After a roaring success with the diesel the Swedish company launched the petrol version of the mini Volvo in India a few weeks back
The insatiable appetite for flashy sport utility vehicles (SUV) in India is showing no signs of fizzling out any time soon. From lengths on longer than a hatchback to the size that can nearly swallow the Tata Nano SUVs are getting the limelight they never enjoyed before.
Keeping the trend alive is Volvo’s entry SUV the XC40 christened the T4. After roaring success with the diesel the Swedish company launched the petrol version of the mini Volvo in India a few weeks back.
Globally several countries are taking a critical view of diesel cars in view of the need to regulate emissions forcing carmakers to look at petrol for answers. Volvo is one such who has decided to go 'only petrol-powered engines' along with battery-powered electric vehicles for the future.
For this, the Swedish company has discontinued the diesel XC40 in India with claims that the only feature that will be missing on the new petrol XC40 would be the 4WD, which 99 percent of the XC40 owners never used anyway.
Once inside
The sophisticated-looking, but inviting, all-black interiors looks a bit intimidating, not to mention the small windows that are unusual for SUVs for this size. But give it five minutes and doubts will surely give way to a solid assurance of quality and reliability.
Front seats are comfortable and adjustable. Premium leather upholstery and memory functions for the driver side make long drives a pleasurable experience. Rear seats though are a tad upright and someone who is tall might feel slightly uncomfortable. The small windows in the front and rear get squared up with the large automatic sunroof to help make the plush cabin airy.
There is a vertically placed nine-inch touchscreen, nearly similar in size to the iPad 4. Its response to touch is faster than those offered on most lower-priced cars however the navigation needs some improvement. Maps make use of destination names that are already fed into the system and may not recognise any new places you intend to go to.
Drive
Volvo is not the first to launch a Bharat Stage VI (BS-VI) compliant luxury car in India but it is certainly amongst the first. The XC40 T4 comes powered by a BS-VI, 2.0 litre, turbo engine that makes peak power of 190 hp and 300 nm of torque. The figures look more attuned for highway runs than city use but one drive experience in the XC40 can change that perception.
As is typical of powerful petrol engines I was expecting a burst of power with even a simple jab on the accelerator. This all-new Volvo is so smooth it is as if it is gauging your sense of urgency to move forward beating any ugly surprises you think it may hide.
Even with the windows down, it is difficult to make out if the engine is running as refinement levels are top-notch. On empty stretches, the Volvo is gently egging you on to move faster and the combination of seating position, steering and the large front view make it an enthralling drive. The 8-speed automatic gearbox responds well to the accelerator and there is no perceived jerk when the car shifts to a higher gear.
Steering is light, grippy and effortless to spin. It was very easy to make sharp turns in heavy traffic and in tight corners without having the need to reverse. The European styling of the XC40 is such that it will earn the charm of the traffic it is surrounded with. So it is not unusual to find traffic maintaining its lane discipline in its presence.
The vehicle’s engineering is such that there is virtually no body roll. The car can sure make you forget the size it is carrying for that speed and agility. Bumps did make their presence felt although they became gentle by the time you noticed them at lower speeds.
Brakes did seem slightly hard and effective than I would have preferred. Even the simplest of depression of the pedal brought the XC40 to a sudden halt. But this was experienced only in crawling traffic conditions. On the highway, in high double-digit speeds, the brakes were just the way they should be – nice and easy.
Volvo has provided three city drive modes (Eco, Comfort and Dynamic) and one off-road mode with the SUV. There are finer paddle shifters on the back of the steering to deal with manual shifting and they don’t hinder your finger movements when on automatic mode.
Safety Features
There have been several instances where people who have bought Volvos have done so because they put the safety on the priority list, even higher than performance or vehicle styling. And each Volvo is designed keeping this in mind and a bedrock.
The XC40 T4 R-Design does not fall short on these traits. The vehicle gets radar-based safety assists like adaptive cruise control, lane-keeping assist, collision mitigating system, half a dozen airbags, the antilock braking system with electronic brake-force distribution, brake assist, hill ascent and descent controls, tyre pressure monitoring system, front and rare parking sensor and a reverse camera to name just a few.
Should you buy?
No doubt the XC40 is a head turner and has got great road presence even at standstill. It has got the package that is desired for a car that costs Rs 40 lakh. There are no variants of the SUV and is available only in one fully-loaded version.
The Volvo XC40 is not small in comparison to the stature of the perceived bigger siblings like the XC60 and the mighty XC90. It has been making its mark independent of the bigger two and this XC40 T4 certainly does not disappoint.
So if you want something below Rs 50 lakh and drives like a hot knife on cold hard butter, gives you the joy of driving with all the bells and whistles to keep you engaged on long drives then the XC40 is something that deserves your attention at least once.
First Published on Feb 8, 2020 11:46 am
