Volvo XC40 review: a compact SUV that trumps the rest

Until recently there was no alternative to a Range Rover if you wanted a mid-sized SUV. Then this arrived.

Volvo XC40, from $44,490

In the olden days, when cars were all propelled into existence by the adventurous mind of a madman, and there really was such a thing as the “open road”, road testing made sense because a Humber and a Rover were completely different. Companies were experimenting with new types of axle and new clutches and new braking systems. It was all vivid and exciting, and there were no speed cameras.

Not anymore. Under the skin, your car is almost certainly identical to your neighbour’s car. They’ve all been squeezed and squashed and hammered into uniformity by safety regulations and rules on what can come out of the exhaust pipe. And young people, whether they are Gen Z or snowflake or millennial, don’t really want to drive any of them because they cost too much to buy and run and park and service, and it’s easier to use a train that comes with wi-fi.

If I were going to buy a mid-sized soft-roader, I’d have a Range Rover Evoque. I recently tried the new model, briefly, and, trying to be understandable to an audience that is more interested in kale and ear buds, I must say I liked it, especially the seats, which were covered in cloth. (I don’t know why leather seats are perceived to be upmarket, because that makes no sense. The Queen doesn’t sit on leather furniture, because it’s too hot on a hot day and too cold when it’s cold. Yes, leather is easier to wipe down, but when did you last have a trouser accident when driving?) But I’m aware that many people don’t like Range Rovers. They say they are drug dealers’ cars. They tell jokes about them – Q: What’s the difference between a Range Rover and a hedgehog? A: With a Rangey, the pricks are on the inside. And if the company is bought by the French, a possibility as I write, it will provide another reason for mirth.

Until recently, however, there was no alternative if you wanted a mid-sized SUV. No, let me rephrase that: there were hundreds of alternatives and they were all crap: dowdy, overly large, unnecessarily expensive, useless off the road and soggy on it. Lately, however, they’ve started to look quite cool. There’s a Hyundai of some sort that wouldn’t have looked out of place on Space: 1999, and a Kia too. Ford’s new Kuga has a chunkiness that’s appealing, but standing head and shoulders above these also-rans is the Volvo XC40.

It’s a very good-looking car. It’s also comfortable and well equipped with a cool screen and Harman Kardon sounds. Then there’s that chunky-jumper sensibleness, even though it’s built by a Chinese company, in Belgium.

Not that long ago, Volvo announced that all its cars would have diesel engines, but then came the eco U-turn that meant diesel cars are no longer remotely interesting to anyone. So now Volvo is hedging its bets. As a result, the XC40 is available with a choice of power plant: diesel or petrol, with electric and hybrid versions at a later date. You can also have manual or automatic transmission, and two or four-wheel drive.

Stick with two, though, because if you want all the wheels to be driven, you’ll be needing an Evoque. Unless you are interested in being alive. I’m not saying the Range Rover is unsafe. I’m sure it isn’t. But Volvo’s in a different league. I mean, look at it this way: in 15 years, the number of people killed in the big-selling XC90 model is ... zero.

Its newer little brother is crammed with so many safety features, you’d be in more peril at a game of bowls. It scans the road ahead for obstacles, and if you don’t act after being warned, it will jam on the brakes for you. The steering system will override your commands if it thinks you’re going to run off the road, and if you do, the seatbelts tighten and the seat frame collapses to make it softer should you hit a tree. And this is just the tip of Volvo’s mission statement, which is that by next year no one in the world will be killed or seriously injured while in a Volvo. That is one ballsy claim.

Handling? Speed? Fuel economy? Yes, it has all of those, but in the world of SUV road testing, they don’t matter as much as safety.

Volvo XC40

Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol (140kW/300Nm)

Average fuel from 7.2 litres per 100km

Transmission: Eight-speed automatic, front or all-wheel drive

Price: From $44,990

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars