Gallery: Volvo C40 Recharge Pure Electric, RM289k AWD EV

Dec 27, 2022 9:24 am

The last car to be launched in Malaysia this year is the Volvo C40 Recharge Pure Electric, which is essentially a coupe version of the all-electric XC40. Offered in one ‘Ultimate’ variant only, the C40 Recharge Pure Electric fetches a price of RM288,888.

Malaysia straight away receives the 2023 facelift version of the C40 which no longer comes with a dual-tone colour scheme. Body colour options for the Volvo C40 in Malaysia include Black Stone, Thunder Grey, Crystal White, Sage Green, and Fjord Blue. The last colour option is what you see in the pictures here.

From the front, the C40 is identical to the facelifted XC40, sharing the same headlight design, front panel, and front bumper. As you shift to the side of the car, the difference between this and the XC40 becomes more obvious. The sloping roofline gives the C40 a sportier appearance and it flows well into the rear end of the car which looks rather wild with the dual spoiler set-up and uniquely designed lights with an alluring Welcome Light sequence.

The spoilers and sloping roofline aren’t all just for show though as the C40 has a lower drag coefficient of 0.319 compared to the XC40’s 0.329. Combined with the fact the C40 is also 3 kg lighter at 2,185 kg, the C40 is more energy efficient. Its WLTP (Combined) range is 451 km, 13 km more than the C40.

	Volvo C40 Recharge Pure Electric	Volvo XC40 Recharge Pure Electric
Drag Coefficient	0.319	0.329
Weight	2,185 kg	2,188 kg
Range (WLTP Combined)	451 km	438 km
Electric Consumption	19.8 kWh/100km (lowest)	21.6 kWh/100km (lowest)

Although the Malaysian-spec C40 is the ‘Ultimate’ variant, it comes with a set of 19-inch five-double spoke wheels instead of the 20-inch five-spoke design. Like the XC40 Recharge P8 Pure Electric, the wheels are wrapped in a set of Pirelli P Zero ELECT tyres which are specially designed for electric cars. The tyres have a staggered setup with the rear tyres being 255 mm wide and the front tyres being 235 mm wide.

Performance-wise, the Volvo C40 Recharge Pure Electric gets a dual-motor all-wheel drive (AWD) setup that makes 408 hp (metric) and 660 Nm. The numbers translate into a 4.7-second 0-100 km/h acceleration time, which makes overtaking a breeze with this little electric crossover coupe.

Storing energy in the C40 Recharge Pure Electric is a 78-kWh battery pack, that provides up to 451 km of range (WLTP). Charging can be done at a maximum rate of 11-kW with AC charging and 150-kW with DC Fast Charging (DCFC). 11-kW AC Charging charges the battery from 10% to 100% in 8 hours while 150-kW DCFC brings the state of charge (SOC) from 10% to 80% in 28 minutes.

Inside, the Volvo C40 Recharge Pure Electric and XC40 Recharge Pure Electric are identical with an exception for the large fixed panoramic sunroof. The C40’s interior is 100% leather-free and has interesting ‘topography’ trims on the dashboard and front door panels. These ‘topography’ trims are inspired by the topography of the Swedish mountains and are backlit to provide an interesting look in the dark.

The fully-electric coupe-crossover also gets the marque’s full suite of the Intellisafe advanced safety assistance systems, with features including front and rear autonomous emergency braking with intersection support, as well as pedestrian, cyclist, and large animal detection, lane keeping assist, blind-spot monitor, and cross-traffic alert with auto brake, among others.

Like the XC40 (B5 and Recharge Pure Electric), the Volvo C40 gets ‘Google Built In’ and Volvo’s ‘Digital Services Package’ that includes Google Assistant, Google Playstore, Google Maps, and data for said services. The C40 comes with a 5-year/unlimited mileage warranty, an 8-year/160,000 km EV battery warranty, 5 years of Volvo On Call, and 5 years of Volvo Inclusive Service.

GALLERY