eBusiness Weekly
The XC40 Recharge, in its way, is the quintessential Volvo – practical, solidly made and about as stylish as a fanny pack.
Yet this all-electric subcompact luxury SUV has the best safety features on the market and provides a particularly pleasant ride.
What’s New For 2024
The company has extended the XC40 Recharge’s maximum range figure to 293 miles using a new single-motor powertrain.
The twin-motor outfit, meanwhile, has its range increased to 254 miles.
It’s still woefully behind Tesla’s Model T, which gets 330 miles on a charge, depending on driving style and weather. Rear-wheel drive is on the menu as well, and mine had AWD.
Pricing starts at $52,450, but my “Ultimate” trim begins at $60,550.
Looks
This is one of those electric cars that looks electric from a distance.
You’ll know it’s a Volvo, too, from any distance – it’s got their DNA all over it, from the door design to the company’s signature brake lights. There’s a small, handy frunk.
Inside, And Tech
The XC40 Recharge’s interior feels spacious despite the “subcompact” label.
You can get tailored wool blend upholstery − which is what my tester had − or leather.
Still, it’s a bit cramped in the back, and it is a “Sports Utility Vehicle,” after all.
You have a not-huge 16 cubic feet of cargo space behind the second-row seats, and those seats can fold down to provide up to 57.5 cubic feet of room.
There’s an attractive 12.3-inch configurable screen, which was easy to figure out and provided suitably crispy audio.
A Climate Pack, now standard on the Ultimate, provides a heated steering wheel, heated rear outboard seats, and a heat pump transferring heat from the drivetrain into the cabin.
The cloth seats are reasonably comfortable and visibility is acceptable.
Pilot Assist comes standard in this trim.
It makes small steering corrections to keep you in your lane and suggests taking a break if it senses you’re weaving.
Motor
The Recharge’s new single-motor powertrain delivers 248 horsepower and 310 lb-ft of torque.
My twin-motor version sees torque increased 8 lb-ft, with and range improves to 254 miles.
The EPA says you get 118 MPG-equivalent in the city and 95 MPGe on the highway for a combined106 MPGe.
The Drive
Electrics are always fun at low speeds, and the Recharge rockets from 0-60 in about 4 seconds.
There’s beauty, too, in both its haste from a dead stop and its fine job of passing at speed. (Some electrics are good around town but lag on the highway.)
You’ll swerve left and right with confidence up and down twisty roads within reason, and the “one-pedal” feature slows you nicely as you approach stop lights or signs.
If you practice enough with it, you won’t need to touch the brake, and your passengers will enjoy an ultra-smooth ride.
The ride is one the best parts of the Recharge – it’s luxurious.
One neat feature, too, are the Active Bending Lights that move with your steering wheel − hello, Tucker?
And they illuminate corners.
Safety ratings
The XC40 Recharge got a “Top Safety Pick recommendation from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) It also got a maximum (5-star) overall score from National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
When it comes to safety, Volvo rules.
If you’re a Volvo fan and an electric car enthusiast, this is one of the best-made and most satisfying vehicles of this type. − forbes
