Thought I’d give you guys an update ..

I tried NOT to like this thing but i almost luv it 😊

Nice soft suspension - sky roof - pre conditioning before driving - active CC - auto wipers, auto headlights..

Im not a fan of the new tech poo on cars  - if you get near the white line dodging a pothole it tries to steer you back into the hole - so you can be fighting with the steering wheel a bit - I turn it off on long trips .. heated seats can be nice on a cold start..

Cost?

I changed to an EV electricity plan where i charge the car between 12am to 6am for 4.5c kWh ..

For the month of June EV charges were $37.11 i think it was…

I haven’t used a public charge station as i have a fast charger of my own - it charges at around 6.5KW

It was originally just going to be used for driving to work but …

drive it to work
drive it to shooting practice on the weekend which is a 170K round trip
drive it to go see mum in the old folks home 100k round trip
Drive it to go to colac to pickup shooting supplies - 200K round trip
Drive it into town for weekend coffee runs 40k round trip
Drive it to Sat night KFC run 40k round trip…
Just looking at my phone and it says I’ve driven 7289 kilometres so far

I can lock and unlock the car on the phone anywhere in the world
No keys needed just the fob in the pocket
I can carry a card in my wallet which i can tap on the RH mirror to unlock it
Smart watch unlock/lock…

It says i can do 490 kilometres which is total bullshit unless you drive at 40ks everywhere you go.. .

I would not trust it to go over 300 kilometres without a charging station at the other end…

So it had ONE job.. .

But now its doing about 6 of them..

So far, SO GOOD 😊

Wait to you pay for repairs ;D

Mitsubishi have a deal where you get $300 servicing each year for the first ten years, and they extend the warranty. Or so I thought. Forgot to read the fine print. Next year's service will be $700. I've never paid that much for a service in my life. I have replaced an engine for less. This is a petrol car.

Wait until you pay for parts too.  ;D

SerialBrain9 wrote on Jul 2^nd, 2026 at 6:11pm:

Thought I’d give you guys an update .. I tried NOT to like this thing but i almost luv it 😊 Nice soft suspension - sky roof - pre conditioning before driving - active CC - auto wipers, auto headlights.. Im not a fan of the new tech poo on cars  - if you get near the white line dodging a pothole it tries to steer you back into the hole - so you can be fighting with the steering wheel a bit - I turn it off on long trips .. heated seats can be nice on a cold start.. Cost? I changed to an EV electricity plan where i charge the car between 12am to 6am for 4.5c kWh .. For the month of June EV charges were $37.11 i think it was… I haven’t used a public charge station as i have a fast charger of my own - it charges at around 6.5KW It was originally just going to be used for driving to work but … drive it to work drive it to shooting practice on the weekend which is a 170K round trip drive it to go see mum in the old folks home 100k round trip Drive it to go to colac to pickup shooting supplies - 200K round trip Drive it into town for weekend coffee runs 40k round trip Drive it to Sat night KFC run 40k round trip… Just looking at my phone and it says I’ve driven 7289 kilometres so far I can lock and unlock the car on the phone anywhere in the world No keys needed just the fob in the pocket I can carry a card in my wallet which i can tap on the RH mirror to unlock it Smart watch unlock/lock… It says i can do 490 kilometres which is total bullshit unless you drive at 40ks everywhere you go.. . I would not trust it to go over 300 kilometres without a charging station at the other end… So it had ONE job.. . But now its doing about 6 of them.. So far, SO GOOD 😊

great report, thanks.
My next car will be an EV

have you driven an ICE car in the past month ?

With an EV or a hybrid -
I worry that mechanics just don't know very well how to fix them.
There are very few people properly trained on them and even if they were
it could take 5 years of daily experience to get really good on them.

A hybrid is an enormous expense and massive extra complications
just to save a few pennies in petrol -
I wonder if it adds up in your favor?

Jasin wrote on Jul 2^nd, 2026 at 8:45pm:

Wait to you pay for repairs ;D

If he pays $37 per month in EV charging, he is saving money from a car that would cost him $80 per week.

