Two success stories in the last eight months with XC90 and S90, Volvo is turning up the heat once more as revealed in these very early images of the 2018 model XC40.
The Volvo XC40 is on target to make its debut at the Geneva Motor Show in March and will be Volvo’s first attempt at cracking the compact crossover market which is currently dominated by models like Volkswagen Tiguan, BMW X1 and Mercedes GLA.
Volvo XC40 is potentially armed with the edgiest design, which according to sources will spawn other bodystyles including the V40 hatchback and V40 estate – the latter unlikely to come to South Africa due to insufficient demand.
The company’s new Compact Modular Architecture will facilitate the introduction of Volvo’s 1.5-litre 3-cylinder engine which mathematically bears a strong configuration to the firm’s current 2.0-litre 4-cylinder Drive-E engines.
That’s not to say XC40 won’t have a performance bent to it. Topping the range could be a petrol-hybrid engine with around 134kW supplemented by 75kW electric motor. The hybrid combination will yield an all-electric range of 50 kilometres.
Speaking about the XC40’s competitors, Volvo’s powertrain boss said “If we’re not class-leading, we’ll have done something wrong.” The most efficient X1 has figures of 109g/km of CO2 and 4.1l/100km combined.
