What's the difference?
Throughout its history Volvo has been known for a lot of things. Being a safety leader, dorky but endearing station wagons, ‘bloody Volvo drivers’, and more recently, a trailblazer in minimalist premium design.
The C40 is the first step in a next chapter for Volvo, with the brand wanting to be known next for its leadership in the electric space. For the first time for Volvo, it’s a fully electric offering
But in a world of Teslas, Polestars, and Mercedes Benz EQs, where does the C40 sit, and is it worth considering in an increasingly congested premium small SUV space?
We went to its Australian launch to find out.
Kia expects its all-new Tasman to be a key player in Australia’s highly competitive ute segment. And to its credit, the Korean manufacturer has created its contender from scratch, rather than taking the easier platform-sharing route favoured by some rivals.
However, judging by feedback from numerous locals during our test, the jury is out on whether Aussies will warm 'en masse' to its bold styling and confronting appearance, which tends to distract from the capable vehicle beneath.
So, given our tradie focus, we recently spent a week in the lowest-priced entry point for Tasman dual-cab ute ownership, to see how it measures up as a tool-of-trade for tradies, farmers or fleets wanting a back-to-basics workhorse.
The C40 becomes a compelling option in the electrified small SUV space, offering a premium look and feel, great range and tech inclusions at the price, as well as awesome on-road dynamics.
Its main downsides are the rear seat, which is compromised by its platform and design-led roofline, and the overwhelming power and added traction of the dual-motor makes the single motor less attractive on the value front.
Still, regardless of variant chosen, the C40 looks to offer a stand-out balance of price, range, and performance, against its traditional rivals and newcomers alike.
Ute buyers prepared to look beyond the Tasman’s polarising appearance will discover a competent all-rounder. It has its faults like any ute but boasts high standards of engineering, build quality, interior design and performance that make it a worthy new competitor in this space.
Volvo has become a brand with a distinctive and consistent design language which embodies the kind of beautiful minimalism normally associated with Scandinavian brands.
I have always liked how Volvo says more with less design elements, with only gentle touches of chrome or gloss black, and a lack of over-the-top sporty pieces avoiding the temptation to over-sell the sporty potential of the brand’s range.
The C40 takes the small SUV formula, well established by its XC40 relation, and gets a bit weird and experimental. It’s slightly lower and has a more coupe-styled rear, with a strongly raked rear window giving it a sportier and more aggressive look than the rest of Volvo’s SUV range.
The styling is sold by an angular spoiler piece running atop the boot, and the rear light clusters have gone all minimalist, constructed of individual pieces rather than a single transparent housing, and they give a nod to the C30 hatchback which this car is the spiritual successor to, by name and nature.
The interior offers up no surprises, sticking to the formula Volvo has established across all of its current models. An effortlessly premium space with, again, a minimalistic dash dominated by the portrait touchscreen, the C40’s premium nature is confirmed by its finely patterned inlays, simple chrome pieces, and abundance of soft-touch surfaces.
The big upright vent fittings with clever rhomboid patterns on their adjustment dials are always a highlight piece of modern Volvos, and the pattern work is continued on the central volume adjust dial and even on the little rotating pieces of the light and wiper stalks. Clever.
Even the software is paired back on the multimedia suite and digital dashboard, with easy to use shortcuts and simple menus which suit the car.
Volvo might turn off some buyers with the more unconventional shape of the C40. But for those looking for a more traditional SUV it also offers the XC40 in the same two variants, and the Polestar 2 caters to those not looking for an SUV at all.
The Tasman is claimed to have more Australian input than any previous Kia model and it certainly has a distinctive ‘Australianised’ competence in the way it performs (see Driving).
It also follows a reassuringly conventional engineering path with its turbo-diesel drivetrain, body-on-ladder-frame-chassis, twin wishbone/coil-spring front suspension, leaf-spring live rear axle, four-wheel disc brakes and electric power-assisted rack and pinion steering.
The Tasman is no shrimp either, as it shares the same 3270mm wheelbase as the market-leading Ford Ranger and is slightly longer and wider.
Work-focused light commercials are often armoured with unpainted plastic in areas prone to bumps and scrapes. The Tasman S 4x2 follows convention here too with dark grey plastic prominent at the front, rear and along the sides, where unusual ‘eyebrows’ are positioned above the wheel-arches which every onlooker we spoke to said looked better in body colour.