Bobby. wrote on Jul 14^th, 2026 at 7:53am:

With an EV or a hybrid - I worry that mechanics just don't know very well how to fix them. There are very few people properly trained on them and even if they were it could take 5 years of daily experience to get really good on them. A hybrid is an enormous expense and massive extra complications just to save a few pennies in petrol - I wonder if it adds up in your favor?

They would have to retrain as electrical fitters or such.

Found this -


Quote:

Specialized Electric Vehicle (EV) Certifications Once you hold a base qualification, you must complete specialized units to handle high-voltage traction systems. Full Qualification: Certificate III in Automotive Electric Vehicle Technology (AUR32721). This dedicated dual-trade style certification trains you to safely depower, diagnose, and repair battery electric vehicles and components. Upskilling Skill Sets: If you are already a qualified mechanic, you can complete specific skill sets like the Battery Electric Vehicle Inspection and Servicing Skill Set. This teaches you how to depower and reinitialize EVs and work with high-voltage storage systems (RESS).

Having come back from China, there is no doubt they are the future.

I think the gwm group outsold Nissan Honda and Subaru combined in OZ IN 2025.

In theory they are much less complicated then an internal combustion engine and should be less prone to break down.

I doubt they will get much in the way of servicing.

Like your electric powered fridge or washing machine, they will be expected to last 7 to 10 years and then binned about the time the battery starts to die.

This is a better model for manufacturers.

The BYD plant in guanzhuo runs 24 / 7.

It runs in the dark.

Virtually totally automated
.
It can churn out incredible numbers

An executive for Toyota Australia I vaguely know said the unit cost in terms of components is around 9 grand.
I found that hard to believe, but he offered up that the unit cost for a corolla is 7 grand.

Once you set the factory up, each additional car is pure gravy if you sell it for 30 to 49 grand and make it for under 10.

It's why China with its economy of scale can and will dump enormous numbers of EVs in Australia and everywhere else

Xi has a stated aim that within a decade China will make 95 % of the world's cars.

I would not put it past them.

Most of their competition is pretty garbage.

Honda , Nissan,  Mitsubishi, BMW and Mercedes sales were all down nearly 20 % in OZ last year.

Once again China shows that hard work. A command economy, cheap energy and not wasting money on a bloated public service makes you an economic powerhouse.

Their cars are getting better and better.
I can see NO  competition

Sprintcyclist wrote on Jul 14^th, 2026 at 7:27am:

SerialBrain9 wrote on Jul 2nd, 2026 at 6:11pm: Thought I’d give you guys an update .. I tried NOT to like this thing but i almost luv it 😊 Nice soft suspension - sky roof - pre conditioning before driving - active CC - auto wipers, auto headlights.. Im not a fan of the new tech poo on cars  - if you get near the white line dodging a pothole it tries to steer you back into the hole - so you can be fighting with the steering wheel a bit - I turn it off on long trips .. heated seats can be nice on a cold start.. Cost? I changed to an EV electricity plan where i charge the car between 12am to 6am for 4.5c kWh .. For the month of June EV charges were $37.11 i think it was… I haven’t used a public charge station as i have a fast charger of my own - it charges at around 6.5KW It was originally just going to be used for driving to work but … drive it to work drive it to shooting practice on the weekend which is a 170K round trip drive it to go see mum in the old folks home 100k round trip Drive it to go to colac to pickup shooting supplies - 200K round trip Drive it into town for weekend coffee runs 40k round trip Drive it to Sat night KFC run 40k round trip… Just looking at my phone and it says I’ve driven 7289 kilometres so far I can lock and unlock the car on the phone anywhere in the world No keys needed just the fob in the pocket I can carry a card in my wallet which i can tap on the RH mirror to unlock it Smart watch unlock/lock… It says i can do 490 kilometres which is total bullshit unless you drive at 40ks everywhere you go.. . I would not trust it to go over 300 kilometres without a charging station at the other end… So it had ONE job.. . But now its doing about 6 of them.. So far, SO GOOD 😊 great report, thanks. My next car will be an EV have you driven an ICE car in the past month ?

