Auto news on Youtube Apr 5 2018

A city SUV? Sounds like an oxymoron.

You either idle in traffic or go off road.

Sadly, life is more about the former and maybe a few trips on the city ring.

There's just no point in driving a gas-guzzler, but small city cars aren't for everyone.

Is Volvo XC40 a good compromise?

Wow, this one is really well designed! Armrest compartment and cup holders are lined with ribbed rubber which makes it easy to clean.

There's a garbage bin! I feel like I'm driving a „simply clever" Skoda.

However, this is no boring Skoda.

XC40 sticks to the road, is agile and the gearbox works great.

As you may remember from my Jaguar E-Pace review, it's not always the case.

E-Pace was also a gas guzzler. So's this Volvo – 2 litre 247 HP engine is great, but going below 10 litres / 100 kms is out of the question.

I must admit that driving XC40 is a pleasure.

Also, I'm loving the suspension! Which is odd as every Volvo with R Design was way to stiff for my liking.

I drove XC40 on all of my usual bumpy roads and I couldn't believe myself.

Even a bumpy forest road is OK – and should I want to try sth hard core and go off road, there's 21 cm clearance.

In the city, XC40 is agile, easy to maneuver, has parking sensors, blind spot assistant, there's even the 360 camera which makes maneuvers really easy.

The visibility is also great – which wasn't the case in the BMW X2 I tested recently.

In the X2, slanted shape of the car made the A and B pillars obstruct the view, whereas in boxy XC40 there's no such problem.

And when I leave the city, I have ACC and Pilot Assist. Which means I set the speed, distance to the car before me and the car drives itself.

It takes only a few seconds before it asks me to take the wheel but this is a good way to get used to autonomous cars.

And yeah, there are no such cars at the moment. But each new car model has more and more advanced systems and some day you will be able to let the car drive.

Also, notice I said „able" not „forced". This is not the same thing.

Infotainment is a big vertical tablet.

You can type in an address, choose a radio station and so on.

The keyboard is rather small so if you want to add a stop to the route or change something, do it while parking.

As for the GPS, I've got a funny story for you.

We went to the lakeside from Warsaw in this Volvo. I punched in the address and off we went.

However, there's a part of newly opened road not yet covered by Volvo maps.

These things happen, but after a few kms of driving „off road" according to the GPS, the system finds itself and resumes proper guidance.

However, Volvo got completely lost and showed us entirely different area on the map than the on we were in.

And sure, turning the car off and on again helped but I think this shouldn't happen at all.

A small SUV means small boot, right? Wrong.

The boot is really well designed – the floor can be folded and those hooks can be used to secure shopping bags

There's elastic band on the right

We had no problem packing everything for a weekend trip. And apart from clothes, we also carry a lot of gear.

Sadly, the boot is smaller than it could be – the 460 litres is diminished by a spare tire. What's it doing here even?

It doesn't make any sense.

And I'm not saying it only because I wouldn't change a tyre in a thousand years

but because Volvo XC40 is offered as a monthly subscription service called Care by Volvo.

What you're really getting is a service not a car – whatever happens, you have assistance and you don't have to think about changing a tyre while wearing silk dress.

And yeah, it's for companies only, but a sole proprietorship is a company too.

I'm not a fan of small SUVs in general, but I can't help liking the XC40.

I'd probably take a less powerful 2 litre diesel engine, skip the sunroof and change the color from boring grey to anything more interesting.

And what about you, how do you like this car? Let me know in the comments below.

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New car reviews and tutorials every Thursday, same time. Thanks and see you soon!