Volvo XC40 review

There are three trim levels of XC40 available: Core, Plus and Ultimate. Core is only available from £35,895 with the lesser-powered B3 petrol. The other two trims are available with both B3 and B4 petrols, Plus starting at £39,445 and the Ultimate B4 model topping out at £45,520. 

Volvo has a subscription service that costs £825 a month for 10,000 miles a year in the XC40 B3 Plus. Its only virtue seems to be an annual tyre check and service, plus you can get another car after three months... the same car over 36 months on Volvo’s PCP scheme with a £5,000 deposit would cost you £518 a month. 

What are the specs like?

The Core cars come well equipped as standard, with 18in wheels, cruise control, keyless go, auto LED headlights, 12.3in digital instrument panel, heated front seats and rear parking sensors.

Plus gets you keyless entry, heated windscreen, steering wheel and outer rear seats, handsfree tailgate opening and front parking sensors. Ultimate does what it says on the tin with fancy sound system, adaptive cruise control, 19in wheels and panoramic glass sunroof.

Which one should I go for?

If you’re looking at an XC40 and you’re a company car driver we’d suggest swerving the combustion range entirely and looking towards the virtues of the XC40 Recharge. The range is decent and you get all the goodness of the standard car. It’s expensive if you’re buying with your own money though.

The mid-range B3 Plus model is probably the sweet spot – the sunroof and sound system on the Ultimate are great, but probably not worth tipping over into the £390 VED penalty bracket for cars that cost over £40k.