MOBILITY
Volvo XC40 R-Design T-5 Reviewed by Maribelle Alba | Photos supplied by Volvo The Volvo XC40 is the Swedish marquee’s entry to the premium compact SUV category. It earned the prestigious European Car of the Year 2018 and Japan Car of the Year 2018-2019 awards when it was first launched. Let’s find out what makes this car a winner. DESIGN Street fashion was the inspiration for the Volvo XC40, designed to be tough and vibrant yet fresh and playful. The two-tone color scheme with the solid black roof top, roof rails, side mirrors, and skid plates complement the R-Design front grille and 19-inch black diamond cut alloy wheels for a striking visual impact that is muscular yet sleekly Scandinavian. It has a panoramic sunroof, for those who want to let in some sun and wind. The R-Design interior trim is similarly pleasing, with that level of attention to detail that marks this car as above the ordinary. The décor inlay is bold and different, towards which I initially had ambivalent feelings until familiarity turned into liking. I love the combination of leather and Nubuck upholstery on the seats as pure leather seats can
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turn uncomfortably warm and can be slippery so you’re always trying to slide back up to a more upright seating position. The driver seat can be programmed to remember settings including the exterior mirrors, so if you’re sharing the XC40 with another driver in the family, you can just press a button to quickly adjust the seat and mirrors to your ideal position.
wireless charging for your smartphone—neat! The rear cargo area can be accessed hands-free with its power tailgate. Inside, the spacious trunk space, with its foldable load floor with bag holder, can be configured so smaller bags or boxes don’t slide around.
Clearly, a lot of thought also went into the design and location of storage spaces. For instance, the door pockets are deep and large enough to accommodate my 12-inch iPad which, in other cars, I would usually slip into the space beside the front seat and the center console. The compartment under the front center armrest has room for a small bag. There’s also a smaller bin in front of the armrest for trash or other small items. Below the center display is a tunnel console with
The Volvo T5 engine mounted on this variant is a 2.0-liter turbo-charged gasoline engine mated to an 8-speed automatic transmission with geartronic. With an all-wheel drive powertrain, it is able to accelerate to 100kph in 6.5-seconds, thanks to a maximum output of 252hp and maximum torque of 350Nm.
EQUIPMENT
The R-Design’s sport chassis is tuned to have stiffer shock absorbers and springs. Additionally, drive
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