DOUBLE OR NOTHING

Steven Chisholm asks if the new, and already award-winning, Volvo XC40 has what it takes to emulate its larger stablemates and outperform sales predictions

The XC40 is Volvo’s first foray into the small SUV segment and it’s hitting the market at a time when the brand’s stock is high with buyers looking for an alternative to premium cars on offer from the likes of BMW, Mercedes and Audi.

Big brother the XC60 has already doubled its forecast figure for orders since launch and as a brand Volvo achieved record sales in 2017 with 571,000 units worldwide. In the UK, last year was their second biggest ever (after 2016) with 46,000 sales and the XC60 has just been named World car of the Year for 2018. Big shoes to fill then. But the XC40 has hit the ground running, having already been crowned European Car of the Year for 2018.

I took the First Edition, T5 petrol version for a test drive to see what all the fuss was about.

The first thing to note is the exterior design, which Volvo have nailed. It’s chunky, without being overbearing and while it retains some of the XC60 and XC90 elegance about it, it is a more utilitarian looking prospect overall.

Volvo prefer to call it the XC60’S cousin, as opposed to its ‘little brother’, and rather than being a scaled-down version of the larger car it’s been designed from the ground up on Volvo’s new small car architecture.

The car is aimed at younger buyers than one might previously have associated with the brand — around about the 35 mark — and a range of visual customisation options can see buyers option a contrast roof and bodykit while each trim level comes with visual hallmarks like different front grill treatments and alloy wheels.

Those customisation options are all tied to specific trim levels (and in limited colour combinations) though, so it’s not quite the free-for-all you get with some brands.

There are three trim levels to choose from. Momentum — the entry level in the UK, R Design — a sportier treatment and, the luxury, Inscription spec. Each one comes with a different chassis set-up and can be purchased with a ‘pro’ pack which brings extra equipment on top of the standard trim.

The car I tested was in First Edition spec — a limited edition version which will have sold out by the time this piece is published — based on the sporty R-design Pro specification.

The interior of the car shares the minimalist look and premium feel of other cars in the Volvo line-up, dominated by the upright Sensus infotainment system touch screen on the centre console. Leather and nubuck seats and ‘Cutting Edge’ aluminium inlays are typically premium without being over the top.

Inscription models can be optioned with my personal favourite ‘driftwood’ dashboard inlays — as seen in Jimmy Perez’s Volvo V90 in the new series of Shetland.

And, if you’re an audiophile, there’s a premium Harman Kardon sound system complete with an air-ventilated sub woofer.

The test car was equipped with the four-cylinder petrol T5 engine, the 247hp big beast of the launch line-up, which also includes a four-cylinder, 190hp D4 diesel option.

Volvo say three-cylinder, hybrid and EV variants will follow later.

Paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission the T5 engine is unbelievably smooth and has power in spades. With a nought to 60 mph time of 6.2 seconds it should feel like an absolute hoodlem— but the truth is it all feels perfectly civilised and under control.

While the sound emitted from the engine bay is a pleasant one — it’s also a quiet one — it’s clear refinement has been the goal, with quick-off-the-mark performance a happy side effect.

Our car was fitted with the larger 19-inch wheels and had suspension tuned more toward sporty handling than that found in the Inscription set-up, but ride and comfort remained in good order despite those often ride-ruining tweaks.

The driving position and space for front passengers is excellent — and the cabin is fitted with lots of familyoriented cubby holes like a

Inscription models can be optioned with my personal favourite ‘driftwood’ dashboard inlays - as seen in Jimmy Perez’s Volvo V90 in the new series of Shetland.