Volvo EX40 Review

The car now known as the Volvo EX40 began life as the electric version of the XC40. The name has changed to fit Volvo’s current EV naming structure, but the basic idea remains the same: take a compact premium SUV shape, give it a strong electric powertrain line-up and wrap it in Volvo’s familiar mix of understated style, comfort and safety-led thinking.

That still gives the EX40 a useful place in the market. The smaller Volvo EX30 is cheaper and more obviously urban, while the larger Volvo EX90 moves into another price bracket altogether. The EX40 sits in the middle as the more conventional family EV SUV, and for many buyers that will make it the easiest Volvo electric car to justify.

What helps the EX40 is that it does not feel like a stopgap. Yes, the roots of the car stretch back to the XC40, but Volvo has kept updating it with new battery and motor combinations, improved range and a current trim structure that is much easier to understand than before. The present UK line-up centres on Single Motor, Single Motor Extended Range, Twin Motor and Twin Motor Performance powertrains, with Core, Plus, Plus Pro and Ultra trims making up the main walk-up.

The result is a car that covers quite a lot of buyer needs. The entry-level car is enough for local and mixed use, the Extended Range version is the obvious choice for buyers who regularly travel further, and the Twin Motor models add serious pace for anyone who wants a more muscular feel.

It is not a class leader in every area. Rear-seat and boot space are fine rather than exceptional, and the driving experience is more relaxed than involving. Even so, the EX40 has a strong overall balance, and that is often what counts most in a family EV.

For most buyers, the Volvo EX40 Single Motor Extended Range in Plus trim is likely to be the best pick. It gives you the stronger battery, the longest range in the line-up and a generous amount of equipment without pushing the price into the more indulgent end of the range.

The base Single Motor still has a place if your driving is mostly local, but the Extended Range version gives the EX40 the breadth of ability many buyers will want from a one-car household EV.

Twin Motor models are impressively rapid, but they are harder to justify unless you specifically want the extra performance or all-wheel drive.

The current Volvo EX40 range starts at £42,360 for the Core and rises to £50,360 for the Ultra. That means the EX40 is not a bargain route into electric family-SUV ownership, but it is still positioned in the thick of the premium compact EV market rather than at the very top of it.

The important pricing point is that the range now stretches beyond the £50,000 mark, which has tax implications for the top version.

The Audi Q4 e-tron is one of the clearest alternatives if you want something a little more spacious and conventional-feeling. The Porsche Macan Electric is a much pricier but more driver-focused option if handling is your main priority.

The BMW iX1 is a strong rival if you want something sharper to drive and similarly premium, while the Mercedes-Benz EQA is the obvious option if you want a compact EV SUV with a softer, more comfort-led character. The Volvo EX40 also overlaps with the Lexus UX300e and Alfa Romeo Junior Electric in style terms, though both take a different approach.

The Volvo EX40 is practical enough for family life, but it is not the roomiest car in this class.

Front-seat space is generous, and the upright seating position gives the sort of easy visibility many SUV buyers still value. There is good storage around the cabin too, and the overall layout feels clean rather than cluttered.

Rear-seat room is more mixed. There is enough space for adults, but taller passengers may find rear legroom a little tighter than in an Audi Q4 e-tron or BMW iX1. The cabin is also not especially wide, so the EX40 is at its happiest as a four-seater rather than something used regularly with three adults across the back.

Boot space stands at 410 litres, which is respectable rather than outstanding for a compact electric SUV. The useful extra is the 31-litre front boot, which gives you somewhere neat to stash charging cables. That keeps the main boot free for luggage and is more useful than it sounds in everyday life.

In practical terms, the EX40 should cope with shopping, a pushchair or weekend luggage without complaint, but rivals such as the Audi Q4 e-tron offer more outright carrying ability. The EX40 is competitive rather than class-leading for practicality.

The Volvo EX40 measures 4,440mm long, 1,873mm wide and 1,651mm high. That makes it compact enough to feel manageable in town while still looking and feeling like a proper SUV rather than a raised hatchback.

All EX40s get the same portrait-format central touchscreen and a Google-based operating system. That means Google Maps, Google Assistant and app integration feel deeply baked into the car rather than layered on top.

In practice, that gives the EX40 one of the more convincing native infotainment systems in the class. Google Maps remains one of the best navigation platforms around, and in the EX40 it can use the car’s battery and charging data to give more relevant route guidance than a mirrored phone app often can. The voice assistant is also genuinely useful rather than decorative. Simple commands for navigation, media and cabin settings usually work well, which matters in a car that leans heavily on screen-based controls.

