This week we move back to hybrid cars with the Volvo V60 D6 Twin Engine Plug in Hybrid vehicle. The D6 is unique as it is a Diesel – Electric Hybrid rather than the standard Petrol Electric that we are used to.
This is a very powerful snappy car, at full ‘Power’ mode it is outputting a combined 280bhp and you certainly feel it. Along with beautiful ride, upholstery and fuel efficiency, I can see this being very popular in the company car sector.
We will be reviewing it in greater detail soon online, but in the meantime, listen in the the stream from Monday 13th July.
Volvo V60 D6
Volvo V60 D6 Twin Engine Plugin Hybrid Review by Matt Porter
This morning I chat to Mark about the EE Power Bar. The Power Bar is a rechargeable battery pack which can supply power to your phone on demand. Like other battery packs, the Power Bar is recharged via USB cable. You can use the included usb cable to charge your phone, or you can plug other USB cables to charge your iPhone.
It also has a torch and flashing light function, which is useful if you are scrabbling around in the dark.
If you are an EE customer, you can pick up a free Power Bar, you have to send a text message to get a redeem code from EE first and this text costs 35p.
The really great thing about the Power Bar is that if you are out and about and you have used up all your charge, you can simply nip into an EE shop and they will swap your flat Power Bar with a fully charged unit, great if you are a heavy phone user.
It’s a nice little gadget and the fact it is almost free is even better.
This morning, I chatted to Mark about the new breed of cars currently hitting the markplace around the world, namely PHEV’s or Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles. I’ve already reviewed the e-Golf a few months ago, however the GTE takes the electric technology from the e-Golf and combines it with the performance on the Golf GTi. It’s quite a vehicle to drive.
From a distance you might be fooled by the Volkswagen Golf GTE, it shares its DNA with the legendary Golf GTI, but can also be driven in zero emission mode like the all electric e-Golf. It’s design and equipment has been adapted directly from the Golf GTI with the red hints altered to ‘eco friendly’ blue. The front grill mounted VW badge doubles at the access cover for the charge port.
VW Golf GTE
The engine or ‘engines’ are supplied as a 1.4 litre 150hp turbo charged fuel injected petrol engine and a 102hp electric motor providing a combined power output of 204hp in GTE mode. Essentially you have two independent drive systems that provide almost silent operation and zero emission with speeds up to 86mph in electric mode, morphing to a 146 mpg fuel sipping hatchback in hybrid mode to the insane 0-60 in 7.6 seconds hot hatch with maximum speed limited to 137mph.
When you switch into GTE mode, there is a noticeable change in engine sound which at first caught me off guard and speculating how it was achieved? After a little light reading, I discovered that VW are employing a ‘method’ similar to the BMW i8 supercar. Electronic engine sounds is played into the cockpit of the car via integrated sound system, fooling the senses that you are driving a big V8. It really does fool you, as coupled with the sudden full boost unleashed via the turbo charger, you are catapulted from a completely silent standstill to a roaring power house in an instant.
This is one of the new range of ‘Plug-in Hybrids’ which are current coming to market. There is a very good reason for plug-in hybrids though. Originally hybrids were designed to be charged by the main internal combustion engine and regenerative braking systems and was only really used to bring the car up speeds above town use. With the advent of Plug-in Hybrids, the on board battery is now larger and able to power the car for reasonable distances before requiring recharge. In the Golf GTE’s case, the battery will allow for about 30 miles before recharge. You might think this isn’t much, but the average car journey to place of work in the UK is 9.9 miles, so on average you could drive to work and home without using the petrol engine at all. I tried this and the car was reporting 300 miles per gallon! It certainly gives you a good idea of how much cheaper an electric car is to run. In ‘optimal’ driving conditions, VW reckon you should get 146 miles per gallon! Charging the car takes 2 and half hours via a normal 220v electrical supply.
If you are considering a hybrid, you couldn’t go far wrong with the Golf GTE. It combines ‘hot hatch’ performance with zero emission short distance driving. The price is in line with the Golf GTI, so you would be looking at paying around £33,000.
This week I talk to Mark about the Aqua-Massage XL-250 Pro, a dry hydro-massage system. The massage is dry because the water used to massage your body from top to bottom is safely sealed away behind a waterproof membrane.
