Mighty Mini Mjölnir
Looking at the vehicles on the road over the last decade, at least in North America, you can see the rise of the SUV. First the mid-size and large SUVs and now the inclusion of smaller and smaller iterations. It seems like the obvious choice to have the entry-level car for a brand be a small SUV. It would also be very easy to just make some uninspired, A to B type, SUV marketed towards the masses. This is brings us to the XC40, Volvo’s most affordable vehicle on the road. Did Volvo just build something uninspired to fill a market gap, or is the XC40 a solid offering?
The XC40 is Volvo’s newest vehicle in their lineup first debuting in Canada in 2018. It is the first release of a family of 40-series models, built on a new CMA (Compact Modular Architecture) platform which will be targeted towards urban markets. The XC40 takes a range of ground-breaking technologies first introduced in its siblings, the 90- and 60 series, which are based on Volvo’s larger Scalable Product Architecture (SPA). These technologies are used in an effort to take a load off of drivers in modern cities where hazards or conflicts can happen anytime.
The XC40, being a smaller vehicle for Volvo, does not feel as compact as it appears. The interior feels roomy and driving it around, the size seems right; neither too big nor too small for whatever you put it through. The seats are firm, yet still comfortable. Covered in a mix of leather and Nubuck, the seats have 4-way lumber control and the side bolsters hold you in place for any spirited cornering. The Harmon Kardon fills the cabin with crisp audio and the front speakers match perfectly with the Cutting Edge decor inlays. The R-design perforated leather steering wheel feels great in the hand as well as the leather gear lever, which sits in a very comfortable position if you’re the type to relax with your hand on the shift knob. The full panoramic sunroof, when open, lets in a ton of light into the cabin. The added packages, which include the Vision, Climate, and Convenience packages, raise the experience of the car with such options as auto dimming mirrors, park assist, rear heated seats, pilot assist and more. The pilot assist made for incredibly easy drives while on the road in the very early hours of the morning, though there was some baby sitting required. The infotainment system is easy to navigate using a large and responsive touchscreen, though I wish there were more tactile controls. It’s a good thing the pilot assist is there as I find it distracting using a touchscreen for all the controls. An interesting feature is the waste bin which is sized to fit the smaller tissue boxes, should you feel the need.
The ride in the XC40 is great, with a solid response from the 2.0L turbo charged engine, instant steering input, and a suspension setup that keeps the little SUV planted through the corners. The suspension is on the firmer end, while not too firm to lose comfort, it does seem to be a little too firm for those off-road adventures. Volvo, being known for their safety standards, of course included collision mitigation technology in the XC40.
Though the XC40 still uses the general SUV design it has a different look to it, the lines, especially near the back where the side meets the roof line, separate it from looking like the rest of the competition. Though it is a great looking vehicle it takes cues from a family of large vehicles, where the curves seem better suited. The lines, at least on the front, could be a little sharper. One area in the design that didn’t work was the rim choice, though it seems that the test car given likely had winter rims or a previous design as the choices given online look great.
Priced as tested was $44k which seems like a lot at first, until you compare some of the competition in the higher trim levels. Volvo has provided a great offering to this growing segment, with a vehicle that stands out and offers all the advanced tech you could ask for.
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