Smart, stylish and alarmingly quick, the XC40 Recharge is the unconventional take on a relatively conventional SUV that kick-started Volvo’s electric reinvention.
The XC40 arrived in 2017 with a choice of traditional petrol and diesel engines, but Volvo had always planned to turn its fashionable mini-SUV into an EV and designed it to house a battery and an electric motor (or two) from the outset.
So three years later came the Recharge, with a surprisingly punchy dual-motor powertrain that made 402bhp and 487lb ft. That’s more than a Lotus Emira V6, and sufficient for 0-62mph in 4.9sec. In a crossover. A Volvo crossover.
It’s a shame that the P8 (as it was badged at launch) didn’t have the handling to match its straight-line pace, but its 2.2-tonne bulk inevitably limited the dynamics somewhat. The ride was also disappointing over anything other than butter-smooth Tarmac.
Volvo had put serious thought into the Recharge P8’s range and efficiency, though, so it wasn’t all about scrabbling tyres and queasy passengers. The top-rung XC40 came with a 78kWh battery, promising a range of up to 259 miles, and given its DC charging speeds of up to 150kW (considered quick at the time), the pack can be boosted from 10% to 80% in around half an hour.
Volvo renamed the Recharge P8 as Recharge Twin in 2021 and expanded the line-up with a coupé version called the C40. A year later, it rolled out a new 228bhp single-motor version, offering greater efficiency for less money but still feeling pretty quick in everyday use. It wasn’t quite as long-legged as it should have been, though. Powered by a 69kWh battery, the more sedate single-motor Recharge had a claimed 263-mile range, but when we first drove the model, it returned only about 200 miles.
