Episode 102 of the Kilowatt Half Hour, the EV podcast from Electrifying, covers three stories that each carry real weight. The Mercedes EQS has received a new WLTP range rating of 574 miles. The hosts note that even after stripping out 100 miles for cold weather and real-world driving, the figure still puts usable range somewhere around 470 miles. That is not a breakthrough in the sense of solving a problem, it's closer to the point at which range stops being a variable worth worrying about for most journeys. The Kia e-Niro is being discontinued, bringing the curtain down on a car that accounted for a substantial slice of Kia's 100,000 total EV sales in the UK. And Tesla's Full Self-Driving Supervised system has received regulatory approval in the Netherlands after 18 months of testing by Dutch authorities.
The e-Niro discussion has some texture to it. The hosts observe that efficiency gains from the models replacing it have been slower than expected, and that heavier successors like the Hyundai Ioniq 5 were less efficient than the cars they replaced despite arriving later. The e-Niro's end is driven by lineup reorganization around Kia's EV2 and EV3 rather than a sales failure. Also covered this week: Volkswagen held a major launch event in Hamburg, revealing the upcoming ID Polo, ID Polo GTI, and ID3 Neo in what the hosts describe as an elaborate indoor outdoor warehouse setup, with each car presented in its own dedicated space. The ID3 Neo review is already live on the Electrifying YouTube channel. The new Nissan Juke electric also gets a divided reaction, with one host finding the heavily faceted exterior interesting and another considerably less convinced.
The Dutch FSD Supervised approval warrants some clarity. Authorities spent 18 months road-testing Teslas before granting approval for hands-free operation, with explicit restrictions attached: no reading, no phone use, attention to the road required. The hosts compare the system to existing hands-free motorway-driving features in other manufacturers' cars, noting that what's new is not the technology but the regulatory framework around it. A listener-submitted technical note clarifies that most 150 kW-plus chargers installed in the past four years can handle up to 1,000 volts, meaning owners of 800-volt architecture vehicles often see charging rates above 150 kW at newer stations, which can come as a pleasant surprise. Listener threads on used EV buying and real-world efficiency data round out the episode.
Bottom line: The Kilowatt Half Hour has found a format that works: informed opinion, actual driving impressions, and listener engagement on the technical stuff that mainstream car coverage tends to skip. The 574-mile EQS and the e-Niro farewell are both worth your attention this week.