This weekend we had an adventure before us. A day in New Westminster with the 2025 Volvo EC40 Black Edition. A subcompact sedan to help get us around at a wee fraction of the price.
Coming out of our last fully electric vehicle, the Volvo felt heavy and stocky. There was a weight to the wheel that almost pushes back in resistance. Although, at the same time offers you the feeling of full control, having to steer with every muscle of your hand and arm.
It felt heavy to navigate and propel, despite its smaller compact size. However, agile and more nimble on the turns because of it. We couldn’t help but to feel the weight of the battery each time we hammered down on the gas and then accelerating again out of a full stop. The learning curve made it less enjoyable in the city, but a breeze on highways.
The EC40 is intuitively aware of school zones, not only posting the maximum speed, but reminding you with a caution flashing on the dash. And if you were to go above the speed limit, it too flashes in protest.
There was a similar weighted force from the brakes as the acceleration mentioned above. As part of its power charging function, as soon as you release the gas pedal the vehicle ramps down to a standing stop, and it is during this time that it charges. This does take some getting used to because the stopping is quicker than anticipated, so we ended up short on our expected distance.
The 2025 Volvo EC40 looks wide and stocky from the front, however condensed from the profile. With its smaller cabin, it is quick to warm on these cooler nights, especially with the addition of heated seats and wheel.
The All Black model is chic. An all black exterior with black rims, meeting an all black interior with black leather seats and black stitching. It has a uniform appeal. Even the recycled plastic design that is iconic in Volvo’s line of EVs, looked more stylish in all matte black. This pattern lines the dash and doors looking like a topographical map from above. Although it appeared back lit in the dark and each cut out panel glowed a different shade; metallic like reflective tape, offering better visibility.
In truth, we didn’t get to fully maximize our 2025 Volvo EV and agreed it would be a good car to take on a road trip as it was comfortable, safe, and drives itself. Although with a panoramic roof there was no way to shield from the sun or hide away the light, so if we were planning on pulling over for a cat nap, it would be hindered.
Instead we found ourselves closer to home in New Westminster for the majority of Saturday. We began our day with a visit to an obscure perfumery, located in the annex of a house. This is a carved out space of wall to wall imported Arabian perfumes, with some of the most ornate vessels. And if you don’t see or smell something you like, you can make something that you do.
Aromatica gives you the option of customizing your own fragrance, by building on the base of an existing branded dupe. From here, the guided specialist offers suggestions for mixing based on your preference of woodsy, sweet, musky, etc. A blending of aromas crossed with what actually compliments it. This is a highly specialized process and an interesting learning, offering a unique experience and gifting idea. More on this in its own post to come.
The above took close to two hours and by the time our two freshly bottled fragrances were boxed and ready to go, we were hungry.
We stopped at the nearby Kurry Wala for a later lunch. I honestly find Indian restaurants a dime a dozen and therefore hard to sort through. So instead of trying to pick out the chef’s specials or something they do a little differently at their location, we instead order our favourite dishes and then have them to compare to all the other Indian restaurants we have and eventually will try.
Today that included butter chicken, goat curry, pakoras (because they didn’t have samosas), briyani for rice, mango lassi to drink, and of course naan. Overall this was a flavourful meal and one we enjoyed, designating it a future restaurant we would order delivery from should we crave Indian cuisine. More on our meal to come, in a separate post.
Next, in order to walk it off, we went to New West’s Arcade, Capital City. This is a classic arcade with 8-bit games and nostalgic titles depending on your era of upbringing. Most of it we knew of, but were not familiar with. With some there was a steep learning curve to on how to play and win or live.
Luckily, you pay to play by the hour, so can feel guilt free in your accrued cost. You are given a numbered name tag to signify purchase and are then given free reign to explore the machines and perch up at any of your choosing. Pac Man, Marvel vs Capcom 2, Guilty Gear, Space Invaders, The Simpsons arcade game, etc. There were arcade machines with joysticks, others with plastic pistols, and some with steering wheels; plenty to keep you busy for hours.
When it came time to charge the 2025 Volvo EC40, we look to our local fast charging pump. We started going later at night to avoid an extended wait for either of the two units. And as we take the 40 minutes to wait we have begun taking walks around the open mall property or doing stretches like tai-chi. Although tonight it was a late night meal. We planned ahead and grabbed drive through McDonalds to snack on as we parked idle.