Rival for the likes of the Audi Q3 and BMW X1 is based on a new compact platform and comes with a host of safety features.
Volvo is pretty impatient with new SUVs!
Sport-utility vehicles are now the in thing, which is why Volvo is wasting no time in launching its third SUV after the XC90 and XC60. Shown for the first time in Milan, Italy this week, the XC40 forms as the brand’s all-new entry-level SUV rivaling the Audi Q2/Q3, BMW X1 and Mercedes-Benz GLA.
First previewed as the 40.1 Concept last year, the XC40 remains largely faithful in appearance to the show car. While the overall stance reflects those of the XC60 and XC90, the most distinctive element in the XC40 is the C-pillar design.
The interior of the XC40 also has some semblance with its bigger SUV brothers in which there’s that 9-inch touchscreen on the centre console and configurable 12.3-inch digital display behind the steering wheel.
Four interior colours (some in two-tone form, like the exterior) are available including black, red, beige. As Volvo is trying to attract the younger set of buyers, particularly urbanites, three specs will be sold from launch: Momentum, Inscription and sporty R-Design.
Unlike the XC60 and XC90 that are made on the brand’s SPA (scalable product architecture) platform, the XC40 employs the smaller CMA (compact modular architecture) structure co-developed with parent firm Geely that will also be employed in the next-generation 40 Series hatchback and saloon, as well as a new full-electric vehicle. The wheelbase is measured at 2,702mm, nearly 100mm longer than the Q3’s but 58mm shorter than the X1’s.
I heard there’s a plug-in version first?
Initially, Volvo has announced three petrol and two diesel engines, all using 2.0-litre four-cylinder blocks mated to either six-speed manual or eight-speed automatic and front- or four-wheel drive transmission. The petrol units include 156hp T3, 190hp T4 and 247hp T5, while the diesels comprise of 150hp D3 and 190hp D4.
A plug-in hybrid will be coming next year featuring a 1.5-litre three-cylinder petrol engine (which is probably a modular motor with one-cylinder lopped off from the 2.0-litre sibling). The X1, for one, is being sold with a similarly-formatted plug-in hybrid in China. At a later stage comes a full-electric version, as part of the brand’s electrification strategy from 2019 and onwards.
What’s coming and when?
Volvo has yet to reveal its full global strategy for the XC40 when deliveries start in 2018. But given what has been said in the UK, a major country for right-hand-drive cars, Volvo could be starting with a top-to-down approach for the XC40 in Thailand, where a possible debut could take place at the Bangkok motor show in March (the redesigned XC60 is due before that and likely at the year-ending Motor Expo).
Standard features include those interior digital displays, 18-inch alloys (going up to 21-inchers depending on spec), LED lights, voice control and navigation systems. Other new outstanding options consist of the so-called On Call smartphone application whereby users can remotely start up the car to pre-cool the cabin.
Driver-assist items include auto braking at city speeds, lane-keeping control, 360-deg driving view and parking assist. Topping the list is Pilot Assist which can automatically accelerate, brake and keep the car in a driving lane at speeds of up to 130kph.
As in the usual Volvo fashion, expect the XC40 to be comprehensively specified for the money in Thai showrooms with prices dipping downward from three million baht at various stages after launch.
