In battery-electric guise, the XC40's worthier attributes – the thoughtful packaging, sense of well-being, and design – are augmented by a remarkable new turn of speed and handling smarts. Like the Tesla Model 3 (and related Polestar 2), the XC40 P8 makes an almost irresistible case for electrification.
Sure it's not cheap, but it's loaded to the gunwales with the kit and has enough pace and balance on an excellent road to keep more overtly sporting cars humble.
Here comes Volvo's first fully electric offering, a car whose full name is too long to fit on its attractively undulating tailgate. The XC40 Recharge P8 is on sale now, priced from a hearty £49,950, and tasked with persuading still wavering punters into its thoughtfully trimmed Scandi-cabin rather than that of a BMW iX3, (Ford) Mustang Mach-E, Jaguar I-Pace, Tesla Model Y or VW ID.4. Hasn't the EV crossover landscape changed dramatically in recent years?
Why "Recharge"?
With its Polestar spin-off doing a different sort of job, Volvo’s Recharge is the company’s sub-brand, one that will encompass all of its hybrid or fully electric cars. CEO Hakån Samuelsson reckons electric vehicles will account for 50 percent of Volvo’s sales by 2025. The company also aims to reduce its life-cycle carbon footprint per vehicle by 40 percent by the same year. In addition, it wants to be climate neutral by 2040.
The XC40 P8 looks identical to its ICE and PHEV brothers, bar the now obligatory blanked-off body-color grille and Recharge branding on the C-pillar. The charging port is on the nearside front wing; there’s a bespoke alloy wheel design and some new exterior colors, including green with an inappropriately militaristic overtone. The XC40’s exterior, as an aside, is the work of British designer Ian Kettle, who was lured away to Tesla not long after its reveal.
Underneath is the same Common Modular Architecture (CMA) that underpins the Polestar 2, various Lynk & Co models, and the Geely Xingyue (new to us, too). Importantly, it was designed to accept an electric powertrain, so the XC40’s functionality is uncorrupted.
Specs
The P8 is powered by a 78kWh lithium-ion battery pack mounted under the floor that feeds two electric motors, with one on each axle to provide all-wheel drive. Power output is 402bhp, torque an outrageous 487lb-ft, which translates to a decidedly un-Volvo-ish turn of speed: not many cars in the Swedes' wonderfully idiosyncratic canon have made it to 62mph in less than five seconds. Volvo claimed a WLTP range of 257 miles on a single charge and hooked up to a 150kW rapid charger; you'll get to 80 percent of that in around 40 minutes. You're looking at eight hours on a standard domestic 7-11kW wall point charger.
Similarities
If this all sounds a bit familiar, the hardware is identical to the “Long Range Dual Motor” version of the Polestar 2. This, in turn, is a reminder that the challenge in the rapidly evolving EV world is to create something notably more significant than the sum of its parts. Design, connectivity, ease of use, and quality have all become more effective than ever. Volvo already has a head start in all four categories with the regular XC40. So how much better can a fully electric iteration be?