Temptation to conclude this review with a single line was compelling.

“Just buy the XC40 Recharge instead.”

But that would’ve been unfair to Lars and Bjorn over at Volvo’s design division in Gothenburg, Sweden.

When news of Volvo first coupe-fying its XC40 to birth the creatively-named C40 was a tough one to swallow. It evoked memories of that scene from ‘Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith.’ You know the one, when Obi Wan screams at Anakin that he “was the chosen one,” followed by Obi bawling that Anakin was to “destroy the Sith, not join them.”

For context, the cast in this fictional Car Wars sees Volvo as Anakin, fans of Volvo as the virtuous Obi Wan and the Sith… well, that’s the German big three of Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi.

Traditionally, Volvo never truly went toe-to-toe with the German trio. Instead, the Swede served as the outlying and laidback alternative to them. Unlike the Germans that aced one or two of the many verticals a car was judged upon, Volvos did them all fairly well without ever seeming like it was trying to challenge them. That made it cool by virtue of trying not to be.

Also Read: 2023 Volvo C40 EV launched in Malaysia - RM 288k, XC40 in coupe form for RM 10k more

Still, as much as there’s disdain for coupe crossovers, they’re flying off showroom floors and with Volvo aiming to have 50 percent of its sales be EVs by 2025, selling out sensibility to continue selling cars shouldn’t have been such a shocker after all.

What was rather shocking was that given the C40 shared a platform with its boxier XC40 sibling, limiting the former to purely EV powertrains seemed restrictive.

Volvos have and always will prioritise practicality first. The C40 though has been penned with design above all else; one of the few times Volvo has detoured from its path. Prior to that, it was probably the sloping rear hatch on the V90 over a flat one for cosmetic purposes.

Nonetheless, Volvo’s always done things its own way and we shouldn’t be quick to dish out judgement. After all, the Swedes can be counted on to ensure the C40 should very much remain a sensible car with typical Swede style.

Exterior

The C40 marks Gothenburg’s first foray into the land of the sloping roofline with 4 doors and unsurprisingly, it’s a good looking machine. Styling is simple, maintaining a minimalist approach that the carmaker portrays as an encompassing theme for the C40’s entire brief.

Volvo’s designers didn’t stray too far from the XC40’s nose although there are subtle differences. At the rear though, the taillight’s bottom strip extends horizontally into the powered hatch, unlike the XC40’s that stops short. Additionally, the LED lighting signature gets a little more detailing, starting with a few dashes up top before linking into a continuous line.

Interior

From a cabin standpoint, all coupe crossovers are compromised by default. Being bred for appearance will do that, like the selective breeding of pug dogs that led to them currently suffering from breathing difficulties.

There’s no escaping that for the C40 as well as it shares most of the gripes common with slant-roofed SUVs. That’s a lack of rear headroom, compromised cargo space in the boot and rubbish rear visibility.

Everything else is splendid though. You’ll find the typical aura of zen from any other Volvo that always feels like home, something that you can easily slide into and not feel out of place in.

It’s a timeless interior, accentuated by the fact that the interior is from the XC40 launched in 2017, yet it still feels modern.

The seats are comfortable and supportive with upholstery being vegan-friendly, meaning no leather at all. Volvo claims that every C40 interior is constructed out of 71 former PET drinks bottles, so you can continue to have your overpriced coffee to go. Some of the fabrics are made from recycled materials as well.

Also Read: Review: Volvo XC40 Recharge Pure Electric – Better as an EV?

Tactile feel is premium without feeling obnoxious. If there was a gripe, it has to be that contoured 3D-printed plastic panel above the glove box. In daytime it looks cheap but when the sun goes down, being backlit reveals the topography of the designer’s favourite hiking point in Sweden, making for a personable touch.

As for that minimalist theme, Volvo has simplified the interior and driving experience with as little buttons as possible, to the extent of deleting the start button and handbrake switch. You simply plonk your bottom down in the driver’s seat and put it in D to drive away or push it into P and lock the doors to “deactivate” it. They’ve also done away with any sort of drive modes.

The panoramic roof doesn’t come with a fabric cover and even the tinted glass isn’t sufficient to prevent things getting a little toasty during the day.

Infotainment is governed via the 9-inch touchscreen display running on its Android Automotive OS with Google services integrated. That means it supports apps from the Play Store. An easy way to understand it would be to imagine your Android smartphone as the infotainment system.

The deeper you’re embedded in the Google ecosystem, the more seamless your experience with it will be. As an avid Android fanboy, the move to adopt a smartphone platform as the infotainment's OS is a welcome one as most people possess some sort of familiairty with it.

Google Maps integration displays the estimated battery percentage remaining once you’ve reached your destination, a nice touch. Another nice touch are the little cubby holes at the side of the rear seats. Rear occupants often get neglected with this and Volvo has rectified that.

