been. I just felt the Renault just has something else. Like, I drove the car for a week here at home, went through down along the Boyne River, some lovely twisty roads, proper driving roads. And I just thought, this is a great little car. And it doesn't matter, really, what power is it.
00:30:28
Speaker
and It was just a good little car to drive. When is Micra coming here? So Micra will probably, probably be in the country before the end of December. um They haven't announced pricing on it yet. the Like some people don't like the design. It has these kind of winky eyes on it. I mean, they've they've done what they can with the exterior. They've just put this gelato scoop along the side of it, which is meant to look like one of those ice cream things.
00:30:52
Speaker
um they've They've done what they can. um But if someone said to me, if you'd never seen a Renault 5 and you jumped into that Micra, you'd be really, really impressed. And it's a good way of looking at it.
00:31:03
Speaker
Yeah, it is. ah You know, I don't envy its task because you're kind of like, well, why would I not just get the round of five? Because it's easier. But I suppose for some people, they might want something that's a little bit more subtle. Yeah.
00:31:14
Speaker
I don't know if the micro is more subtle, but it's, um you know, maybe it has the, maybe it's a different type of heritage. Like the five is the sort of ah cutesy charm and the micro is a kind of, oh, sure I sure had a micro, you know.
00:31:27
Speaker
you know i don't know whether there's that sort of yeah you know and and myself and adam who works in this and we're just having a chat you know like they did have reputation as being a bit of a granny's car have has it gone away enough to shake that image does it need marketing should it have gotten a name change to kind of just firmly put that granny association to bed um you know it's it's definitely a funkier car than ever has been but um Yeah, it's just I think the the thing they have to do, and unfortunately in Ireland it's going to be a tricky one.
00:32:01
Speaker
If Nissan came out with the Micra and it was considerably cheaper than the Renault 5, that would give it an edge. In Ireland, they're selling them out of the same house, in the same agencies, with the same Windsor brand.
00:32:13
Speaker
it's You can't, like if you announce the Micra's three grand cheaper than Renault, the Renault staff are not goingnna talk to talk you at the Christmas party. But I think you're right. I think the point the point you made earlier on, ah if they did have it as a paired back, and i don't know how much scope they have in pairing it back, but if it was the paired back option of the range, that, you know, 23, 24 with a bit then...
00:32:34
Speaker
with a bit bit of cat on us then You know, it could be interesting for people. Yeah. And I think, you know, that there's a real prospect of EVs at this size becoming more appealing to younger drivers and and more appealing to those sort of second cars in the family because and they offer so much. They're cheap to run. They're really well equipped safety wise. Insurance is not I wouldn't say it's not a problem, but it's less of a problem than some.
00:33:01
Speaker
so um So, yeah, there's ah there' potential for that. and i don't know um By the way, so i have my ah my first ever, um i'm I'm somewhat cultured, but I could definitely be more cultured. um Have you ever tried bitterballing?
00:33:13
Speaker
No. So bitter ball. And so we, we, after we, we were finished at two o'clock filming, we got to Rotterdam really early. I went off, shot some nice footage, the stunning place, uh, came back two o'clock done.
00:33:27
Speaker
We had an Aer Lingus flight of five where we were booked on the nine o'clock, but we could done the five and we're like, Oh, we'll rush and we could get dinner or whatever. So jumped on the train, Rotterdam to Amsterdam, 46 minutes.
00:33:38
Speaker
They have access to so many drugs in that city. Yeah. Yes, there's no trouble on the public transport. All we have in Ireland is alcohol officially. And like, you're taking your life into your hands. Everyone's just very zen and calm. on I just thought it was remarkable, the difference. But anyway, so we got to Amsterdam.
00:33:56
Speaker
So there's this food called bitter bollin. So basically it's meat or vegetables. It's kind of like arancini, but it's it's slightly different. There's crispy breadcrumbs on the outside. You get some pickles with it and you get some pickled onions with it and you get a side dish of mustard.
00:34:11
Speaker
Like Dijon mustard. Anyway, it's a thing in Amsterdam. There's a lot more to that city than... Where do I sign? The other things. The other things, exactly. and Yeah, i've read other things this week. I saw Cannonball span through East Cork.
00:34:26
Speaker
um Yeah. Did you and have a look? I we i went down to Ballymaloo to have a look. and Bumped into the Loviana Daily, who is their brand ambassador for Cannonball.
