My name is Charlotte, and I am a Volvo-holic

If you’d have told me a year ago that I would become so obsessed with a Volvo that it would appear in my dreams, I would have laughed in your face. Now, I’m asking which model and colour you have, and what you think of the Google assisted tech setup. Oh, how times have changed,

I have been driving for nearly 7 years, purely petrol and diesel run vehicles, and I think I speak for everyone when I say electric cars could not have come along at a better time. I don’t need to educate you on how damaging burning fossil fuels is for the environment, because you already know. But what I can educate you on is the Volvo C40, and why making the switch to an electric car should be on your radar.

The revolution of electric cars has come about at a very fast pace, with Tesla paving the way for the industry, with the more traditional car manufacturers following quickly behind. However, the first batch of electric cars to come from the likes of Ford, Jaguar, Mercedes were far from great. To keep up with the big electric vehicle brands, the more traditional car brands were seeming to take their pre-existing models, and simply removing the engine and adding in some batteries. They were not quite thinking through the layout, and with that came smaller footwells – taking into account the batteries, pathetic range and tech that pre-dated even the most basic levels of modern cars. It was not being thought through in a way that was needed in the changing car landscape.

Then along came Volvo and their C40…

My first thoughts were that it looked like the Porsche Macan, but somehow better, sexier…and electric. It was sharp, refined and elegant, but in a mature older, wiser, sister- type way. It stood proud, modest, and sublime as the great British rain danced over the bonnet. I was instantly obsessed, and I could not wait to caress the vegan leather and recycled material steering-wheel.

The first of many things that impressed me was the seamless Google integration into the tech system. All controlled by your voice, simply ask Google to take you anywhere you want. The route will then appear on your maps and even tell you how much battery you’ll have after the journey. You can also ask Google to ring your mum, play a certain song or take you to a charging point, all by voice. This is of course so much safer than having to faff about with your phone to get it back onto maps, and it also means you never even have to touch your phone whilst it sits comfortably in its wireless charging cubby hole. A bonus for those OCD people amongst us because wireless charging means no messy cables spilling over the centre console unit.

This gets me onto the gear stick, which has 3 modes – neutral, drive and reverse. But ‘where is park?’, I hear you all exclaim. Oh, why park is just a sleek little button next to the gear stick, which you press when you are flawlessly positioned (aided by the 360 parking cameras) and the birds-eye-view shot which allows you to get into the tightest of spaces – trust me with this one, as a self (and frequently by my parents) proclaimed troubled parker, and living in central London, I need all the help I can get. But with this unbeatable combination of cameras, I can actually park! It really is game changing.

One feature which really speaks to me is the automatic tailgate. There is a sensor under the number plate at the back, which, when a foot is gracefully glided under, prompts the boot to open hands free. This is the perfect feature for busy mums and dads on the go, frequent travellers, or anyone that just likes to carry too much – the hands free aspect allows you to carry handfuls straight to the car and putting them straight in the boot. This is another feature that I avidly applaud Volvo for thinking of. They understand their customer base, their lifestyles and what they really need from a car, and given us the gift that keeps on giving – the C40.

POWER! And my oh my does this baby have power! For some reason, I thought electric cars would not be as effective in their speed as a diesel or petrol care – I was wrong. Oh, so wrong indeed. 0-62 mph in 4.7 seconds, which I can confirm. It’s nippy.

And now, I saved the best for last. The ability to get into the car with your finger print on the handle (the key must be on your persons) but the need to press a button is not necessary. This means, when I am packing up my car going back and forth and locking up between packing – I simply touch the delicate indent on the handle and the car locks, and the wing mirrors turn in. A double tap allows you to double lock. I am obsessed. In fact, when I walked out to my car and simply just touched the handle, I really hoped people were looking at me and wondering what wizard technology this is. I loved it. It made packing seamless, and the Volvo experience absolutely flawless.

I truly am in utter awe of Volvo, as they pave the way in the electric car industry with their C40. I can only dream about what they will come up with next.

A special thanks goes out to Volvo for loaning me the C40 to fall in love with.