Volvo XC40 Recharge Single First Drive Review

With a top-down approach, this is a more affordable, less powerful, smaller battery and a single-motor version of the XC40 Recharge. Priced at Rs 54.95 lakh, it is available in a new Pure variant which is also aptly called “Single”. With a reduced battery size, the claimed range is also slightly down while the power is almost half of the P8 AWD trim. But was there a need for this XC40 Recharge Single, when the price difference between this and the bigger, faster version isn’t significant? Let’s find out.

The telltale sign of this being the Single variant is the omission of front fog lamps which looks pretty odd as a blank on the fascia. Although the Thor hammer headlamps are present with the new facelifted design, it does miss out on the Pixel LED headlamps. It also rides on simple-looking 19-inch alloy wheels wrapped in Pirelli tyres. We are also a fan of this rather smartly finished ‘bright dusk’ paint job on our test car. Otherwise, there’s no way of visually differentiating this RWD XC40 from the P8 AWD version.

Although the cabin layout remains unchanged over the flagship variant, the Pure variant does miss out on a few feel-good features to keep the cost down. These missing features include the aforementioned Pixel LED headlamps apart from a 360-degree camera, park assist, powered child safety lock, and Harman Kardon music system with a sub-woofer. You do get two choices for the cabin theme – black on black or a very typical Volvo style of black with Fjord Blue. It uses the same suede/Microtech upholstery which is recycled yet feels very premium.

Being an all-black cabin does make the electric XC40 feel more cramped than it is. This being an EV, we have come to expect more space inside the cabin and some contemporary design elements like an empty centre console. For instance, the direct rival BMW iX1 has a floating centre console which makes the cabin feel more spacious and futuristic. However, Volvo has decided to stick to its simple setup for the dashboard which continues to have an integrated nine-inch vertically stacked touchscreen flanked by air-con vents. The only contemporary elements inside are those topography inlays running across the dash and