YES, it feels way too good drive a car with best performance in its segment.
The Volvo C40 Recharge, is something else, particularly when coming to saving energy as an EV.
My last experience with EV is something NOT worth mentioning; but what a rude awakening…
Enter the C40, Swedish made brand that has a massive followership preceding one of my favourite band ABBA (my colleague did a book review on the group recently).
Taking a drive to my village in the NW Province, the looks and electricity were on the minds of every community member I came across, such as “how long must it charge to be full, won’t it have impact on your electricity bill and if you happen to drive to another place without electricity or specific charging point, what’s now?”
Yes, Volvo I had to explain all that, to such an extent advising them to Google some of their concerns.
The sleek modern theme comes with a low-sloping roof, large 20-inch five-spoke black diamond-cut alloy rims, and a stunning set of tail lamps that run parallel to the large rear window before curving around and back into the boot lid.
The interior as a crossover is the brand’s first to provide an entirely leather-free upholstery, though you wouldn’t know it at a glance, as the seats are a combination of suede and a sustainable Microtech textile where the latter does a decent job of replicating the look and feel of leather.
The seats themselves are rather firm but still comfortable, and you have electronic adjustability with a memory function and lumbar support, which was a big help in finding my ideal driving position.
Loved the patterned effect on the doors and passenger-side dashboard, which adds an appreciated layer of detail to an otherwise minimalist interior, and lights up at night to provide ambient cabin lighting, especially in areas where its dark.
It may not be spacious in terms of design (not that I’m tall) but the multicoloured wires for the electric front seats being easily visible from the back, or being able to see behind the glove box when it is opened, is cool.
The C40 is equipped with incorporating dual-zone climate control with rear vents, a Harman Kardon stereo, heated seats for both the front and back, and all the assistance items you’d expect from such a car, including blind-spot monitors in the side mirrors, lane-keep assist, and adaptive cruise control with an adjustable following distance.
The digital driver display shows your car’s battery level and range, and indicates when it is switching from using charge to replenish the cell with the regenerative brakes, and it can also show the navigation which frees up the infotainment screen for other tasks.
Before my trip, I made sure the battery level was full until Potchefstroom, of which for the very first time my sister, did not lodge any complaint. Shocked, because was it the shoppers who were interested in the car during recharge as they took snaps or…
After replenishing up to 90percent, it gave me enough battery to conserve until Sannieshof, thereafter I made sure I did not accelerate above 100km/h. You conserve the battery, and calculating your distance, thanks to monitor that shows your recharging points, it took me straight to Ganalaagte, which is 35km from Sannies.
Going at the car’s performance, it can rocket from 0-100km/h in just 4.7 seconds. It is too fast…
The cables in the front boot, was as simple as plugging the charger into the socket and swiping a card, whereupon the dash informed me that it would take an hour to reach 100%.
On the C40 you have 330kW power and 660Nm torque to work with. It boast 2 x Electric motors, High Voltage battery.
It has fair boot of 489 litres with a flat floor that makes it easy to slide things in and out, and this floor can be folded to create partitions for more organized storage.
There’s also a small 31-litre “frunk” under the bonnet which is a good spot to store your backup charging cables.
Naturally, the Volvo is near-silent aside from the subdued hum of the motors and the ride quality is exceptional with the usual bumps on my commute not registering at all. The lower centre of gravity from the battery also helps it feel very stable at high speeds.
Upon arrival at home, it was on the charge and the following day, it took us to Mahikeng (45km) with an average of 70percent battery, and back. Yes, Mahikeng is supposed to be a sitting of Parliament of NW; but services for permanent charging points are non-existence. That ‘capital city’ really need a wake-up call, struu!
Was test driving what is called ‘Fjord Blue’ colour.
Recharge care package includes Volvo on Call for 5 years, Charging Cable for public charging stations and Home charging wallbox.
It also uses Google for infotainment system.
Retail price: R1,324,000.00 including 15% VAT
5-year / 100,000 km vehicle warranty & 8-year 160,000 km battery warranty
5-year / 100,000 km full maintenance plan
Verdict
Performance -1-10 (8)
Electricity 1-10 (7)
Image (The Volvo C40 Recharge Twin on an open road in NW).
