[JWG]

When I move on from a car, I always do an exit interview, just like a job.

What I liked about my C40:

-The HK sound system was good.

-The seats...like Eames in a car!

-The Google NAV and voice commands are EXCELLENT. They'll ruin most non-Google based cars for you in this regard.

-The range/charge estimation was bang-on! Very good! It didn't account for weather though, and it could surprise you if you drive through a temperature drop.

-The interior felt very solid and well-made. It was simple, but elegant.

-The paint and glass took some real rock strikes. Never had a car hold up so well in that regard! Flawless!

-The power was very immediate, and the AWD system was tops. Very good performance in all weather conditions.

-The looks. The car just looked NICE. Upscale. Good lines.

-The headlights---Very good! I didn't have Matrix, but they were GOOD headlights!

The bad:

-Ride quality was poor. The suspension was overstrung and underdamped. It's like someone at Volvo drove a BMW and said "A-HAH! Make her STIFF!" and did literally nothing else.

-Efficiency is abysmal. Easily the least efficient EV out there, I bet. I have been driving my EV6 GT (576hp) on the same routes in SPORT+ (full power) MyDrive, and it's more efficient than my C40 was by a noticeable margin.

-The charging is mediocre. I saw 155kwh as a max. This is better than some, but it's last-generation. 800V architecture is current expectation.

-The build quality was poor in regard to the small bits. The rear triangle trim pieces always caught when the rear doors were opened. There were obviously wires or something whacking around behind panels in the dash/doors. Very "Tesla" in that regard. The panel alignment was good, but it fell apart "behind the scenes", so to speak.

-The NVH was abysmal at this price point. My RAV4 Prime was FAR better, here. The front NOR rear windows were laminated, and the motors created more vibration through the floorboard and steering wheel than my cammed up 5.0 1980's Mustang did when you hit their resonance nodes. Yes. They had resonance nodes at both vehicle speed AND acceleration percentage/throttle position. This is quite possibly the worst execution of "EV" that I've ever read of, regarding NVH. The Nissan LEAF I was loaned in 2012 was far better (except for wind noise, it had that). Renting a Silverado for thanksgiving from UHAUL was a blessed reprieve from this buzzbomb.

-Value tanked. 1/5 stars, here. Everything is down in value, but the C40 took a HARD it. I am very glad I got the tax credit.

The Intangible:

-The Volvo was very good with CS, but very ignorant about the car. One dealer selling them offered me free life changes (per manager offering). Another dealer told me it did not have a 12v battery and only a propulsion battery and there was no way to "jump" it as if it died, it needed charging via the port.

-People think of Volvo as luxury. I had a doctor as well as a business owner go out of their way to look at and compliment the car. They perceived it as high-end/quality/luxury goods.

-20k Mile service intervals are some of the longest in the industry. That said, you cannot rotate tires. However, mine managed to wear very evenly, within <1/32 of each other all around at 12K miles, which was 5 and 6/32 of the Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4's I placed on it shortly after buying it.

The weird and truly absurd:

It's a 402hp SUV capable of running 12's in the quarter with a 112mph top speed.

The dangerous:

-The emergency braking almost caused an accident on numerous occasions. There is no way to shut it off. When you are approaching a side street and are turning, and vehicles are pulling to the stop sign to exit the street, it sometimes would randomly slam on the brakes thinking a collision was immanent. This could get you rear-ended. Also, when exiting the highway via off-ramp, if cars on the street you are exiting to are waiting at a traffic light facing the exit vector of the off-ramp, the system would sometimes slam on the brakes mid-corner as you are exiting the off-ramp. This could cause rear-ending as well as upset the balance of the car. It's a dangerous system that caused me a lot of concern on multiple occasions. It would not surprise me if NHTSA gets involved in this at some point.


TL/DR:

A very sexy EV CUV but overpriced for the features and quality presented, with extremely variable ownership experience related to poor QA/QC and an ignorant parent company incapable of resolving persistent powertrain issues, who would kick back "Characteristic of the car" to dealers seeking further resolution. Also some safety issues. Hard pass, Volvo has moved on from what they once were, and their customer base likely will, too, in time, as they fail to innovate and lose the young ones to Kia/BMW/MB/Mazda, and the old ones die off. I can best sum the C40 up as "Someone from Volvo heard sporty EV's were a thing", so they cobbled something together and figured their customers were folks who have blind brand loyalty and won't actually drive any of the competition, so why bother polishing the product, it's a Volvo, and they'll buy it and LIKE IT! A lot of this stuff is something you may or may not notice on a test drive, but after living with the car for half a year, you'll kindof nod and say "Yeah...yeah. I'm going to check out such and such..."

 

[mikejones100]

When I move on from a car, I always do an exit interview, just like a job.

What I liked about my C40:

-The HK sound system was good.

-The seats...like Eames in a car!

-The Google NAV and voice commands are EXCELLENT. They'll ruin most non-Google based cars for you in this regard.

-The range/charge estimation was bang-on! Very good! It didn't account for weather though, and it could surprise you if you drive through a temperature drop.

-The interior felt very solid and well-made. It was simple, but elegant.

-The paint and glass took some real rock strikes. Never had a car hold up so well in that regard! Flawless!

-The power was very immediate, and the AWD system was tops. Very good performance in all weather conditions.

-The looks. The car just looked NICE. Upscale. Good lines.

-The headlights---Very good! I didn't have Matrix, but they were GOOD headlights!

The bad:

-Ride quality was poor. The suspension was overstrung and underdamped. It's like someone at Volvo drove a BMW and said "A-HAH! Make her STIFF!" and did literally nothing else.

