Auto Express – July 30, 2019

74 SpecialIssue http://www.autoexpress.co.uk

ROADTESTS AudiQ3vsrivals

MODELTESTED:VolvoXC40D4AWDR-DesignPro

PRICE:£38,235 ENGINE:2.0-litre4cyl, 18 7bhp

ITwasonlyintroducedin 2018 ,buttheVolvo
XC40istheoldestcarinthistest.We’vemadeit
aclasswinnerinthepast,andit’sanaturalrivaltothe
Q3,notleastonprice.We’retestingaD4R-Design
Promodelcosting£38,2 35 toseehowitfares.

Design&

engineering

THEXC40isthefirstandsofaronly
VolvotobebuiltonitsCMACompact
ModularArchitecture.LikeAudi’sMQBandLand
Rover’sPTA,thisisascalableplatformthat’sbased
aroundfront-mountedtransverseengines,with
MacPhersonstrutfrontsuspensionandamulti-link
set-upatthereartoaccommodatefour-wheeldrive.
TheD4unithas187bhpand400Nmoftorque,
whiletheonlyoptionisaneight-speedautomatic.
However,weknowthestrengthofthisset-up,
becausetheXC40isoneofourfavouritecompact
SUVsandaformerAutoExpressawardwinner.
Inside,thedigitaldashboardandnine-inch
tabletinfotainmentsystemstillimpress.Qualityis
good–althoughthematerialsinafewareasdon’t
matchtheEvoque’s–whilethedesignisfunkybut
functional.YougetnearlyasmuchkitasintheAudi,
whiletheXC40ischeaperthantheEvoque,at£38,2 35.
Theequipmentlistincludesparkingsensors,lane-
keepassistandautonomousbraking,climateand
cruisecontrol,half-leatherheatedseats,LEDlights,
navandadigitaldash.Unlikeitsrivalsyouhavetopay
£300forthesmartphoneconnectivitypack,adding
AndroidAutoandAppleCarPlay,whileareversing
camerais£375.Wirelesschargingisalso£175;it’s
£150ontheAudiandnotavailableontheEvoque.

Driving

EVENonourR-DesignPro’s 20 -inch
wheels,theXC40ridesreallynicely.
It’ssweeterthanthefidgetyQ3,and
almostassmoothastheEvoqueinalmostasmany
situations.TheVolvohasstrengthsinsomeareas
wheretheRangeRoverisweaker,andviceversa.
Oversmaller,moreconstantbumps,theXC40
feelsjustalittlemoreabsorbentthantheEvoque,
butoverharsherintrusionsthetablesareturned.
Eitherway,bothcarsdeliveragoodride.
TheXC40’sD4engineisalittlerougherthan
theEvoque’smild-hybridunit,though,andismore
akintotheQ3’s 40 TDIforrefinement.Noengineis
particularlynoisyorintrusive,butintheVolvoyou
getalittlemorepercussionfromunderthebonnet
athigherrevsthanintheRangeRover,whilethe
Evoquerevsoutmoresmoothly,too.Performance
wasgoodthough,becausetheXC40allbutmatched
theQ3from0-60mph,taking8.2seconds,which
was1.3secondsfasterthantheEvoque.
However,aswe’veseen,themid-speedflexibility
affordedbyadieselSUV’storqueisoftenmore
important.HeretheVolvobeattheAudiandwas
muchclosertotheRangeRoverinour50-70mph
accelerationtests.However,withseven,eightand
nine-speedgearboxesintheQ3,XC40andEvoque
respectively,therearegearingdifferences,which
accountfortheslightvariationintimes.Realistically,
allthreeofferenoughperformance.
Thismeansitcomesdowntothewaythecars
drive.TheVolvoisgood,steeringsweetlywith

Testers’notes

“TheXC 40 andQ3comeinunder£40,000,socost

£145forroadtax.TheEvoque’slistpricebreaks

£40k,soitattractsthe£310levy,butit’samild

hybridsoitcosts£ 455 ayear,ratherthan£465.”

SamNaylorSeniorreviewer

adequategrip,butitfeelslikethere’smorerollthan

intheAudiorRangeRover,andit’salittlelesssecure.

TheEvoquefeelsmorestable,withweightier

steeringandbetterbodycontrol,butitdoesn’t

sacrificeridecomfortasaresult.

Practicality

ALOFTYrooflinemeansrearpassengers

sitmoreuprightintheXC40,whichin

turnfreesuplegroom.It’sbetterthaninthe

Evoque,andonasimilarleveltotheQ3.TheVolvo

isspaciousupfront,too,withplentyofstorageand

spacesthataremoreaccessiblethantheAudi’strays.

There’s4 60 litresofbootspace,whichis 12 litres

downontheEvoqueandthesmallesthere.However,

givenitsuniformshape,there’sstillplentyof

usabilityonoffer.Onlyalongtripawayfullyloaded

willreallystretchit.Foldtheseatsdown,andwith

1, 336 litresthere’sactuallymorespacethaninthe

Evoque,at1, 156 litres.TheQ3trumpsbothwith

1, 525 litresinitsmostspaciousconfiguration.

Onepointthat’sworthmentioningisthatdespite

thecar’sshape,over-the-shouldervisibilityinthe

XC40ismorelimitedthanineitherofitsrivals.

VisibilityoutoftherearwindowintheEvoqueisn’t

great–topreservethecar’sstyling–butatleastthe

£315ClearSightdigitalrearviewmirrorhelpsget

aroundthis.It’sclevertechnologythatworkswell.

Ownership

VOLVOisknownforitssafetytech,and

theXC40benefitsfromthesamefeatures

aslargermodelsintherange.ItgetsAEB,

collisionwarningandpedestrianandcyclist

detection,plussevenairbags,whichisthesame

astheEvoqueandonemorethantheQ3.

YoucanaddVolvo’sIntellisafeSurroundpackfor

£600,whichbringsblind-spotwarning,laneassist,

crosstrafficalertandautonomousbrakinginreverse.

Evenwithoutthispack,theXC40isaverysafecar

thatscoredafullfive-starEuroNCAPrating.

AlthoughitsperformanceinourDriverPower

ownersurveywasn’tgreat,Volvo’s13th-placefinish

wasthreeaboveAudiandsevenaheadofLandRover.

Runningcosts

THEXC40returned 37 .5mpgontest,

whichequatestoanannualfuelbillof

£1,9 09 overanaverageof12, 000 miles.The

heavierEvoquecouldn’tquitematchtheXC40,

witharesultof 36 .4mpg–thismeansyou’llspend

anextra£57atthepumpsoverayear’sdriving,

whichisn’ttoomuch.TheQ3managed 39 .8mpg,

whichequatestoyearlyfuelbillsof£1,794.

ȎȎ 4 L 4 L

score

4. 
   

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3.9

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3.9

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3.9

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3.9

Highroofmeansanuprightseatpositionandgoodlegroom

Bootissmallestherebutisagoodshapewithusefultouches

Volvo XC 40

Smallestmodelintherangedeliversgood

Runningcosts

37 .5mpg(ontest)

£71fill-up/£145or34%tax

Practicality

Boot(seatsup/down)

460/1,336litres

!

Braking

70 -0/60-0/30-0mph

49 .0/35.7/8.9m

Performance

0-60mph/topspeed

8.2seconds/130mph