DETROIT — One of my favorite SUV personalities is the Volvo XC40. Cleverly designed inside and out, unique looks, Android operating system, legroom, storage aplenty.
And now it has a pair of electric 2022 Recharge siblings. Though it’s gonna be tough to beat the 355-mile-range gas model. On a wintry April day in Detroit, I had to make a day’s round trip with my son, future daughter-in-law and wife to Charlevoix, in northern Michigan, via Traverse City to check out a wedding venue. With its good rear legroom and clever amenities, I was eager to show the XC40 Recharge off to the clan — but with only 223 miles of electric range, Recharge would complicate our estimated 560-mile round trip.
If we recharged from 10-80% of battery life (charging over 80% gets reeeeeal slow) at fast chargers, we would have to make four charging stops of about 35 minutes each on a day with a demanding, tight schedule to meet florists, caterers, cake makers (yummm, I love weddings) and more. Fast-chargers were everywhere up I-75 from Meijer parking lots to Burger Kings, but I didn’t even bother to chart the course. It would be much too inconvenient.
