Road test review: Volvo XC40 Recharge PHEV
Wednesday, 10 March 2021
VOLVO XC40 RECHARGE PHEV
Base price: $84,900
Powertrain and economy: 1.5-litre turbo-petrol three-cylinder and electric motor, 192kW/425Nm total system output, 7-speed dual clutch transmission, FWD, combined economy 2.2L/100km, CO2 51g/km (source: RightCar).
Vital statistics: 4425mm long, 1863mm wide, 1652mm high, 2701mm wheelbase, luggage capacity 460 litres, 20-inch alloy wheels.
We like: Usable all-electric range, quality interior, still great to drive, impressively frugal.
- We don't like: Engine doesn’t growl like a triple, brakes lack feel, quite a price jump from the petrol version.
Volvo has said it will go all-electric by 2030, but what if you want some eco-friendlier Swedish style right now? While the all-electric XC40 and the newly-announced C40 are still a while away for us, the plug-in hybrid version of the XC40, complete with a three-cylinder engine and electric motor combo has just landed, so we took it for a spin and came away rather impressed.
But aren’t you easily impressed by three-cylinder engines anyway?
Yes, of course – three-cylinder engines are fantastic and often hugely charismatic, so the idea of hooking one up to an electric motor is awesome. Just like the BMW i8 did…
**READ MORE:
* Volvo launches new all-electric SUV
* Goodbye gas: Volvo to make only electric vehicles by 2030
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* Long term road test review: Mini Cooper S E All4 Countryman
**
But the XC40 is a world away from BMW’s supercar-looking sports car, partly because its three-cylinder engine, while a fantastic unit, lacks the charmingly bellicose noise of the i8’s triple. But mainly because it's a small SUV.
The XC40’s triple is a refined and well-isolated unit that you really wouldn’t pick as only having three cylinders, which would normally offend me (I love a growly little triple), but it works in the Recharge due to the fact that the electric motor does a lot of the heavy lifting, so having a thrashy little triple kick in (no matter how charismatically) under heavy load would just be intrusive.
Nope, the XC40 Recharge is all about being quiet, refined and impressively brisk on the uptake.
So the electric motor makes it fast? Like a Tesla?
Don’t be silly, of course not. But it is almost the fastest XC40.
Almost? Well, while its total system output of 192kW and 425Nm (the three-cylinder turbo engine contributes 132kW and 265Nm and the electric motor an additional 60kW and 160Nm) makes it the most powerful XC40, the 185kW/350Nm 2.0-litre XC40 T5 AWD is still almost a second quicker in the 0 to 100kmh sprint (6.4 for the T5 versus 7.3 for the Recharge). This is down to weight, of course, with the 1760kg being the heaviest XC40 by around 75kg.
Still, it is more than brisk enough, plus if you drive it in EV mode it will whip around town on electricity only, with a range of up to 45km showing on the dash display – in reality I regularly saw around 40km in regular daily commuting.
But what about when that petrol engine kicks in?
Even then the XC40 is strikingly frugal – Volvo claims a combined average of 2.2L/100km for the Recharge, which is stupidly easy to achieve and even exceed in regular daily driving around town.
The real interesting part came when I was in a hurry to get to the airport one morning and realised I hadn’t plugged the XC40 in the previous night, so the hurried round trip of about 80km was done purely as a hybrid (as with all PHEVs, even when the battery if ‘flat’ for EV use, it remains usable as a hybrid assist), which saw the XC40’s previous fuel consumption of literally zero (I had only run it as an EV for three days prior) jump up to… 4.7L/100km.
Which is particularly impressive when you consider all thoughts of economical driving are abandoned on an airport run. Running it as a hybrid with a full battery charge each night for the rest of my time with it easily dropped under Volvo’s claim of 2.2, with 1.9L/100km being the figure I ended on.
And that is the true beauty of a good PHEV – daily running can easily be handled by the battery alone, while a longer run (or absent-mindedly forgetting to plug it in) is range anxiety-free and still impressively frugal.
Okay, so it's an impressively good PHEV, but what’s it like as a car?
That’s actually the best bit about the XC40 Recharge – it is still a thoroughly excellent and charming little SUV to drive, just like the ICE ones.
The PHEV retains all the standard ICE XC40’s composed confidence, with an excellent ride and impressively dynamic handling. The PHEV does lose out on the ICE car’s clever folding boot floor, however, but that is a relatively small price to pay.
While the extra weight can be felt on occasion, it doesn’t affect the XC40’s poise and agility, which is still top-notch for a small luxury SUV, but the brake pedal does suffer from a drastic lack of feel when compared to a normal XC40.
The true potential of the XC40 Recharge is unlocked when you fall into a routine of plugging it in whenever you are at home. The battery charges quickly enough, even on a standard three-pin home socket, and you will easily complete the vast majority (if not all) of an ordinary week’s running using electricity only if you do.
Don’t plug it in regularly, and it will still be far more economical than an ICE XC40, but you really would be missing out on the whole point of this car.
Any other cars I should consider?
Mini’s Countryman PHEV is the closest direct rival to the XC40 and while it is cheaper ($64,990) and AWD, it has a similar all-electric range and, at 2.4L/100km is slightly less economical. But it also lacks the Volvo’s high-quality interior and high level of standard equipment, making the price gap considerably less jarring.
There are larger, more appropriately premium competitors like the BMW X3 xDrive30e and Mercedes-Benz GLC 300 e that cost considerably more (both are $107,700).
Or, as a pair of electric wild cards, the all-electric MG ZS EV is a small SUV for only $48,990 and the forthcoming Mercedes-Benz EQA EV, which could well not be hugely more expensive than the XC40. Maybe.
But of course, if you aren’t committed to the whole electrified thing, then there is the standard XC40 T5 that isn’t anywhere near as frugal, but is $12,000 cheaper…