BUYER'S GUIDE Volvo C40

FROM £18,000 Swedish brand's first electric velhicle has a lot going for it as a used buy, but check its rivals before committing to a purchase

- Richard Dredge

NEXT year Volvo will celebrate its centenary, and it's fair to say that this enigmatic brand has been through a fair few changes during its lifetime. Once famed for its capacious estates, the Chinese-owned Swedish brand now makes pretty much nothing but SUVs and crossovers.

Always environmentally aware, Volvo has also heavily embraced electrification, although it wasn't until 2021 that it sold an electric-only model, the C40 Recharge, later renamed EC40. Spun off from its XC40, which came in petrol, diesel, hybrid and plugin hybrid forms as well as electric, the more coupé-styled C40 was only an EV.

With no ICE options, the C40 hasn't been as popular as it might have been with a wider choice of powertrain options (like the XC40/EX40), but that doesn’t make the car a dud. Far from it in fact...

HISTORY

VOLVO unveiled the C40 Recharge in March 2021 and three months later the order books opened, but the first cars weren't delivered until early 2022. Available only to buy online, the C40 Recharge was fitted with a 78kWh battery, which gave a range of up to 261 miles. With two motors (one on the front axle and one on the rear), the C40 Recharge came with 402bhp and four-wheel drive as standard.

By March 2022 there was also a 228bhp single-motor C40 Recharge available, with a 69kWh battery, front-wheel drive and a range of up to 269 miles. This was superseded in January 2023 by a rear-wheel-drive single-motor car with either a 69kWh or 82kWh battery; from this point on, the twin-motor AWD C40 Recharge also featured the 82kWh battery.