The S 4x2 shares the same 206mm ground clearance, 800mm wading depth and approach/ramp breakover/departure angles as its S, SX and SX+ 4x4 siblings. However, they also share a shallow approach angle of only 20 degrees, which is considerably less than its previously-mentioned rival 4x2 models.
The lower ‘spoiler’ section of the front bumper seems largely responsible for this, as it looks too close to the ground and vulnerable to damage from a farmer’s rocky creek-bed crossing or a tradie’s rugged worksite.
The black and grey interior is a functional and spacious design (see Practicality) which looks and feels more upmarket than typical base-model offerings. It has the coolest doorhandles we’ve seen in a ute, which although made of a composite material look like machined steel, complete with a lathe-like knurled finish on the finger-pulls.
There’s also soft-touch surfaces on the door armrests to optimise elbow comfort plus contrasting hard-surface finishes including honeycomb and diagonal patterns, two-tone fabric seat trim with exposed stitching and neat embossed grooves across the seat-facings.
The C40 is essentially a XC40 with a cropped down roofline, and there are some obvious downsides which this new shape brings.
The front seat throws no surprises, though, offering plenty of room for two adults with a welcome level of adjustability for the seat and wheel. The seats could be more comfortable, though, with a notable lack of padding in the base compared to some luxury (or even non-luxury) rivals.
I’m a fan of the fabric trim which comes on both grades, bucking the trend of needing to have leather or leather-like trim for a car to feel ‘premium’.
The ample window space up front, including the massive glass roof helps the C40’s cabin feel spacious, but the view out the rear with its aggressive design is all but a very limited letterbox aspect, particularly if the rear seat headrests are in the upright position.
While some controls are exclusively via touch interface, there is a physical volume dial, and shortcut buttons for the defogger functions.
Temperature is controlled by touch, however, and the detail settings have some smaller toggle adjustments. Tricky to jab at when you’re on the move.
The digital dash is refreshingly simple, but minimally adjustable, with the choice of either a nifty navigation screen, a blank screen, or trip details being the only options.
Cabin storage is good but not stellar. There are bottle holders and big pockets in the doors, a set of two cupholders in the centre (beats the Polestar 2’s single cupholder), a small tray with a wireless charger under the multimedia screen, and a smallish console armrest box.
The rear seat is where the real problem exists. Unlike the XC40, the C40’s cropped roofline means my head was hard up against the roof (I’m 182cm tall).
I did have decent knee room behind my own seating position, however the seat comfort in the back still isn’t as good as some rivals.
The middle position is also compromised, thanks to the raised centre floor piece the C40’s platform needs to facilitate all-wheel drive in its combustion relations.
A bottle holder appears in each door pocket, and in a rare inclusion, there are heated outboard rear seats, adjustable air vents, and USB-C charging ports.
The boot has a quoted capacity of 413 litres with the rear seats up. The floor is comparatively high suggesting a smallish space when loaded with luggage cases, for instance. Stay tuned for a follow-up review so we can see how well it holds our three-piece demo set.
The floor itself has an adjustable, pop-up divider and multiple luggage hooks, making it quite versatile, and there is a cavity beneath which can hold your charging cables as well as the inflator kit in place of a spare wheel.
With its 2126kg kerb weight and 3250kg GVM, our test vehicle has a mighty 1124kg payload rating which is the largest available in the Tasman fleet. And up to 100kg of that can be carried on the roof.
Like its 4x4 siblings, the 4x2 model is rated to tow up to 3500kg of braked trailer but with its 6200kg GCM (or how much it can legally carry and tow at the same time) the payload would need to be capped at 574kg (a reduction of 550kg) to avoid exceeding the GCM.
Although few (if any) owners would need to tow 3500kg, it’s important to be aware of these numbers if you did to avoid overloading. Even so, almost 600kg of payload would still allow for a crew of five and their gear when towing the maximum trailer weight, so this is a useful set of numbers for many working roles.
Internally the load tub is 1573mm long, 1600mm wide and 543mm deep with a load volume exceeding 1.3 cubic metres. And with 1186mm between the rear wheel-housings, it can carry either Aussie or Euro pallets.
The tailgate can be opened remotely and its hinges provide opening/closing assistance. There’s no standard tub-liner but it comes with four load-anchorage points positioned at around mid-height.
There’s ample cabin space for the driver and front passenger plus storage including a bottle-holder and bin in each door, a single glovebox and a centre console with a large open tray at the front with USB-C ports, two cupholders in the centre and a large box at the back with an internal 12v socket and padded lid which doubles as a comfy elbow rest.
