Volvo EC40 review

To cut a long story short, it drives rather like you’d expect a 2.1-tonne, 402bhp EV to drive. Which is to say monstrously quick in a straight line (that 4.7-second claim feels modest, if anything) but completely disinterested in cornering. It’s neat, tidy and grips well at sensible speeds, but it could never hope to be a sports car.

So we're glad Volvo’s ditched anything approaching a drive mode. It doesn't need one. This is a car that knowingly coerces you into a calmer way of life. Your only options dynamically are whether you want one-pedal operation on or off, and its firmer steering mode activated or not.

What do I want?

It depends. The strong stopping power of the regen makes the one-pedal setting less smooth than on some rivals, with careful use of the throttle required to slow down accurately for junctions. If you crave some driver interaction in the new electric age, where heel ‘n’ toe is banished to history, perhaps it’s a challenge you’ll gratefully take on. We suspect many will, and never go back.

But for the easygoing nature the EC40 encourages, it's simpler to leave it off and stick to well-practiced two-pedal driving. At least until zero-pedal driving becomes a thing in the far, far future.

The firm steering, meanwhile, is nowhere near on the level of something like Audi’s Dynamic settings (thank the lord) so we’ve no strong opinion either way. You might switch it on to sample it, then forget you’ve done so from then on.

Tell me about the Single Motor.

If you don't want your organs shoved rearwards on a regular basis, the RWD Single Motor and its 235bhp offer a far more agreeable approach to everyday driving. Sure you lose the savage acceleration of the Twin, but 0-62mph in 7.3 seconds is still a decent turn of speed; more than enough to ghost past stragglers on the motorway and the smooth delivery of the power still lives up to Volvo's premium billing.

The shift from front- to rear-wheel drive isn't transformative, although it does make the front end a little more fluid when you turn the wheel. In a car this dynamically sterile, it might just be one to have. Especially in Extended Range guise.

Is it comfortable?

The ride is decent for the most part, although the EC40 bounces around with little composure on uneven surfaces. Annoying given the state of our UK roads, but hardly a surprise on the top-spec car's fat 20-inch wheels, which inevitably thunk a bit over speed bumps and potholes. Refinement is strong, though wind and tyre noise are evident at motorway cruising speeds with not a jot of powertrain hubbub to counteract its presence.

What's the range like?

The EC40 Single Motor gets a 69kWh battery for a claimed 300 miles of range, while the Extended Range version gets 78kWh and 346 miles of official range. The Twin Motor has 82kWh of battery for 341 miles on a single charge. But in real-world driving you'll find these figures to be lofty at best, as you would with any electric car.

Over a hundred miles or so with the Extended Range version we got around 3.6mi/kWh, which is a respectable figure and shows 300 miles of range is doable if you drive carefully.

How does charging work?

All of the EC40 models will charge at up to 11kW on an AC charger, taking around eight depending on the model. Maximum charge rate on a DC charger is 200kW, and as a guide the Single Motor variants will get from 10–80 per cent battery in 33 minutes on a 175kW rapid charger. The Twin Motor will do it in 28 minutes.

To help ease the pain of working out what’s what, Google Maps mines its charger knowledge to drop in where to plug in along the way, with live data of how many sockets are occupied.