Hello, and welcome to episode one of What’s in My Frunk?, the first in an occasional Spectator series of news and advice for the electronic motorist.
In this edition we’ll be discussing one of the unexpected benefits of owning an electric car. The space under the bonnet vacated by the engine often provides a small but usable secondary storage area. This is the ‘frunk’, a portmanteau word combining ‘front’ and the American word ‘trunk’.
Now that even Land Rover Defenders have carpeted boots, your frunk is great for transporting anything wet or dirty – wellingtons, charging cables, takeaways or body parts from your last hit. My Mustang Mach-E even has a drainage hole at the bottom so you can rinse away any traces of mud, curry or DNA. Intriguingly, the US promotional material suggests you can fill the frunk with ice and cold drinks, effectively turning it into a giant champagne bucket. I haven’t yet tried this myself but, in the event Dr Dre starts inviting me to his pool parties, it might prove handy.
But the frunk is much more valuable than you expect. This is because it also offers you an entirely separate, utilitarian storage space in part of the car where your spouse and children rarely go. It hence constitutes something of a mobile man-cave, a space where you can keep things you might need on the road, safe in the knowledge that they will remain unpilfered.
Your frunk is great for transporting anything wet or dirty – wellingtons, charging cables, or body parts from your last hit
So what follows is a list of suggested contents for the self-respecting frunk owner:
USB phone-charging cables x3, to prevent your family nicking them. Portable phone charger, ditto. Razor and shaving foam, ditto.
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