London Black Cab TX | Fully Charged
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- Опубліковано 21 сер 2024
- Jonny Smith reviews the all new London Black Cab, the TX Electric Taxi from LEVC, on the coldest day of the year so far and takes it out for a proper test: sitting in traffic in rush hour London and then collecting a jet-lagged Robert Llewellyn from the airport.
This is the first time that LEVC (formerly the London Taxi Company) has created the recognisable ‘black cab’ with electric propulsion. It comes with all sorts of high-end technology, improved safety features and a petrol range extender, allowing it to cover 80 miles on electric only or 400 miles when combined with the petrol range extender. Equally important, this new model seems like it could be a boon for taxi drivers, their wallets and their health, especially with inner-city clean air regulations becoming more important.
The official LEVC website for the TX:
www.levc.com/tx...
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I love driving this cab, it is a real game changer from the old diesel cabs in London!
Hello Tom
I've got to say it's always a delight to watch Jonny & Rob. This was exceptional.
11:50 Really great that you include all the prices in the "main" currencies!
Whoever does the edits: Your work is *very* appreciated! :)
Kniffel101 ... except that the $20 bill appears in the cab 5 and a bit minutes before Robert hands it over. Did Jonny use the word magic?
Fabulous video! One of your best in my opinion bit of tech, bit of experience behind the wheel and on the road and your character banter to top it off, great stuff guys!
I'm glad UK manufacturers are investing time in reaching out with you as well, keep up the good work x
The car is mostly Chinese (Geely) though.
Well I'm glad SOMEONE came along and put in the money and design effort to keep the black London cabs rolling into the future.
Chinese ...was going broke..
Pretty sure Geely (china) owns them. There's nothing british about this. Not that I have anything against them, but in the interests of accuracy, Geely should be mentioned.
vx I'm perfectly aware Geely own this company and this was clearly mentioned in the video. However Mr. Negative the manufacture is done in Coventry, hence why I said UK manufacturers... As in manufacturers inside the UK.
Not a very insightful comment from me but… oh the lighting on this ep captured the experience of being a taxi passenger in London so so well, with perfect accompaniment from Jonny the Cabby. Bravo!
Wise decision to get the Heathrow Express to Paddington train station Robert, you could have been stuck in that cab for several episodes otherwise
Great video - Love this style - More Jonny and Robert together!!
OMG! I am so happy about this! The next time I am home I must have a ride in one.
Only one been licenced so far, seeing as they have been having problems with the taximeter.
Happy! Why?
This is a waste of money
Cab drivers have to pay around 700 Bucks a month for it as supposed to around 300 bucks
i get the fuel costs thing but I dough any Minicab driver spends 400 Bucks in fuel a Month
I'm worried that there won't be enough of these in London and won't have any pretection in law so that uber drivers etc.. M can use other vehicles because its an icon of London.
I love that it has 3 Ways of charging, Regular AC with Type 2, CCS and Chademo, it can almost charge everywhere and has 30kwh and an small petrol range extender.
very nicely done.
In fact I would like a non taxi version, I would bet it would sell very well.
Exactly this. I have been twiddling my thumbs waiting for bmw to make their "i5" as the i3 is just too small for my needs but the REx is by far my favourite EV implimentation at the moment.
I honestly think this is the best car show out there now. Very nicely done.
Loving this and the magic of you two chaps on screen together! Brilliant engineering in the fabulous package of a London Black Cab, love it, love it, love it, can’t wait to ride in them on a regular basis. Totally brilliant, bring on the future guys!!!
A Jonny Cab at last(Total Recall)
perfect
haha Gary, you beat me to that joke
😂 I was thinking the same but congrats 👌
OMG....WILL IT DRIFT? That steering angle is crazy.
it's 3 feet more than the existing Taxis which is 25 feet as opposed to 28 feet so they haven't matched the 60 year old technology...