In my holidays just recently i did a lot of heavy duty driving in my Mitsubishi Pajero - cleaning out shed - trailer etc - this weekend I’ll be towing the caravan with it to a shooting competition…

So thats its job now - towing the trailer/caravan .. although somewhat ‘agricultural” in sound and feel…

The EV has its job too - and now we use it for heaps more things than first planned.. 😊

Over 8600 on this thing now - my sister has over 80K on hers - she luvs it

Bobby. wrote on Jul 14^th, 2026 at 7:53am:

With an EV or a hybrid - I worry that mechanics just don't know very well how to fix them. There are very few people properly trained on them and even if they were it could take 5 years of daily experience to get really good on them. A hybrid is an enormous expense and massive extra complications just to save a few pennies in petrol - I wonder if it adds up in your favor?

In a pure EV there is SFA in them…

If something goes wrong you replace it - unbolt it and bolt another one in…

The BYD Dolphin EV in Australia comes with a 6-year or 150,000-kilometer bumper-to-bumper warranty (whichever comes first). Additionally, the high-voltage "traction" battery and drive unit are covered for 8 years or 160,000 kilometers. This warranty is fully retroactive to all BYD vehicles sold in Australia since August 2022.

Don’t buy a hybrid unless you travel in the city every single day - they are not worth it as they have tiny batteries that may last 100 meters or so

Plug in Hybrids are different again..

Gnads wrote on Jul 16^th, 2026 at 8:40am:

Bobby. wrote on Jul 14th, 2026 at 7:53am: With an EV or a hybrid - I worry that mechanics just don't know very well how to fix them. There are very few people properly trained on them and even if they were it could take 5 years of daily experience to get really good on them. A hybrid is an enormous expense and massive extra complications just to save a few pennies in petrol - I wonder if it adds up in your favor? They would have to retrain as electrical fitters or such. Found this - Quote: Specialized Electric Vehicle (EV) Certifications Once you hold a base qualification, you must complete specialized units to handle high-voltage traction systems. Full Qualification: Certificate III in Automotive Electric Vehicle Technology (AUR32721). This dedicated dual-trade style certification trains you to safely depower, diagnose, and repair battery electric vehicles and components. Upskilling Skill Sets: If you are already a qualified mechanic, you can complete specific skill sets like the Battery Electric Vehicle Inspection and Servicing Skill Set. This teaches you how to depower and reinitialize EVs and work with high-voltage storage systems (RESS).

If your staff are not holding the correct qualifications or are incompetent word soon travels and you wont get any business - as in SALES…

I worked in a new agricultural retail business for 5 years and fully understand that it was the Service and Parts department that played a MASSIVE role in getting Tractor/Equipment sales..

SerialBrain9 wrote on Jul 16^th, 2026 at 8:17pm:

Bobby. wrote on Jul 14th, 2026 at 7:53am: With an EV or a hybrid - I worry that mechanics just don't know very well how to fix them. There are very few people properly trained on them and even if they were it could take 5 years of daily experience to get really good on them. A hybrid is an enormous expense and massive extra complications just to save a few pennies in petrol - I wonder if it adds up in your favor? In a pure EV there is SFA in them… If something goes wrong you replace it - unbolt it and bolt another one in… The BYD Dolphin EV in Australia comes with a 6-year or 150,000-kilometer bumper-to-bumper warranty (whichever comes first). Additionally, the high-voltage "traction" battery and drive unit are covered for 8 years or 160,000 kilometers. This warranty is fully retroactive to all BYD vehicles sold in Australia since August 2022. Don’t buy a hybrid unless you travel in the city every single day - they are not worth it as they have tiny batteries that may last 100 meters or so Plug in Hybrids are different again..

