Volvo EC40 long-term test

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 3531 Price £54,305 Target price £52,167 Price as tested £55,055 Official range 345 miles Test range 268 miles 

31 March 2025 – An interior design challenge

Since I've been driving around in my Volvo EC40, I haven’t seen many others — but I have seen several EX40s, its sibling car with the more upright rear stance. The Volvo EX30 seems even more popular though: the smallest of the brand’s all-electric SUVs.

I quite like the look of the EX30, and I admire its minimalist interior too, even if I share the popular opinion that there are too many functions now controlled solely via its touchscreen. This even extends to the door mirror adjustment, which must have seemed like a good idea at the time. 

My EC40 (hope you're keeping up with all the similar names) at least has its door mirror controls on the door, but nearly everything else is on the touchscreen. There’s a manual rotary dial underneath the touchscreen for the audio on and off and volume, and buttons on the steering wheel for changing the radio stations or adjusting the volume, and that’s about it, so if you want to change the air con temperature you have to go via the touchscreen or use the voice control. 

Meanwhile, its practicality continues to impress. Now, I might look a bit like a pound shop version of Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen, but my interior design skills are demonstrably not in the same league. You see, 18 months ago I bought a large rug for the living room which looked rather good hanging up in the shop. When placed in my living room it looked rather less good, a little dull of hue and a little too high in the shag. Having taken 18 months to decide it was wrong, we took it up, and then, realising we couldn’t be bothered to sell it, we decided to donate it to a nearby charity furniture shop.

Transporting it should be a doddle for a car like my Volvo EC40. It has a large and easily accessible boot, and its rear seats fold to provide an almost flat floor. The only fly was, spurred on by those interior design types, I’d chosen a very large rug indeed for the living room – 275cm x 200 cm in fact – so that even rolled up it presented quite a proposition. Thankfully, there was enough give in the rug for it to bend where needed, and in it went. Job done.

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