Swapping My Ferrari Keys... For A London TAXI! Here's How It Went...

This week, I swap the keys to my classic Ferrari and daily drive this - a new London Cab! The TX Electric is the next generation of an iconic vehicle, but what's it like to live with day to day?
#LEVC #londontaxis
A huge mention to my friends, Andreas Enehaug and Joseph Barnes. They worked together to create a legacy in Joe's honour.
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Chapter Listing
0:00 Introduction
1:21 Having A Ball
2:52 Challenges of the Taxi
4:28 Breakdown of the TX E
8:54 Inside the Cabin
11:15 Driver's Cab
15:43 Legendary Turning Circle
16:35 On The Road
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[@CathodeRayNipplez]

I drove a cab for five years. Most enlightening job ever. It gave my the knowledge that most people truly suck and mankind is doomed.

[@DenmarkRadar]

You're being a bit too kind on humanity and optimistic there mate 🙂

[@firaphex2824]

Sounds like just the lessons you learn doing tech support. That and how common the logically ungifted people are.

[@UnknownUser-rb9pd]

I have to say that my experience as a customer of a Heathrow taxi who wanted to go outside the boundary to Staines, reinforces that view. He even continued to swear at me while I was paying him an excessively large amount of money for the privilege. I think it worked out about £12 per minute travelled adjusting for inflation.

[@R-Tap]

So true. Took me 10 years to learn that.

[@jamesmaybrick2001]

@@DenmarkRadar try speaking to a lot of cabbies...oh dear. Ignoring some of the most insane driving and ignorance of the highway code, the things i have heard. The current winner (its a tough field) is that mountains are the structual support pins that hold both continents in place and also the planet itself together (i presume like fucking huge tent pegs...somehow).

[@Re-InCarNation]

I can never look at the interior of a London Taxi the same way because of a certain series of videos.

[@klasseact6663]

Makes you wanna use a black light before getting into ANY of them going forward 😋

[@jamesrobert4106]

😆😆😆

[@timothymcdavid]

Help me out what series of videos? I am currently living out of the UK but plan going to London to visit friends and family early next year ... So you have peaked my curiosity?

[@Luckyjo21]

@@timothymcdavid fake taxi look it up

[@mthobisisibiya6902]

Me and you both

[@JDM_UK]

I was wondering when the Fake Taxi was going to be mentioned 🤣

[@michagorka3789]

Even as a simple Polack i loughed my balls of when he mentioned it. It was such a manish thing.

[@thehumanoid6543]

lmao

[@pka8514]

Purple Mercedes-Benz 200D (W124) with "bench seat" and column shifter manual gearbox, 4 spoke aftermarket wood steering wheel and green cloth interior. Welcome to Finnish countryside in the 80s.

[@omgwibble]

My late Dad drove a black cab in London for over 30 years, but the one I remember most was the Austin FX4. To me THAT is the iconic black cab. As a kid we took various trips in it, filled it to the gills for car boot sales and it had a smell that was unique (and Dad kept it very clean). It was also a proper tank, once he hit a deer on the way home through Ongar and the wing was a bit smashed, but that was it. Nothing compared to what would have happened to a car of the time. He did have a LTI TX1 towards the end of his driving career, and it was much better thing and more reliable, but just not as iconic (to me).

[@allareasindex7984]

The Checker Marathon was the purpose-built New York Yellow Cab for decades. It’s the one you’ve seen in films and TV shows. It predated the Lincoln Town Car / Ford Crown Victoria

[@barrettwbenton]

Beat me to it…the Marathon is/was the true equivalent to the equally-classic London Cab. (If *only* we had an EV Marathon…)

[@chrisdavidson911]

the Marathon is like the FX4/Fairway, they haven't used it for forever but it's the car on the merchandise

[@realAlexChoi]

I'm quite young, so growing up in NY for me it was nearly always a Crown Vic, or occasionally when I was really young, a Caprice. We moved out to Texas when I was 9, and in the more than a decade since then I've heard that all the Crown Vics have gone out of service, unfortunately.

