Ace of Base: 2019 Volvo XC40

Matthew Guy
by Matthew Guy

When the majority of the buying public thinks of Volvo, three things generally come to mind: safety, boxy wagons, and professors in tweed sport coats with those weird elbow patches. This is understandable, given that the company made hay selling safe and boxy wagons to professors in tweed sport coats with weird elbow patches.

Volvo has long since de-weirded itself but still marches to a slightly different Swedish beat. It’s currently under the stewardship of a Chinese company that gives the brand enough leash to generally do its own thing. Starting at $35,200, the automaker’s least-expensive car, the XC40, should help bring new buyers to the brand. Let’s see how it stacks up in base form.

Despite its rap for hawking 240DL sedans and 760GLE wagons, Volvo is no stranger to the small(ish) car game. Your author is particularly partial to the C30 R-Design Polestar, a hatchback with a liftgate made entirely of glass and a heart made entirely of a 250 horsepower turbocharged inline-five.

The XC40 has a similar amount of power in its base model, 248 horses from a turbocharged inline-four, reportedly moving the thing to sixty in 6.1 seconds. No rocket, but neither is it a slouch. The EPA says it’ll even get 31 mpg on the highway.

For the price of a steak dinner or two over thirty-five large, buyers of the base XC40 trim – called the Momentum – will find goodies like a power liftgate, leather seats, plus an enormous 12.3-inch driver display and a 9.0-inch vertical touchscreen in the centre that wouldn’t look wholly out of place in a Tesla Model S.The usual cadre of power accessories and charging options are found here in the base model, although the passenger’s chair is manually adjusted.

Amazon Blue gives this little Volvo the appearance of a freshly calved iceberg. Snazzy metallic paints cost an annoying $595, a mark against the Ace of Base criteria, but at least the hues offered gratis include something interesting like this natty blue.

The XC40’s hatchback isn’t an all-glass affair like the cool and departed C30, but the whole package is tidy and likely checks all the boxes of shoppers in the small crossover segment. It is built on the company’s new GMA platform, which should spawn a whole range of 40-series cars. A small C40 sedan would be neat. A tidy V40 wagon would be even neater.

Inside the trucklet is an interior befitting that of a much more expensive car, especially when trimmed in the $0 Oxide Red Leather. Volvo requires XC40s so equipped to be painted Black Stone in color. Sadly, heated front seats and steering wheel are not standard equipment on this $35,200 machine, despite those features being standard equipment in the $18,895 Hyundai Accent.

I’m not wholly convinced this XC40 makes the cut, as the deletion of heated seats in a Scandinavian car is particularly egregious. Still, it’s a funky looking thing that will refuse to blend in at the curbside school pick-up line.

[Image: Volvo Cars]

Not every base model has aced it. The ones that have? They help make the automotive landscape a lot better. Any others you can think of, B&B? Let us know in the comments. Naturally, feel free to eviscerate our selections.

The model above is shown with American options and is priced in Freedom Dollars absent of any rebates or destination fees. As always, your dealer may sell for less.

Matthew Guy
Matthew Guy

Matthew buys, sells, fixes, & races cars. As a human index of auto & auction knowledge, he is fond of making money and offering loud opinions.

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  • Jerome10 Jerome10 on Mar 14, 2018

    Where is this thing made? Will it have no Orange Peel paint like the Chinese-built S90 I was driving next to today? (honestly the worst paint job I can recall seeing on any car, in any price-range). This one gets a MEH from me.

    • Garrett Garrett on Mar 14, 2018

      Belgium. Although who knows what will happen with the new Charleston area factory if volume takes off.

  • Slavuta Slavuta on Mar 14, 2018

    To me, problem with this is inside. I need to manipulate iPad while driving? Thanks - no. Too much electronics. electronics in non-Japanese car? - forget it

  • Joe This is called a man in the middle attack and has been around for years. You can fall for this in a Starbucks as easily as when you’re charging your car. Nothing new here…
  • AZFelix Hilux technical, preferably with a swivel mount.
  • ToolGuy This is the kind of thing you get when you give people faster internet.
  • ToolGuy North America is already the greatest country on the planet, and I have learned to be careful about what I wish for in terms of making changes. I mean, if Greenland wants to buy JDM vehicles, isn't that for the Danes to decide?
  • ToolGuy Once again my home did not catch on fire and my fire extinguisher(s) stayed in the closet, unused. I guess I threw my money away on fire extinguishers.(And by fire extinguishers I mean nuclear missiles.)
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