00:34:37
Speaker
but Lots of... like this there was the odd couple of interesting cars but an awful lot of Range Rovers which for me doesn't classify as you know okay now there could be crew cars or there could be others but there was just an awful lot of black Range Rovers they had a there was a McLaren Senna was there and wow which was a very it was very impressive amongst others um but yeah look good cause and you know Jack and Jill is the charity Circle K were heavily behind us it it last drained when I was there but yeah you never got involved you've never done it have you
00:35:09
Speaker
No, I, someone asked me many, many years ago and had my M3, but at the time was just about able to keep the M3 afloat and to take part in Cannonball in 2009, I think it was about €1,500.
00:35:21
Speaker
average And I was just going, it's a lot of money. I did do Bumblebee a couple of years ago. Audi Ireland actually gave me a lovely Audi RS3 for that event. Um, So no, I've never, never done Cannonball. I think Bumblebee is a bit bit of a smaller event. um like Like, it's amazing how, that like the thought process that goes behind things like Bumblebee and Cannonball, even to get all these cars in and out of the hotel car park that you're having lunch at. The logistics are insane. To keep it moving. Like, it's it's insane.
00:35:52
Speaker
Yeah, and even down at Ballymalieu, I could see them, you know, parking the sand on the grass. And I was sort of thinking in my head, the rain's here that's not coming out yeah um you'll come along in a Citroen EC3 tow you out was in the bigster I felt very smug oh you might have yeah yeah exactly what else have you been driving recently so just dropped back the EX90 from Volvo which I finally got to drive because that has been a car that has been delayed quite a bit Are we able to talk about the news yet?
00:36:25
Speaker
Or should I shut No. I'll shut up. Never mind. No. 23rd of September. Right. Okay. So jo and look, it looks great. All say is don't order one yet.
00:36:37
Speaker
Right. Right. Okay. Maybe hold off on that purchase. Yeah, till the 23rd. In case there's ah's a reason for that. and But look, it's it's a good looking car. You know, you know, it's it's not, your you can crash it into something and you're going to be alive at the end. You know, like it's just fabulous. Yeah.
00:36:56
Speaker
So, yeah, air suspension, twin motored. Mine was a performance one, so 500 plus brake horsepower. Insanely comfortable. I did see something. there's a guy called Marcus Brownie, who's a huge dude on Instagram. Oh, yeah, I watch his. He does. you just ah He does lots of products, Apple products.
00:37:16
Speaker
Yeah. But he also does cars, too. So there's a huge big LiDAR sensor on the front of the XC90. Sorry, it sorry e x ninety So it's easily confused. And it has like 14 ultrasonic cameras and sensors and the rest.
00:37:28
Speaker
But he heard of a video the other day and a guy I know tagged me in it. And the light so he now has a Ryan's belt in his phone that he's currently testing. And he is fairly sure it's from the LiDAR sensor in that car that emits these kind of beams and lasers. Yeah.
00:37:46
Speaker
And obviously it's constantly swabbing for information. Like the Volvo could pick up a human 250 meters down the road in pitch dark and can tell you there's there's a pedestrian coming front and So if you do manage to buy yourself an EX90 and you're taking a video, ah just I think particularly with phones, with smartphones, because the sensor is a lot more vulnerable than an SLR.
00:38:10
Speaker
ah He is claiming now, I don't know if he's wrong or right, but I just thought it was an interesting thing. But back to the car, seven seats, loads of space. Anything annoy me in it, I'll tell you now because I have i always take notes when I'm just about to film just to kind of sit there, inhale the car, so to speak, and go, right, if I was buying this now, what? Looking around just and then thinking of of the week gone by, what was good, what was bad? So, and like, it doesn't have vehicle to load yet.
00:38:39
Speaker
Is that coming? Is that not coming? They say the car is fully equipped for autonomous driving. but obviously it's not available yet. So they they say the the engineers of obviously that car will actually get better with time with over the air updates because even under the mirrors, it has the Audi looking digital camera arms, but they're not for mirrors. They're actual sensors.
00:38:59
Speaker
m So there's been well documented the car had a lot of software bugs. I didn't encounter anything. Now, that's not the case when that car came out. I think even the CEO has now left, Jim, said that they will never release a car the way they did with the X90 again.
