Volvo XC40 Recharge Plug-In Hybrid 2021 Review

Volvo is transforming its brand in Australia, selling only electrified vehicles from mid-2021.

This point will mark the arrival of the Swedish car-maker’s first EV, a full-electric version of the Volvo XC40 – the prestige small SUV that’s a former carsales Car of the Year winner and, at the top of the range, has a plug-in hybrid electric (PHEV) version we’re testing here.

You don’t get the full battery-electric experience with the 2021 Volvo XC40 Recharge Plug-In Hybrid, but the money you spend on the vehicle – which starts at $64,990 plus on-road costs – combines highly economical motoring with plenty of creature comforts.

Prominent among the standard features is the 9.0-inch vertical touch-screen in the centre fascia. This is the interface to Apple CarPlay/Android Auto smartphone integration, as well as satellite navigation and the Harman Kardon audio system with digital radio.

Other standard features include a multi-function steering wheel, inductive smartphone charging, charcoal leather upholstery, dual-zone climate control, a cooled glovebox and keyless entry/starting.

In addition, the test vehicle was fitted with options that took the price up to $67,990 plus ORCs. These included metallic paint ($1150), the ‘Versatility Pack’ ($230), ‘Climate Pack’ ($700), 360-degree camera monitoring ($990), privacy glass ($700), heated rear seats ($350) and ‘Park Assist Pilot’ ($650).

Inclusions for the Versatility Pack are load protection net and power-folding head restraints for the rear seats, while the Climate Pack comprises heated front seats, heated windscreen washers and heated steering wheel.

The Volvo is covered by a five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty and services are due after 12 months or 15,000km, whichever occurs first.

Volvo has long been associated with safety, and the 2021 Volvo XC40 Recharge Plug-In Hybrid does the brand proud, with its five-star ANCAP rating from 2018.

As standard, the XC40 Recharge comes equipped with autonomous emergency braking (AEB) that detects pedestrians, cyclists and large animals. Its driver assist systems keep you safe from your own stupidity at intersections, or running off the road, changing lanes or failing to stay in the optimal lane.

There’s driver fatigue monitoring as well, plus throttle and brake control on hills – both starting and descending – and emergency brake assist/brake lights. Rain-sensing wipers and auto-on/off function for the dynamic cornering LED headlights are also standard.

Secondary safety measures include airbags that deploy from the front, side (in the front seats) and side curtains, plus one more to protect the driver’s knee.

Volvo’s Pilot Assist system, the name for the brand’s driver assist technology suite, stands as one of the state-of-the-art systems currently available in Australia. It was very welcome on a long country journey home from a holiday.

Only occasionally did the system react inappropriately, due to missing the line markings at the side of the road. At times it needed two bites to negotiate a long bend, but about 50km into the journey home I was pleased to have it taking some of the work out of keeping the Volvo on track.

The forward collision warning system fired up a couple of times during the Volvo’s time with us, but unlike earlier examples from the stable, the system in the XC40 Recharge won’t cause a heart attack or deafen you.

It’s also slower to react to a car making a left turn, so the system doesn’t irritate you at every intersection with a pedestrian crossing.

Headlights are very effective on low beam, but the XC40 Recharge also comes with automatic high beam assist, and that too comes highly recommended.

The 2021 Volvo XC40 Recharge Plug-In Hybrid, with its nominal 40km electric range (or 45km in the Pure electric mode), is a sort of ‘mild’ plug-in hybrid.

But Volvo describes the XC40 Recharge powertrain as a ‘T5’ unit, and it certainly has the performance to break traction with ‘T5’ ease in the wet, due to the turbocharged petrol torque supplemented by the electric motor.

Despite its tiny engine capacity, the XC40 Recharge was certainly safe overtaking on country roads, even heavily laden.

The three-cylinder engine on a light throttle is practically imperceptible; that includes when the idle-stop system starts it or kills it. Under load, however, that three-pot hammer is noticeable, although it remains smooth for its type and revs cleanly to the 6000rpm redline.

Drive the XC40 Recharge in Sport mode – with the petrol engine running constantly – and the ZF eight-speed automatic transmission can shift sequentially in the same manner as Mercedes-Benz automatics from the past… by knocking the lever left for downshifts and right for upshifts after drawing back to the ‘-B+’ position.

