I spent time checking out the exterior and interior of the Volvo EC40, and I’m penning a few observations in this story. Introduced as the Volvo C40 in 2021, it isn’t a big seller for the Swedes in many markets, and has even been discontinued in America.
While the Volvo EX40 makes up the lion’s share of its global EV sales, these are the general pros and cons of the EC40. You can read our EC40 review from earlier this year to get our complete perspective of the car.
1. Better range than the EX40
The EC40 is designed for a specific demographic: the style-conscious buyer who values looks just as much as performance. Thanks to its sleeker design, this variant offers a slight edge in efficiency, boasting a range that is 2.5 miles longer than its flat-roofed SUV counterpart in the single-motor variant, and it travels 10 miles farther in the dual-motor version (WLTP numbers).
2. No wood & leather in the cabin
Top marks to Volvo for its sustainability strategy. Starting with the C40, Volvo Cars, driven by concerns about animal welfare and cattle farming’s environmental impacts, such as deforestation and contributing to 14 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, is using leather-free and wood-free interiors, replacing leather with sustainable materials derived from bio-based and recycled sources.
3. Under-thigh support extender
Staying at the front, I find the manually operated under-thigh extenders in the driver seat useful. For people like me who have legs like tree trunks, this would be a boon on the interstates.
4. Under-armrest illuminated storage
I really like that Volvo’s interior designers thought of fitting a small light in the storage compartment under the armrest. The floor is also ribbed ensuring that items don’t move around when cornering or braking.
5. Poor rear visibility
I felt that the rearview mirror in the EC40 is more a nod to regulations than a functional component. It provides limited visibility of what’s behind the vehicle.
While drivers can use the backup camera or the 360-camera to reverse out safely, I can’t help but wish for a standard digital mirror across EC40 variants similar to what’s present in the Polestar 4, a vehicle that notably lacks a rear windscreen altogether!
6. Decent rear headroom despite sloping roof
I am pleasantly surprised by the rear headroom in the Volvo EC40. SUV-Coupes have dreadful headroom for a six-footer like me. EVs have circumvented the problem by using dedicated architectures with a flat floor, but the higher floor from the battery pack underneath means you sit closer to the roof, with a knee-up posture.
The Volvo EC40 does not ride on a dedicated EV platform, and yet it provides a decent level of room for even the taller folks among us to complete a short road trip.
7. Narrow rear entry/exit
While I faced no issues at the front, the imposing rear wheel arch that narrows the aperture created a slight hiccup during both entry and exit from the rear seat for me. This is compounded by the car’s sloping roofline, which makes ingress and egress feel somewhat confined. Any significant improvements to this aspect may have to wait until the next generation of the EC40.
An automobile engineer by training, I’ve analyzed the global car market since 2005, with a keen focus on EVs since 2008. My journey in online automotive publishing spans 17 years, during which I have reviewed cutting-edge automotive technologies and interviewed leading global CEOs and vehicle developers.