00:39:16
Speaker
Right, okay. It's going to be an interesting test. and and like We know that, you know, certainly looking at EV pricing used, it's starting to plateau. So there was a real dip in used values because manufacturers were messing around with pricing so much. This is your done deal motor, done deal cars analytics coming in now. This is good though. This is good Intel.
00:39:37
Speaker
However, I'm wondering, you know, with cars like these, these six-figure EVs, you know, if are these going to be steady yet? And that remains the same.
Depreciation of High-End EVs
00:39:49
Speaker
We don't know.
00:39:49
Speaker
Because you have to be thinking, right, if you are looking at a car like this, which is what, one... 217 currently yeah so what is that is that going to be worth that in three years time if you're buying a three-year-old one guess car in the world any car um is is going to devalue a neighbor of mine has a 232 target and he's trading it in for an m5 and i winced when he told me i was like i'm not sure they've given you first shouldn't be doing that. That's just insane. I know. I told him it was insane.
00:40:24
Speaker
But, ah you know, the XC90 held its value incredibly well, especially, yeah the ah and re you know, obviously when they get older, they're... No, but a friend of mine bought one that was a couple of years old and he still paid, I think, 60-odd grand. Big wage for it. So I wonder, is that going to be the same with models like this?
00:40:42
Speaker
and You know, is there going to be a change? Obviously, you know, the likes of Key EV9, Hyundai Ioniq 9, I think the sweet spot for me is is around the size of the Kia EV6.
00:40:53
Speaker
And that car has been really, really good at holding its value at the bigger end. We don't have enough data yet, but I think that's going to be an interesting time. ah the The used EV issue, if there is one in a verticom, is it's not going to last forever for sure.
00:41:07
Speaker
No, I mean, if you go on to Dundeele cars now and have a look for an EV9, you really won't find one. I don't know if we spoke about this. We did it on We tried it one day on the pod. we yeah but I wonder how much a second and one is and they weren't not there.
00:41:21
Speaker
Now, it it look, it is too new. If you got one of those cars, you probably didn't even get it until 2024. It's early days. If it's on a PCP, it's not coming back yet. I think in the short term, these cars are probably OK because there just won't be enough of them.
00:41:33
Speaker
um You'd be a fool also, though, to think that your €117,000 Volvo EX90 is not going to depreciate. Of course it is. um i I think i'd I'd probably look at XC90 values to try and mirror that.
00:41:47
Speaker
um But like on a good day, I think that EX90, for me at least, and we we are into September now, it's not the warmest weather anymore, it was probably a 450-kilometer range car.
00:41:58
Speaker
It sold as a... like Volvo have claimed, you know, in an urban environment, you do 800 kilometers. I just don't see that like, No, and look, I'm not asking the question based on you losing the value of it. You know, lots of people who own those cars, especially keep them for a very long time. might Yeah.
00:42:16
Speaker
My point is, if you're a buyer and my point, like at my point currently about the used EV values is, is there's a real bargains out there to be had. And I don't think that situation is going to last.
00:42:29
Speaker
You know, I was looking at looking at a two year old mini Coopers today. so a Two-year-old Mini Cooper EV level two racing green, loads kit on it is 21,000 change.
00:42:45
Speaker
and The petrol equivalent is 32,950.
00:42:50
Speaker
Now that's c incredible difference. They're virtually the same cars in flavor. One's electric flavored ones, petrol equipment levels are are comparable. Now the range isn't brilliant on that many.
00:43:02
Speaker
No. At all. But if it suits you, ah you know, it's, it's 50% cheaper. And if you can charge at home, it's 90% cheaper to run. yeah so So that situation just won't last.
00:43:17
Speaker
Similarly, there's Taycans now popping up in places like Spirit Motors, Bluegate Motors, who are associated with Frank Keane, so a reputable dealer. And they have some beautiful Taycans coming in for $54,000.
00:43:30
Speaker
Loads of warranties still left on the batteries. What a car. was a $120,000 car not so long ago. I know that's the premium end of things. Yeah, i look... I suppose if you can afford, it's the old adage, if you can afford an EX19U, you're not too worried about the appreciation of it. But...
