2023 Volvo XC40 B5 Ultimate Dark Review

Volvo keeps kicking goals Down Under. In 2022, it sold 10,715 units in Australia, which was an 18.7 per cent increase on 2021 and this year so far, its sales are up a further 4.3 per cent on last year. It’s clear that ahead of the brand’s switch to an all-electric lineup in 2026, Volvo’s fortunes are looking positive in Australia. One of the reasons why is the XC40 small SUV, which offers a lot locally: petrol or electric power, practicality and handsome styling. Should the 2023 Volvo XC40 B5 Ultimate Dark be at the top of your test drive list if you’re after a premium small SUV? Read on to find out.

The XC40 competes in the seemingly ever-popular premium small SUV segment, itself with a 10.9 per cent increase in sales compared to last year. There are several rivals to the XC40, including the Audi Q3, BMW X1, Lexus UX, the Mercedes-Benz GLA and GLB twins, Mini Countryman and the Cupra Formentor. Yet with 1,550 sales under its belt so far in 2023, the XC40 is comfortably ahead of any of them. There has to be a reason as to why, right?

Price & Equipment: 8/10

For now, there are three petrol-powered XC40 variants in Australia, and we tested the top-spec B5 Ultimate Dark, which is priced from $64,990 plus on-road costs or around $72,000 drive away. If that’s too much money however, the entry-level B4 Plus can be had for under $60,000 drive away – but you can also spend a lot more on an XC40 with the top-spec fully electric Recharge hitting almost $90,000 drive away.

Standard equipment on the XC40 B5 Ultimate Dark includes 20-inch wheels, roof rails, dusk-sensing automatic LED lighting with front and rear daytime running lights, automatic wipers, suede and ‘microtech’ faux leather upholstery, 14-way electric front seats with driver’s memory, dual-zone climate control with an air purifier and rear vents, four USB-C ports, a 9.0-inch vertical touchscreen with Google Android Automotive software, an inbuilt eSIM for live services and live updates with unlimited data for four years, access to the Google Play Store to download apps such as Spotify, Google Assistant, Google Maps navigation, wired Apple CarPlay, digital radio, an eight-speaker sound system, a digital driver’s display, a wireless phone charger and clever features like a parking ticket holder on the A-pillar, a waste bin in the centre console and a carry hook on the glovebox lid.

Safety kit includes seven airbags, auto emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian and cyclist detection, lane keeping assistance with lane trace assist, driver attention monitoring, auto high beam, adaptive cruise control with stop and go functionality, a 360-degree camera and front and rear parking sensors. At the time of writing, blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert and automatic rear braking are unavailable for five weeks of production for petrol XC40 variants thanks to the chip shortage affecting the global car industry, but are due to be added back soon – our test car was built before then, however. The XC40 earned a five-star ANCAP safety rating in 2018.

Colour options for the XC40 B5 include the no-cost ‘Black Stone’, as well as the $1,200-optional ‘Crystal White’, ‘Fusion Red’, ‘Thunder Grey’, ‘Sage Green’, ‘Silver Dawn’, ‘Bright Dusk’ and our test car’s ‘Fjord Blue’. Suede and faux leather trim is standard, while full leather in black or creme is a no-cost option.

Other options include the $2,600 Lifestyle Pack with a 13-speaker Harman Kardon sound system and a panoramic sunroof, the $900 Climate Pack with a heated steering wheel and heated front and rear seats, a $3,850 for 21-inch alloy wheels and an optional $750 for rear privacy glass. Individual options from the packages are also available: the Harman Kardon sound system is $1,300, the panoramic roof is $2,350, a heated steering wheel is $380, heated front seats are $550 and heated rear seats are $380.

While there are a plethora of rivals to the XC40, we consider the Audi Q3 40 ($58,400 plus on-road costs) and the BMW X1 xDrive20i ($70,400 +ORC) to be the main rivals for the XC40 B5 Ultimate Dark in particular because of their added performance over the entry level Q3 and X1 variants.

