Volvo C40 vs Renault Trafic

What's the difference?

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.

The Renault Trafic is a practical and capable workhorse, but then so are some other mid-sized van rivals which sell in greater numbers and come standard with five-star safety credentials. Therefore, a potential buyer must be prepared to accept the Trafic’s inferior standard safety menu (or pay extra to enhance it) to exploit its numerous strengths in a working role.

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.

Our LWB example rides on a sizeable 3498mm wheelbase with four-wheel disc brakes, rack and pinion steering and MacPherson strut front suspension.

The rear suspension uses torsion bar primary springing, supplemented by a pair of secondary coil springs for carrying heavy loads.

Its 1967mm height ensures access to height-limited areas like multi-storey car parks and underground loading zones, but its lengthy wheelbase and front wheel-drive configuration combine to produce a relatively large 13.8-metre turning circle.

The Pro’s no-frills work focus results in extensive use of unpainted dark grey plastic in external areas where bumps and scrapes usually occur in hard-working vans, including the door mirror shells, wheel hubcaps, front/rear bumpers (including the rear pillars from top to bottom) and along the sides.

As a result, the Trafic has a robust and purposeful appearance, combined with a neat and practical cabin design with seating for three on a tasteful blend of contrasting grey fabrics. Hard surfaces are enhanced with satin chrome highlights.

The minimalist dash design (thankfully) provides physical ‘piano key’ buttons for numerous functions, plus there’s a trio of large manual dials to control fan speed, air-flow and cabin temperature in preference to distracting touchscreen prompts.

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 relatively light 1816kg kerb weight and 3070kg GVM, our test vehicle has a substantial 1254kg payload rating which is almost 200kg higher than Toyota’s HiAce LWB (1055kg).

Its 1630kg braked tow rating is also higher than the HiAce’s 1500kg limit and with its 4700kg GCM (or how much it can legally carry and tow at the same time) the Trafic (like the HiAce) can haul its maximum payload while towing its maximum trailer weight.

Standard cargo bay access is through a single kerbside-sliding door or glazed swing-up tailgate, but a right-side sliding door and glazed symmetrical rear barn-doors with forklift-friendly 180-degree opening (the latter as fitted to our test vehicle) are available as options. The cargo bay walls and doors are lined to mid-height.

The load floor is 2937mm long and 1662mm wide, with 1268mm between the rear-wheel housings. So, it can carry up to two standard 1165mm-square Aussie pallets or up to three 1200 x 800mm Euro pallets, secured by a choice of eight load-anchorage points.

The cargo bay offers a competitive 6.55 cubic metres of load volume. Our example is fitted with a 12mm-ply non-slip floor kit and cube shelving kit provided by local industry supplier Autosafe. According to Renault, this tradie-focused set-up retails for $5254 including freight and installation.

The fixed two-passenger bench seat has a lap-sash belt for the central passenger and even someone my height (186cm) can get reasonably comfortable in the middle of a crew of three, albeit with knees competing for space with the prominent dash protrusion that houses the gearshift. By contrast, the outer passenger has ample knee and foot room.

The cabin is equally generous with headroom and displays optimum use of storage space. This includes a large bin in each door which can fit large bottles, with a smaller bin above.

There’s also small-bottle/cupholders on each side of the dash-pad plus a clamshell-lid compartment ahead of the driver, a large open tray in the centre (with two USB-C ports), small closable bins in the lower dash on either side of the driver and a single glove box.

If you choose the glazed bulkhead option, the centre-seat backrest folds forward to reveal an elaborate three-tier workstation, starting with a clipboard on top that can also be detached to use outside the vehicle or mounted vertically in the workstation to face the driver or passenger.

Beneath the clipboard is a hinged work desk, which when raised reveals a shallow felt-lined compartment that’s ideal for hidden storage of phones, tablets, lap-tops etc.

Folding the bench seat’s front-hinged base cushions forward also reveals a cavernous hidden storage compartment underneath.

Our Pro LWB (Long Wheelbase) L2H1 test vehicle, in 'Glacier White' and ‘Pro’ model grade, comes with a 2.0-litre, four-cylinder, turbo-diesel engine and optional six-speed dual-clutch automatic for a list price of $53,000.

In comparison to the major players, that's in the same ballpark as the Toyota HiAce, lower than Ford's Transit Custom and higher than Hyundai's Staria Load and LDV's G10+.

Our example has a couple of extra-cost options including a glazed cabin bulkhead ($400) and glazed rear barn-doors ($400). The cabin is also equipped with a set of carpet mats ($138) from Renault’s genuine accessories range.