00:43:47
Speaker
Is it going to be a 30 grand car in three years time? No. Will it be a 70 grand car in three years time? Yeah, probably. Maybe, maybe. That's still a big hit though. Yeah, it is a big hit. And it's, you know, it's obviously, but it's, it's going to be interesting to watch this space in terms of how that, because we we are seeing new genres of EVs coming along all the time. You know, there was the Taycan, there was the Taycan, there was the,
00:44:11
Speaker
Audi e-tron but we weren't seeing the big EV SUVs no big EV 7-seater SUVs so these new genres are coming along all the time it's still ah still also quite an underserved segment as well in terms of EVs I think short term you might be alright right this has only been part one of the Drivers Public Podcast in association with Stundee Old Cars more in just a minute Welcome back to the Drivers Republic podcast brought to you in association with Dundeele Cars, 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.
00:44:45
Speaker
That is true. For sure. ye Everything I said. So Mark, interesting video I saw earlier on, which had lovely face in it. And it was talking about couple of things. You had done a really interesting video during the last couple of weeks on your Porsche 911 and the repair costs of it,
Making a Living on YouTube
00:45:05
Speaker
etc. And it really seemed to be a video that picked up and took off.
00:45:09
Speaker
And it got me thinking, you know, you were, you were talking and the video about, you know, thanking your followers and thanking for the feedback and, and, and You know, I just wanted it to chat to you as someone who makes a living from this, and about your experiences and how things have changed in this space.
00:45:27
Speaker
and You know, we've chatted before about influencers being paid and the likes, but as someone who, know, there's lots of people who'd be listening and thinking, oh, I'd love to make videos or I'd love to do YouTube or i'd love to to make this for a living. How difficult is it and how is it changing?
00:45:44
Speaker
It is difficult and it takes a long time to get subscribers unless you're buying them. and No one would do that, Charlie. I don't know, Paddy. I don't know.
00:45:57
Speaker
um So, yeah, but it's like anything. Like anything that is rewarding is hard work. And is it rewarding? Yes. Like I went from a job, full time radio, quite stressful,
00:46:12
Speaker
Jane Law Radio figures every three months where you're kind of getting your leaving set results every three months. And it it it is stressful. you're getting I was getting up at five in the morning. and High stress, high, you know, again, very rewarding, lovely that people would make you part of their daily routine and all that. And then the opportunity to totally change. And I was like, right. And I just, I think I turned 41.
00:46:32
Speaker
So now I say to people, even if I leave, so you collect a car and a press car a Monday, obviously, if you're just doing one car and you drop back in the money morning morning. I can now get up on a Monday morning really early, drive to the Dublin mountains, film with the wind and the trees and nature. And this time of year, there's leaves everywhere and that's your job. And you're going to I'm here.
00:46:54
Speaker
Yes, I'm freezing. It could be wet. But I know I'm going to make a video out of this that's going to ultimately be my wage for today once it's edited and it's online or whatever. And there's something very, very liberating about that.
00:47:08
Speaker
and You don't have the certainty, obviously, of having an employer as such. And that's why, you know, I'm very appreciative to people like Dundee Motors who kindly sponsor us here. And you might get other opportunities, whether it's from Tar Company or hosting an MC event for Symi, which I did earlier on the year.
00:47:23
Speaker
They're all lovely little things that top up. and And I'm lucky to do some work on Radio Nova and Classic Hits as well. But by absolutely by and large, my money is is coming from YouTube now, which is kind of scary just to to work for yourself.
00:47:36
Speaker
And remember Bob Flavin years ago telling me, you'll never want to go back to working for someone else. And that does ring true. But, there you know, there is there's a lot of uncertainty with it. So, yes, you can pretty much make a living from it. I wouldn't say in Ireland, know, I was only talking to someone about this yesterday. If you're in the UK, you just have more opportunities. It's not that the viewers are different. I get a lot of viewers from the UK, which is great.
00:47:59
Speaker
You just don't get access to the same press cars. If I was living in the UK, I would have Porsche giving me cars. I would have Ferraris giving me cars and Aston Martins. Not necessarily that you need those cars in your channel, but you just would have a better mix of more exotic stuff. I look for look at people like Joe Akil's Petrol Ped, who I know quite well.
00:48:16
Speaker
You know, they get everything. they Obviously, they get a glut of EVs, but they also get the high-end stuff. And I think that's that lovely mix that people are looking for in 2025. I do get the sense that people are a little bit fatigued with EVs.
00:48:31
Speaker
In a way, that said, in the last few months, you like YouTube gives you analytics for everything. The biggest performing car video, apart from the 911 video, which is I'm totally shocked at, has been the MGS5 video I did. So that like while, yes, EV sales are not massive,
00:48:48
Speaker
when you take YouTube as a medium, it's it's not just in Ireland. There clearly is an interest in certain types of EVs. But I think it but it's harder now than it was even five or six years ago to get the same level of interest in EVs as you would have. Like there were some EVs a few years ago, but you had mixes. You had Skoda Kodiaks and diesel.
