I've driven my 2021 XC40 P8 Recharge EV for a week now and have a few impressions I can share. I am very happy with the car overall and consider it vastly superior to the Leaf in nearly all respects. It has a more solid, safer feel, handles great and has good power and range. The interior cabin comfort and appearance are much, much higher grade than the Leaf and in fact better than any car I've ever driven, and I've driven quite a few. It still feels massive to me because I'm so used to the Leaf, but it looked like a toy when I parked between a Suburban and another large SUV. It handles very well. I'm retired and don't drive much, so I'm not fussing about range and mileage issues. The charge port is on the back left side, so my EVSE is mounted on the wrong side. I have to back into my garage to charge, but I haven't had to charge yet due to its battery capacity, so that isn't an issue. My L2 J1772 EVSE works fine with it, although the port is CCS for the DC fast charge.
What sets this car apart is that it is the first car to use Android Automotive (not the same as Android Auto). It's the operating system for the whole "infotainment system" and center touchscreen. It's driven by the Google Assistant. I can say "Hey Google" and give it a command like turn on the A/C, pause music, etc. So far it's been very good at doing such things, but there are some things it won't or can't do and some it gets wrong, like changing to a radio station. It won't shut off the car, either, thankfully. However, that system is a work in progress, and a full review won't be worth anything for a few months as they update the software. For example, it won't play music from the front USB port like the Leaf and although it has Spotify, it doesn't have Pandora, even though the salesman and literature advertised both of those things. It has a system called Volvo On Call which is like Carwings - allowing for remote preconditioning the climate control and scheduling charging, but it's not yet here. It's scheduled for this summer. All software updates are to be done over the air, thus obviating the need to go in for service. However, it's climate control system is much better than the Leaf's and, unlike the Leaf, heats or cools the car very rapidly, so that's not a major issue. Volvo has underdelivered on some promises, but I believe it will all come reasonably soon. I'm not going to detail all the features. You can find many reviews online, but don't believe them all. Some of what you hear is vaporware for now. The bottom line is that it's a great car filling the right small SUV slot for me. It was expensive, but I can treat myself now.
