Brett drives a Volvo XC40 Recharge 69kWh 2022.
This is Brett’s first electric car, he’s owned the Volvo XC40 under 1 year and drives 10,000-15,000 miles annually. The current mileage of the car is between 5,000-10,000 miles and he achieves 180 miles from a full charge.
Why did you choose the Volvo XC40 Recharge?
We got the car through salary sacrifice & got a decent price on the core edition, single motor. It was quite a bit cheaper than some of the other models we looked at too like the Mercedes and Audi. We’ve always wanted a Volvo, especially with having small children. The safety of the car definitely helped us in that way.
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Positives – List 3 or more reasons why you love this electric car
- Smooth and powerful drive
- looks
- safety.
Negatives – List 3 or more things that you really don’t like about this electric car
- Software can be a bit buggy, especially the app
- range isn’t as good as I expected it to be, although we’re just coming out of winter
- no lights for rear passengers.
Have you experienced any faults with the car? If so, what have they been?
The only problem so far was when the heating stopped working on a journey. A reset of the infotainment system didn’t correct it. It eventually worked after locking the car and coming back to it later.
What are the standout technological features of the car?
I really like that Google Maps is built-in. You put your destination in and it’s very accurate with the percentage of battery you will arrive with. There’s only ever been a maximum of 1% difference. Only having the core edition, we are missing adaptive cruise control and a few other features, unfortunately.
Surprise us! Tell us something people wouldn’t readily know about this electric car
I love it that you can sit down and not have to press a button or use key to start the car. You literally select which gear you want and off you go. I also like the fact you have a little waste bin in the centre console for your rubbish.
What electric car(s) are you interested in next and why?
I really like the look of the new Renault Megane & I’ve always wanted a Tesla too. That may happy in the near future if we swap our second car.
Do you charge your electric car from home?
No
Do you use public charging networks?
Yes
What public charging networks would you recommend to others and why?
Pod Point and InstaVolt are the most reliable in my experience. I would avoid GeniePoint as they never seem to be working!
Please itemise where you’re saving money (or not) owning & running a Volvo XC40 Recharge
We were spending around £90 a week with previous petrol cars & it’s now around £30-40. As it’s salary sacrifice, everything else is included.
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