The Smart Drive Podcast

A £60,000 BMW 330e, some properly good Peak District roads, and one EV driver who admits plug-in hybrids make him “itch a little bit”.

• We put BMW’s 330e plug-in hybrid under the microscope: superb steering, impressive EV running and plenty of performance, but does carrying two powertrains actually make financial sense?
• Used EV bargains, battery degradation and why a six-year-old Kia Soul EV with 27,000 miles might make a surprisingly strong case for simply keeping your car.
• Plus tyre choices, adaptive cruise control, questionable dashboard trim, following distances and Ashley’s driving being subjected to Simon’s passenger-seat assessment.

Listen or watch wherever you get The Smart Drive Podcast, and let us know: PHEV, full EV or neither?

[email protected]

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In this special extended episode we find out what happens when you climb out of a comfortable, sensible Volvo and straight into a 22-year-old Mazda MX-5? Quite a lot, as it turns out.

• Simon gets behind the wheel of Ashley’s Volvo, investigates its slightly sleepy mild-hybrid gearbox and asks how much a good driver should adapt to the car beneath them.
• An EV road trip post-mortem reveals just 12 minutes of genuinely “wasted” charging time, while heavily depreciated used EVs raise the question of whether slow charging actually matters.
• Then everything changes: an old-school MX-5, three pedals, very little electronic interference and a reminder that driving enjoyment doesn’t require enormous power. It does, however, require the right trainers.

Plus adaptive cruise in fog, disappearing driving skills, and an inexplicably addictive YouTube channel that destroys diecast cars.

Listen, watch, subscribe and tell us which kind of driving you’d rather have.

[email protected]

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Tiredness does not always arrive with a yawn; sometimes it appears as impatience, poor habits and driving that is just slightly below your usual standard.

• How long-term fatigue, stress and cognitive load can affect driving, plus why commentary driving can help refocus the mind.
• Simon’s 1,800-mile Audi Q6 road trip through France, including roof-box efficiency losses, charging costs and surviving 43°C heat.
• Whether young people should learn at 17 or wait until 21, before Ashley receives some gentle governance over his one-handed Volvo driving.

There is also solar-powered EV charging, unreliable dash cams, a suspicious BMW oil-disposal fee and a bottle of Lucozade choosing violence in motorway traffic.

Listen, subscribe and send your own motoring stories to the show: [email protected]

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Ashley’s Volvo appears determined to turn a driving instructor into a tailgater, while a Caterham offers a rather more expensive solution to his fading love of driving.

• Why mild hybrids, regenerative braking and engine-off coasting can force drivers to relearn familiar habits, even when they have decades of experience.
• Ashley considers a Caterham 360S, the Caterham Academy and the minor practical problem of having nowhere to put any of it.
• Lane hogging, flashing headlights and pedestrian priority rules expose the widening gap between the Highway Code, driving-test decisions and what actually happens on UK roads.

There is also roof-box engineering, supervising learner drivers, French motorway manners and a new rescue-animal channel. Subscribe, share and tell us whether Ashley needs a Caterham or simply fewer dogs in the Volvo.

Get in touch: [email protected]

Folow the new channel: @24RescuePaws

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A quiet coffee turned into Oulton Park, race cars, nostalgia and the faint sound of two grown men getting ideas.

• Simon and Ashley watch 14-year-old Ginetta Junior driver Jacob Ashcroft in action, with paddock chat, McLaren support, podium updates and the sheer professionalism of junior racing.
• Track driving leads into a proper discussion about car control, tyre feel, wheel sizes, CrossClimates and why learning balance on a circuit can still make you safer on the road.
• There’s also contact lens drama, driving test booking chaos, first-car nostalgia, Max Power memories and Ashley wondering whether he’s too old to get a racing licence.

Subscribe, share, and tell us whether Ashley should go racing or stick to the old man Volvo.

Get in touch: [email protected]

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Modern cars are getting cleverer, but that does not always mean they are getting easier to understand.

• Simon and Ashley look at EV regenerative braking, one-pedal driving, coasting, and why efficiency depends heavily on where and how you drive.
• There is a nostalgic detour through heel-and-toe, double-declutching, cold-start rituals and one very slow-motion hedge incident with an old Land Rover.
• The pair question whether driver aids, camera systems, software recalls and right-to-repair are making cars safer, or just more complicated.

Plus: marathon recovery, safer roads education, 1991 motoring jokes and a Lotus Elan fact for the dinner-table bore in your life.

Leave us a review, send your questions, and help keep the Smart Drive chaos vaguely road-legal.

e-mail: [email protected]

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An Audi software update that sort-of fixes things, insurance small print that actually matters, and the slightly humbling business of trying to get better at driving.

• Simon talks through his push to sharpen up commentary driving ahead of a possible IAM Masters attempt, including the mental juggling act of limit points, positioning and saying the right thing at the right time.

