---
title: "2019 Volvo XC40 R-Design Group Review: An Upstart With Personality, Smarts, And 2 Things That Annoy Us"
description: "Geely-owned Volvo's first compact crossover brings the fight to BMW, Audi, and Mercedes-Benz."
date: "2018-05-09"
modified: "2018-05-09"
authors:
  - name: "Josh Condon"
    job_title: "Deputy Editor"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/josh-condon"
  - name: "Mike Spinelli"
    job_title: "VP of Content"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/mike-spinelli"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/new-cars/20752/2019-volvo-xc40-r-design-group-review-an-upstart-with-personality-smarts-and-2-things-that-annoy-us"
categories:
  - "Car Reviews"
  - "Volvo Reviews"
tags:
  - "Car Reviews"
  - "compact"
  - "crossovers"
  - "slack review"
  - "suv/crossover"
  - "Volvo"
  - "XC40"
---

# 2019 Volvo XC40 R-Design Group Review: An Upstart With Personality, Smarts, And 2 Things That Annoy Us

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2018/05/volvo-hero.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

*Two of* The Drive*’s editors—*[*Mike Spinelli*](<https://www.thedrive.com/authors/mike-spinelli>)

 *and* [*Josh Condon*](<https://www.thedrive.com/authors/josh-condon>)—*recently spent time with t*[*he 2018 Volvo XC40 R-Design*](<https://www.volvocars.com/us/cars/new-models/xc40>)*.* *They discussed the finer merits and detractors of this compact crossover via* [*Slack*](<https://slack.com/is>)*, an instant message program with a fun ability to summon random gifs based on what users type. The following is a partial transcript of that conversation.*

***josh***

HEY WANT TO TALK ABOUT [THE VOLVO XC40](<https://www.thedrive.com/new-cars/16907/2019-volvo-xc40-review-can-this-crossover-redeem-an-entire-segment>)?

***mikespin***

NOTHING WOULD PLEASE ME MORE

***josh***

Can we stop yelling now?

***mikespin***

/giphy shhhhh

![giphy.gif](<https://media1.giphy.com/media/9Vtj7JmWJj4wX74FOM/giphy.gif>)
**giphy**

***josh***

So, how weird is it that I want to write that this is a "typically pretty Volvo?" It's amazing how effectively their new-ish design language has made them into a sexy brand. One forgets how quickly that can happen; Kia did it in the space of a couple new products.

***mikespin***

It's true. We had the R-Design version with the black top, which, like Joel Embiid's mask, adds some mystery to the design.

![message-editor%2F1525901043026-volvo-ft-.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/message-editor/1525901043026-volvo-ft-.jpg>)
*Volvo XC40 R-Design, *Volvo**

***josh***

Is it me, or is this one for the Kidz? Seemed pretty youth-oriented.

***mikespin***

They're definitely going for millennial buyers. No stodgy wood trim.

***josh***

Yeah, all that aluminum inside. Which totally works.

***mikespin***

Totally. The Swedes really get modern design. Is that a new thing for them ; )

But seriously, it's classy and understated and still looks forward-thinking.

***josh***

Did you notice all the cleverness? There are so many truly clever details inside—that's the real charm of the thing.

***mikespin***

Apparently there's a takeout-food hook under the passenger seat. Did you see that? GENIUS

***josh***

Yeah, there's the hook on the glove box to hold a purse or a bag of delivery food—and if you exceed the weight limit, nothing breaks. It just detaches and you can re-attach. There's sliding bins under the back seat, for storage (in the Premium trim, which we had) and a removable garbage bin in the front console.

![message-editor%2F1525901075628-volvo-int.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/message-editor/1525901075628-volvo-int.jpg>)
*Volvo XC40, *Volvo**

***mikespin***

Oh yeah, that garbage bin was a total "why has no one done this" moment

***josh***

/giphy genius

![giphy-downsized.gif](<https://media0.giphy.com/media/BCg6w35SEglTWYTkIE/giphy-downsized.gif>)
**Giphy**

Also, I'm really glad Volvo finally found a vehicle that makes total sense for its turbocharged or twin-charged engine.

***mikespin***

YES

***josh***

Because that does NOT work for anything that's supposed to be a luxury vehicle. But in the XC40, it was perfect.

Well...not perfect. But it made sense.

***mikespin***

True. I didn't once find myself wincing at how thin it sounds.

***josh***

And a bunch of power for that small of a vehicle. That had, what, 248 horsepower?

***mikespin***

yeah, and 258 lb-ft

*\[After-the-Fact Check: The Volvo XC40 currently comes with one engine in the U.S., a 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-four making 248 hp and 258 lb-ft.\]*

![message-editor%2F1525901099360-volvo-aft.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/message-editor/1525901099360-volvo-aft.jpg>)
*Volvo XC40 R-Design, *Volvo**

***mikespin***

That chunky torque curve is truck-like anyway.

***josh***

Right. That thing motored.

