Car Talk with Ernest Page: Volvo C40

Stave talk proper now on O two one double full six oh five six seven. That is the number to dial if you've got a motoring question to put to Ernest page of all Things motoring and change cars dot co dotzi. He is standing by to chat to us about his latest driving experiences, but more importantly, to help

To prevent because I'm only on your once a week, I feel like saying welcome back to you, but I'm sure you've had many.

Hours on the radio already.

But that's glad again, thank you so much.

And I've been driving nothing at all for the last two weeks, which has been a real pleasure. Host got back into my car to find a flat battery and I'd kind of forgotten how to do it.

No anyway, Yeah, but isn't it a pleasure to sometimes just not drive?

For a little while it is. Indeed, it was absolutely lovely.

But yeah, anyway, all I can say is thank you very much the Battery Mobile service. It came out to help me yesterday when I found my car would not start, and glad to be back on the roads again. I'm glad to be driving in South Africa because, let me tell you, Ernest, after watching the way they drive on the streets of Semenac and Indonesia, I have reconfigured my estimation of just how bad our driving is in South Africa.

I thought it was as bad as it could case, and I was wrong.

No, indeed, I think some of our driving out its aren't as bad as reported. I Ever, I think we've got problems on our connecting roads, which is the issue. And those are high speed connecting roads, and when you go to countries like India Indonesia, oftentimes the and reach speed is lower. Yes, so they don't have those big accidents with a taxi full of people. But it's a bit sketchy out there, isn't it.

It was quite terrifying. I was very very glad that I wasn't behind the wheel of anything. I've got to be saying, And I was also very grateful to rear lies how lucky we are to have as many traffic robots and the like to help manage the situation.

The driver behavior aside.

Anyways, it was quite an exercise in relative behavior on the road, shall we say, Artist, you've of course been driving impeccably within the speed limit and obeying all the rules of the road. What have you been driving the last week or so?

Well, Look, I haven't always been driving the speed limit. In fact, I did two hundred and two kilometers an hour yesterday.

On the race track.

Okay, but when I'm on the roads, and just before I get to the cars i've been driving.

The Volvo C forty is one of them.

And then also my colleague Jason Williams, who's working with me on multiple projects, he drove the BWT Crust. He's reporting on that first. I also just want to touch on your battery situation. Yep. I've just sold my my BMW project card that I've been working.

On and either similar issue.

And I don't even you've seen these USB battery booster backs. No by the online Yeah you can, I think online for what a thousand, thousand and five hundred and just Google boo booster, battery booster, compact battery booster.

And what it is.

It's the size of a charging bank, but it's got enough juice to actually start the car. And I've used this thing multiple times in multiple applications. I've got a company, a few companies that I work with, and a few friends that I know that actually have those available for exactly that situation.

So Garne, of the days of jumper leads.

Gone, in the days of having to need another car to restart your car, These.

Little portable battery backs actually do work.

And it's something I think all of us should have available somewhere in the house or somewhere in the network.

That's fascinating. I didn't know such a thing existed, and I'm so glad you told us. Where do you can you buy them at any battery center or where do you find them?

Well, I take a Lot's got them. I'm looking online. I take a Lot's got one for seven ninety nine. In fact, Macro's got one. Macro is the Gizoo one. I've used their products before specifically, so that's a very reputable one.

And I know you wouldn't think that would work.

You would not think it would work, but I've started multiple cars with him. There's one year for one five, my friend my neighbor's got the one for two to four. Auto Supply Do sells that one, and it's compact. You get older in the problem of your hand, and like I said, I've seen it work many, many, many times to start your average car on your compact, hatchback or sedan.

Good to know.

Thank you very much for tipping us off on wonder If anybody else listening has already purchased and used one and wants to give us any feedback on what it's been like for you. You welcome to send through a voice note or text to seven two five six seven one five six seven if you'd like to comment. Right before we go to any more motoring talk, there is a motoring related voice note that has come in from Dane.

