We had a chance to experience one of Volvo’s three all-electric compact crossovers and see what the brand brings to the growing luxury battery-electric vehicle (BEV) segment.
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Volvo has been aggressively working to electrify its fleet for many years now. So much so that by our count, Volvo now offers the largest lineup of compact BEV crossovers of any brand. The entry-level and smallest EX30 starts at $46K (not the $35K the media fibbed about). Then there is the EX40, which has a more SUV-like shape, starting around $54K. Finally, the C40 that we tried out is a sort of four-door hatchback/fastback. It starts at $55K, but ours priced out using the 2025 Build Tool at just over $60K.
These three all seem well-suited to any European city, perhaps some U.S. cities, maybe some affluent suburbs, and who knows, maybe even Anywhere, USA. It’s surprising to us (and to some others) that Volvo has built so many similar vehicles, particularly since they are all battery-electric. Let’s dig into the one we tested for some insights as to what Volvo offers in the $60K small crossover segment.
Before we begin, let us tell you that we looked back at our recent Volvo vehicle reviews and found that they are like love letters to the brand. Your author is a fan of all of them. As you read this review, keep in mind that it is written by a fan of the brand. Here’s a quick list in case you want to check out some other Volvos:
Volvo XC60 Recharge AWD Ultimate Black Edition- Close to Perfect
Volvo V60 Cross Country B5 Review - That Special Something
Volvo XC90 B6 AWD Is the Ultimate SUV
Volvo XC60 T8 Inscription Plug-in Hybrid - A Better Tesla Model Y Alternative
Volvo V60 T5 AWD Cross Country Makes A Strong First Impression
Volvo XC90 - That Aha! Volvo Moment When You Finally Get It
Review Volvo 2025 C40 Recharge Single Motor Ultimate Extended Range (RWD) - What Is It?
The C40 is a five-door hatchback with a raised seating position. Call it a crossover if you like. SUV is wrong, because there is not much utility (compared to other Volvos) and not much sport (it's more of a daily driver than an adventure vehicle). “Recharge Single Motor” means it’s a battery-electric vehicle. Extended range means it has the model’s best range (an indicated 230 miles at 100% SOC in our testing). RWD means that this $60K vehicle is two-wheel drive, and the real wheels push it along. Ultimate means top trim. Heated steering wheel, big glass roof, and all that jazz.
The C40 we tested was imported from Belgium. Why Belgium? We have no idea, but it’s not inside the U.S., so any possible federal tax incentives are off the table. We’d suspect they off the table are anyway for this vehicle’s demographic due to the incentive’s income limits.
Review Volvo 2025 C40 Recharge Single Motor Ultimate Extended Range (RWD) - What’s The Cost Again?
Our tester was a 2024, and we didn’t see any notable changes for 2025, so we used the build tool to find the cost. $60,095. In 2024, the price was $59,995. Our prices always include Destination Charges, but you need to add in dealer Doc Fees. As always, our advice is to never buy a battery-electric vehicle, but to lease. That’s where the deals are.
Review Volvo 2025 C40 Recharge Single Motor Ultimate Extended Range (RWD) - How’s It Drive?
The C40 is a smooth operator. It doesn’t have insane torque or HP numbers like many BEVs. It is peppy but not quick or fast. In this price range, you can almost get a top-tier Genesis GV60, so in that context, the C40 is rather “sedate,” let’s call it. There was no Sport mode that we could locate, only Normal and Off-Road. Wait, “off-road” with 2WD and low-profile touring tires?
The C40 also does not have paddle shifters to adjust regen power, which was a bummer, because that would be fun with an RWD powertrain, sort of like downshifting a manual transmission car. We did see the menus in the settings to allow for one-pedal braking, but no adjustment on the fly. You can even get adjustable regen in a hybrid-electric vehicle like the Civic now, so it was a big miss, in our opinion.
The suspension was stiffer than average, and the large-diameter, low-profile tires with a 42 PSI recommended inflation value may have contributed to this.