***mikespin***

Now for the bad news. WHAT WAS UP WITH THE STOP-START? I couldn't get it to turn off, and it engaged really abruptly

***josh***

Oh that was so bad it was like it was designed to be terrible.

***mikespin***

/giphy born to be bad

![giphy-downsized.gif](<https://media3.giphy.com/media/3o6ozizc2IEEI9YEhi/giphy-downsized.gif>)
**giphy**

***josh***

Mercedes tends to have the most un-intrusive stop-start system; this was the opposite of that. I did get it to turn off, though.

***mikespin***

Really? How long did you have to hold down the button?

***josh***

I have no idea. I loathe stop-start, so as per usual I flew into a fit of rage the first time it cut the engine at the exact wrong moment in NYC traffic, everything went red, and when I came to the system was disengaged and I wasn't wearing a shirt. LOTS of feathers in the cabin, too. Like, too many for comfort. Something bad happened.

***mikespin***

haha

***mikespin***

I was in really bad traffic on the FDR and it engaged and nearly threw me into the East River.

***josh***

It's beyond rough.

***josh***

How did you use it? You carry anything around? Pretty good cargo room for such a small car.

*\[After-the-Fact Check: The XC40 packs 57.5 cubic feet of cargo space with the second row of seats folded down.\]*

***mikespin***

I didn't do much cargo hauling, but it made me want to. Such good packaging choices in there. You can tell they did a ton of real-world R&D.

***josh***

Same with interior room—felt a lot bigger front seat and back than the size of the vehicle let on.

***mikespin***

Seriously. It feels way bigger than the other crossovers in its small class.

![message-editor%2F1525901129788-volvo-rear-side.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/message-editor/1525901129788-volvo-rear-side.jpg>)
*Volvo XC40 R-Design, *Volvo**

***josh***

I hear you on real-world testing—it explains all the various clever storage and extra functionality bits.

***mikespin***

I mean, that against [the BMW X1](<https://www.thedrive.com/new-cars/4062/bmw-x1-quick-review>)? It's like a compact more than a sub \[and\] the seating position feels really high compared to, say, the Infiniti QX30

***josh***

Right. Although vehicles like those just always beg the question: Why not just get a sedan?

/giphy People are dumb

![giphy-downsized.gif](<https://media3.giphy.com/media/3ohA2UwGks53B1FVjq/giphy-downsized.gif>)
**giphy**

***mikespin***

ha

NOT THE SEDAN QUESTION?

***josh***

And it looks the business, too. That clamshell hood, like you'd find on [a Range Rover](<https://www.thedrive.com/new-cars/11234/range-rover-makes-the-best-suv-in-the-world>), is an elegant touch, and surely not cheap.

***mikespin***

Yes. Really long hood compared too the competition too. Gives it a more elegant profile.

OH! Not a fan of the shifter.

***josh***

The exterior design story is really about the way the contrast-color roof panel dips halfway down the C-pillar and creates an upswing in the back. It's a powerful way to differentiate what is essentially a pretty conventional shape.

***mikespin***

Yeah, it's really become a thing with small crossovers, hasn't it? Look at that line on [the Nissan Rogue](<https://www.thedrive.com/new-cars/4506/the-nissan-rogue-is-the-extra-value-meal-of-crossovers>) or a Lexus, Toyota, etc. It's become the "interesting" zone. They'd all look about the same without that

***josh***

There's no other way to make that shape interesting. It's inherently boring.

***mikespin***

yeah—it's totally packaging driven

***josh***

Oh, wait, let's ditch the exterior design discussion and go back to the shifter. For a car that gets so much right, that shifter is utterly, aggressively wrong and stupid.

![message-editor%2F1525901149144-volvo-shifter.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/message-editor/1525901149144-volvo-shifter.jpg>)
*Volvo XC40 R-Design, *Volvo**

***mikespin***

I agree. So non-intuitive. In an era where ergonomics has become such a differentiator. oops!

***josh***

There's no travel so it never feels like it's engaging and it seems to force you into neutral (which you always have to cycle through). I was thinking that if you put a gun to my head and gave me three tries to get from Park into Drive with my eyes closed, I wouldn't be able to do it.

***mikespin***

I was always nervous that I'd be that guy who accidentally backed into the dry cleaners.

/giphy oops

![giphy.gif](<https://media3.giphy.com/media/novc46DSGDpWE/giphy.gif>)
**giphy**

***josh***

It was like they decided to replace a traditional shifter with a three-pound computer mouse that only traveled a half-inch in one of two directions.

***mikespin***

A rare misstep in an interior that has so few. Missteps, I mean.

***josh***

You know you can edit in Slack, right?

/giphy Amateur

![giphy-downsized.gif](<https://media3.giphy.com/media/z9UnXQxMmQJKE/giphy-downsized.gif>)
**giphy**

***mikespin***

Now you tell me.

It was like the CEO's kid designed the shifter and no one wanted to tell him it sucked.

***josh***

Yeah, exactly.

