It's just a year since I last reviewed the Volvo XC40 Recharge, and at first look the most recent version doesn't seem to have changed so much, writes Brian Byrne. The original blocky style, which a number of other carmakers seem to be taking on now, still looks well. The visual changes are simple enough — new shapes to the headlights, and revisions to the grille area (no grille, of course, as it is electric) and to the front bumper.
The XC40 sits midway in its compact premium space between the Range Rover Evoque and the BMW X1, and if you want to compare the dimensions with a more common car, the Volvo is marginally smaller than the Peugeot 3008. A 4-5 seater, the XC40 has decent enough width in the rear for three teens, and as a premium level standard-size family car it should work fine. The driver's position offers view from a height, and both front occupants have plenty of space around them to keep long journeys very comfortable.
The dashboard and related components are familiar now to anyone who has driven Volvos of the last few years. I remember that the brand was one of the first to provide a large centre screen for infotainment management, but in the XC40 that looks small nowadays compared to many others out there. It remains, though, one of the easiest to manage. That nice large volume knob just underneath it is also one of those Volvo constants that make me happy. The driver instruments, and the controls on the steering wheel, are at my preferred level of informative and usable simplicity. Overall, the driver's space has the sense of fitting like a really good glove.
The oddness of there being no start button or key to turn — the car comes 'alive' when you sit in it — has now worn off and I didn't feel any of the bother it caused me when I first drove a Volvo with that system. The XC40 Recharge is, of course, electric, and there's no need to light up or switch off an engine.
On electrics, it's no harm to put this car and the brand in 2023 perspective. This year the model is the second biggest seller for Volvo, behind the mostly PHEVs XC60. Four out of five XC40s are all-electric, while EVs represent more than a fifth of all Volvo models sold here this year. It is telling that that just over 5pc of the company's sales this year were diesel, plummeting from last year's 13pc. Five years ago, almost nine in every ten Volvos sold were diesel-powered. Volvo ranks 17th in brand sales in Ireland, and 12th in sales of electric cars.
Back to the review car, and the rated range is 556km on a full charge — it was the Extended Range version. The 252hp offers a quite silent swish to 100km/h in just 7.4 seconds (and you can take 2.5 seconds off that if you opt for the twin-motor model). For those to whom such things are important, the single-motor XC40 is now rear wheel drive.
If I listed the safety and comfort things in this car we'd be here forever, so just take it that the XC40 Recharge provides everything you need. Including the excellent Google infotainment-navigation system that to my mind is one of the best out there.
Nobody reading this is likely to be old enough to remember when Volvos were worthy and exceptionally safe, mostly large wagons, but were at the same time very boring. They've come a long way.
PRICE: From €58,210; review car €65,910. WHAT I LIKED: That I'd be very happy with this car for myself.