Up front, the Q3 40 looks like excellent value for money thanks to its lower asking price – but buyers must spend around $5,000 in options (like the Premium Package, Black Exterior Pack and Parking Pack) to match the XC40’s spec, and once you’ve done that, the XC40 is still physically larger and offers more performance. On the other hand, the X1 is quite expensive by comparison at $5,410 more, yet it doesn’t feature any more equipment than the XC40 and it also lags behind the Volvo performance wise. For those reasons, we think the XC40 Ultimate Dark offers pretty good value for money in the premium small SUV segment.

Performance & Economy: 7.5/10

Under the bonnet of the 2023 Volvo XC40 B5 Ultimate Dark is a 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine that’s mated to a 48V mild-hybrid system. It’s rated at 183kW of power (between 5,400rpm and 5,700rpm) and 350Nm of torque (between 1,800rpm and 4,800rpm) – more than the 140kW/320Nm outputs of the Q3 40 and the 150kW/300Nm outputs of the X1 xDrive20i. It’s mated to an eight-speed torque converter automatic transmission, and all-wheel drive is standard with the B5 drivetrain.

The engine in the XC40 B5 Ultimate Dark is pretty good. It sounds good, it offers strong performance for the segment – the claimed 0-100km/h sprint is just 6.4 seconds, or comfortably in hot hatch territory – and it’s also quite refined. It’s also mated to a 48V mild hybrid system for claimed greater efficiency. While many of these mild hybrid systems claim efficiency bonuses, in reality, they don’t appear to do too much and the Volvo’s system is the same: it really feels like an extended stop start system. The engine turns off slightly earlier when coming to a compete stop, and because the mild-hybrid system takes over from a starter motor, turning the engine on is very fast and quiet affair.

The only available transmission on the petrol XC40 range is an eight-speed torque converter automatic transmission made by Aisin. It’s a totally fine gearbox – not dual-clutch fast as in the Q3 and X1, but pretty seamless and intuitive as well. There can be a slight low-speed hesitation thanks to the mild hybrid system, but it’s otherwise fine. We also like that the XC40 has a one-touch gearknob – in larger Volvo models, you have to press the gearknob twice to go from, say, reverse to drive, which is annoying. No such problem in the XC40, however.

The claimed fuel consumption for the XC40 B5 is 7.2L/100km with CO2 emissions rated at 165g/km, but in reality, we achieved nowhere near that – our mostly highway driving result of 8.2L/100km is not great, and we were trying to be efficient as well. That’s probably down to the XC40’s porky weight, though it’s hardly alone in the segment as the Q3 40’s claim is 8.0L/100km and the X1 xDrive20i’s claim is an identical 7.2L/100km. The XC40 uses minimum 95RON premium unleaded and it has a 54-litre fuel tank. It’s consumption would have been even worse if we spent more time driving it around town.

Ride & Handling: 9/10

The 2023 Volvo XC40 B5 Ultimate Dark is based on the company’s ‘CMA’ platform that’s also shared with other brands under the Geely umbrella, including the Polestar 2. As you’d expect for a Volvo, the XC40 is quite comfortable and despite the 20-inch wheels on our test car, it rode quite well with very little in the way of harshness – only the sharpest of bumps can be felt in the cabin.

The XC40 is not a keen handler in the same way that a BMW X1 is, but that is absolutely fine in our opinion, as small SUVs are not exactly sports cars. Dynamically, the XC40 is still positive thanks to well-weighted steering and great grip from its chassis. Its visibility and road noise levels are excellent too, as is its active safety kit – you can choose either adaptive or regular cruise control, while the lane keeping systems are nicely subtle, too. Best of all is that these systems remain how you want them the next time you switch the car on. If you want to tow with the XC40, it can tow a 2,100kg braked trailer – 100kg more than both the Q3 40 and X1 xDrive20i.

Interior & Practicality: 9.5/10

As we’ve discovered with previous XC40s, the cabin of the 2023 Volvo XC40 B5 Ultimate Dark is one of the best in the segment thanks to its quality, practicality, spaciousness, intuitive tech and comfort. Material quality is largely good with very solid build quality, there’s plenty of storage space and Volvo seats are arguably the best in the industry with their all-day comfort and support.

