’19 Volvo XC40
April 19, 2018
Distinctive styling, interior contrast and superb safety technology give Volvo’s all-new XC40 an edge in competitive small luxury CUV segment (see related story: On our 500-mile (805-km) drive on mostly wide-open interstates, we recorded 23.8 mpg (9.9 L/100 km), a few ticks below the EPA-combined rating of 26 mpg (9.0 L/100 km) and well short of the car’s estimated highway number of 31 mpg (7.6 L/100 km).
Although our R-Design test car checked in at almost $50,000, it did come well-equipped, including Volvo’s full suite of safety systems (Premium, Vision and Advance packages, totaling nearly $3,000) capable of saving you from running over anything from a pedestrian to a bull moose while preventing the car from leaving the roadway or crossing into oncoming traffic.
Most impressive is the XC40’s highly capable and dependable Pilot Assist full-range adaptive cruise control and lane-keeping assistance. We’ve experienced this system on long drives in Volvo’s flagship S90 sedan and XC90 SUV where it seems nearly flawless, but having the same sophisticated equipment on the more-affordable XC40 sets a safety benchmark for small luxury CUVs.
The XC40, built at Volvo’s plant in Ghent, Belgium, joins the competitive WardsAuto small luxury CUV segment where it faces stiff competition including the all-new Jaguar E-Pace, Audi Q3, BMW X1, Infiniti QX30 and Mercedes-Benz GLA.
The segment tallied nearly 113,000 sales in 2017, according to Wards Intelligence data, up 50% from the prior year and nearly triple 2012, when the BMW X1 and Mercedes’ then-GLK were the only offerings.
Automakers are bullish on the small luxury CUV segment, but the XC40 would need to post big numbers to overtake its larger siblings, the XC60 and XC90, which in 2017 turned in 22,516 and 30,996 U.S. sales, respectively. Global production and allocation will keep the XC40 below those numbers in the U.S. – at least in its first year, Volvo says.
[email protected] @bobgritzinger
'19 Volvo XC40 R-Design Specifications
Vehicle type | 5-passenger, 5-door CUV |
|---|---|
Engine | 2.0L turbocharged, direct-injected all-aluminum DOHC inline 4-cyl. |
Power (SAE net) | 248 hp @ 5,500 rpm |
Torque | 258 lb.-ft. (350 Nm) @ 1,800-4,800 rpm |
Bore x stroke (mm) | 82.0 x 93.2 |
Compression ratio | 10.8:1 |
Transmission | 8-speed automatic |
Wheelbase | 106.4 ins. (2,703 mm) |
Overall length | 174.2 ins. (4,425 mm) |
Overall width | 75.2 ins. (1,910 mm) |
Overall height | 65.0 ins. (1,651 mm) |
Curb weight | 3,629 lbs. (1,646 kg) |
Base price | $37,700 (not including $995 destination charge) |
Fuel economy | 23/31/26 mpg (10.2-7.6-9.0 L/100 km) city/highway/combined |
Competition | BMW X1, Infiniti QX30, Jaguar E-Pace |
Pros | Cons |
Zippy turbo 2.0L | Disappointing observed fuel economy |
Dashing interior design | Some materials uncharacteristically cheap |
Superb driver assistance suite | Voice navigation needs work |
">Volvo XC40 Vaults Into Sizzling CUV Segment).
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