Volvo XC40
2018-2024 - P6 Platform
As the Volvo brand moved more and more upmarket during the 2010s, its smaller cars, the P1 platform C30, S40, and V50, all completed their production runs in without obvious replacements; the V50's compact wagon replacement, the V40, never made it to the USA.
Changing consumer tastes throughout the same period showed declining interest in small premium cars, but increasing interest in premium compact crossover SUVs, or "CUVs", with similar footprints and equipment levels as premium compacts, but a taller seating position and AWD. Vehicles like the BMW X1 and Range Rover Evoque took advantage of this demand and racked up huge sales.
After the launch of its larger, SPA-platform based XC90 and XC60 siblings, Volvo turned to their new global compact architecture, CMA, to break in to the CUV market. As with the SPA platform, CMA (also called the P6 platform) was developed with an eye towards electrification, with built-in support for either internal combustion engines and fuel tanks or electric motors and battery packs.
This new CUV, the XC40, launched in the USA using Volvo's by now ubiquitous "VEA" (also sometimes badged "DRIVe", pronounced "drive eee") 4-cylinder turbo and Aisin-Warner TG-81 8-speed automatic powertrain, but also appeared as Volvo's first all-electric model for general sale: the 200-mile-range, AWD, 400hp Recharge.
Also new with the XC40 was Volvo's "Care By Volvo" all-in-one lease program, bundling the car's lease fees, insurance, repairs, and even maintenance and tire replacements in to one subscription package. Most XC40s in the USA have been leased (either through a standard lease or through Care By Volvo), so we've seen relatively few of these cars appear on the used market.
- Five door compact SUV crossover based on the Volvo P6 platform
- Also called the CMA ("Compact Modular Architecture") platform, for compact cars with an eye towards hybrid and full electric powertrains
- Sold in the USA starting in 2018 model year
- USA non-electric models all have forced induction "modular"/VEA/DRIVe (pronounced "drive eee") 2L four cylinder direct injected gasoline engines, in turbocharged T4 or T5 variants
- FWD or Haldex-style AWD for gas models
- Fully electric Recharge model available, with about a 200 mile range and twin-motor AWD
- 78kWh lithium-ion battery pack, with about 200 miles of range and DC fast charging
- In 2024, new electric motors, an 82kWh battery pack, and a new RWD single-motor model push range as high as 293 miles
Model information is based on the USA vehicle market. Other model variations may exist outside the USA.