00:49:13
Speaker
You had Ford Fiesta STs. One of the biggest performing videos I've made is the STs. A cracking car. And it wasn't even 30 grand. So, and ah and i'm I'm now being a bit, maybe, and I will be certainly into 2026, I'm probably a bit more selective into even press trips I go on. Like, I was asked to go on a press trip today for a performance EV car that even, I just don't know if it, if is is it worth my time, their time?
00:49:39
Speaker
Going there and it might produce 4000 views and I'm away from my family for two days and yeah I'm kind of starting to learn you have to box clever here. And, you know, that feedback video I did, like I asked someone I know in Volkswagen who works commercially, but they have a lovely GTI club sport. And he was like, you can have my club sport.
00:49:58
Speaker
Whenever you want. and make a video of it. And it's not a press car, but I know that car will work for me because there's interest in it. I would have to take a used Golf 4 that's four or five years old now off the back of that feedback video I did.
00:50:10
Speaker
And I'm very interested in still doing new press cars, but i I am now just going to try and mix things up a bit. but Because it's interesting, the criteria that there exist for reviewing an EV in particular are very different. You start looking at incredible different things, and but they're all very much in line with other cars. So but you've no audio clues of ah of ah ah an engine that doesn't make a sound unless they've added a synthetic one.
00:50:37
Speaker
You're looking at things like how far does it go? How big is the battery? ah Which are something like you would talk about an appliance. And they're not they're they're not the type of things that necessarily make your pulse go faster. And I think that's maybe some of the reasons why there's been a real interest in in retro cars, 80s cars, 90s cars. You look at at the success of Aron and RetroGarge and and other channels in the UK as well, where you're seeing ah real resurgent and a real love for cars that ah you know had ah had you know not so much ADAS, not so much, you know they had a petrol engine that made a good sound. And I think there's good there's maybe there was a sweet spot where we're going to start seeing people look back a little bit more because you know what do you say in some of the EVs compared to each other?
00:51:34
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, well, like, you know, and I'm always trying to find that that unique thing. And, you know, I started using a measured tape, although I did see that on AutoCafil, but, you know, it is a good idea for the boot.
00:51:46
Speaker
But what I've now started to do with EVs, and I did it with the with the Volvo, um and so there's a dB meter on iPhones and on your your Apple Watch. So I'm now seeing, okay, so like compared to the Ioniq 9, which you might be considering, the Volvo was like 59 dB on a motorway.
00:52:03
Speaker
And that's very quiet. Now that might be worth something to somebody. I don't know, but you are versus I know if I was rallying around the mountains in the club sport, it would be all about the pops and the bangs and, you know, how it makes you feel and the car that you actually want to go for a blast on a Sunday morning. And you could do the same video with a 20 year old Mazda MX-5. Like I have thought, like if I was guaranteed I could buy a sports car and sell it in two months time, use it for the channel, make it a business expense and get my money back, I would do it.
00:52:33
Speaker
But again, we're in a smaller kind of market. Like I, I, i since I did that Porsche video, a couple of people reached out and wanted to buy it. And one, you know, someone has made a ah very serious offer on it and, you know, we're chatting and I've always really fancied a Honda S2000.
00:52:51
Speaker
And there is there is one for sale in the north that is gorgeous. What a car. But it's 25,000 euro plus the guesswork of VRT because they took port most Porsches and things like Honda S2000s off the calculator a few years ago so they can literally pick a number out of the air.
00:53:07
Speaker
So if I was to buy the S2000, it could end up being a 40,000 euro car. And I don't think it's worth that. like oh No.
00:53:18
Speaker
yeah You know, the Porsche is just going to keep going up in value as well. Yeah. Yeah. You said on that car, It's only going one way. They're all going crazy. I spoke to a guy who has 911 Turbo and a Boxster anniversary.
00:53:31
Speaker
And he said to me, you are effing mad if you sell that car. Well, I'm saying the same thing. but He said, you're going to regret it. ah He said, if you keep it from the air, he said, get the bits that need to be done to it. He said, do the brakes and discs yourself because um I think my battery lights out. Oh, let's go back on.