[@hermand]

Some days it's easy to bemoan the modern world, technology, social media and so on - but the fact it brings us content like this, that would have been simply impossible even 20 years ago, is just staggering. That was a 30 minute video that just flew by - quality presenting, quality production and such easy watching.

[@ckmurphy1]

Your channel is simply fun as well as informative great work James

[@JayEmmOnCars]

Thanks, that's very kind!

[@dobo2232]

That turning circle is unreal

[@m.p.509]

That was so much fun. Thank you, James, big smile here.

[@242Evangelion]

Visited London back in 2018. Having heard stories about these London taxis being so wheelchair accessible I, as a person in a small wheelchair, would think these would be easy to get around in. Oh my how wrong I was. The ramp is so short and steep. Having a taxi driver at the age of 70 or so didn't help. Well getting in I realized I was sitting much higher up then the normal seats. High center of gravity on turns in London made go like a Pinball. The fear of falling over is constant and having a work out for you arms to counter physics was horrible. And, I couldn't see out from it due to I was sitting so much higher up. So when taxi driver gave me the sightseeing tour I didn't see much or I had to twist my neck. Well, I would say a normal car from Uber or such is a better way to go. The intention of being accessible is good but not practical in real life sadly.

[@JayEmmOnCars]

I don't suppose you remember if it was one of these, or the old TX4? Being 2018 I'd think it was unlikely it was the new one

[@sensationalfailure]

Oh man, that's heartbreaking. I'm so sorry. And thanks for the insightful video about this special car.

[@michaelcallummayaka]

I wonder how many got the **in Cockney accent** “never go south of the river” joke. Lovely video as always James. Your content gets me through the the tough times and quiet times.

[@JayEmmOnCars]

Not many judging by my comments!

[@kendimen.c]

Nice video! In Portugal the image that still comes to mind for a Taxi was a Mercedes running on diesel, with the typical black body and green roof colors. I remember the first time i was inside a nice big almost luxury car was such a car! In Morocco there are "big taxis" and "small taxis" for travelling between cities and travelling inside a city, respectively. 'Grand taxi' were mostly Mercedes from the 60's and 70's (W114, probably) in white. 'Petit taxi' were mostly Fiat Uno and Peugeot 205. Each city has it color for the taxis, which is a cute detail. Reliability and ease to maintain still comes to mind when I think of a car chosen to be working as a taxi.

[@vognmandpedersen8144]

Really enjoyed this one. Happy New Year to JayEmm and all brits

[@jamesengland7461]

My condolences on the loss of your friend :(

[@richardharrold9736]

He isn't dead, is he?

[@JayEmmOnCars]

Sadly so. About a week or two after filming.

[@eze8970]

Thanks J, an insight into another world! 🙏🙏

[@AntoniusTyas]

This style of review is what made me wish James is in TopGear.

[@Haesslich1962]

I'm a cabbie in the US, and yes, I drive a Crown Vic. We used to have the old Checker Marathon, which would be the other classic built-from-scratch-to-be-a-taxi.

[@sidneygriffiths5737]

So glad us avid supporters have elevated you to the position to be able to own and drive such masterpieces! So do I get the keys to the Ferrari? Lol

[@JayEmmOnCars]

Thankyou very much and sadly, no. But - I do try to offer rides as often as I can through various events

[@wolvoman1]

Try the 'Fake Taxi' signage, you might get some interesting passengers !!

[@thehumanoid6543]

might get a little on the side😏😉

[@Jam_et_Cars]

Howling at the Fake Taxi reference 🤣 Well played sir.

[@mcgherkinstudios]

Few things! 1. Having an electric car with range extender is a BRILLIANT idea for a taxi. When you think about the fact you can charge it on your lunch break and between jobs you could probably do a majority of your work in full electric. But that one customer every now and then who wants to go flippin' miles away? Well, that's where the range extender kicks in and gives you all the range to still be able to do those long jobs that you wouldn't have otherwise had if it was full electric. Plus you don't have to sit there waiting for it to charge with a fare in the back because you misjudged whether you could make it before you took the job. 2. The smooth pull away is probably more about passenger comfort than any mechanical limitation. Give a cabbie 150bhp from standstill and they will use it literally every time much to the dismay of the (of course, always seatbelted as per the law) passengers. 3. They're quite popular as vans round here. Not been in one but they look equally as competent as any other option, and the taxi front end makes you second guess yourself. 4. RIP Joseph. Cancer is the worst thing ever.

