[ICDP_EV]

Hi all,

I have been searching for a decent priced mid sized premium used EV for my wife in the UK and getting nowehere due to prices.

So in the end I managed to get a Salaray Sacrifice Volvo C40 Core in Slate Black. My preference would have been silver or white in Plus trim but doing that bumped the monthly lease figures by just under £80.

I know it will not have a heat pump but in the UK it wont matter much given my wife's driving profile. My biggest concern is the lack of reversing camera and only rear parking sensors. Does anyone have experience with reversing just using the poor visibility and parking sensors?

Appreciate any feedback. Thanks.

 

[martyn]

Got a C40 Ultimate, so we do have the cameras, so this might not be the most helpful response but I think I'd be fine without the camera and just the sensors. I use the camera mostly to know whether I'm in the middle of a space (so checking the white lines either side).

The 360 stitching is so skewed (fisheye camera) it's not particularly easy to judge distance to the rear anyway, I can be up against another car or garage door or whatever and it'll look super close on the camera (like, the entire front grille of a car will fill the camera view) but the sensors will still be yellow/orange, and I know that even when they're red, there's still a fair bit of space - you just might not get the boot open!

I never switch the single cameras on either, which may help, but I still end up using the mirrors and my eyes quite a bit.

 

[ICDP_EV]

Many thanks for your reply, it really helps ease any concerns I have. My other EV (an I-Pace) also has very poor rear visibility and the reverse camera has weird distortions that make things look like you are about to collide. This is not really a problem as I tend to use the reverse camera just to check alignment and the sensors for distance. Though I do still like the ability to check for obstacles and idiots pedestrians who ignore a reversing vehicle and assume you see everything.

I also asked my wife if she would miss blind spot assist and she said "no, I have a working neck".

For of you all you C40 owners who are interesated, I showed my wife and 9 year old son the Polestar 2 and the C40. They both chose the C40 instantly and I would have put money on my son preferring the more aggressive looking Polestar 2.

 

[BigVikC40Dadda]

Many thanks for your reply, it really helps ease any concerns I have. My other EV (an I-Pace) also has very poor rear visibility and the reverse camera has weird distortions that make things look like you are about to collide. This is not really a problem as I tend to use the reverse camera just to check alignment and the sensors for distance. Though I do still like the ability to check for obstacles and idiots pedestrians who ignore a reversing vehicle and assume you see everything.

I also asked my wife if she would miss blind spot assist and she said "no, I have a working neck".

For of you all you C40 owners who are interesated, I showed my wife and 9 year old son the Polestar 2 and the C40. They both chose the C40 instantly and I would have put money on my son preferring the more aggressive looking Polestar 2.

I have seen a Polestar2 up close and personal and I never thought one bit it was aggressive looking. It’s a good car but lame and so tame compared to the C40. So happy and glad I never even looked or tested a P2 or another brand. I fell in love and went bazooka over the C40 😌🔥😍!

if you ask me about the Polestar3 SUV, this product has the pizzazz for sure! Time will tell maybe 2024…but this model will drive the world of EVs upside down with the Volvo Embla!

 

[c40chi]

My biggest concern is the lack of reversing camera and only rear parking sensors. Does anyone have experience with reversing just using the poor visibility and parking sensors?

The visibility in the rear window and mirror is basically non-existent. I can't imagine backing up the car without a rear camera. That said, the rear parking sensor and auto-brake is really, really good. There has been several instances of me failing to see something on the camera (trashcan painted the same color as someone's garage door, piece of metal fencing poking into the street but below the cameras, pet on a long leash crossing in front of an alley long before their owner comes into view), and the car has stopped automatically before I reversed it anything.

 

[ICDP_EV]

Thanks for the feedback c40chi.

 

[ICDP_EV]

Can I aks a kind C40 owner to measure from the top of the front door sill kick plate to the ground please.

My wife has had a metal hip put in due to an infury and the current I-Pace on stock suspension is a touch high for her to get in withou some minor effort.

I am looking the height between the two red lines as shown here thanks. If the C40 is less than this that would be ideal and I would hope it is not any higher or this could be a problem.

 

[Beard7]

Check the latest UK price list from the Volvo UK website. This shows the c40 core features a rear parking camera and front parking sensors.

