The Volvo XC 40 is an edgy looking car. It is all about angles, and dimples in the right places. With a fairly high driving stance( 211mm), it is spacious but compact at the same time.  We drove the AWD R-design unit, which comes with the Fusion red metallic colour, which really looks stylish with the contrasting black roof.

The Thor hammer daytime running lights and headlamps look great in daytime or the night. The unit we had, had a sunroof. The signature Volvo grille with the left and right bottom air intakes give it a sporty look. And the side indented panels also complete the look. The 20 inch 5-double spoke alloy wheels also look great, and add to the stylish package.

Interior.  

The cabin is very comfortable, and has a well set out dash area with buttons close at hand, and control from the sporty steering wheel as well. It has a Harman Kardon sound system which has awesome acoustics. Heated front seats and Power operated tailgate which is great for when you have your hands full. The rear headrests are electric and there is 12V power outlet in the cargo area.

The 360 deg camera comes in useful, and it has park assist pilot front & rear. Power seats for driver and the passenger which is handy, as many cars only feature that for the driver seat. I really enjoyed the auto dimmed interior and exterior mirrors which helps with glare. And the foldable luggage floor allowed some extra space for odds and ends. For media, it enables both Apple CarPlay and Android.

Engine.  

The 2.0L four cylinder Turbo diesel engine works well, and it pushes a creditable 140kw and 400Nm of torque. It is mated to an 8 speed auto gearbox and has AWD as well. Fuel consumption is quite good but doesn’t seem to be near the 5.0 L/100km claimed by Volvo.

The XC40 has quite a bit of gas, and it has comfort and sport mode as well. It corners well, and the gearbox is fairly smooth. It can be a little noisy from the engine.

Safety.

The Volvo XC40 comes with City Safety, which detects pedestrian and cyclists ahead. It also has Driver alert control and a Lane keeping aid.

Pricing

The XC40 competes with BMW X1 and the Jaguar I Pace so it has stiff opposition. But the pricing as tested was R766 350, with the standard price being far easier to bear at R682 200. Problem being that a lot of the non-standard kit, you would either really want, or actually need.

It comes with a 5-year/ 100 000km Maintenance plan & 5-year /100 000km Warranty.

In summing up, the Volvo XC40 is really a car that I would buy, it is nippy, but has a lot of the mod cons needed for stress free motoring. My choice would be between the XC60 which could suit me a little better, or this one…hmmmm