00:53:48
Speaker
Do your brake and discs yourself and you'll get another video out of that. And he he just said, if you keep it from the air, you're not going to lose anything on it anyway. he said, don't, don't play the tax for 12 months, take it off the road for half the year, do what I do.
00:54:01
Speaker
um And they are all very worthy things. But at the back of my head also, I was like, you know, yeah, but what if something else got like, if I get these bits done, something else goes wrong, do I want that? And it may not go wrong. I'm um being very negative about the whole thing here.
00:54:18
Speaker
But there is the argument, you know, as a content creator, as you've alluded to, is there merit in you deciding, okay, right, I'm going to sell this car and I'm going to, look for the S2000 and I'm going to document the journey and the VRT and the headaches and then I'm going to drive that for three, four months then I'm going to go buy a Land Rover Fender or whatever, whatever. I just, there has been one or two cars in my life that I have sold maybe too early into my ownership and I have really, really regretted it.
00:54:46
Speaker
And I, I look, I, I, I think the nine 11 would be there and these look, these are very first world problems. ah It is a 20 year old car. It's not, it's not brand new or anything, but look, it still has the expense of what it, what it was when it was new in terms of putting it right again.
00:55:00
Speaker
So, um so yeah, I just think, and and it's great to have these cars on the driver to maybe add them into the mix on the channel. And and that's probably what I will be doing. um If you wanted to start today doing it, i would absolutely say do it. Yes.
00:55:13
Speaker
I think like in Ireland, especially we need more video creators. We need more people, especially you women. There's not enough women doing it. Definitely. Yeah. You know, it doesn't have to be with the fanciest of camera equipment. I started with GoPros and I hate GoPros, but they were fine.
00:55:29
Speaker
um So it doesn't have to be this big expense. And just once you can tell a good story and be yourself and have a bit of personality and And even that video, i I from feedback from people, you know, sometimes you kind of go into this formulaic car reviewer.
00:55:44
Speaker
We've all watched Top Gear. We've grown up watching these things and you can slip into maybe just being a bit too polished. So I'm even just being trying to be even a bit more of myself. You know, I'm. people are saying oh like you know try to be a bit funnier like well you can only be your personality like exactly can you can you inject a bit more yourself in yeah yeah can you be bit more over the top of your opinions yeah of course you but like i saw something today so harry harry metcalf and jeremy clarkson made a video together a few weeks ago Did we not talk about
YouTube Video Highlights
00:56:12
Speaker
this? No.
00:56:13
Speaker
So I thought I totally sent it to you because I i don't think so. I watched that on Friday night and just loved every second. It's 47 minutes long. Harry, it was obviously somewhat contrived, but Harry pulls up to the farmer's dog pub, which if funny anyone's seen Clarkson's farm, you know all about it.
00:56:29
Speaker
And someone said, if this was on, this would never make to television. It's too dry. It's too old men. Pretty much in one take, just talking about cars. And I love it. And this is why YouTube is like, who needs telly when YouTube gives it would never be on tap take TV like that. No, no. and And what was interesting in it was that, you know, they were speaking about things like when was Pete Carr and when was.
00:56:55
Speaker
you know, that they were Clarkson was talking about his F-type and the fact that, know, it doesn't have any, you know, crazy systems in us and it and doesn't bing or bong and, you know, it doesn't have a boot, but then you don't need any boot because you don't need to bring any other stuff with you. and and But yeah, it's of a time that we're not going to see again.
00:57:16
Speaker
yeah um we're And, you know it's explaining he was Clarkson was explaining, you know, why he doesn't like EVs and, you know, and it wasn't, irrational It was just like, this is my standpoint. I just don't like them because they don't give you any feeling.
00:57:29
Speaker
And that you know that for him is everything. But I look, obviously, they're two huge names. um ah Someone said as well, one of the comments, Harry's the only guy who wouldn't put Jeremy Clarkson's name in the title of the video, which is like the opposite of clickbait.
00:57:45
Speaker
You still watch it. But that just shows you, you know, people maybe aren't getting served for car stuff as much on telly anymore and they don't need it anyway because they have YouTube. And this was that's what's so great about the platform.
00:57:58
Speaker
There's room for a new car of reviews, but there's also maybe room to just have a little bit of faith. And and if you're a bit of a storyteller. You know, I've no doubt if you and I collected two old cars and we made a video, people would watch it. But when you're, when you're very used to doing one type on your own, and then, you know, you're talking about the new Nissan Micra next week, you're, you're doing a video on an S2000s. They are very different audiences, you would think, but maybe the algorithm will find both people. I don't know.
