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Daily Mirror
2 days ago
- Automotive
- Daily Mirror
I drove an electric car 560 miles in a day but things didn't go to plan
Christopher Sharp looks back on what happened when he drove over 500 miles from one part of the UK to another and what he thought of the UK's charging infrastructure in 2023 Christopher Sharp currently works in the Trendswatch arm of the Content Hub. He is a multi-award-winning journalist with over 10 years experience working the media. Starting on youth news in 2014 he later launched one of the UK's first political podcasts whilst studying War Studies at King's College London. Prior to working in the Content Hub, he wrote for the Daily Express, and has covered a variety of topics including the closing stages of the pandemic, wars in Ukraine and the Middle East. He also launched the Daily Express Car Reviews team in 2023. In recent years the number of electric cars being bought and registered in the UK has continued to rise. Last month, the SMMT (Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders) announced that registrations of electric cars had risen once again and that the number of new electric cars being registered was up nine percent. In real terms, this means that around 254,666 battery electric cars (BEVs) have been registered so far this year. That is just shy of the 314,687 registered in the entirety of 2023, a couple of years before manufacturers started getting wobbly on electric cars. In recent months, major carmakers such as Ford, Honda, Volvo, and others announced adjustments to their electric car programmes, choosing instead to focus a little more on hybrids that feature a combination of fossil fuels alongside electricity. But problems still surface, such as one motorist whose "numbers didn't add up" after a long drive in an EV. These announcements were all made long after I decided to try and drive an electric car from Land's End to John O'Groats in a single day, a journey of around 800 miles. In the end, I failed due to a combination of myself and the UK's charging infrastructure. The car itself was faultless throughout. The car I chose to tackle this immense task was the then new Porsche Taycan Sport Turismo, an estate version of Porsche's popular electric super saloon. It had a WLTP (best-case scenario predicted range on a single charge) of around 304 miles and power output that varied from 326hp to 408hp depending on whether you used launch control. What's more, there was a lot of stop start traffic en route and with an EV it is recommended that you don't run it down to 80 miles then stop as that isn't the most efficient way to charge it. So rather than go down to 10 percent it can sometimes be more efficient to go down to 40 or 50 percent and then charge it up to 80 or 90 percent before cracking on. These first two factors hit our efficiency badly and, combined with not running the battery down to zero – a move which wouldn't be recommended – meant more stops to charge up including those where I needed to fill up. However, as the drive northwards progressed, so did my illness, and eventually it felt silly to carry on. I felt terrible throwing in the towel, especially after all the help Porsche UK had given, but I needed to rest. I put in the address of a hastily booked hotel into the onboard trip computer that would enable me to get to the booking in time and with 80 percent in the battery by filling up at a nearby charger. Had it not been for the illness, I would have carried on, and if I had the opportunity to attempt the challenge again in the same or similar type of car, I would, especially since I have now had a lot more practice of long distance driving, including delivering a van from the UK to Ukraine in less than 48 hours earlier this year. Ultimately too the charging infrastructure, as well as electric cars, have improved too. According to Zap Map, at the end of last month there were 84,218 electric vehicle charging points at 41,979 locations in UK. Furthermore, the Labour government has introduced a new electric car grant, and even the NHS is adding chargers to some of its sites to serve it's growing electric fleet. The future may be a combination of electric, hydrogen and synethtic fuels, and progress may not be as fast as people want it to be, but it is happening.