-Efficiency is abysmal. Easily the least efficient EV out there, I bet. I have been driving my EV6 GT (576hp) on the same routes in SPORT+ (full power) MyDrive, and it's more efficient than my C40 was by a noticeable margin.

-The charging is mediocre. I saw 155kwh as a max. This is better than some, but it's last-generation. 800V architecture is current expectation.

-The build quality was poor in regard to the small bits. The rear triangle trim pieces always caught when the rear doors were opened. There were obviously wires or something whacking around behind panels in the dash/doors. Very "Tesla" in that regard. The panel alignment was good, but it fell apart "behind the scenes", so to speak.

-The NVH was abysmal at this price point. My RAV4 Prime was FAR better, here. The front NOR rear windows were laminated, and the motors created more vibration through the floorboard and steering wheel than my cammed up 5.0 1980's Mustang did when you hit their resonance nodes. Yes. They had resonance nodes at both vehicle speed AND acceleration percentage/throttle position. This is quite possibly the worst execution of "EV" that I've ever read of, regarding NVH. The Nissan LEAF I was loaned in 2012 was far better (except for wind noise, it had that). Renting a Silverado for thanksgiving from UHAUL was a blessed reprieve from this buzzbomb.

-Value tanked. 1/5 stars, here. Everything is down in value, but the C40 took a HARD it. I am very glad I got the tax credit.

The Intangible:

-The Volvo was very good with CS, but very ignorant about the car. One dealer selling them offered me free life changes (per manager offering). Another dealer told me it did not have a 12v battery and only a propulsion battery and there was no way to "jump" it as if it died, it needed charging via the port.

-People think of Volvo as luxury. I had a doctor as well as a business owner go out of their way to look at and compliment the car. They perceived it as high-end/quality/luxury goods.

-20k Mile service intervals are some of the longest in the industry. That said, you cannot rotate tires. However, mine managed to wear very evenly, within <1/32 of each other all around at 12K miles, which was 5 and 6/32 of the Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4's I placed on it shortly after buying it.

The weird and truly absurd:

It's a 402hp SUV capable of running 12's in the quarter with a 112mph top speed.

The dangerous:

-The emergency braking almost caused an accident on numerous occasions. There is no way to shut it off. When you are approaching a side street and are turning, and vehicles are pulling to the stop sign to exit the street, it sometimes would randomly slam on the brakes thinking a collision was immanent. This could get you rear-ended. Also, when exiting the highway via off-ramp, if cars on the street you are exiting to are waiting at a traffic light facing the exit vector of the off-ramp, the system would sometimes slam on the brakes mid-corner as you are exiting the off-ramp. This could cause rear-ending as well as upset the balance of the car. It's a dangerous system that caused me a lot of concern on multiple occasions. It would not surprise me if NHTSA gets involved in this at some point.


TL/DR:

A very sexy EV CUV but overpriced for the features and quality presented, with extremely variable ownership experience related to poor QA/QC and an ignorant parent company incapable of resolving persistent powertrain issues, who would kick back "Characteristic of the car" to dealers seeking further resolution. Also some safety issues. Hard pass, Volvo has moved on from what they once were, and their customer base likely will, too, in time, as they fail to innovate and lose the young ones to Kia/BMW/MB/Mazda, and the old ones die off. I can best sum the C40 up as "Someone from Volvo heard sporty EV's were a thing", so they cobbled something together and figured their customers were folks who have blind brand loyalty and won't actually drive any of the competition, so why bother polishing the product, it's a Volvo, and they'll buy it and LIKE IT! A lot of this stuff is something you may or may not notice on a test drive, but after living with the car for half a year, you'll kindof nod and say "Yeah...yeah. I'm going to check out such and such..."

Well you're going out with a bang! Pretty fair review in my eyes. Hope you stick around for awhile. Even if only to rub our noses in how top notch your EV6 is.

I think your issue with the vibrations must be isolated to a small number of the C40s out there, because I don't notice anything of the sort on mine.

Interesting point about the emergency braking. I have had it happen to me twice but at extremely low speeds. Once backing out of a parking space and another time rolling up to my driveway when another car passed me. Both times under 5 MPH, quite the jolt, couldn't imagine what that would feel like at higher speeds, but haven't heard of any incidences (knock on wood).

Agree there are some so so/average aspects of the C40. Though relative to the competition, as a whole, it is competitive and very much has its strengths. I think Volvo has a bright future with its customer base transitioning from loyalists to new converts.

 

[BigVikC40Dadda]

Well you're going out with a bang! Pretty fair review in my eyes. Hope you stick around for awhile. Even if only to rub our noses in how top notch your EV6 is.

I think your issue with the vibrations must be isolated to a small number of the C40s out there, because I don't notice anything of the sort on mine.

Interesting point about the emergency braking. I have had it happen to me twice but at extremely low speeds. Once backing out of a parking space and another time rolling up to my driveway when another car passed me. Both times under 5 MPH, quite the jolt, couldn't imagine what that would feel like at higher speeds, but haven't heard of any incidences (knock on wood).

Agree there are some so so/average aspects of the C40. Though relative to the competition, as a whole, it is competitive and very much has its strengths. I think Volvo has a bright future with its customer base transitioning from loyalists to new converts.

The braking jolt happened to me thrice I believe, but at less than 5MPH...once backing out of a parking lot @ the movies (clowns running behind my car - very typical scene). It was so immediate that I thought I had actually hit a car

 

[JWG]

The braking jolt happened to me thrice I believe, but at less than 5MPH...once backing out of a parking lot @ the movies (clowns running behind my car - very typical scene). It was so immediate that I thought I had actually hit a car

I've had it happen at 40mph, mid corner. I had my foot on the accelerator and was able to power through it immediately. Had I not, maybe it would have upset the car, maybe not. You still would have cracked your teeth into the bottle if you were sippling on something in the passenger seat, though. That off-ramp is where it happened. I will post a diagram with satellite footage. It has also done it turning into side roads at 10-15mph. In short, it's a horrible feature, I hated it before I even got the car, and my experiences proved me right. It's BAD.

 

[BigVikC40Dadda]

When I move on from a car, I always do an exit interview, just like a job.

What I liked about my C40:

-The HK sound system was good.

-The seats...like Eames in a car!

-The Google NAV and voice commands are EXCELLENT. They'll ruin most non-Google based cars for you in this regard.

-The range/charge estimation was bang-on! Very good! It didn't account for weather though, and it could surprise you if you drive through a temperature drop.

-The interior felt very solid and well-made. It was simple, but elegant.

-The paint and glass took some real rock strikes. Never had a car hold up so well in that regard! Flawless!

-The power was very immediate, and the AWD system was tops. Very good performance in all weather conditions.

-The looks. The car just looked NICE. Upscale. Good lines.

-The headlights---Very good! I didn't have Matrix, but they were GOOD headlights!

The bad:

-Ride quality was poor. The suspension was overstrung and underdamped. It's like someone at Volvo drove a BMW and said "A-HAH! Make her STIFF!" and did literally nothing else.

-Efficiency is abysmal. Easily the least efficient EV out there, I bet. I have been driving my EV6 GT (576hp) on the same routes in SPORT+ (full power) MyDrive, and it's more efficient than my C40 was by a noticeable margin.

-The charging is mediocre. I saw 155kwh as a max. This is better than some, but it's last-generation. 800V architecture is current expectation.

-The build quality was poor in regard to the small bits. The rear triangle trim pieces always caught when the rear doors were opened. There were obviously wires or something whacking around behind panels in the dash/doors. Very "Tesla" in that regard. The panel alignment was good, but it fell apart "behind the scenes", so to speak.

-The NVH was abysmal at this price point. My RAV4 Prime was FAR better, here. The front NOR rear windows were laminated, and the motors created more vibration through the floorboard and steering wheel than my cammed up 5.0 1980's Mustang did when you hit their resonance nodes. Yes. They had resonance nodes at both vehicle speed AND acceleration percentage/throttle position. This is quite possibly the worst execution of "EV" that I've ever read of, regarding NVH. The Nissan LEAF I was loaned in 2012 was far better (except for wind noise, it had that). Renting a Silverado for thanksgiving from UHAUL was a blessed reprieve from this buzzbomb.

-Value tanked. 1/5 stars, here. Everything is down in value, but the C40 took a HARD it. I am very glad I got the tax credit.

The Intangible:

-The Volvo was very good with CS, but very ignorant about the car. One dealer selling them offered me free life changes (per manager offering). Another dealer told me it did not have a 12v battery and only a propulsion battery and there was no way to "jump" it as if it died, it needed charging via the port.

-People think of Volvo as luxury. I had a doctor as well as a business owner go out of their way to look at and compliment the car. They perceived it as high-end/quality/luxury goods.

-20k Mile service intervals are some of the longest in the industry. That said, you cannot rotate tires. However, mine managed to wear very evenly, within <1/32 of each other all around at 12K miles, which was 5 and 6/32 of the Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4's I placed on it shortly after buying it.

The weird and truly absurd:

It's a 402hp SUV capable of running 12's in the quarter with a 112mph top speed.

The dangerous:

-The emergency braking almost caused an accident on numerous occasions. There is no way to shut it off. When you are approaching a side street and are turning, and vehicles are pulling to the stop sign to exit the street, it sometimes would randomly slam on the brakes thinking a collision was immanent. This could get you rear-ended. Also, when exiting the highway via off-ramp, if cars on the street you are exiting to are waiting at a traffic light facing the exit vector of the off-ramp, the system would sometimes slam on the brakes mid-corner as you are exiting the off-ramp. This could cause rear-ending as well as upset the balance of the car. It's a dangerous system that caused me a lot of concern on multiple occasions. It would not surprise me if NHTSA gets involved in this at some point.


TL/DR:

A very sexy EV CUV but overpriced for the features and quality presented, with extremely variable ownership experience related to poor QA/QC and an ignorant parent company incapable of resolving persistent powertrain issues, who would kick back "Characteristic of the car" to dealers seeking further resolution. Also some safety issues. Hard pass, Volvo has moved on from what they once were, and their customer base likely will, too, in time, as they fail to innovate and lose the young ones to Kia/BMW/MB/Mazda, and the old ones die off. I can best sum the C40 up as "Someone from Volvo heard sporty EV's were a thing", so they cobbled something together and figured their customers were folks who have blind brand loyalty and won't actually drive any of the competition, so why bother polishing the product, it's a Volvo, and they'll buy it and LIKE IT! A lot of this stuff is something you may or may not notice on a test drive, but after living with the car for half a year, you'll kindof nod and say "Yeah...yeah. I'm going to check out such and such..."

So long brother! Appreciate the C40 feedback and enjoy your new hawt ride🔥! Life is full of choices and you always must be happy with your choice🙌 no matter where you live and play. Enjoy! 🙂

 

[JWG]

Well you're going out with a bang! Pretty fair review in my eyes. Hope you stick around for awhile. Even if only to rub our noses in how top notch your EV6 is.

I think your issue with the vibrations must be isolated to a small number of the C40s out there, because I don't notice anything of the sort on mine.

