The compact crossover market has been a hot one for years, and it is no surprise that in the world of Electric Vehicles, that popularity continues to be the case.
Volvo’s XC40 model is available both as a full gas-engine model – for now – with no electrification, or as the Recharge, with total electrification, with no hybrid middle ground before or currently in Canada, although it was available elsewhere. Given Volvo’s stated aim to have all its models electrified by 2025, one has to think that the gas engine will be gone unless it gets to be part of a hybrid model.
In any case, we drove the XC40 Recharge EV, Volvo’s first of many such vehicles, in its Ultimate model, which currently lists for $73,900 plus available options. That puts it firmly into the luxury segment and takes away the chance of claiming most of this country’s government EV rebates. Volvo is a premium brand now, fighting with all the other vaunted European icons.
What does it take to compete in this segment? The Recharge is a two-motor EV, one on each axle, so it is a permanent all-wheel drive vehicle. The power output is, as is common with multi-motor vehicles on the market, prodigious, with 402 horsepower and an instantaneous 486 lb-ft of torque, routed through a single-speed, direct-drive transmission. Mat the throttle from rest, and you’ll see 100 km/h in around 5 seconds. Or maybe quarter-mile times are more your thing – 12.9 seconds at 108 mph was seen in another test. So, it’s quick.
The batteries under the floor have a capacity of 78 kWh, and the consumption of those kilowatts depends greatly on the driving conditions, as in any EV. The official NRCan rating is 359 km of range on a full charge, which would imply a consumption of around 20 kW per 100 km, versus Volvo’s claim of 24.5, either way to the higher side for compact EVs as a group. However, the estimated range as calculated by the Recharge’s computer can vary from 250 to 460 km. We observed 280 km in the cooler weather of early spring.
As long as we are talking about numbers, the XC40 Recharge weighs some 2,200 kg unladen, or around 4,800 pounds; again, this is a compact vehicle. That number was not found on Volvo Canada’s website, incidentally. That mass might have something to do with the energy consumption, but it also gives the XC40 a very solid, hunkered-down feel on the road.
The combination of being an EV and a crossover results in a user-friendly design. The rear cargo area loses a bit over the gas XC40 due to all the batteries under the floor, but is still more than adequate, and the space up front that would have had the engine, is now another small cargo space, or frunk as it has come to be called. The multi-adjustable front seats, which are typically firm and supportive in the Volvo tradition, are mounted relatively high, affording a good view of the road ahead. And the rear seat has good room in all directions.
Being a Volvo, there are some aspects of design and functionality that will not have you mistaking it for something else. Being a Swedish brand (although now owned by a Chinese company), the interior is unapologetically Scandinavian in design, with light tones and textures, synthetic textiles, and a minimalist ethos. That plus the latest Google Android infotainment technology results in almost all functions being accessed from on-screen menus, which is not always the most efficient or non-distracting thing to have to do when the car is in motion. For example, there are no buttons or knobs for the HVAC settings, or the sonorous harman-kardon audio system; we would like to have seen some.
One interesting feature of the Recharge is that there is no “On-Off” ignition button to press. You just get into the seat, belt up, put it in gear, and away you go. The people who crave instant gratification will like the car just for this feature.
Once underway, you will have the choice of regenerative braking levels, once again in the menus on the screen instead of an easy manual control like a paddle. At least you can save your preferred setting this way. The strongest setting will allow one-pedal driving in almost all situations, while adding electrons to the charging system.
So, the XC40 Recharge is a very competitive entry in the EV Crossover market, as far as technology and performance, and its level of comfort and convenience justifies the luxury price it commands. Its range is bettered by many lesser crossover EVs and most luxury ones, and it is sometimes not as user friendly as we’d like its controls to be, but like most Volvos ever, it goes its own way.
