Five things I learnt about driving the Volvo C40 Recharge

Thomas Falkiner recently spent time with the all-electric Volvo C40 Recharge Twin Motor.

Here are five things he learnt during his week-long test. 

1: There’s a price to pay for that sleek styling

While the Volvo XC40 Recharge is certainly no swamp donkey in the looks department, its C40 sibling is arguably a better thing to gaze at while sipping a latté from a roadside coffee shop.

Usually I’m a bit wary of crossovers adopting coupé-esque design features but here the plunging rear roofline, extra elongated glasshouse and aggressively raked tailgate help give the platform considerably more visual presence. While many modern cars are about as inspiring as the myriad home appliances lining the aisles of your local electronics superstore, the C40 Recharge gets the more discerning parts of your cerebral cortex buzzing. I for one always stole a backwards glance after parking it — a good sign.

Unfortunately this seductive styling comes at a cost and that, my friends, is practicality. As much as it flatters the car’s profile, that swoopy roof impedes on rear headroom (if you’re more than 1.88m tall you’re going to feel a bit cramped) and also results in a smidge less boot space compared to its XC40 stablemate (404l vs 452l).

Meanwhile, the shape and angle of the tailgate matched to the geometry of those C-pillars conspired to create some of the worst rearward visibility I have experienced in years. If it wasn’t for the 360º camera, this machine would be a challenge to parallel park with any real confidence. 

2: It’s impressively quick...

Believe all the social media hype — the C40 Recharge is biblically fast in a straight line. My long-term Ford Mustang GT California Special is no slouch when it comes to acceleration but it honestly feels a bit sluggish in comparison to this all-electric Swede.

Powered by a 78kWh lithium-ion battery pack and two electric permanent magnet synchronous motors (one mounted on each axle), Volvo says this 300kW/670Nm crossover is good for 0-100km/h in a claimed 4.7 seconds. However in reality, thanks to that instant torque delivery, it feels even quicker. It’s addictive too: an explosive surge of power that will challenge your neck muscles and render even the most talkative of passengers momentarily speechless with the urge in which it reels in the horizon line.

This performance potential also gives you the ability to challenge and quite possibly beat some more exotic machinery should they be fool enough to challenge you to an impromptu traffic light grand prix. Like other Volvo products sold in South Africa, top speed is electronically limited to 180km/h — plenty quick enough for a daily driver. 

Before we move on I thought it would be interesting to point out that the C40 Recharge makes do without the plethora of gimmicky driving modes usually fitted to most modern vehicles. Other than "off-road" mode, the only other thing you can do to tailor your experience behind the wheel is select "One-Pedal Drive", which greatly amplifies the effect of the car's regenerative braking when taking your foot from the throttle. 

3: But not quite as adept through corners

As is the case with most electric crossover SUVs, this Volvo is a bit of a vehicular lardass with a kerb weight of 2,185kg. While you don’t really feel this tonnage when travelling in a straight line, you most certainly do under braking and when it comes time to attack your favourite set of twisties.

Though it changes direction better and with more enthusiasm than something like an Audi e-tron 55 Quattro, the C40 Recharge still feels somewhat hamstrung by the inescapable heft of its battery pack, especially when you start turning up the wick. Factor in light and rather synthetic feeling steering largely devoid of any real road feedback and you soon learn to adopt a slow-in, fast-out approach to corners, the latter aided by tenacious all-wheel drive traction courtesy the twin motor setup. 

Rolling on a rather fetching set of 20-inch alloy wheels, the ride is on the firm side of the spectrum — but not uncomfortably so, with only the very scabbiest sections of Joburg bitumen (I’m looking at you, Parkview) causing the car to become unsettled. Keeping all that weight suspended is a big ask for any suspension system, so kudos to the Volvo engineers for doing such an overall good job with the damping. 

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4: It packs a really Swede interior

Bad pun aside, the interior of the C40 Recharge really is a vestige of Scandinavian minimalism with an attractive dashboard almost totally devoid of physical buttons (there’s not even a start button — just pop the gear lever into D and off you go).

For better or for worse, this means you have to use the nine-inch touchscreen infotainment system to tweak everything from vehicle and audio settings to fan speed and temperature adjustments.

Some people won’t mind this. I find it needlessly finicky and frustrating to use. There is nothing I dislike more than having to tap and swipe a screen to make the AC blow hotter or colder. 

