How is the quality and layout?

The EX40 boasts a sumptuously premium interior, and one perhaps more cultured than its rivals. The dashboard is recognisably Volvo with its portrait-orientated infotainment display, flanking arrowslit air vents and strip of illuminate wood grain-style art. It pales in comparison to the EQA in terms of spectacle but to our eyes is better for it.

Quality is generally excellent all round, besides a few plasticky buttons beneath the infotainment display. The fabric upholstery in our Black Edition car was soft and pleasant, while the door pocket lining felt like a nicely thought out touch. A truly likeable cabin.

Here’s what our staff writer Ted Welford had to say: One aspect of the EX40 that you can’t knock is its interior fit and finish. Though one of Volvo’s cheaper models, the quality never seems that way, with a range of upmarket materials used throughout.

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The Swedish firm has also gone leather-free with its EX40, with a range of sustainable alternative materials being adopted. Our test car also got a fantastic wool textile upholstery, giving it more of a feel of an upmarket Scandinavian lounge, rather than a compact SUV’s interior. 

Infotainment and tech 

The EX40 features a portrait-orientated 9.0-inch infotainment display as standard. A host of other tech features are also thrown in, including wireless phone charging, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Disappointingly, though, Apple CarPlay still required a wire connection even in our top-spec Black Edition car. The infotainment display itself is reasonably crisp and clear, with large app buttons for easy navigation. 

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Pretty much all of the car’s functions are controllable from the display, which can be a bit of pain while on the move. However, the baked-in Google Assistant will at least let you keep your eyes on the road with voice control. Even in base-spec models, Google Assistant, Google Maps and Google Play Store are included for four years.

Comfort 

• Comfortable seats 
• Options for heating 
• Heated steering wheel in Ultra

The seats are comfortable enough, with soft padding to ward off fatigue. They kept us reasonably well in place, but they’re no Recaro hip huggers. Not that a set of those would feel very congruous in a Volvo EX40. Seat heaters are available in higher specs, along with a heated steering wheel in Ultra trim.