This needs to be in NYC and have a sensible law for cabs, school bus, tourist busses in the Bus Lane. London and Europe is a head of the curve.
Julia M nope we are copying the #vehicleobesity of USA every year more and more SUVs and crossovers clogging up narrower roads.
The Infidel this is a Chinese taxi assembled in UK
And yet it's a Chinese car !!!!!
Luckily a lot of cabs in NYC, Boston, and Chicago are all Toyota and Ford hybrids which is a huge step up but it's not good enough
The Infidel nonsense, American emissions regulations are much more strict than European and fines for breaking them are much more severe. VW diesel scandal would never come to life in Europe, they'd get a slap on the wrist.
Another entertaining and informative analysis. I'm glad they still look like a London cab.
Looks like a perfect design for the job. The cabbies will be fighting for them.
hiddengrousefarm except they are unaffordable for most
There you go, the only use case for a Tesla was just blown away...
Looks more like 'Europe', locals & tourists are gonna freakin' love it !
Did you somehow miss where the leasing price difference was less then the amount saved on fuel?
Yes, it costs 10 pounds per week more to lease but saves 100 pounds per week in fuel and operating costs. That's a net savings of 90 pounds per week. It costs much less in total.
What he forgot to tell you was the £18k balloon payment at the end. Lovely cab just to expensive. Works out to like £68k
Volvo steering wheel, Volvo display, Volvo start buttons and Volvo key fob. If it’s anything like a Volvo, it’s brilliant
Unfortunately, current Volvos have slipped in quality and some of their models are actually quite unreliable.
CaptHollister hmmm true and debatable, my Volvo XC90 is perfect although there are some system glitches sometimes
Wouldn't be suprised if the 1,5l 3 cylinder engine is the same used in the Volvo XC40 (2:15 "part of the Geely family"). Same with the center display.
What does me really suprise, is there in fact both a CCS (2:30) and a ChaDeMo (2:36) socket installed?!
And, btw, at the Volvo museum in Gothenburg there is a prototype of a taxi built in the 1970th typical for the British market on display... ;-)
Roland Messerschmidt It basically is a Volvo XC40 T5 PHEV that eats sausages and beans in the morning instead of fika.
CaptHollister It depends on the model year. 2016-2017 models have had a bad reliability because of the 4-cylinder turbos and the hybrid system.
Since 2018 Volvo is steadily regaining it’s worthy reputation in reliability :)
A three-and-a-half cylinder engine! Definitely novel ;)
Great to finally see something that will get the groaning, wheezing pollution-belchers off the road and be replaced with such a great piece of design. Surely the new icon for London!
Richard Gledhill 10 times more ultrafine PMs than euro 6 diesels, more NH3, CO, CH, CO2, lower real world mpg especially in winter, higher tyre wear, lower payload range add in #scrappingiswasteful and the Helsinki non fossil #hvo from waste route seems far more environmentally friendly than cobalt mining in the rainforests of DRC
Luke W Usual anti-progress reply. Yawn.
Not the brightest are ya.
Who, me or Luke? Luke's just a typical internet troll, not worth paying any attention to.
@@richardgledhill Easy to say that any dissenting view is anti-progress. You mean anti your opinion, do you not?
Absolute joy to watch: the car, the hosts and of course production quality
Johnny, I do believe it's the hackney carriage license that allows cabbies to legally drive in a bus lane, not the vehicle. Whoopps!
Love watching videos about technological solutions for outdated systems that have been around for a long time 😄👍🏽
Great video. Really enjoyed it. Can’t wait to see more on our roads. “Hear! You’ll never guess who I just had in the back? That broke who plays the robot in the rubber suit, you know the one..C3PO”
Oh I know, Star Trek
Yeah, my kid loves em. Them Cylons innit.
Yeah... *MARVIN, The PARANOID ANDROID.* That guy!
Why not TX-E, that's cleverer wordplay.
That's exactly what I was thinking... and I work there!
'letter play' ?
I think TX-H is better coz it has a petrol engine it..
