This time, we tackle the ultimate trip,
one of the longest roads in Europe...
(GASPS) (LAUGHS) Woo-hoo!
..to find out if an EV can ever be a true grand tourer.
Oh. Oh, hang on a moment.
Low EV battery warning, 10%.
We get a look at the latest incarnation of a family favourite,
the Honda Civic,
and see whether it's as smart as it needs to be.
Woah, woah, woah, woah.
Did you say we are in the top spec?
Yeah. Why have we got plastic seats?
Tesla's latest SUV is quick on paper,
but we take it to the track and see if it can outrun a Porsche.
It doesn't matter what model they are,
they just have this beautiful feel.
This is Fifth Gear.
But with a difference.
They'll still be screaming.
(YELLS)
And squealing.
Would you just slow down?
And shouting.
Stupid idea, I can't listen to this nonsense.
But there'll also be this.
The EV revolution is here.
But are electric vehicles right for you?
What are the costs, choices and challenges?
And how do they stack up against their petrol powered rivals?
We're here to tell you everything you need to know
about the new automotive landscape.
This is the future of driving.
This is Fifth Gear Recharged.
This is the Kia EV6.
We've seen the EV6 before on the show and liked it very much.
But this is not just any old EV6.
This is the £62,000 GT,
which with 577 horsepower, is much more serious.
GT stands for Grand Tourer, a car that can travel effortlessly
over long distances.
This is a brave step for Kia.
Aside from select versions of the Porsche Taycan
makers have left this segment alone.
How can a normal EV travel those distances
with the range and charging issues?
Kia say that it can.
So, we are going to put the EV6 GT to the test.
That's exactly what we've come to Oslo in Norway.
Running through Norway is the longest road
in a single country in Europe.
Guess what, it's called the E6.
And we're going to be driving over a thousand miles of it,
from Oslo in the south of Norway,
all the way up to the Arctic Circle to Tromso,
Europe's most northern city.
In theory, a petrol engine car could do the trip
in less than 24 hours of continuous driving.
So the question is, with its electric power plant,
can the EV6 GT do it in the same time?
We'll have a clock counting down from 24 hours
to see if the EV can match a petrol car.
The clock will keep ticking during charge stops on route,
but not during overnight charges, as we'll have stopped any way.
Shall we? Let's go.
Starting the clock.
Let's do it.
Go! We are off.
1080 miles.
Kia say that with fast charges,
it's possible to charge the EV6 GT
from 10 to 80% in 18 minutes.
But will we be able to find enough fast charges on the way?
Well, we must, because every second will count.
Let's hope we've got choices and they're working.
I'm sure, over a thousand miles,
we're going to get to know this car very well.
I've got a little bit of a soft spot already for the EV6.
As a lot of EVs. It feels very smooth, very well-appointed.
But just the package that I'm seeing in front of me.
First impressions are hello.
It feels so sporty.
Yeah.
And there's a good reason for that.
The standard car, twin motor,
it's got around 340 equivalent horsepower.
Mmm.
OK, that's not shabby, that does a 0-62 in around 5.2 seconds.
But this, we are upping that to 585 horsepower,
which is gobsmacking, and that's 0-62 in 3.5 seconds.
This is a rocket ship.
That is faster than a Porsche Taycan 4S,
which is mind blowing,
considering this car costs £61,595.
That's a bargain.
Pressing the GT button on the steering wheel
unleashes the Kia's full power.
Holy cow. That was about quarter throttle.
(LAUGHS) Really?
Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah. That was just pressing the throttle.
Did you hear that little like windy noise?
Yeah! (LAUGHTER)
We can't munch through our battery reserves early
and want to stay within the speed limit,
so we'll stick with the normal mode for now.
This mode slimmed down the power
to just 324 horsepower to the back wheels only.
Here in Norway, the electric car is king.
87% of new car sales are either hybrid or full EV.
