The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Volvo XC40 is car of the year
Our Car of the Year for 2018 is Volvo’s superb new XC40.
The XC40 is much more than just a smaller version of the brand’s larger SUVs.
Volvo has taken its time in developing a contender for the industry’s fastestgrowing market segment, that for compact family hatchback-based SUVs.
Under the skin lies a freshly developed Compact Modular Architecture platform that Volvo has created with its Chinese owner, Geely.
It’s a chassis that will in future be used by a whole range of new compact Volvo models but it’s hard to believe that many of them will be much more significant than this one.
Established premium-brand compact SUV contenders like BMW’s X1, Mercedes’ GLA and Audi’s Q2 and Q3 crossovers are all within this XC40’s sights.
The XC40’s platform has been based around provision for a whole range of future cutting-edge Volvo powerplants, including three cylinder engines plus a plug-in hybrid and a fully-electric version.
For the time being, though, buyers are limited to the Swedish brand’s efficient 2.0-litre Drive-E petrol and diesel units.
There are three main levels of trim: Momentum, R-Design and Inscription, with plusher Pro variants of each. Every version of the XC40 is very well equipped. As standard, even entry-level Momentum variants come with LED headlights with optional active high beam, two-zone climate control with a CleanZone air-filtration system, rear parking sensors, a 12.3-inch TFT instrument binnacle display and 18” alloy wheels.
As ever with Volvo, a key focus is safety. An autonomous braking system is standard-fit and this system can specifically detect people and animals. There’s also an Oncoming Lane Mitigation set-up that not only stops you from pulling out into the path of an oncoming vehicle but can also steer you away from such an impact.
Pilot Assist, Volvo’s innovative semiautonomous drive feature, is an optional extra on every XC40, as is Run-off Road Protection and Mitigation. And Cross Traffic Alert with brake support, which warns you of oncoming vehicles when you’re reversing out of a space.
The 148bhp D3 variant most will choose offers combined fuel consumption of up to 70mpg and CO2 emissions from around 105g/km and if you go for the pokier 187bhp D4 AWD variant, you’ll be looking at about 60mpg and 115g/km. The petrolpowered 154bhp T3 offers combined fuel economy of up to 45mpg and CO2 emissions from around 135g/km.
Maintenance should be relatively affordable for a car of this kind, with three or five-year pre-paid servicing packages available to help you budget ahead. If you pay extra for the useful On Call with App remote connectivity system, this Volvo can be programmed to autonomously realise when a service is due, then automatically book it for you at a dealership of your choice.
Volvo clearly felt that to break into the premium-brand compact SUV segment, it had to offer something distinctively different to its German rivals, so that’s exactly what we’ve got.
Not everyone will like the looks but there’s no doubt that they will help the brand to target buyers who would never previously have considered a Volvo.