Volvo XC40
Range Rover Evoque rival revealed
The Volvo XC40, the first model to be built on the firm’s new compact platform, will rival the Range Rover Evoque and Audi Q3 when it goes on sale early next year.
The XC40, which sits below the XC60 and XC90 as the third SUV in Volvo’s line-up, is being launched into a booming part of the market.
Volvo estimates that global premium compact SUV sales are likely to exceed a million by 2020 – a tenfold increase on volumes in 2010. But it also marks a dramatic expansion in the brand’s portfolio, and the start of a final move away from
the Ford architecture that has underpinned its smaller cars since the turn of the century.
Although Volvo’s in-house engineering capability never disappeared while the Swedish brand was owned by Ford, it was dramatically scaled down.
Work on the new Compact Modular Architecture (CMA) – which will underpin at least two other Volvos as well as future models from parent company Geely’s Lynk&co sub-brand – started in 2013 and required the recruitment of hundreds of engineers.
Much of the work was done under the direction of the company’s then engineering boss Peter Mertens, who has since gone on to become head of R&D for Audi, one of the biggest jobs in the motor industry.
The XC40 shares a strong family resemblance with the bigger XC60 and XC90, but Volvo says the design brief was to create a car that looked like more than a smaller sibling.
The exterior design is the work of a young British designer called Ian Kettle (see box overleaf) and incorporates both a clamshell bonnet and a distinctive upswept rear window. It’s not a low-roofed crossover coupé, deliberately so – the younger buyers Volvo is targeting are said to be looking for practicality as well as style. At 4425mm in length, the XC40 is 263mm shorter than the XC60, but just 3mm lower and sits on a 2702mm wheelbase. Kettle says that he wanted to create a car that looked like a “tough little robot”. Sizeable wheels will be standards, with 17in the base fitment but most versions riding on 18in or 19in rims, with up to 21in available as dealer accessories.
Inside, the cabin of the XC40 is more radical. Volvo will fit a 12.3in TFT (thin-film transistor) instrument display as standard, as well as a 9in touchscreen
The younger buyers Volvo is targeting are looking for practicality as well as style
in the centre of the dashboard in a portrait configuration – the same system fitted to the bigger XC60. Connectivity will be comprehensive, with Apple Carplay and Android Auto standard on all versions. However, despite pitching it as a premium product, Volvo is not using conventional “luxury” materials, with trim including felt for door pockets and textured plastic in place of the more traditional wood or metal panels. In the preproduction cars we saw, this included a dashboard front with an embossed pattern based on a Gothenburg street map.
Stowage space is generous and includes a pop-out rubbish bin between the seats and exceptionally capacious door pockets, with extra space created by removing lowmounted speakers. Instead, the audio system uses a woofer within the dashboard to create low frequencies, accompanied by high-mounted tweeters. Boot space of 460 litres with the rear seats in place means a bigger boot than the Range Rover Evoque, with a lifting floor incorporating both hidden storage and a compartment to stow the parcel shelf when removed. Space is generous for those in the front, and reasonable in the rear, although the heavily upswept
Despite pitching it as a premium product, Volvo is not using conventional ‘luxury’ materials
side window profile will make it hard for smaller occupants to see out.
Underneath, the XC40’S engineering is almost entirely conventional – the clever part of CMA is how adaptable it is for cars of different sizes and using different powertrains. The bodyshell uses steel rather than any expensive alloys, with Macpherson strut suspension at the front and a multi-link rear axle.
Two powertrains will be available from launch in the UK, both using turbocharged 2.0-litre engines and numbered according to Volvo’s established power principle. The range-topping T5 petrol will have 247bhp and 258lb ft and the D4 diesel will have 187bhp, both getting all-wheel drive through a part-time Haldex system and an eightspeed autobox as standard. Front-wheel drive and manual gearbox versions will follow shortly, as will less powerful engines. We will have to wait longer for the innovative threecylinder hybrid powertrain that Volvo confirmed last year, and the company says that an electric version is on the cards.
As you would expect for something wearing a Volvo badge, safety equipment will be comprehensive and gives the smaller car a similar level of protection to the XC90. All XC40S have an active collision avoidance system that works at up to 40mph, including an oncoming lane mitigation feature that will intervene to steer the car back onto the correct side of the road if it spots an impending headon. An optional enhanced Intellisafe system will include semi-autonomous piloted cruise control that can work at up to 81mph, as well as a crosstraffic alert system capable of braking in the face of danger.
While the XC40 will be sold in different versions, Volvo doesn’t want these to be seen as conventional trim levels, with each getting unique exterior colour choices. The base Momentum will have generous standard equipment as well as the option of a white roof; the supposedly sportier R-design gets a gloss black roof as standard and more visual adornment including bright exhaust finishers (the Momentum having its tailpipes hidden). A range-topping Inscription, for those in search of more conventional premium trim, will be launched later.
Volvo admits that young professionals are moving away from buying cars and, as with Lynk&co, the plan is to offer the XC40 through an enhanced leasing scheme that the company describes as a “subscription service” and which will be branded “Care by Volvo”. In the UK, this means one payment for leasing, maintenance, insurance and concierge service, and the ability to swap the car for another model from the Volvo range for up to 12 days a year. We’re told that initial roll-out of Care by Volvo will likely be limited to Greater London, expanding outwards later.
The XC40 will be priced from £27,905 to £39,305. Its BMW X1 and Audi Q3 competitors cost from £26,900 and £27,610 respectively.
The new Volvo is available to order now, with deliveries starting early next year.