#BrownCarGuy – News, Views & Reviews!
Meet the newest, biggest and fanciest member of Volkswagen’s all-electric ID range of passenger cars. The ID.7 rolls out at nearly five metres long, sets a new benchmark for luggage capacity and yet achieves a drag coefficient of just 0.23 Cd, letting it slice through the air with the serenity of a swallow.
Everything Electric is the new show held at ExCel London by the Fully Charged Show, which opened on Thursday 28 March 2024 running to 30 March. Here’s my live walkaround video when I first got to the event on day 1, completely unfiltered and unedited. Apologies for the sound, it was filmed straight off the phone camera and there was a lot of ambient noise.
In our latest update from the world of EVs and market trends for Electric Cars, with the revelation that car manufacturers are losing around $6000 or nearly £5000 on every $50,000 electric car sold. Plus how EVs sales volumes are likely to fall well short of Biden’s mandate of 60% by 2030, and how manufacturers must change or find themselves in an untenable situation.
It’s brand new, it’s electric, it’s Chinese and it’s inspired by the Ocean. Plus, it can accelerate from rest to 62mph in under four seconds, putting down over 500bhp through all four wheels. Meet the BYD Seal!
Electric vehicle owners to be charged more for Parking in London? Because of higher emissions? Talk about confused and mixed messages from the authorities regarding eco-conscious driving!
Check out my full review of the brand new 2024 Mazda MX-30 R-EV Plug-in Hybrid, with an all-new ROTARY (Wankel) engine acting as a range-extender hybrid. This responds to the previously launched MX-30 EV arguably having insufficient range at 125 miles. Full details and specifications of how it works, plus a look at the practicality, space, comfort, equipment and pricing, as well as taking it for an extended drive on a press launch across North Wales. Full written review below
While at a BMW Media Event, I took the opportunity to have a quick look around next year’s new Mini Cooper, which will come as an EV, although petrol models of the Mini will also still be available. It has a remarkable interior!
The bZ4X is Toyota’s first full electric vehicle offering, which may come as something of a surprise from the world’s biggest car company, coming at least five years behind much of the rest of the car industry, despite Toyota being among the pioneers of hybrid technology.
Early this week, I was invited to a media event at the Nissan Design Europe Centre in Paddington, London, where they were celebrating their 20th birthday by gifting themselves the extraordinary Nissan 20-23 concept car, an all-wheel drive track-focussed hot hatch style city car. No spec was revealed as this is merely a design concept, but virtual videos of the astonishing interior were revealed. It was launched by Nissan President and CEO Makato Uchido and we met Global Head of Design Alfonso Albaisa and Europe Design boss Matt Weaver and were given unique access to the inner workings of the design centre. From the first sketches, to seeing them translated to 3D digital renderings, and finally to a full-scale clay model.
The first video below focusses on the reveal of the new concept and in the second video we see the design centre and listen to the incredible insights of the design gurus.
In the ever-evolving world of electric vehicles, BYD has dived into the market with its latest offering, appropriately enough called, the Dolphin. This all-electric C-segment hatchback is making waves with its affordable starting price of just £26,000.
