What a Car - UK - (2020-04)

Peugeot 3008

Hybrid4 300

Quickerandslightly

cheaperonBIKthan

theXC40,butnotas

goodtodrive.

RangeRover

Evoque

Onlya mildhybrid,

butourfavourite

familySUV;it’scomfy,

classyandversatile.

RIVALS

14 April 2020 whatcar.com

FIRST DRIVE

VolvoXC40RechargePlug-in

HybridT5R-Design

BUYER’S FILE

IT’SFAIRTOsaythatVolvohasbeenoneof

the driving forces behind the plug-in hybrid.

Not only was its diesel-electric V60 one of the

first of its breed to be sold in Europe, but the

introduction of this XC40 Recharge T5 also

means the Swedish brand is the first to offer a

plug-in version of every model in its line-up.

This XC40 is rather different from its larger

range-mates, though. For a start, the engine

is smaller, at 1.5 litres and 178bhp, but the

main difference is that you

won’t find an electric motor

powering the rear wheels.

Instead, an 80bhp motor is

attached to a new dual-clutch

automatic gearbox, giving

the Recharge T5 a total of

258bhp and making it

front-wheel drive only.

With company car tax

receiving a stout shake-up

to favour plug-in hybrids

and fully electric cars, the

XC40’s CO 2 emissions of just

38g/km and official electric-only range of 28.

miles mean it’s in the 12% benefit-in-kind (BIK)

tax band. That isn’t quite as low as rivals such

as the Peugeot 3008 Hybrid4 and Vauxhall

Grandland X Hybrid4 but still makes it far

more attractive than any other version of the

XC40 if BIK costs are a consideration.

Topping up the XC40’s 10.7kWh battery from

0-100% takes up to six hours on the standard

three-pin plug lead, or two and a half hours

using the optional £50 Type 2 cable and a

typical home wallbox charger.

With a charged battery, the XC40 will always

try to start in Pure (electric) mode, which is as

quiet and smooth as you’d expect. Performance

is leisurely in this mode but

good enough to deal with

rush-hour traffic.

When the petrol engine

joins the party, it remains

more subdued than that

of the 3008 or any of its

Hybrid4 brethren. Even if

you floor the accelerator

pedal, there’s a pleasant

three-cylinder thrum from

under the bonnet, while

very few vibrations come

through the steering wheel.

At a cruise and during gradual acceleration, the

engine is very quiet indeed.

It isn’t quite as smooth when switching

between power sources as the T8 plug-ins

higher up the Volvo range, but the hesitation

isn’t as noticeable as in the Hybrid4. More of

an issue is the inconsistent response of the

brake pedal; this can take some getting used

to. With both power sources working together,

performance is strong, although the front tyres

can struggle for traction on wet roads.

As for the handling, it’s tidy enough and

doesn’t seem to suffer too much from the

added weight of the batteries, but like the

regular XC40, there’s a bit of body lean and

Volvo XC40 Recharge T

First plug-in hybrid version of Volvo’s family SUV produces just 38g/km of

CO 2 forpotentiallyverylowrunning costs On sale Now Price from £40,

Price £40,

Engine 3cyl, 1477cc, turbo, petrol,

plus electric motor

Power 258bhp (combined)

Torque 313lb ft (combined)

Gearbox 7-spd dual-clutch automatic

0-62mph 7.3sec

Top speed 127mph

Economy 141.1mpg (combined)

CO 2 , tax band 38g/km (WLTP), 12%

DOUBLE PLUG

This won’t be the last

XC40 to wear the

‘Recharge’ badge; a

fully electric version with

more than 400bhp and

a 250-mile range is

on the way.

Alan Taylor Jones

Alan [email protected]