A 600W Harmon Kardon digital sound system enabled by 13 speakers, including an air-ventilated subwoofer, makes an excellent platform to blast your questionable Spotify playlist that’s accentuated by the lack of an internal combustion din and excellent wind noise resistance.

Lastly, the frunk is perfectly sized for the charging cables.

Powertrain

The Malaysian market gets a sole twin-engine variant. That’s an electric motor on each axle for AWD with a permanent 50:50 split of power.

A 78kWh lithium-ion battery feeds the dual motors that make 204 PS apiece for the combined total of 408 PS with the monstrous torque synonymous with EVs; 660 Nm. Warp speed acceleration is a given but like all new Volvos, top speed is limited to 180 kph.

Officially, the WLTP cycle rates the range at up to 450 km on a full charge but like all EVs, that’s ambitious at best. Realistically, expect to get around 330 km. Bear in mind that EVs are more sensitive to driving style as opposed to ICE cars so a heavy right foot will see the range drop in the blink of an eye, quite literally.

Charging

You juice up the C40 via a CCS Combo 2 connector and it’s capable of supporting up to 11 kW with AC charging, or roughly 8 hours for a full charge. Plug it into a DC fast charger that can feed it the maximum 150 kW and you’ll go from 10 percent to 80 percent in 28 minutes.

Competitors

The burgeoning Malaysian EV market sees the C40 squaring off against some pretty serious competition. Peeking through that tiny letterbox window out the rear sees the likes of the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Mercedes-Benz EQA in terms of pricing. Stretching your wallet a bit more towards the RM 300k mark brings participation from the BMW iX3 and Kia EV6 as well.

Driving

It drives pretty much like most other electric SUVs out there… lightning quick with the steering pointed straight and rather apathetic towards cornering.

That’s not to say you’ll end up in a tree at the sight of any bend in the asphalt. The C40 has more than decent grip at high speeds and takes in highway cornering without drama but if you start pushing that threshold, the weight; all 2.1 tonnes of it, immediately reminds you to back off.

However, that’s precisely the point of a Volvo. Having done away with any driving modes, its sole driving characteristics will ultimately coerce you into a more relaxed driving style. That said, if you need to blitz anything on the road, a big prod of the throttle will initiate warp speed and make Hikaru Sulu proud.

In fact, dare we say, the simplistic approach to not overcomplicate the driving modes is something many of us would enjoy. Just get in and drive, after all that’s precisely what cars are all about anyways. Harking back to simplistic times might actually make driving EVs more enjoyable. Other carmakers should take note instead of programming 10 different driving modes.

That said, you can tweak the driving style, though it’s limited to a firmer steering feel and one-pedal operation. The latter’s brake regen is on the strong side and can lead to jerky deceleration in some instances.

Compensating for the weight of the batteries means the ride is compromised and a bit on the stiffer side. There isn't fondness for bumpy roads with some lack of composure, especially at the rear.

Annoyingly, and rather un-Volvo like, there’s no range readout on the digital instrument cluster. Instead, you’ll have to dig into the sub-menus of the infotainment system for it.

Range Anxiety

Apart from costing mega dollars, range anxiety is an EVs largest hurdle and manages to instil fear even in seasoned motoring journalists.

“You’re a brave man,” said my boss after sharing plans about a road trip to Ipoh in the C40.

This brings us to the underlying issue in combatting range anxiety and the solution requires a slight change in mindset from the driver’s perspective. After all, a little planning goes a long way.

Having left KL with 80 percent, adhering to highway speed limits saw us check into the hotel in Ipoh with 43 percent remaining having covered approximately 195 km. Of course, I chose a hotel that had a complimentary AC charger for guests (part of the planning).

That allowed for overnight charging, so range wouldn’t be an issue for the duration of the trip. In fact, there wasn’t a need to recharge for the 2 days there, only doing so the night before returning to KL.

Also Read: Review: 2022 Mercedes-Benz EQA 250 – The XC40 EV is objectively better, but not as likeable

Energy consumption averaged out to 21.1 kWh/100 km with a 60:40 split between highway and city driving. For comparisons sake, the Mercedes-Benz EQA did 22.2 kWh/100 km.

Conclusion

Unfortunately, it appears that resisting the aforementioned temptation in the opening line of this review was futile because apart from the looks, there’s no reason to get the C40 Recharge over XC40 Recharge.

If you’re going for a coupe-fied crossover from the German trio, you’re probably insecure and constantly need to remind people that you’re somewhat cool with that sloping roofline. In truth, you’re fooling nobody…just like Samy Vellu and his toupee.

However, Volvo has always managed to seamlessly blend practicality and coolness without coming across as trying too hard. You didn’t buy a Volvo to look cool, you got one because you already were cool.

The C40 doesn’t achieve that distinction.