The quality inside the XC40, as you’d expect for Volvo, is mostly great with soft touch materials almost everywhere and some cool touches too, like the 97 per cent recycled carpets, door pockets and floor trims that all feel quite plush. The switchgear – like the door handles in particular – feels nice in the hand too, with a high quality feel. We quite like the crystal gearknob, which is from Swedish brand Orrefors, that adds a touch of class inside.

There is plenty of storage space in the XC40, including large carpet-lined door bins, a big box underneath the centre armrest with a separate removable waste disposal bin, big cupholders, a big tray underneath the centre console with a wireless phone charger and a big glovebox with a curry hook on the lid.

The centre of the XC40’s cabin is a 9.0-inch touchscreen with Google Android Automotive software. It also features an eSIM for live services, over-the-air updates, Google Maps navigation integration and Google Play Store access – it also features wired Apple CarPlay and digital radio. The system is easy to use, the screen quality is good and the sound system on the optional Harman Kardon system is excellent with punchy bass and great aural clarity – we would definitely tick that box if we were buying an XC40.

The climate controls still take a few presses to get simple functions, however, and the layout of the system can take some time to get used to – we prefer Polestar’s version of the software for that reason. But we love that the Google Play Store gives you access to apps like Spotify and Waze to use from the car instead of streaming from your phone – just make sure you’re within reception range.

The 12-inch digital driver’s display looks good too, though it’s not that configurable (especially compared to the equivalent in the Q3 40) and the controls for it are a bit confusing to use as well. The 360-degree parking camera also takes a bit of time getting used to because it doesn’t display the reversing image at the same time – you have to press the screen to get just the rear image, annoyingly.

The back seat of the XC40 is as good as it gets in the small SUV segment with pretty good legroom, excellent headroom, comfortable seating and a good level of features such as big flock-lined door bins, a centre armrest with cupholders, air vents and two USB-C charging ports – our test car also featured heated seats. There are two ISOFIX points on the outside seats with three tether points as well. The seat doesn’t recline, however, unlike the X1.

The boot of the XC40 measures at 460-litres – larger than the Mazda CX-5 from the class above but still smaller than both the Q3 (530L) and X1 (467L) – with the seats up and 1,336L with the seats folded (versus 1,525L for the Q3 and 1,527L for the X1). But redeeming it are are a number of clever features in the XC40’s boot such as a floor that can be folded up with hangers to secure shopping bags, under floor storage, side storage, a 12V socket, a ski-pass through and shopping bag hooks. There’s a space saver spare wheel underneath the boot floor and the seats fold completely flat as well.

Service & Warranty: 9/10

Like other new Volvo products, the 2023 Volvo XC40 B5 Ultimate Dark comes with a five-year/unlimited km warranty with eight years of roadside assistance. While Volvo doesn’t disclose its pay-as-you-go service pricing, a pre-paid five-year/75,000km service plan costs $3,000 ($600 per service).

Both BMW and Audi also offer five-year/unlimited km warranties, though neither offer as much roadside assistance as Volvo – Audi gives you five years and BMW gives you only three years. A five-year/75,000km service plan on a Q3 40 costs $2,970 and the same for a X1 costs $2,150 – both cost less than the XC40, but you get a superior aftersales package.

The 2023 Volvo XC40 B5 Ultimate Dark DiscoverAuto Rating: 8.6/10

If you’re after an excellent all-rounder in the luxury small SUV segment, we would be putting the 2023 Volvo XC40 B5 Ultimate Dark at the top of your test drive list. Why is that? It’s just so easy to live with – it’s quiet, very comfortable, its tech is mostly easy to use, it’s very practical, easy to drive and its active safety systems – as you’d expect for a Volvo – are intuitive and subtle.

The only negatives we can offer about it are that it can be thirsty, its service pricing isn’t cheap (though the rest of the aftersales experience is positive) and the touchscreen can take some time getting used to. But it does offer a range of powerplants for a range of budgets, including an all-electric version, increases its versatility further. Overall, it’s a really likeable car and should definitely be under your consideration if you’re after a very family friendly premium small SUV.