Some comments about the XC40 from CNET Roadshow (Steven Ewing 03/12/19). I'd venture to guess that most of us that own an XC40 would agree with these or have noticed them ourselves:
"When I first reviewed the Volvo XC40 last year, I called it 'my favorite of the bunch,' compared to other subcompact offerings like the BMW X1, Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class and even the plucky Mini Countryman. Other Roadshow staffers agreed. So in order to see if we like it so much we'd put a ring on it, we've added a 2019 Volvo XC40 to our long-term test fleet to see how this subcompact Swede holds up after a year of thorough testing."
"The XC40 is a car I never tire of driving -- not because it's super engaging, but because it's just so darn pleasant all of the time. The T5 engine offers plenty of power, and the XC40 moves down the road with great poise. There's excellent outward visibility, and it's a breeze to park in tight city lots."
"I like the different drive modes, and I frequently use the Individual setting because I like the steering and brake feel to be in their "Dynamic" settings. My gripe is, I wish the car would default to the Individual setting every time. The car always starts in its default "Comfort" mode, which is fine most of the time, but having to toggle the drive mode selector down to "Individual" upon each startup is sort of annoying, especially because -- stop me if you've heard this one before -- the Sensus infotainment system isn't always the quickest to boot up upon vehicle start."
"The Volvo On Call app shows me that, after 1,500 miles, our XC40 is averaging just 21.9 miles per gallon, which is a far cry from the XC40 T5's EPA ratings of 23 mpg city, 31 mpg highway and 26 mpg combined. I'll be curious to see how this improves as we add more miles, but it's worth noting that pretty much everyone at Roadshow has had a hard time achieving the EPA fuel economy estimates in just about every new Volvo car."