Volvo XC40 Recharge review

As a cash purchase, the fully electric Volvo XC40 Recharge will set you back around the same as a mid-spec Skoda Enyaq or VW ID 4 but less than the entry-level Audi Q4 e-tron and BMW iX1. 

It comes with an unconventional buying method called Care by Volvo, a subscription service that lets you lease it with all maintenance and running costs (except electricity) included. It's quite pricey, but – while eye-watering by the standards of some less premium rivals – is comparable to the conventional PCP monthly finance costs of posher alternatives, including the Q4 e-tron. You can’t buy the car at the end of the contract, though, as you can with conventional PCP finance.

Even so, mid-spec Plus trim is our preferred choice. For not much more money, it adds keyless entry, heated and electrically adjustable front seats and a reversing camera. It also has a heat pump that’s more efficient at heating up the interior and improves the car’s driving range in winter conditions.

Range-topping Ultimate adds ambient interior lighting, leather upholstery, a panoramic opening sunroof, a 360-degree camera, a Harman Kardon sound system and 20-inch alloy wheels – but it’s a big price jump.

As a brand, Volvo sat around the middle of the 2022 What Car? Reliability Survey coming 17th out of 32 manufacturers, just behind BMW but above Audi, Volkswagen, Jaguar and Land Rover (which sat in 31st).