A JOURNEY OF TWO EXTREMES
The offer of a test drive in a new EV motorhome recently added to the Britz rental range was a golden opportunity. This was the proverbial killing of two birds with the one stone.
The first being I have never driven an EV on an extended run and I was curious to see how it performed.
The second bird – a larger one – was that I have been wanting to do a story about what I consider the premium tourist route in New Zealand, for people who have a limited time and want to see the best that New Zealand has to offer.
That route is from Queenstown to Dunedin, on to Oamaru, up the Waitaki Valley to Omarama, side trip to Tekapo and Mount Cook, back to Omarama, through the Lindis to Wanaka, Arrowtown, through Queenstown again, to Glenorchy and back to Queenstown.
I would have added a side trip to Milford Sound but was advised there are no ‘fast chargers’ there. So scrub that option.
Still, it was a plan.
The Britz eVolve is based on the Chinese-built LDV V80 and is an new addition to the conventionally powered Britz fleet available in New Zealand.
LDV was originally a brand built by Leyland in the UK with input from DAF in Holland. However, with the breakup of the parent Rover Group, Leyland DAF was sold to the Russian Gaz Group that itself ceased trading in 2008. After that, it was sold to the Chinese SAIC Group.
So, the LDV vehicle technology is well proven.
Britz is part of the group, and I was given a pretty solid rundown on my forthcoming adventure at the Queenstown depot (by the airport)