Interesting point about the emergency braking. I have had it happen to me twice but at extremely low speeds. Once backing out of a parking space and another time rolling up to my driveway when another car passed me. Both times under 5 MPH, quite the jolt, couldn't imagine what that would feel like at higher speeds, but haven't heard of any incidences (knock on wood).

Agree there are some so so/average aspects of the C40. Though relative to the competition, as a whole, it is competitive and very much has its strengths. I think Volvo has a bright future with its customer base transitioning from loyalists to new converts.

The EV6 really is an amazing vehicle in comparison. It gives me back the refinement and features of vehicles I am used to in this price range (laminated side glass, HUD, adaptive suspension and drive modes, etc), while making it well known that BMW's long-term lead suspension engineer is who put it together. It's not just "stiff". It's supple, compliant and CONTROLLED while also somehow managing to corner far flatter. Efficiency is also improved, as is acceleration. Build quality so far appears to be equal, if not superior (no loose wires slapping around behind the dash, no trim getting pulled off when you open doors, no windshield side molding lifting up. It's like they actually cared when they assembled it. But then, I've had it for 24 whopping hours, so...). It's just a whole 'nother league of car in every way except the NAV system, and there, Volvo did a real solid.

I think the biggest difference is how the EV6 GT BEGS you to take it through corners, where it flows like Caley Alyssa through a series of yoga poses, while the C40 just bounces around the curve all rigid getting slammed all over the place by every little road imperfection, like your terrified mother-in-law riding a wooden-track roller-coaster for the first time. Those mental images perfectly capture the depth of difference between these two cars and how they handle.

 

[jv91]

The braking jolt happened to me thrice I believe, but at less than 5MPH...once backing out of a parking lot @ the movies (clowns running behind my car - very typical scene). It was so immediate that I thought I had actually hit a car

as OP stated, in that exact scenario of a curving road with parked cars, the system has nearly caused a crash twice for me...its scary to say the least

we should all probably think about reporting this to the NHTSA, they can lean on volvo to update this behavior via software

 

[JWG]

as OP stated, in that exact scenario of a curving road with parked cars, the system has nearly caused a crash twice for me...its scary to say the least

we should all probably think about reporting this to the NHTSA, they can lean on volvo to update this behavior via software

What's really scary is that sometimes it does not activate---and sometimes it does---which one will it be, today? Find out! I can honestly say, aside the abysmal quality of the vehicle, it's the only one I've had that actively seemed to be trying to kill me.

 

[mikejones100]

as OP stated, in that exact scenario of a curving road with parked cars, the system has nearly caused a crash twice for me...its scary to say the least

we should all probably think about reporting this to the NHTSA, they can lean on volvo to update this behavior via software

That is scary. Is there a rep on here or some channel through Volvo to bring this to their attention?

 

[JWG]

That is scary. Is there a rep on here or some channel through Volvo to bring this to their attention?

Let me just save you the effort:
"It's a characteristic of the car."

 

[1bad440gtx]

First, I agree not everyone gets what they expect and sometimes a lemon is truly a lemon. I hope the grass is greener on the Kia side, but glancing at Kia EV6 forums I am not so sure and I doubt they solved the issues after 1 year:

First Edition EV6 Problems

1. Range 225 miles. 2. Cannot turn the climate control fan off without going to the home screen climate control. 3. Home link garage door opener only works when the car is on. 4. One pedal driving has to be set again every time the car is turned on. 5. Rear hatch misaligned with body. 6. Don't...

www.kiaevforums.com

And this one I see you posted on:

Rattles

As someone who has never owned a car of this value before I am not sure whether its acceptable to ask a dealer to check out a rattle(non mechanical/motor related but dash or in that vicinity) that has developed.What do other people do?

www.kiaevforums.com

Appears Kia doesn’t provide a EVSE cable as well.

Early adopters need to expect a price no matter the brand.

Kia screams poor engineering and quality to me forever, no way I can ever get over all the problems I have seen with Kias for the past 2 decades. The whole recent ignition/security system debacle is insane to me as well. God bless your positivity toward a Kia automobile.

Maybe the saving grace with the EV6 will be that Kia had Hyundai to help them to not totally botch the BEV platform.

At least there is always the Bentley Spectre to aspire to in terms of a luxury EV, we can hope.

 

[JWG]

First, I agree not everyone gets what they expect and sometimes a lemon is truly a lemon. I hope the grass is greener on the Kia side, but glancing at Kia EV6 forums I am not so sure and I doubt they solved the issues after 1 year:

First Edition EV6 Problems

1. Range 225 miles. 2. Cannot turn the climate control fan off without going to the home screen climate control. 3. Home link garage door opener only works when the car is on. 4. One pedal driving has to be set again every time the car is turned on. 5. Rear hatch misaligned with body. 6. Don't...

www.kiaevforums.com

And this one I see you posted on:

Rattles

As someone who has never owned a car of this value before I am not sure whether its acceptable to ask a dealer to check out a rattle(non mechanical/motor related but dash or in that vicinity) that has developed.What do other people do?

www.kiaevforums.com

Appears Kia doesn’t provide a EVSE cable as well.

Early adopters need to expect a price no matter the brand.

Kia screams poor engineering and quality to me forever, no way I can ever get over all the problems I have seen with Kias for the past 2 decades. The whole recent ignition/security system debacle is insane to me as well. God bless your positivity toward a Kia automobile.

Maybe the saving grace with the EV6 will be that Kia had Hyundai to help them to not totally botch the BEV platform.

At least there is always the Bentley Spectre to aspire to in terms of a luxury EV, we can hope.