Daily Mirror
09-08-2025
- Automotive
- Daily Mirror
'I spent a week driving Britain's best-selling car and found one big problem'
Christopher Sharp spent a week with the best-selling car in the UK, the Ford Puma, and came to a surprising conclusion Christopher Sharp currently works in the Trendswatch arm of the Content Hub. He is a multi-award-winning journalist with over 10 years experience working the media. Starting on youth news in 2014 he later launched one of the UK's first political podcasts whilst studying War Studies at King's College London. Prior to working in the Content Hub, he wrote for the Daily Express, and has covered a variety of topics including the closing stages of the pandemic, wars in Ukraine and the Middle East. He also launched the Daily Express Car Reviews team in 2023. According to figures released recently, the Ford Puma remains the UK's best-selling car. After claiming the title in 2024, the micro-SUV could be on track to repeat the feat in 2025. So far this year, SMMT data suggests 30,764 units of the Puma have been sold. The Puma's popularity has proved partially perplexing, especially after it took over from the venerable Fiesta as the Blue Oval's smallest offering. There were fears that doing away with a vehicle that was the UK's best selling car for 12 years running and of which 4.1m units were sold would wrongfoot Ford. Earlier this year, Autotrader also named the Lexus NX 350h as the fastest-selling model in the country (calculated by the shortest amount of time cars were on sale on average). But, eight months into the year, and Ford Puma has fortified its position as the best-selling car in the UK, according to Autocar. The question then was begged, why is everyone buying one? As a serious (yes, very) journalist I had to find out. After one week, I actually wasn't sure why. The Puma isn't a bad car, in fact, it's relatively good and capable all things considered. But I did have some questions. The main issue I have is price. In all fairness to the Puma, when put side-by-side with its rivals, it is competitive. The entry level Titanium version starts at under £27,000, putting it on par with competitors such as the Toyota Yaris Cross and £500 less than the Peugeot 2008. However, this is around £1,000 more than the Volkswagen T-Cross. If you want something a little sportier, you'll have to pay more for the ST-line trim. The ultimate cost of the Puma ST-Line X with it's 1.0 litre Ecoboost engine and 7 speed automatic gearbox with a few options is £34,730. Take away a few options and the standard on the road price was £30,830. And it feels like £30,000 is a bit steep. From a purely surface-level-economic-initial-looking-at-the-book's-cover-perspective it feels like paying business class to fly economy. Sure they land at the same time, but that's still a lot of money. But, with that famous literary metaphor in mind, what's the Puma like once you start reading a few chapters? Inside, one can immediately see the appeal to most buyers and that is the superb practicality. The boot is deeper and more capacious than the Mariana Trench and there are plenty of cubby holes and storage compartments to stuff bits of extra shopping, keys, and various life accoutrements into. Although I mourned the loss of most of the buttons, the central touch screen is easy to use and you do get adjusted to it and the other controls. It's an easy car to learn this and I could see why people might be buying it over competitors. The same practicality also applied to the 2025 car we had available on our second drive of the Puma. This second car was slightly cheaper, coming in at £29,280 in standard spec, but with options it was £32,680. After a drive on the road to Southend on an overcast July day, my opinion remained the same. And what about that road. What happens when you show this small car some corners, motorways, and other freshly laid pieces of tarmac? More than you expect in truth. The Puma, by virtue of being an SUV shape, is handicapped. I wasn't expecting Fiesta levels of poise, but it came semi-close. The chassis grips well, the engine has a lot of torque, the steering was responsive, but it feels let down by the tyres that seemed to lose grip at lowish speeds. There's also the fact that the steering wheel, being large and square, feels too big for the type of car it's in; it works well in the Ford Explorer, but not here. Maybe it was the road, maybe it was the fact it had just rained, but you could feel the lean and felt very aware you were in a car that used to be small but was now facing the job of acting big. Thanks to its size the Puma has presence and stability on the motorway and other roads. It's marvellous one-litre engine makes it a happy cruiser. Still, I came away from both experiences with exactly the same opinion. Why wouldn't you just buy a used Ford Fiesta instead? Yes, the Fiesta is older and not as big, it's not an SUV, but it'll be cheaper, more fun, nearly as practical, and probably just as cheap to fix.
Associated Press
30-07-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Deben Drives Customer Confidence With Bioz Content Hub and Prime Badges Integration
PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA / ACCESS Newswire / July 30, 2025 / Bioz, Inc., a leader in AI-driven citation intelligence, is proud to announce a successful partnership with Deben, a renowned provider of in-situ testing and sample preparation solutions. With the integration of a Bioz Content Hub and Bioz Prime Badges, Deben is equipping researchers with easy access to peer-reviewed validation directly on its website, strengthening product transparency and enhancing the user Content Hub Bioz Content Hub on the Deben Website The Bioz Content Hub serves as a centralized, searchable library of scientific articles featuring Deben's products, giving prospective customers a clear view into how these tools are being used in real-world applications. Paired with Bioz Prime Badges, AI-powered widgets embedded on product webpages, users can instantly view relevant article snippets, application context, and full citations without leaving the website. This integration is already generating real-world impact. At a recent trade show, a customer approached Deben to express how valuable the Bioz Content Hub had been in supporting a grant proposal. The customer, already using one Deben product, was interested in expanding their setup, but needed peer-reviewed data to demonstrate proof of concept. 'Before we had the Bioz Content Hub, customers were struggling to locate relevant studies on their own,' said Stephen Zeller, of Deben. 'Now, they're coming to us saying how easy it is to find the exact data they need, whether for research justification or for grant applications. It's truly making a difference in how we support our users and build trust.' With this level of visibility and validation, Deben is not only strengthening its digital presence but is also providing critical resources that help researchers make faster, more confident purchasing decisions. 'Deben's integration of Bioz Prime Badges and a Bioz Content Hub is an optimal example of customer-first innovation,' said Dr. Karin Lachmi, Chief Revenue Officer and Co-Founder of Bioz. 'By connecting researchers to proof-of-use data in real time, they're removing friction from the buying journey and demonstrating true transparency in their product portfolio.' Together, Deben and Bioz are redefining what it means to be data-driven, bridging the gap between scientific credibility and digital strategy. About Bioz Bioz is the world's most advanced AI search engine for scientific research, offering evidence-based product ratings and recommendations to guide scientists toward the most validated products for their discoveries. Bioz's solutions for suppliers include Bioz Badges and Bioz Content Hubs, web-based widgets that enhance user engagement and increase sales conversion. About Deben Deben is a leading manufacturer of in-situ tensile and compression testing stages, temperature control stages, and detector products for many microscopy modalities. With decades of experience serving academic, industrial, and government research sectors, Deben is dedicated to delivering precision-engineered solutions that enable researchers to push the boundaries of material and life sciences. Helpful Links For more information on Bioz solutions for suppliers, please reach out to [email protected]. Contact InformationDaniel Levitt CEO SOURCE: Bioz, Inc. press release
The Hindu
18-06-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
Warangal students win $5,000 in prestigious Generative AI Hackathon
Pavushetty Yashwanth Krishna and Eesha Belladi, third-year (CSE-Networks) students at Kakatiya Institute of Technology and Science, Warangal (KITSW), have secured first prize at the recently held Generative AI Hackathon with IBM Granite, out of 1,931 participants forming 267 teams worldwide. Their project, Content Hub, stood out for its innovative approach to AI-driven social media engagement, said principal K. Ashoka Reddy. The 48-hour hackathon, organised by IBM and powered by their state-of-the-art Granite AI models, challenged competitors to build solutions that drive efficiency, automation and innovation in business workflows. The winning team received $5,000 in cash, $500 IBM Cloud credits and a special prize of one conference pass to IBM TechXchange Conference 2025 in Orlando, Florida. The winning project, Content Hub, is an AI-powered platform that transforms raw social media interactions into personalised, SEO-optimised narratives within seconds. Leveraging IBM Granite AI APIs for inference, the solution captures each user's unique voice and produces dynamic digital content, including tweets, threads and LinkedIn posts, along with actionable analytics, he said.
Daily Record
17-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Record
'A 90-minute drive to Jeremy Clarkson's pub - here's what I thought'
Deputy Content Hub Director, Steffan Rhys visited The Farmer's Dog - Jeremy Clarkson's pub venture. As someone who did not believe he could be swayed by a show fronted by Jeremy Clarkson, Deputy Content Hub Director at Reach plc, Steffan Rhys, found himself 'falling head over heels for Clarkson's Farm'. On Sunday he decided to make the 90 minute journey to Oxfordshire to see Clarkson's latest venture, the Farmer's Dog pub, reports the Mirror. Steffan, who admits he was late to the party, is currently 'devouring the series at a rate of around one episode a day'. Currently halfway through the third series of the Amazon Prime smash hit, to Steffan's surprise it's become his 'latest obsession'. Steffan Rhys has this to say: "It's a thoroughly charming show - it's funny, sad (the piglets episode springs to mind – those who've seen it will understand what I mean), engaging and educational. But the cherry on top might just be witnessing Jeremy Clarkson himself falling in love with farming with all its triumphs and tribulations. "A major thread of the series so far (I'm halfway through series three) has followed Clarkson's dogged pursuit to launch a farm-to-fork restaurant at Diddly Squat Farm, aiming to plate up his own home-grown meat and vegetables alongside produce from neighbouring farms. However, facing resistance from the council and some locals, he ditches the dream for a fresh venture saying 'We thought instead of building a restaurant we would buy a pub.' "And so, The Farmer's Dog was born, roughly 10 miles south of the farm at the side of the A40 in Oxfordshire. "One thing that really seemed to annoy council officials and some neighbours of Clarkson's original farm shop was the huge number of people visiting, clogging up the surrounding roads and parking on grass verges. So I was expecting it to be busy. But I wasn't expecting this. I've been to smaller music festivals. "There was a full-blown security and parking operation guiding arrivals into an enormous adjacent field with hundreds, if not thousands, of cars already parked in it. Visitors streamed like ants in formation between car park and pub and the stunned "bloody hell!" I heard from a fellow visitor pretty much sums up what I was thinking too." Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. He continued: "I'd naively thought that, given I had a lunch reservation (secured easily, several weeks earlier, on the pub website) it would be a quiet affair. After all, only so many people can fit in a pub, right? Wrong. Oh, so wrong. "The first signs that we were not just out at an average local pub for Sunday lunch came a few hundred yards from our destination when the queues of cars and motorbikes started. Stewards in high-vis jackets directed us to a nearby field where, despite the numbers, we got a parking space easily (the queues on the road were short-lived too, to be fair, and I didn't even come close to losing my rag). Once parked, it was a short walk across the road to the pub. "The place was buzzing with activity, with scores of people queuing outside the pub, perhaps hoping to snag a walk-in table, grab a pint or snap a quick photo. Fortunately, with a reservation, we were able to bypass the line, thanks to a dedicated staff member who expertly ushered us to the front. "As we had arrived an hour ahead of our lunchtime booking, we decided to explore the pub's surroundings, which included a spacious shop, an outdoor bar, and an expansive beer garden. Thousands of patrons were soaking up the sunshine, perched on wooden benches or lounging on the grass, savouring a pint of Jeremy Clarkson's signature Hawkstone beer and taking in the breathtaking views of the Cotswolds countryside that the TV personality is so enamoured with. "The on-site shop offered a range of products, including crates and gift packs of the beer, as well as jams, marmalades, honey, candles and branded merchandise. There was a butcher too. I ended up purchasing a crate of lager (£28 for 12 bottles) and a £12 jar of honey harvested from the bees on Diddly Squat Farm." Is Sunday lunch at The Farmer's Dog worth the fuss? Steffan continued: "A few minutes shy of our 1 pm lunch reservation, we made our way back to the pub entrance, where we were promptly directed to head inside and track down a man by the name of John ("he looks like me but he's bald and he loves Welsh people"). Easy to spot, John led us to our table — arguably the best spot in the pub. "It was nestled in a cosy corner right next to the glass doors that opened onto the expansive outdoor terrace. So, we had the best of both worlds — a view of the entire interior and the fresh breeze and sunlight from outside. It was perfect. "Much like Clarkson does on his hit Amazon Prime show (being here, I was beginning to grasp how much of a hit it really was), the pub advertises its support for local farms. A chalkboard on the wall credits local farmers Vanessa Hartley and Nick Sinden, as well as Rectory Farm, among their current suppliers. "We ordered a pint of Hawkstone Black stout (£7) and a half-pint of Hawkstone lager (£3.50). They were fantastic, and as we waited for our food, we watched the staff bustling around the busy pub, carrying plates heaped with generous and appetising Sunday roasts, occasionally stepping over a dog lounging at its owner's feet. "There was a pianist serenading us from a grand piano near the entrance, a constant queue at the bar for drinks, and an infectious feel-good vibe permeating the whole place. Everyone seemed thrilled to be there, myself included. "My starter, a plate of cold-smoked Bibury trout (£11.50), was gorgeos — thick slices of flavourful trout that outshone any smoked salmon I've ever tasted. Having visited the local Bibury trout farm just two days prior made it all taste even better somehow, as did the accompanying horseradish cream and watercress salad. "For my main, I opted for the dual-meat option featuring beef and pork (£26), the only two meats available. They came with whole roasted potatoes, roasted carrots and parsnips, spring greens, red cabbage, cauliflower cheese, Yorkshire pudding, and a stout-based gravy. "It's challenging to articulate how one excellent pub Sunday roast is better than another so I won't try too hard. This one was generous, tasty and largely faultless (I could probably have done with a drop more of the delicious gravy). "There was also a single meat option for £2 less, and vegetarians could enjoy a Wye Valley asparagus dish with pea pearl barley and a poached egg. However, there didn't seem to be any options for vegans, which may or may not have been intentional given the owner." Steffan added. "Despite being too stuffed for dessert, we couldn't help but admire the Eton mess (£10.50) and poached rhubarb crumble cake served with Cotswolds ice cream (£10.50) that were whisked past our table. Both looked tempting. "Our meal was polished off within the hour, and the bill for two mains, a starter, and a couple of drinks totalled £80 (service included). Before departing, I took a moment to absorb more of the venue's unique atmosphere, venturing upstairs (which was also packed), and finally spotting the full-sized tractor suspended from the ceiling above the pianist that I'd somehow overlooked upon entering. Final thoughts He continued "Jeremy Clarkson and Amazon Prime have created a phenomenon. But don't let that put you off. The queue for the car park was no more than a few minutes at most and that was the only waiting we did. Thanks to our reservation, we were straight in through the front door and we didn't need to queue at the shop for our beer and honey either. "My over-riding impression of the huge crowd was how happy we all were to be there. If you wanted a beer (inside or outside) or something from the butcher, you should probably expect a queue, but that's pretty much it. "I felt a bit guilty about being one of the hordes of people taking over what was presumably a quiet and anonymous part of Oxfordshire 12 months ago, but reports suggest most people in the area are happy to have the pub. "I'm glad I went and will remember it for a long time. Pubs aren't only about food, they're about how they make you feel. And I loved every second of this trip."
