- Doors and Seats
5 doors, 5 seats
- Engine
1.5T/60kW Hybrid, 3 cyl.
- Engine Power
252kW (comb), 160Nm
- Fuel
Hybrid (95) 2.2L/100KM
- Manufacturer
FWD
- Transmission
Auto (DCT)
- Warranty
5 Yr, Unltd KMs
- Ancap Safety
5/5 star (2018)
2021 Volvo XC40 Recharge long-term review: Farewell
Our time in the Volvo XC40 Recharge has come to an end. We hand back the keys suitably impressed.
- Lovely interior, from the minimalist and premium playbook
- Decent petrol/hybrid drivetrain combination
- Decent fuel economy, despite not matching the maker's claim
- Infotainment screen looks sharp but is let down by usability foibles
- Big price premium over regular non-hybrid XC40s
- Servicing costs a touch high
We’ve spent three months in Volvo’s plug-in hybrid small SUV and have handed back the keys suitably impressed.
Volvo makes no bones about the reason for being of its small SUV plug-in hybrid, the XC40 Recharge. Spend a minute scanning Volvo’s marketing material and you’ll see slogans like “designed for the city and beyond” and “engineered for urban living”.
Make no mistake, the Volvo XC40 Recharge fits the marketing slogans to a tee. With a claimed range of 46km pure-electric driving, the XC40 proved, over our time with the little Swede, more than adept at handling the urban hustle and bustle of daily life on pure-electric power.
There are caveats. Firstly, your daily commute needs to be within that 46km, or, as we discovered over time with the Recharge, a more realistic 40km. Secondly, you need to be able to charge the XC40 at either work or home to keep those electrons topped up.
Our week of petrol-free commuting afforded us the opportunity to plug in at CarAdvice HQ – necessary, as like so many people today, I’m an apartment dweller with no charging facilities at home. Not ideal, and symptomatic of Australia’s slow uptake of electrified vehicles (other than closed-loop hybrids, such as Toyota's Camry and Corolla) and our even slower rollout of public charging infrastructure.
2021 Volvo XC40 Recharge Plug-In Hybrid | |
Engine | 1.5-litre three-cylinder turbo petrol-electric motor |
Power (petrol / electric) | 132kW at 5800rpm / 60kW at 4000rpm |
Torque (petrol / electric) | 265Nm at 1500–3000rpm / 160Nm at 3500rpm |
Transmission | Seven-speed automatic w/ EV mode |
Drive type | Front-wheel drive |
Tare weight | 1760kg |
Fuel claim combined (ADR) | 2.2L/100km |
Fuel use on test | 4.9L/100km after 2100km |
Boot volume (min/max) | 460L/1336L |
Height/length/width | 1652mm/4425mm/1910mm |
ANCAP rating | Not tested (five stars in 2018 for 2.0-litre models) |
Warranty | Five years/unlimited km |
Price as tested (plus on-road costs) | From $69,760 |
Which is why hybrids, plug-in or otherwise, make so much sense over full-electric vehicles for Australians right now, offering the convenience of frugal fuel economy without that pesky 21st century phenomenon known as ‘range anxiety’.
The XC40 Recharge certainly made sense for me, with the acknowledgement I was able to charge at work. Not everyone has that option.
But, spending five days without using a drop of petrol has its rewards. And that reward came in overall fuel consumption, which after our time with the XC40 Recharge settled on 4.9L/100km, no matter what conditions we threw at it.
Those conditions included a long road trip, where we were unable to charge the XC40, relying solely on what energy regeneration was harnessed simply by driving. That road trip of around 800km saw an indicated 5.1L/100km of fuel use – still a decent number and up there with the likes of a Camry hybrid.
Once back in town and with the ability to charge, fuel consumption dropped to 4.7L/100km before finally settling on 4.9L/100km, where it remained for the rest of our time with the XC40 Recharge.
And it was a good time.
It starts with the powertrain, which despite the plug-in hybrid version of the XC40 carrying a significant 103kg weight penalty over the regular XC40 (1760kg against 1657kg) still proved spritely and agile. And certainly in the urban environment it is, by Volvo’s own admission, designed for.
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The thrummy 1.5-litre three-cylinder engine with outputs of 132kW and 265Nm, boosted by the addition of 60kW and 160Nm from the electric motor, is an eager and willing participant in the daily grind.
