A Deep Dive on Volvo’s XC40

A luxury subcompact Scandinavian SUV with everything from safety to comfort. Volvo. If you are familiar with this brand, then you know it’s Swedish with a focus on making cars safer and more sustainable.

Volvo’s History

Volvo has been making cars since it was founded in 1927 by Assar Gabrielsson and Gustaf Larson. Volvo means “I roll” in Latin. In April of 1927, the first Volvo drove out of the factory gates in Gothenburg, on the west coast of Sweden.

A Sub-Compact Scandinavian Suv 

Volvo debuted the XC40 in Milan in 2017, ahead of February 2018 sales where, according to Car Magazine, it began marketing it as the company’s first proper go at the baby SUV market (Link). It sits as one of the smallest, entry-level SUVs in Volvo’s lineup, and is also on the more affordable end. The XC60 and XC90 are the “bigger brothers” of the XC40, offering more space and bigger, more powerful engines. Despite the XC40’s lower cost at $40,100, there has been very minimal cost-cutting throughout the car. The interior uses the same premium materials such as leather, cloth, and metal as the more expensive models in the lineup. There are a variety of exterior paint colors; each extremely rich and elegant. The drive is smooth, yet agile. The overall feel of the car compliments what Volvo designed the XC40 for: the city and beyond (Link).

Front & Side Exterior Design

The XC40 has a bold and expressive design that looks like nothing else on the road today. The front has a sort of curved edge rectangular grille, which you can get in two different finishes; bright or dark. The bright metal finish is similar to that of a kitchen faucet. On the other hand, the dark metal finish is similar to that of your phone screen. But I think that the most eye-catching design feature on the front is the iconic T-shaped running lights, which an Edmonds.com reviewer noted are “patterned after Thor’s hammer” (Link). The XC40 is equipped with a clamshell hood on every trim level, which gives a very sculpted and muscular look. The side design is very elegant but also sporty due to the fact that there is this “dent” on the body panels, and on the doors between the wheels. Also, the window surrounds flow back from the side mirrors to the tail lights which give a sporty look. The design has a sense of dynamic movement even if the vehicle is still. 

Rear, Roof, & Wheel Exterior Design

The rear design is bold and powerful mainly due to the broad stance it gives the car on the road. Volvo’s design heritage has always included the iconic vertical taillights that are to be seen here as well as on every other Volvo car in the model lineup. These tail lights light up the back of the car in all its swoopy glory and cannot be mistaken for any other car on the road. The rear spoiler is a nice size which complements that “dynamic standstill” look. Finally, my favorite exterior design feature. The wheels. I think that Volvo does some of the best wheel designs in the auto industry. The wheel sizes range from the entry-level 18-inch to the super huge and premium 20-inch “5-Double Spoke Black Diamond Cut Alloy Wheels”.

Interior Design

The interior of the XC40 is beautiful and simplistic, inspired by traditional Swedish design. If you have ever been to IKEA, the vibe of the XC40 interior is very similar. There are some sustainable materials used in the car interior like the tennis ball carpet for the door pockets! Also, Volvo has already announced its movement to a sustainable and carbon-neutral future. On its website, Volvo stated, “We want to be climate neutral by 2040 – it’s the biggest challenge we’ve ever faced”(Link).

Let’s start with the dashboard. The design is very beautiful and gives a sort of aesthetic pleasure. At the center of the dashboard is a 9-inch portrait-style touchscreen which is sort of angled towards the driver so that it is easy to access while driving. Most of the controls for the interior like the air-conditioning and other things are built into the screen. Luckily, a physical volume knob is still present. This is pleasing to see, as many car manufacturers are moving away from a physical volume controller, to a digital one built directly into the screen which makes it hard to change volume while driving and creates a distraction for the driver. The passenger dashboard section is not boring like in other cars that tend to have some nasty, hard plastic. Instead, there are different inlays available depending on different trims. It’s up to you whether you want a quirky metal inlay or a luxurious driftwood inlay. The air vents are not that same old design with horizontal slats that you find in pretty much every car, instead, they are a cool-looking oval shape with a circular knob that has bumpy textured knurling and makes a satisfying ticking sound when you turn it to adjust the airflow. 

Technology & Safety

A gigantic panoramic sunroof, backup camera, and other interesting features swell throughout the cabin of the XC40. One such feature is the folding bag hook that pops out of your glove box so that you have a place to secure your take-out Thai food! Another cool feature is the power folding rear headrest. This safety feature, only available on the Ultimate trim, gives the driver the ability to fold the rear headrests at the press of a button on the screen allowing for increased rear visibility. The 3-point seatbelt as we know it today was invented by Volvo in 1959 and has saved millions of lives. With this motivation of saving more lives, Volvo has many unique safety features other than the ones that come as standard with every car these days. One such feature is a foam cover on top of the engine below the muscular clamshell hood. This allows for some critical cushioning that can help save a pedestrian’s life if the car were to hit them. Being a modern vehicle, the XC40 has all the gizmos and gadgets that you would expect in a car from this era. 

The Result

The XC40 is simply unique. The interior is calm, luxurious, and sustainable, while the exterior is sporty, muscular, and elegant. These days cars have slowly become boring and repetitive. The XC40 breaks away from this and is in a league of its own. It offers many features that just don’t seem to be available in any other car at this price point or in this segment. Good job on this one Volvo.