When the XC40 is running in Hybrid or Pure (eco) modes, pulling the lever back increases brake energy recovery also, but knocking the lever left or right in either of these electric driving modes has no further effect on energy scavenging or braking effort.

Over a standard test loop that far exceeds the Volvo’s electric-only range, the XC40 Recharge posted a fuel consumption figure of 4.5L/100km, despite the headlights and wipers operating.

On a longer country drive (about 290km), the Volvo used 5.6L/100km with four passengers and luggage for a week on board.

A return drive to carsales and home with a fully-charged battery and 40km of range at the outset was accomplished on electric power alone, until the very final kilometre of the 38.4km drive. That included a run down Melbourne’s Eastern Freeway, a trouble-free coast along Punt Road, and the homeward leg in ‘Eco’ mode through the back streets and arterial roads of the eastern suburbs.

Fuel used was just 0.3L/100km for that final kilometre, according to the trip computer.

And the bonus? The small lithium-ion battery was fully recharged at home from a 10-Amp power outlet in just four and a half hours.

The driving position of the 2021 Volvo XC40 Recharge Plug-In Hybrid is very well configured for easy reach to controls and legible instruments.

Comfortable seat cushioning is complemented by the shape of the seats – but without aggressive contouring. There was no need to adjust lumbar support for the three-hour drive back from Victoria’s shipwreck coast.

The Volvo provides a fairly commanding view forward, although drivers will quickly become very reliant on the Volvo’s cameras because the C-pillars really obscure the view over the shoulder when you’re backing. The B-pillars are also quite thick when checking over your shoulder turning left from a slip lane.

Overall, the infotainment display is fairly easy to use, once you’re familiar with its scope and operation – swiping to select different screens and different menu options that are available. But the graphs for energy consumption (fuel and electricity) are difficult to follow.

Accommodation in the rear is quite generous for a vehicle of this size and access is easy too. Our one significant concern would be the shade blind for the panoramic sunroof; the blind probably won’t keep the sun out during any normal summer – one not afflicted by the a La Nina event, as we saw over 2020/21.

The boot is quite commodious, although it did struggle with luggage for a family of four adults away for a week. Some items had to be transported in the cabin’s footwells. Still, it was adequate for a car of this size; with boot space optimised by Volvo specifying a space-saver spare tyre.

Ride comfort is pretty impressive, especially transporting four adults and a load of luggage for a week away.

Unlike the MG ZS EV driven a week earlier, the XC40 Recharge rolls on slightly firmer springs and dampers that were a much better choice for ride and handling balance, complemented by the Pirelli P-Zero 245/45 R20 tyres fitted.

Where the MG handled well and rode softly, it also felt underdamped over speed humps, for example, where the Volvo was very controlled and measured over bumps of any kind, at any speed.

The Volvo’s suspension proved occasionally noisy over corrugated bitumen during our long journey to the country, however.

After driving the 2021 Volvo XC40 Recharge Plug-In Hybrid for a couple of weeks, I’ve come to the conclusion that this is not a surrogate for a battery-electric vehicle.

Having the petrol engine is great for the odd occasion you’re travelling to a holiday destination three hours away. But 40km of electric-only range in the suburbs is marginal, in the Australian context.

The Volvo will likely call upon its petrol engine much more frequently, but at least when it does it will be more economical (and therefore more environmentally-friendly) than the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV or the Mercedes-Benz C 300e passenger sedan I’ve tested over the past 12 months.

To that extent, Volvo’s found the right balance. The XC40 Recharge is a credible plug-in hybrid that will charge up from flat to full in a few short hours from a standard 10Amp outlet.

It will transport you and your family plus luggage enough to fill the boot over 600km on one tank of fuel and one electric charge.

But it remains also a very sensible and presentable small SUV for short-haul runs around the suburbs.

How much does the 2021 Volvo XC40 Recharge Plug-In Hybrid cost?
Price: $64,990 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Powertrain: 1.5-litre three-cylinder turbo petrol-electric
Output: 132kW/265Nm (electric motor: 60kW/160Nm)
Transmission: Seven-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel: 2.2L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 50g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Five-star (ANCAP 2018)

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