If any country is going to have a good infrastructure
which is serviceable, it feels like we're in that country.
Two hours later and we're stopping for a tactical recharge.
This should do the biz pretty quick. Charger, charger ,charger.
So, there are the Tesla chargers.
There's the Ionity chargers. That's what we want.
That's what we need.
What, are they all full?
They are all full. And that car's waiting.
Yeah.
So, this is where an endurance drive in an EV starts to suck.
With no charger available,
all we can do is wait as the seconds tick by.
This is so bad.
Finally, after an agonising wait, a charger comes free.
Right, shall we have a look? Yeah.
At least it's not raining.
So, it's plugged in. Oh, it's doing it.
Purple.
Yes. We're in business.
We're in.
We're already gone up 2%. Time to get something to eat.
I'd say 10 minutes that will be charged.
Let's go. OK, let's go.
I'm stopping that.
With a rapid 80% charge and a change of driver,
we're back on the road.
We now should be able to reach tonight's hotel
without further stops.
But someone's been pressing buttons.
Uh, mate, we've got a problem.
What?
Well, we've got to go 154 kilometres to get to the hotel tonight.
Yeah, well that's OK.
No, no it's not OK. Our range is currently reading 153 kilometres.
Oh yeah.
That's a miscalculation of one kilometre. Not OK.
So it says there we've got a range of 153.
Yeah. This is the bar showing our range.
But there is that little bit at the end there.
This is if we turn the fan off,
we'll up our range by two kilometres.
Have you had the aircon on all day?
And we've both felt comfortable all day.
We have both been losing range all day due to comfort.
Right, AC off.
Look at that, that's instantly give us 155 kilometres range,
which now means we've got one kilometre spare
to get to the hotel.
Three hours later, nearing Trondheim,
re-gen braking and careful driving have improved the picture.
We've now got 74 kilometres range left,
but only about 10 kilometres left
to finish our day's drive.
It's nearly midnight.
There's the hotel.
There is the hotel.
So we can't stop this clock
until we stop the car and we've got a charger.
And is there going to be a free charger?
There's a charger there.
Ah huh, This will reach. Come on.
OK, wait, wait there. This is the moment.
It's not reaching!
OK, if you can come like that much closer.
Yes?
Oh it's charging. Is it charging?
It's charging.
Stop the clock.
Later on, we find Jimmy's identical twin.
You do realise it's not a real troll.
I'm jumping out, I'm jumping out. Hang on.
And panic sets in at the charging station.
Erm. You need to repair it? What!
But now we've got ourselves a Fifth Gear recharge shootout.
The drill is this, we take two cars of similar price and ability,
put them on a track with a British Touring car legend.
That'll be me. And find out which is quicker.
Can a new EV shake up the motoring status quo?
Tesla's unassuming Model Y SUV has plenty of power on paper.
But is it good enough to outdrive
a fire breathing performance benchmark?
The Porsche Macan GTS, which is powered by petrol.
Let's find out.
Contender number one is the Tesla Model Y,
one of the freshest to the range.
It's basically a model 3 puffed up to SUV dimensions.
This long-range Y costs £58,000 before options.
So not exactly a cheap runabout.
The performance is pretty savage,
0-60 in 4.8 seconds and up to a maximum of 135.
And if previous Tesla's are anything to go by,
it'll be quick around the corners to.
But can the Tesla do much against this?
The massively successful Porsche Macan.
This GTS has pretty much the same power as the Model Y,
but half a second quicker to 60.
It costs just under £65,000. Chalk and cheese?
Actually, I reckon they're pretty close.
Let's get moving with a Tesla.
Now we've mentioned the rise and rise of the Tesla brand,
but it is quite remarkable that, you know, after 15 years,
we're now about to compare this Model Y
with, you know, sports car royalty.
Let's start with a negative, or maybe a negative.
Weight of course is always the Achilles heel of any EV.
