Volvo XC40 EV review: High-quality crossover SUV delivers in every respect

A subcompact luxury crossover SUV.

It’s a short sentence, but quite a mouthful nonetheless. There is a lot to take in in just those five words – or four words and an acronym, if you want to get picky about it.

I suppose you can get anything that’s subcompact these days: underpants, husbands/wives, living quarters, very handy shaving devices, aeroplane seats – you name it. Luxury, obviously, adds golf/sailing club membership, a decent amount of not-too-ostentatious tat, a foreign beach pad, but none of that ould’ helicopter carry on because that’s too noughties.

A crossover SUV – luxury – therefore has to look just mildly embarrassed outside a cut-price supermarket, but perfectly comfortable in the owners’ car park at the hunt – perhaps even pulling a trailer containing a beast even larger than the driver. And, largely, it can be driven with great confidence that people will notice.

After all, that’s why so many people will fork out the bobs for such beasts – so folk will sit up and say: “Christ, yer man/woman has done well for him/herself.” 

But you can never predict which way the fickle wind of taste will swing. In the luxury class it has lately swung from having a Tesla to owning something coming from a more established manufacturer. In the case of this week’s tester, which is a Volvo XC40 Recharge, that means it is going in against any number of things from BMW, Audi, Mercedes, sister company Polestar, Jaguar and Lexus, among others.

On the all-electric front, the Volvo has also now got opposition like the Kia EV6 and the Ionic 5 from Hyundai and, of course, Tesla, which appears to be losing popularity quicker than a former American President with a funny orange coloured hue about him.

There’s also opposition from supposedly non-luxury cars with such as the VW ID.4 and the closely related Skoda Enyaq still costing enough to put them close to the Volvo simply on price alone.

But this Volvo is set to be a growing electric army from the Sino/Swedish outfit and is actually made in China alongside the Polestar 2. We first saw the XC40 five years ago and it has gestated in that time from just having petrol/diesel options into a PHEV and, our tester this week, a full electric.

It is a stumpy looking thing, bless it, but endowed with enough character to make it appealing to the luxury buyer. In electric form it has that grille blank so many have adopted these days and which has not found any favour in this quarter, believing as we do, that this form of design is as unimaginative as it is unattractive. But that’s a subjective thing and some will find no offence at all with it.

Other than that, the thing is that Volvo has pulled off something of a magic trick here as the electric XC40 is quite a deal heavier than its ICE siblings because of its unique powertrain and yet it still drives with the same levels of refinement as any of those relations as well as offering the same mix of comfort, Scandi minimalist modernity and overall finesse.

Aside from the grille blank, unique wheels and the fact the charge point is on the left-hand side of the car rather than the right, this XC40 looks just like any other and I suppose that’s a credit to the designers as well.

Oddly though, and not that long after we tested the car last November, Volvo has this week announced new variants of the XC40 Recharge and the C40 Recharge (the SUV coupe) which will see rear wheel drive and AWD versions (our tester was front wheel drive) which also have a range which has been extended by 60 km.

Now the range on the model we tested was a claimed 422 km, but Volvo says the new models will come with ranges varying between 500 and 530 km. They will also cost a deal more than the test car – up to €67,515 in some instances.

Despite the forthcoming changes, the XC40 Recharge we had boasted a 69 kWh lithium-ion battery and a 231 bhp electric motor sited on the front axle and driving the front wheels only. This, in turn, makes for a 7.4 second 0-100 km/h time and a top speed of 160 km/h, figures which are pretty typical of the modern electric where the out-of-the-blocks speed is swift, but top speed isn’t.

And again, typical of such cars, is its ability to charge from 10 to 80% of battery capacity in just 32 minutes from a 150 kW DC source, so even on a long trip you can be about your business pretty swiftly if you do have to source more juice.

The tester – in Ultimate trim – is a very well-specced beast which comes with 20” alloys, heated front and rear seats, a heat pump for more effective interior heating, adaptive cruise control with Pilot Assist, front and rear parking sensors, a reversing camera and a hands-free electric tailgate.

This is also a car with a lot of Google-sourced infotainment characteristics which look after mapping, entertainment and search functions, while Bluetooth, DAB radio and wireless smartphone charging facilities are also at hand. All the Google stuff comes as part of the asking price for four years. Oh, and there’s also an excellent 12.3” digital driver’s display.

With this being a Volvo, there’s also a raft of safety kit, what with pedestrian and cyclist detection systems, front and rear auto brake and loads more. In this trim you also get a Harman Kardon sound system, a panoramic roof and – hold your breath – added ambient lighting.

All told then, this thing feels premium and anyone who buys one will feel accordingly upmarket. On the road too, you’ll feel good about yourself driving this thing. The minimalist décor nevertheless is lovely to look at, touch and live with and the seating is really comfortable – although the middle seat in the rear is a bit tight for the leggier amongst us.

On the road the car is really comfortable too – and practically noiseless as well. Steering is well weighted (although you can adjust it for feel) and the ride and handling are of a high order – even for a front wheel drive machine.

As a high quality product this Volvo delivers in almost every respect; it is terribly well equipped, very comfortable and, largely, lives up to its range claims. Volvo has executed this car really well and it bodes well for what’s coming down the tracks.

Like a lot of electrics, it’s not cheap, but then it does ooze what might be described as ‘premiumness.’