Should you buy one?

The XC40 has always been an excellent choice in the compact electric SUV market, and that doesn’t look to change with the switch to the EX40, even after very early impressions.

The EX40 is a safe, secure and practical electric SUV that will easily slot into family life, with a more intuitive interior than more advanced EVs, not least Volvo’s new high-tech EX30.

But there’s no escaping that Volvo perhaps hasn’t pushed the updates on this EX40 far enough, especially next to more modern rivals like the Audi Q4 E-Tron Sportback and best-selling Tesla Model Y. But we’ll wait to deliver a fuller verdict on this new Volvo EX40 once we’ve been able to test it for more time in the UK.

What we like

The EX40 is stylish, refined in most areas and can deliver fantastic performance in the right spec. With so much standard safety kit, it offers a unique opportunity for security on the road. Hard to think of many rivals that inspire so much confidence by how planted and steady they feel on the road.

What we don’t like

Though generally commendable in terms of quality, the interior is starting to look a bit old hat, especially compared to newer offerings in the EX range. A couple of the dashboard buttons are also a little plasticky, plus the boot could be bigger.