The Scandinavian automotive company’s foray into an ecofriendly future with Electric vehicle is becoming increasingly certain but in countries like Malaysia, it’s a little harder to adapt as we don’t have the infrastructure just yet. So, Volvo unveiled a little taste of what it can be by combining the petrol-fueled engine with an Electric motor in one of their mini-SUV which goes by the name: Volvo XC40 Recharge T5, unveiled in Malaysia.

Volvo XC40 Recharge T5: The Real Change

The Volvo XC40 Recharge T5 looks the same and it’s still the Compact SUV we all know but now in a Hybrid variant. The engine we find under the new XC40 is the T5 Twin Engine – which is build based on the technologies used in the companies’ bigger models like the XC90 T8, but the T5 Twin Engine has a completely new powertrains to offer benefit for both the user and the environment. They did that by combining the electric motor and a petrol engine.

Starting with the Petrol Engine: It uses a completely new, compact, and lightweight 3-cylinder, 1.5-litre engine 7-Speed Dual Clutch Transmission which produces 180hp and 265Nm of torque, mounted to the front and drives the front wheels. If you were to look at the Birds-eye Skeletal View of the T5 Twin Engine Power train – you will notice that it has the battery on the back where you find the trunk of the car is and the rest of the motor and so on, is positioned at the front.

Now the electric motor: The XC40 features an electric motor with high capacity and delivers 160Nm of torque and has a maximum power of 82hp. These electric motors drive the front wheel where the engine is positioned. You might wonder if that brings any benefit, which it does – giving users a usable range, torque in pure electric mode. Despite being the big car it is, Volvo claims the motor has good acceleration performance. This combination is said to bring the CO2 emissions to a minimum because it does have other technology under the hood that makes it a lot more efficient on top of the fact that it’s a car that’s as usable as an ordinary car with just a petrol engine.

Regenerative Breaking Technology is seen in many hybrids – the whole idea is to recapture the car’s kinetic energy and convert into electricity through the breaking mechanism and that will charge the car’s battery. That also increases the driving range and reduce the wear on brake pads and discs somehow. Volvo took that and made something unique: Regenerative Stability Control. This on the other hand, offers the all the benefits of the Regenerative Breaking Technology but it also ensures that the car is stable at all times during the process. Shows, how much Volvo cares about a person’s safety while driving their car around.

Still the Same Volvo XC40

As for the other aspect of the car – it still has all the nits and grits of what Volvo was offering with the XC40 T5 R-Design – that beautiful and bold design that blends into any kind of environment, coupled with Intellisafe- Safety Features like City Safety, Front and Rear Collision Warning, Mitigation Support, BLIS, Cross Traffic Alert, Lane Keeping Aid and Driver Alert Control. It features 5 different drive modes right now, as it has a 10.7kWh Lithium Ion Hybrid battery on the back of the car – and the inclusion of Hybrid and Pure is a new option.

Pricing and Availability

The New Volvo XC40 Recharge T5 R-Design comes in one and only one variant that will be priced at RM 241,997.04 (After Sales Tax Exemption) and once we go back to normal, it will be priced at RM 255,888. Do take note that the pricing is without insurance. If you do want to buy the Petrol only variant, worry not as Volvo will be selling that too at RM 231,651 (After Sales Tax Exemption) and RM 245,888 with Sales Tax.