ONE'S A FUN?

With one motor, how good is the Scandi-SUV?

- Tirth Pandya

When the Volvo XC40 Recharge was launched in India back in 2022, it was amongst the first few luxury EVs. With two motors mounted on each axle, it came adorning an AWD badge on the boot. Now, Volvo Cars India has launched the XC40 Recharge E60, a single-motor variant powering just the rear set of wheels.

Along with the single rear axle mounted motor, it gets a smaller 69 kWh battery pack. With less power hogging going on, the range stays pretty much the same. The E60 flaunts a WLTP-rated range of 475 km, which should keep you cruising for at least 400 km in the real world on a full charge. Now, let's talk about the features.

Volvo has skimped on some goodies compared to its top-of-the-line E80 variant. Unfortunately, you won't find premium features in the E60, such as the signature Pixel LED headlights, fog lamps, 360-degree camera, or the sweet-sounding 13-speaker Harmon Kardon audio system.

It still retains the feature that would make a difference, i.e. the zippy 150 kW DC fast-charging capability. This means you can juice up your E60 from 10 to 80 per cent in about 34 minutes.

Additionally, with the inclusion of an 11 kW home wall box, you can fully charge your vehicle in about eight hours, making it convenient for overnight charging So, power's heading straight to the rear wheels, but before you start envisioning yourself as the next drift king, think again! The moment you try any funny business with the rear, Swedish electronic nannies promptly put a stop to it.

Volvo's onboard electronics suite is tuned for safety, especially when you're not accustomed to the torque kicking in from zero at the rear wheels, especially when the roads get a tad slippery.