FIRST DRIVE
Volvo EX40
Revamp for this upmarket electric SUV brings a new name and a larger battery option On sale April Price from £46,505
Will Nightingale will.nightingale@haymarket.com
LIFE COULDN’T HAVE started much better for the Volvo XC40. Just three months after its launch in early 2018, it had already won the What Car? Car of the Year award and (cough cough) the far less important European Car of the Year trophy. Good to drive, plush inside and ultra-desirable, this family SUV made the BMW X1 and Mercedes-Benz GLA of the time seem almost agricultural.
So, when an all-electric version was announced a couple of years later, our hopes were sky high. Sadly, the XC40 Recharge never quite delivered on its initial promise. Sure, it had the same lavish and family-friendly interior as its petrol-powered sibling, but it was expensive, the range between charges was nothing special and efficiency was downright disappointing.