Rewriting the great SA road trip

The holiday starts when you decide not to fly

- Sibusiso Mkhwanazi

Whether peak or off-peak, flights between Johannesburg and Cape Town are still doing what they do best: committing daylight robbery with a smile.

R6 000 to R8 000 for a return economy seat where you are forced into a painful Locked Lotus yoga pose for 120 long minutes - and you still have to pay for your luggage.

So four teenagers and I did the unthinkable (or perhaps the sensible): we drove. Not just drove - we turned the journey into part of the holiday. The weapon of choice for our rebellion? Volvo's EX30 Twin Motor Performance, a compact electric missile that proves two things can be true at once: Electric Vehicles (EVs) are properly quick, and road trips can be the main character.

Let's do the thing South Africans are excellent at: financial justification. Flights for a family of five, at about R6 000 per person? R30 000. Add car hire in Cape Town for seven days at about R500 per day and you are looking at R3 500.