Please op South Africa Cape Talk and the listeners guys just drove past that pig oil spill that happened on the end one just after the yep da yaha. I see the guys are busy cleaning that up now, But I am actually in that industry.

Involved in the industrial sales. We do all the street sweepers and the municipal trucks and things. The guys are really going to have to ensure that that is cleaned correctly. That is a massive amount of oil that fell, and if it's going to rain this evening and it hasn't been done correctly, that's going to cause incidents through the evening possibly even tomorrow morning heating but into work.

Sure, Okay, that's serious stuff, Dan, thank you very much for the update.

That's very good insight from them, because when it comes to oil, it actually gets absorbed into the tarmac. So when it's dried out and it's been disposed of and cleaned up by the chemicals that they use or the powders that they used to absorb but then cleaned up, it might feel perfectly fine on a dry surface, but as Dan said, once it rains, it actually lifts up

And things like that.

So yeah, they're going to have to make sure that's cleaned up properly and be very cautious when going through their folks because heating oil, it's such a concerting thing. I've seen the best guys panic in these situations simply because the cargoes from control to absolutely no control in a split second. So it's it's an extreme hazardous situation to arrive upon.

Okay, thanks so much for that additional word of warning. Please just be extra causus if you are driving in that area of the N one after yep, tyaka, Okay, So back to what you were driving. You said the Volvo C forty, which is the electric suv if I'm not mistaken.

Correct, And I've spent some time with a few of the Volvo products, excuse me, and a few electric products, and the Volvo has been one of the best sellers in South Africa with electric cars.

They've realigned themselves and some know, some people might not agree.

With their strategy, but they've gone fully electric and now they're moving towards fully electric, and the CE forty Recharge is just one of those cars that I think combines good design with ev tech, but at the same time doesn't look like a car that's electric.

It looks like a normal care And that sounds like such an.

Obvious thing, but I do enjoy electric cars that don't pretend to be electric cars. They're just normal cause that happened to be electric. Now, the C forty that I had was that the twin charge, which is the three hundred KILLO version, which goes for about one point two eight five and that is a lot of power to be having in a Ruanabad car, which I have to

Et cetera.

So for me, I would rather not necessarily go for the twin charge. There are many other models in the range. It starts at about eight hundred and ninety nine thousand. And when it comes to electric Volvos or one of my favorite brands specifically, I think the lady that I was chatting to last week that fault inf you, she was mentioning as well that you also loved Volbos journos. In fact, most journals, when asked to choose their favorite brand, choose Volvo.

Now, yes there's depreciation.

All of these things, but just as a driving experience, as a well thought out driving experience, Evolvo, and you cannot go wrong with the Volva.

My specific favorite is the Sedan.

But when it comes to the electric car, it's stylish, it's fast, it's got very decent range, you can charge eighty percent in as little as I think practically in South Africa in under an hour. It's got leather free interior. They've got the Google built in, which is not my favorite. But I think the younger audience might want to integrate the Android phones with the car, because you get integrated completely.

It's runs on a Google software package.

Got a pandemic sign through Hormon contown sound system and Volvo specifically are known for their ergonomics, the interior ergonomics, So you're going to get a car that has got very good interior ergonomics and very well thought out interior. Now you can get a second end model as well. It goes back to twenty twenty four, and as I said, you get it. You can get into a twenty twenty three model of Air for about eight hundred ninety nine thousand demo model online and that is the Twin Pure

Yeah, because one point two million is a difficult one to swallow before you've added on any of the bells and whistles. That's a very very expensive purchase, and we know unfortunately that is the price mind you're playing in for electric vehicles the until time as the important fees and the tax structure changes, ernest, that's what you're going to.

Pay exactly, And a lot of people are.

I think the early adopters, the early adoption phase has now gone past. There are more cost effective electric cars on the market for as little as as low as six let's i'll say a little bit as low as six hundred thousand or thereabouts. But this is the premium sort of space that you're playing in, playing in, So if you want that premium experience, then you know this

Okay, thanks for that feedback.