Brilliant episode. For anyone commuting, an EV is a no brainer. I can’t believe there’s not more talk about them not using energy when they’re stationary. It’s one of their big advantages
2:13 Did he say "three and a half" cylinders?
Smidge204 yes he did? Wtf I'm so confused 😂
That's what I heard. I have no idea what it means.
erlebo 1.5L 3cyls slip of tongue there!
Three in the engine, and one half behind the steering wheel ;)
1.5 liter, 3 cylinder. Don’t blame yourself...he’s speaking British.
Johnny Cabs 😆
like in total recall movie
I'm never going to own a taxi of any kind, yet this is one of the most interesting and charming car videos I've ever seen. Great job team, I've since checked out loads of your other videos!
I was picked up by one of these at St Pancras station. Fantastic Vehicle. Funny when we got dropped off it was so quiet. That distinct noise you here outside your house indicating someone is being dropped by a Black cab is going to be a thing of the past.
Heathrow airport looks a hell of a lot like Paddington station!
great presentation start to end.
This is a proper Channel,non bias & covers a wide range of Electric topics unlike “Now You Know” who ONLY covers Tesla & drags down every other manufacturer even though some have EV’s.
At least when you’re taken on the long scenic route, your view of London is much improved and more comfortable and pollution free. Great vid guys.
8:10 we're gonna go fetch Bobby Llewellyn...
Who the hell is...
Oh right.
Smeg head! ;)
At least they're not going to fetch Rimmer!
Jonny driving a cab, it's a Jonny-cab :-)
This channel became a whole lot livelier with Johnny. Y0u guys are killing it right now! Oh and the practicality of electric-hybrid in a city seems like a no-brainer. We should've done this a long time ago
those are driving around in Hamburg cince at least two months and the best about them they drive you for the same price as the local transports. love them
"Love you long time." 😂 18:37
I thought he said he was going to drive from Central London to Heathrow but he just went to Paddington and back.
Brilliant movie. Enjoy Jonny's competence in about every aspect of cars and his relaxed entertaining talent.
Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. Great car, great coverage, great videography, great music, great dialog. Brilliant commentary by Jonny. Well done mates!
and if you have been.....thank you for watching.
Brilliant design and execution and made in England ! Top Marks Geely.
They have done a fantastic job of dragging this icon into the 21st century, it was an icon but an absolute dog , noisy, smelly , uncomfortable, this new version is an absolute revolutionary design.
Always thought the idea of range extenders were so sensible - got rid of range anxiety! However talking to a London cab driver the other day - he told me that with heating or air-con plus lights he was only running for approximately 50 miles on electric.
Pretty quiet about the Chinese maker/ownership group... but I heard ya.
They were likely offered a incentive to keep that on the down low as much as possible. Mustn't do anything intentional to draw the ire or wrath of our new Cino masters, here in the western world...
It's not made in China, it's made in Coventry. It's simply owned by Geely, just like Volvo. It's not different than Jaguar being owned by Tata. Jaguar isn't Indian, or made in India. Geely simply own the LEVC - in fact LEVC would be bankrupt if Geely didn't acquire them.
“All electric taxi” he said just before he shows the petrol engine... 1:24
Great video. First time I have seen a film about an EV and actually cared. This is en enormous change for cities, quiet clean and still a black cab.
Jonny is such a good presenter, he can ramble on about cars without it getting boring to the viewer. He really has a passion for cars. Also it’s crazy to see how high the production value is on these FullyCharged videos from a year ago, how many camera angles do they have there?!
This is a real upgrade in the business 👍
You don't deserve 250k subcribers.
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You deserve 20 times more!! Such a great info/entertainment combination!!
Like Top Gear/Grand Tour, but done right!
Two great presenters for this channel.... Both with a passion for electric vehicles....
Thanks Robert and Jonny and all the crew for another good product review.