 

[ICDP_EV]

Nice catch Beard7. I just checked that out and it does look like the C40 Core does come with rear park assist camera.

 

[H4M24UK]

Hi all,

I have been searching for a decent priced mid sized premium used EV for my wife in the UK and getting nowehere due to prices.

So in the end I managed to get a Salaray Sacrifice Volvo C40 Core in Slate Black. My preference would have been silver or white in Plus trim but doing that bumped the monthly lease figures by just under £80.

I know it will not have a heat pump but in the UK it wont matter much given my wife's driving profile. My biggest concern is the lack of reversing camera and only rear parking sensors. Does anyone have experience with reversing just using the poor visibility and parking sensors?

Appreciate any feedback. Thanks.

I ordered the exact same model, colour and trim via salary sacrifice except they wouldn't even offer me to trade up to plus trim, they just refused even though I said I'm willing to pay extra. Anyway I ordered it in April and originally got told September delivery, now delayed till January.

What delivery time have you been told?

 

[ICDP_EV]

I have no build date and it was stuck on waiting employer approval for the past two weeks. So I phoned our Finance team yesterday to ask what the hold up was and was told, "ooh I'll do that now for you". It is now on ordered state and from Volvo's web site it says delivery time is 3 - 5 months. I am being realistic and expecting March or April at best and a total mess up at worst.

I am using NHS Fleet Solutions and to be frank they are woefully inept. There is an option on my order page to ask for an update from the dealership but it can only be pressed once every 10 days

I will wait a few weeks and see what Volvo come back with.

Incidentally. I went to the Volvo web site C40 configurator and did a compare of the C40 Core vs Plus trim. The C40 Core does have front and rear parking sensors and a reversing camera. These are the only features my wife cares about but is not precious about them. We have an I-Pace HSE and she rolls her eyes out loud at me if I mention any of the advanced tech, such as adaptive cruise control, blind spot assist, cross traffic alerts etc.

 

[BigVikC40Dadda]

I have no build date and it was stuck on waiting employer approval for the past two weeks. So I phoned our Finance team yesterday to ask what the hold up was and was told, "ooh I'll do that now for you". It is now on ordered state and from Volvo's web site it says delivery time is 3 - 5 months. I am being realistic and expecting March or April at best and a total mess up at worst.

I am using NHS Fleet Solutions and to be frank they are woefully inept. There is an option on my order page to ask for an update from the dealership but it can only be pressed once every 10 days

I will wait a few weeks and see what Volvo come back with.

Incidentally. I went to the Volvo web site C40 configurator and did a compare of the C40 Core vs Plus trim. The C40 Core does have front and rear parking sensors and a reversing camera. These are the only features my wife cares about but is not precious about them. We have an I-Pace HSE and she rolls her eyes out loud at me if I mention any of the advanced tech, such as adaptive cruise control, blind spot assist, cross traffic alerts etc.

Why did you not tell her about Apple Car Play and Google AAOS?? 🙃🙃

 

[H4M24UK]

I have no build date and it was stuck on waiting employer approval for the past two weeks. So I phoned our Finance team yesterday to ask what the hold up was and was told, "ooh I'll do that now for you". It is now on ordered state and from Volvo's web site it says delivery time is 3 - 5 months. I am being realistic and expecting March or April at best and a total mess up at worst.

I am using NHS Fleet Solutions and to be frank they are woefully inept. There is an option on my order page to ask for an update from the dealership but it can only be pressed once every 10 days

I will wait a few weeks and see what Volvo come back with.

Incidentally. I went to the Volvo web site C40 configurator and did a compare of the C40 Core vs Plus trim. The C40 Core does have front and rear parking sensors and a reversing camera. These are the only features my wife cares about but is not precious about them. We have an I-Pace HSE and she rolls her eyes out loud at me if I mention any of the advanced tech, such as adaptive cruise control, blind spot assist, cross traffic alerts etc.

I use Zenith Fleet, I get updates every month but all I'm ever getting is delays. I go on personal lease sites like Nationwide or Select Car Lease because they provide up to date delivery times on cars. At the moment C40 changed to February but haven't been told by Zenith yet, have a feeling next monthly update they will say just that.

