Volvo XC40 Recharge (Electric) (2020-2026)
VerifiedAlso referred to as: Volvo XC40 Recharge (Electric) 2025 and Volvo XC40 Recharge (Electric) 2027.6 reviews
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Our XC40 has been the best car we have had. Until now. A heavy rainstorm seems to have somehow flooded the interior of the car (even though we are not in a flooded area and were parked on a hill), leaving the entirely electric control system to completely malfunction and become unusable. We had to have it towed away as we were unable to apply any… Read more
kind of brakes through the electric panel, nor turn it off - even the manual shutdown option on the central display would not work. This could have been very dangerous if we had left it running on the street which was our only other option. Of course Volvo Roadside assist would not help us at all and kept referring us to insurance - even though this could potentially have been a life-threatening situation. We are so disappointed in this situation. We also had it serviced at Volvo less than 2 months ago. We now have to wait 8-12 weeks to have this fixed - and of course our insurance only covers rental cars for 2 weeks - so now need to pay for our own hire car for a minimum of 10 weeks because of this absolute shambles. A car not made for weather that is less than 2 years old? No thanks Volvo.
Just avoid this. Avoid Volvo entirely. Considering the expensive price on this car, for the top model (twin motor), our experience has been awful throughout. Firstly, Volvo doesn't bother giving you a proper manual. It would cost them ... what, $10 ?... to print one for this $100,000 car, but they have saved money by not doing it. Instead, they… Read more
give you a little booklet with highlights that THEY decide you will want to know.
To read the proper information, you have to use the car's infotainment screen. It is extremely slow and clunky and doesn't have proper indexing. They categorise things in very strange ways. I spent almost 15 minutes trying to find some information about headlight operation. It turns out it was indexed as "headlamps." Does anybody call them that? Perhaps Henry Ford did on the Model T.
Rather than actually write the software to operate the car, Volvo decided you have to use Google. We all know what Google means, ever since they dropped their "don't be evil" motto a few years back. I avoid it like the plague. ( Commonly said, but true: If you're not being charged for a product, YOU are the product ). But if I want to operate this car, I need to do it through Google, including directions and maps, so Mr. Google knows everywhere I go. Of course, they will use this information responsibly, with great concern for your privacy. In related news, a pig was spotted flying 500 meters over Sydney.
This car is about 10 years behind the curve. It does not park itself. My five-year-old Audi did that very well, but not here. So many other features are missing that you would expect in a luxury car from 2024!
Then, at four months old (December 2024) the air conditioning stopped working. December. Australia. And do you know when they'd have time to look at it? March, 2025. So without air conditioning all of January and February. In the Australian summer.
And of course, we traded in our previous Audi. Had the existing number plates transferred. A couple of months later we started getting demands for payment of road tolls. Two of them. Incurred _after_ we had handed over the car and the keys. We kept receiving letters of demand for three months, despite multiple promises from the dealer that they would take care of it. They finally settled the matter only after I said I was going to Fair Trading.
Don't buy Volvo. If you do buy Volvo, don't buy an XC40 dual recharge, and don't buy it from Volvo Five Dock. You will regret it as we do.
- +7
A proper Tesla Model Y alternative – I honestly was expecting this to be a little compromised, similar to the Hyundai Kona Electric, Kia Niro EV and Mercedes EQA. Immediately made apparent is Volvo’s commitment to build quality throughout this vehicle. It’s obvious both on the outside and inside of this Swedish SUV that you are buying a premium product. Shut-lines, panels and… Read more
weighty doors all indicate a more upmarket vehicle when interacting with the exterior of this car. It looks tight, especially when rocking those almost oversized, 20-inch diamond-cut alloy wheels.
You can get this AWD, 78kWh capacity model. However, if you don’t need the power, or the AWD grip, you can opt for the slightly less expensive 2WD option.
For $79,990 before on-roads, I think you’re looking at a fair price for what's on offer here. Its main downside is its battery efficiency compared to the likes of Hyundai’s IONIQ 5 and the Tesla Model Y.
What’s great with the Volvo XC40 Recharge is that you don’t have to pay for the first three years of servicing or 100,000km, whichever comes first! That’s inclusive of all consumables, so you won’t be caught out paying for something additional during this period.
There’s a 5-year/unlimited kilometre warranty featured here as well. Additionally, the battery warranty and road side assist are covered for 8 years.
EVs are usually a rolling aural sanctuary, and there’s no exception here. Personally, I found the XC40 to be my favourite of the two EVs I had for the week. The Hyundai IONIQ 5 offered a relatively silent driving experience, however a few squeaks and rattles began to annoy me just that little bit more than they should have.
