Volvo XC40 2018 Review - International

Launching into the premium end of the booming compact SUV segment, Volvo's first XC40 looks, feels and drives just about right for what it needs to do.

It’s starting life with one four-cylinder petrol engine in the T5 and one four-cylinder diesel engine in the D4, both of which are turbocharged and share the exact same capacity.

Those launch engines will be packaged up into three different trim lines, but they’ll be followed up by a D3 three-cylinder turbo-diesel, a plug-in hybrid and, eventually, a full battery-electric version.

It’s difficult to see how Volvo’s bet could have been bigger with the XC40. It’s changing the way it builds cars, it’s changing the way it sells cars (with a full smartphone-style subscription service in Europe that is under consideration here) and it has changed the way it designs cars.

It has taken a leaf from Volkswagen’s book, but where the German outfit’s MQB modular architecture is spread across more than a dozen models, Volvo’s CMA architecture makes its debut beneath the XC40.

Like the Volkswagen system, it locks in fixed engineering between the front axle and the firewall, just ahead of the dashboard, while giving design and production flexibility in every other dimension.

The CMA will find homes beneath all future non-large Volvos and a bunch of new Geelys, too, and the early verdict is massively promising.

Multi-personality
In its petrol-powered form, the XC40 is a beautifully judged piece of engineering, balancing interior comfort, practicality and design demands with the often-conflicting demands from the engineering teams.

It’s not quite the same car as a diesel, though, and it feels quite wooden, stoic and dull with the more economical powertrain fitted up front.

However, the T5 petrol is a very convincing car. Powered by a 182kW version of the same 2.0-litre four-cylinder Volvo already uses in the XC90, the S90 and even the XC60.

The engine should feel lively, too, because at 4425mm long and weighing 1684kg, the XC40 gives it the easiest job it’s ever had.

It’s not a motor built for speed, but it still manages to drive through to 100km/h in 6.5 seconds and on to a 230km/h top speed. It’s not really the pace it shows that makes it stand out. It’s the willingness.

We drove the D4 diesel first, and the step up in enthusiasm in every part of the petrol-powered car was frankly remarkable.

Where the D4 is a nice, solid car in most things it does, the T5 has a real joy in everything it does, in town and out on the open road.

No, it’s no sports car, but neither is anything else in the premium SUV class (toting a 211mm ground clearance and the extra weight of a high-rise wagon will do that), but it’s not bad and it’s easy to use, all the time.

There is a surprising amount of refinement in the way the T5 goes about its work, mixing a reasonably good ride and it feels like it’s happy to dive into corners, too.

There are some issues with road noise from the 19-inch rear tyres and some wind noise from around the A-pillars, but the powertrain is well isolated from the cabin.

Overall, it’s taller and longer inside and out than Jaguar’s upcoming E-PACE, but significantly longer than Audi’s standard-bearing Q3 and heading up towards the Q5 mid-sizer.

Inside story
But we’ll come back to all of that, because the real clever touches are inside the car, including top-shelf connectivity, the technology to inductively charge phones, the ability to update the navigation system for free.

Volvo will deliver the XC40 in three different model trim packages: the Momentum entry level, the sportier-looking R-Design and the more luxurious Inscription. And, yes, they’re still looking for a new naming agency.

The entry level brings dual-zone climate control, cruise control, the 12.3-inch fully digital instrument cluster, a 9.0-inch vertical infotainment screen, cruise control, rear parking sensors, automatic windscreen wipers and 18-inch alloys as standard equipment.

R-Design cars build on the Momentum specification and add a lot of black gloss inside the cabin, tinted windows, leather for the seats, the steering wheel and the gear knob and can be ordered with 20-inch wheels, adaptive lights and heated seats.

The most expensive package adds the powered tailgate, front parking sensors, ambient lighting and other goodies, but asks for yet more money for 19-inch alloys.

The XC40 is not without tech flaws, the most glaring of which is that CarPlay and Android Auto are optional, as are inductive charging and the USB slot in the console.

It starts at the luggage area, which isn’t the largest one (460 litres) touted today, but it is the most practical. The floor is admirably flat, but the optional 'Convenience' pack can be z-folded up onto itself, slotting into a notch on its base.

That gives it a shorter floor, effectively locking shopping bags or suitcases in place against the rear seats so they can’t slide around everywhere. And it also exposes a little bag hook on the floor that you never noticed because it sits flush when the floor is in its normal position.

There are also useful storage hollows beneath the floor and it is all just e-a-s-y to use, even pushing the luggage area out to its 1336-litre maximum.

Ikea-clever
That thinking carries over up front, where there is ample space for four people, with any fifth passenger expected to complain almost constantly due to the shape of the outboard seat bases and the height of the transmission tunnel.

The rear seats have a slightly too-flat base, but masses of head room even with the sunroof open. They also have masses of foot room beneath the front seats and the armrest folds down to be at the same height as the ones on the doors.

The only hiccups are that the bottom edge of the door opening is short, so it needs a concerted pivot to get out without kicking the massively thick B-pillar and the waistline is so high that younglings will have trouble seeing out the side windows.

It’s even better up front, in an upmarket Ikea sort-of way. There are surprising amounts of hard plastic from the middle of the dash down, but that’s countered by the use of soft-touch fabrics and carpets high up the central tunnel and the doors.

Thought has been given to practicality, without compromising the style Volvo has tried to instill in its third SUV, including huge door pockets, a glovebox with a handy and sturdy flip-out curry hook, big cubby holes beneath the seats and even a lift-out, washable trash bin in the centre console.

The infotainment takes a bit of getting used to, with its touch-screen functionality helping to keep the cabin free of cluttering buttons and its collapsing-tile philosophy user system works well once you get the hang of it. Its navigation system is clean and clear and surprisingly intuitive to fiddle with, responding to pinching and expanding fingers to zoom in and out.

Willing driver
All of that leaves you free to just enjoy the driving experience more, and you almost certainly will because it’s a lovely thing to spend time in and it’s the willingness and capability that leap out, and that usually indicates impressive engineering depth.

The steering is more communicative in the T5 than the diesel (but then, so is just about everything) and the car corners with an admirably flat body and is solidly predictable in a series of corners. It successfully walks the fine line between being faultlessly predictable in corners, without feeling dull.

The transmission is capable and efficient without being urgent, even in the sportiest mode. Best to order the optional paddles if you want to shift gears yourself, though, because the standard system of toggling the standard shifter is frustrating and counter-intuitive.

Our car found some annoyance on repeated very small bumps at highway speeds and on some deep urban potholes, but taller tyre sidewalls should minimise both of those issues so don’t be tempted by the 19-inch rubber if you’re living in a city.

It’s a terrific effort, on the whole, and one that shakes up contemporary interior design and adds unexpected dynamic prowess with very useful interior space.

2018 Volvo XC40 pricing and specifications:
Price: TBC
On sale: May 2018
Engine: 2.0-litre inline turbo-petrol four-cylinder
Output: 182kW/350Nm
Transmission: eight-speed automatic, all-wheel drive
Fuel: 8.3L/100km
CO2: 189g/km
Safety rating: TBC