You know, this is a two-tonne car,
but it's built on, you know, a skateboard platform,
so that the batteries are low
which will improve, you know, its weight distribution.
Now, there's one thing I really don't like,
which you can't disable in the menus of this car,
and that is the regenerative braking.
Every time you lift off the throttle,
it does apply quite a lot of electric braking.
And I don't want that.
You know, I want to be in control
of when the car goes nose down and it pitches.
I think this is going to do quite a good lap time
because round these long radius corners,
it just tightens the line.
Most other cars will start to understeer a little bit.
Time for a fast lap.
Let's go.
Start the watch.
Oh, you fighter. (LAUGHS)
I didn't think she was gonna stop,
I don't know if you noticed my face went...
Do you know what, it is quick, but the brakes...
I don't like the braking;
if it's got any load on, it doesn't allow you to brake.
But chassis-wise, well, I have to say I'm quite impressed,
because it's a big old bus, this, two tonne.
But there it just turns in,
keeps turning in and I'm on the power.
It's impressive, I have to say.
And stop the watch.
The Tesla Model Y crosses the line in 1:22:57.
Time for the Macan.
Oh, do you know what, they just feel great in your hands.
Yeah, Porsche just have the ability
to give all of their cars,
it doesn't matter what model they are.
They just have this beautiful feel.
The Macan has had a freshen up recently,
and because Porsche dropped the top of the tree turbo model,
the GTS is now the fastest of the range.
Now under the bonnet.
We've got a three litre V6 twin turbo, which is pretty rapid,
and they will eventually go onto 170 miles an hour.
Oh, it sounds lovely, doesn't it?
Overall, the dimensions are similar to the Tesla.
It's only a fraction shorter, narrow and lower.
And then there's the weight.
So here's a question for you. What do you reckon this weighs?
Well, this is only 40 kilograms lighter than the Tesla,
which is remarkable, eh?
There's no manual gearbox option,
but instead, a seven speed dual clutch one.
Still, that's six more gears than the Y has.
I mean, it's not perfect.
I want to be able to change down a little bit earlier.
Sometimes I'm getting a rejected down change
because the computer said, no, no, no, that's not right.
Let's get ready for a fast lap.
Right, so start the watch.
That was pretty nice.
It's tight as we head into the first checkpoint.
The Porsche is half a second ahead.
Good exit there. It just feels great in your hands.
You little... Oh, you fighter.
Whereas the Tesla's impressive, but I don't feel part of the car.
I don't feel at one with the chassis,
whereas this, I certainly do.
Woah, woah, woah. Stop it.
That was good round there, not waiting at all for the car.
Second checkpoint, the Porsche has stretched its lead
to a fat two seconds.
Now we're in sports plus mode,
which, you know, sharpens up the gear mapping,
sharpens up the steering, sharpens up the throttle response.
The Porsche's done in 1:19:15.
The Tesla is well behind, but that's a great result
from the EV against a really serious motor.
Hey and guess what?
An all-electric Macan is just around the corner.
Oh, I can't wait.
Join us after the break to find out whether our EV GT
can make that thousand mile challenge
without running out of steam.
Is it charging?
I'm gonna go check the car.
It's charging, Grace, it's charging.
It's charging.
00:16:17.680 -- 00:16:19.600 Welcome back to our Norway adventure.
It's day two. And our question is...
Come on.
Can the Kia EV 6 GT be as fast and relaxing
as a petrol GT car,
given the EV shorter range and charging times?
Over three days, we have 24 hours of driving and charging time
to travel a thousand miles on Europe's longest road
in a single country.
Starting the clock. Go.
Rudely pulled out of bed, and already there's a challenge.
We can't quite get to tonight's hotel with just one charge stop.
We're going to need two.
But the first could be a quick one.
I reckon we need five minutes charge max, in and out.
So we do that, plug it in, run to the loo,
straight back out to the car, go.
Yep.
