Volvo has launched the XC40 in India at Rs 39.9 lakh

Volvo XC40 – D4 R-Design AWD

Volvo’s latest offering in the crossover segment, the XC40 has been launched in India at Rs 39.9 lakh (Ex-showroom). Powered by a diesel engine and equipped with an AWD system, the XC40 is Volvo’s smallest SUV in the Indian market. The XC40 has already won the 2018 European Car of the Year award and hopes to bring the same streak to India.

The XC40 is only available in one variant which is the D4 R-Design variant is powered by a diesel engine and is based on the new Compact Modular Architecture (CMA) platform, unlike the SPA platform that the bigger XCs are built on. This platform is smaller, lighter and will be used for future Volvo electric cars. The XC40 will be the first Volvo car to be fully electric.

The Design

The XC40 shares its design with the bigger Volvo’s having the signature wide-body clean look. The front grille is blacked out with extra bevels at the bottom of the quadrilateral. The LED headlamps, officially dubbed ‘Thor’s hammer headlights’ add to the style quotient. The XC40  has chunky tailpipes and a black roof panel that extends halfway down the C-pillar to give it a rather unique treatment. Adding to the look, the XC40 comes fitted with 18-inch alloys shod with sticky Pirelli PZero tires. These rims are standard fitment on the XC40, although there is an option to upgrade to 20inch alloy wheels also.

The Specs

The XC40 D4 R-Design trim is powered by a 2-litre inline four-cylinder diesel motor which churns out 187.4bhp and 400Nm of torque which catapults it to 100kmph in 7.9 seconds and has a top speed of 210kmph. The engine is mated to an 8-speed automatic gearbox and aided by the latest Haldex transfer case for on-demand AWD. The automatic gearbox also has a manual operation by means of steering wheel mounted paddle shifters. It features four driving modes – Eco, Comfort, Off-Road and Dynamic. The ‘Individual’ mode option allows for customisation of the steering weight, engine maps and braking force. The Haldex transfer case has a base 95:5 front to rear power transfer ratio which goes up to 50:50 when in Off-Road mode. It is also equipped with an electronic parking brake.

Safety and Tech

The XC40 also features safety aids like a lane change alert, pilot assist and adaptive cruise control. The Adaptive cruise control can be set to up to 200kmph with pilot assist working for speeds as high as 130kmph. The off-road driving mode is equipped with hill descent control and low-speed hill climb assist. The mode automatically shifts all the torque to the bottom end of the rev range for better off-road driveability.

Read our test drive review of the Volvo XC40 

Volvo’s XC40 falls into the compact premium SUV segment and will take on rivals such as the BMW X1, the Mercedes-Benz GLA and the Audi Q3.