We drive the newly rear-wheel drive Volvo XC40 Recharge EV. 'A realistic 250-mile range seems achievable if driven carefully... as compact, comfortable family transport, it may just make it onto the thinking person’s shortlist' ⚡️
The switch to rear-wheel drive has little to do with drivability – and certainly nothing to do with big smokey drifts. It’s in the name of efficiency. Volvo reckons that, for a small EV, rear-wheel drive is more efficient. That’s a view it shares with the VW Group, MG, and Honda – though not the Stellantis Group or the Renault/Nissan/Mitsubishi Alliance.
The twin-motor, previously furnished with a pair of 201bhp motors, now has a 148bhp motor at the front and a 254bhp motor at the rear. It also gains a larger battery – 82kWh, up from 78kWh, for a not-at-all-insignificant range increase to 334 miles , again on the WLTP cycle. The benchmark sprint takes 4.8 seconds, and like all Volvos, the XC40 Recharge is limited to a top speed of 112mph.
Push the car hard and you might sense a little bit of rear-drive character – the front wheels have a little more grip not having to cope with the power, and you feel a little as though you’re pushed out of a turn rather than pulled.
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