Mains-replenished hybrid tech is a stepping stone, yes, but this car presents a giant leap for its type.

 Price: $84,900

Powertrain and economy: 1.5-litre turbo-petrol three-cylinder and electric drive, 132kW/265Nm, seven speed twin clutch transmission, front-wheel drive, combined economy 2.2L/100km, CO2 50g/km.

Vital statistics: 4425mm long, 1873mm wide, 1658mm high, 2702mm wheelbase, luggage capacity 452 litres, 19-inch alloy wheels.

We like: Cool Volvo vibe, impressively efficient.

We don't like: Off-road mode might mislead, no AWD option, cumbersome charging cable.

FULLY fossil-fuelled cars are certainly not at the point of being untenable, yet surely only those so close-minded to risk being considered unhinged must accept that breaking away is not a matter of ‘if’ but ‘when’.

Manufacturers have already decided to move on; the big rush to provision products that, to varying degree, leave us better sorted for a future quite different to our present state is well and truly on.

Some of those vehicle will undoubtedly turn out to be more relevant than others, of course; that’s an inevitable given there’s been as much forecasting based on little more than crystal ball-gazing as there has been on solid evidence.

But, anyway, transition has begun. Consumers now need to know what’s best for their future. Mild hybrids are certainly taking off, but though cost-efficient and effective in the now, they surely will not remain the best go-to forever.

So, really, it has to be electric with ability to plug-in for replenishment, which still means one of two choices: A car that wholly dedicates to electric driving, or one that also keep a petrol engine in reserve, there to keep those wheels turning on occasions when the battery can no longer do that job.

A just-created Volvo sub-brand is working both those beats; ‘Recharge’ is tasked with encompassing all of the make’s hybrid or fully electric cars. It’s a big deal because, by 2030, you won’t be able to get a Volvo with a fossil-fuelled powertrain. 

In the here and now, though, that is still possible. Hence why at the moment the Recharge push starts with a plug-in hybrid; that is, with a mains-replenishable electric drive system, backed up by a petrol engine. Next year, though, Recharge moves up into its ultimate rendition, as a totally electric drivetrain.

At the centre of all this is the XC40 compact crossover. It’s a prescient choice. For one, it’s aimed at a category resounding most powerfully with consumers. For another, the XC40 is the most electric-ready of all current Volvos, by virtue of being on the new Common Modular Architecture, a platform purpose designed for batteries.

But anyway. At this moment in time, you can keep buying the XC40 as it has presented for several years, with engaging petrol engines. Or you can take it as it represents for this test: With that petrol-electric powertrain. Or you can wait until 2022 and buy the full electric.

No argument, the latter will be the most future-proofed and it appears to have  some brilliant credentials; it looks identical to its ICE and PHEV brothers, bar the now obligatory blanked-off body colour grille, and is motivated by a powerful 300kW/600Nm 78kWh lithium ion battery-fed drivetrain previously used by Polestar, the Volvo-related premium marque that is coming here soon.  Volvo claims a WLTP range of 413km on a single charge. Anyone able to think beyond Tesla should give it a serious thought.

Can the same be said about the PHEV? Actually, yes. For sure, in purely technical terms the plug-in might seem a bit tenuous, as it is running a bridge technology. It’s for this reason that some brands, including a couple of Volvo’s rivals, have chosen to skip petrol-electric. They see it as being a technical overkill, on grounds that it requires a car to have two powertrains, one of which will become all the more expensive and challenging to produce once Europe’s next level of emissions regulations, Euro 7, comes into play.  

Yet as the game plays now, the XC40 PHEV really stands a strong hand; for simple reason that it seems to be one of a special few PHEVs that work extra to prioritise the electric side of its operation.

Officially, this car will do 46 kilometres without using a drop of fuel, pushed along by its 60kW electric motor From my experience you’d think it had an aversion to using petrol at all. In the initial phase of my week of driving, that fuel tank readout just wasn’t keen to budge.

A duff gauge? No, not at all. Everything came down to how it was been operated. Though I had a decent open trip planned, for the first few days the car essentially entertained urban work with only occasional running in the 100kmh zone. As things transpired, that’s the right kind of regime to keep the car at its most efficient.

Various drive modes are on offer when the car fires up, but the default is Hybrid which prioritises electric drive, though unlike the next and ultimate setting, the self-explanatory Pure, it also puts the engine on standby, just in case you need a bit of extra oomph. As it turned out, it often actually didn’t.

That surprised, because, foremost, I thought that claimed daily EV range would really be blown apart by living in a rural zone. Though our home is but 12kms’ from a metropolitan sector, there’s a 100kmh zone between my gateway and the point at which everything comes back to urban pace.

