Volvo XC40 luxury compact SUV just a month away from launch

Swedish automaker Volvo will soon launch a brand new SUV in India. Named the XC40, it’ll be the smallest luxury SUV that Volvo sells in India. Media drives of the XC40 are already on, and the compact luxury SUV will be launched in India during July 2018. The SUV will be imported as a completely built unit, but Volvo is likely to commence local assembly through the completely knocked down (CKD) kit route in due course of time. The XC40 is based on Volvo’s Common Modular Architecture (CMA), which will underpin all future compact cars from the Swedish brand. The price of the XC40 is likely to start from close to Rs. 30 lakhs.

The XC40 is expected to undercut vehicles like the Mercedes Benz GLA, the Audi Q3 and the BMW X1. We expect Volvo to play the value card like it’s always been doing, with the XC40 as well. If the XC40’s pricing is attractive enough, buyers opting for the Toyota Fortuner and the Ford Endeavour may consider it an attractive proposition. The XC40 sold in India will be offered with a 2-litre-4 cylinder turbocharged diesel engine that outputs peak power of 188 Bhp and peak torque of 400 Nm. There won’t be a manual gearbox option. Instead, this compact luxury SUV will use an 8-speed automatic gearbox. An all-wheel drive system is also likely.

As for styling, the Volvo XC40 looks like a mini-XC90. There’s a flat-nosed grille up front with a bonnet that is quite flat and SUV-like. While it’s competitors look like crossovers, the XC40 continues to have clean SUV lines. Many buyers may find the muscular looks of the new Volvo quite attractive. On the inside, styling is typically Volvo, in other words, quite minimalist. The leather-clad interiors have a large, vertical touchscreen in the center console, flanked by AC vents. The rest of the dashboard is clutter-free with only air conditioning vents on either side as additional features.