Build quality is rock solid, with Volvo choosing to implement a palette of sustainable/vegan friendly materials to trim the seats, door cards and interior pieces. From artificial leather to carpets supposedly constructed from waste plastics fished out of the ocean, it’s a cabin that largely makes you feel good about your consumerist choices.

I also liked the silver dashboard insert, which is decorated with a topographical map of Sweden’s Abisko National Park. Cool to look at during the day, it comes alive at night courtesy soft LED backlighting that lends it an almost holographic appearance. 

Niceties are plentiful, with highlights taking the form of a digital 12-inch instrument cluster with two display modes (Calm or Navi) and a truly stupendous Harman Kardon Premium sound system with 13 speakers (including a standalone subwoofer) that turns listening to music or podcasts into an occasion.

There’s also adaptive cruise control, four USB ports (two up front and two at the rear), a panoramic glass sunroof and a hands-free electronic boot lid, which comes into its own when your arms are packed with groceries or gear.

In the age-old Volvo tradition the heated front seats are both comfortable and supportive, with plenty of adjustment to cosset any frame. Meanwhile, the multi-function steering wheel offers rake and reach adjustment, making it extremely easy to find your perfect driving position. 

5: I struggled to charge it

You would think plugging an EV into the grid would be a relatively straightforward thing to do. However, over my week-long test I could not get it right.

We have a dedicated fast charger installed at our office but unfortunately it was on the fritz while the C40 Recharge was in my tenure. There are a bunch of wall sockets scattered around our underground parking garage, so as a backup plan I thought I’d plug the car into one of those. Except, surprise surprise, none of those worked either and the one that did wasn’t covered by the office generator during load-shedding. So I effectively had no way to charge while at work. 

At home I faced a similar predicament. Though I have many wall plugs inside my garage, the structure itself proved too tight to accommodate the Volvo. I could have run an extension cord out into the neighbouring carport where it did fit, but I’ve heard plugging car chargers into extension cords — long ones in particular — is not a good idea. Especially when you’re sleeping and unable to check on things from time to time. 

Then I remembered I had a GridCars charging card loaded with credit — problem solved. So the evening before I was due to take a drive out to Red Star Raceway, I steered the C40 Recharge to the nearby Village Green Shopping Centre in Greenside where a dedicated DC fast charger lives. After plugging it in and tapping my card, I discovered to my horror that the charging sequence simply wouldn’t initiate. After trying several times I called the GridCars helpline centre, where a polite and attentive agent helped me troubleshoot the situation. Together we tried everything but the Volvo wouldn’t charge.

The agent then attempted to hard reset the actual charging unit, a process that would take a few minutes to perform. I went to grab a coffee and reply to e-mails to kill the time. Eventually the agent called me back and told me to try plugging it in one more time. I did and once again, no joy.

By this time the sun had set and I had been at the shopping centre for well over an hour. I was tired, hungry and over it, so instead of trying to find another charging station that may or may not have worked, I drove back to the office and swapped the C40 Recharge for my longterm Ford Mustang, which on the way home I refuelled in under five minutes. 

While this tale of woe is not the car’s fault, I feel it speaks volumes about the state of EV infrastructure in South Africa. Of course if I owned the vehicle in question I would have a dedicated Wallbox charger installed at my house and be largely self-sufficient.

But I don’t and I’m totally dependent on public charging stations to keep my battery topped up. In my experience, many of these don’t work or are out of order, which adds to the anxiety of running something like a C40 Recharge, especially when planning to drive longer distances.

The last EV I had on test — the Audi e-tron 55 Quattro — faced similar challenges and an evening of driving around aimlessly trying to find an operational DC charger to add a few bars of battery life. As with the Volvo, I eventually gave up and went home to preserve what little range I had so Audi could return the car to their HQ the next day.

Conclusion

Lovely to look at, ludicrously rapid in a straight line and genuinely nice to drive on the daily commute, the Volvo C40 Recharge is perhaps one of the most convincing electric vehicles I have driven over the past few years.

Priced at R1,324,000, it's certainly not cheap but is does come loaded with plenty of standard kit and offers a reasonable amount of driving range if you can control your right foot. Volvo claims 444km (according to the WLTP cycle) but in reality you'll likely see a figure closer to around 350km, which is enough for around-town drudgery and the occasional blast beyond city limits with some planning.

While the XC40 Recharge is the more practical (and affordable) choice, those looking for more sinister styling and a slight performance edge should find the C40 Recharge hard to pass up.