Fourteen switchbacks before breakfast, and the trip computer never blinked once.

The switchbacks start before the coffee has even gone cold. Fourteen of them, each one tighter than the last, with the valley falling away on the outside line.

The XC-90 never felt out of its depth — steady on the hairpins, the hybrid drivetrain quietly recovering charge on every descent.

By the time the road levelled out at the lake basin, the trip computer read 8.4 l/100km for the whole run — better than expected for a route with this much climbing.