Is the new all-electric Volvo XC40 P8 Recharge worth its nearly £60k price tag? We find out…

Verdict
The XC40 EV is a beautifully engineered creation with excellent performance, decent range, exceptional refinement and no compromise on practicality compared with regular versions. Android Automotive feels like a worthy upgrade, too. But, if anything, the P8 feels a little too potent and pricey for this size of vehicle. We’re confident that more modest versions, perhaps with a single motor and at sub-£50k, will be even more appealing.

Volvo has hit the headlines with its approach to electrification, with the company stating that half of its sales will be fully electric by 2025. But this car, the XC40 Recharge Pure Electric P8, is its first full EV. It’s a sign of how quickly Volvo has to move to meet its target – and a reminder of how important this new model is.

Of course, we’ve tried a plug-in XC40 before, because Volvo already sells a hybrid version. But don’t think that the XC40 P8 is really just a PHEV with bells on, because the car’s CMA (Compact Modular Architecture) platform has allowed the firm’s engineers to pack in specs that are punchy, to say the least.

The XC40 P8’s lithium-ion battery has a capacity of 78kWh (usable capacity is 75kWh) and this powers a pair of identical electric motors – one on each axle – producing a combined total of 402bhp and 660Nm. That’s a serious amount of power and torque for a small family SUV and, sure enough, the electric XC40’s performance figures are startling: 0-62mph takes a whisker under five seconds, and the top speed is 112mph – relatively high for an EV.

The perils of adding extra cells are aptly demonstrated by the XC40’s mass and range, mind you. This car weighs 2.2 tonnes – hefty for something with the footprint of a Ford Focus – and as a result, even that large battery can only manage 260 miles between charges. That’s respectable, not stellar.

At least you get 150kW DC charging as standard, capable of adding up to 80 per cent of capacity in 40 minutes (or around 55 miles of range every 10 minutes). That hefty battery means that home charging is a bit more of a chore, of course, but a full charge on a domestic wallbox can take from less than eight hours – so overnight charging shouldn’t be a problem.

The pricing is every bit as hefty as the weight and performance – but it doesn’t help that here we’re sampling the First Edition that is the only version available at launch. Still, we can only test what’s put in front of us and, at a whopping £59,985, this is a seriously expensive XC40 – the thick end of £20k more pricey than anything else in the range (even the plug-in hybrids), and way beyond the reaches of the Plug-in Car Grant.

Of course, it’s better to compare this car with other EVs of its size – and there aren’t too many of those. The Jaguar I-Pace is larger and more expensive (although not by much), but BMW’s iX3 is a closer match, starting from almost £62,000 while offering a bit more cabin space, luggage capacity, and range than the XC40. Volvo’s offering is in the mix, in other words – but on paper, far from a stand-out favourite.

It stacks up well when you get behind the wheel, though. The first thing you’ll notice is that there’s no starter button; the car uses a seat sensor to trigger its key detection, so you can just get in, push it into D and drive, like a Tesla.

Once you’re on the move, you’re likely to be surprised by just how refined the XC40 P8 is – because it’s impressively hushed. There’s next to no electric motor whine to speak of – no mean feat when you have a front-mounted unit as well as one on the rear axle – and wind noise is also well suppressed. Cut out these frequencies and you’re left with a bit of rumble from the chunky wheels on the road below you, but that’s about your lot.

Read more: AutoExpress

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Battery prices are dropping faster than expected. Analysts are moving up projections of when an electric vehicle won’t need government incentives to be cheaper than a gasoline model.

FRANKFURT — An electric Volkswagen ID.3 for the same price as a Golf. A Tesla Model 3 that costs as much as a BMW 3 Series. A Renault Zoe electric subcompact whose monthly lease payment might equal a nice dinner for two in Paris.

As car sales collapsed in Europe because of the pandemic, one category grew rapidly: electric vehicles. One reason is that purchase prices in Europe are coming tantalizingly close to the prices for cars with gasoline or diesel engines.

At the moment this near parity is possible only with government subsidies that, depending on the country, can cut more than $10,000 from the final price. Carmakers are offering deals on electric cars to meet stricter European Union regulations on carbon dioxide emissions. In Germany, an electric Renault Zoe can be leased for 139 euros a month, or $164.

Electric vehicles are not yet as popular in the United States, largely because government incentives are less generous. Battery-powered cars account for about 2 percent of new car sales in America, while in Europe the market share is approaching 5 percent. Including hybrids, the share rises to nearly 9 percent in Europe, according to Matthias Schmidt, an independent analyst in Berlin.

As electric cars become more mainstream, the automobile industry is rapidly approaching the tipping point when, even without subsidies, it will be as cheap, and maybe cheaper, to own a plug-in vehicle than one that burns fossil fuels. The carmaker that reaches price parity first may be positioned to dominate the segment.

A few years ago, industry experts expected 2025 would be the turning point. But technology is advancing faster than expected, and could be poised for a quantum leap. Elon Musk is expected to announce a breakthrough at Tesla’s “Battery Day” event on Tuesday that would allow electric cars to travel significantly farther without adding weight.

The balance of power in the auto industry may depend on which carmaker, electronics company or start-up succeeds in squeezing the most power per pound into a battery, what’s known as energy density. A battery with high energy density is inherently cheaper because it requires fewer raw materials and less weight to deliver the same range.

“We’re seeing energy density increase faster than ever before,” said Milan Thakore, a senior research analyst at Wood Mackenzie, an energy consultant which recently pushed its prediction of the tipping point ahead by a year, to 2024.

Some industry experts are even more bullish. Hui Zhang, managing director in Germany of NIO, a Chinese electric carmaker with global ambitions, said he thought parity could be achieved in 2023.

Venkat Viswanathan, an associate professor at Carnegie Mellon University who closely follows the industry, is more cautious. But he said: “We are already on a very accelerated timeline. If you asked anyone in 2010 whether we would have price parity by 2025, they would have said that was impossible.”

This transition will probably arrive at different times for different segments of the market. High-end electric vehicles are pretty close to parity already. The Tesla Model 3 and the gas-powered BMW 3 Series both sell for about $41,000 in the United States.

A Tesla may even be cheaper to own than a BMW because it never needs oil changes or new spark plugs and electricity is cheaper, per mile, than gasoline. Which car a customer chooses is more a matter of preference, particularly whether an owner is willing to trade the convenience of gas stations for charging points that take more time. (On the other hand, owners can also charge their Teslas at home.)

Consumers tend to focus on sticker prices, and it will take longer before unsubsidized electric cars cost as little to drive off a dealer’s lot as an economy car.

Read more: The New York Times

It’s Time to Go Green!

If you would like to know more about Solar Panels and the PowerBanx range of home battery systems, and get a free instant quote, please complete our online form: