My XC40 - 1 year on

All Volvo XC40 related discussions
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DaveSig2018
Posts: 54
Joined: Fri May 04, 2018 11:54 am

Post by DaveSig2018 »

Hey all

So I have now officially owned my XC40 for a year. As such I thought I'd write a quick post with a few thoughts for any current/new owners.

Inscription Trim

Not much to say other than I am very happy with the trim level chosen. Very nice mix of comfort and sophistication. Just don't try and take any country roads too quick with a non-sport suspension :)

Although i have not tried an XC40 with 19" as opposed to standard 18" tyres I don't regret not upgrading.
Over my 9700 + miles the ride comfort has been very good. Returned from a recent holiday (a 3 or 4 hour drive) and got out at the other end feeling absolutely fine.

T4 engine

Overall I'm happy with my engine choice. I do miss the 'get up and go' that my old car had, although they were two very different vehicles - that was a BMW 125i MSport.

That said, if you catch a sweet spot in the power band it does shift quite nicely.

Economy has been ok in my view (around 36.5mpg) with the trade off between fuel range and performance.

Gearbox

Never had any issues with the need to double shift to get to drive or reverse as some early reviewers mentioned.

I do get a a bit irritated with how lethargic shifts can be. Sometimes i feel the engine is over revving when it does not need to.
Certainly not a transmission to be rushed in my humble opinion.

Upgraded HK Sound


No complaints on this. Have enjoyed many miles with a cracking song playing. I am no audio expert but find the upgraded HK system very loud and of good quality.

Overall usability for my circumstances


For my personal circumstances (2 adults no kids) it has been ideal in size. Room for myself and my wife when heading for holidays, and a lovely flat load area with the rear seats down when needing to take a load of old carpet or furniture packing to the local tip.

I also find it very easy to still take advantage of various traffic gaps and (following may miles down narrow roads recently) easy to tuck into hedge rows etc avoiding oncoming vehicles.

Appreciate I am unlikely to win any awards for this write up however i just wanted to note a few thoughts. This year of ownership has gone by very quickly and although a couple of niggles during this time, all in all i have no regrets in buying this car.

So far, it has done everything that i needed/expected it to do.

If you have any questions etc please comment below.

All the best
On order (April 2018) XC40 Inscription / T4 / Denim Blue / now on the road as of 30th July 2018!! :D

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kirsty_s2k
Posts: 286
Joined: Mon May 14, 2018 9:01 pm
Location: North West, England

Post by kirsty_s2k »

I'm on 14mths of ownership now, and I agree with the above. Mine is the R-design FE, D4. I also find the gear selection a bit random a times, but I've done over 20,000 miles and they've been in comfort. I do miss being able to chuck the car about on little roads (had a focus before), but that's the compromise of getting the higher SUV style car :)
Ex Owner. Sold Feb 2020
First Edition - Bursting Blue on 19" - D4 AWD Auto
(My other car is a 2002 Honda S2000 in Silverstone)
Harley1940
Posts: 5
Joined: Wed Jul 31, 2019 9:19 am

Post by Harley1940 »

Have just ordered XC40 T4 inscription and after reading lots of negative reviews especially regarding fuel consumption I think your 1 year review has made me think I have made the right decision. Lots of people go on about poor mpg. But seems all makes of cars that run on petrol do no better. Stuart
Teeceee
Posts: 74
Joined: Fri Apr 06, 2018 9:19 am

Post by Teeceee »

D4 FE owner here, from last May.. so thats 14 months or so.

cars been great over the 11000 or so miles.

decent mid range pick up when needed, superb motorway cruiser and very good off road too...

only problem was oil level display needed recalibrating by the garage, but all good now.

Kirsty, what are you getting to the gallon, im still mid to low 30's... but certainly do no drive with economy in mind...
XC40 FE D4 ordered in White with 20's... might be lucky and have it in May
morrsn
Posts: 8
Joined: Mon Jan 14, 2019 7:13 pm

Post by morrsn »

Never had any issues with the need to double shift to get to drive or reverse as some early reviewers mentioned.
Agreed. Most reviewers whined hard about this. Never knew why. Two days in with the car and it was like second nature.
I do get a a bit irritated with how lethargic shifts can be. Sometimes i feel the engine is over revving when it does not need to.
Certainly not a transmission to be rushed in my humble opinion.
Yeah and manual shifting is super slow as well. Only way to fix it is by going into dynamic mode but then the programming is way too agressive for normal city driving.
Gre
Posts: 63
Joined: Thu Oct 18, 2018 4:49 am

Post by Gre »

Nice to have reviews after a year.
Had mine for 12 months as well. Have the D4 R design FE with polestar upgrade (worth every penny).
Car had been great apart from some glitches keeping going to the dealer every. Ow and then. Done until now 22,000km and had those issues.

Oil level measurement issues.
Driver’s Seatbelt pretension service required
Modem internet module changed
Rear brake pads change at 15,000 km (too early)
Passenger Electric seat stopped working.

I really do love the car but I’m getting worried about the reliability after all those issues in the first 12 months. Hope no issues arises in the near future.
D4 R design FE bright silver 20 wheels.
balmoral
Posts: 244
Joined: Thu Mar 29, 2018 6:13 pm
Location: Northumberland UK

Post by balmoral »

Had mine around 15 mnths and 11,000 miles. I always buy my cars outright and usually trade in after around 3 years (still reasonable trade in values, still in warranty, no major service items etc) or keep for 8 years plus ( until value has reduced close to zero and before major repair costs are incurred). Still haven't decided whether my XC40 is a keeper or a trade in soon.

Plus points:- No issues with faults/reliability (I'll regret saying that now!), good load-lugging capabilities, comfortable and relaxing to drive.

Minus points:- They're becoming dead common (I used to enjoy driving Volvos because they were good but largely ignored by others), still not sure that SUV is right for me, the odd creak is devoloping.

I suspect that the deciding factor might be how much technology develops over the next couple of years, beginning to wonder whether electric or at least hybrid might be a better choice for me in the future.
Inscription T5 Pine Grey Received 31/05/18
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kirsty_s2k
Posts: 286
Joined: Mon May 14, 2018 9:01 pm
Location: North West, England

Post by kirsty_s2k »

Teeceee wrote: Wed Jul 31, 2019 10:33 am Kirsty, what are you getting to the gallon, im still mid to low 30's... but certainly do no drive with economy in mind...
I'm around the 40 mark, but do tend to use the eco mode on motorway journeys longer than half an hour. i think it'd be worse if hubby didn't drive my car occasionally! I do a fair bit of non motorway driving but on quite roads, I'm sure that increases the range. It's so difficult to compare as the type of journey makes a huge difference.
I hadn't reset the trip pretty much for the first year and it was around 38, but since resetting in June it's sitting just above 40.
Ex Owner. Sold Feb 2020
First Edition - Bursting Blue on 19" - D4 AWD Auto
(My other car is a 2002 Honda S2000 in Silverstone)
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