This means, that other than removing your shoes, you can stay fully clothed when having your massage. As you can see from the video below, the Aqua Massage uses a high pressure water system to massage your body, these massages can be fully customisable to your needs and is mean’t to be up to 4 times more efficient that a normal massage, plus you don’t need to get undress or have to shower afterwards.
In fact after a restful drink of chilled water, we were ready to get back to work. This makes for a very useful option for todays time precious world, you can benefit from a full massage, but without taking hours out of your day.
A 15 minute Aqua Massage is available from InvigR8 for for £15, we thought it was amazing value for money and we think you will to!
What’s more, InvigR8 are giving away 5 FREE 15 Sessions on the AquaMassage, to win the chance to try out this amazing equipment, enter use the widget below.
To enter, please visit InvigR8 on Facebook to find out more about their business, for an additional chance to win, follow us on Twitter.
There are 5 sessions to give away, please only enter if you are able to visit their Spa in Ipswich, Suffolk, United Kingdom. There is no cash alternative to this prize. If you are the lucky winner, you will be emailed with your special password which you will need to quote when contacting InvigrR8 to book your massage session.
This competition is NOT affiliated with the BBC or it’s partners and is being delivered by InvigR8 Ipswich. The competition opens on Monday 15th June 2015 and closes at midnight on Friday 19th June 2015.
The winners will be published here
Thanks to Kay and Richard for allowing us to try out the Aqua Massage.
This week we talk about the Transcend Storejet 25M3 detachable
Transcend Storejet 25M3 1TB USB 3.0 Hard Disk
USB 3.0 hard disk drive. These are ruggedised, which mean that they are a bit more durable than your average portable hard disks and whats more, thet support USB3.0 transfer speeds!
The are whisper quiet to use and work very nicely as a backup device with the addition of a quick backup button and also can encrypt your data, so if you do unfortunately lose the device prying eyes won’t be able to get their hands on your data.
We also tested this device as a Set-top box disk drive, this added the functionalities of pausing and rewinding TV and also recording episodes of programmes. Again it worked flawlessly and more importantly quietly.
To find out more, listen to the stream and find out what I thought of the device.
Thanks to Mickaela at Transcend for her assistance again!!
You can find out more information about Transcend and its other products by liking their Facebook page or following them on Twitter.
This week I talk about Google Cardboard and Google I/O Extended from Adastral Park. The event was the brainchild of Mark Thomas at Coderus, they are situated on the Innovation Martlesham also.
Google I/O Extended are events which enable people to experience the keynotes of I/O in Silicon Valley in their own countries. BT provided some amazing facilities to web cast the event to a large auditorium and Coderus were on hand to demonstrate some amazing Google products such as Chromecast and the Nexus Player. We also enjoyed Google themed cupcakes and sandwiches which were delicious.
After the keynotes were finished, there was a question and answer session hosted by Jim Milne from Innovation Martlesham and featured guest speakers from the tech area to answer questions and queries about the direction that Google is taking and there were some very interesting discussions about the nurturing role we can all take with young people to help encourage a new generation of UK based IT expertise.
For those of us that waited until the very end of the evening, we were very pleasantly surprised to receive our very own Google Cardboard to take away.
Google Cardboard is a VR system developed by Google engineers David Coz and Damien Henry in their 20% time. It was first released at Google I/O 2014 developers conference.
Google Cardboard
This year, Google have updated ‘Cardboard’ to support phones of up to 6 inches screen size and now it works with the Apple iPhone (but check your screen size is big enough!). Google Cardboard headsets cost about £12 to construct and the plans and specifications are freely available to buy online for about a tenner.
They are very simple to use, you install the Google Cardboard app on your smartphone, then slide it into the back of the ‘device’. There is normally an NFC tag with the headset which automatically identifies itself and tells your phone it is ready to work in ‘3d’.
The two lenses built into Cardboard focus onto the screen on the phone and produces the impression of stereoscopic 3d.
The apps are the real gem in the whole idea and there are hundreds available and most provide and incredibly immersive experience, it’s a fantastic opportunity to try out VR and at a low entry cost it means it’s accessible to everyone with compatible smartphone.
Thanks to Mark Thomas and everyone at Coderus for the evening, it was very interesting. You can find out more about the company by visiting their website here or following them on Twitter here
This week we chat about MiFi’s or mobile wireless which allow you to connect your laptop and gadgets to a wifi network anywhere where you can get mobile coverage.
The Huawei E5756 is perfect for people who commute a great deal or even better for long family journeys as it gives you a wireless network, so you can stream music, upload files and browse the web.
Listen in to find out more about the Huawei E5756.
Many thanks again to Jocelyn at Cow PR for supplying us with the E5756 and the Sim card too!
This week we talk about the Tesla Powerwall. The powerwall is an electricity storage solution for homes, businesses an more!
Tesla Powerwall
The Tesla Powerwall is a rechargeable lithium-ion battery designed to store energy at a residential level for load shifting, backup power and self-consumption of solar power generation. The Powerwall consists of Tesla’s lithium-ion battery pack, liquid thermal control system and software that receives dispatch commands from a solar inverter. The unit mounts seamlessly on a wall and is integrated with the local grid to harness excess power and give customers the flexibility to draw energy from their own reserve.
The battery can provide a number of different benefits to the customer including:
Load shifting – The battery can provide financial savings to its owner by charging during low rate periods when demand for electricity is lower and discharging during more expensive rate periods when electricity demand is higher
Increasing self-consumption of solar power generation – The battery can store surplus solar energy not used at the time it is generated and use that energy later when the sun is not shining
Back-up power – Assures power in the event of an outage
The Powerwall Home Battery increases the capacity for a household’s solar consumption, while also offering backup functionality during grid outages.
The Powerwall is available in 10kWh, optimized for backup applications or 7kWh optimized for daily use applications. Both can be connected with solar or grid and both can provide backup power. The 10kWh Powerwall is optimized to provide backup when the grid goes down, providing power for your home when you need it most. When paired with solar power, the 7kWh Powerwall can be used in daily cycling to extend the environmental and cost benefits of solar into the night when sunlight is unavailable.
Tesla’s selling price to installers is $3500 for 10kWh and $3000 for 7kWh. (Price excludes inverter and installation.) Deliveries begin in late Summer in the US. Plans are for Powerwall to be available in the UK before for the end of the year with more details to follow.
Powerwall specs:
Mounting: Wall Mounted Indoor/Outdoor
Inverter: Pairs with growing list of inverters
Energy: 7kWh or 10kWh
Continuous Power: 2kW
Peak Power: 3kW
Round Trip Efficiency: >92%
Operating Temperature Range: -20C (-4F) to 43C (110F)
Warranty: 10 years
Dimensions: H: 1300mm W: 860mm D:180mm
Porsche 918 Spyder Hybrid Hypercar arriving at the Porsche Experience Centre at Silverstone Racetrack – Photo from Porsche Facebook Page.
To celebrate it’s 10 million fans on Facebook, Porsche ran a competition offering the winner a chance in participating in a 1000 km road trip in the 918 Spyder. The car was specially wrapped to allow fans along the way to sign the car
During the trip, the 918 Spyder was joined by the Panamera S E-Hybrid and Cayenne S E-Hybrid. The convoy travelled through cities such as Oxford and Stratford, the winding roads of Brecon Beacons National Park and many others, where Porsche fans could leave their signature on the 918 Spyder.
The car was driven by Gordon Robertson, the Chief Driving Consultant at the Porsche Experience Centre at Silverstone Race Track, upon his arrival, we were lucky enough to catch up with him for a few minutes to find out how he had got on.
You can listen to the interview at the top of the post. Thanks to Gordon for spending the time to chat to us.
This morning I talked about a very useful dash-cam, namely the Transcend DrivePro 220 in-car camera. The camera boasts an incredible F1.8 low aperture super wide lens with a hefty 16GB memory card on-board.
The camera is however much more than simply a way of recording your journey (and any unfortunate events), it also features ‘lane departure warning’ and ‘collision warning’ and speed warning systems. I found it very able and the picture quality was outstanding.
If you would like to find out more, listen in to the link above and find out what I thought!
You can find out more information about Transcend and its other products by liking their Facebook page or following them on Twitter.
The car was driven by Gordon Robertson, the Chief Driving Consultant at the Porsche Experience Centre at Silverstone Race Track, upon his arrival, we were lucky enough to catch up with him for a few minutes to find out how he had got on.
