Volvo XC40 Electric Review
The new Volvo XC 40 Recharge twin motor, which features acute curbside presence, some really nice premium features as well as impressive motor specs.
But the small electric SUV segment is getting quite competitive with rivals like the BMW iX1, Lexus UX, and the Mercedes-Benz EQA.
There are two powertrain options for the XC 40 family, a mild hybrid or a pure electric.
Volvo XC40 Electric Pricing
The latter has two variants and where in the top spec variant, the recharge twin motor, which is priced from $85,990 before on-road costs.
That positions it right in the middle of its nearest rivals. But in terms of the XC 40 family, it is a price hike of $23,000 from its fuel-based equivalent.
Features In Volvo XC40 Electric
There are some great premium features in this model, like a panoramic sunroof, heated and electric front seats, heated rear outboard seats, plus a heated steering wheel.
You also get a premium harming carden sound system with 13 speakers in this grade.
Volvo XC40 Electric Design
The XC 40 recharge has a slightly different design to its fuel based counterparts, and this mostly in the front where you get this body colored panel instead of a standard grill as well as chunky design on the 20 inch alloys.
But I do like that it’s still boast the hammer of Thor headlights.
Interior Feel
The interior is where the electric powertrain kind of loses me because the fuel-based equivalent is so much nicer inside.
I like that it’s made a conscious effort to use recycled materials as well as non leather options throughout For upholstery, it’s great on paper and a really nice thought, but for me personally, you are left with weird feeling synthetic seats that just don’t reflect the price level or grade level of this car.
Touch Screen
Other than the cool topography inserts that you get on the dash and the front doors and nine inch vertical multimedia screen, it’s kind of basic inside, which is a real shame because the outside is cute as hell.
Front passengers definitely benefit from the most space. It’s a really easy car to get in and out of which I like, and there’s heaps of individual storage options for this class.
Seats
The synthetic trim seats look quite neat and tidy, but they are very hard and I did find them to be uncomfortable for a longer journey.
I liked though that you’ve got powered lumbar support on both seats as well as extendable under thigh supports.
Digital Cluster
The 12 inch digital instrument cluster looks great and is semi customizable. I do like that you can pull through the satellite navigation and directions on it.
The charging options are quite good upfront with a 12 volt port two USB-C ports, as well as a wireless charging pad to choose from.
The touchscreen multimedia system is pretty simple to use, which is great and has built in Google assistant and maps.
Space & Connectivity
I am surprised though that for the 2024 model year, we still don’t have wireless Apple CarPlay or Android Auto.
Still, it’s very easy to connect to the Apple CarPlay. Despite having a panoramic sunroof There is plenty of head room for 168 centimeter height person.
The leg room is also not too bad considering that this is a small SUV. The width of the seat does make it feel more inclined towards a two-seater rather than a three seater, and the seats themselves are pretty hard.
USB
The amenities are pretty good back with directional air vent reading lights, two USB-C ports, as well as heat functions for the outboard seats.
And I like too that you get a fold down armrest with two cup holders.
You get Isofix child seat mounts on the outboard seats, plus three top tethers for any parents out there, but two seats are definitely gonna fit best.
Boot Space
this is a dual motor You do miss out on a little bit of boot capacity. This has 419 liters, which is down from 452 liters for the single motor power train.
I like that you get a level lot space as well as the fact that you can switch up the floor to create a big, deep well for groceries or pop it back down.
I don’t like the look or feel of the cargo cover though because it just feels a little bit cheap for this price level.
I love though that you get a handy powered tailgate in this if you need some extra space.
You do get front storage in this car, which adds 31 liters, which is perfectly sized If you need a store away, you need cables.
Engine & Performance
The XC 40 recharge Twin Motors has, as you may have guessed, two motors and that produces a combined power output of 300 kilowatts and 670 Newton-meters of torque.
It’s downright fun and you can do a zero to a hundred-kilometer sprint time in just 4.8 seconds
Like the Polestar two There’s no ignition button for this to turn it on You jump in, put it into drive, and off you go To turn it off, you put it into park and you just simply get out and lock the car.
It does take a little while to get used to, but I do think it’s a pretty cool feature.
With the Twin Motors You do produce a really decent amount of power in this and you never feel like you’re sort of scraping the barrel in terms of power, which is great.
The Twin Motors delivers fantastic power in this, and you feel that mostly in the city where it feels quite zippy, but even on the open road, you get great confidence when you have to overtake or keep up to speed, and I love how the power is distributed through the All Wheel drive system because it feels very well balanced.
Volvo XC40 Electric Camera
Now the thing that this does really well is the parking It is quite small in length at 4,440 millimeters, but the 11 meter turning circle is what makes this just downright easy to park.
I like that it has a 360 degree view camera system too. It’s not as clear as some others have, but it’s fantastic to have nonetheless. And you also get front and rear parking sensors in this.
Efficiency
The official energy consumption is 19 kilowatt hour per hundred kilometers, the official driving range is up to 485 kilometers.
This has a type two CCS charging port, which means that you can benefit from faster charging times.
On an AC 11 kilowatt system You can get from zero to a hundred percent in as little as eight hours, but if you were to plug it into a standard three pin house plug port, expect that wait time to go up significantly.
On a DC charging low, the wait times come down to just 33 minutes to get from 10 to 80%.
Safety Feature In Volvo XC40 Electric
The XC 40 comes with a robust safety features list, but a standout is the Volvo designed side impact protection System or sips, which reinforces the still framework of the car and disperses energy to other parts of the car in a side collision.
The XC 40 has a maximum five star NCAP safety rating from testing done in 2018 and has seven airbags.
A pretty cool thing that it features though is very high individual assessment scores for adult and child occupant protection at 97 and 84% respectively.
And for any parents out there, you can actually program the spare key to limit the volume control for the audio system as well as the speed limit, and it’s also handily color coded so your kid can’t take the wrong key.
Ownership & Warranty
The ongoing costs for the XC 40 are pretty good with it coming with a usual five year unlimited kilometer warranty and the battery is covered by an eight year term.
You can pre-purchase a five year or up to 150,000 kilometers servicing program for a flat $3,000 or an average of $600 per service, which is a little bit expensive for the class.
Servicing intervals are good every two years or 30,000 kilometers, whichever occurs first.
And you also get complimentary roadside assistance for five years through Assist Australia, and if you meet certain criteria, you can actually up that for another three years, which is very handy.