Subcutaneous changes aroused curiosity. Because the Volvo C40 Recharge has been extensively renewed under the skin, we are again conducting an endurance test.
After two endurance tests with the Volvo XC40 – a Recharge T5 plug-in hybrid and a Recharge P8, the powerful electric version with two electric motors – we now step into a C40 Recharge. It is always electric and has been completely renewed under the skin this year. This makes it an interesting follow-up to the first Volvo endurance tests.
The C40 is an XC40 with a sloping roofline, but unlike the normal SUV, the C40 has only been available as a fully electric variant. That is why a C40 always has a ‘closed nose’. If the C40 had not been so radically renewed at the beginning of this year, there would not really have been a reason for another endurance test with a model from the 40 series, but things were changed quite a bit: the version with one electric motor was given the drive. on the rear wheels. First, with the Single Motor, a different electric motor drove the front wheels. The arrival of the new electric motors and larger battery packs should make the C40 a better EV than it has been since its arrival in 2021. The Single Motor is now also available as an Extended Range. We now have such a version, in the color Fjord Blue.
We got to know the XC40 P8 during the endurance test as a nice and especially fast EV, but it was not economical. This should improve with the new electric motors. We drove the C40 Recharge last summer in the same version as our new endurance tester and we already saw that Volvo’s current EVs are considerably more economical. So the update for 2023 turned out well. Then there is the rear-wheel drive. To properly assess how differently the car now drives, we compare our rear-wheel drive C40 with a front-wheel drive version and then we can immediately determine the difference in consumption.
480 kilometers of range in the first period
In the first few weeks we have already seen the practical range move to 480 kilometers and better. When driving quietly, we see consumption drop to below 17 kWh/100 kilometers according to the on-board computer. Volvo’s choice for M+S all-season tires is remarkable. This means that if we want to go to Sweden in the winter with this Volvo endurance tester, we do not have to change. However, consumption could be even better on normal summer tires. We’re going to try that out. A trip abroad is also on the program, as is a comparative test, which we will do within the endurance test garage. Another electric SUV that received an update is also part of our fleet, the Mustang Mach E. Early next year you will see the test how it compares to this C40 Recharge.