Volvo XC40 T3 R-Design Test Review

The Volvo XC range of SUV's have been an amazing success story for the brand and have won many awards wordwide over the last few years.
The baby of the range is the XC40 which I would catagorise as a boutique Crossover/SUV in the premium sector. We have tested a number of examples over the past few years and the car has shown itself to be true to the Volvo standards of quality and safety.
This time around we had the real baby model, the T3. This is powered by a 1.5L 3 cylinder petrol engine providing 110kW and 265Nm to the front wheels through an 8 speed automatic transmission.
As expected the gearshifts are always smooth and virtually undetectable in normal driving and Dynamic mode is available to alter the shift patterns and mapping if you want. I prefer to leave most test cars in comfort mode.
R-Design adds many extra features like contrasting black roof and larger wheels. Talking of wheels, 20 inch wheels as fitted, certainly look good but I felt that they contributed to a somewhat hard ride overall. Perhaps 18 inch wheels as fitted to other versions could provide a touch more comfort, even if its at the expense of some street cred!
Fuel consumption for our test period was 8.1l/100km which involved our usual mix of city driving as well as an open road trip. To compare, last year the T3 manual gave 8.0 so I believe this proves the efficiency of modern automatic transmissions. The little engine is extremely responsive and nippy overall. On the other hand, if fuel economy is a concern, the Volvo diesel engines have a proven record in this regard.
The XC40 is deceptive in the sense that it is actually a lot bigger than you think, especially on the inside. Boot space of 480L is large and the rear provides comfortable space.
In R-Design spec the T3 is priced from R675 000 which is competitive in this market segment and includes a 5 year/ 100 000km warranty.
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[@SupreemTeam]

Is that the consumption on comfort drive? Curious to know what eco drive would do for the 350kms you did

[@HanleighDaniels]

Hadidas