Congratulations Jonny on driving legally in the Bus Lane
Not sure about that. A real cab yes, but not a real cabbie.
Jonny and Robert, I think a trick is being missed here. Surely the taxis should have induction charging at the ranks? It would keep them charging whilst moving up as fares come in. What do you guys think?
Andrew Wilkinson induction charging is very inefficient and would be expensive to install.
evilution that's not true, even Fully Charged covered it few months ago and the induction charging is around 90% efficient.
2.0
This would be awesome at places like Heathrow and other taxi wait zones when they wait in line for the next customer!
Andrew Wilkinson taxis are hardly ever in ranks though. Perhaps at airports, but on the streets it's rare to see a stationary cab waiting for a fare, let alone a group of them. Even at kings cross, where there is a long waiting area for cabs, demand is such they are constantly pulling forwards are are rarely there for more than a couple of minutes.
Great video. What a contrast to the crippling TX4 that I loved and loathed in equal measure. The LEVC cab is a stunner.
I like it, having spent over 20 years with the FX4 and then the horrible FX4R and FX4S I gave up before the first TX vehicles came in and retired - what a shame so impressed by this would love a go!
Love it👍
Biggest problem for this is while your charging, your not making money. Most cabs do 300-350km (180 to 210 miles) per day. If the job loss during charge is offset by fuel cost it'd be good.
NeonsStyle Wizard of wrong... Watch the video again. 400 mile range.
So, if this is at the high end of the stated average London traffic speed of 10mi/hour, then those "Most" cabbies of yours are driving 18 hours per day. I commend their industry.
Terrific video! Aside from the commentary, the production values keep getting better and better. I was especially impressed by the camera work, editing and music.
Your shows just keep getting better and better. Bravo!
I would pay to ride in this over a petrol or diesel uber. The English are smart, instead of complaining that uber is taking over, they create a better vehicle. Well done!
You have to be kidding - nobody whinges more about Uber than the black cab driver!
Absolutely fantastic piece of kit, the only problem is up here in Liverpool we don’t earn enough money to pay for one. Not unless you want to work 7 days a week 16 hours a day!
£56,000 is just tooooo much.
It's that what it cost? Wow! That is quite expensive. I didn't hear that in the video. I think I was into the cab too much, Lol!
Noor M Yus That’s after the Government subsidy. I believe in London they’ll be getting a scrappage scheme payment as well, but that doesn’t apply to the rest of the country yet.
What is the cost for the old diesel cab? I think they are quite expensive.
The last ones were £45,000 which was an absolute rip off because they used a lot of poor quality materials.
Well if the old ones were £45k and the new one is £56k but an estimated saving of £5k+ per year in running costs then i can totally understand the £56k, in fact it sounds like a steal to me. Pay the extra for the battery and then reap the savings in running costs for 2 years and you are then in profit compared to the diesel?
As a cabbie since 1991, I've operated an FX4 Fairway, and on my return to the trade, a TX4 2012 model. I paid £30k for it with very low mileage. Honestly, I lasted six months before returning to my other trade. The depressing existence of driving this bucket of bolts drove me back to engineering. It was not worth £3000. Diabolical design/quality/drive for all concerned. Test drove the Ecity recently. Absolutely poles apart. Everything about it was quality. I did not want the test drive to end. This is the future in all areas of motoring anyway, so why not the professional driver? The fact that volvos parts bin has been used for this project is confidence inspiring. Sod the extra cost. The fatigue of driving its predecessor will pay divvies when a driver can run just an hour or two more to pick up the slack. The saving in diesel cancels out a huge chunk regardless. To summarise. . . . No brainer. Well done guys. It's a peach.
Saw this in black and white camo paint at Goodwood last year! Was quite a sight!
Would have been interesting to get the views of real London cabbies, with them giving the TX a test drive.
Crash Box quite right! And their view of taxation, lack of Govt backing for cleaning up existing cabs abs the huge price tag of this machine.
