Volvo has updated its entry-level SUV with a few more bells, whistles and safety tech to spice up their already loaded package. The XC40 now gets a mild hybrid system along with a few minor cosmetic changes on the interior and exterior. Watch our first drive review to bring you up to speed with all of these changes.
Good morning and welcome to top gear india today we have with us the all-new well not bad news the face lifted volvo xc40 this time in a mild hybrid avatar so we have the same old petrol engine as before but to go along with it we now have a 48 volt battery that’s here to assist it and just slightly improve performance and efficiency overall on the outside as
You can see volvo has made a few minor tweaks though you have to be quite the xc40 aficionado to be able to tell the difference but let me tell you the key things that you can notice and pick up right off the bat for starters the rims are now different earlier used to have this diamond cut design that came with the r design trim but gone is the art design trim now
You get these rather plain looking five spoke wheels which are a little disappointing but it’s okay um also no longer do you get the dual tone finish um i mean i i’m not sure if you do actually but the car that we have here is in the single tone finish and i gotta say it looks a little bit more mundane compared to the dual tone finish that i’m normally used to
Seeing on the roads um but that aside everything else is practically the same if you’ve seen the volvo xc40 recharge then it’s just the same car with a different grille and slightly better ground clearance so apart from that nothing else has really changed on the outside and just a few minor tweaks on the inside so come along with me i’ll fill you in and what’s
On the inside and i’ll tell you what the driving experience is like because for the most part this is the exact same car as before just with a little bit more spit and polish the mild hybrid xc40 here and i gotta say compared to the rather linear power delivery the power delivery is still linear just a little more responsive so you put your foot down and it
Picks up within a matter of seconds and gets going and the engine does feel a lot smoother and quieter at lower speeds so that’s definitely a plus point fuel efficiency hasn’t taken a major difference so i have been averaging so far i’m getting about you could say almost nine kilometers per liter i’m sure if you drive in a much more sedate fashion and believe me i
Have been driving this car rather sedately the way it likes to be driven but a little mostly lately and you could probably squeeze out two kilometers per liter more so like about 11 so not uh not a huge leap in terms of fuel efficiency engine responsiveness definitely uh in terms of overall feel yeah i gotta say you won’t really notice a night and day difference
Between the non uh mild hybrid version and the mild hybrid version but it’s definitely a welcome improvement other improvements in the interior or other changes so to say is this new driftwood inlay that’s been added compared to the previous one which was this weird uh steel looking design i don’t know what it was but uh it looked really funky this one looks a
Lot more somber in comparison and uh the interior for the most part is exactly the same as the last time they have changed the gear knob over here so if you’ve seen other volvo cars uh be it the s90 or the xc90 or the s s60 or the xc60 so they’ve added this new crystal sort of gear knob which does look a lot more premium and looks pretty classy but apart from that
This interior is exactly the same there is nothing else that’s different and this is a mild facelift after all to go with a mild hybrid so to say so talking about the suspension again nothing really changed on that front the car is the car still rides very supple um ride quality is decent nvh levels are quite nice let’s talk about the brakes now braking remains the
Same for the most part and from my experience the brakes could have been slightly better don’t get me wrong they’re pretty good it’s just if you if you’re used to driving its competitors i i would say their brakes feel a little more responsive and they have slightly better feel to them pedal field so to say with this it’s a bit harder to sort of figure out just
At what point of depressing the pedal to the brakes actually engage so it’ll just take a little bit of getting used to but uh yeah that’s again it’s a minor gripe over here i’m honestly just like nitpicking i don’t really have much to have against this car quite frankly it drives really well it’s a very relaxing experience and i don’t think anybody that owns this
Car has any complaints with it i mean i hope but yeah so far driving everything is the same suspension is the same the only difference that you can notice is just with the engine responsiveness rest everything is practically the same so good on volvo for introducing a mild hybrid i would have would have much rather liked to see a hybrid system that is something
Like maybe something that you’d find say in the lexus nx where you can actually use the battery a lot more than you can over here the battery over here just serves as a mild assist so to say and it would have been nicer to have a more well-versed hybrid system but i’m sure this is just a step in that direction for volvo they’ve already come out of the recharge i
Don’t know if you’ve seen that car please go check out the video on top gear india’s channel uh we’ve got a review with that car and i gotta say that car if you haven’t driven it it’s something worth driving it’s quite an experience foreign changes to the new xc40 mild hybrid well gone are the dual tone paint schemes in is the new sage green color gone is the
Diamond cut wheels that came with the r design trim in is this new facebook design wheel gone are the orange inserts in the door inlays in are these new black ones instead gone are the fancy metallic trim little details in our the little driftwood inlays and now you can have the car with either a black interior or a beige interior then waffle likes to call blonde
So uh that’s pretty much it power figures are just the same as before with the addition of a 48 volt mile hybrid battery so apart from that nothing else has really changed and also yes the crystal gear now so the changes aren’t really i wouldn’t say they’re substantial enough like it’s not a huge leap it’s more dusk and dawn than night and day but uh to anyone
That’s looking for a more well-rounded more grown-up package i think this will appear ed to the rather looking our design package that came with the previous car before so all in all this this is the xc40 mile hybrid prices are yet to be announced so far but if you’d like to check out a video that we made against its competitors click on the box up your bill
And if you would like to check out the video we did on the xc40 recharge click up here gavin rodriguez signing off and don’t forget to like share and subscribe
Transcribed from video
Volvo XC40 Mild Hybrid | First Drive Review | Mildly Electrified By TopGear Mag India