00:58:23
Speaker
But, um, and for when you're starting off, is it going to be disheartening? Because yeah obviously everyone starts at zero. Yeah, it's the first time. So you can't monetize it till a thousand subscribers.
00:58:36
Speaker
Then you're chasing 10,000. 10,000 feels amazing. Then you want 20. And now I'm just like, I'm heading for 60,000 and 100,000 will never come soon enough because in the background of this video, of course, I will have a YouTube play button if that ever happens.
00:58:52
Speaker
ah But that could that could take six or seven years. I don't know. um Interestingly, like, so yeah again, it tells you everything. The Porsche video got me more subscribers in the last few months than any other car video.
00:59:04
Speaker
And obviously people want to know what happens next. What's the outcome there? But, you know, it's funny because if you were living in Dallas rather than Dublin, those numbers probably would have come a long time ago, right? Yeah.
00:59:16
Speaker
Yeah. Like, you know, i I know some of the UK guys fairly well at this age and some of them started at the same time as me and even Tish was on the podcast a little while ago. Like her, her channel is growing little bit faster and look, it's fine. It's it's not all about subscribers, but they just, start they have a bigger market. It's like, you know, if you're a musician in Ireland and you want to make it, you at least go to London.
00:59:35
Speaker
There's probably a bit of truth in that for, for youtubers as well but i'm not going to uproot my family um and is there you know is there a tendency for people to want content that's much more snappy or is it a case that for people who are coming to watch videos like yours that they're there for the whole lot i know that's retention is a tricky part and and people's attention spans are shrinking Yeah, and again, interesting interestingly, EVs will actually get you more watch time on a video, most EVs, particularly if it's a new one. um Now, similarly, the Porsche and D, because it's ah it's a beginning, middle and end story, and that's very important for me to remember as well sometimes. And it's hard, maybe it's in in a review of ah of a car, doesn't matter what it there is, a new car, to have a beginning, middle and end, because you're more just going through the motions for want of a better description.
01:00:26
Speaker
Here's the car you're considering, and here's what I do and don't like about it. Um, so watch time is again, and it's another tricky one. It's, it's like, how do you achieve that with, you know, different cars all the time? It's, I don't know. I don't have a magic you so on one answer. Yeah.
01:00:47
Speaker
yeah Right. So the future, I mean, look, the future for the chat for you, obviously, you you might look at a little bit more of used stuff. You might do a few more retro cars. Yeah. Yeah. i'd look ah I remember speaking to a couple of insurance companies and actually, in fairness, when you were in AA, you sponsored a couple of videos. But I would, yeah, a sponsor that doesn't interfere,
01:01:09
Speaker
um not that the brand wouldn't ask for things, but doesn't clash with reviewing cars independently would be amazing. You know, it would just, it would help to take over. and So that would be great.
01:01:20
Speaker
I also did realize we did a video a little while ago because revenue has been tricky for a lot of creators this year, not just cars. And people don't know is it because of Trump is because of pending recessions? Who really knows? But I did notice few weeks ago that and I didn't do this because I have no morals when it comes to advertising on my channel.
01:01:36
Speaker
There was two topics ticked that weren't monetized. So alcohol and betting companies were X'd on my channel. And i don't know if that's a default setting for everybody, but as soon as I unticked them and did the Porsche video, the ad revenue has come pretty much back to what it was.
01:01:58
Speaker
Navi on Cars brought to you by Guinness and Betfair. Yeah, Paddy Power. Exactly. and And look i look look, you know, they are both areas that would be, you know, would trigger people and stuff. And and I do get that. um They're currently, you know, you can advertise. And, you know, a lot of these industries have been shunned from TV and particularly radio.
01:02:20
Speaker
They still an advertise. And suddenly there's, you know, social media going, we'll take your money. Yeah, but like Guinness Zero, Carlsberg Zero, Heineken Zero, you know, people, these are aimed
Impact of Advertising on YouTube Revenue
01:02:31
Speaker
drivers.
01:02:31
Speaker
but know Yeah. there' So there's no, yeah I wouldn't see any issue in, no, we're in cars being sponsored by Guinness Zero. I'm sure you wouldn't either, you know. Well, might be a bit. and I don't know. What's what's the word?