This is simply EPIC 😂👍🏻❤️
This is the cab London needed. Great vehicle
This is bloody marvelous they need to start selling them in Canada in the US
There’s a Chinese company to invest in,
London Taxi’s
Volvo
Lotus... nice little portfolio
Funded by Chinese govt
@@Sunilaralikatti Geely is private company
How fast does your wife walk, 8 - 10 mph, that impressive, ha ha. Just kidding, great show, keep it up
James Alexander; I was thinking the same thing. 8-10mph is more a horse's trot than a wife's walking pace. 🏇
James Alexander ok...i...u...jami...no...poblam. .my...did...fand...u...my...pabaret....up...man...
I think this is probably the perfect application for an EV... and a very nice vehicle it is, too. If I'd seen this tootling around, I would have had no idea that it wasn't just another diesel-powered black-cab. It actually appears to have a little touch of luxury, too, compared to its older brothers.
I'm very impressed. I hope that these very quickly become the standard work-horse for cabbies.
Fantastic cab at last! Things can only get better and I am a Coventry kid born raised and worked in Motor City.
This is so good, what they should do now is to have an option in the app to choose this EV Cab instead of diesel. That would motivate more taxi drivers to upgrade.
Good point
Arkadiusz Flak or put the poorest out of business
The poor? Never mind them, we should work on a solution for them. Perhaps a "final" one.
The greatly reduced operating costs will drive taxis to EVs, and this one seems well done.
How are some taxi drivers poor and others not if at the moment they all work in the same city serving the same customers.
One question about regenerative braking - when you take your foot off the accelerator and the regen braking kicks in, do the brake lights also come on? The reason I ask is that with aggressive regen braking - the driver of the car behind may not be paying attention and as you regen brake in front he may end up hitting the rear of your car
ExRE_Sapper yes, regen braking turns on the brake lights on ev’s
typically there is a measure of deceleration used.
so if regenerating enough, then yes, if only doing a little, (like braking on the engine in a gas car) then no.
just like you would expect.
No, EVs do not have the rear lights turn on when braking. This has been an issue that has come up in numerous EV car circles and even in governing body discussion similar to how some places are pushing for EVs to be required to make a sound in order to simulate a motor vehicle for safety concerns. Since the brake lights correspond to the brakes, they do not engage unless the brakes are used ie they do not turn on during engine-braking. Source: I drive a Ford Focus electric and had this exact same question. I know others who own EVs including a VW e-golf and Nissan Leaf and the brake lights do not come on when coasting, only when the brakes are engaged.
Teslas do...
Andrew Fernandes all the new EV’s show brake lights when regen braking if it’s as aggressive as pressing the brake pedal. My jag certainly does.
This has got to be about the most enjoyable Fully Charged I have seen. I drive all day for a living; either a propane powered Ford cutaway van or a Toyota Sierra minivan. I am insanely envious right now. Itnwould be so cool to drive one of thse. The Fords are especially infamous for destroying the back and right hip. At least the Toyota doesn't hurt me, but I wish I could drive electric. I see a few people doing limo service with Teslas now and again; I guess they are owner drivers. I drive for a corporate fleet, so I drive whatever they put me in.
Just one crucial point. Don't mess with the touch screen while driving, it's the fastest way to hit things.
Built int he UK, brilliant. If we can have these been sold all over the would it would be great.
Isn't London installing charge points into new light poles?
Proud to be Patreon of this channel! Love you guys ! :D
Lovely looking cab. Let's hope they use these round Nottingham. Like it at 15:17 when he said about the old cabs 😂🤣
Wait, 20,000 per year? Are there that many of these London cabs?
Ryukachoo ok...vary...good...
About 22,000 I think at the moment
It’s made for the Global market market.
Minus 2 outside and it does only 24 miles on electric! Shocking......don't believe me check Hexagon Taxi twitter. A few videos there.