Anyway, I found that the car would retain the electric drive even when it was inserted into the open road traffic stream and hold it for the ensuing period; yes, it had to be driven somewhat judiciously, but not the point where I felt it was impeding others, and sure it did use a fair lot of electricity, but no dangerously. There was heaps left for around town.  

But, anyway, basically for that higher-speed run I found the only period when it would entertain engaging the engine was from it either being given a bootful of power or from resetting the Drive programme to Power.

Does this mean the EV that’s not wholly EV might be EV enough for most occasions? Well, yes, it could be. When it was taken for a more extended open road drive, the Power function was clearly the optimal setting; the battery life will deplete reasonably quickly after around 10 minutes’ 100kmh driving. Engage the engine and, yes, the performance perks up noticeably and it’s also acting as a generator to replenish those cells, markedly moreso in Charge mode than if left alone, but still. On top of that, you can also feed something back by slotting the dual-clutch automatic gearbox into its B transmission mode to enhance regenerative braking. The feel is obvious but not so abrupt as to unsettle the car; before long you’ll be using this to slow for intersections and only brushing the brake pedal should a firm, final stop be required. 

If operating as I was for those first couple of days, it basically is so electric-first that you could almost be lulled into thinking the Big Oil-addicted lump of metal ahead of the firewall is simply there for ballast.

Apart from being a bit light-footed, driving successfully in this way also comes down to keeping the battery well-charged. I don’t have a wallbox, so was forced to feed the thing off a standard household fitting, which I cannot recommend. Even though this is a smallish battery, 10.7kWh, feeding it off the home supply is tedious and time-consuming; as daft, really, as teaspooning petrol into the tank. I tended to not let it get down to less than 30 percent charge, but even so it was basically eight hours plus to get back to 100 percent replenishment. The same result would have been achieved in 40 minutes, at most, had I gone to a fast charger, or four hours off a proper home box.

Anyway, the electric-petrol balance is tasty. I’m not sure if Volvo’s cited optimal fuel economy of around 2.2L/100km is truly achievable, but I certainly had no trouble getting it down to the fives.

The concessions to taking this route do require consideration. A PHEV not only costs $10k more than the regular petrol T5 AWD R-Design, but is a touch slower and is 73kg heavier, even after relinquishing all-wheel-drive for front-wheel drive.

On top of that, there’s also a different kind of ambience. You’re really dealing with two cars in one in that, for all the obvious effort put into ensuring top quality fit and finish, the sound-proofing that enables it to be incredibly amenable in all-electric isn’t quite good enough to disguise when the engine comes into play. Three-cylinder powerplants are not in themselves unpleasant to listen to – once it’s up to a steady pace, this one has a nice timbre- but unfortunately it does tend to enact with a bit of a bark. Mind you, you are spoiled when it does the full EV thing. I’ve some full electrics that are less hushed and refined.

All the same, it’s hard not to see the appeal if you’re of the mind to enjoy a best-of-both worlds scenario. Though not as grunty as the T5’s 2.0-litre, the three-pot definitely gives more than enough punch to suit the car’s purpose. And, of course, it’s the reason why it can be driven long distances without having to open either ‘fuel’ latch – the one at the back to access the petrol tank – which incidentally is six litres’ smaller than with the regular car’s, presumably to fit the battery - or the one ahead of the front door on the passenger side, to feed off mains power.

When driving this car it’s hard not to divorce your thinking process from considering another slightly larger choice in the same kind of body style that’s somewhat cheaper. However, fact is that as much as the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV will look pretty competitive in terms of mechanical and technical operability, it assuredly won’t in respect to driving mannerism and presentation. 

Despite the presence of 19-inch rims, the ride comfort is pretty good and while the it isn't an outright sporty and dynamic car to drive quickly, it has the same sport chassis settings as the T5 R-Design so there is some genuine engagement. Also, Volvo treats this model to really decent rubber.

The Recharge PHEV has the same basic specification as the T5 R-Design, but adds in a Harman Kardon premium sound system and comfort seats in leather (yes please to both), a powered tailgate. The panoramic sunroof with sunblind is probably the one thing I wouldn’t want, but there’s no choice on that.

What also sells it is the overall design. The distinctively Volvo design aesthetic really works well here; here’s a car with lots of presence. Though settled into the compact category, it has a spacious interior front and rear, with an acceptably sized boot, too; the chair comfort is excellent, too, and being a Volvo it ticks every safety consideration, including for potentials you probably never a lot of thought to.  

The cabin design and layout is also special in how it presents. That quick-responding portrait-oriented touchscreen in the middle of the dash might seem a touch too showy, but it is a brilliant thing to operate and the digitally rendered instrumentation in front of the driver is also well-rendered.

All in all, here’s a car that exudes quiet cool and is difficult not to like.