2025 Volvo EX40 Road Test and Review

2024 Volvo XC40 Recharge ・ Photo by Brady Holt

The Volvo EX30 is winning awards. This all-electric crossover promises Volvo’s premium style and quality at an affordable price, promised at only around $35,000. It’s a hit around the world. The problem: It’s manufactured in China, and just before it was due to hit the U.S. market, the U.S. government established a 100 percent tariff on Chinese-built electric vehicles. (Volvo is a Swedish company, but it’s now owned by the Chinese carmaker Geely and manufactures the EX40 in China.) In response to the tariff, Volvo dropped its plans to sell the EX30 in the U.S. until it can ramp up production in Belgium. 

Fortunately for Volvo, it already sells a Belgian-built EV crossover in the U.S. It’s the 2025 Volvo EX40, a subcompact electric crossover previously known as the XC40 Recharge. The EX40 has a higher starting price of $52,500, but it has more standard features, more power, a nicer interior, and a longer range per charge than the so-far-unavailable EX30. For this review, we just spent a week testing a 2024 XC40 Recharge that’s functionally identical to the 2025 EX40. Keep reading to explore its pros and cons to find out if Volvo already has the perfect small EV for you. 

Volvo Isn't Sitting Still

The XC40 Recharge was the first fully electric Volvo when it hit the U.S. market as a 2021 model. But the company keeps working hard to keep the model competitive. The 2025 EX40 looks just about the same as the 2021 XC40 Recharge – which itself looks about the same as the gas-powered XC40 that debuted in 2019. But each year brings changes under the skin. 

In 2022, Volvo boosted the car’s electric range from 208 miles per charge to 223. The following year brought a redesigned front end and new upholstery options: a choice between vegan leather and “tailored wool.” For 2024, Volvo redesigned the suspension, introduced an extra-efficient Single Motor rear-wheel-drive model, and improved the Twin Motor AWD version’s range again, this time to 254 miles. Now, for 2025, the EX40 has the same stubby, upright design (175 inches long and 65 inches tall) but ekes out a bit more range again. The new name slots the EX40 clearly into Volvo’s emerging EV nomenclature – bigger than the EX30, smaller than the upcoming EX60 and the new EX90. Overall, if you’ve driven an early XC40 Recharge, don’t assume you know all about the EX40. 

2024 Volvo XC40 Recharge ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Nearly 300 Miles Per Charge

As we mentioned, the 2021 XC40 Recharge hit the market with a modest 208-mile range per charge. By contrast, the 2025 EX40 travels an EPA-estimated 260 miles with AWD and 296 miles with rear-wheel drive. Both versions are economical, making the equivalent of 94 mpg with AWD and 106 MPGe with rear-wheel drive. As on most EVs, the Volvos are the most economical – and therefore have the longest range – at lower speeds than on the freeway. Keep that in mind for road trips. 

Our rear-drive 2024 XC40 Recharge was rated at 293 miles per charge, and we were on track to just miss that estimate in a week of mixed driving (about 285 miles). The Single Motor includes a larger battery and more advanced charging capabilities than the Twin Motor, and it can get from 10 percent charge to 80 percent in just 28 minutes on a DC fast charging station. The Twin Motor takes 34 minutes. And either can recharge in about 8 hours at a 240-volt car charger like you’d find in some public stations or you’d install at home. 

These aren’t the best range and charging specs in the industry, but especially if you stick with rear-wheel drive, the EX40 can easily cover all the ground most folks need for daily use – and isn’t too painful to take on a long road trip, either.

2024 Volvo XC40 Recharge ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Fast and Faster

EVs are known for their strong, near-silent speed, and that has become a Volvo hallmark since the XC40 Recharge’s debut. The 2025 EX40 continues that hot streak, with the AWD Twin Motor making a mighty 402 hp and 494 lb-ft of torque. Volvo says it whips to 60 mph in just 4.6 seconds, which is quicker than nearly all gas-powered SUVs – and even most rival EVs. 

Even the new Single Motor is agreeably peppy. With 248 hp and 310 lb-ft of torque, it needs 6.9 seconds to hit 60 mph. That’s slightly slower than the gas-powered XC40, but the EX40 feels quicker to us. EVs make peak torque right off the line, and you never hear the sound of a hardworking four-cylinder under strain. 

2024 Volvo XC40 Recharge ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Smooth and Agile

The EX40’s peppy powertrains are well paired with a firm, composed suspension, which Volvo overhauled last year to create a smoother and steadier ride. We’re fans of the result.

The EX40 weighs 4,700 pounds, which is portly for a subcompact crossover. But like other EVs, it enjoys a low center of gravity because of the heavy battery at floor level. So it feels both solid and stable. The redesigned suspension helps it feel even more premium than some other EVs with the same built-in advantages, too, like the Mercedes-Benz EQB and the Tesla Model Y. Don’t expect the handling precision of a Genesis GV60 or Audi Q4 e-tron, but the Volvo is decent fun to drive without being uncomfortable. And its tight 37-foot turning radius is welcome in tight quarters. 