Acceleration from standstill is effortless, the extra oomph provided by the electric motor making up for the weight of the 10.7kWh lithium-ion battery pack. Volvo claims the XC40 Recharge can zoom from 0–100km/h in 7.3 seconds. That’s more than enough poke for an urban dweller.
We loved the interior, too, the Volvo XC40 presenting a sleek and modern interior redolent of its Scandinavian heritage. The portrait-style screen looks the goods, although even after living with the XC40 for a few months, we continued to find it fussy and counter-intuitive when running its native software. Apple CarPlay proved a far better user experience.
But, the overall cabin presentation felt premium, as you would hope for a vehicle costing $64,990 plus on-road costs before any options.
As detailed in our introduction, our long-termer came fitted with about $5000 worth of extras, bringing the as-tested price to just under $70K before on-road costs.
That’s a hefty premium to pay for a hybrid XC40, which even at its most basic (without options) is some $8000 more than the top-of-the-range XC40 T5 R-Design that is at once more powerful, faster to 100km/h, and rides on an all-wheel-drive platform against the PHEV’s front-wheel-drive underpinnings. The short story here is that if you’re buying an XC40 Recharge to save on fuel costs, you’re doing it wrong.
Instead, think of the plug-in hybrid as a step towards full electrification when infrastructure catches up with need. As our long-term loan proved, you’re unlikely to get anywhere near Volvo’s 2.2L/100km claim on the combined cycle. As already outlined, the best we saw was 4.7L before settling on a more indicative 4.9L. The regular XC40 T5 R-Design has a claimed consumption figure of 7.7L/100km.
Even with fuel at the upper end of the price cycle, and assuming an average 15,000km annual travel, the fuel savings amount to around $540 per annum.
Instead, let’s simply focus on what the XC40, and what just about every other hybrid, can do. And that’s reduce tailpipe emissions.
Yes, the age-old argument about dirty coal-fired electricity is relevant, but so too is the increasing uptake of solar power. According to data compiled by the Clean Energy Regulator and released by the CSIRO earlier this year, there are more than 2.68 million rooftop solar power systems in Australia, as of the end of 2020.
That figure represents, according to the Clean Energy Regulator, one-in-four Australian homes drawing their power needs from the sun. And it’s climbing. Last year saw a 28 per cent increase in solar adoption, up from 19 per cent in 2019.
Viewed in that context, electrification, even plug-in hybrid, begins to make sense in environmental-impact terms. As the song by Aussie greats Kev Carmody and Paul Kelly goes, ‘from little things, big things grow’.
The Volvo XC40 Recharge is a step in the right direction. Full electrification awaits Australia, whether we like it or not. In the meantime, the plug-in hybrid Volvo makes a decent fist of fuel frugality, even if it got nowhere near the manufacturer’s claim.
We loved having the ability to drive for a working week without using petrol. And we loved spending time inside the XC40, even if the infotainment system proved counter-intuitive to use. And we loved the 800km or so we were getting on a full tank of 95RON premium unleaded.
In terms of brickbats, there’s the Volvo service plan that rounds out to $500 per year over either three years ($1500) or five years ($2500) of ownership. Service intervals are every 12 months or 15,000km, whichever comes first. Volvo covers the XC40 Recharge with its now standard five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty.
The stubby gear lever isn’t the greatest thing to use either, a three-stage motion needed to get from drive to reverse, say, via neutral. Certainly, early in our tenure we found ourselves in neutral when trying to pluck reverse for a parking manoeuvre. A lot. You do get used it to it, though, after a period of adjustment.
But those shortcomings (servicing costs aside) do fade away with long-term use, with the rewards outweighing any frustrations. Those rewards come in many shapes. From the undeniably luxurious and premium-feeling minimalist interior, to the pleasant, if not thrilling, drive experience.
There’s a feel-good factor, too, in simply looking at the XC40 Recharge parked in your driveway. It’s a stylish-looking small SUV, made all the better by the aesthetic appeal of the XC40 package in its entirety – you simply feel good sitting inside it.
Our time with the Volvo XC40 Recharge netted around 2100km of driving over three months, mostly urban with the lone 800km road trip for a family getaway. The XC40 performed admirably, and with an overall fuel reading of 4.9L/100km over that time, there’s little question the hybrid system works, and works well, providing effortless and frugal motoring.
MORE: Long-term report one: Introduction
MORE: Long-term report two: The road trip
MORE: Long-term report three: Around town
MORE: XC40 news and reviews
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