[@JayEmmOnCars]

Callum 1. That's exactly what LEVC said 2. A thought that I had, but I really would appreciate a kickdown button or similar to get it going a touch quicker 3. They do a van version also 4. Thankyou, yes it is.

[@TerryThornton]

Good video,I use to drive a diesel taxi years ago, it would seem the electric cabs haven't improved the heaters and the acceleration, although I did have a perkins 3 litre engine in my cab in the eighties and that engine could take on most fast moving cars.

[@leebrown6623]

Brilliant review have to say I enjoyed that one way more than I thought I would lol.

[@grantmarchesi4899]

Being from Melbourne, my default idea of a taxi is a banana yellow Ford Falcon with half a million km on the clock. Sadly slowly disappearing from our roadscape since Ford Australia ended production in 2016. Still quite a few out there though.

[@phillipevans9414]

@Grant Marchesi. True, running a legendary barra 4.0 straight six on LPG. More recently, a lot of taxi's are hybrid Toyota Camry's and I have seen some of the latest model Kia Carnival as taxi's too that can accommodate wheelchair access. Cheers!

[@MartinIbert]

THE taxi is a Mercedes E Class saloon/sedan. Painted (ideally) in RAL 1015 "light ivory", with a lit black and yellow dome light saying "TAXI". Of course many taxis these days are no longer Mercedes E class cars, and in many German states you can have taxis that are no longer the classic colour of "light ivory". But the lit dome light still exists. And a fair number of taxis are still "light ivory" in colour as people are conditioned to look for that colour if they need a taxi, even in states where that colour is no longer mandatory.

[@Cillaron]

Most places I have traveled in the world have been using the old basic Mercedes sedans of various sizes, I remember back in the day the London cabs sure had a lot more luggage space. Here in the states here in the Dallas/Fort Worth metro they use late model Dodge minivans…

[@GetOffMyLog]

We got Priuses and Siennas here in Iowa

[@kevincoombs7348]

A great test and such a moving start.

[@patrickmartin3322]

The American equivalent of the London Taxi (specifically of the FX4) is the Checker Marathon, a purpose built taxi that was the only thing used as a taxi in NYC from the late 50s until the early 80s when Checker went out of business

[@fabiopuglisi5183]

Let’s go James! Next time test drive the double floor bus 😍

[@stevenmccolm1531]

Hi Jay. I have driven the TX1 SE, as the charity for the war blind had one in silver. That too has a cramped cab area and a small boot space. I can seat six people as there's a jump-seat in the front. Weighing in at 2.5 tons double skin, top speed 99.97mph, 12-15 mpg with a 2.8L engine. Just like you I had the odd person who thought it was a licenced taxi even with all the decals of the charity on the bodywork. I hope that they sell a private version that can be pimped.. Great video.

[@jameswingrove7421]

I’m sorry for your loss mate. Great video as always.

[@Gorbyrev]

Brilliant as ever! Had a drive in our local hearse. As it is an Australian Ford Fairline it has a 4.0L straight six, the mighty Barra. My undertaker friend was quite unaware of the mechanical royalty lurking under the bonnet that has propelled countless drag cars to silly speeds and is partial to a good dose of boost. Just ask Turbo Yoda. In stock trim it scooted along the Edinburgh bypass with aplomb. Anyway the world is a better place for specialist vehicles and there is fertile territory to be explored here. A phonecall to Coleman Milne for a demonstrator perhaps?

[@stedibear]

Hi James, longtime fan from Finland checking in. I like all your content but these videos with less-than-super cars are always my preference. Can you explain to us foreigners what the six o'clock north of a river joke is all about?

[@JayEmmOnCars]

It's an old saying from cab drivers, they didn't want to go south of the river Thames at night for various reasons - safety, getting better fares etc...

[@FlynnBellamyCars]

Best swap ever! Great video!

[@christopherkelly577]

I am from Scotland and yes there are black cabs, plenty in Glasgow...but the most ubiquitous taxi has been the Skoda Octavia and Superb, since VW takeover they are what you see every day.

[@flyingbeep]

Born in Hong Kong, a taxi for me is the classic Toyota Crown Comfort in split red and silver! But having grown up in China, a taxi is also a metallic light blue Volkswagen Santana. And being from Malaysia, a taxi is a bright red Proton Saga/Iswara!

[@WillThePlank]

Sorry to hear about your friend at the end of the video James, cancer is a devastating thing!

[@bcrandeis]

Here in the US, most of us picture a Crown Victoria when we think of a taxi. However, at least here in Chicago (not sure about NYC), they all seem to now be older Toyota's -- Prius, Sienna, and Camry

[@eyesofisabelofficial]

London Taxis made in Coventry - I was commissioned by the production manager to photograph the last TX 4's off the production line at the Holyhead Road plant in July 2017. The last batch of 60 where destined for Sydney and only differed in having additional vents in the bonnet and mandatory airbags. The last non Australian ones had two tone maroon paint and where headed off to Khan Design of Bradford for a charity auction after additional customisation.

[@tedsmart5539]

3:25 North Americans born before 1975 identify with the Checker Marathon as the quintessential taxi

[@ChrissyThePoo]

I spat my pringles out when you did that fake taxi bit :'D

[@PhilipOberg]

I have seen a lot of these 'taxi videos' and i gotta say I'm impressed how it cleans up 🪥🧼🫧🧹😂

[@olivercamos]

"can't wait to see the pair of you" - was that an unintentional pun? 👀😅

[@richardwigley4942]

All the best for your mates lots of love

[@04dram04]

I love how tall and spacious the read area is.

[@X8X8X8X8X8X8X8X8X8X]

As a German, the definite taxi is a Mercedes E-class to me.

[@indiebekonn]

Pudding coloured E-class at that! 😜

[@X8X8X8X8X8X8X8X8X8X]

@@indiebekonn Indeed. Although they seem to increasingly shift to black and silver cars.

[@Goodman-4525]

Any chance you can find a Crown Comfort? I'm sure most Hong Kongers and Japanese viewers would like to see that

[@888johnmac]

pretty sure another UK youtuber has one ( jonny smith / car pervert / late brake show )

[@daviddavis7665]

I’ve never experienced that issue with the heating. You can even ask the ‘on board computer’ to heat it up, ten minutes before you start!

[@wraithcadmus]

I would suggest the restrained acceleration is intentional, for the comfort of the passengers.

[@JayEmmOnCars]

They won't be very comfortable when they had a white van drive into the side of them because the cab wouldn't get a move on

[@TheOtherNEO]

For the acceleration, my assumption it may be programmed that way. There is a table somewhere stating the maximum acceleration for comfort and safety of passengers. It has a list of seated and standing passengers, duration etc.

[@kimpy2456]

Multiple types of sausage rolls and fake taxi bit cracked me up. Great review as always.

[@earlofsmeg]

This was one fun video. Sorry about your friend. I lived in places NY, Frankfurt, Germany and London. Two cabs come to mind. London taxi and NY yellow cab. Germans also have yellow taxis. A lot of them are Mercs. E class.

[@dgurevich1]

They do sell them all over. There is one in Israel, in fact in my small city. In white, it's handsome in it's way, and in fact a lot larger then you think. In my country, there is no dedicated taxi. It's an odd mix of mercedes c class, skoda octavia and various larger cabs for carrying disabled people.

[@barrettwbenton]

So: A hybrid by any other name. (Nice-looking, though!) Wouldn't be too shabby in NYC, in fact.

[@allareasindex7984]

An Englishman goes to Brooklyn on business and hails a Checker cab. The cabbie poses this riddle: I’m not my sister, I’m not my brother, and yet I am the child of my father and mother. Who am I? The Englishman ponders, asks the cabbie to repeat it, and finally gives up. “We’ll, it’s me of course!” chortles the NY cabbie. When he returns to London the Englishman poses the riddle to the gentlemen at his club. “Not my sister, etc. Who am I?” No one can guess. “Well it’s this cabbie chap in Brooklyn of course!”

[@tristanfletcher]

You're my favourite vicarious KZbinr.

[@nigeldeforrest-pearce8084]

Fascinating!!!

[@TheShinyShow]

I'm from the UK but I think of Peugeot Expert/Citroen Dispatch, Skoda Octavia, Mercedes Vito. Black cabs seem more of a big city thing to me

[@stuarthart3370]

Edinburgh has huge numbers of Vitos, both Hackney and private hire. Recently I've noticed more LEVCs and I think most private hire cars are Skoda Octavias. The price of the range extender LEVC is very high. I can't imagine the insurance, even with a no claims history revealing impeccable driving skills and literally no claims!

[@billymonkey111]

You talked about the boot of a black cab without mentioning the "carry a bail of hay" trivia

[@thisiszaphod]

RIP - Joseph.

[@04dram04]

i love quirky commercial vehicles like this. Especially since you can get them for peanuts at actions.

[@Stallzyx]

I'm only a little over ten minutes into this video and thinking man, it would be a joy to watch you in person film one of these videos. Maybe one day we can make it happen 😅

[@benpenagonzales6014]

I've worked and lived in London for 25 years. Sadly the number of black cabs is fewer and fewer these days that hailing one off the street is much harder than it used to be

[@ldv5831]

Love your content! Even though I can’t afford most the vehicles you test😅

I would rather compare this to the Checker Marathin NYC cab, than to Crown Vic. Both were designed specifically for this job.

[@ToreHansen]

Some in Norway tried get it over here, but no such luck, the Volvo/Geely/EV was main reason.

[@petersargeant1555]

LEVC have also created a camper from the VN5 van. They call it the e-Camper.

[@lm971120]

As a Chinese who’s from the south (Zhejiang) and born in the 90s, SAIC-VW Santana (MK2 Passat sedan) and countless variants of it is what I think when someone mentions taxi (tho since they retired we’re stuck with old Hyundai Sonatas ever since…) and of course now some are these TX (locally made variants). Having lived in Singapore for years, the classic taxi for me will be Toyota Comfort (ps: also called ‘Crown Comfort’ but not mechanically related to Toyota Crown), tho all retired to become Hyundais too…

[@geneva760]

NEATO - we need those here in AUSTRALIA. CHEERS from AUSTRALIA.

[@jonathanbroughton5983]

Never seen Jay happier

[@Fc-cb3tn]

15:30 I think many of us would really like to see that XD

[@pedromanafaia]

"capable of tuning into both stations" LOL. Brilliant

[@heiner71]

I suspect the low starting poke is by design to not throw around your passengers in the back. You don't want to cause broken necks or whiplash. Also keep the passengers in mind that seat in the car backwards.

[@indiebekonn]

That’s it, a good driver/chaffeur/cabbie would never “go for the gap” as it’s uncomfortable for the passengers.

[@rikm12]

You likes you enjoyed making this video. Thanks for content...

[@jkatzmandu]

I watch a lot but don't normally comment: 1) The iconic US taxicab for the 2nd half of the 20th century was the Checker. Only once they phased out did we get the Chevy Caprice and Ford Crown Vic, and then ultimately only the Crown Vic (as Ford kept the Panther platform around for a long, long time.) 2) Part of the plot for Forza Horizon 4 is a TX4 that is LS-swapped and you have challenges to get passengers to destinations in an absurdly short timeframe. Frankly, I'd love to do this as a project myself, but lack of garage space means that isn't happening. Although with the TX4, the driveline was Nissan based, so maybe a RB26DETT (Skyline motor) makes more sense. When discussing this hypothetical with another friend, the narrow motor is required because of how wide the front wheels are able to pivot to give the appropriate turning radius for London's streets. Frankly, I'm surprised the boys at Drivetribe haven't gone down this route, yet (give them time, I'm sure.)