Rear cabin access is enhanced by doors that open to almost 90 degrees and Kia claims the rear bench seat offers best-in-class legroom, headroom and shoulder-room. Even so, it would still be a shoulder squeeze for three big Aussies (like all dual cabs short of a full-size US pick-up) so a limit of two would be preferable for long trips.
Rear storage includes a bottle holder and bin in each door plus pockets on the front seat backrests and a slender pocket on the rear of the console ideal for storing phones. A couple of USB ports would be handy here too, but we are talking base-grade.
There’s also no fold-down centre armrest at this level but the bench seat's 60:40-split base cushions can swing up and be stored vertically if more internal cargo space is required, or to access a full-width bin that can store heaps of stuff away from prying eyes.
When it comes to electric vehicles, it’s impossible to consider price alone, as you also have to consider driving range, and the C40 manages to impress on both fronts.
Its refreshingly simplified range consists of just two highly-specified variants, a single motor which starts from $74,990, offering a 434km driving range, or a dual motor starting from $82,490 which offers a 420km driving range.
There’s much more devil in the detail, but to set the scene there are now quite a few direct rivals in this price-bracket, including everything from the Tesla Model Y (from $72,300), Mercedes-Benz EQA (from $78,513), Polestar 2 (from $63,900) and even the Kia Niro which is similarly sized and specified (from $65,300).
Interestingly, the C40 is closely related to the Polestar 2, but has a much higher base starting price. Volvo says this is because it carries a higher standard specification, and offers the C40 without option packs.
Standard gear on the base single motor C40 includes 19-inch alloy wheels, a 9.0-inch portrait multimedia touchscreen (running a Google-based always-online software suite), LED headlights, dual-zone climate control, a fixed panoramic sunroof, electrically adjustable front seats, heated seats for the front two and outboard rear seats, a powered tailgate, as well as keyless entry with touch-free ignition.
Interestingly, Volvo also told us some 90 per cent of customer interest so far has been for the more expensive dual-motor variant, which is particularly impressive for doubling the power output while adding 20-inch alloy wheels, a 360-degree parking suite, premium Harmon Kardon audio, and an alternate interior trim.
Both variants score safety equipment and items which are otherwise part of expensive option packs in the Polestar 2 range. We’ll take a look at the full safety gear later in this review.
Overall, the C40 impresses on the premium car value front compared to rivals, bolstered by solid range and impressive performance.
The Kia Tasman range offers a choice of cab-chassis and ute body styles and five model grades comprising S, SX, SX+, X-Line and premium X-Pro.
Our S 4x2 test vehicle represents the bottom rung of the model ladder, for those not needing the all-terrain capabilities of its S 4x4 sibling and other Tasman models. However, it does share the same 2.2-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel and eight-speed automatic transmission, for a list price of $42,990.
That's more than competitive with equivalent dual-cab ute rivals like the Ford Ranger XL Hi-Rider 2.0L auto 4x2 ($43,530), Toyota HiLux Workmate Hi-Rider 2.4L auto 4x2 ($44,820) and Isuzu D-Max SX High-Ride 2.2L auto 4x2 ($44,200). Our example is also finished in 'Steel Gray' which is a premium paint option that adds $700 to this price.
The S 4x2 comes standard with 17-inch black steel wheels and 265/65 R17 tyres with a full-size spare, automatic LED headlights/daytime running lights/tailgate-mounted rear stop-lights, front/rear parking sensors, rear bumper corner-steps, body-coloured/heated door mirrors, body-coloured doorhandles with pocket lights (front doors only) and more.
Accessing the cabin using the smart key reveals a premium steering wheel and gear knob, remote start, six-way manually adjustable driver’s seat, dual-zone climate control, 12v socket and USB-C ports, tyre pressure monitoring, integrated trailer brake controller, reversing camera and more.
There’s also a six-speaker audio system and what Kia calls the ‘Integrated Panoramic Display’ which in one expansive digital screen combines a configurable 12.3-inch driver’s instrument display, 5.0-inch climate control display and 12.3-inch multimedia touchscreen display.
Great news here, the C40 can be chosen with two powerful layouts, either a front-wheel drive 170kW/330Nm set-up, or a dual-motor all-wheel drive arrangement, able to make use of nearly double the power at 300kW/660Nm. The dual-motor is capable of sprinting from 0-100km/h in just 4.7 seconds.
