Volvo XC40 Pure Electric – Back to Basics

Volvo XC40 Recharge Pure Electric Single Motor Core – €49,495

‘The electric Volvo XC40’ is perhaps the only correct way to describe the car in question, at least the only clear one. We don’t have to expect it from Volvo itself when it comes to that. The fully electric XC40 was initially called (with four-wheel drive) P8 or Recharge P8, then it became Recharge or Recharge Twin, later ‘Electric Pure Electric’ and now it simply depends where you look. On the site, Volvo talks about the ‘XC40 Recharge’ and the ‘XC40 Recharge Pure Electric’, but at the top of the price list is ‘Volvo XC40 Pure Electric’. Anyway: the fully electric XC40, that is.

Volvo supplies the electric XC40 in three different versions, which (in the current wind direction, at least) are referred to as Single Motor, Single Motor Extended Range and Twin Motor. The Single Motor is what it’s all about today, of course. As with the Polestar 2, that single electric motor has been moved from the front to the rear, so that the car is now rear-wheel drive. The update also brings a little more power with 238 hp, although the Volvo does not reach the 272 hp of the Polestar. With 66 kWh net, the battery is not larger than before, but the car is a lot more efficient with electricity. As a result, the WLTP range is now 460 instead of 425 kilometers, a significant difference.

In terms of equipment levels, Volvo keeps it nice and clear again. The version with the small battery is available as Core and Plus and the number of separate options is fairly limited. On the outside, there doesn’t even seem to be any difference between the two variants, which both get LED lighting all around as standard and are on beautiful 19-inch light metal. Pixel LED headlights, so copies that shine around oncoming traffic with high beam, are optional. The color ‘Silver Dawn Metallic’, the only one for which there is no extra charge, is far from ‘basic’. Dark-tinted rear glass is optional, but that’s only good news as far as we’re concerned.

To get in, we first need the unlock button on the key. Keyless entry is reserved for the more expensive variant. The interior is almost completely black. This applies, for example, to the fabric-covered seats, but also to the – panoramic roofless – roof and the decorative strip on the dashboard. If you want more color or more luxurious upholstery fabrics, you have to pay extra. This is available as a separate option: Alcantara-like MicroTech with blue carpet, a nicer decorative strip and extra decorative lighting costs €1,795 extra. Salient detail: if you don’t buy the car, but start driving via a subscription, you don’t pay a penny extra for this interior. The seats are manually adjustable, but do have a real seat extender as standard. A (non-adaptive) cruise control, two-zone climate control and ‘pre-conditioning’ function – so preheating or cooling – are always present. A wireless phone charger, actually.

Volvo XC40 Core

In the infotainment area, we note a 12.3-inch digital instrument panel and the well-known, vertical 9-inch touchscreen with Google’s Android Automotive environment. The standard audio system also seems quite complete and we are happy with the mirrors, all three of which are of the automatically dimming type. Is there nothing to complain about then? Certainly. In addition to the aforementioned sliding roof and ‘keyless entry’, we miss heated seats and adaptive cruise control, for example. An electrically operated tailgate is also secretly nice to have, although of course not necessary. That may well apply to a heat pump, which is also missing on the Core. An upgrade to the Plus version solves most of those ‘problems’, but then you have lost at least €53,495. An alternative is to purchase the Climate pack, which offers the heat pump and seat and steering wheel heating for €1,195. For adaptive cruise control, you can switch to the ‘Driver Assist’ package, which is available for the same amount. After checking both packages, the car costs €51,885 without further options, still less than a Plus. According to our sources, those who order now will have the electric XC40 Core at their doorstep in January 2024, according to our sources.