It might look the same, but underneath it's all change for the XC40 and C40 Recharge.
I am not going to say that Volvos are the Ronseal of the car world because that would be ridiculous. There’s nothing ‘written on the tin’, after all. But perhaps there is something similar in the ethos. Because you tend to know what you’re getting with a Volvo. It’s not going to be the sportiest car. It’s not going to be the flashiest, either. It’s going to be a car that’s easy to drive, comfortable and safe.
The decision to produce its own motor is obvious enough when you think about it. As with developing your own range of combustion engines, it means Volvo can set the brief and develop its hardware to best achieve it. When you’re selecting an off-the-shelf option, you force more limitations upon yourself. That said, the motor in the front of the Twin Motor model remains a bought-in component because, well, one step at a time. It’s still an all-new motor, though.
Because the change from front- to rear-wheel drive for the Single Motor is a major one, Erik Joelsson, whose official title is Product Owner Road NVH and Vehicle Dynamics, has been a busy man. To maximise the traction advantage of this new drive layout he’s developed the rear suspension around a new aluminium rear subframe. There’s more negative camber on the rear wheels, a softer rear anti-roll bar, and reduced spring rates – all to help the rear tyres bite harder under acceleration.
Admittedly, the Swedish roads aren’t as battered as our own because, funnily enough, its government spends sensible money on maintaining them. But I did my darndest to find some holes, and, after around six hours of driving, I found…one. A deepish sunken drain cover. So I lined up the near-side wheel with it, maintained a steady 30mph and…there was no crash or overt harshness. A bit of a jolt, maybe, and that was that. Test complete.
What I can tell you is that the 252hp Single Motor car feels fast enough. 0-62mph takes a brisk 7.3 seconds and that’s twinned with a very linear power delivery and the usual surfeit of easy-to-access torque from the off. Traction is good on dry roads, although you can feel the ESP tempering things if you give it plenty out of a junction.
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