A Volvo XC40 Recharge Twin has just left the fleet of the heise / Autos editorial team, and a test will follow soon. Some drivers who have moved it wondered whether it really has to be 150 kW twice, and the author of these lines is one of them. Well, we were obviously not alone: As in the Polestar, Volvo can now simply omit the electric motor on the rear axle if requested. This has some advantages for the customer, although Volvo shouldn’t make friends with the calculation.
Less fast, brisk enough
First of all: Of course, the single-engine XC40 Recharge won’t accelerate quite as vehemently. The remaining electric motor only drives the front wheels and has an output of 170 kW, a little more than the individual machines in the all-wheel drive model. The maximum torque is 330 Nm. Volvo calls 7.4 seconds in the standard sprint and 160 km / h top speed. This is undoubtedly less rapid than in the all-wheel drive model with 300 kW, but just as clearly, however, far more than just sufficiently fast. The further reduction of the top speed is a political decision, with 170 kW the small SUV would certainly have reached the top speed of 180 km / h of the powerful version.
The remaining engine drives the front wheels and has an output of 170 kW. In the old currency, that’s 231 hp.
(Image: Volvo)
Slightly smaller battery
Instead of 2188, “only” 2023 kg have to be moved in the less powerful XC40. Part of this relief is also due to a slightly smaller battery. The net energy content is 67 kWh, Volvo calls 70 kWh gross. In the top model there are 75 and 78 kWh. The charging options have not changed: a maximum of 150 kW of direct current is possible, and three-phase alternating current up to 11 kW. The consumption in the WLTP should be 20 kWh, for the 300 kW XC40 23.8 to 25 kWh are specified. Volvo promises a range of up to 400 km.
Prices
Of course, if you do without the excessive performance, the price also drops, and quite drastically: With the new basic equipment “Core”, which is not available for the all-wheel drive model, the electric SUV costs 48,650 euros. The prices in the overview:
| Furnishing | Power in kW | price in euro | |
| XC40 Recharge |
Core |
170 |
48.650 |
|
Plus |
170 |
51.650 |
|
|
Pro |
170 |
55.650 |
|
| XC40 Recharge Twin |
Plus |
300 |
59.250 |
|
Pro |
300 |
64.900 |
Calculated in advance
However, Volvo has missed the German funding requirements for electric cars by a margin. The net list price of the basic model is 40,882 euros, just above the 40,000 euros limit, up to which there is a full grant of 6,000 euros from Bafa. In this way, the customer can only collect 5000 euros. Actually, this would also reduce the manufacturer’s mandatory subsidy to 2500 euros, but here Volvo is generous and still deducts the full 3000 euros plus VAT on the manufacturer’s share. In the configurator, the prices are displayed without the manufacturer’s premium component; the buyer only finds out in the small print or the price list what the car would cost without subsidies.
(mfz)