[@Yorkmedia1]

There was an New York taxicab built for that one job that was the checker cab company watch taxi the tv series

[@krisnadiimam4556]

modify it a bit, 2 seat on the front, 3 on the back and make it +2 on the very rear, bigger battery and just drop the engine... we could have a winner here in family car category.

[@GlossaME]

The price is outrageous for what it can do.

[@seanh5648]

The company I work for has recently got about 30+ LEVC vans. Sad to say but wow they are terrible, constantly breaking down, drivetrain faults, doors won’t shut, trim falling off mold growing on the ceiling. The biggest shock, they are really uncomfortable to drive.

[@manygatos885]

These need to come to America 😊

[@GeorgeAusters]

Hahaha the NikNaks pun got me!

[@dugwolfe]

James! You should do standup after this vid!

[@MosesKaldor]

This is a coincidence. I was never in a London taxi until last week (Dec 2022). Conversation turned to the knowledge, the taxi itself and had the taxi driver ever heard about the KZbin channel "Tom the taxi driver". Anyways, all three drivers that I met said that they are getting 50 miles out of a charge. One driver told me that if he puts on the heating then the engine starts up. Two drivers told me its cheaper to run the petrol engine than fill the battery at a public charger. All great guys. The intercom was great and the taxi was really comfortable. They look oddly handsome, how a Range Rover should look if only driven on the road. Only thing that they complained about was the price, around 80k gbp. This was a tipping point for some drivers to retire after the Lockdowns. Respect to the London taxi driver.

[@obiwan8393]

15:31 made me smile

[@MyHumanWreckage]

I remember the old black London cabs that would spew diesel fumes in your face. I’d compare this cab more to the Checker over the Crown Victoria.

[@JayEmmOnCars]

The Checker is epic, and I must confess I forgot it - but can't remember seeing one in NYC in modern memory?

[@johnkeenan4184]

I reckon Bentley will come after LEVC on copyright grounds, if you know what I mean....

[@EngineerLewis]

The washer jets were taken from a Volvo S80 which also has 3 double washer jets and yes it is great for clearing the screen after driving across Sweden! I know as I have experienced that! 🤣

[@beachboy0505]

Excellent video 📹 Mystery solved

[@adamkightley]

The knowledge of the London taxi driver part reminds me of that challenge on midtown madness 2….

[@NEILB1989]

Good memories

[@SHRModding]

Woah that brings back memories lol

[@adamkightley]

Really glad I’m not the only one 😂

[@Barbarian75]

As a passenger, I wouldn't want to have my head going backwards every time a taxi driver hits an accelerator. I prefer the flow of the ride to any fast and furious stuff. So, acceleration is not an issue.

[@MuscleBandit]

Well, as somebody from Sussex I can say that when somebody says taxi I think of either a Skoda Superb, a Prius, Auris Estate or some fancy new Merc.

[@-Dash-]

The only EV I ever want to set foot in... A Taxi.

[@g.w.customcreations3534]

Would love a TX1 (2-4 have terrible engines and electricis just wrong, sorry Jay), just for the funnys really. But they're cheap to buy, practical, and damn good fun. Unfortunately the mpg is awful, and the gearing is hilariously short due to the intended use. Great video tho bud, made me dinner break fly by.👍

[@AnthonyG-qc6fi]

didn't you find that the Driver's seat was out of alignment with the Steering Wheel, causing your body to Twist, which in time could lead to goodness only knows what physical problems?

[@schmoosmith]

Before you even said the words "Fake taxi" I knew what was coming 😂

[@CubejamF1]

I see a lot of these on the roads actually... and not as a London cab. They're often vans. On the m4 in South Wales I see at least one of these cars in van format every day The subtle faketaxi joke with 6 people in the bckngave me a good chuckle

[@topgearalwaysrock]

The Toyota Crown Comfort Taxi!

[@pat8593]

i had stage 2 testicular cancer . chemo was rough . sorry for your loss.

[@JayEmmOnCars]

Thankyou Pat. It's an awful thing.