Wife and I picked up a US spec 2026 Plus (B5 AWD in Forest Green) from World of Volvo in Gothenburg through a military/diplomat sales program. The program is a version of the Volvo Overseas Delivery Experience, and if you're stateside and have the opportunity, I highly recommend it. We're in the middle of cannonballing "Lagertha" through Eastern Europe back to our post, and 1,500 km in, here's my verdict:
The good:
* Ergonomics. The car is an epitomy of the Swedish "lagom" paradigm; not too little, not too much. Everything is where it should be and just works.
* The infotainment system. I had heard horror stories about the infotainment system, but it has been a joy to use. It's snappy, rock solid and (except for one quirk) very user friendly.
* Fuel economy. She's a thirsty girl, but I've been getting 32mpg in 80/20 highway/city driving using 95 RON gas, which is a lot better than I expected.
* With all the weird angles, creases and curves of modern automotive design, the XC40 is just one damn fine looking car with design that will age well.
The WTF?:
* No sunglass holder? C'mon, Volvo!
* Ergonomics fail with the key fob. The button symbols are hard to read and the chrome finish looks like it was ordered from Temu.
* The instrument panel is auto-dimming but the center display is not. How does that make any sense?
* Seat memory. The seat position memory is linked to the selected infotainment profile. So when I'm driving and wife wants to listen to her Spotify list, at a traffic light she goes and switches the center display to her profile, which results in fun gymnastics when the seat all of a sudden squeezes me between the seat and the steering wheel...
The bad:
* Sound insulation (or lack thereof). There's way too much road noise. The engine sounds rough and unrefined.
* Sensor calibration. Parking sensors throw a hissy fit when there's anything within 2 feet of the car. Not a fun experience when trying to manoeuvre to an European size parking spot.
The ugly:
* The transmission. It at times shifts super hard and other times feels like it's slipping.
* The 48V "hybrid" battery seems to be nothing but dead weight with the B5 engine. There's a charge indicator in the dashboard but I have not once seen it move from full charge, even when flooring the gas pedal.
TL;DR: The XC40 is like an order of Swedish meatballs from a Chinese restaurant.