CAR COMPARISONS: 2023 Volvo C40 Owner Review

We really wanted to make a move to an electric car to replace our aging Land Rover Discovery Sport.
Owner: Paul

We really wanted to make a move to an electric car to replace our aging Land Rover Discovery Sport, and looked at both the Volvo XC40 as well as the Polestar 2, before choosing the C40 as almost a perfect blend of the two!

The SUV ride height suited us better, but we liked the coupe styling. Although, the lower roof height has taken a bit of getting used to as my wife occasionally bumps her head getting into the car.

We live in Sydney but have family in Mittagong where we travel at least once a week. The C40 can make the return trip on a single charge, which is great, but we installed a wallbox charger at both locations so can get 7kW charging overnight.

I’ve taken the car to Port Macquarie a couple of times and while the public charging infrastructure still has a long way to go (many stations are often offline), I have become very used to the car’s range and energy use.

I’m averaging about 18.3kWh/100km now which I’m really happy with.

I’ll generally reach a charger (usually at home) with at least 20 per cent battery left, so I haven’t found myself worrying about range. The car is easily capable of 350-400 km, which works perfectly for me.

Driving the Volvo is brilliant. I love the one-pedal driving and being able to beat pretty much anything away from the lights. I’d love to try the twin motor version!

The power is very smooth and it didn’t take long to get used to the electric experience, plus without sounding too cliché, it does feel good to be making the EV switch.

Size wise, the C40 works well for us as a couple, as I’ll usually fold a seat to fit my clubs in the boot. We’d probably want something bigger if we still had the kids to cart around, but seeing as we’re mostly one or two-up in the car, it works really well.

I really like the Google technology in terms of voice activation for navigation, and find the system convenient and easy to use.

My one big gripe is when you connect Apple CarPlay the map display in the instrument cluster goes black. You still get speed and dials, but I’d like to keep navigation or Waze in here. I hope this can be improved in a software update.

Also, the sloping rear hatch could use a wiper, especially on cold mornings where you can’t see anything out without either wiping it down or driving until it clears.

We’ve been really happy with the C40 so far and strangely enjoy being Volvo drivers! Not something I ever thought I’d say.

The change to electric was easier than we expected and we’ll do it again when it comes time to replace our other car.

Owner: Paul