This is a great machine - the Volvo influence is very much a good thing. Think of the reduction in noise and emissions. The 1.5 engine is also in the new XC40 👍🏼 great video Johnny.
man this episode was so well-produced! Great work everybody involved!
Will fake taxi get electric?
This is awesome news. London has been crying out for electric cabs for years. I wonder if there's any estimates around showing how much pollution would be saved if all cabs were electric.
Fast becoming THE best car program on any platform, and another excellent review of one of the most important EV's to date
Damn! years too late, I finished driving cabs in '95. Even this is probably not enough to tempt me back to it though.
One of the most likeable things about Johnny Smith's appearances is that he talks to you (the viewer) not *at* you.
What does 'all electric' mean in a car with a petrol range extender?
I suppose that it can be used entirely without petrol, you're right though not really all electric, just primarily electric.
The wheels are only driven by electricity. I agree, it's not a precise phrase.
CorwynGC yes, it’s hybrid.
I guess they mean it's a series hybrid. As in the engine is not mechanically connected to the wheels.
It's classed as a 'range extender', the same as a BMW i3. In the i3 you can choose to only use the engine if the battery level falls to 5%.
They've missed a trick with the generator. The trick being instead of using petrol as a fuel for the generator, they could have used lpg. Lpg having lower emissions then petrol , and also costs considerably less per litre then petrol.
I would like to drive a panel van with this kind of tech, but with the addition of the generator being lpg powered.
even better if a cabbie gets the kit to compress natural gas at home to put in tank
Robert the new kid (Johnny) is doing a splendid job.
Being the son of a taxi driver I can really appreciate how wonderful that cab design is.
I don't want to criticise LEVC too much, because I'm a massive EV fan and what they're doing is very important work - with some obvious success. But the Renault Zoe now has a 40kw battery, which achieves a real world range of between 120 and 180 miles. This taxi is much bigger than a Zoe, can transport more people/luggage (weight), and has a much smaller 30kw battery. I suspect 80 miles on a cold day is probably a best case scenario. The average working Cabbie will drive 200 miles a day. On a 30kw battery, the reality is that these cars will often be running around London on petrol, whilst inefficiently lugging around all the weight of both the range extender and the battery. Hybrids are a step backwards for me. As are 30kw batteries. The range extender should be ripped out and replaced with extra battery packs. Within a year the Leaf will have a 60kw battery. If I was a Cabbie I would buy one of those instead.
I agree that the battery size is disappointing in such a large vehicle. Shame they didn't do a skateboard design like Tesla. The battery size could be as much as is affordable. It was designed from scratch they could easily have done a skateboard design.
Range extenders are way more efficient than you might think.
Joe Black you’re right most people use the range extender to power normal cars around. It makes you wonder why they’re using batteries when engines do it cheaper
@@neilchapman5145 Not cheaper by a long shot. It just allows you to take a bit of fuel along with you when you don't have charging infrastructure near. And it's very efficient compared to using an engine to turn the wheels directly. The range extender engine can run at the optimal revs 100% of the time. It's not that difficult to understand.
Taxis should be ev mandatory
The Mini Cooper Countryman reminds me of these black cab especially from the back. Nice cab I wish we had those here in the U.S. great tech in a cab we really need that in the U.S.
As ever very enjoyable, it’s watching this show with all the old episodes as well that convinced me to get an i3. Keep up the great work because you don’t see any of this on mainstream TV.
Electric cabs = no brainer! KUDOs to the UK developer.
William Maurer it's not a Bev mostly runs on petrol as a PHEV, more CH, more NH3 more CO2 than running existing fleets on non fossil #hvo from waste
Put a sock in it. You dont know what you are talking about.
This is the future of the London Taxi trade.
random thoughts the London taxi trade is finished it's down the drain thanks to ubu
Fascinating to see how the new all electric Taxi TX is manufactured and put together, giving an all round more comfortable experience for driver and passenger. Including USB ports and charge points for passengers on the go!
That there are to be exhaust or emission free zones soon is stupendous.