You have unleashed a wave of questions and comments around the little rechargeable battery pack finger Madriggi that you mentioned. Firstly, CJ calling in saying she has a device called a seat which she bought seventeen years ago from Battery Center and has used as her battery booster pack.

It's never let her down. She wants to know. Is that the thing that you are talking about?

So the sea I'm looking at a seat tech now, that's the one that I think this plugs into the mains. I think what she's got the seat tech is specifically an overnight charger. I think this looks like an overnight charger. Yeah, I think it might be a different thing. The one that I'm talking about is and maybe se Tech that does make a battery charger like that, I'm not sure, but I'm talking about specifically a booster pack of battery booster that's got no cables, doesn't plug into the mains.

That's a jump you can look for jump starter, the Geezuo. It's called the jump starter.

Okay, it's available at MACRAA. Thank you for that.

And our listener Robert mailing in to say, I'm messaging in to say there's a Cape Town based company that sells a very good quality power back jump starter called red E red dash E and he said they've worked really well for him. Excellent quality, highly recorded me. And that's also it's built as a portable jump starter. So redah E dot co dot z is the one that Robert is recommending tech that from whence it comes and so that's good to know. And then let's see what

Penny, thanks for that.

Yeah, I mean, in my case, my battery was actually officially dead, but it had reached the end of its lifespan and it was due for replacements soon. I knew that was coming, so it was just my it was it was bound to happen. So yeah, I was very lucky that Battery Mobile Service could come to me with a replacement battery and sought me.

On a grudge purchase.

It's so expensive, Like every time I buy a battery, I'm always just surprised at how expensive it is these days, because the average price I think has between one and off and two and off thousand and for batsy.

Now I got it for just on one thousand round including the labor. I've got to be honest. I was very very happy.

Yeah. Yeah, I need to dress smaller cars charity.

Sorry, Yeah, there is that one of the big bonuses of being in my little jazz. Okay, before we run out of time, let's let's move away from the battery packs to a question that's coming on voice note from somebody who is struggling to decide between two different vehicles.

I think let's take a listen.

Papa, and you know is the car fundy. My wife and I are struggling to decide between a Cherry to Go Pro for for pro and the Hyundai Venue. Could it please help me decide, give me advice to convince my wife to go either way. Thanks so much. I know this is not necessarily what you're discussing this afternoon, but I'll appreciate.

Your thoughts on that one.

Ernest.

Yeah, that's a chicky one because you've got present cons on both sides. DA is slightly more compact, it's got decent boot space. It does lack power when compared to the Cherry Tigo, but it also has Apple cor play depending which model you get. And yeah, it's a compact car that has less features. And this is the common comparison that we're getting nowadays that we know what we're getting when it comes to the Undi venue.

But Cherry has been around for long time now, the Cherry ti Go for Pro has been around for a long time now.

It's got lots more features, it's got lots more power, it's got more space, it comes with, as I said, a lot more features. So that for me is the biggest key, The Cherry is going to use more fuel, but how much more fuel is worth the luxury that you're going to be getting for that? So you know, I would probably go for and I do like the Hyundai. I do like the Venue, but to me, the Venue

Thanks.

The Cheddi Tiger for has been around long enough for us to now start trusting it.

Thanks Ernest.

One closing comment from Alan, who says, be aware that those battery power packs. Most of the biggest shopping centers actually have a version of them at the security or parking office, and they really do work very well.

So if you get to your.

Car in the shopping center when the battery's gone flat, you can go and ask security whether they've got one and can jumpstart you on the spot. Isn't that fabulous?

To know did not know that. That's great to know you.

Learned something new every day. Alan in Bealville, thank you so much. And Ernest host car Fundy Guy as of Osboys don't called you. Always appreciate your input and we'll try to get next week Wednesday chat.

Then Purple always pleasure

Drive safety, so then please