***mikespin***

Light steering. And saying it feels a bit distant is kind of a rote thing to say now, isn't it?

It's almost fun to drive.

/giphy almost

![giphy-downsized.gif](<https://media1.giphy.com/media/qLWdMYX1NYF2g/giphy-downsized.gif>)
**giphy**

***josh***

Well, again, this does bring up the sedan question. Any time I get into a vehicle like this and start to think, "Hey, this thing handles pretty well!" I just think of my wife's old Volkswagen Passat and how no crossover had half the feel of even that sedan.

***mikespin***

Right. No one cares any more. *Fahrvergnügen* is dead.

***josh***

Driving dynamics are a fundamental weakness of what defines a crossover. So the best we can say is it's aight. And it is—it's aight.

Holy shit I had no idea what you were talking about. I'm just remembering Fahrvergnügen for the first time in at least a decade. What did that mean, again?

***mikespin***

/giphy i'm old

![giphy-downsized.gif](<https://media3.giphy.com/media/W5YOpxkxlAe0U/giphy-downsized.gif>)
**giphy**

*\[After-the-Fact Check:* The Drive*'s staff has no idea how old Mike Spinelli really is.\]*

***mikespin***

German for "driving pleasure."

***josh***

That doesn't sound right.

***mikespin***

That's what VW said it meant. It probably means "feels like spätzle between your toes."

***josh***

Let's go with that.

Okay, so it seems like, a couple of grave annoyances aside—namely, the shifter and the stop-start—we both agree the XC40 is a well-thought, well-packaged, charming, and capable vehicle that's handsome inside and out. Fair?

***mikespin***

That's fair.

***josh***

It's a lot of praise. It's also a lot of money. Volvo really isn't fucking around in considering themselves a luxury brand. It's priced like it.

***mikespin***

Conspiracy theory: I wonder if it's priced to drive people to their subscription model.

*\[After-the-Fact Check: While the Volvo XC40 starts at a base price of $35,200, it's also available through the company's "Care by Volvo" subscription model, which includes insurance, wear and tear, and road hazard protection coverage, for a price of $600/mo. for the Momentum trim and $700/mo. for the R-Design.\]*

![message-editor%2F1525901174331-volvo-front.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/message-editor/1525901174331-volvo-front.jpg>)
*Volvo XC40 R-Design, *Volvo**

***josh***

Our tester was R-Design, yes?

***mikespin***

Yep. R stands for...?

***josh***

"R" stands for around $45,000, if I'm remembering the Monroney correctly.

***mikespin***

Hoo-fa

***josh***

That's Audi, BMW, or Mercedes money for an AWD crossover. Worth it?

/giphy Make it rain

![giphy-downsized.gif](<https://media2.giphy.com/media/ZPFQVis9WAAcE/giphy-downsized.gif>)
**giphy**

***mikespin***

Luxury small crossovers are such a lease-y segment that it's not like real money anyway. Perfect for Volvo's sub model.

***josh***

Great point. But does the product compete with the German big guns? It's a new segment for new Volvo. How well did they do out of the gate?

***mikespin***

I think it's definitely in the same league as the BMW X1, the Merc GLA and Infiniti/Lexus

***josh***

I think it's better.

***mikespin***

Also, [don't forget that Jaguar is in there now too](<https://www.thedrive.com/new-cars/18354/2018-jaguar-e-pace-first-drive-review-a-crossover-suv-cub-goes-scouting-in-corsica>)

***josh***

Ah, good point.

***mikespin***

It's a knife fight in there

***josh***

HOWEVER

I'm only speaking of the loaded model we drove, but the vehicle is as good-looking as anything on the road, in my opinion has a better-designed interior than anything else, is probably packaged better, and certainly has more "why doesn't everything else have these?" features than all its competitors combined.

On top of that, it has plenty of power and is fine to drive.

***mikespin***

Absolutely. And the powertrain is no liability next to the other transverse-powered models in its class. In fact, it's probably top of that heap.

***josh***

Right. It's probably the vest value proposition for the money, as long as you don't overvalue any particular badge sitting in your driveway.

***mikespin***

So, those Geely billions have been well spent?

*\[After-the-Fact Check: Geely purchased Volvo from Ford in 2010 for $1.8 billion.\]*

***josh***

Volvo's killing it.

***mikespin***

Agreed.

***josh***

They were coasting on their reputation for quality and safety for a while there; now, they're a distinctive, personality-driven upstart in the mass-produced luxury space. I don't know that anyone saw that happening after the "Sold to the Chinese!" headlines.

Good on them. And on that bombshell...

/giphy That's all, folks!

![giphy.gif](<https://media3.giphy.com/media/upg0i1m4DLe5q/giphy.gif>)
**giphy**

## Author
Josh is a former editor at *Details*, *Road & Track*, and *MSN Autos*, and has contributed about a variety of topics to publications including *The New York Times*, *Men’s Journal*, *Automobile* and *Men’s Fitness*.

### Author social links