Out on the highway, managed a fuel efficiency of around 15.3 km/l.
BHPian Thundergrey recently shared this with other enthusiasts.
Hello Everyone,
Thought process before Buying
I was on the lookout for a luxury vehicle. My criteria in order were safety for my family, a comfortable ride and an easy-to-drive city vehicle. I quickly narrowed it down to the Germans, Volvo and the Hyundai Tucson. In my heart, I wanted to go for the Volvo XC60. However, both I and my wife have not driven a vehicle in over 8 years. I contacted Volvo for a test drive and they gave me the XC 40 first. I’ll be honest, I did not seriously consider buying this, my heart wanted the XC60. However, when I first glanced at the XC40, I was quite impressed at how beautiful it looked from the front and the side. During the test drive, I was super impressed by the buttery smooth engine, the light steering, and the confidence the vehicle inspired by being firmly planted. I mean I was truly impressed by the test drive. I drove a few other vehicles namely the X1, the GLC and XC60.
I did not want to do more test drives as my heart wanted the XC40 now. The XC60 though very beautiful and luxurious inside, I could not allow myself to pay that extra 23-25 odd lakh when the XC40 was every bit the car I needed and indeed desired. So I decided to go for it. The Pricing breakdown came to 44.5 Lakh ex-showroom. On-Road it came to 59 Lakh, with Insurance, some accessories, a 5-year warranty and a 5-year package included. The road tax in Hyderabad is killing almost coming to 8Lakh @ 18%.
Hint – no need to take a boot 3d mat, it serves no purpose.
Side note: I got a PPF finish and topped it up with a ceramic coat as well and the car looks really shiny.
Initial Impressions in the City
In the city the mileage is not fantastic but bearable, it comes to 7kmpl in rush hour traffic. About 9-10 in flowing city traffic. So let’s say an average of 8ish. The start-stop function which disables the engine and runs on battery at traffic lights and stalled traffic lanes does not seem to work when the temperature is above 35 degrees. So in the afternoon it almost never works. In the morning and evenings, the start-stop function works well and seems to up the mileage a bit. The driving is smooth, the steering is really light, the car does not ask you to push it, it is very relaxing in heavy traffic, the seats are comfortable and everyone in the car is relaxed. Considering I have a toddler and an infant, that is a big blessing. I have installed a Luvlap baby seat with an ISOFIX setup for my infant and my toddler sits on a booster seat. The car is well-insulated and we can not hear the outside engine noise. The Air Conditioning works well, however, it takes some time to cool at the back, with some tweaking of all the vents, one can optimize airflow a bit better, still, this is something to be improved on. Small Bumps and ditches are absorbed fairly well, especially at speeds above 25kmph. Everyone who sits in the car is fairly impressed at the setup inside, it does look very beautiful, especially with the white/cream seats. Being a Volvo, there are some very handy storage solutions. Comfort is great for my family size and city driving is not stressful. The car is a small SUV but in length only, it is wider than most cars in its segment. The car feels built like a tank, that reassuring thud when you close the doors is really nice. It has an Android inbuilt system, so google maps come as a default in the infotainment system which is very handy. The maps are nicely set up on the dashboard, so there is no need to look everywhere but forward. The Harman Kardon sound system is quite nice which when played on less than half volume almost fully insulates the car from outside noise. The car is built with an air purifier system which is a nice feature. Almost everything has to be accessed from the infotainment system, most you can do by voice command but some can be a bit distracting while driving. The cars safety functions have already intervened twice, once when reversing out of a blind spot, the car braked autonomously to prevent a collision with a biker coming from the wrong side of the road. Once it braked to avoid a collision on the highway when the forward vehicle braked hard and though my wife braked, the safety systems decided it was not enough and braked even harder to avoid impact. That’s a big thumbs up to see the safety systems at work. To sum it up in the city, this car really lets everyone relax and is not difficult to drive. I have to give it to the Volvo engineers who have made this SUV a great city drive.
Highway Drive – Hyderabad to Bangalore
For the highway, I adjusted the steering to “Steering feel firm” mode, it kind of gives it a heavier feel as the steering is too light for high-speed drives. There are no drive modes as such. The engine was good and responsive. However there is turbo lag, when one pushes the accelerator, it feels like a second or so before that 2-litre engine reacts with ferocity. So the push becomes a bit sudden. The car I’ve realized is meant to be driven with linear power delivery (Of-course it’s a Volvo), it can push its boundaries but there is a little turbo lag, I am not sure if it’s the gearbox or the Turbocharger that causes that one-second lag. It feels like turbo lag, as it is just for a split second. I do not mind it that much. Here the Adaptive Cruise control is great, set it to your desired speed and distance and the car just drives you to your destination. It works well, it slows down automatically as the vehicle ahead of you slows down and accelerates fast as soon as you begin an overtake. The lane assist aid is pretty good and does the job, you have to fight it when changing lanes unless you put on the indicator. As mentioned above Collision avoidance braking did one appearance on the highway and it does give you the reassurance that you are in good hands with the car and will do everything it can to avoid an accident or a bump. Driving with 2 kids can be a hassle but the music system and some Eagles songs kept my infant asleep for the most part in her baby seat. In the early morning, I kept the sunroof open for my toddler who was fascinated by it. Of course, being an Indian summer I had to close it by 0930 and blast the A/C the remainder of the way. The car was a joy, me and my wife split driving duties, however, it can be driven by a single driver the whole way without stopping, it is that comfortable. For the 1st section of 300 km, we got an average mileage of 16.7KMPL for an average speed of 85 km/h which was surprising. However, for the next 300, I decided to speed up a bit and then the mileage dropped a bit. We ended the whole 580 km with an average mileage of 15.3 km/l. The suspensions are good enough that you will not feel small bumps above 25 km/h and can take most big bumps without you feeling jarred inside. The car is planted and gives immense confidence while driving at high speeds. For the most part, I did not push it and kept an average of 85-90 km/h. For a brief period when the road allowed, I pushed it to 120KMPH and it was a breeze for the vehicle, with no strain whatsoever, the vehicle can go much over and beyond but I am not doing it with 2 kids in the car. In brief, the ride was silent and comfortable. We also managed to do it on one tank with a quarter tank or more to spare. The boot space was more than enough for a family of 4 (2 small kids with plenty of diapers and wipes) on a one-week vacation. We did not even have to remove the soft upper cover to maximize boot space.
Side note: The ceramic coating ensured that when the car came to the hotel in Bangalore the car was for the most part still clean and very shiny and didn’t need much cleaning when we arrived.
Keyword: Bought Volvo XC40 instead of a German SUV: City & highway drive review