I’ve noticed some quite edgy commentary about electric vehicles lately, mostly rather unfair, and some ill-informed. It may be, though, that the official target of ending the sale of all purely internal-combustion-engined passenger vehicles by 2030 is overoptimistic, given the failure to improve the public charging infrastructure as well as some remaining public hesitancy, which in turn is partly down to some fairly bloody-minded anti-electric-car propaganda circulating on social media. That said, it’s still a tricky proposition for folk who live in flats and terraced houses, be they rich or poor.
If we are to persevere with fossil-fuelled cars then it might be an idea to try and wean ourselves off our taste for the SUV. A hatch, estate or saloon equivalent is often nicer to drive, just as roomy, and cheaper than the SUV it shares much of its mechanicals with. So it is with that greatest example of the traditional estate car, the Volvo V90, and especially in jacked-up four-wheel-drive Cross Country form. It’s as smooth and willing to pilot as its standard estate and saloon siblings, and gives little away to the towering XC90.