The core trim being the basic trim does have a lot of features. Electric folding mirrors, pano roof, camera. The interior is quite dull but quality is great.

What I also realised is for some reason Fleet companies only give Slate black as colour option for Core trim, but when I go to the volvo site all colours are available on the core trim with no extra charges.

 

[ICDP_EV]

It seems my lease site options were different. Black was the standard colour for any trim level

Why did you not tell her about Apple Car Play and Google AAOS?? 🙃🙃

Funny thing is I showed her that the I-Pace has unlimited downloads from her spotify. She uses that

 

[ICDP_EV]

I use Zenith Fleet, I get updates every month but all I'm ever getting is delays. I go on personal lease sites like Nationwide or Select Car Lease because they provide up to date delivery times on cars. At the moment C40 changed to February but haven't been told by Zenith yet, have a feeling next monthly update they will say just that.

Well I hope you end up with good news.

The core trim being the basic trim does have a lot of features. Electric folding mirrors, pano roof, camera. The interior is quite dull but quality is great.

Absolutely agree on this and the fact it also comes with reverse camera and front/rear parking sensors really puts some other "premium" (Audi) mid sized Crossover/SUV EVs to shame. The basic spec Audi Q4 comes with no reverse camera, no pano roof, basic bluetooth and a smaller battery.

I had a Q4 on order last year and Audi messed me about but in hindsight I was lucky, because I was able to cancel and managed to get an I-Pace for less money and much higher spec. Even the C40 Core we tested recently had a more premium feel compared to the Q4, a lot less hard plastics everywhere. The icing on the cake is considerably shorter wait times. I am genuinely perplexed that people are ordering an Audi Q4 with over 1 year wait times, when they can have a nicer spec XC40 or C40 EV, with more kit, bigger battery, more range, better performance, morepremium feel and far sooner for the same price. I even asked this question over on the Q4 forum and I wasn't the only one.

The Q4 is a nice car but on almost every objective metric apart from boot and rear space, the XC40 and C40 is nicer.

What I also realised is for some reason Fleet companies only give Slate black as colour option for Core trim, but when I go to the volvo site all colours are available on the core trim with no extra charges.

Yeah weird that any colour other than black significantly bumped up the monthly lease by £36. Going to Plus trim and a colour other than black was £80 more per month. I just could not justify that bump for a different colour and some toys my wife doesn't care about.

 

[BruinToo]

Can I aks a kind C40 owner to measure from the top of the front door sill kick plate to the ground please.

My wife has had a metal hip put in due to an infury and the current I-Pace on stock suspension is a touch high for her to get in withou some minor effort.

I am looking the height between the two red lines as shown here thanks. If the C40 is less than this that would be ideal and I would hope it is not any higher or this could be a problem.

View attachment 4563

I had a 2019 I-PACE with air suspension and this C40 is definitely higher than the I-PACE.

 

[ICDP_EV]

I had a 2019 I-PACE with air suspension and this C40 is definitely higher than the I-PACE.

Thanks for this, I managed to get access to a C40 and it is slightly lower. Though my I-Pace has stock coil suspension and rides higher than the lower air suspension settings.

 

[ICDP_EV]

Just checked Volvo UK web site and it now has the C40 listed for 12 month wait time for delivery. The paperwork for My order car was approved just over a week ago and at that time the wait times still showed 3-5 months.

I will check with the lease company tomorrow but if 12 months is true I will be cancelling the order. It’s a nice car but it’s not a wait for 12 months car.

 

[ICDP_EV]

For anyone interested.

I got in contact with Volvo directly and was told that the twin motor versions are definately the end of next summer. Single motor is March/April. This is of course for UK waiting times. I am of course OK with this having ordered a single motor and expected March/April at the earliest anyway.

Might be worth considering for those planning to put in an order here in the UK. If you want a twin motor expect longer wait times.

 

[ICDP_EV]

I have been told delivery of this month is likely. So not too long a wait all things considered.

The irony is that a Volvo C40 Core Plus Single Moter edition just appeared on NHS special offer for delivery by May at the latest. So had I not ordered I could have had a Core Plus for the same price but a few months longer wait.

The thing is these things are unpredicatble. Still looking forward to the Core edition delivery and not upset at all.