Volvo EC40 long-term test: report 6

The car Volvo EC40 Plus, single motor extended range Run by Mark Pearson, used cars editor

Why it’s here To see if this suave and upmarket coupé SUV can cut it against several similar electric car rivals in this highly competitive class 

Needs to It’ll need to dispatch commuting, work and family life without any range anxiety issues and cope with a wide variety of everyday duties

Miles covered 2890 Price £54,305 Target price £52,167 Price as tested £55,055 Official range 345 miles Test range 268 miles 

24 February 2025 – La Dolce Vita 

If it’s true that you have to pay to get what you want, it seems to be equally true that you don’t always get what you pay for. 

It’s perhaps surprising that considering how much my Volvo EC40 costs it doesn’t have an auto-hold facility. This is a useful device that holds the car stationary without you having to rest your foot on the brake pedal. Some people will here point out that the way around this first-world problem is simply to engage N for neutral, although that might still require you to keep your foot on the brake pedal. Alternatively, you can put it into Park, but that would involve the process of putting it back into Drive (with your foot on the brake pedal) when you want to move off. 

However, there are plenty of other clever things on show in my EC40 to impress and entertain and to show where my money has gone. The interior, for example, is leather-free with materials all made using responsibly sourced or partially recycled upholsteries. There’s some great ambient and adjustable backlighting around the front and on the doors, and a full-length panoramic roof above your head which is ideal for stargazing.

The interior ambience is very Volvo, very classy and very a la mode, neatly matching its exterior styling, and I like it, as do my passengers. Returning to it recently from a brace of humbler cars was a joy because it felt so upmarket, and even small but important details continued to impress me, like the speed with which its electric seats and steering wheel heat up on colder mornings. 

Despite driving it daily through several months of that colder weather, I’m pleased to report an increase in the efficiency of my car, too. Over my first 1000 miles, the digital readout on the dash told me the EC40’s miles per kWh figure (think of it as equating to an mpg figure in a petrol or diesel-powered car) came in at 3.5 miles per kWh. After I’d put another 1000 miles under its tyres that figure increased to 3.7 miles per kWh. That equates to a real-world range of about 278 miles – short of its official range of 345 miles, but about what I’d expect to see in everyday motoring, based on my adventures with it so far. 

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