Already on the price list!
Volvo immediately comes with an unusually large technical update for its compact electric models. The electric Volvo XC40 and Volvo C40 go from front to rear wheel drive, get a larger battery, can charge faster and are more efficient than ever.
That is unexpected news: the electric Volvo XC40 and Volvo C40 get rear-wheel drive. With an EV, this is technically less drastic than with a traditionally powered car, which, like the MG ZT, would have to undergo all kinds of adjustments for the installation of a cardan shaft. Yet it is highly unusual. As we experienced earlier with the EX90, such a driven rear axle does indeed have consequences for the wheel suspension, among other things. It looks like Volvo will make the necessary changes. Then we are not talking about distant future music, because the revised models are already on the price list.
Larger battery
Nothing changes on the outside of the C40 and XC40. The C40 therefore remains the somewhat smoother brother, which, thanks to its more streamlined body, gets a little further on a battery charge. The XC40 offers more space. Both cars are introduced to a new powertrain, in which the electric motor designed and built by Volvo is in principle placed at the rear axle. Four-wheel drive variants will undoubtedly also return, although nothing is officially known about this yet. At the same time, the battery will also receive an update. Instead of 78 kWh, the ‘Extended Range’ version now has 82 kWh on board. 78 kWh is therefore the usable capacity.
The simplest Single Motor now does it with 69 kWh gross, which amounts to 67 kWh net. Where the larger battery was previously only available in four-wheel drive, there is now also an ‘Extended Range’ with two-wheel drive. With 252 hp, the rear-wheel drive variant delivers slightly more power than the version with the smaller battery, which comes to 238 hp. The strongest ‘Twin’ version, so with two engines, comes up to 408 hp as usual.
Lower consumption
Power consumption, traditionally a pain point for these electric models, is falling sharply. The WLTP cycle promises for the XC40 from 17.1 to 18.2 kWh per 100 km, against 19 to 23 for the ‘old’ model. The C40 does even better with 16.5 kWh/100 km. All measures taken together logically result in a considerably larger range. The rear-wheel drive XC40 with the large battery can travel 515 kilometers, the configured C40 even up to 534 kilometers. The variant with the ‘small’ battery now goes further than its big brother before: a maximum of 460 km as an XC40 and 477 km as a C40. Once the battery is empty, it is also full again faster. Depending on the version, the electric XC40 and C40 now reach 150 to 200 kW on the fast charger, compared to a maximum of 150 for their predecessors.
Prices
The completely revised Volvo XC40 and C40 are, as said, immediately on the price list. There we see a starting price of €47,995 for the XC40 Recharge Pure Electric with the ‘small’ battery, in Core trim. For comparison: the ‘old’ base model cost €44,995. The fast top version, with two engines, has also become slightly more expensive at €58,495. Remarkable here is the addition of the two-wheel drive variant with the large battery. This XC40 Recharge Pure Electric Single Motor Extended Range, as it is officially called, is available from €49,995. This makes it seem like an excellent offer, especially given the greatly improved performance. The C40 is €1,500 more expensive across the board than the XC40 and then has a (fixed) panoramic roof as standard. Metallic paint is standard on all trims, as are 19-inch wheels.
If you want an XC40 without a purely electric drive, you have to be quick. The plug-in hybrid range will soon be canceled in the Netherlands, so that after the C40, the squarer brother is also available exclusively as a fully-fledged EV.
Pole star
The changes to the Volvos suggest that something similar is in the pipeline for the Polestar 2. It is technically identical to the electric XC40 and C40. If Polestar also switches to rear-wheel drive soon, it may be combined with the facelift that is in the pipeline. Nothing is officially known about this yet, the brand itself says when asked.
Delivery time
Update: more is known about the delivery time of the subcutaneously renewed XC40. Episodes will start in May, although it is not yet clear which versions it will be. Earlier, Volvo said that the version with a large battery will not be available until after the summer, but that may change.
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– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl