Day 4: Karlstad (Sweden) –> Östersund (Sweden)
Today, our long drive north continues.
Alcohol limits
The legal alcohol drive limit is low here in Sweden at 0.02% BAC (it is 0.05% in Ireland).
We had a beer last night – about 10 hours before heading off this morning. And though we felt fine and had consumed a low amount and left plenty of time to process it – we like to ensure that we're both safe and legal.
Therefore we carry a breathalyser with us. These consumer units do have their limitations and are not as accurate as the ones police use. However, they are reasonably accurate when we're aiming for a zero detection limit before driving.
Glass cleaner
As the temperature drops to -10c – we find ourselves using plenty of screen wash to keep our windscreen clear of the freezing grime that lands on it – either falling from the sky or thrown up from passing trucks.
This is the coldest we've experienced yet in our 911 Targa – we might keep the roof up for now!
We safely pull in to one of the many marked "parking" area's on the side of the road.
And fill up our screen reservoir with an appropriate winter glass cleaner.
We carry plenty of suppliers in our frunk.
Experiencing the Wilderness
Although we are driving between Karlstad and Östersund – the 20th and 22th largest cities in Sweden – the route between them is often remote and we start to get a taste of the vastness of this country and its endless forests.
This stretch of road cut through a pristine winter wonderland where every pine tree bowed under the weight of heavy snow, creating natural archways over the cleared pavement.
Passing many traditional Swedish cottages, painted in their classic red, offering a vibrant splash of colour against the monochrome winter landscape.
Winter Road Grime
Our car is starting to acquire its winter coat of grime.
It's fascinating how grime seems to cling to the rear Lane Change Assist sensors on each side of our registration plate.
Fuel
We picked up some more of what is quickly turning into our favourite fuel: Circle K 98 Miles+. As mentioned yesterday, it is the perfect specification for our car but isn't excessively "fancy" with a matching excessive price.
In fact, we're picking this up here about €0.20/litre less than we buy the 95 octane equivalent from Circle K in Ireland.
They also have convenient pay-at-pump options saving us a trip into the kiosk. We miss "plug-and-charge" from our Taycan EV!
Largest wooden bear in the world
Across the road from the Circle K is a strange claim to fame: the largest wooden bear in the world!
After fuelling up we park up near a school.
To take a closer look at this bear.
The giant wooden bear of Sveg
The surprising efficiency of driving in this region
The winter conditions here mean driving steadily and calmly. A combination of 98 octane fuel, 80-110 km/h speeds, low traffic and cold air temperatures has resulted in us experiencing the most efficient fuel consumption we've ever gotten in our 911 Targa 4 GTS.
Normally we'd get around 575 - 630 km range out of a full tank. After our re-fill at Sveg we got an amazing (and fun!) 911 km range out of our 911.
Night Vision Assist
With dusk fallen and light snow falling the driving conditions are somewhat challenging – still relaxing and fun – but we need to keep our wits about us, especially in an unfamiliar area.
Along this entire route – there are signs warning of animals in the area – and throughout this trip, we're aware of that and doing our best to pay attention.
As daylight fades, spotting road hazards becomes more difficult. Here's where a combination of driver assistance systems genuinely helps our attention.
Damien Glancy
Pair Parking
As we arrive at our hotel in Östersund we navigate to its carpark. Many of the hotels here in Sweden use a service called Pair Parking that allows us to reserve and pre-pay for parking at the time of booking.
They emailed us the code to access the garage directly and this allows us to park and unload our car ahead of checking in. If you have an EV they also allow pre-booking of chargers – an amazing reassurance for electric vehicle owners on a trip.
The garage is heated – which helps both keep cars at a reasonable temperature (and reduce wear on starting up in the morning) but also melts any snow attached to the body, registration plates or assistant sensors overnight.
We'd much prefer that the snow didn't cover our rear registration plate – so traffic behind us could appreciate that we're not "local" drivers and our steering wheel is on the "wrong" side.
We bet they do not see too many Irish registered 911s in this area.
Stats
| Location | Litres | €/litre | Total € | Fuel Type | Octane |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sveg, Sweden | 48.36 | €1.580 | €76.41 | Circle K Miles Plus | 98 |
Today we did 562 km over 8:06 hours, with an average speed of 70 km/h, consuming 8.0 litres/100 km.
