I'm not ready to pull the plug on my old Volvo quite yet!

THERE are at least a zillion places I'd rather be than a motorway service station on an unseasonably cold February night. Especially after driving for two hours and finding myself only 40 minutes from home.

- Angela Epstein

Unfortunately, lousy planning and so-called progressive technology had conspired to bring me to this miserable place. Specifically in the shape of the electric car we'd hired for our trip.

Electric vehicles - known as EVs - may be the future. Well, at least if you buy the Government's planet-saving sales patter, underpinned by plans to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030, and new hybrid vehicles in 2035.

But as the owner of a 16-year-old Volvo on end-of-life care, the thought of swapping my ageing diesel for a plug-in motor fills me with horror. Not least after my recent experience behind the wheel of one.

It was actually my husband Martin's idea to hire an EV specifically a BMW iX M Sport for our weekend away. He's desperate for me to offload my Volvo and thought this would be an ideal way to make the case for going electric. Not least because of Labour's plans to hike up Vehicle Excise Duty on some diesel and petrol cars from April 1.

But even as the wife of an accountant, such financial pragmatism didn't touch the sides. I hated everything about driving an EV and, throughout our journey, felt pangs of genuine loss for the car I'd left at home.

Before I go on, a disclaimer. I've never been a "car person", seduced by fancy gadgetry. I bought my Volvo XC90 in 2010 procured after an unexpected legacy from a much-loved uncle after then Chancellor Gordon Brown introduced lower vehicle tax for diesel cars on the grounds that they emitted less CO2 than petrol-powered cars.

That so-called "dash for diesel" ended on a sour note for many consumers when it turned out to have caused a rush on highly polluting cars.

But mine was also a practical purchase. At the time, our four children were still at school and the Volvo seven-seater was a real workhorse.