Before you take the big leap to buy a fully electric car, there’s always the option of a plug-in hybrid model that gives the peace of mind of a petrol engine, with the economically- and environmentally-friendly addition of an electric motor.

There are an increasing number of plug-in petrol cars (PHEVs) available for Kiwis to buy, covering a variety of budgets, from MG’s newest model, the HS priced from $52,990 to Mitsubishi’s extremely popular Outlander ($52,490). The Outlander is the top seller in the PHEV category in New Zealand with 79 registered already this year while Mini’s Countryman ($64,790) takes second place with 24 sales so far in 2021.

Premium brands such as BMW, Mercedes, and Audi also have PHEVs in their line-up plus Porsche and Range Rover. And now Volvo New Zealand’s newly launched XC40 Recharge is joining the European PHEVs.

Priced from $84,900, the XC40 Recharge PHEV combines a 60kW/160Nm electric motor and 10.7kWh lithium-ion battery pack with a 1.5-litre turbocharged three-cylinder 132kW/265Nm engine.

The Recharge’s lab-tested fuel economy is 2.2 litres per 100km compared to the petrol-only XC40s range between 7.7 and 8.0L/100km. However, fuel consumption drops to zero when the electric motor is used alone – with a 45km range.

It also has a new seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox and is front-wheel-drive.

It is 4425mm long and 1652mm high, with a width of 1862mm.

The Recharge also has the R-Design specs including 20in tyres, leather and a firmer suspension set-up.

The hybrid XC40 SUV is part of Volvo’s electrified future and is set to help reduce its carbon footprint per car by 40 percent by 2025. Within this time frame, the Swedish carmaker also expects 50% of its global sales to consist of fully electric cars, with the rest hybrids.

Ben Montgomery, Volvo NZ general manager, says international demand for their crossover SUV model has surged, despite the impact of the pandemic. 

“Plug-in hybrids now make up almost a third (30 per cent) of Volvo sales in Europe, making Volvo the leading plug-in premium brand when measured by the share of its total sales volume,” said Montgomery. 

“The XC40 PHEV accounts for a significant part of this global growth and early local interest suggests this model will make up a solid proportion of our New Zealand EV/hybrid sales this year.”

Customer deliveries are expected to commence from the second half of the year but AutoMuse has just had one for a road test.

I’ve always liked the styling of the XC40, I find it a cheeky just stylish compact SUV with a Scandinavian cool vibe to it. 

The XC40 petrol models have also been a success for Volvo NZ that originally struggled with supply but now are finding a steady groove when it comes to satisfying customers.

I was excited to test the Recharge PHEV, especially as I live near central Auckland, making it easy to just run on the full electric mode during the day, with charging from home taking 4 ½ hours.

Short journeys around the city were completed in the serene quiet of electric-only running, though I did wish pedestrians would look before they stepped out into carparks as I had a couple of incidents where shoppers didn’t hear me coming so I had to suddenly brake.

And talking of braking, the other upside of Volvo is the safety aspect. As famous for its styling, Volvo is also renowned for its safety features; with the XC40 boasting a huge list of passive and active systems.

Within a few hours of picking up the XC40 PHEV, I encountered city safety; it’s “autonomous emergency braking, collision warning, avoidance and mitigation support with vehicle, cyclist, pedestrian, and large animal detection”.

Basically, the car ahead of me in stop-start afternoon traffic stopped suddenly, and despite there being a two-car gap, city safety was activated. Simultaneous, brakes were automatically applied, seat belts were pulled tight to draw us into our seats, and a warning light came on.

The bonus of the XC40 to help with city driving - and being alerted to traffic issues ahead – is that you sit up high with a good amount of glass around you so you don’t have any real blind spots.

The cabin is a cool place to be in, either front or rear seats. There's also a useful selection of door pockets and centre-console cubby space, acknowledging that you'll have a drink, a phone and a laptop with you.

The only issue is entry and exit to the rear for adult passengers as the rear wheel arch cuts into the bottom of the door so you have the scoot sideways. But the XC40 is more a two-person car or suitable for one child seat in the rear.

As for the boot, there is 460 litres of luggage space with the rear seats up, or 1336 litres with them down. 

Upfront, the nine-inch touchscreen is found in all Volvos and is logical and easy to use, though it will be interesting to see the updated version that Volvo has just announced via its partnership with Google.

A button just below the touchscreen activates the different driving styles that are illuminated on the screen; pure (just electric), hybrid, sporty or off-road. I used pure for quick trips, hybrid for longer city drives and sporty on the motorway. I even had the chance to use off-road when I visited Parihoa and took a friend for trip across the farm to check out the stunning views up to Kaipara harbour.

But before the off-roading, I had clocked up the kms in the XC40 Recharge; an airport pick-up followed by a day of city driving including a long lunch. The bonus of the XC40 was the size of it, and I easy parallel parked in a spot Westhaven while what looked like most of Auckland were scrambling for parks to watch the America’s Cup racing.

The next day, we headed west on the motorway so I activated sporty mode, with the steering wheel firming up and the gears held longer. I also used adaptive cruise control to keep my speed and distance at a safe range.

There were some niggles: the brake pedal didn’t offer much in the way of feel, making for some jerky moments, especially in off-road mode when I stopped half-way up a hill and then tried to take off again.

As for the handling, it doesn’t seem to suffer too much from the added weight of the batteries, but like the regular XC40, there’s a bit of body lean and this isn’t a sports car.

But overall, the XC40 Recharge makes a stellar choice when it comes to style, safety and the reassurance of a petrol SUV with the bonus of all-electric city driving.