Its work-focused standard equipment list includes no-frills 16-inch steel wheels with 205/65R16 tyres and a full-size spare, plus an eight-way-adjustable driver’s bucket seat, 4.2-inch colour driver’s display including digital speedo, two-passenger bench with under-seat storage, rear parking sensors, reversing camera, LED headlights and LED daytime running lights.

Multimedia is provided by an 8.0-inch central touchscreen with wireless Apple and Android smartphone mirroring and Bluetooth audio streaming.

Renault also offers numerous individual options, plus option packs including the 'Comfort Pack', 'Peace of Mind Pack' and 'Trade Pack'.

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.

The Euro 5-compliant 2.0-litre, four-cylinder, turbo-diesel produces 125kW at 3500rpm and peak torque of 380Nm at 1500rpm.

The six-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission offers the choice of sequential manual-shifting using the shift-lever (no steering wheel paddles) and offers three drive modes comprising 'Normal' (default setting), 'Eco' and 'Performance'.

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.

Renault claims official combined (urban/extra-urban) average consumption of 6.5L/100km but the Trafic’s dash display was showing 7.9 when we stopped to refuel at the end of our 359km test, of which about one third of that distance was hauling a one-tonne-plus payload.

Our own figure, calculated from actual fuel bowser and tripmeter readings, was higher again at 8.9 which falls comfortably within the usual 2.0-3.0L/100km discrepancy between official and ‘real world’ consumption.

Fact is, any mid-sized van that can produce sub-10L economy in the real world gets a big thumbs-up from us. So, based on our numbers, you could expect an expansive driving range of around 900km from its 80-litre 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.

The driver’s seat offers good comfort with its firm bolstering, fold-down inboard arm-rest and adjustable lumbar support. The only thing missing is a left footrest, just like the one residing in the outer passenger footwell which is of course the driver’s footwell in LHD models.

The synthetic leather-rimmed steering wheel feels nice in your hands and has a premium look. Eyelines to all mirrors are good and the large window in the optional cabin bulkhead allows a clear view through the rear barn-doors, but only if you remove the centre seat’s headrest when the middle seat is unoccupied.

Engine response is at its most energetic from 1500rpm where maximum torque is tapped and it continues to pull strongly all the way to maximum power at 3500rpm.

The decisive shifts of the dual-clutch automatic in Normal (default) drive mode feel well calibrated in terms of optimising the engine’s performance in all driving conditions, which is confirmed by only small differences in response when using the Eco and Performance modes.

Its gearing also ensures the Trafic is well-suited to highway work, requiring only 2000rpm to  maintain 110km/h. It’s even better with the optional bulkhead/cargo barrier as fitted to our test vehicle given it insulates the driver from most cargo bay noise, which can become intolerable in vans at these speeds without this item fitted.

To test its payload rating we forklifted 975kg into the cargo bay. Combined with the weight of the Autosafe fit-out and driver, it equalled a total payload of 1150kg which was only about 100kg less than its legal limit.

The rear suspension compressed about 50mm under this loading, yet still had ample travel to ensure there was no bottoming-out during our test drive. It hauled this one-tonne-plus payload with commendable ease in city, suburban and highway driving, with negligible effects on handling and braking.

It also impressed on our 13 per cent gradient, 2.0km set-climb at 60km/h, quickly downshifting to third gear to easily haul this load to the top.

Engine-braking on the way down, in a manually-selected second gear, wasn’t as robust, but in our experience typical of small displacement (sub-3.0L) turbo-diesels trying to restrain one-tonne-plus payloads on steep descents. Even so, the four-wheel disc brakes comfortably kept speeds under control without a hint of fade.

There’s no ANCAP star rating and the current range (September 2022 onwards) only earned a silver medal in ANCAP’s Commercial Van Safety Comparison, with its score of 45 per cent reflecting the absence of AEB for pedestrians/cyclists and lane-keeping assist.

Even so, its standard safety menu includes front and lateral-curtain airbags for driver and passengers plus driver’s thorax airbag, car-to-car AEB, lane departure warning, rear parking sensors, a reversing camera and more.

However, with a huge blind-spot over the driver’s left shoulder created by the solid cargo bay walls, a Trafic buyer should not have to pay extra to get essentials like blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert, given these active safety features are standard on the segment-leading Toyota HiAce.

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).

The Trafic comes with a five year/200,000km warranty, which includes five years 24/7 roadside assist. Scheduled servicing is 12 months/30,000km whichever occurs first. Capped-pricing applies to the first five scheduled services up to five years/150,000km which totals $3555, or an annual average of $711.