The facelifted 2023 Volvo XC40 is now on sale in Malaysia with two variants available – the B5 mild-hybrid and Recharge T5 plug-in hybrid. Both the B5 mild-hybrid and Recharge T5 plug-in hybrid are available in a single variant – Ultimate – and are priced similarly at RM268,888 on-the-road without insurance.
They’re locally-assembled in Shah Alam and are accompanied by a five-year unlimited mileage warranty. By comparison, prices have gone up as the pre-facelift non-PHEV XC40 was priced at RM249,888 (up RM20k), with the previous PHEV version at RM259,888 (up RM10k).
The XC40 B5 Ultimate mild-hybrid variant is powered by a 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine that produces 263 hp at 5,500 rpm and 390 Nm from 1,800 to 4,800 rpm. The engine is paired with an eight-speed Geartronic automatic transmission to drive all four wheels. The XC40 B5’s 0-100 km/h time is 6.4 seconds. The B5 mild-hybrid replaces the previous non Recharge T5 with 252 hp and 350 Nm, representing an 11 hp and 30 Nm increase in output from before.
The output figures on the XC40 B5 Ultimate are also slightly higher than the XC60 and XC90 B5 variants. The XC40 Recharge T5 Ultimate PHEV, on the other hand, is powered by a 1.5 litre three-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine paired with a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission (wet clutch). The powertrain produces 262 hp at 5,800 rpm and 425 Nm from 1,500 to 3,000 rpm to drive the front wheels, with a 0-100 km/h time of 7.3 seconds. These figures are unchanged from the pre-facelift models.
Volvo claims the Recharge T5 Ultimate’s fuel consumption to be 2.2L/100 km and with a 10.7 kWh lithium-ion battery, it can offer a pure electric driving range of up to 44 km. To accommodate the batteries, the Recharge T5 Ultimate gets a smaller 48-litre fuel tank compared to the 54-litre tank in the B5 mild-hybrid.
On the outside, the trim levels have changed from R-Design to Ultimate. Changes on the facelift XC40 lie mainly in the front section with triangular headlights, with the same treatment applied to the fog light surrounds. In case you didn’t notice, the headlight design is similar to the C40 crossover, although here on the XC40 they are the base LED reflector units – this may be due to the ongoing chip shortage.
Both the Recharge T5 Ultimate and B5 Ultimate variants are fitted with 19-inch wheels (albeit different designs) and wrapped in 235/50 R19 profile Michelin e.Primacy tyres. Both variants are fitted with a tyre pressure monitoring system while exterior colours include Fjord Blue, Black Stone, Crystal White, Thunder Grey and Silver Dawn. The facelift XC40 variants also seem to have ditched the dual-tone exterior with a black roof from before, as all appear to be single tone colours.
Onboard the XC40 B5 Ultimate and Recharge T5 Ultimate variants are mainly differentiated by the dashboard trim although both interiors are upholstered in suede textile and Microtech upholstery in Charcoal. Standard features in both variants include a dual-zone climate control system with Clean Zone interior air quality system with PM2.5 sensor, a nine-inch touchscreen, 14-speaker, 600-watt Harman Kardon sound system and Bluetooth connectivity.
Access to a range of Google services including Google Assistant, Google Maps and Google Play Store, along with Volvo Car App remote functions for four years, is also available. Other comfort and convenience features such as power-adjustable driver and front passenger seats, memory function for the driver seat and side mirror positions, four-way power adjustable lumbar support, 360-degree surround view camera, adaptive cruise control, and the Pilot Assist driver assist system.
Driver aids also come in the form of the City Safety pack. It offers collision avoidance and mitigation with intersection support, along with pedestrian, cyclist and large animal detection with steering and braking support.
Also standard are features such as front and rear collision warning and mitigation support, lane keeping assist, run-off road mitigation with road edge detection, blind spot information with steer assist, and cross-traffic alert with autonomous emergency braking. There is no shortage of airbags in both the B5 and T5 variants as they include dual-stage driver and front passenger airbags, driver’s knee airbags, dual-chamber side airbags, and full-length inflatable curtains.
GALLERY: Volvo XC40 Recharge T5 PHEV Ultimate
GALLERY: Volvo XC40 B5 mild-hybrid Ultimate
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Beautiful car. Well done Volvo. I hope Proton fanboys don’t say that it is bazir to buy this Volvo because they can buy the X70 at a cheaper price.
Dream on lah. X70 is a Geely car. If like that, Volvo will not be successful
Get the B5 anytime Volvo’s 2.0T
Cut the T5 crap literally X50 hybrid
The 2nd rows bench are just too straight, less comfortable SUV.
The back seats in Porsche Macan is equally uncomfortable.
Most of continental cars love straight back seats. Not comfortable but good for posture. I guess.
The circa-20k price increase doesn’t seem justified. If anything, I feel like this facelift makes second-hand pre-facelift XC40s (especially the T5 R-Design petrol version) a lot more attractive right now.
It does! Don’t forget ringgit is on long term diarrhea! Whatever specs Volvo gives, it’s a more complete package than the so called luxury brands from Germany.
hold on. we only get reflectors for headlamps now? quite a downgrade no? i understand that the c40 has the pixel headlamps as an option but are the standard headlamps on the xc40 now basic reflectors? at the very least the pre-facelift had active bending headlamps. can anyone clarify? quite a letdown if this is the case because active bending headlamps do help. i was really hoping we’d get the pixel headlamps (check youtube on how it works it’s pretty cool).
Can confirm that the pre facelift model came with active bending headlamps. I own one.
Volvo removed the pixel leds earlier this year due to “chip shortages” in certain regions. We see the same issue here in australia as well, along with a 5.5k price increase. Even the X/C40 EVs don’t come with them now. The pixel leds were meant to soften the blow of these prices, but yeah. These reflectors still have basic auto-highbeam and auto-leveling but none of the fancy trickery that we were promised.
From memory pre-facelift are also reflectors, but multi-beamed. Same as the larger Volvo’s where it’s multiple reflectors that handles the corners/bends etc.
Theoretically this car has a range > 2000km on a single tank of fuel. I don’t know how or why car manufacturers can get away with such ridiculous fuel consumption claims.
Don’t need to look so far. Just go see Perodua’s outrageous FC claim which cannot be had in real world.
Does it support air car play? Wireless ?
When is the cactus coming?
T5 on a Volvo always meant that that is the top dog version. The highest performance model in that range. The XC40 B5 handily outperformed the T5. I wonder if that will be followed by the other range.
XC40 is the best looking among all the Volvo and definitely in the top 3 for compact SUV.
For the same price range, we have 320i, X1, Toyota Harrier and C Class. Different class but within the same budget. On paper Volvo beats all of them
I have my finanl loan installment on my 320i next month, and Finance cum home minister is asking me stop buying car for at least another 1 year. I hope by then, Harrier Hybrid will be here.