Norway has one of the best charging networks in the world.
They've got 17,000 charging points and 3000 fast vehicle chargers.
Six times the charges per head than in the UK.
But even here, a long trip demands a careful charging strategy.
We're about to drive into hell.
Into hell?
Yeah, a 1000 Norwegians live in a place called Hell
and it's just here.
Is it hot there?
What's the temperature now?
15 degrees.
It's 15 degrees in hell, Grace.
Not as hot as I imagined.
Nearly four hours into our journey
and it's time for our splash and dash quick charge stop.
There, there, there, there, there, there. Are they chargers?
But immediately things start to go wrong.
Oh, no, no, no, no, no. What?
There's a man who's just opened... Oh no.
Just get in, just get in there. What is going on here?
It looks as though an engineer is about to take the machine
out of action.
This could be...
I don't think this charger's... Oh, don't tell me that.
Don't tell me that.
I'm jumping out.
Because there's a guy there.
I'm going, watch my bum.
What? What? Erm. Not working?
Huh? Is it working?
Repair.
You need to repair it. Yeah.
How long are you going to stay?
10 minutes. OK.
We're just doing a fast charge. Perfect. You in?
Yeah, we're in.
I've swiped it. Is it charging?
I'm gonna go check the car.
Check the car.
Does it say?
I don't really know. I've pressed the button.
It will be because he needs to repair it, it's not working.
No, no, no, no. It's charging, Grace, it's charging.
It's charging.
Charging.
Go loo. Loo. Go.
Go 10 minutes, come on 10 minutes.
Back on the road, and as we head north,
things are going to get colder.
So, we're getting close to a place called North Norge,
which is North Norway. Yep.
That's also getting close to the Arctic Circle.
So essentially that's where things are starting
to get a little bit colder.
How do you think the Kia's batteries are going to cope as it gets colder?
Well, essentially EVs, their battery performance drops in cold weather.
However, Kia as standard have a battery heating system.
So, as it gets cold, we shouldn't lose too much range.
But if it doesn't work, we could be in a bit of bother.
Here we go. This is Nord Norge or North Norway.
So we're now in southern Norway
and when we go under this arch, we're in North Norway.
That's pretty cool.
That's like the gateway to the Arctic Circle.
But before we went under the arch,
Grace wanted to stop at the gift shop.
Come on, Jimmy.
I'm not convinced this is a vital part of the trip.
What are we doing? Getting a selfie.
You do realise it's not a real troll?
Jimmy look. Yes.
Now this is looking up. Winner.
You were really grumpy before we went into the shop.
But it was wasting time. I'm about efficiency.
But now you've come out with this corker on your head.
Yeah, I know. Well, I've learnt the lesson, haven't I?
Go with the flow a little bit, you might get a nice hat.
The Kia has settled down to using 19.3 kilowatt hours
per 100 kilometres.
That translates to 250 miles per full charge.
Not bad for a near 700 horsepower GT.
But after another two hours driving that range,
though impressive, was starting to run out.
It's already eight o'clock at night and it still feels like
the middle of the day because the sun is really bright.
And we need to get to a charging station
because we are on 13% with 15 kilometres
to get to the charging station.
With all due seriousness, we are getting short of range now.
Is that one in there, is that a charger?
Because we do need to get this filled up.
Let's have a look.
And we need a full charge now.
Oh, and this is the first time...
They're free, they're free, they're free, they're free.
The first time there's been no queue.
There's people camped by them, look.
It's amazing how excited you get
after living with severe range anxiety.
We're in.
I shall do the deed. Our car's now at 11% charge.
So, this should be pretty primed to get it up to 80 quite quick.
Probably about 20-25 minutes.
You know what that means?
Pizza? Enough time for pizza.
Oh yeah. Let's get it stuck in.
Phwoar.
20 minutes and a pizza later.
Watch out for the hot saucy bits.
Mmm.
