Volvo XC40 Recharge

[silverelan]

I've cancelled My Mustang order......Am going with the XC40 recharge.....Far more power for the same cost......Also, Better ground clearance, Better approach/departure angles and it's a Volvo....Probable better built than Ford.....Paul

The XC40 Recharge isn't a bad option. It is a good looking compact SUV with great performance specs, especially relative to the Mustang Mach-E Premium AWD SR. I was impressed by what I saw in Volvo's walk-around video.

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[symos]

No, it's not. The WLTP projected range is 249miles, which is quite close to the MME SR AWD. However, the Volvo is much more powerful.

If I had to choose between MME's range and Volvo's power, I'd definitely choose the latter.

Now, if you compare it with the ER MME, obviously it's lacking in range. But I don't know why you would. The ER is more expensive and still less powerful. Not exactly a no brainier.

 

[silverelan]

400km WLTP is the target range which works out to 250mi. This is about on par with the Premium AWD SR or GT.

 

[mamejunkie]

Good to have options. More the better. While the interior of the Volvo is nice, the exterior just doesn't do it for me. The Mach-E gets me excited while this is just ... blah.

 

[pbojanoski]

Good to have options. More the better. While the interior of the Volvo is nice, the exterior just doesn't do it for me. The Mach-E gets me excited while this is just ... blah.

I agree which is why I believe that Ford almost had no choice, but to make this car a Mustang. Just another car with a "blah" response from the public, even with good specs like the Volvo, would most likely have sunk Ford on this car. Kudos to Ford for going "all in".

 

[abr]

Good to have options. More the better. While the interior of the Volvo is nice, the exterior just doesn't do it for me. The Mach-E gets me excited while this is just ... blah.

I definitely agree about styling and looks - while this is subjective, I believe the MME is worlds ahead. Size of the XC40 is also a bit smaller than the MME, both exterior and interior, and seems to be set up more as an SUV than Crossover with a much greater ground clearance.

 

[dbsb3233]

I agree which is why I believe that Ford almost had no choice, but to make this car a Mustang. Just another car with a "blah" response from the public, even with good specs like the Volvo, would most likely have sunk Ford on this car. Kudos to Ford for going "all in".

Fords are mostly aimed at the North America market, with others secondary. Volvo is mostly aimed at the Europeran market, with others secondary. For Ford to make a splash with the MME, I agree that they needed to go with something like the Mustang. The US (and for that matter, the entire Western Hemisphere) isn't as willing to jump into BEVs yet as Europe and China. Thus needed a more exciting BEV to get excited about.

 

[dbsb3233]

I definitely agree and styling and looks - while this is subjective, I believe the MME is worlds ahead. Size of the XC40 is also a bit smaller than the MME, both exterior and interior, and seems to be set up more as an SUV than Crossover with a much greater ground clearance.

Looking at the XC40 online, I liked it (I prefer a boxier SUV-like back end rather than a curved hatch).

But I was on the highway the other day and looked at one driving next to us, and it did look pretty plain and unappealing from the outside. I was disappointed when I saw it. (Probably would have been a little better if it wasn't a drab gray though.)

Still anxious to see an EPA range rating, and some real-world experiences when it comes out. I also wanna see the difference in driver seating height between it and the MME. The taller the better.

 

[symos]

Fords are mostly aimed at the North America market, with others secondary. Volvo is mostly aimed at the Europeran market, with others secondary.

That's not accurate though, at least not for Ford. Ford is a major brand in most European markets with a large market share. It's not a "secondary" brand by any stretch.

In fact, Europe is so important for Ford that a lot of cars sold here are actually designed and made for Europe and not even available in the US. This has been true for decades.

For me, the reason Ford had to make a splash with the MME doesn't have to do with EU vs US, but with EVs. EVs are still more expensive than ICEs and have the range issue as well. So, in order to make a "proper" EV and not just a compliance car which you'll be selling at a huge loss, you need to get people to love it.

Take the XC40, for example. On paper, it could be better than the MME on a whole lot of levels. Would I ever buy it? No. It's just not exciting enough for me to make me spend 60K on it.

 

[dbsb3233]

I'll partially concede that point. I decided to look it up, and it's true that Canada and Mexico are lower on the list for Ford sales than I expected (#5 and #9). But at the same time, the US is magnitudes higher than any other country. UK and Germany are the only 2 EU countries that crack Ford's top-12 for sales.

https://www.statista.com/statistics...7/vehicle-sales-of-ford-in-leading-countries/

Totally agree about it being a BEV though. That was my point too (just more implied) - that for Ford to make a BEV that would make a splash (especially in the US), it needed to be more special. BEVs already sell better in the EU, so that wasn't as hard of a sell there. But in the US it needed to be something more special to keep it from just being another Bolt or Leaf met with a yawn by US consumers.

 

[Ken7]

The only fail for me is the range. If it comes in at an approximate 200-220 mile EPA range, that's a no-go for me. Otherwise I really like what they did with this vehicle.

We were in Tampa a few months ago and rented a Volvo S60 and really liked it. One thing about Volvo pricing, they seem to upcharge for almost anything. So that $55,000 starting price is just that, a bare minimum starting price...if it follows Volvo's typical pricing schemes.

 

[HopefulAl]

I agree, but you may be too optimistic. Assuming a driver has "range anxiety", then they are going to have to plan on stopping and/or charging when they get down to 30 or 40 miles left on the battery. This needs to be subtracted from the battery range. (I had one of these on order because I like Volvos, but cancelled it in favor of a Mach-E LR.)

 

[dbsb3233]

I agree, but you may be too optimistic. Assuming a driver has "range anxiety", then they are going to have to plan on stopping and/or charging when they get down to 30 or 40 miles left on the battery. This needs to be subtracted from the battery range. (I had one of these on order because I like Volvos, but cancelled it in favor of a Mach-E LR.)

Agreed that everyone wants a safety buffer on the bottom end. And that practical range limit will further erode the market for the XC40. But there's still significant potential market for a BEV relegated to an "around-home" vehicle, particularly if one has more than one vehicle (ICE) in the household. Especially for typical daily work commutes.

That's why it would be a perfectly acceptable choice for me. We have an Escape in our garage too. And rarely drive more than 50 miles in a day. So for 95% or our drives, the XC40 Recharge would be perfectly fine. Same reason that if we do buy a Mach-e, we'll just save the $5000 and get the SR battery (similar range as the XC40).

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