2022 Volvo C40 Recharge review: Seen and not heard
The stylish C40 Recharge is the most appealing car from Volvo in years
Driving an electric car lets you roll around in silence, but the Volvo C40 Recharge also lets you do it in style.
It’s based on the XC40, a diminutive Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV), but has a slinkier silhouette, courtesy of a roof that swoops down fashionably towards a pert tail.
Volvo doesn’t build the C40 with a combustion engine, so if you like what you see you’ll have to compose a Dear John letter to your favourite pump attendant.
That’s no bad thing, because electric propulsion gives this car its spark. With a brawny motor at each end, the Volvo springs into action like a cheetah that’s just spotted a gazelle covered in sauce. It handles turns like one, too, hunkering down around corners in a way that tells you it really wants that hunk of antelope.
That is something of an unfortunate metaphor, because the C40 itself has an interior that a vegan could eat (though probably not digest), with a supple synthetic material for the upholstery.
Starting the Volvo is novel, too. Climb aboard and it boots itself up when it feels the weight of your bum on the driver’s seat. Leave, and it shuts down. There’s no power button because, come to think of it, why should there be?
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Despite the low roof, the C40 offers practicality. Rear headroom doesn’t feel badly compromised, partly because Volvo put the tailgate hinges outside, then cleverly hid them under some sporty humps.
You also get a small compartment in the nose, where things that usually clutter a car’s boot can live.
If you’re looking for flaws, the car rides on springs that are the Chuck Norris of the suspension world. The cabin has no ceiling insulation, so if you park under the sun for a spell, the roof soaks up heat and then radiates it like a toaster. There’s also what sounds like a tiny bit of whine from the transmissions’ gears.
I don’t mean to whine myself, though. The C40 Recharge is not the cheapest Volvo on sale today, but it’s easily the most appealing one.
Volvo C40 Recharge Twin
Electric Motor / layout Dual / Front and rear
Motor power / torque 408 hp / 660 Nm
Battery type / net capacity Lithium-ion, 78 kWh
Normal Charge Type / Time 11kW AC / 8 hours
Max Fast Charge Type / Time 150kW DC / 28 mins 10 to 80 per cent
Electric Range 450 km
0-100 km/h 4.7 seconds
Top Speed 180 km/h
Efficiency 21.0 kWh/100 km
Agent Wearnes Automotive
Price S$282,000 with COE
Available Now
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