Volvo XC40 teaser leaked, shows rear end of new SUV

A post shared by Marcel P. Kilz (@mkilz) on Jul 21, 2017 at 1:37am PDT

Leaked images surface all the time, but it’s pretty rare to see a teaser photo being leaked online. That seems to be the case here – a shadowy image of the upcoming Volvo XC40 was posted by Instagram user Marcel P Kilz, who said that it briefly appeared on Volvo’s German website before being taken down.

By the looks of it, the rear end is heavily inspired by the 40.1 concept shown last year, with boxy L-shaped tail lights, black plastic body cladding and what appears to be a blacked-out roof. Given that the 40.1 is quite a handsome-looking thing as a whole, this bodes well for the rest of the car.

We’ve already seen what the interior will look like, thanks to opportune spy photographers. It should be familiar to owners of larger 90 Series models, with a large portrait touchscreen, a digital instrument cluster and vertical air vents. Volvo has claimed, however, that the use of materials will be more adventurous this time around, with orange carpets and red upholstery being some of the examples given.

The XC40 will be the first car built on Volvo’s new Compact Modular Architecture (CMA), developed in conjunction with parent company Geely. Engine choices will include Volvo’s existing Drive-E 2.0 litre four-cylinder petrol and diesel mills, along with a new 1.5 litre three-cylinder petrol engine.

The latter will also be paired with an electric motor in the T5 Twin Engine plug-in hybrid model, with a total system output of around 250 PS and 400 Nm. A fully-electric version is set to follow in 2020 at the earliest, with an expected range of 350 km.

Volvo’s smallest XC model isn’t reaching the market until 2018, according to former R&D boss Peter Mertens; when it does, however, it’s expected to significantly boost the Swedish automaker’s sales volume, which is reliant on SUV sales. Set to rival the likes of the Mercedes-Benz GLA and the BMW X1, the XC40 is expected to retail at a starting price of €30,000 (RM149,600).

SPYSHOTS: Volvo XC40

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