Owner Review: 2021 Volvo XC40

For 13 years, Christina Jones of Calgary drove an Infiniti M35x. While there was nothing technically wrong with the vehicle, she and husband Don began wondering if there was something a bit more modern — with many of the new safety features that are available — that she could be driving.

“We always try to keep a vehicle at least 10 years,” Don says, and adds, “We’d bought that Infiniti off of a friend, and kept it a long time. Plus, it was a full size car, and we’d moved to a property where there weren’t as many parking options.”

In the fall of 2020, during a time of COVID-19 restrictions, they began searching online for a suitable vehicle, narrowing their options down to a smaller SUV. Having also owned Hondas and Toyotas over the years, the couple chose to look at slightly more upscale brands.

“That was the BMW X1, the Mercedes Benz GLA and the Audi Q3,” Don says. “But then we said, ‘What about Volvo?’ We’d been hearing good things about them online, and Christina liked the styling and the safety features.”

They visited Valentine Volvo in southwest Calgary where they were handed the keys to an XC60. They thought it might be a little too large and went away to think it over.

“We went back in January and tried an XC40,” Christina adds. “We tried a gas one, and then tried the all-electric version of the XC40 (called the Recharge model). We really liked that, but in our condo there’s no facility to plug it in. If there had been, we’d have bought that. Instead, we bought the gas XC40 R-Design.”

Their XC40 is finished in Bursting Blue Metallic, and the R-Design spec includes exterior styling cues including an R-Design grille and 19-inch wheels. Inside, the SUV gets sport pedals and special R-Design details such as unique floor mats, shifter knob and perforated leather-clad steering wheel.

Unveiled late in 2017 and launched in 2018, in Canada the XC40 comes in three trims, Momentum, Inscription and R-Design. Powertrain in the base model is the 187 horsepower T4 turbocharged inline-four cylinder engine, while the more powerful 248 hp T5 turbocharged four-cylinder is an option. Across the rest of the range, the T5 is standard. And every XC40 gets all-wheel drive with an eight-speed automatic transmission. Christina uses her five-door, five-passenger XC40 mostly for grocery store runs and commuting duties. The Volvo is also used for longer road trips as the couple own a property in Invermere, B.C.

“I like the styling of the XC40,” Christina says. “It’s very good looking, and we both really like the exterior.”

The couple’s XC40 was a demonstrator model, and Don says it came with everything Volvo offers on the XC40. After the purchase, though, they added more 3M protective film across the front of the hood, around the headlights and on the back of the mirrors. They both like the charcoal leather interior and Christina mentioned the suede inserts in the centre of the seats.

“The seats are very comfortable,” she says, and adds, “we haven’t traveled too far in it yet, but we will be driving it at some point across Canada to the Ottawa valley area. The driver’s seat has a cushion extension, and I do use that because it gives just that much more comfort.

“As for the controls, it’s very user-friendly and the dealer was very helpful upon delivery. They gave us a good session with it, and you can go online in the car and get answers to any questions.”

Don adds, “The Volvo’s dash layout is really quite nice, with the information display screen neatly placed.”

Christina says overall fit and finish is quite luxurious and she likes the contrast stitching. Don is six-feet two-inches tall, and one test he does is adjust the driver’s seat to his liking and then check the fit behind him in the rear passenger seat.

“There’s still lots of headroom and legroom, even for someone of my stature,” he explains.

Some of those modern safety features the couple were looking for are appreciated in the XC40. For example, Christina likes the display that shows the current speed limit on any given road. If she misses seeing a sign, and the posted speed drops from 70 km/h to 50 km/h, “the car lets you know, and I think that’s a really nice feature,” she says. She also appreciates the lane departure warning system and automated emergency braking system, something that has already proved useful when a driver made a last-minute lane change in front of Christina.

“The car stopped for me, and it worked really well,” she explains.

As for performance, Don says the powerplant has plenty of horsepower and appreciates the torque.

He says, “It can really move out, the acceleration is terrific. And maybe I’m old school, but we see more and more CVTs creeping in. I really like this eight-speed automatic, it’s always in the right gear at the right time.”

While the ride is not rated as cushy by either Christina or Don, they consider it taut but certainly not uncomfortable. Utility, they say, is excellent. Christina likes the hooks behind the seat backs to hang grocery bags, and Don appreciates the privacy cover for the rear cargo area.

“If you take that off, you don’t have to find a place in a garage to store it, there’s a spot right in the car, and that’s a great feature,” he says.

Ultimately, it’s Christina’s vehicle, and she says she’ll be glad to keep it for the next 10 years.

She concludes, “It’s just a great little SUV that I enjoy driving. It’s easy to get into, I can see everything around me, it’s got plenty of helpful tech features, it handles well, and it’s responsive.”

The sporty look of the vehicle is great...

Other owners of the 2021 Volvo XC40 are enthusiastic about their purchase decision. Ninety-seven per cent of owners writing on Cars.com recommend the vehicle, and it has an overall rating of 4.8 stars out of five.

On June 8, 2021, an owner of the R-Design wrote: “Our XC40 T5 R-Design was a great purchase. This is our first move into what I consider the Luxury Car market. We test drove and investigated other brands, BMW, Mercedes, Audi, and we came back to the Volvo. The I4 Turbo in this vehicle puts out 248 hp, plenty to power this small SUV.”

And on January 18, 2021, an owner gave the XC40 a five-star rating and said, “I have wanted a Volvo for a while and the XC40 meets all my needs and wants! The R-Design has the suede insert on the leather seats to improve comfort. The sporty look of the vehicle is great and the features of the car make it fun to drive. One of the safest cars made, Volvo makes driving easy, fun and safe!”