First drive in the new Volvo XC40 Recharge: power change in the new e-crossover

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It’s been nearly 25 years since Volvo said goodbye to rear-wheel drive. The Volvo 940 is a sought-after classic today. The Swedish manufacturer is now taking this form of drive off the technology shelf again with the XC40 Recharge Pure Electric.

No, this is not a nostalgia attack, explains Lutz Stiegler, head of electric drives at Volvo. On the contrary, there are completely rational reasons for leaping into the future: “This will significantly increase efficiency.”

Power shift in favor of efficiency

“The range of the new XC40 Recharge Twin is approximately 100 kilometers longer,” explains Stiegler. This is the result of the complete technical renovation: “Everything is new or substantially replaced except the air conditioning compressor and the 12-volt battery,” says Stiegler.

Instead of two permanent magnet synchronous machines of equal power, each with 204 hp (150 kW), the Swedish automaker now relies on a mixed duo. The 150 hp (110 kW) asynchronous electric motor on the front axle and the 258 hp (190 kW) permanent magnet electric motor on the rear axle now work together. This leads to an unchanged system output of 408 hp (300 kW).

The improved silicon carbide inverter provides approximately five percent greater efficiency. This is accompanied by a change in power: now the work is on the rear axle. The asynchronous electric motor can operate without large losses of energy and is activated at the speed of light when necessary. This principle is already present in the Audi Q4 e-tron. The new driver layout also improves recovery.

Improved battery

The energy for the 541-kilometer range comes from the improved 82 kWh battery (79 kWh net). This means that the charging power at DC stations increases to 200 kW and the batteries are charged from 10 percent to 80 percent in 28 minutes. Volvo states consumption is 17.6 kWh/100 kilometers; We reached 20.3 kWh/100 km in our test drives on highways, rural roads and in the city. AC charging is via a three-phase 11 kW onboard charger. Volvo continues to offer the previous model’s 69 kWh batteries for the pure rear-wheel drive version.

As I said, our test drive also took us off-road. If you’re not having fun with 408 hp, you’re in the wrong car with a Volvo. Due to the heavy weight of the driver’s back, the 4.40 meter long e-crossover corners much more assertively than before. The rear end is livelier, but it can’t completely hide the slight understeer tendency, but it does reduce it significantly.

Driving pleasure in single mode

Volvo’s top version This is 20 km/h more than before. The chassis, which is not too soft and does not allow annoying bounces when passing over bumps, adapts to driving dynamics.

But you won’t find a drive mode switch. Almost all operations are done via the touch screen, the upper menu level of which is similar to that of a smartphone. After all, it’s no wonder the infotainment system is still Android-based. Only the steering can be adjusted to be sportier. However, the difference with the standard setting is marginal.

The interior of the XC40 Recharge has not changed much: the ambiance still retains its Scandinavian simplicity. The central touchscreen is nine inches, which is quite small by current standards. The thick bezel around the screen also doesn’t look very contemporary and needs to be narrower. Speaking of refinement: the Volvo XC40 Recharge Pure Electric Twin Motor Ultimate is not for those on a budget. Our test car costs 65,100 francs.

Source: Blick