That’s the thing with Volvos. People seem to have fond memories of boxy Volvos of old, such as the 200 Series or 850, and none of the bad memories of idiotic drivers on the roads like, totally hypothetically speaking (cough), they might have of a BMW or Mercedes driver…
Anyway, back to the car at hand. So far, it has done plenty of trips around the M25 and up the M1 to my home, the home counties, proving itself to be an excellent motorway cruiser. There is absolutely nothing of note on these journeys except how comfortable and peaceful it is.
There was a trip to the Shuttleworth Collection, a celebration of heritage planes but also cars, reminding us of the wonders of vehicle engineering over more than a century, helping us to progress to today – and cars as impressive as the XC40.
My partner and I took custody of my niece and nephew for an afternoon, perfectly demonstrating the family friendliness of the car. Two child seats went in easily, both in terms of fitting and size, and my three-year-old niece (“I’m four in November,” we heard a lot) approved of the car. Now that she’s noticed that aunty regularly turns up in a number of different cars, she’s a harsh critic.
Still, she was easily won over by the panoramic sunroof, and even more so when we let her control it briefly. The other weekend jaunt in the Volvo was to Thame Food Festival, full of chutney, fudge and deliciously fattening food. It was also the first chance I’ve had to take my all-wheel-drive XC40 off road. Admittedly, it was some very dry but bumpy grass, so that didn’t push its limits, but it held its own well, with far less juddering than plenty of its two-wheel-drive rivals on uneven ground.
It feels too premium and pretty to want to push the limits with it off road – which is why I predict almost no owners will use it in such a way – but still, it’s nice to know it’s there. It’s particularly comforting when thinking about the winter months ahead and my journeys to my parents on non-gritted hilly country lanes.
This outing of over-eating demonstrated decent space in the back, too. My unwilling friend (as the photo shows) was happy with the XC40’s ample leg room, even if she wasn’t allowed to eat churros in there…
The only negative comment I’ve had so far concerns the price. When family and friends ask how much the car costs and I say “around 40 grand”, their response is “well, it should be bloody nice!”. There’s no like-for-like rival in the Audi Q3 line-up but its range-topping model, the 2.0 TFSI 180PS Black Edition quattro, costs £36,945. Volvo’s ultimate range-topper – one up from ours – is the D5, which in this trim costs £37,320. The point is the Volvo might be a tad more expensive than other premium compact SUVs, but not enough to be a major negative factor in buying decisions.
Love it:
BROAD APPEAL Getting lots of good attention from friends.
Loathe it:
IRRITATING DRIVER TECH Some of its driving assistance systems are deeply annoying.
Mileage: 2349
Join the debate
xxxx
"best of 28mpg" hate to think what the worst would be
£36k is just OTT for a 4 pot diesel with such a bad mpg, think WhatCar had the same issue with the XC40, and extras like £175 on a wireless charger is Volvo crazy, £15 will buy you all you need from the high street. £300 for smart phone intergration, greedy on a near £40k car
""Volvo fan" not that it's important but the V40 actually went on sale over 6 years old not 5.
typos1 - Just can’t respect opinion
si73
xxxx wrote:
£36k is a lot but then this is the top of the range plus extras, also its a petrol turbo automatic 4x4 suv, so running in at 28mpg doesn't sound too bad, especially if its an urban commute that the author is doing (speed bumps etc) its certainly no more expensive than equivalent audi, bmw, merc, jlr etc. Personally I dont buy into premium as I really dont see justifiable difference in paying for a premium badge. Though I was always a volvo fan, but that was from the 850 back.
xxxx
Price
"£36k is a lot but then this is the top of the range plus extras" with extras (some of which I'd expect on a top of the range) it's £41.5k.
Sorry, I put diesel earlier when I meant petrol. In which case I'd expect it to be a bit quicker too!
typos1 - Just can’t respect opinion
si73
xxxx wrote:
Not sure about performance, as it's not the top spec engine, middle I think was said, so high spec with middle engine, just like a low powered q3 in expensive s-line trim, I agreed that it is expensive but aren't all the so called premium competitors as well?
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Citytiger
xxxx wrote:
The nearest VW Tiguan equivalent is the R-Line Tech, which is not as well equipped, and the only petrol variant is a 1.5 2wd with 150bhp, and starts at £33.150.. So is the XC40 really that expensive compared to its competition? The equivalent Audi Q3 is the Sport 40 quatro with an OTR price of £35.170, and again is not as well equppped, and is considerably more if you try and match the spec..
Peter Cavellini
28mpg commute...?
My Wife’s Petrol powered 1.2 Ibiza does 45mpg, admittedly there’s no stop start traffic, it’s only twelve miles per Day, so saying 28mpg from a Deisel in the article is acceptable seems strange?, if you were only getting this figure you’d be back at the Garage wanting some answers...
Peter Cavellini.
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