FIRST DRIVE: 2018 Volvo XC40 T5 AWD R-Design

The all-new, first ever Volvo XC40 represents Volvo’s most ambitious attempt at wooing the younger crowd. It’s designed to look hip from the outside, built to impress on the inside, and engineered to put smiles on the faces of those behind the wheel. It’s racking up awards too, first the 2018 European Car of the Year in March, and more recently it was named the 2018 Japan Car of the Year.

To recap, the XC40 sits on the new Compact Modular Architecture (CMA), a new unibody platform that was jointly developed by Geely and Volvo since 2013. It measures 4,425 mm long, 1,863 mm wide and 1,655 mm tall, with a wheelbase of 2,702 mm, making it one of the largest vehicles in its segment.

Powering this 1,704 kg SUV is a 2.0 litre turbocharged four-cylinder Drive-E engine with 252 hp and 350 Nm of torque from 1,800 to 4,800 rpm. Drive is sent to all four wheels through an eight-speed automatic transmission (with shift paddles), and that’s good for a 0-100 km/h sprint in 6.4 seconds and a top speed of 230 km/h. Claimed combined fuel consumption is 7.7 litres per 100 km (13 km/l) in the European cycle.

Find out how it drives, rides and handles in the video above. As usual, share with us your thoughts in the comments section below. Enjoy!

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Matthew H Tong

An ardent believer that fun cars need not be fast and fast cars may not always be fun. Matt advocates the purity and simplicity of manually swapping cogs while coping in silence of its impending doom. Matt's not hot. Never hot.

 

Comments

  • Matt, looks like you didn’t sleep for a week.. :) but nice presentation..

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 1
  • V*l*a X40 on Dec 14, 2018 at 10:48 am

    Very good and objective review! I personally test drove the XC40 and couldn’t find any fault with it. Acceleration beats the X1, X2, Countryman and GLA anytime. Safety features like AEB, active cruise control, pilot assist, Lane Keeping are top notch. Shame on you Mercedes, Audi and BMW Malaysia for not bringing in this features on their competing models. The only niggle i found with it is the felt in the door trim. It feels like the same texture of what you have under your floor mats. At least it wasn’t in orange colour like in other markets like Singapore.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 11 Thumb down 1
    • Matthew H Tong (Member) on Dec 14, 2018 at 4:21 pm

      Orange carpets would’ve been cool (Hafriz would agree), but it probably won’t do well here hahah. Thanks for the kind words!

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 0
  • lilytan on Dec 14, 2018 at 10:59 am

    At 1,704kg… Heavier than X70, more pricey Rm150k yet same2 specs without sunroof.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 5 Thumb down 8
    • X70 stablemate wud be XC60 thou….

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 3
    • John 2 on Dec 15, 2018 at 3:15 pm

      This is luxury car so it should be havier.And where can compare normal mid size SUV with a luxury car

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 4 Thumb down 0
  • VolvoCar, Geely, P1, Mesidis, VolvoTrucks, Lotus > all

    This is Jepunis COTY & EU COTY. Lolz!

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 7 Thumb down 1
  • lilytan on Dec 14, 2018 at 11:02 am

    X70 test drive and shootout please.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0
  • maverick on Dec 15, 2018 at 7:18 pm

    fugly dashboard

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 9
    • If this is ugly dashboard then 99% of other new car dashboards in Malaysia are even more horrible to look at then.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
    • If this is ugly, I can’t imagine how your face look like

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0
 

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