And we're ready to push on towards Rognan,
tonight's hotel stop.
A couple of hours later,
and even in the lands of permanent daylight,
things were getting darker.
I don't know about you.
I wasn't expecting anything quite as moody as this.
It's like all this weird mist everywhere.
Yeah. It's a bit spooky, isn't it?
Yeah.
And the temperature has absolutely dropped.
I mean, it's been down to three degrees,
but we're still seeming to maintain good battery life.
We have just crossed the line of the Arctic Circle.
This is the furthest north I have ever been.
I'm shocked at actually how bright it is.
It is. So tonight, we're staying in a place called Rognan.
Mm hmm.
I think we're looking good on timing.
We now have eight hours left,
and I'm sure we've done more than two thirds of the journey.
That means we're on track.
We're on track.
There's actually quite a few charges here...which is nice to see.
Get it plugged in and get to bed. It's on your side.
Coming up in part three...
In for a swim? No.
..Jimmy gets close to nature...
(LAUGHS)
..before things get critical inside the Kia.
Oh!
That's the first time that come up. Time that's come up.
And in our team test, we've got a new spin on an old car.
It's the new Honda Civic Hybrid.
Look at how the miles per gallon is dropping rapidly.
We're not built for economy, are we?
No.
00:24:07.640 -- 00:24:12.280 Now it's time to get the first look and first drive of a brand new EV.
Yes, it's the Fifth Gear recharged team test.
Today the team tested the Honda Civic e:HEV.
E-E-E-E-E.
The Honda Civic, just another hatch, right? Well, no.
The Civic is like Volkswagen's Golf, a motoring legend.
The first generation came out in 72,
and since then, over 27 million have been sold.
The 11th Gen came out on its 50th birthday.
We're interested in its new hybrid power, but should you be?
Ladies and gentlemen, this is the brand-new Civic Honda e:HEV.
It is their hybrid car. Oh, what's the face?
It's not a Civic to me.
Because it hasn't got the flicks and the wings?
Yeah, it's not aggressive.
It's not sporty, it's not aggressive.
More importantly, it doesn't look like a hatchback. At all.
What's that on the back there?
This rear end, you know what the hyena looks like,
ugly horrible things, that have got slopy bums,
do you know what I mean?
You not see that?
Yeah, like curved. What you laughing at?
Like curved.
Horrible, horrible form of a hyena.
Jason compared it to a hyena.
Of course, he has many, many hyenas in his backyard,
so he knows all about them.
Yeah, Jason's got a fetish for hyenas.
It kinda looks a bit like other cars on the road,
whereas before there was no mistaking a Civic was a Civic.
So, in case you missed it,
looks have been written off as needing a bit more work.
Never mind, because Hondas are known
for engineering, and the Atkinson cycle two litre
with two Lecky motors promises splendid refinement and economy.
This is a two-litre hybrid.
Two litre hybrid. It's got 181 horsepower.
Turbocharge?
No.
It's a four cylinder... Yeah.
..but there's only two exhaust.
It must be done for efficiency and space saving.
I want to show you the other end, the hyaena end,
because there is something interesting in here.
This, ladies and gentlemen, is a sideways moving parcel shelf.
Why is that new?
I know.
Why has no one else done that? I know, I really like that.
Very clever.
How much weight could you actually get on that?
Oh no, nothing... It's just for cover.
I think it's a lovely idea. I'm with you.
It's very clever.
The cool parcel shelf cancels out the dull looks, fantastic.
So this is the advanced spec, top spec.
Yeah, there are three trim levels,
so we are in the top notch one, which means we get...
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
Did you say we're in the top spec? Yes.
Why have we got plastic seats?
It's synthetic leather.
No, it's plastic. There's no leather in it.
Leather comes from an animal.
Look, in this spec, we get an electrically adjustable
heated front seats, heated steering wheel,
which is all good for me, and panoramic sunroof,
which is good for you in the back.
Is the steering wheel in leather or plastic?
It's the synthetic leather.
Plastic. (LAUGHS)
Well, I have plenty of room though.
Do you know, interior wise, there's some really nice
touches in there, but there's some awful things as well.
So the nice touches, I like the honeycomb on the dashboard.
I don't like the seats, on a top spec car,
I want leather seats, I don't want something leather,
i.e. fake leather, i.e. plastic.
OK, plastic.
Jason isn't happy, but he might like this car on the move.
The Honda is clever. Basically, it's an EV,
but the petrol motor powers the battery,
which powers the two motors which powers the car.
The petrol engine can cut in and drive the wheels
at a constant speed, but it's hard to tell when,
or so Honda claims.
Right team. Yeah?
Here we are.
We are going to play a little game. OK.
In a very short while, I'm going to ask you to close your eyes.
What for? What for?
Because I want you to use your senses, your other senses.
I don't want you looking at the screen.
I've seen it now.
I want you to tell me when you think it's in electric mode
and when you think the engine is assisting.
I love a car game.
So, I ask the team to use all their senses apart from their eyes
to work out when the car was in electric mode
and when it was using the engine in hybrid mode,
because Honda thinks that this is a seamless change.
So, we all closed our eyes
and played a game of whether we could tell
what modes it was in,
and Vicky would drive the car in certain modes.
Right, eyes are shut. Right, go on then.
So, what do you think we're in now?
Well, you're coasting down a hill for starters.
Curse you. Curse you and your extra sensory perception.
I'm going to say hybrid.
Right now?
Yeah, well it's a bit of everything, isn't it.
It's hard to tell.
Ah, you're on EV. EV for me.
I'm saying hybrid. I'm going hybrid.
Are you? What is it?
I'm on hybrid.
Oh.
Oh, hang on a minute, Mr. Plato,
"Oh, this is an easy game."
Well, I detected we were going down hill
One to you, one to me.
Who's the one who's just lost? Erm me.
Yeah.
And there's more not as it seems trickery.
The Honda Civic does not have a gearbox. There's a virtual box,
the ICVT, which fakes gear changes using extra cabin sound
and brake regen, which give it the feel of rising revs
in sport mode. Wowsers.
But does it actually work?
Woah. Bit of air.
Oh yeah, it does work. Yeah. Yeah, you can hear that.
That is quite sweet. Yeah.
Yeah, that is quite sweet.
It sounds reasonably real, more real than many other cars.
Yeah, yeah. It sounds Honda-ry.
How does it feel behind the wheel, V? Is it alright?
It actually does feel like I've got a Honda chassis underneath me.
I've always think that Hondas make decent handling cars.
Yeah. Oh yeah, absolutely.
So that is a tick.
I mean it hasn't got enough grunt,
obviously, only being two, two litre,
normally aspirated with a tiny electric engine in there
to back it up.
I can't wait for the Civic Type R, really can't.
Look at how the miles per gallon is dropping rapidly.
It seems like you've got a bit of understeer there.
Yeah, that's alright.
We're not built for economy, are we?
No. Eh?
This non-plug-in hybrid can beat 50 MPG with gentle use.
That's as good as a diesel.
Do you know what, I don't think I like the idea
of non-plug-in hybrids.
Because why?
Because it just feels a bit pointless.
Yeah.
Well... I like the idea
of a plug in hybrid.
And then you will get a clear, for example, 30-50 miles,
of electric range and you've got a special electric button.
Of course, I understand all the benefit
of it being a traditional hybrid.
You don't have to plug it in anywhere.
But I kind of miss the fact that it can run on, say,
30 miles of electric power, all in one go.
For me, this kind of hybrid car, is a bit old fashioned.
I suppose it works for city driving,
but to get the maximum amount of efficiency,
you're better off with a plug in.
This might be beneficial for people who don't have access
to home charging or might find it hard to find a public charger.
So there's that benefit that you haven't got to plug it in.
So, we've got good kit,
a good chassis, good economy, and smart tech.
Can the Civic shrug off those hyena comments though,
and deliver a more friendly conclusion?
I am enjoying myself. Seems like it.
It's able and it's agile and, you know, it's quick enough.
So, the Honda Civic, it looks very much different
to all the other ones but it still lives up to its civic name.
It's well built, it's decent to drive.
I think it's an improvement from the last generation,
and I can't wait to have a go in the Type-R.
So, for that reason I'm going to give it a seven.
I quite like the look of this car overall,
it's got sleek swoopy lines, but for me I would have preferred it
even more for it to look sportier and more aggressive.
So, I'm really intrigued to see what the Type-R version would look like.
But this one, I'm going to give it a seven.
I like it. I found it enjoyable for what it is.
I am going to give it a score of 7.5.
It simply can't be any more than a seven.
But I reckon when the Type R comes along,
that'll probably look like a nine.
Not too shabby then. The Honda Civic is alright.
It may be a slow burn designed to tempt you in,
but once it does, it's got the power to win you over.
But we still can't wait for the Type R.
Coming up later, we get to see if Jimmy and Grace
manage to complete their thousand-mile mega EV mission.
That is the most northerly city in Europe, there.
What a way to end this trip.
If we make it.
00:33:51.920 -- 00:33:53.600 Back in Norway...
(ALARM BEEPS)
It's the third and final day of our grand touring adventure.
Getting up after so little sleep isn't easy.
But still, I'm sure Grace will be having just as hard a time.
Where have you been?
Don't even ask.
Get in, you know we've got over 300 miles to cover today.
Let's go.
Time to start our countdown clock.
In an ultimate range anxiety test, we're trying to see
whether this Kia EV6 GT
can equal a petrol grand tourer and drive a thousand miles
through Norway in just 24 hours of driving and charge time.
And on this, our last leg,
we're heading towards our final destination point, Tromso.
Day three, Jimmy.
Yeah. The last day.
How you feeling?
Not great. Not enough sleep has occurred.
This challenge has been a lot tougher
than I thought it was going to be.
I'm really concerned now.
Are we going to make the 24-hour challenge or not?
So today's journey, we've got to do over 300 miles
at the Norwegian slow speed limits,
so we can't go as fast as you might imagine.
Yeah.
I worked out we need about eight hours, six minutes
to do today's journey.
Right, to get to our final destination...
Yep. ..of Tromso,
we do have to take a car ferry by the looks on the map.
Yep.
So currently we're about 50% charge.
Do we charge before we get the ferry or after we get the ferry?
I reckon we charge before, just in case we come across
any problems with any of the charges like we have done.
Alright, well, let's go first. Get it done.
If we do get full charge at this first place,
we know we're good until the very end of this journey.
This will be our final charge. Fingers crossed.
If this does turn out to be our last charge,
it means we've covered more than a thousand miles,
done in three overnight full charges and three fast top ups.
Right, let's just hope. Can you see the chargers there?
I can see two chargers.
Two chargers. Let's just hope they're working.
With no cars. No cars.
It looks as though we've got the chargers all to ourselves.
So we've got 50 kilowatts here.
Let's get it on and in. That'll do.
Swipe there. What are we going to do while this charges?
Wait.
I think I might have to go and take advantage of this trip.
Coming for a swim?
No. Fish will have your toes.
You're missing out. Give us a shout when it's charged.
As a big fan of the outdoors and wild water swimming,
Jimmy has trouble resisting some of the best water he's ever seen.
However, you may wish to look away.
Woo, woo-hoo!
So how was the dip?
Yeah, not bad. Very beautiful, fresh, fresh water.
The surroundings around us for me,
they have just been sublime, incredible.
The views we've driven through so far.
Yeah.
Right, here is the entrance to the car ferry.
So this is nerve racking now because if there's any delays,
we could be in a lot of trouble, just getting onto this ferry.
We need to get on and go.
Oh look, here comes the ferry. There is the ferry.
During the crossing, we're going to stop the clock.
Is that cheating?
Well, the car isn't running and it isn't charging,
so it seems fair.
That way? That way.
This way? Yep.
This really is the first moment we've been able to relax
and just take in these absolutely stunning Nordic views, isn't it.
Yeah. It's beautiful.
I have to admit, this trip has been slightly more manic
than I'd imagined, but we have only got
around five hours left of this journey.
When we get to the other end,
we've got just under 200 miles still to go.
It's going to be really, really tight to the wire,
all the way to the end.
Time to run the clock and start driving again.
But this is remote now, we are a long way up north.
Back on the E6 and away we go.
We've got just enough range to make it to Tromso.
This is obviously not the time to do something stupid,
but I think we've earned it.
We're going to have a proper press on that GT button.
We're just got to see what it's like.
Really? Yeah.
Are we going to use it? Yeah.
(GASPS) Woo-hoo, whoa.
(LAUGHS)
This is insane.
When you press that button, you don't just get more power
and acceleration. There's a whole load
of other things happening, I mean it comes alive.
Yeah.
All that 700 horsepower really does make this GT
closer to a supercar in outright go.
Don't tell me what it does to the range though.
After all of that, we still do need to make it to the end, don't we?
That has taken been a bit of a chunk out of our range actually.
It has.
That aside, the fact is that this journey has actually changed
my attitude towards electric cars for the better.
For the first time ever, I feel I'm in an EV
that really does what it says it's gonna to do.
And that for me has given me confidence in driving an EV.
And yeah sure, the charges can sometimes be
a little bit finicky, not well worked out,
and not enough of them.
The infrastructure isn't quite there,
but with this car, if you have got the infrastructure,
I'm absolutely 100% convinced that you can do what you want to do.
You can motor normally and have fun doing it.
Yeah, I have to agree with you there.
This car has exceeded my expectations really.
It's important to remember if you do want that GT experience,
you have to watch your speed and still plan carefully
for electric refills. And predictably,
on the last bit of the journey, we have a real wobbler.
Woah!
Hang on a moment.
That's the first time... Time that's come up.
Low EV battery warning 10%.
We are all in here.
What time is it? 11pm.
11pm. Look how bright it is still.
We've only got 5% battery power left.
That's 17 miles range
and we've got 10 minutes of time left.
Things are getting just a little bit on the tight side.
4%, 16 kilometres left of range.
There is the city in the distance,
that is the most northerly city in Europe there.
What a way to end this trip.
If we make it.
Our finishing line in Tromso is to be the beautiful cathedral.
We've got six kilometres to drive,
4% of battery life and just eight minutes.
We've now got 4% charge left,
barely any range left, and five minutes, 33 seconds.
There is only three kilometres to go.
We're about to hit the five minute mark
with 4% battery.
I'm on the edge of my seat now.
Yes.
Four minutes, four minutes.
We can't have come this far and not do it.
That's the cathedral.
That's it. That's where we're going.
No, no, no, no.
Come on, we've got three minutes.
That's the cathedral there?
3%, come on, it's literally there.
The traffic lights have just turned green. Come on, traffic lights.
Come on. Is this it, is this it?
Go through, go through.
This is it.
Up here, up here.
Round here, round here. This is it, this is it.
Right, as soon as you stop the car, I'm going to stop the clock.
Yeah. Stop the clock, stop the clock, stop the clock.
Mate.
We did it.
We've got 3% charge left, and only 11 kilometres
on the range, but come on, the big one.
Did we do it in 24 hours?
You're not going to believe this.
There is 1 minute 27 seconds on the clock.
Come on.
We nailed that. That is awesome.
That's an amazing end to an amazing journey
and the star of the show was an EV that really is a GT.
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