<
https://thedriven.io/2025/10/27/the-ev-that-feels-like-wearing-a-marlboro-branded-nicotine-patch-with-a-lousy-digital-experience/>
"I drove an EV yesterday. This shouldn’t really come as a surprise on a website
that specialises in new EVs, but it’s the first time I’ve driven one in
Australia for a long while.
The car was a Toyota bZ4X, and driving one is like wearing a Marlboro-branded
nicotine patch. I thought this was a good snarky quip to build an article
around, and confecting outrage along the way. But I’d like to make a serious
point about a critical failing of the car industry.
I had to travel to Ballarat for the Committee for Ballarat’s Vision 2050 Member
Forum, and I would normally have cycled to the station and taken the train.
However, I took the opportunity to examine the city’s logistics infrastructure
in relation to an electrification project I’m working on.
I don’t own a car, and none of the car-share operators — Turo, evee, GoGet,
Flexicar or Popcar — offer EVs close to home, so I fell back on my default
option: Hertz.
Hertz makes it pretty easy to get behind the wheel of an EV; they even called
me the day before to make sure that I really wanted an EV and knew what I was
doing. It was a pretty effortless customer journey, with Evie Networks charging
thrown in as well.
What is not flawless, however, is the Toyota digital experience. Snarky quips
are clearly my line; so I’ll tell Toyota what I’ve told clients and colleagues
over the years: ‘An app is for life, not just for Christmas’. Like a puppy,
your digital experience needs work every single day – if you can’t commit to
that, don’t get one."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
