How easy is electric driving really?

Electric driving was high on my must-do list. Just like the heat pump and solar panels, although I had already crossed out the latter because the municipality had placed it on the ‘not allowed’ list due to the impact it has on the historical character of our old house. Still, I hesitated; electric driving, not for me. I am not the most organized person on earth, drive quite a lot, and sometimes really can't afford to charge for twenty minutes at an inconvenient moment. Hybrid, sure, but fully electric? I skipped that for now.

Until Volvo Car Netherlands asked Daan and me to make a roadtrip in one of their cars, the Volvo EX40. Even before the meeting was over, I had already cleared my schedule. Because this was a case of both, and, and. Some quality time with Daniëlle and the time to talk until well past the point, getting to know Sweden - a country I have visited regularly - even better, all in a Volvo, a brand I have a special bond with and that also makes the safest cars in the world. Since the press trip I took a year ago to their holy of holies in Gothenburg, I know how much time and money is invested in the safety of their cars to improve. Every single time.

They test not only on male dummies (making a dummy is expensive, which is why many car brands find a certain dummy sufficient) but also with female dummies and children. Furthermore, they have a door opening alert (also really something for me because I tend to spontaneously swing that door open when I arrive at my destination) and the Whiplash Protection System, where the backrest tilts back and the seat drops down when you get hit in a collision.

Anyway, I would be safe. But fully electric? And that in Sweden, a country that is so large and so sparsely populated. I had visions of a vacation in South Africa where my husband and I looked at the declining fuel gauge and we -enjoying the view on the garden route too much- thought we would make it to the next pump. Because in South Africa, the distance between gas stations is just a bit greater than here. With the air conditioning off, the mirrors folded in to save some aerodynamics, and our butts clenched, we indeed made it, but the word ‘narrowly’ had never been more applicable than at that moment.

But electric driving in the Volvo EX40 was a whole different story. First of all, the range of this car is up to 575 kilometers. That's from Amsterdam to Paris. And now I can drive a lot, but I don't rack up that many kilometers in a day. The route planner of the EX40 also immediately indicated how many kilometers you had left and whether you would make it with the current battery. It also indicated during the ride when a charging point was coming up and how many charging points there would be during the ride before we would be empty. I wish I had that in South Africa.

Our first charging adventure went a bit bumpy because I didn't fully understand the Swedish charging station, or actually not at all. That was before I discovered Google Lens. Fortunately, there was a charming Swedish viking who not only explained how the charger worked but also treated us to a full tank. A considerable gift, as I know now, because with fast charging you pay about €41 for a full battery. That's a lot more expensive than charging at home (which costs around €16, so about 2.5 to 3 times cheaper) but it is significantly faster (fast charging takes about 26 minutes and ‘at the wall’ with a wallbox takes about 7 hours).

And that charging also legitimizes you to dive into the candy aisle of a Swedish gas station or, as we did on our last day, to refuel at McDonald's. I'm not much of a snacker, so I rarely saw Daan enjoy as much when we were forced to spend our lunch not with a light Swedish salmon, but with a thick burger. You could also walk during such a charging moment, or do a hundred push-ups, but we chose differently.

Furthermore, as an electric driver, you also have the lovely advantage of being able to eat from two wallets. Because you can park where the ordinary mortals park, and you also have those lovely spots that are only reserved for ‘our kind of drivers’.

In short, all my objections to electric driving disappeared as quickly as my intention for a detox week, as soon as I hear someone say the word ‘sharing platter’. Because the range is great, you are warned in time when you need to charge and how much further you can go if you let this charging moment pass. Fast charging is really fast and maybe more expensive than at home with a wallbox, but still seas cheaper than a full tank of gas and the most important thing: you contribute to a better version of the earth. And when you drive through that infinitely beautiful Swedish landscape, you can only think of one thing: this must be preserved.