I prefer older cars - they are complicated enough already -
full of engine, body management, airbag computers  -  ECUs

without dealing with a hybrid.   :o

aquascoot wrote on Jul 16^th, 2026 at 6:35pm:

Having come back from China, there is no doubt they are the future. I think the gwm group outsold Nissan Honda and Subaru combined in OZ IN 2025. In theory they are much less complicated then an internal combustion engine and should be less prone to break down. I doubt they will get much in the way of servicing. Like your electric powered fridge or washing machine, they will be expected to last 7 to 10 years and then binned about the time the battery starts to die. This is a better model for manufacturers. The BYD plant in guanzhuo runs 24 / 7. It runs in the dark. Virtually totally automated . It can churn out incredible numbers An executive for Toyota Australia I vaguely know said the unit cost in terms of components is around 9 grand. I found that hard to believe, but he offered up that the unit cost for a corolla is 7 grand. Once you set the factory up, each additional car is pure gravy if you sell it for 30 to 49 grand and make it for under 10. It's why China with its economy of scale can and will dump enormous numbers of EVs in Australia and everywhere else Xi has a stated aim that within a decade China will make 95 % of the world's cars. I would not put it past them. Most of their competition is pretty garbage. Honda , Nissan,  Mitsubishi, BMW and Mercedes sales were all down nearly 20 % in OZ last year. Once again China shows that hard work. A command economy, cheap energy and not wasting money on a bloated public service makes you an economic powerhouse. Their cars are getting better and better. I can see NO  competition

Correct

Automotive manufacturers are already pulling out of Australia citing being unable to compete with China ..

https://www.news.com.au/technology/motoring/motoring-news/peugeot-suspends-australian-car-sales-amid-pressure-from-cheaper-chinese-rivals/news-story/194491500cf89f20e2a560fe73013f08

Im not happy about this BTW..

It shows a sad state of affairs for Australia…

They have massively cheap energy due to “Australian” coal.. and they are smashing Australia and the rest of the world in manufacturing… 

I met a Chinese girl and her friend recently and they wanted to get to an area before their transport arrived - so i drove them in my BYD and they walked back to my office — she could barely speak English and i had to use the English to Chinese interpreter on the computer..

She was so Proud of the BYD i was driving - and she showed me a picture of where she lived - Shenzhen China - HQ BYD…

---

Cars?

Buyer beware:

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/pYukrNTGs48

Bobby. wrote on Jul 16^th, 2026 at 9:04pm:

Cars? Buyer beware: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/pYukrNTGs48

Lol   ;D

Reminds me of my first car - an XW Ford Falcon.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Im3JzxlatUs

SerialBrain9 wrote on Jul 16^th, 2026 at 8:11pm:

Sprintcyclist wrote on Jul 14th, 2026 at 7:27am: ...................  great report, thanks. My next car will be an EV have you driven an ICE car in the past month ? In my holidays just recently i did a lot of heavy duty driving in my Mitsubishi Pajero - cleaning out shed - trailer etc - this weekend I’ll be towing the caravan with it to a shooting competition… So thats its job now - towing the trailer/caravan .. although somewhat ‘agricultural” in sound and feel… The EV has its job too - and now we use it for heaps more things than first planned.. 😊 Over 8600 on this thing now - my sister has over 80K on hers - she luvs it

Quote:

.......... somewhat ‘agricultural” in sound and feel… The EV has its job too - and now we use it for heaps more things than first planned..       ............

that's a very common comment from EV owners
they also dislike going to a petrol station - it's a smelly dirty place to stand while spending $50.

EV's are sweeping the world.
I see amazing videos about the technology in them, they improve monthly.

greggerypeccary wrote on Jul 16^th, 2026 at 9:09pm:

Bobby. wrote on Jul 16th, 2026 at 9:04pm: Cars? Buyer beware: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/pYukrNTGs48 Lol   ;D Reminds me of my first car - an XW Ford Falcon.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfSQkZuIx84

SerialBrain9 wrote on Jul 2^nd, 2026 at 6:11pm:

Thought I’d give you guys an update .. I tried NOT to like this thing but i almost luv it 😊 Nice soft suspension - sky roof - pre conditioning before driving - active CC - auto wipers, auto headlights.. Im not a fan of the new tech poo on cars  - if you get near the white line dodging a pothole it tries to steer you back into the hole - so you can be fighting with the steering wheel a bit - I turn it off on long trips .. heated seats can be nice on a cold start.. Cost? I changed to an EV electricity plan where i charge the car between 12am to 6am for 4.5c kWh .. For the month of June EV charges were $37.11 i think it was… I haven’t used a public charge station as i have a fast charger of my own - it charges at around 6.5KW It was originally just going to be used for driving to work but … drive it to work drive it to shooting practice on the weekend which is a 170K round trip drive it to go see mum in the old folks home 100k round trip Drive it to go to colac to pickup shooting supplies - 200K round trip Drive it into town for weekend coffee runs 40k round trip Drive it to Sat night KFC run 40k round trip… Just looking at my phone and it says I’ve driven 7289 kilometres so far I can lock and unlock the car on the phone anywhere in the world No keys needed just the fob in the pocket I can carry a card in my wallet which i can tap on the RH mirror to unlock it Smart watch unlock/lock… It says i can do 490 kilometres which is total bullshit unless you drive at 40ks everywhere you go.. . I would not trust it to go over 300 kilometres without a charging station at the other end… So it had ONE job.. . But now its doing about 6 of them.. So far, SO GOOD 😊

It's not Chinese, is it??

All modern Chinese cars like to flash the speed limit in front of you and assault your ears should you exceed it, but the two Urbans I drove both kept finding imaginary 25km/h limits in Sydney’s suburbs, and chiding me for ignoring them. This was about as much fun as walking a dog that has eaten the wrong mushrooms and thinks it can see rabbits everywhere.

Then, just for good measure, one of the cars I was driving also randomly tried to slam the brakes on, seemingly because it was alarmed that people sometimes park their cars on the side of the road.

I must admit that I increasingly feel like a man shouting furiously into the void because it is clear that the vast majority of people tend to buy cars based on price alone – hence the fact that MG is now a top-10 brand in this country. Just keep in mind that I can’t tell by looking at you that your Louis Vuitton man-bag is a fake (although I can tell that you’re a dickhead), butI can see that you’ve chosen a Chinese car.

yes -
the latest Chery car from China rusts -
they are not properly galvanized like other cars:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/483071514074089/posts/878624964518740/

Let’s get back to the good stuff. It is remarkably comfortable. I wish the seat back could be adjusted with a wheel rather than a lever because that way you could have something in between bolt upright and completely laid back, but other than this it’s sublime. It glides over bumps and doesn’t shudder unduly when it hits a pothole.

And here comes the clincher. At one point the film crew and I started to wonder how much it costs. We all reckoned it’d be just south of £30,000 ($58,000) and that this would represent very good value for money. So imagine our surprise when we discovered that you can actually buy a hybrid Giant Panda for £18,995. The top-of-the-range model I had on test is only £21,995.

I’m rarely surprised by a car’s price but this stopped me in my tracks. And I wasn’t alone. Lots of passers-by laughed when they saw me in a pistachio-coloured hybrid, but when I told them how much it was, they stopped laughing. And asked if they could buy one in another colour. You can, and if you go for red you are helping to cure tuberculosis. I’m not actually making that up. Fiat supports a charity called Red that deals with global health issues, and because TB kills 1.2 million people a year, that’s one of the biggies.

Strange. I accidentally spent all week researching TB while driving a car made by a company helping to cure it.

What’s more, it’s a car made from recycled drinks cartons and bamboo. If the nation’s snowflakes had driving licences, they’d be flocking to the Giant Panda. But it appeals to other people too as it’s very cute, comfortable and economical. It even won the hearts and minds of a film crew, who, as a general rule, are never impressed by anything, anywhere, ever. And yes, I liked it too.

Fiat Grande Panda Hybrid La Prima
ENGINE: 1199cc, 3 cylinders, turbo, petrol, plus electric motor
POWER: 109bhp (combined)
TORQUE: 151 lb-ft (combined)
ACCELERATION 0-62MPH: 10.0sec
PRICE: £21,995

Jeremy Clarkson