Kia made a fair bit of changes for 2023 cars, which is part of why I waited and got the 2023, and the GT, at that. The GT was always intended from the get-go, and benefitted from a lot of little upgrades that quietly made it into the platform. Dual phase motors, SiC inverters, Pre-conditioning (manual and GPS linked), upgraded Meridian sound system, etc.

As to Kia and their engineering, their gasoline engines aren't the most awesome, but you gotta accept that the preponderance of data seems to be on their side when you look at the field as a whole:

Their EV is where they spent the money, and it's clear that Volvo---didn't. Part of the advantage Kia has is being part of Hyundai, which is much more than "just a car company". Volvo came from a bearing company and got bought out by Chinese Geely. Kia/Hyundai remain Korean as they began, and have huge budgets and the willingness to be very agile. They are the first to market in non-luxury cars with 800V architecture, for example, and arguably, the best implemented of all. Their brakes/motors are the only ones that L'Argus has tested to stand up to hard track use among EV's thus far, even out-performing the Taycan GTS's expensive setup. Nothing is perfect as you note, but the engineering that went into the EV6 GT is far and away more impressive than anything else for the dollar, and even above by a certain range.

The Rolls EV...I bet that thing is a total sensory deprivation chamber except what you choose to indulge in!

 

[jv91]

Only car that would make me want to switch is a BMW IX, kinda need more space. My business has taken off much faster than I anticipated which is nice.
However, with these interest rates, I’ll keep my Volvo at 2.1% haha. Maybe end of the year I’ll look at the IX again.

what you mentioned about used prices coming down is normal, cars lose value. Last few years of cars over list and retaining 70-80% value will be a thing of the past in a few years. Hopefully the kia maintains value as well as you expect!

 

[JWG]

Only car that would make me want to switch is a BMW IX, kinda need more space. My business has taken off much faster than I anticipated which is nice.
However, with these interest rates, I’ll keep my Volvo at 2.1% haha. Maybe end of the year I’ll look at the IX again.

what you mentioned about used prices coming down is normal, cars lose value. Last few years of cars over list and retaining 70-80% value will be a thing of the past in a few years. Hopefully the kia maintains value as well as you expect!

I really like it and intend to keep it. If something horrible happens, GAP will handle it.

 

[GasStation]

When I move on from a car, I always do an exit interview, just like a job.

What I liked about my C40:

-The HK sound system was good.

-The seats...like Eames in a car!

-The Google NAV and voice commands are EXCELLENT. They'll ruin most non-Google based cars for you in this regard.

-The range/charge estimation was bang-on! Very good! It didn't account for weather though, and it could surprise you if you drive through a temperature drop.

-The interior felt very solid and well-made. It was simple, but elegant.

-The paint and glass took some real rock strikes. Never had a car hold up so well in that regard! Flawless!

-The power was very immediate, and the AWD system was tops. Very good performance in all weather conditions.

-The looks. The car just looked NICE. Upscale. Good lines.

-The headlights---Very good! I didn't have Matrix, but they were GOOD headlights!

The bad:

-Ride quality was poor. The suspension was overstrung and underdamped. It's like someone at Volvo drove a BMW and said "A-HAH! Make her STIFF!" and did literally nothing else.

-Efficiency is abysmal. Easily the least efficient EV out there, I bet. I have been driving my EV6 GT (576hp) on the same routes in SPORT+ (full power) MyDrive, and it's more efficient than my C40 was by a noticeable margin.

-The charging is mediocre. I saw 155kwh as a max. This is better than some, but it's last-generation. 800V architecture is current expectation.

-The build quality was poor in regard to the small bits. The rear triangle trim pieces always caught when the rear doors were opened. There were obviously wires or something whacking around behind panels in the dash/doors. Very "Tesla" in that regard. The panel alignment was good, but it fell apart "behind the scenes", so to speak.

-The NVH was abysmal at this price point. My RAV4 Prime was FAR better, here. The front NOR rear windows were laminated, and the motors created more vibration through the floorboard and steering wheel than my cammed up 5.0 1980's Mustang did when you hit their resonance nodes. Yes. They had resonance nodes at both vehicle speed AND acceleration percentage/throttle position. This is quite possibly the worst execution of "EV" that I've ever read of, regarding NVH. The Nissan LEAF I was loaned in 2012 was far better (except for wind noise, it had that). Renting a Silverado for thanksgiving from UHAUL was a blessed reprieve from this buzzbomb.

-Value tanked. 1/5 stars, here. Everything is down in value, but the C40 took a HARD it. I am very glad I got the tax credit.

The Intangible:

-The Volvo was very good with CS, but very ignorant about the car. One dealer selling them offered me free life changes (per manager offering). Another dealer told me it did not have a 12v battery and only a propulsion battery and there was no way to "jump" it as if it died, it needed charging via the port.

-People think of Volvo as luxury. I had a doctor as well as a business owner go out of their way to look at and compliment the car. They perceived it as high-end/quality/luxury goods.

-20k Mile service intervals are some of the longest in the industry. That said, you cannot rotate tires. However, mine managed to wear very evenly, within <1/32 of each other all around at 12K miles, which was 5 and 6/32 of the Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4's I placed on it shortly after buying it.

The weird and truly absurd:

It's a 402hp SUV capable of running 12's in the quarter with a 112mph top speed.

