Volvo XC40 Recharge Plug-In Hybrid T5 UK first drive

Plug-in hybrids such as this new Volvo XC40 are a curious breed, but you can see why car makers keep churning them out.

The EU’s strict new CO2 targets come into effect this year, and PHEVs are a sure-fire way of reining in manufacturers’ fleet average emissions figures. And, of course, they make for a good stepping stone between regular internal combustion-engined cars and pure EVs. But if we’re to believe that every new car sold from 2035 (or perhaps 2032) will have to be emissions-free, it’s tricky to ignore the feeling that they’re being developed and promoted at great expense in the knowledge they’ll soon be obsolete.

Anyway, you can see why the concept might appeal in the here and now. With its 81bhp electric motor and 10.7kWh battery, this XC40 T5 Twin Engine can travel as far as 28 electric-only miles before its 178bhp three-cylinder engine fires up and takes over the task of driving the front wheels. So if you charge it regularly and use it mainly for short hops, it should theoretically cost very little to run – despite the fact that it’s actually a 1.75-tonne SUV.

This ability to run on electricity alone for short distances is also why PHEVs are currently so inexpensive on the company car tax front. As long as you get your spec right, this XC40’s WLTP-certified CO2 rating drops as low as 47g/km, equating to a massive benefit-in-kind tax saving when compared with a standard diesel or petrol XC40. This applies even if the owner then treats it as a regular car and runs it almost exclusively on petrol power, which doesn’t seem entirely sensible. But like it or not, it’s where we’re currently at in the world of new cars.

Past the points of potentially lower running costs and a cheaper company car tax rate, the XC40 PHEV still carries plenty of appeal as an ownership proposition. For starters, it looks as great as it always has, with the only real change to its suitably swish exterior being the addition of a charging port just over the front wheel arch.

The cabin continues to exude all of the lounge-like class that we so liked about the XC40 when it first arrived a few years ago. Even in the darker colour palette of our test car there’s an impressive sense of space in both the first and second rows, and an elevated level of material quality lends it plenty of upmarket appeal.

That said, the front seats err on the firm side, and their short squabs could provide a bit more in the way of under-leg support. But there’s plenty of adjustability to be found both here and in the steering column, the net result of which is that the XC40 is afforded an appealingly commanding and comfortable driving position with excellent visibility out of the cabin.