01:02:44
Speaker
Jutting. No, not jutting. But anyway. ah Yeah, but look. Cross that bridge when you come to it. Yeah, it's, you know, it is fun. You know, you're getting to, it doesn't really feel like work. You're getting to do your passion and and create videos out of it. So yeah, oh it's all right.
01:02:57
Speaker
Yeah. And is look as as someone who's been in and around her for quite a long time, it's it's addictive and, you know, you do want to come back to it and a lot. And yeah. You know, for anyone who does want to try it, they should.
01:03:09
Speaker
and It's not often as it's always as glamorous as it seems, you know, the the early starts, the the the lights yeah the finding things to say about incredibly dull cars.
01:03:20
Speaker
But look, obviously it beats sitting staring at Excel all day. You do also, you personally have a knack of like your Polestar 4 video you did. You were able to, you didn't rush it, but you reviewed a Polestar in about five and a half minutes on done deal. So people should go have a look at that video.
01:03:37
Speaker
If you are thinking about getting into this game. I'm concise. yeah Some people do 28 minute videos and there absolutely is room for that as well. I would love to see the watch time on that because I think people will we'll skim through and find out particular bits.
01:03:50
Speaker
Maybe some people will watch all 28 minutes. I don't know. But there's lots of scope for people out there. But um yeah, just i I would definitely lean on the mix of quirky stuff if I was starting today.
01:04:02
Speaker
Yeah. And look, the advice I always give people starting off is if you're looking for cars to review and you're talking to manufacturers, ask them for the shittiest car they have. And the one they can't sell because, you know, don't go in and say, oh, can I have your golf or ask them for their, you know, their, their polo match or whatever equivalent is that they, that isn't selling.
01:04:23
Speaker
Um, because that's more, you're more likely to get handed the keys of that than you are to anything else. And once absolutely you want to do that, and plus the other thing is, you know, if you can review a Kia Picanto thoroughly, you, um, you can review anything.
01:04:40
Speaker
It's totally true. um And lots of SCOTUS. Just just ah ask for SCOTUS. They will help. But I actually saw Tish replying to someone about this as well. Like, how hard is it to get press cards if you're a randomer? And she said, well, if you pitch them an idea rather than just hey can have a press card to do a review yeah come together with some plan use AI to come up with a plan because it would help you and I actually used AI to help me script the video and I don't really do scripts and the radio side of things helps me with that but i I did one for the Porsche video and it's interesting to see again maybe that would have done well anyway but it helped me with the whole beginning middle and ends don't be afraid to embrace technology you're still going to put your own stamp on it it still has to be you as well
01:05:24
Speaker
I was messing around today and created an AI version of myself, which was terrifying. AI Paddy. AI Paddy, yeah, exactly. So I'm going to maybe make myself out of of my own job at some stage.
01:05:37
Speaker
and On the next episode, I think we might talk about this. Is it ever acceptable for the dealer or whoever's working on your car to bring it home for the night? um This sounds like it might have happened to you, right?
01:05:51
Speaker
It did happen to what happened to our area when it needed a new bumper because some old deer crashed into the back of it. And they first of all turned off the location setting in the car where on the app you could see where the car is.
01:06:04
Speaker
And when my wife queried this, they were like, well, why do you need it on? it was like, she said, well, why dod you need to turn it off? And then she she said, like, I can see my car is in such and such. Oh, well, we had to bring it home overnight to test it. And she was like, but it's a bumper that needed to be painted.
01:06:19
Speaker
And then I was talking to a colleague of ours, who her alpha was was kind of brought home for the night. And she was she noticed the mileage was different on it. And yeah, like it it does happen. It does happen.
01:06:32
Speaker
Right, well, we'll deal with that. We might find out the legalities or otherwise of that for next week. m um And feel free to drop us an email, driverspublicpodcasts at gmail.com, if it has ever happened to you.
01:06:44
Speaker
And was there a justified, like, don't know, if they're looking for an engine misfire, you might say, okay, I brought it home to test that. Yeah, 100%. But paint a bumper? Come on now.
01:06:55
Speaker
Bit of a strange Anyway, this has been the Drivers Republic podcast. Well into season three. Thank you for your support, for sharing it, for telling people about it. Brought to you in association with Dundale Cars with Ireland's widest selection of cars for sale from certified trusted dealers.
01:07:08
Speaker
The right car for you is on dundale.ie. See you next time. Sayonara.