Volvo C40: The electric SUV with a small battery

With its coupe profile, the electric C40 ticks all the boxes for a trendy SUV. And this entry version is more than enough. If some still dream of coupes, convertibles, even a beautiful hunting station wagon, it's SUVs that fill out the order forms.

The alternative of the moment is to choose one with the sloping pavilion. Like the C40, the first SUV-coupé in Volvo's history, derived, as its name suggests, from the XC40.

If it loses its “X”, the machine gains a certain personality, with its stern adorned with a spoiler and a spectacular light signature. This imposes more than the XC40's very straight tailgate, but that choice doesn't just bring advantages. For the rear passengers of the C40, first of all, who must, for the taller ones, stoop to access the rear. So they have to deal with a bench whose short seat + straight back combination isn't the most pleasant.

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The trunk, then, if it maintains the same volume of 320 dm³ under the shelf, loses feathers in the “move” mode in relation to the XC40 (930 against 1,150 dm³). Finally, behind the wheel, we also paid the price, with poor rear visibility, the frame showing the subtlety of a gap in the center mirror. On board, we weren't disoriented by the dashboard shared with the XC40. The discerning will complain about some disappointing plastics. But the whole flatters the eye for its design as for its serious mounts.

The 12-inch digital instrument cluster with elegant graphics is complemented by a bright and very responsive 9-inch central display in vertical format. On the other hand, we are not convinced by the ergonomics of the interface designed with Google, below that offered only by Volvo. Even ordinary Android smartphones are struggling to find their way around, and the small shortcut bar at the bottom of the screen (temperature, seat settings, etc.) displays icons too small to be easily manipulated while driving.

We are more seduced by the excellent voice recognition – perfect for entering a destination – and by the variety of seat adjustments, which allow us to invent a pleasant driving position thanks to a well-designed chair.

In the absence of a gearbox, no bumps disturb driving, which is even easier because Volvo doesn't bother to offer multiple driving modes. Here we accelerate, brake and that's it! And again, we can manage everything on the right foot. Just activate the One Pedal Drive function.

However, using just the throttle requires subtlety in dosing, otherwise you will make your passengers sick. Otherwise, the C40 is easy to drive and its low body roll offers a pleasant feeling of agility… before the weight returns to you.

Note in passing that the Volvo SUV is equipped with all-season tires as standard. In this case the Michelin CrossClimate 2, which does not degrade braking. On the other hand, the lateral grip is less impressive and it is necessary to be alert, when the road is wet, to any excess of optimism, the front tending to widen the trajectory frankly.

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On the suspension side, Volvo bet on a certain firmness, fitting into the “coupe” aspect, without exaggerating, filtering with the 19-inch rims being acceptable. All this accompanied by serious sound insulation, with only 63 dBA recorded at 90 km/h.