The dangerous:

-The emergency braking almost caused an accident on numerous occasions. There is no way to shut it off. When you are approaching a side street and are turning, and vehicles are pulling to the stop sign to exit the street, it sometimes would randomly slam on the brakes thinking a collision was immanent. This could get you rear-ended. Also, when exiting the highway via off-ramp, if cars on the street you are exiting to are waiting at a traffic light facing the exit vector of the off-ramp, the system would sometimes slam on the brakes mid-corner as you are exiting the off-ramp. This could cause rear-ending as well as upset the balance of the car. It's a dangerous system that caused me a lot of concern on multiple occasions. It would not surprise me if NHTSA gets involved in this at some point.


TL/DR:

A very sexy EV CUV but overpriced for the features and quality presented, with extremely variable ownership experience related to poor QA/QC and an ignorant parent company incapable of resolving persistent powertrain issues, who would kick back "Characteristic of the car" to dealers seeking further resolution. Also some safety issues. Hard pass, Volvo has moved on from what they once were, and their customer base likely will, too, in time, as they fail to innovate and lose the young ones to Kia/BMW/MB/Mazda, and the old ones die off. I can best sum the C40 up as "Someone from Volvo heard sporty EV's were a thing", so they cobbled something together and figured their customers were folks who have blind brand loyalty and won't actually drive any of the competition, so why bother polishing the product, it's a Volvo, and they'll buy it and LIKE IT! A lot of this stuff is something you may or may not notice on a test drive, but after living with the car for half a year, you'll kindof nod and say "Yeah...yeah. I'm going to check out such and such..."

When I move on from a car, I always do an exit interview, just like a job.

What I liked about my C40:

-The HK sound system was good.

-The seats...like Eames in a car!

-The Google NAV and voice commands are EXCELLENT. They'll ruin most non-Google based cars for you in this regard.

-The range/charge estimation was bang-on! Very good! It didn't account for weather though, and it could surprise you if you drive through a temperature drop.

-The interior felt very solid and well-made. It was simple, but elegant.

-The paint and glass took some real rock strikes. Never had a car hold up so well in that regard! Flawless!

-The power was very immediate, and the AWD system was tops. Very good performance in all weather conditions.

-The looks. The car just looked NICE. Upscale. Good lines.

-The headlights---Very good! I didn't have Matrix, but they were GOOD headlights!

The bad:

-Ride quality was poor. The suspension was overstrung and underdamped. It's like someone at Volvo drove a BMW and said "A-HAH! Make her STIFF!" and did literally nothing else.

-Efficiency is abysmal. Easily the least efficient EV out there, I bet. I have been driving my EV6 GT (576hp) on the same routes in SPORT+ (full power) MyDrive, and it's more efficient than my C40 was by a noticeable margin.

-The charging is mediocre. I saw 155kwh as a max. This is better than some, but it's last-generation. 800V architecture is current expectation.

-The build quality was poor in regard to the small bits. The rear triangle trim pieces always caught when the rear doors were opened. There were obviously wires or something whacking around behind panels in the dash/doors. Very "Tesla" in that regard. The panel alignment was good, but it fell apart "behind the scenes", so to speak.

-The NVH was abysmal at this price point. My RAV4 Prime was FAR better, here. The front NOR rear windows were laminated, and the motors created more vibration through the floorboard and steering wheel than my cammed up 5.0 1980's Mustang did when you hit their resonance nodes. Yes. They had resonance nodes at both vehicle speed AND acceleration percentage/throttle position. This is quite possibly the worst execution of "EV" that I've ever read of, regarding NVH. The Nissan LEAF I was loaned in 2012 was far better (except for wind noise, it had that). Renting a Silverado for thanksgiving from UHAUL was a blessed reprieve from this buzzbomb.

-Value tanked. 1/5 stars, here. Everything is down in value, but the C40 took a HARD it. I am very glad I got the tax credit.

The Intangible:

-The Volvo was very good with CS, but very ignorant about the car. One dealer selling them offered me free life changes (per manager offering). Another dealer told me it did not have a 12v battery and only a propulsion battery and there was no way to "jump" it as if it died, it needed charging via the port.

-People think of Volvo as luxury. I had a doctor as well as a business owner go out of their way to look at and compliment the car. They perceived it as high-end/quality/luxury goods.

-20k Mile service intervals are some of the longest in the industry. That said, you cannot rotate tires. However, mine managed to wear very evenly, within <1/32 of each other all around at 12K miles, which was 5 and 6/32 of the Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4's I placed on it shortly after buying it.

The weird and truly absurd:

It's a 402hp SUV capable of running 12's in the quarter with a 112mph top speed.

The dangerous:

-The emergency braking almost caused an accident on numerous occasions. There is no way to shut it off. When you are approaching a side street and are turning, and vehicles are pulling to the stop sign to exit the street, it sometimes would randomly slam on the brakes thinking a collision was immanent. This could get you rear-ended. Also, when exiting the highway via off-ramp, if cars on the street you are exiting to are waiting at a traffic light facing the exit vector of the off-ramp, the system would sometimes slam on the brakes mid-corner as you are exiting the off-ramp. This could cause rear-ending as well as upset the balance of the car. It's a dangerous system that caused me a lot of concern on multiple occasions. It would not surprise me if NHTSA gets involved in this at some point.


TL/DR:

A very sexy EV CUV but overpriced for the features and quality presented, with extremely variable ownership experience related to poor QA/QC and an ignorant parent company incapable of resolving persistent powertrain issues, who would kick back "Characteristic of the car" to dealers seeking further resolution. Also some safety issues. Hard pass, Volvo has moved on from what they once were, and their customer base likely will, too, in time, as they fail to innovate and lose the young ones to Kia/BMW/MB/Mazda, and the old ones die off. I can best sum the C40 up as "Someone from Volvo heard sporty EV's were a thing", so they cobbled something together and figured their customers were folks who have blind brand loyalty and won't actually drive any of the competition, so why bother polishing the product, it's a Volvo, and they'll buy it and LIKE IT! A lot of this stuff is something you may or may not notice on a test drive, but after living with the car for half a year, you'll kindof nod and say "Yeah...yeah. I'm going to check out such and such..."

