BUY, LEASE OR FINANCE A VOLVO XC40 RECHARGE PURE ELECTRIC FROM OSV: https://bit.ly/2SQH9MZ

The XC40 Recharge Pure Electric AWD is pretty much everything you'd expect a Volvo full-EV model to be. This fashionable battery-powered compact premium SUV features a state-of-the-art fully-electric all-wheel-drive powertrain that offers a WLTP-rated range of up to 260 miles on a single charge and an output of 408hp. The drawback is premium pricing but otherwise, a lot of boxes seem to have been ticked here.

Market and Model

There's premium pricing here - but them that's also the case for obvious direct rivals; we'll get to those after we've briefed you on the asking figures required for this model. In this review, we're looking at the AWD version of this Pure Electric XC40, which is priced from around £50,000. You can also ask Volvo about a less powerful front-driven version of this car, which will be priced much closer to the £40,000 mark, but it's the AWD variant that's our focus today. That £50,000 starting figure gets you the base Recharge Twin AWD model. It's around £53,000 for the mid-range Recharge Twin Plus AWD variant; and around £57,000 if you want the top Recharge Twin Pro AWD model we tested.

With the government's plug-in Car Grant now capped at £35,000, you're on your own when it comes to the asking figures, whatever kind of Pure Electric XC40 you decide upon, but it's worth pointing out that almost no one considering this car will be thinking in terms of purchasing it outright anyway. In most cases, they won't even be buying it from a dealer, this XC40 Recharge Pure Electric model being the first of the brand's cars to be offered exclusively online - which is the way that all future Pure Electric Volvos will be sold. You can still go into a dealership and order it if you want, but it's probably easier just to go on line and order it from home - probably using the 'Care By Volvo' subscription service, which is the way that up to 95% of XC40 Recharge Pure Electric models are apparently likely to be acquired.

Cost of Ownership

We've already given you this AWD XC40 Recharge Pure Electric model's operating range in our 'Driving Experience' section; a maximum of 260 miles. That's for the base-spec variant by the way; the top trimmed model, with its extra equipment and larger 20-inch wheels, is rated at 249 miles. Either way, these figures place this Volvo some way down the list when it comes to the range you can expect from a compact EV crossover with AWD and a battery of comparable size to this Volvo's 78kWh power pack. Thank this Swedish contender's portly 2,113kg kerb weight for that.

Still, at least charging times are competitive. Overnight charging via a home wallbox will occupy around 8 hours. When out and about, if you come across a 150kW public rapid charger, you'll be able to replenish from empty to 80% in just 40 minutes. You can of course set charging times remotely - in this case via the 'Volvo On Call' app. There are of course, lots of taxation advantages in running an EV. With this one, as with its main rivals, you'll be rated at just 1% for BiK Benefit-in-Kind taxation for the first tax year of use, and at only 2% for the subsequent two years.

Summary

The government talks about incentivising the sale of electric vehicles. But then progressively reduces buying incentives on them. Car manufacturers talk about wanting to increase the EV percentage of their sales: but then price full-electric models beyond the reach of most buyers. It's a conundrum. And for the time being, it doesn't show any real signs of being solved.

This XC40 Recharge Pure Electric AWD model is a case in point. It's a very well engineered little electric vehicle. But it costs a considerable amount. And then there are the usual EV issues: not only that you'll run out of range but also that you might turn up at a charging point and find it's out of order - or there's a queue. Or perhaps you'll plug your EV in at night, then an hour later find out that you're required 150 miles away with only 80 miles charged into the battery. If a car like this is a second vehicle, as it will be in most cases, then these issues become less problematic. But until they're solved - and until prices become more accessible, cars like this, impressive as they are, will continue to be a rare sight on our roads.

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