We do wish for a choice of drive modes, though. You can choose heavier or lighter steering. You can set the car to either coast or brake when you lift off the accelerator. And you can select Off-Road Mode. But you can’t tune the throttle responsiveness or choose among a range of regenerative braking levels. 

2024 Volvo XC40 Recharge ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Classy and Functional Interior

The EX40’s interior layout is nearly identical to the gas-powered XC40, and both are similar to Volvos up and down the model lineup. It’s a beautiful balance between modern technology and classic luxury; it’s not aggressively high-tech, but it doesn’t look stale and dated, either.

A vertical 9-inch Google-based infotainment touchscreen occupies the center of the dashboard between two vertical vents. There’s also a 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster that includes a Google-based GPS view. There are buttons, stalks, and knobs like in a normal car, and the infotainment system supports Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Most materials are high-quality, and everything fits together perfectly and moves with precision – just what you’d expect from a luxury marque. It’s a stark difference from the EX30, which has a bigger central screen and no separate gauge cluster, along with less-fancy materials. We’re also fans of our test vehicle’s tailored wool upholstery; more conventional leatherette and suede options are also available. 

The EX40 is also a functional little SUV. It’s tall enough to be decently roomy despite its subcompact dimensions. You can’t exactly stretch out, especially in the backseat, but the EX40 supports four people sitting high and upright. And unlike some crossover EVs, you get an SUV-high seating position. For cargo, the EX40 has a middling 20.7 cubic feet of space with its rear seat in place and a more impressive 57.5 cubic feet with the rear seat folded down. A small front trunk (or “frunk”) has enough room for a charging cable. 

2024 Volvo XC40 Recharge ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Priced From $52,500

The 2025 Volvo EX40 is priced from $52,500. That’s for a base rear-wheel-drive Single Motor Core model. The top AWD Dual Motor Ultra costs about $10,000 more, and the mid-grade Plus sits between them at $55,300 with rear drive and $57,050 with AWD. 

That’s a similar starting price to the Audi Q4 e-tron, Genesis GV60, and Mercedes-Benz EQB, but it’s a lot more than a Tesla Model Y – especially since the Tesla qualifies for a $7,500 federal tax credit while the Volvo does not. But if you’re shopping around by price, keep in mind that many EVs face enormous discounts, especially on leases. Shop around carefully. 

2024 Volvo XC40 Recharge ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Competitors to Consider

As we mentioned, the EX40’s top competitors are the Audi Q4 e-tron, Genesis GV60, and Mercedes-Benz EQB. All three are all-electric small crossovers that, like the Volvo, have the high-quality and fairly conventional interiors of a gas-powered luxury SUV. The Volvo is much quicker than either of the Europeans while also edging out the Audi’s range and trouncing the Mercedes’. The Genesis comes closest to the Volvo’s specs and has even sportier handling, but it’s less roomy (while the boxy EQB is the spaciousness champ). 

Other upscale electric cars from non-luxury brands include the Hyundai Ioniq 5, Kia EV6, and Nissan Ariya. Of those, the Ariya has the posher cabin while the Hyundai and Kia have livelier driving manners and faster charging. 

Then there’s the Tesla Model Y, by far the best-selling EV in the country. It’s packed with technology, roomier and faster than the Volvo, and capable of beating the EX40’s driving range per charge – all for less money. But when your budget allows for a luxury SUV, the Tesla’s stiff ride and minimalistic interior can be dealbreakers. 

2023 Mercedes Benz EQB 250 ・ Photo by Brady Holt

The EC40 Option

The EX40 is a boxy crossover that looks just like the gas-powered XC40 except for a plastic panel between the headlights instead of a grille. If you prefer a bit more character, Volvo has another option for you as well: the Volvo EC40, previously called the C40 Recharge. 

The EC40 is an “SUV coupe” version of the EX40, meaning it has a sleeker silhouette than the EX40 but still has the same SUV-high seating position. It has less cargo room, but in addition to more distinctive and EV-exclusive styling (there’s no gas version of the EC40), its improved aerodynamics also gives it slightly better range and efficiency: an extra 2 miles with rear-wheel drive and an extra 8 miles and 3 MPGe with AWD. It does have a slightly higher sticker price than the EX40, though, so unless you’re attached to the SUV coupe design, the roomier EX40 is the natural choice. 

2024 Volvo C40 Recharge ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Final Thoughts

Volvo has always sold an appealing little electric SUV – well-built, nice to drive, wildly quick, and, like other EVs, efficient and inexpensive to refuel. The 2025 Volvo EX40 now has more competitive range per charge to go along with those assets, and it has gotten even better to drive the past couple of years.  

By the numbers, the EX40 doesn’t challenge a Tesla for its dominant specs and value. But as an efficiently sized luxury vehicle at a price that’s not too stratospheric, and without a steep learning curve to operate it, it has more appeal than ever. 

2024 Volvo XC40 Recharge ・ Photo by Brady Holt