This is probably one of the most informative, honest and valuable ownership reports I have read on social media for a long time. Thank you for that. May I ask what model year C40? I ordered a XC40 with the Ultimate package and it should arrive in three to four months. I live in Montreal, Canada. I currently own a 2023 bZ4X LE FWD but don't like the range and onboard AC 6.6kW charger. Both the XC40 and bZ4X have large plywood sheet type front ends that are square and act like huge speed brakes substantially reducing range on highway. I am seriously considering recovering my deposit and hanging on to the bZ4X. The bZ being a Toyota product will sell very very fast. Any thoughts on the XC/60 PHEV?

 

[GasStation]

I really like it and intend to keep it. If something horrible happens, GAP will handle it.

What is "GAP" ?

 

[JWG]

This is probably one of the most informative, honest and valuable ownership reports I have read on social media for a long time. Thank you for that. May I ask what model year C40? I ordered a XC40 with the Ultimate package and it should arrive in three to four months. I live in Montreal, Canada. I currently own a 2023 bZ4X LE FWD but don't like the range and onboard AC 6.6kW charger. Both the XC40 and bZ4X have large plywood sheet type front ends that are square and act like huge speed brakes substantially reducing range on highway. I am seriously considering recovering my deposit and hanging on to the bZ4X. The bZ being a Toyota product will sell very very fast. Any thoughts on the XC/60 PHEV?

2023 C40 P8 Ultimate
I had a RAV4 Prime, so while I cannot speak to the Volvo PHEV, I found it no-mans-land. It still cost to maintain the ICE aspect of it. I still paid for gasoline. I didn't have the power or performance of an EV. Literally all you gain is eliminating range anxiety on a road trip. If THAT is worth it, then THAT is the selling point.

 

[JWG]

What is "GAP" ?

Say someone had hit my C40 and totaled it. I owed more than it was worth. Without GAP, that's my problem. With GAP, the bank eats the loan balance.

 

[Daizyujin]

When I move on from a car, I always do an exit interview, just like a job.

What I liked about my C40:

-The HK sound system was good.

-The seats...like Eames in a car!

-The Google NAV and voice commands are EXCELLENT. They'll ruin most non-Google based cars for you in this regard.

-The range/charge estimation was bang-on! Very good! It didn't account for weather though, and it could surprise you if you drive through a temperature drop.

-The interior felt very solid and well-made. It was simple, but elegant.

-The paint and glass took some real rock strikes. Never had a car hold up so well in that regard! Flawless!

-The power was very immediate, and the AWD system was tops. Very good performance in all weather conditions.

-The looks. The car just looked NICE. Upscale. Good lines.

-The headlights---Very good! I didn't have Matrix, but they were GOOD headlights!

The bad:

-Ride quality was poor. The suspension was overstrung and underdamped. It's like someone at Volvo drove a BMW and said "A-HAH! Make her STIFF!" and did literally nothing else.

-Efficiency is abysmal. Easily the least efficient EV out there, I bet. I have been driving my EV6 GT (576hp) on the same routes in SPORT+ (full power) MyDrive, and it's more efficient than my C40 was by a noticeable margin.

-The charging is mediocre. I saw 155kwh as a max. This is better than some, but it's last-generation. 800V architecture is current expectation.

-The build quality was poor in regard to the small bits. The rear triangle trim pieces always caught when the rear doors were opened. There were obviously wires or something whacking around behind panels in the dash/doors. Very "Tesla" in that regard. The panel alignment was good, but it fell apart "behind the scenes", so to speak.

-The NVH was abysmal at this price point. My RAV4 Prime was FAR better, here. The front NOR rear windows were laminated, and the motors created more vibration through the floorboard and steering wheel than my cammed up 5.0 1980's Mustang did when you hit their resonance nodes. Yes. They had resonance nodes at both vehicle speed AND acceleration percentage/throttle position. This is quite possibly the worst execution of "EV" that I've ever read of, regarding NVH. The Nissan LEAF I was loaned in 2012 was far better (except for wind noise, it had that). Renting a Silverado for thanksgiving from UHAUL was a blessed reprieve from this buzzbomb.

-Value tanked. 1/5 stars, here. Everything is down in value, but the C40 took a HARD it. I am very glad I got the tax credit.

The Intangible:

-The Volvo was very good with CS, but very ignorant about the car. One dealer selling them offered me free life changes (per manager offering). Another dealer told me it did not have a 12v battery and only a propulsion battery and there was no way to "jump" it as if it died, it needed charging via the port.

-People think of Volvo as luxury. I had a doctor as well as a business owner go out of their way to look at and compliment the car. They perceived it as high-end/quality/luxury goods.

-20k Mile service intervals are some of the longest in the industry. That said, you cannot rotate tires. However, mine managed to wear very evenly, within <1/32 of each other all around at 12K miles, which was 5 and 6/32 of the Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4's I placed on it shortly after buying it.

The weird and truly absurd:

It's a 402hp SUV capable of running 12's in the quarter with a 112mph top speed.