• There’s some proper consumer advice in the middle too: EV insurance, recovery to charge points, stolen charging cables, and why the cheapest policy isn’t always the cleverest.

• And then there’s the Audi Q6, whose latest software update appears to have mastered the art of disguising a problem rather than actually solving it, particularly when faced with a national speed limit sign.

If you enjoyed this one, leave us a review, share it with a fellow driver, and send in your own motoring stories for a future episode.

Get in touch: [email protected]

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What’s harder — overtaking 15,000 runners or convincing drivers to carry a survival blanket?

• Ashley’s Liverpool Half Marathon reality check and the six-week countdown to London for the James Bulger Memorial Trust
• Turning an £1,800 first-car project into a £4,655 charity raffle success story
• Mountain rescue tales, air ambulance support, and why every driver should pack emergency kit

It’s a heartfelt special on giving back — with the usual pub-banter honesty and real-world driving wisdom. If you can help, donate, share the episode, and send us your charity driving stories.

Support Ashley in running the London Marathon: https://www.justgiving.com/page/ashley-neal

In aid of The James Bulger Memorial Trust https://forjames.org/

Get in touch via your podcast platform or email us: [email protected]

🎧🌍 Join the movement! We're proud to take part in Podcasthon, the world’s largest charity podcast event! 💪 We have dedicated this episode of our podcast to support a charity and a cause that truly matters to us. ❤️

Follow them on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/podcasthon_en or find others like us at https://podcasthon.org/

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Simon’s voice is hanging on by a thread… so naturally he decides to do 700 miles of EV road trip admin and talk about it anyway.

• Audi Q6 road trip reality: 300 miles, one 12-minute stop, and a 265kW charging flex (plus the “nothing to do but scroll” problem)
• Spreadsheet terrorism: the true cost per mile of EV life, plus tyre maths that suggests the rears will last until 2038
• M6 Junction 37 drama: the notorious stop-sign slip road near Kendal, why it catches drivers out, and what “fixing it” might look like

Subscribe, share, and send in your worst junction designs, charging faffs, or favourite 80's car show — we’ll happily judge them.

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What do you get when EV nerdery, dodgy auto-park confidence, and marital car vetoes collide?

• Rivian R2 chat: why its software architecture is so intriguing (and why VW buying in says a lot)
• Auto-park bravery vs real-world reality — including the classic “parked perfectly… can’t get out” moment
• “Divorce cars”, weird instructor motors, and a surprisingly thoughtful detour into deafness, BSL and driving adjustments

It’s part EV industry insight, part pub banter, and part ‘how did we end up here?’

Subscribe, share, and send us your best car-tech fail or forbidden car purchase story.

Our new website: https://www.thesmartdrivepodcast.co.uk

Our new email address: [email protected]

(transcript from the Ultimate Karting Championship annual Awards 2025)

What can you say about this driver that hasn't already been said?

His record of wins and podiums this season is unsurpassed. He was only outside of the top three on one occasion across every heat or final that he started in.

And he took an incredible 18 wins out of the 24 scoring races, and he won four out of the six rounds.

Now in Junior Rotax, he continues to go from strength to strength. He is not only the European Champion, but also the British Champion, the BNL Champion, and the UKC Champion. And that's before we mention the World Championship title from 2024.

His incredible performance at the grand finals in December this year, just missing out on retaining that title in what was a frantic, hard-fought final. He brought home the Vice-Champion trophy, though, after starting on pole. You can't do much more.

He is now for the third time a UKC Champion as well, having won previous titles in 2021 for IAME Cadet, 2023 for Mini Inter, and now the 2025 for Junior Rotax.

the one, the only, Jacob Ashcroft.

https://www.instagram.com/jacobashcroftracing

This isn't just about a logo on a wing. If you partner with Jacob and his team at Elite Motorsport, you’re getting proper business activation. We're talking VIP hospitality in the paddock to blow your clients' minds, and actual track days where your team can trade the office chair for a passenger seat in a race car. It’s high-speed branding with real-world ROI.

• Your name is placed on Jacob’s Ginetta Junior race car
• Positioned on the rear spoiler, visible all season
• Premium placements available on the spoiler end plates for even better visibility are available (enquire for prices)

This isn’t a sticker that disappears — it’s on the car for every race weekend in 2026.

Before every race weekend, one Club 46 member will be drawn to receive:

• Two race tickets
• Full Ginetta VIP hospitality
• Breakfast, lunch & drinks throughout the day
• Comfortable seating and live race coverage
• A tour of the garage with Jacob and the team

You’ll see the cars up close, feel the atmosphere, and be part of the weekend — not just a spectator.

https://www.justgiving.com/page/ashley-neal

The James Bulger Memorial Trust offers a holiday home for FREE holidays/respite breaks for a child and their family who have gone through one or more of the following,

Bereavement, Bullying, Victim/Hate crime, Care for a parent or sibling, Have done a good deed in their school or local community.

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