The front-drive is backed by a 69kWh battery allowing it a 434km range, while the dual motor ups the battery size to 78kWh to allow a 420km driving range.
All Tasmans share the same 2.2-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel that produces 154kW of power at 3800rpm and 440Nm of torque across a 1000rpm-wide band between 1750-2750rpm, which showcases flexibility that's well suited to hauling and/or towing heavy loads.
This engine is paired with an eight-speed torque converter automatic offering the choice of sequential manual-shifting and five selectable drive modes comprising Normal (default), Eco, Sport, Tow and MyDrive with the latter allowing custom settings.
Surprisingly, energy consumption is quite high for both C40 variants. The single motor is the more efficient of the two, consuming 16.8kWh/100km on the more lenient ADR testing schedule, while the dual motor officially consumes 22.2kWh/100km to the same standard. I saw around 23kWh/100km overall in my short test of the dual-motor variant.
Energy consumption could be better for both, as I have achieved more consistently impressive results particularly from Hyundai and Kia electric cars.
Where the C40 is more impressive though is its charging specs, which are exactly where they need to be for a car this size. On a rapid DC charger, the C40 can charge at a rate of 150kW meaning a 10 - 80 percent charge in 40 minutes for the dual motor, or 32 minutes for the single motor.
On the slower AC standard, the C40 charges at a rate of 11kW. Expect a 10 - 80 percent charge time of around five or six hours on this standard.
The C40 uses a European-standard Type 2 CCS charging port, although it misses out on the handy two-way charging feature offered by some rivals.
Kia claims combined average consumption of 7.4L/100km and the dash display was showing 8.3 when we stopped to refuel at the completion of our 591km test, which included suburban, city, highway and backroad driving of which about 120km was hauling its near-maximum payload.
Our own figure, calculated from fuel bowser and tripmeter readings, came in higher again at 9.6 which is still within the usual 2-3L/100km discrepancy between lab-based official figures and real-world numbers. That's also excellent sub-10L economy for a vehicle weighing more than two tonnes operating mostly in urban settings.
So, based on our own consumption figure, you could expect a realistic driving range of more than 800km from its 80-litre diesel tank.
If you’ve driven any kind of XC40 or even a Polestar 2 before, the C40 will offer no surprises. It’s pretty much exactly the same from behind the wheel with a few subtle tweaks.
This is a very good thing. The C40 is quiet, easy to drive, and its electric motor and regen system offer a smooth single-pedal experience.
It is also alarmingly, overwhelmingly, rapid. While its massive set of batteries under the floor make it feel heavy off the line in stop-start traffic, sticking your boot into the accelerator will remove any doubt, particularly in the dual-motor variant, that this Volvo means business.
The dual-motor also has an incredible torque-vectoring system, making it extremely difficult to elicit so much as a squeak from its tyres. It also feels as though torque is distributed quite evenly between its two driven axles, making it feel neither prone to over- or understeer.
This has the effect of making the C40 feel somewhat indestructible in the corners, with absurd levels of grip.
The same feeling is present in top-spec versions of the Polestar 2, only the feeling of ever-present weight is more noticeable in the higher-riding C40, which can make it unsettling to take corners at the kinds of speeds it is capable of.
The steering tune is interesting. Volvo offers two software-controlled modes, either heavy or standard, and the standard mode is heavy enough.
Despite its electrical assistance, the wheel does continue to offer some organic feedback, making the C40 a pleasure to steer on countryside roads.
The ride is also surprisingly good, despite massive wheel options. I was impressed how easily the C40 handled most bumps and undulations, communicating little to the cabin.
The ride can approach its limits with such big wheels and the weight of its batteries, generally these are communicated via unsettling thuds from underneath the car. Regular undulations at higher speeds also had the C40 bouncing around a little.
On the whole, though, the cabin is kept relatively insulated and serene, adding an element of total confidence, similar to that offered by Teslas, whilst offering better ride quality with a softer edge. At higher speed, at least on the 20-inch wheels, road noise does pick up, however.
In terms of electric driving, there is a single adjustable setting for regen. The car either offers a full single pedal mode with maximum regenerative braking to bring the car to a halt with the motor alone, or a ‘standard’ mode which tones the regen down and offers it blended in via the brake pedal.
Single pedal mode is more efficient. I suggest you stick to it if you want to make the most of this car’s efficiency.
I was surprised to have so few complaints about the C40’s drive experience. This is a balanced and capable EV which is yet another example of how even vehicles which use combustion platforms are improved out of sight by full electrification.