The dangerous:

-The emergency braking almost caused an accident on numerous occasions. There is no way to shut it off. When you are approaching a side street and are turning, and vehicles are pulling to the stop sign to exit the street, it sometimes would randomly slam on the brakes thinking a collision was immanent. This could get you rear-ended. Also, when exiting the highway via off-ramp, if cars on the street you are exiting to are waiting at a traffic light facing the exit vector of the off-ramp, the system would sometimes slam on the brakes mid-corner as you are exiting the off-ramp. This could cause rear-ending as well as upset the balance of the car. It's a dangerous system that caused me a lot of concern on multiple occasions. It would not surprise me if NHTSA gets involved in this at some point.


TL/DR:

A very sexy EV CUV but overpriced for the features and quality presented, with extremely variable ownership experience related to poor QA/QC and an ignorant parent company incapable of resolving persistent powertrain issues, who would kick back "Characteristic of the car" to dealers seeking further resolution. Also some safety issues. Hard pass, Volvo has moved on from what they once were, and their customer base likely will, too, in time, as they fail to innovate and lose the young ones to Kia/BMW/MB/Mazda, and the old ones die off. I can best sum the C40 up as "Someone from Volvo heard sporty EV's were a thing", so they cobbled something together and figured their customers were folks who have blind brand loyalty and won't actually drive any of the competition, so why bother polishing the product, it's a Volvo, and they'll buy it and LIKE IT! A lot of this stuff is something you may or may not notice on a test drive, but after living with the car for half a year, you'll kindof nod and say "Yeah...yeah. I'm going to check out such and such..."

Very informative review. I actually thought you got out of the C40 months ago, but have seen you posting in the forum here and there so thought maybe you either decided to keep it or the value of the C40 tanked too much to switch.

Anyway, the C40 is my wife's car, so I don't drive it too much. But I did experience one of those emergency braking issues one time. I was taking a left turn from the right lane of a set of dual left turn lanes. The oncoming traffic also has dual left turn lanes. The car thought I was too close to the oncoming car making the opposite left turn and did the emergency brake mid-turn. Since my foot was on the pedal I was able to immediately keep going, but that was scary for sure. I guess to be fair, the oncoming car was indeed pretty close, but I had my eye on it the whole time and judged that it was fine. That was definitely not cool. It hasn't happened while I drove the car since and my wife haven't told me of any such issues, but now I'm always extra careful when taking those types of turns in the C40.

I am curious about a couple of things regarding the EV6 GT. How is the real world range? The EPA rating 206 miles seems exceedingly low. Is that with GT mode on all the time (I assume you can just leave it on GT mode at all times?) or does GT mode decrease the range further? The EV6 GT seemed like a pretty great deal before Tesla dropped their prices (although climbing back up), but if I was in the market for one now, the range number would give me pause.

 

[JWG]

Very informative review. I actually thought you got out of the C40 months ago, but have seen you posting in the forum here and there so thought maybe you either decided to keep it or the value of the C40 tanked too much to switch.

Anyway, the C40 is my wife's car, so I don't drive it too much. But I did experience one of those emergency braking issues one time. I was taking a left turn from the right lane of a set of dual left turn lanes. The oncoming traffic also has dual left turn lanes. The car thought I was too close to the oncoming car making the opposite left turn and did the emergency brake mid-turn. Since my foot was on the pedal I was able to immediately keep going, but that was scary for sure. I guess to be fair, the oncoming car was indeed pretty close, but I had my eye on it the whole time and judged that it was fine. That was definitely not cool. It hasn't happened while I drove the car since and my wife haven't told me of any such issues, but now I'm always extra careful when taking those types of turns in the C40.

I am curious about a couple of things regarding the EV6 GT. How is the real world range? The EPA rating 206 miles seems exceedingly low. Is that with GT mode on all the time (I assume you can just leave it on GT mode at all times?) or does GT mode decrease the range further? The EV6 GT seemed like a pretty great deal before Tesla dropped their prices (although climbing back up), but if I was in the market for one now, the range number would give me pause.

So far, my EV6 GT is more efficient than my C40, and since the battery packs are the same size (77.4 vs 78), I presume the GT has a longer actual range. On my road trip back from picking it up, I averaged what equates to 36kw/100mi in my GT, while the C40 driving the same roads by and large, averaged 37-38. During my commute to the gym, the same. It was 28-30*f tonight, and I averaged about 42-43kw/100mi, while my C40 would have equated to 43-45. In short, the GT is more efficient in my experience. I am also driving it in "MY DRIVE" and have the motors set to "SPORT+", which is "GT Mode", basically. I like My Drive because I can set the motors, steering and eLSD up in the same settings as GT mode, but leave the suspension in normal mode as well as keep all TSC nannies on.

I know the charging station I go to on that trip, I charged to 80% or so in my C40 as I recall. I got home in the low teens. In my EV6 GT, I erred on the side of caution and charged to 89%. I arrived home at 27%. I did drive this trip in "Normal" mode, which likely helped.

My guess-o-meter for my C40 has been reading 160mi in this weather, at 90% charge. My EV6 GT reads about 145-148mi and I charge it to 80% (both as per the manual). This further equates to "just a hair more efficient...", as have been my findings driving it. It's just more efficient ever so slightly and has a bit more range.

Keep in mind both vehicles were on the same tires, so the comparison is direct. Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4.

The reason the GT is rated so poorly is the EPA forced Kia to keep it in GT mode 50% of the time for the test. Car and Driver got 190mi out of the GT at 75mph. They did not say in which mode. They got 200mi out of the C40. Ambient temperatures were not discussed. It's anyone's guess, there, but MY experience, both cars on the same tire, my GT has probably 5-10% more range. I did not find my C40 to get the advertised range, given my driving style. My Ev6 GT easily meets advertised range, given my driving style. I think when they re-rate the car in 2024 when the EPA no-longer requires GT mode 50% of the course, it will be rated 220-240.