Review Volvo 2025 C40 Recharge Single Motor Ultimate Extended Range (RWD) - Notable Features
We like cloth seats, and this $60K vehicle offers them as standard. Actual leather is now verboten in most EVs, but we dislike most fake leather, so cloth was truly welcome. Super cozy with powerful seat heaters powerful enough to roast your chestnuts.
Another notable feature was the smart key. You don’t use a start/stop button to enable driving. You just walk up, and it’s on, or walk away, and it’s off.
We usually charge at home, and our cost per kWh is $.32. That makes battery-only electrics the priciest option and much more expensive than hybrid-electric vehicles. With its 11kW charge rate on level 2 charging, we maxed out our Emporia charger and found the C40 to be one of the quicker L2 chargers we’ve tested recently. This was a big plus.
We also planned to use DC charging to check out the battery preconditioning of the C40. However, the Google Built-In could not see our local ChargePoint DC charger (now in service for over a year). So, we could not precondition the C40 before DC charging. We tried to find a manual precondition setting, but none was offered. We even resorted to the manual (gasp!), but it was not mentioned. The C40 we tested had a CCS charging port, not the new NACS that most manufacturers have now adopted.
We charged from 75% SOC to 90% SOC in 20 minutes. Our plan was to top off the battery to 100% for the next media tester, but it would have taken about 50 more minutes to add that last 10%.
As we often say, “DC charging is not fast.” It’s also crazy expensive. It cost us $7.38 to add back just 40 miles of range. There are zero muscle cars that cost that much to fuel per mile. Gas in our area is $2.75 right now. As always, don’t follow our lead and do something crazy like try to fill up an EV at a public charger. Charge at home to save money. If you don't have a home charger, don’t buy a BEV. It’s just not practical.
When our C40 tester was charged to 100% SOC, it showed a 230-mile total estimated range in 49F to 65F temps. That was well below the EPA-estimated 297 miles of range that the Monroney sticker promised. We charged to full three times, and the estimated range displayed was 220 miles, 230 miles, and 230 miles. We triple-checked that the car was set to allow for 100% SOC charging and not limited to a lower SOC. Where were the missing 60 miles of promised range?
Missing features included a spare tire. Also, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto require plugging in with a cable. That’s almost unheard of in 2025 model-year cars today. For example, the $22K Hyundai Venue has wireless phone integration. Odd. The biggest miss at this price point is all-wheel drive.
Review Volvo 2025 C40 Recharge Single Motor Ultimate Extended Range (RWD) - What Else Can I Get for $60K That Might Be Considered an Alternative Choice?
With the Hyundai Ionic 5 and even the Genesis G60 being so close in price, there are some truly great EV models from which to choose at around $60K. Below $60K are some very good other models with a BEV powertrain. The hardest sell for us would be the comparison to the outstanding Volvo V60 Cross Country Ultra AWD hybrid-electric vehicle. Its price is $57K.
Review Volvo 2025 C40 Recharge Single Motor Ultimate Extended Range (RWD) - Our Conclusion
The C40 has all of the great attributes we find in Volvos. Its interior is Scandinavian-inspired. The ride quality is very good but a little stiff for New England’s bumpy, broken up roads. The overall driving experience is also good. If you are a Volvo fan, like we are, and you have decided that you want a rear-wheel drive compact battery-electric vehicle in the $60K price range, the C40 is well worth checking out.
John Goreham is a credentialed New England Motor Press Association member and expert vehicle tester. John completed an engineering program with a focus on electric vehicles, followed by two decades of work in high-tech, biopharma, and the automotive supply chain before becoming a news contributor. He is a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE int). In addition to his eleven years of work at Torque News, John has published thousands of articles and reviews at American news outlets. He is known for offering unfiltered opinions on vehicle topics. You can connect with John on Linkedin and follow his work on his personal X channel or on our X channel. Please note that stories carrying John's by-line are never AI-generated, but he does employ grammar and punctuation software when proofreading and he also uses image generation tools.
Images of Volvo C40 Recharge by John Goreham. Image of Volvo BEV crossovers courtesy of Volvo pubic page.
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