There’s no cabin side-steps but large handles on the A and B pillars assist climbing aboard. People of most shapes and sizes can find a comfortable driving position given its supportive seating, large left footrest and height/reach-adjustable steering wheel featuring a flat top to optimise forward vision and a flat base to provide ample torso room.
It exudes solidity in its engineering and build quality along with excellent steering feel, handling and braking. It also has energetic acceleration and all-round performance.
We trialled the sequential manual-shifting and selectable drive modes but spent most of our test in the ‘Normal’ default setting as it provides the best compromise. It’s also a low-stressed highway cruiser requiring only 1600rpm to maintain 100km/h and little more for 110km/h.
The unladen ride quality is firm, as you’d expect given its big payload rating, but it’s more supple than some other 4x2 one-tonners we’ve tested without loads.
To test its GVM rating we forklifted 890kg into the load tub, which combined with our crew of two equalled a total payload of 1070kg which was only about 50kg below its legal limit.
Under this weight, the large bump-stop rubbers fitted to the rear leaf-springs engaged with the chassis rails above them very early in compression, which eliminated the hard thuds experienced with traditional designs that ‘bottom-out’ over large bumps and through dips.
The Tasman proved to be a competent heavy load-hauler in ‘Normal’ drive mode, maintaining its hearty performance and sure-footed handling with more than one tonne on board.
It also made light work of our 13 per cent gradient, 2.0km-long set climb at 60km/h, self-shifting down to third gear to easily haul this load to the summit.
Engine-braking on the way down, in a manually selected second gear, was equally strong until the engine reached 4000rpm on overrun (no redline is displayed) and promptly shifted up a gear.
These engine-protection protocols are increasingly common in light-commercial vehicles (both utes and vans) but can spring a surprise when you’re ‘leaning’ on the engine to restrain its payload during steep descents and it suddenly shifts up a gear and starts running away from you. Even so, the Tasman’s four disc brakes easily maintained the posted 60km/h speed limit for the remainder of the descent.
Overall, we struggled to find fault in the driving experience apart from one baffling oversight in cabin design, given the steering wheel’s rim blocks the driver’s view of the climate control screen located between the instrument and multimedia screens.
This is distracting for drivers, given climate control settings are among the most-adjusted cabin functions. Hopefully this will be corrected in future upgrades.
Sticking to its brand promise, Volvo offers the full range of active safety equipment on the C40 regardless of variant.
This includes freeway-speed auto emergency braking, rear auto braking, lane keep assist with lane departure warning, blind spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert, and one of the best adaptive cruise control systems on the market.
The only item the single motor misses out on is a 360-degree parking camera, which is exclusive to the dual motor variant.
It is notable how the adaptive cruise control, blind spot monitoring rear cross-traffic alert, and rear auto braking are on the options list for the Polestar 2.
These active systems combined with eight airbags (the standard dual front, side, and curtain, as well as a driver’s knee and centre airbag) make for a five-star ANCAP safety rating to the latest 2022 standards.
The Tasman S 4x2 and X-Line/X-Pro 4x4 models are yet to be ANCAP-rated, but other grades earned the maximum five stars when tested this year.
There’s a full suite of airbags, auto emergency braking (AEB) with multiple object detections, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, trailer stability assist, driver attention alert, smart cruise control, lane-keeping and lots more.
Junior tradies get ISOFIX and top-tether child-restraint anchorages on the two outer rear seating positions.
The C40 is covered by Volvo’s five year and unlimited kilometre warranty, with a separate eight-year, 160,000km warranty for the battery. There is also eight years of roadside assistance attached.
It is pleasing to see the service intervals for the C40 are long, as they should be for an electric car with so few moving parts, set at two years or 30,000km.
The first 24 month service is free of charge, and Volvo tells us service pricing after this period will average out to around $100 a year ($200 per visit).
It comes with Kia’s excellent seven-year/unlimited km warranty, plus 12 months complimentary roadside assistance which is renewed each year for up to eight years if serviced by an authorised Kia dealer.
Scheduled servicing is every 12 months/15,000km whichever occurs first. Capped-pricing applies to the first seven scheduled services up to seven years/105,000km totalling $3971, or a pay-as-you-go average of $567 annually. Alternatively, Kia offers pre-paid servicing packages with cost savings for three, five or seven-year terms.
There are currently more than 160 Kia dealerships across Australia, which also provide vehicle servicing.