Volvo C40 Recharge: Hilariously Quick, Still Sensible

Volvo’s C40 is one desirable little thing. It seems to get everyone’s attention, save the planet and plant a smile on your face too. And it does all this while being a perfectly usable small SUV for the family. How? 

Baby Thor

Not surprising that the C40 Recharge borrows heavily from its SUV sibling, the XC40 Recharge. The front half is identical, and you’d be hard-pressed to tell the two apart. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing, considering the details are quite handsome. Whether it’s the pixel-LED headlights with a bold daytime running light pattern, the minimal creases on the bumper or the closed-off grille — all stand out as well individually as they do put together. 

There are two stand-outs when you view the C40 Recharge from the side. First, the sloping roofline, which is probably the reason you’d want one over the ‘traditional’ looking XC40. Second, the 19-inch wheels which look delicious tucked under the tight proportions of the C40. The flat, squared-off nose, and the raked rear together seem like a wonderful example of opposite ideas colliding (and working!). 

The tailgate-mounted spoiler will call out to you from the rear, as will the tiny spoiler spats placed right above the windscreen. But the piece de resistance is clearly the cool waterfall-like animation on the tail lamps when you lock/unlock. We’d stare at it all day if we could. 

It’s not a physically large vehicle, and is more or less at par with your everyday compact SUVs. So while you aren’t really going to be bullying everyone on the road to make way, you’ll most definitely be turning heads — especially if you spec yours in Fusion Red or Fjord Blue. 

Sensible, Just About

Based on the limited time we had with the C40 Recharge, we’re sure it’d do well for a small family. The focus is on delivering an experience that’s minimal and luxurious. You will scoff at the all-black cabin if your idea of luxury is all-things-beige-and-wood. You will scoff again if your idea of luxury involves loads of leather. 

Volvo claims the cabin of the C40 is free from any sort of animal products. They’ve even gone a step further and incorporated recycled materials (such as PET bottles, wine-bottle corks and naturally fallen trees/branches) into the interior. This will be the future of luxury, and we’re all for it. It makes you feel like you’re not making the climate situation worse.

Quality isn’t outstanding, but it’s satisfactory for the price. There’s soft-touch material on the dashboard, though most of the cabin – the lower half in particular – is hard plastic. The metallic finish on the AC vents, the knurled finish on the Play/Pause button and the tiny Swedish flags all add to your experience. It’s unlike any German luxury SUV, which is to say it’s got a little character. Volvo has been clever in incorporating a digital topographic map of the snow-clad peaks in Sweden on the dashboard. The ‘3D’ effect of the trim coupled with muted grey shades and diffused ambient lighting will calm your nerves post sundown. 

From a space standpoint, the C40 will do just fine for four six-footers. You will struggle with three occupants in the rear seat, but a child should be comfortable in the middle rear seat. As is the case with most EVs, the battery pack forces the floor to be higher. Coupled with a low-set seat, you’re missing out on a few crucial millimetres of underthigh support. Not a dealbreaker in any sense, given it has a silver lining. The lower seat means headroom isn’t really a huge issue despite the sloping roofline. We do wish the seat back angle was a little more relaxed, though. 

Globally, Volvo claims the C40 Recharge has a 413-litre boot. Not so in India, considering the spare wheel takes up most of it, severely limiting its usability. 

Just What You Expect

Offered in a single, fully loaded variant, the C40 focuses on delivering what you need. Niceties include a panoramic glass roof, powered front seats (with a memory setting for the driver), dual-zone climate control, wireless charging, a 360-degree camera, Harman Kardon sound system, and a powered tailgate. There’s Level 3 ADAS too, with features such as adaptive cruise control, auto-emergency braking, lane keeping aid, and blind spot detection. The only real miss is that of seat ventilation and wireless Apple CarPlay. 

Volvo’s 9-inch touchscreen continues to be defiantly vertical. It now runs Google’s Android operating system, so you have nothing less than a literal tablet on the dashboard. There’s five years of internet data too, enabling the system to function independently. You get access to Google’s Play Store and the slew of familiar apps it brings with it such as Calendar, Spotify and Google Maps. Especially Google Maps. 

Logging into your Google account on the vehicle has it sync with all other devices. So, the in-car assistant (which can be summoned with Ok, Google!) can place calls, read out your calendar and also help navigate. Google Maps not only works natively, but also predicts the state-of-charge on arrival. Finally, navigation is also relayed on the crisp 12.3-inch digital driver’s display. 

Ballistic

A claimed 4.7 seconds to 100kmph is no joke. That’s 0.2 seconds quicker than the already quick XC40 Recharge, putting the C40 firmly in performance sedan/sports car territory. However, no amount of number crunching prepares you for the knot in your stomach you’ll have when you stomp on the accelerator. 

There’s vicious acceleration, enough to push your head back into your seat. Enough to have noisy co-passengers shut up instantly. And more than enough to have you grinning constantly. That all this is accompanied by nothing more than a muted shrill shriek from the motor has you questioning the laws of physics. 

Like the XC40 Recharge, the C40 Recharge too uses a dual-motor setup that makes 408PS put together. However, Volvo has changed the power-split from 50:50 in the XC40 to 40:60 here. Another change is the claimed range of the C40 Recharge, which at 530km (WLTP) is substantially higher than that of the XC40. Volvo tells us that’s down to improvement in battery technology alone, given the 78kWh capacity of the battery is unchanged. 

Realistically, you could look at covering anywhere between 350-400km on a full charge, which should suffice for a week’s worth of trips to the office. But you will have to promise not to act silly with the throttle, which will require the discipline of a monk. Volvo will be bundling in a 11kW charger with the C40, which should take it from 10-80 percent overnight. It supports DC fast charging too, meaning 10-80 percent can be dealt with in 27 minutes with a 150kW charger. Do note that these high-output DC fast chargers are practically non-existent currently. 

As an inter-city commuter, you will appreciate the poise and stability that the C40 Recharge has. It’s rock-steady at highway speeds and doesn’t get upset by minor changes in road surface or elevation. But it’s inside the city where it throws a genuine surprise. You’d expect a heavy EV, running on 19-inch wheels to thud and thunk through every small pothole there is. Surprise, surprise, there’s none of it. The suspension works silently in the background, and irregular road surfaces are hardly a bother. Drive over practically non-existent roads and craters like we did and you’d experience some lateral movement accompanied by a thud. 

We couldn’t really take the C40 corner-carving as much as we’d like. For the little we could, we’re happy that the steering is quick and predictable even if practically digital in its feel. You learn its ways rather quickly, so you could throw it around the bends confidently. 

Finally, there’s one-pedal mode which also takes a little time to get used to. Lifting off the accelerator pedal has the vehicle decelerating linearly as if the brakes were engaged, bringing the vehicle to halt if permitted. Get a hang of this, and you’d very happily be driving around using just one pedal. For the C40 Recharge, there’s a new ‘Auto’ mode for the one-pedal operation, which tailors the regen basis your speed. You can also switch this off entirely, if required.  

Jekyll and Hyde

Volvo’s C40 Recharge is Wild West exciting and Swedish sensible at the same time. The only real reasons to not consider one include the compromised boot and that it’s not physically large. On every other count, the C40 delivers. There’s ample space for a small family, and the tech and quality is exactly what you’d expect. With its styling and snappy performance, the C40 Recharge adds more drama to the proven XC40 formula.