This Volvo refused to flex, creak, rattle or create any annoying sounds while running over all of Sydney’s roads. All the noise you receive in the cabin is a little bit of tyre roar, a smidge of wind sound and a distinct high pitch whir emanating from the electric powertrain.
Astonishingly, Volvo’s first electric SUV has nailed the single pedal driving experience. It’s unlike any first gen EV I’ve tested, and it’s certainly on a similar level to Hyundai and Tesla’s single pedal driving experience. This is a heavy car, but those brakes won’t ever make you think it is. Braking is effortless here, but that’s thanks to the rolling resistance provided by the dual motor setup. I’d always recommend new EV drivers to take the dive and get used to driving using one pedal.
Volvo have created a performance SUV without ever branding it as one. You’re looking at a combined output of 300kW and 660Nm! That’s good for a 0-100km/h sprint in a brisk 4.9 seconds.
Acceleration is certainly muted at lower speeds to avoid a feeling of ‘lurching’ around town. Off-the-line acceleration is also far from being as brutal as it is in a Tesla. Once you’ve completed the first 20km/h, the XC40 rapidly unleashes all of its torque, as it understands you want access to all that power you paid for.
There’s no need for multiple gears when you can ride out just one all the way through to your top speed of 180km/h (which was recently artificially limited by Volvo in the name of safety). Even the gear selector is missing a physical gate; it’s just a button resembling a gear knob, which you push to engage the direction you want to travel.
Despite the additional weight, this might just be one of the better handling Volvos on sale today, with the key words being: low centre of gravity. That’s what you get when you make a chassis out of heavy lithium batteries.
Cornering was a lot of fun, but that lifted SUV look limited all the entertainment factor you could have had if this was a hatchback instead. Regardless, it’s still very capable through the twisties.
AWD grip and a sticky set of tires always help, although I did notice the front wheels claw at the road in the wet. That means there is a hint of understeer when conditions get a little slippy, and you put too much of that 660Nm down on the road.
Volvo has nailed most of the EV assignment, apart from a class leading efficiency figure. Consumption is rated at around 18.7kWh per 100km, however I did see figures averaging above 20kWh per 100km during my week with it. Truthfully, I drove calmly for most of the time I had this SUV, so this figure was reflective of someone living in the inner city.
The range is estimated to be rated at 418km, however I saw figures just above 400km when on a full charge. Real world range seemed to drain a little quicker than I would have liked, partly due to that higher consumption figure.
This is the EV for the traditionalists. There’s nothing Space Age happening in here; rather, it’s conventional luxury at its finest. It has everything you need, and everything else is conveniently hidden from view. I especially love how functions can be controlled via the Google Assistant built into this infotainment unit. That means all the voice recognition has been outsourced to Google, allowing for a vast and interactive voice assistance - so no more shouting and over enunciating your own name to the car.
The boot space is the opposite of compromised here. It almost appears as if it benefitted from this EV powertrain. There’s plenty of vertical storage space, a folding boot floor to hold shopping bags, and plenty of storage underneath the boot floor.
Seats do fold in a 60:40 split, however if you need to store long items, particularly skis, then you can fold a flap in the middle seat to reveal a little pass-through.
I found using Volvo’s ‘frunk’ to be the best experience I’ve used in a long time, especially if you reverse park in a tight garage like mine. It's weather proofed, spacious and doesn't feel like an afterthought.
This is one of the best modern executions of an electric SUV this side of $100,000. It’s built with attention to detail in mind, from luxury materials to packaging and through to the driving experience.
I shook down the XC40 Recharge to see if it would fault in any department, but outside of a bit of a ‘meh’ energy consumption figure, it pulled strongly in each category.
*Disclaimer - I work for ProductReview as their independent car and motorbike expert. I borrow new cars and motorbikes from manufacturers and owners to review. I am not paid or incentivised by these brands to post reviews. I write and create content to provide insight and information about any new or used vehicle I can get my hands on.
Impressed – We purchased an xc40 volvo all wheel drive recharge (2023). I have to say I am very impressed with this car. My partner purchased a Mercedes EQA at the same time. The volvo feels like a better quality car, solid, well made and drives seamlessly. Not quite the style of the Mercedes but I prefer it for its simplicity. A pleasure to drive....the power is amazing Show details
Great everyday battery electric vehicle – Like - performance, Google automotive, build quality, handling, onePedal drive mode, subtle scandi design features Dislike - ride quality on undulating roads, cabin noise on gravel roads Details: Owned for 8 months and v happy so far. The finish quality and performance is world class. No issues so far - touch wood! Google automotive (GA) apart… Read more
from a few niggles is fabulous. The upgrade that provided Apple CarPlay doesn’t make sense for me. GA lets you control 10 x more than CarPlay - like heated seats, fan speed, navigation etc and you get all the functionality you get from Google assistant. Some GA/touchscreen quirks - no equaliser on Spotify - it needs it badly, fan speed control is clunky - it defines distracted driving, can’t adjust screen brightness, swiping produces more screens on some functions but this isn’t indicated with icons. Ride quality over rough and gravel roads could do with improvement. Boominess inside cabin on gravel. The car is quite heavy (all those batteries) and not sprung adequately. When driving fast on undulating roads it struggles - reaching end of suspension travel too easily. Performance is exceptional - 100kmh in 4.9s and 180kmh 3.9 seconds later. Charging: Not a xc40 thing, but fast charging isn’t and Ultra fast is fast. It’s the only way to go - 10 to 80% in 40mins. But 98% of the time you never need to charge away from home anyway. Possible Improvements I’d like to see 1/. the cabin is dark. It would be nice to see different colours or highlights however It’s better at night with the cabin lights 2/. It would be good with another 100kms Range but with 350-380kms atm it’s adequate. 3/. spare tyre
#BetaTester – ONGOING TECH PROBLEMS WITH THE VEHICLE. The vehicle was not fit for purpose for the first 2 months after delivery. a. The air conditioning only worked intermittently. Deal breaker in Queensland in summer. Had to routinely avoid using the vehicle. b. Radio turned on intermittently for no apparent reason when entering the vehicle. On one occasion… Read more
it turned itself on overnight when parked in home garage. c. The electric adjustable headrests made a noise but did not move. d. Voice navigation sounded like a Dalek on one occasion. e. Rear door would not open on one occasion. f. Occasional failures of operation (i.e. blank) central screen. g. On one occasion lost all instrument displays and had to pull to the side of the road and re-boot the vehicle. Vehicle has been back to dealer twice now. Following service in January, dealer claims issues have now all been resolved following a software update they conducted. Recently, the charging does not stop at the time you have scheduled. This is important if you only want to charge off solar, avoid peak power charges or avoid charging the vehicle to 100%. So 3 trips back to dealer in 10 months.
Initially only the top of the range AWD (dual motor) was released in Australia in small numbers. 207 reported as registered in 2021. Basically it is a combination of the Polestar 2 EV sedan and the Volvo petrol XC40 SUV (both owned by the Volvo parent company).
1. Range/Charging/Towing Range is some 10% less than that claimed (in urban areas). Expect less than 400km. Using the 2.4kW charging cable from Volvo (no extra cost) you should be able to achieve a 25% charge overnight from a standard home power point. The average Australian daily drive is under 40km - this should take under 2.5 hours off a standard power point. Most people charge EVs at home or work most of the time. You should only need to use public chargers on very long day trips or holidays - generally around $0.30-0.40 per kW - or if you live in accommodation without access to a standard power point. I have always found accommodation providers most willing to let you plug into an accessible power point at no cost with our Tesla. If you feel you really need a faster charger you will over-pay tremendously if you purchase the Volvo one. Purchase the new V3 Tesla charger or other "open" type 2 AC home charger. Volvo were quoting $1800 for the charger (without installation). Few people will need one - this is a mistake you only make with your first EV. Expect to save around 80%+ on your current fuel costs - more if using your own solar during the day. We charge our 2 EVs almost entirely off solar, so the fuel cost is effectively $0 - just some "Lost" feed-in tariff. Towing capacity a less than the petrol model. Towbar can be fitted by Volvo. 2. Driving/Finish Drives well as a smaller SUV. A largely premium finish in the interior and it feels a very robust vehicle. Considered a high powered vehicle in some jurisdictions - so holders of a provisional license under 25yrs may not be permitted to drive without an exemption. 0-100km/h 4.9 sec stated. Absolutely needs the plastic hatch covering inside of the frunk. Under the hood fills up with dirt and debris. So you can tell it is a retrofitted ICE vehicle. You will need to routinely clean under the frunk. Frunk is a little small compared to other EVs. 3. Tech Competent tech which will take you time to accustom yourself to. Good instrumentation. Local Volvo staff have appeared in the past to have limited understanding of the vehicle (or EVs in general). They have been keen to both learn and find things out. Phone app is a work in progress. Limited functionality. No indication from Volvo if/when this may change. Nonsensical limitations on functionality unless someone is physically sitting in the driver's seat. Too bad if you leave a passenger in the vehicle and they wanted to do pretty much anything - like have air-conditioning or open a window! Even more ridiculously, if they open a passenger door things like the a/c work but stop working again if they close their door again! Go figure. Only one induction phone charger in the front (adequate USB-C) - first world problem! 4. Carbon Offsets Information is difficult to source, however it would appear that the CO2 footprint for the production and eventual recycling of a BEV is around 50 tonnes. Certified carbon offsets would currently be around $900 over the full life of the vehicle. You may care to consider this.
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