Volvo’s C40 is not the company’s first electric car, it is the first one to be offered exclusively as an EV and not only that but you can buy one online. It sounds like the car of the future and it has some seriously stiff competition from the likes of the Audi Q4 E-Tron and Mercedes EQA.
Special mention : There’s no start button, just engage drive and go. Harmon Kardon stereo is sublime. You can buy it online. Google software works well on the infotainment.
Needs work : Rear space is compromised due to the sloping roof. One pedal regen is abrupt but handy in stop/start traffic.
| BHP 408 | Electric / Auto |
| 0-100 km/h in 4.7 seconds | Road Tax €120 |
Price: €58,730.00 As spec’d Price: €68,950.00 | Boot space 414 litres + 31 in the frunk |
The C40 has historically been a family hatchback but now this new C40 Recharge is more like a coupe like version of the XC40 Recharge so it’s basically a crossover. It’s got the same front end as the XC40 including a high bonnet line with some sharp looks at the front. The cladding around the sides of the car and the base of the bumper lends itself to getting down muddy / rocky roads without worrying about low down scratches. The blanked off grille lets you know it’s an EV.
The biggest change is the new coupe-like roofline and for the rest of the proportions, the C40 Recharge is pretty much exactly the same as the XC40 Recharge which uses the same platform. It’s not just the roof line that’s different, it has a sleeker silhouette but is actually 69 millimeters lower than the XC40. The rear lights are vertical led tail lights at the top and the horizontal lines light up at night. There’s a tiny little lip spoiler and two indents on the roof for that sportier look. The C40 may look good but unfortunately the sleekness has had an effect on the boot space which is only around 414 litres. This is quite a bit less than the 452 litres available on the XC40 Recharge and also it’s not as competitive as the Audi Q4 E-Tron with over 500 litres. It’s by no means a small boot, if you do move bigger items around all of the time you’re probably going to want to lean more towards the Audi. There is however some under floor storage to hide away the cables and there’s also a frunk. It’s not the biggest frunk out there but it is big enough to store away your charging cables or you could even use it as extra storage if you’ve got a bit too much in the boot.
The C40 Recharge boasts some serious figures with two electric motors, one at each end of the car. Combined they produce 408 horsepower and 660 newton meters of torque which makes it quick. Bearing in mind that the car is understated, it’s also seriously fast in a straight line going from 0 to 100 km per hour in 4.7 seconds. This pretty much obliterates all the competition which does come at the expense of range. From a 75 kilowatt hour battery capacity, you’ll be getting 440 km which isn’t bad but there’s room for more. Most of the C40 Recharge rivals offer in excess of 450 km albeit at the cost of performance.
Range might not be the best in class but it is still pretty fast. The C40 Recharge accepts up to 150 kilowatts of charging speed, meaning that if you find the right charger you can go from 0 to 80 % battery in just 40 minutes. If you don’t have a spare 40 minutes on your hand but you’ve been able to find a rapid charger, you’ll be able to top up 100 kms in around 10 minutes. And that’s very good compared to the rest of the competition. The only thing that beats it is the Hyundai IONIQ 5 which is built on 800 volt architecture.
It costs €58,730 but let’s face it most people don’t go out and buy a car outright anymore, there are PCP deals, finance deals and leasing available, all of which have allowed manufacturers to charge more for their product.
The cabin is similar to what you get on the XC40 Recharge, right down from the vent design, the screens and even the steering wheel. If you go for the C40 Recharge there’s a new topography trim level. When you run your hand over the dashboard, you can feel the topography of a terrain. It’s quite arty and really very nice and also there’s no leather in the car, everything that you see in the cabin is leather free,you’ve got faux leather at the side of the seat and on the steering wheel. It all feels high quality and you also have suede in the centre of the seats.
When you sit inside the rear of the C40 Recharge the sloping roof line does cut into headroom a little bit but has still got plenty of room. If you need more rear space for larger adults, in that case you’d want to go for the XC40 Recharge. Legroom is pretty decent with a tall driver in front, there’s a fair bit of knee room and the back is quite bright and airy when you’ve optioned the panoramic roof.
What really stands out is how fast it is especially as it’s been designed as a family crossover. It can get from 0 to 100 kms per hour in 4.7 seconds. This is Tesla Model Y levels of performance which shouldn’t come as a huge surprise because then again this thing costs nearly €60k so you’d expect it to be at least pretty impressive on the performance side of things.
On the surface it doesn’t feel massively compromised either, yes it’s really fast in a straight line but the suspension is softly sprung and there’s such a nice steering feel which you can change the setup of from stiff to loose in the menu.
The C40 Recharge is 2.2 tonnes which is a hell of a lot of weight and it doesn’t come as a huge surprise as it’s a crossover but it’s an electric crossover and EV’s tend to be quite heavy anyway due to the batteries. Because it’s softly sprung it does mean that when you apply the brakes you tend to notice there’s a little bit of lurching forward. It’s not as obvious as it is in the Citroen-C4, it’s something that’s been addressed in the Polestar 2. Rear visibility is limited due to the curved roofline and does make seeing things out the back through your rear view mirror a little bit difficult. It’s also reduced at night when you’ve got auto dimming on the rear view mirror and the windows are tinted.
Most cars offer some form of energy recovery and it seems that you can’t change the level of the energy recovery in the C40 Recharge. However it does feel intuitive in its standard setting and it really does offer you one pedal driving. The Google based infotainment system is responsive, sharp and intuitive to use.
I really enjoy the fact it’s so performance focused and takes the lead from Polestar. If you want something a bit more relaxed with less driver focused ambitions and coupe looks you could probably go for an Audi Q4 E-Tron Sportback and if you wanted an even more performance-focused EV then you should look at the Polestar 2.