Volvo sold 46,696 cars in the UK last year, of which the V40/V40 Cross Country was the highest-selling model accounting for 16,491, followed by the ever-popular XC60 (16,038) and new XC90 (5,801). We recently borrowed a top-spec, four-wheel drive V40 CC T5 to take a closer look at the interior and spoke to Robin Page, vice president interior design, Volvo Cars to add a little more colour.
Produced in Ghent, Belgium since 2012, the V40 CC is a variant of the carmaker's compact five-door premium hatchback. The hatchback shares much with the V40 although is a little more expensive. Its shiny roof rails and dash of black plastic running along the bumpers and sills give it a rugged charm. While its beefed up body may resemble a small SUV, it's not a serious off-roader.
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By GlobalDataThe V40 CC recently received some exterior styling revisions and other changes, notably a concave grille and those same headlights first seen on the XC90.
Although there are not many obvious direct rivals to V40 CC, the standard V40 competes with the likes of the Audi A3 and Mercedes-Benz A-Class while the CC could be considered alongside the Audi Q3 and BMW X1.
Once seated, the copper-finish veneer floating centre stack is quite distinctive although still cluttered with buttons with tiddly knobs. As with everything, however, you soon get used to it. Yet this classy centre console contrasts well with the charcoal leather upholstery itself giving it a premium-feeling cabin.
"Our customers are individualists," explained Maria Uggla, who is responsible for colour and material design for the V40 CC, "so we want to offer them a lot of possibilities. All choices feature the same strong, emotional expression as the exterior of the car. The two-tone upholstery alternatives are the perfect choices for those who want a truly individual look. There is a generous range of individual possibilities. Dark elegance? Scandinavian bright? Sporty ruggedness? Just choose the interior that fits your personality best."
As with all Volvos, the V40 CC interior is quiet and comfortable and yet, as Glenn pointed out, the handbrake has not been repositioned for RHD markets, requiring a little more arm stretching to use it and care to avoid brushing the front seat passenger's leg. The T5 came fitted as standard with Volvo's CleanZone technology ensuring that outside air is filtered before entering the cabin.
In the back, legroom is reasonable although no more so than in the standard V40. The seats split 60/40 and feature a neat pop-out pair of cup holders. Other smart features are found in the glovebox that includes a penholder and space for two cans or bottles that may be kept cool with cold air from the air vents. We also found the specially designed, drained storage unit for an ice scraper in both front door panels. The boot/trunk incorporated a two-tier system to help maximise the floor, allowing you to load shopping bags on two levels.
The interior lighting provides a theatre illumination feel to the cabin, using LED lamps hither and thither. We also enjoyed using a red-to-blue setting that adapts the light to the interior temperature. The front and rear reading lights can be dimmed, too.
Other welcome creature comforts found during our late winter drive included heated front seats and windscreen, active headlights and even an illuminated gear knob. Fancy. The frameless auto-dimming interior rearview mirror was another nice touch, adding GBP150 to the GBP34,000 base price.
As you would expect with Volvo, the V40 CC comes with an array of safety and advanced driver assistance systems. Our T5 incorporated the carmaker's Intellisafe Pro that included all sorts of collision avoidance and mitigation functionalities.
Connectivity options available on this car include Volvo On Call, a phone-based app that allows you to control certain in-car features (such as pre-heating, locking and unlocking, navigation and vehicle location services). Volvo On Call also works with wearables such as Apple Watch and Android Wear. Other neat updates to Volvo On Call include a feature that connects your calendar to the mobile app allowing it to send diary appointment destinations directly to the sat-nav on request.
Q&A with Robin Page, vice president interior design, Volvo Cars
To find out more about the V40 CC's interior design and technology, we spoke to Robin Page, vice president interior design, Volvo Cars.
Could you tell us about some of the interior technologies of the V40 Cross Country that strike you as particularly novel?
I think the digital DIM [driver information module, in front of the steering wheel] is one of the interior technologies which is particularly novel, certainly for this level of car and the fact is was so modern when we launched the first V40. The other technology which we are so proud of is the crystal frameless mirror which was the first in the industry on the V40 and is now available in our top 90 Cluster models.
Were there any challenges between combining interior styling with interior engineering design of the V40 Cross Country?
I could tell a story about every part of an interior when it comes to combining engineering needs with design needs and that is a huge part of our work. We strive to get the best looking interior which is also feasible and meets cost and most important of all makes our customers feel special. For me the hardest part of our work is to balance the safety requirements set by our engineering and legal departments with achieving world-class interior design.
To what extent are you seeing more innovation in the cockpits than before? What is driving that?
First, I think we now have far more digital content in the car which means screens are replacing the majority of the mechanical switches. The advantage this brings to Volvo interior design is that we can now really capture the Scandinavian simplicity of the interior because of the reduction of switches which allows us to focus on designing beautiful architecture in the highest quality materials. We also have far more technical features available which enhances the user experience, such as voice control, park assist and semi-autonomous drive.
In what ways will the autonomous car change the look and feel of the cockpit?
For an interior designer the change towards full autonomous cars is extremely interesting because it opens up so many opportunities to create innovative seat layout, features and new design ideas. The main game changer is that we free up time for our customers to do other things such as relax, work or be entertained and with that comes the opportunity to create interiors that have never even been considered before.
What does the trend for increased digital content mean for information displays?
At Volvo we always strive for clarity and ease of use for the customer and we are aware that too much digital content can be a negative thing. What we are working on for the future is making the most of the ever increasing technologies but using them in a way which enhances our customer experience and makes life easier for the user. A big change you will see in the future is the increased use of head up display technology and the quality and depth of field. The future will be brighter.
See also Global light vehicle instrumentation and cockpits market – forecasts to 2031
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The Changing World of Car Interiors
