Mountain Driving In The C40, The First Electric-Only Volvo

Volvo Cars as a brand has made it clear that it plans to sell nothing but battery electric vehicles by the end of this decade. The Chinese-owned, Swedish brand launched its electric model as the XC40 Recharge and followed that up in 2021 with it’s first electric-only nameplate, the C40 Recharge. We recently had an opportunity to spend a day driving the C40 in and around Palm Springs, California.

For anyone that has seen the XC40, the C40 will be immediately familiar. It is in fact, essentially the same vehicle from the beltline down. While there are some detail changes in the lower body, the more fundamental change is the greenhouse area. While the XC40 has a more traditional, upright SUV style greenhouse, the C40 gets a sportier looking fastback configuration.

The windshield of the C40 is sloped back slightly more than its sibling while the rear has a decidedly more coupe-like profile. The overall height of the C40 is about 2-inches lower while the length is about half an inch longer. From the side, unless the two are right next to each other, you’re unlikely to notice the difference in height. From the rear, the C40 combines the roof profile with the XC40’s relatively broad haunches and 235/45R20 wheels and tires to give the car a surprisingly athletic stance.

At under 175-inches long, both variants have a relatively modest footprint that makes them well suited to urban driving and parking. Given the relatively modest differences between the two, it’s a little odd that Volvo insists on classifying them quite differently, calling the XC40 an SUV and the new C40 a crossover. It’s a distinction without a difference. Both of these vehicles provide almost exactly the same functionality, and are derived from car-based platforms and should be considered crossovers since neither is going to challenge a Jeep Wrangler or Ford Bronco off-road.

The front end of the C40 is subtly reshaped with different headlamp clusters that still incorporate the “Thor’s hammer” signature lighting and adaptive headlights that will likely be enabled after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration publishes the final version of the new revision to headlight regulations.

Inside, the C40 will be familiar to anyone that has checked out a modern Volvo with much of the same switchgear and the 9-inch portrait orientation center touchscreen. As with other updated Volvo models this year, the infotainment has gotten a major upgrade from the old Sensus system to one running Android Automotive with Google services.

Google Assistant and its near natural language recognition provides the voice assistant and it has been integrated into various vehicle systems including the climate control. That means you can adjust the temperature by saying “hey Google, I’m hot” or “I’m cold” or just stating a specific temperature setting. Google services include the Play store so apps can be directly installed without even connecting a smartphone. Our test vehicles had apps including Spotify, YouTube Music and Pocket Casts.

Users can sign into their Google accounts for access to contacts, saved places and calendar. I didn’t bother, but did log into my Pocket Casts account and got instant access to my list of subscribed podcasts including where I was at in shows in progress.

Navigation is provided via Google Maps which show up in the instrument cluster just as the previous map provider did. For those not inclined to share all of there data with Google, all of the services can still be accessed without logging in. Apple iPhone users that prefer the Carplay interface will get that sometime this summer via an over-the-air update.

The XC40 isn’t the only vehicle that shares a lot with the C40, the Polestar 2 also uses the same platform and has the same propulsion and battery system. While the Polestar is fun to drive and stylish, I didn’t care for the very high beltline and comparatively low roof. Sitting in the Polestar feels like lying in a bathtub. By contrast, the C40 feels more upright and open. The C40 beltline is still on the tall side but at least it’s below my shoulders.

The C40 comes in only one trim level with only a choice of colors. That includes a standard glass roof which provides 1.5-inches of extra headroom than a standard headliner. At 5-feet-11-inches, I can still sit comfortably behind myself in the C40 and there is ample cargo space in the back for four adults to take their stuff on a weekend road trip. There is also a modest front trunk that can hold a charging cable and some assorted odds and ends.

The biggest downside of the design is the mediocre rear visibility. The sloped tailgate leaves a narrow vertical slot to see through that is further encroached on the sides by the rear headrests. Standard blindspot monitoring will help when changing lanes, but Volvo really needs to add a rear camera mirror system to provide acceptable visibility.

Like the XC40, the C40 is currently offered only as a dual motor configuration with 402-hp and 486 lb-ft of torque. The Polestar 2 has the same motors but is now also available with just a single motor that is more affordable. Despite its relatively compact dimensions, the C40 is dense, weighing in at just over 4,800-lbs. Nonetheless, that instant torque from the electric motors will push it to 60 mph in a swift 4.5-seconds. The Volvo won’t be challenging the Tesla Model Y performance, but then again no one really needs to be that quick in daily driving.

Where that mass likely plays a bigger factor is in driving range. The C40 has a 78-kWh battery which is slightly more than the battery in the Model Y but it also carries about 300-lbs more mass. The result is a relatively unimpressive 226-mile EPA rating. That’s three miles more than XC40, but 23 miles less than the Polestar and 94 miles less than the Tesla. It should be noted that Teslas generally tend to fall well short of the EPA estimate and plug-in Volvos tend to beat or exceed theirs, which would close the gap somewhat. However, head to head, the Tesla is almost certainly going to travel farther on a charge than the Volvo.

We drove the C40 up into the mountains above the Coachella valley and it behaves admirably on the often tightly twisting roads. The comparatively low center of gravity from having the battery down low helps keep body roll to a minimum and everything fell well in control. The one-pedal regenerative braking makes stop and go driving in the city easy. But the regen was also among the most predictable and linear I’ve tried which makes it very easy to modulate speed in the mountain passes.

Like most modern Volvos, the ride quality is fairly firm. While this wasn’t a problem in Southern California, it may prove to be less appealing in states like Michigan where the constant temperature cycling in the final weeks of winter can wreak havoc on pavement. When it comes time to charge up, the C40 like its siblings supports DC fast charging at up to 150-kW which will replenish the battery in under 40 minutes.

Overall, I genuinely enjoyed my time with the Volvo C40. For those looking to go electric that want something a bit off the beaten path of Tesla, it’s worth a look. It offers a more airy (aside from the rear visibility) view out than the Polestar 2 while maintaining similar performance. Later this year, Volvo will launch its first dedicated electric platform for the XC90 replacement and that will give us a better idea of how much it can improve its energy efficiency. In the meantime, unless you take a lot of road trips, anything over 200 miles of range is more than most people actually need. C40s have begun rolling off ships and should be appearing at Volvo dealers in the coming weeks priced at $59,845 including destination but before the $7,500 federal tax credit. The first batches are destined for customers that have pre-orders since last fall, but in the coming months, other customers will be get there hands on one.