Volvo XC40 - Irish Car of the Year 2019
My review of the Volvo XC40: Here's what I thought earlier this year.
Xtraordinary Volvo.
Cast your mind back to the 1980s. Back then in the time of big hair and big phones Volvo was about as exciting as celery. Buying one over an Audi or BMW showed you cared less about cars. You wanted transport that was ultimately safe and that would last forever. Not anymore. Today Volvo makes predominantly compact and large SUVs. While it also makes some excellent saloons and estates it’s the SUVs that customers want and the Swedes certainly weren’t missing out on that income stream. Having tested and immensely liked almost the entire new crop of Volvos, expectations were sky high for the all-new Volvo XC40 which was crowned European Car of the Year 2018. Prices for the Volvo XC40 range from €36,450 for the entry level Petrol T3 manual with 156bhp rising to €51,950 for the poshest D4 all-wheel-drive auto with 190bhp.
Available in three different trims – Base, Momentum, Inscription and R-Design, I tested the XC40 D4 R-Design auto with 190hp. It had so many optional extras included that the final price came to €63,425. Now normally in the XC60 and XC90 cars I’d be recommending you pick the Inscription models as the R-Design versions ruin the cosseting ride with big wheels. Not in the XC40. I’d have no problem recommending the R-Design spec – even if it starts at a whopping €50,950 – which is a lot for a compact crossover. Especially as the brilliant XC60 in R-Design specs starts at around €1,000 more. But somehow the most extreme R-Design spec suits the plucky XC40’s personality. What’s more, after testing the XC40 it is now a genuine contender for the Irish Car of the Year 2019.
I searched in vain to find things I disliked about the car. Maybe it was too small – it wasn’t. Perhaps it drove like something cheaper from South Korea – it didn’t. In almost every way the XC40 was bundle of joy and nearly two months after handing it back I’m still talking about it. Things I liked? Firstly, it looks great. It’s practical and beautifully built. Using design influences like Apple and Science Fiction, Ian Kettle - the designer responsible for the car’s exterior looks - has arguably delivered the best looking compact crossover on sale in Ireland. Inside the cabin the architecture is like a scaled down version of the XC60 and XC90 sibling. And while I admire the portrait screen in the centre of the dashboard it can be distracting to use when trying to scroll or swipe the screen while driving. With so much standard safety equipment packed into the XC40 removing faster-acting buttons and knobs for commonly used functions seems a peculiar omission by Volvo.
I suspect many people will be tempted by rivals like Audi’s Q3, Mercedes GLA or BMW’s vastly improved BMW X1. Nevertheless the Volvo XC40 is a tremendously likable new entry into a congested market. It’s agile, comfortable and looks fantastic – so good in fact that it deserves serious consideration if you’re in the market for a compact crossover SUV.