Silke drives a Volvo XC40 Recharge P8 2021 electric car.
This is Silke’s second electric car, he’s owned the XC40 Recharge under 1-2 years and drives 5,000-10,000 miles annually. The current mileage of the car is between 5,000-10,000 miles and he achieves 210 miles range from a full charge.
Rate your XC40 out of 5.
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Why did you choose this electric car?
I’ve owned Volvos for 25 years and when I was sure I wanted an EV, I obviously looked to Volvos’s first ever EV. I also looked at Tesla, Kia, Nissan, Hyundai and BMW but what I needed or wanted, I only got with the Volvo: space, quality, power, safety, room for a big dog and the feeling to be ‘at home’. I never regretted it one single day.
Positives – List 3 or more reasons why you love this electric car.
- Comfy
- powerful
- LOADS of space.
Negatives – List 3 or more things that you really don’t like about this electric car.
- Range is okay but I would like at least 50 miles more
- the car-app on the phone is ridiculous and hardly ever works
- consumption is pretty high.
Have you experienced any faults with the car? If so, what have they been?
Minor software glitches like loss of GPS and LTE for a day.
What are the standout tech features of the car?
I like the feel of a ‘regular’ car and it does NOT look like a space ship inside. The seats are made for a thousand mile-trips, the display is big enough for me and nicely integrated instead of glued to the dashboard. And the power…with the P8 you really have to restrain yourself, it’s amazing how sporty a small SUV can feel. The car preconditions the battery if you put a fast charger into the navigation and it just does what it ought to do: charge and drive, charge and drive, charge and drive.
Surprise us! Tell us something people wouldn’t readily know about this electric car.
Volvo uses Android Automotive for the car’s system and Google Maps for navigation and it just works PERFECTLY! There are regular OTA updates and soon there will be YouTube, Apple CarPlay and other great stuff. The thing with Volvo is, they normally don’t put stuff on the market that doesn’t work. Not like VW…so things might initially take some more time but then at least you don’t have issues.
What electric car are you interested in next and why?
I’ll probably stick with Volvo or swap to Polestar but it will always depend on enough room for my dog. 😉
I don’t intend to sell the XC40 soon, because I really like using things as long as they work, so maybe the XC40 will still be with me in 15 years. Who knows?
What home charging unit do you use? Would you recommend it to others and why?
None yet.
Rate your home charging unit out of 5.
What home electricity supplier & tariff do you use? Would you recommend it to others and why?
The standard local supplier (eprimo) and tariff – 100% renewable energy, rated one of Germany’s best, no issues & very fair pricing.
Rate your electricity supplier out of 5.
What public charging networks would you recommend to others and why?
First of all in Germany you need EnBW, you can get a RFID card and the app but some chargers work via card only. They have plug-and charge if you register your car with them and they have one of the biggest and most of all, cheapest networks and are usable all over Europe. Apart from that I have a contract with a local energy supplier that works well with our local slow charging network and is one of Germany’s cheapest. But it only works in some areas of the country.
List your top 3 favourite public charging networks (in order of preference).
- EnBW
- innogy (BEW)
- IONITY.
Who do you insure your electric car with? Would you recommend them to others and why?
Allianz – Germany’s best, not cheap but the friendliest & most competent and they will always get the best out of everything.
Rate your insurance provider out of 5.
Estimate how much money you save per month owning and running an electric car compared to a petrol/diesel car.
€100
See other owner reviews here
