Volvo XC40 Recharge Review
The Volvo XC40 Recharge is an all-electric version of the XC40, with a practical SUV body style, good performance and comfortable ride quality.
This is a review for the Volvo EX40
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Practical SUV body style
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Good performance
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Front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive
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Comfortable ride quality
Volvo XC40 Recharge Design & Powertrain
The Volvo XC40 Recharge is available with front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive. The front-wheel drive model has a 69 kWh battery and an electric motor delivering 231 hp and 330 Nm, and the all-wheel drive model has a larger 78 kWh battery and two electric motors (hence the ‘Twin’ name) delivering 408 hp and 660 Nm.
Other than the electric powertrain, the XC40 Recharge is mostly identical to the XC40 with a petrol or diesel powertrain, but the blanked-off grille denotes the electric model. The interior is also virtually identical, with a minimalistic design based around most controls on a central touchscreen.
There’s a 452-litre boot, and 1,328 litres of space with the rear seats down. There’s a compartment under the boot floor, and a 31-litre compartment under the bonnet; both spaces are useful for storing charging cables.
What's the Volvo XC40 Recharge like to drive?
‘Comfortable’ is the best description of the Volvo XC40 driving experience. It feels like a big, boxy SUV that can drive over most roads with the occupants well insulated from the outside environment (unless you opt for big alloy wheels and drive on very poor road surfaces), and the steering weight adds to the SUV feeling.
However the XC40 Recharge also delivers a lot of performance – especially in ‘Twin’ form, with its two motors resulting in a rapid 0-62 mph time of 4.9 seconds. When you first set off from standstill you may not expect that level of performance, because there’s not much response from accelerator inputs at low speeds.
The Recharge Twin model has lots of grip thanks to its all-wheel drive system. Handling is aided by the battery providing a lower centre of gravity than the petrol model, but this still a high-riding car with relatively soft suspension that weighs 2,113 kg – so it’s no sports car.
On the motorway the XC40 Recharge is as quiet and refined as you would expect a premium electric SUV to be.
One thing to be aware of is that the XC40 Recharge doesn’t display a figure for the electric driving range. Apart from the Volvo C40, we’re not aware of another EV that doesn’t provide this figure. It shows a battery percentage, and it shows the range when you get down to 25% battery charge, but if you want to find out the range above that figure you have to ask the in-car Google assistant.
Along with most new cars, the majority of car controls are accessed via the central touchscreen. There’s a home button at the bottom, pressing this gives you four boxes on the screen for items such as satnav, radio/media and phone, and the climate controls are permanently at the bottom of the screen (Tesla-like).
The XC40 Recharge also has a (braked) towing weight of 1,500kg, or 1,800kg for the Recharge Twin.
Charging the Volvo XC40 Recharge
The Volvo XC40 Recharge has an official combined WLTP driving range of 258-264 miles, or 256-259 miles in the case of the Recharge Twin.
The XC40 Recharge can rapid charge at up to 150 kW, which means that a 10-80% charge at a 150kW DC charger should take 32 minutes, or 37 minutes for the Recharge Twin. You can recharge the XC40 Recharge Twin in around eight hours using the on-board 11kW (AC) charger.
Conclusion
The Volvo XC40 Recharge is an SUV, so it offers space and practicality, and it’s electric, so it’s quiet and refined. It also offers a comfortable ride, and, especially in the case of the Recharge Twin, lots of performance, which it can transfer to roads in all weathers thanks to its all-wheel drive system. The XC40 Recharge also offers a premium feel - although its price reflects that.