The interface itself is clean and quite easy to understand. Menus are laid out sensibly enough, responses are generally quick and the whole set-up feels more polished than many systems that look flashier on first acquaintance. It also helps that Volvo has not overloaded the screen with gimmicky graphics or excessive customisation.

The weak point is that there is still too much reliance on the touchscreen for everyday functions. Climate adjustments, drive settings and several regular-use menus are all screen-led, and while the system is better than many, it still asks more of your attention than a few extra physical shortcuts would have done. So the EX40’s tech is impressive overall, but it is not completely without compromise.

Material quality is strong, and the EX40 still has the sort of tasteful Scandinavian feel that helps it stand out. Volvo’s use of mixed materials, recycled fabrics and convincing synthetic upholstery options gives the cabin character, while the quality of assembly is solid enough to make the car feel properly premium.

The current EX40 line-up offers four distinct powertrains.

The Single Motor models are the ones most buyers should care about. They are comfortably quick enough, and the rear-wheel-drive layout suits the EX40’s calm, measured character. The standard-battery Single Motor makes the most sense if your driving is mainly urban or regional and you simply want the cheapest route into the EX40 line-up without sacrificing too much usable range.

The Single Motor Extended Range is the standout because it gives the car genuine long-distance flexibility. It is the version that best turns the EX40 into a one-car family EV rather than a stylish second car or local-run specialist. You do not get a meaningful performance penalty for choosing it, but you do get much more breathing room between charges, which is why it is the obvious recommendation for many buyers.

The Twin Motor models are far quicker than this sort of Volvo SUV really needs to be. They deliver the sort of instant shove that can feel genuinely startling the first few times you use full throttle, and they add the security of four-wheel drive into the bargain. The issue is not that they are unimpressive, because they are very impressive. It is that they shift the EX40’s personality slightly away from relaxed, rational family EV and towards something more indulgent.

For some buyers, that will be exactly the appeal. Others will look at the lower range figures, higher insurance groups and steeper purchase prices and decide that the Single Motor Extended Range is the cleverer answer. In other words, the EX40 powertrain walk-up is well judged: the cheaper versions are not obviously lacking, and the expensive ones feel like genuine upgrades rather than mere badge engineering.

The EX40 rides well by class standards. It has the sort of soft, absorbent suspension tune that helps it deal with potholes and broken surfaces with little fuss, and for much of the time it feels exactly like the sort of relaxed electric SUV many buyers want.

There is a trade-off, though. The EX40 does not feel as tied down as some rivals on undulating roads, and there is more body movement than in an Audi Q4 e-tron or BMW iX1. It is secure rather than sporty, and that is very much the point.

Steering is light, which makes town driving easy, but there is not much feedback. Again, that fits the comfort-led brief even if it does not make the EX40 especially memorable on a flowing road.

Refinement is strong overall. The electric powertrains are naturally quiet, and wind and road noise are generally well suppressed. One weakness is that the suspension can sound a little clattery over sharper edges, even when the car is dealing with those impacts quite well from the cabin’s point of view.

The EX40 still leans on the XC40’s five-star Euro NCAP safety result from 2018, which remains part of the car’s safety story even if it is now an older test. Volvo also continues to fit a generous spread of active safety tech across the range, with more advanced assistance features added further up the trim walk-up.

Charging performance depends on which version you choose. The standard Single Motor supports up to 135kW DC charging, the Extended Range up to 155kW, and the Twin Motor versions up to 205kW. Volvo quotes 10 to 80 per cent charging in around 28 minutes for the higher-capacity battery cars.

Home charging is more straightforward but slower. Expect roughly 11 to 13 hours for a full charge on a 7kW wallbox depending on battery size. That makes overnight charging the obvious fit for most owners.

In efficiency terms, the Single Motor Extended Range is again the version that makes the most rounded case, because it blends useful range with realistic everyday usability.

Volvo’s standard vehicle warranty is three years or 60,000 miles, while the high-voltage battery is covered for eight years or 100,000 miles. That is all fairly standard for this class, but it is not especially generous given the car’s price.

Insurance groups run from 33 for the most modest version to 40 for the most powerful Twin Motor cars. That means the EX40 is not cheap to insure, but it is not wildly out of line with premium-badged electric SUV rivals either.

From the second year onwards, a Volvo EX40 costs £200 a year in standard VED form.

The more important issue is the Expensive Car Supplement threshold for EVs, which is now more than £50,000. Core, Plus and Plus Pro versions sit below that threshold, but the Ultra starts at £50,360, so that version attracts the extra £440 a year from years two to six. That means the Ultra will cost £640 a year over that period, while lower EX40 trims remain at £200 a year.