On a car market at half mast, where some manufacturers are beginning to seriously worry about their future, Volvo displays an enviable serenity. In ten years, the brand has slowly but surely found its place in the hotly contested category of premium brands. The Swedish manufacturer, very concerned about safety – an essential area, but which no longer allows its difference to be heard, given the progress of the competition – has added other strings to its bow. A reassuring and less ostentatious approach to automotive luxury than its German rivals, but also an environmental discourse in harmony with its Scandinavian origins, a posture that will convince its aficionados. A very subjective strong point, but a strong point nonetheless.
Determined to hasten its conversion to all-electric, Volvo promises to achieve half of its sales by 2025 – well distributed between China, the United States and Europe – with “zero emission” vehicles and all of them by 2030. the XC40 Recharge, the brand has just marketed a second all-electric model, the C40 Recharge.
Distinctive signs: an absence of a grille and, above all, a coupe SUV profile, characterized by a receding rear line. Very popular in recent automobile production, this way of making SUVs less massive and more dynamic does not always lead to particularly harmonious creations. It must be recognized that the designers of the C40 rather had a lucky hand, even if this model is not very slender. We also note that the accentuated drop in the line of the roof does not affect the space available in the rear seats.
Too bad this model was designed on a platform originally intended for thermal models. It will therefore be necessary to make do with a satisfactory habitability – but a little frustrating in view of a 4.44 meter long vehicle –, the presence of a cumbersome and useless transmission tunnel, and a barely adequate trunk volume (you have to properly house the batteries). Despite everything, the C40 Recharge lets itself be led docilely, without its almost 2.2 tons for the heaviest version being remembered too insistently to our good memories. The deceleration energy recovery system allows smooth driving, virtually never having to use the brake pedal.
Impressive power levels
The version with a motor on each axle develops 408 horsepower, which seems almost out of place. Such breathtaking performance (0 to 100 km/h can be done in 5 seconds) is out of step with the general philosophy of this vehicle intended for leisurely cruising rather than regattas. This is one of the excesses of high-end electric cars, which throw impressive power levels in the face of the customer on the pretext that, under the wand of the Electricity Fairy, it is easy to accumulate kilowatts. At the expense of autonomy.
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