An estimated 40,000 Uber drivers will be removed from the capital’s streets as Transport for London (TfL) has announced a decision not to renew the ride-sharing app’s licence.
In a statement, TfL said: “[We consider] that Uber’s approach and conduct demonstrate a lack of corporate responsibility in relation to a number of issues which have potential public safety and security implications.”
It went on to outline its concerns, including Uber’s approach to reporting serious criminal offences and how medical certificates are obtained.
London is Uber’s biggest market in the UK, with 40,000 drivers registered in the capital.
The ride-hailing firm allows users to request a private hire car on their phone, booming in popularity over recent years and attracting criticism from traditional black cab drivers. Critics have argued that passengers are less safe with Uber drivers, citing reports of sexual assault.
Even Uber’s own drivers have complained about poor working conditions, with long hours and poor pay.
“3.5 million Londoners who use our app, and more than 40,000 licensed drivers who rely on Uber to make a living, will be astounded by this decision,” said Uber.
“By wanting to ban our app from the capital Transport for London and the Mayor have caved into a small number of people who want to restrict consumer choice. If this decision stands, it will put more than 40,000 licensed drivers out of work and deprive London of a convenient and affordable form of transport.”
In a Facebook post, London mayor Sadiq Khan said: “All companies in London must play by the rules and adhere to the high standards we expect – particularly when it comes to the safety of customers. Providing an innovative service must not be at the expense of customer safety and security.
“I fully support TfL’s decision – it would be wrong if TfL continued to license Uber if there is any way that this could pose a threat to Londoners’ safety and security.
“Any operator of private hire services in London needs to play by the rules.”
Under the Private Hire Vehicles (London) Act 1998, Uber will be able to appeal the decision within 21 days. The company’s current licence runs until the end of September, meaning it’ll be able to operate in London until then.
Environmental protesters have surrounded a ship carrying thousands of diesel Volkswagens to prevent it docking in the UK.
“Mothers, fathers and people from all walks of life are currently doing everything in their power to stop more diesel cars entering our streets and communities,” said Greenpeace in a statement.
“25 Greenpeace volunteers in kayaks and boats surrounded a 23,000 tonne ship attempting to block Volkswagen cars entering the UK.
“They drew up alongside the huge car carrier miles out at sea at 9am today and two are now hanging from the 27-metre-high unloading door.”
The Greenpeace members are believed to have boarded the ship close to Sheerness in Kent. At the same time, protesters are attempting to steal the keys to thousands of diesel cars at the port. They’re also applying stickers to the engines, with messages from Greenpeace members asking Volkswagen to ditch diesel.
“They won’t give up until VW commits to send it’s [sic] toxic cars away from the UK and ditch diesel for good,” added Greenpeace.
In the wake of the Dieselgate emissions scandal, Volkswagen Group has committed to accelerating plans for electrifying its range, with 80 new electric cars planned by 2025. It’s also recently launched a scrappage scheme, encouraging buyers to swap old Euro 1 – 4 diesels for more environmentally-friendly models.
Reacting to the protests, a Volkswagen spokesman said: “We are aware of a protest this morning at the Sheerness port in Kent.
“The ship contains a variety of Volkswagen Group vehicles, including petrol, diesel and plug-in hybrid models. The diesel vehicles, which are the subject of the protest, meet strict Euro 6 standards.”
It’s understood there are 37 plug-in hybrid electric vehicles on the ship that’s being prevented from docking. There are also more petrol than diesel vehicles on board.
In less than two months, 17 drivers have already caused tailbacks through a major section of roadworks due to running out of fuel – leading Highways England to introduce rapid-assistance motorcycles carrying emergency fuel to stranded motorists.
It’s the first time so-called ‘fuel bikes’ have been used by Highways England.
The bikes are being used on the M5 Oldbury Viaduct roadworks section in the West Midlands. The £100 million repair scheme has reduced both carriageways to two narrow lanes, with a 30mph speed limit.
The motorcycles are thus able to reach stranded motorists much more quickly, helping get them underway and keep traffic flowing.
“Since the contraflow came into effect, we’ve already seen a number of fuel-related breakdowns in the roadworks section,” said Highways England project manager Alastair Warnes.
“In fact, on the very first day of the contraflow coming into effect, the first breakdown was caused by someone that had run out of fuel.
“By offering this type of assistance, we’re able to minimise disruption to others driving through the roadworks.”
Although Warnes did add that motorists could also do their bit by ensuring they have enough fuel before setting off…
The M5 Oldbury Viaduct roadworks will remain in place until autumn 2018, with minor work continuing until spring 2019.
Forget traditional car leasing or PCPs – Volvo is launching a clever new 24-month ‘subscription service’ with its 2018 XC40 crossover.
Order a new Volvo XC40 online through its Care by Volvo scheme, and you’ll be able to drive the new model for a fixed monthly price without any extra fees: including tax and insurance. It goes a step further, too. Volvo will offer a range of digital concierge services, such as fuelling and cleaning. Details haven’t been confirmed yet, but expect to be able to arrange for someone to come and clean your car or refuel it at a touch of a button, presumably through a mobile phone or tablet app.
New Volvo XC40 compact SUV revealed: prices from £27,905
You’ll even be able to share the car with friends of family by sending them a virtual key. There’s a catch, though. In the UK, Care by Volvo will only be available within the M25 to start with. And the digital key isn’t available in the UK at all. It’s early days, but previews what’s possible in the future as the service is rolled out further afield.
“Our aim with Care by Volvo is to provide our customers with a transparent, premium car user experience,” said Car by Volvo vice president, Thomas Andersson. “With a fixed monthly payment, Volvo Cars provides a truly customer-focused alternative to the traditional purchase or leasing. Time is a luxury for our customers, and with this service we are able to free up time in their daily lives. This is simply making life easier for our customers.”
The new Volvo XC40, which has been revealed today, will cost £27,905 for buyers who do want to buy it outright. Monthly Care by Volvo rates are yet to be announced.
The service will be offered across other cars in Volvo’s range in the near future, including the new digital concierge services.
The new Volvo XC40 is the Swedish brand’s entry into the booming compact SUV sector, currently dominated by the Audi Q3 and Range Rover Evoque. Built on an all-new platform called CMA (Compact Modular Architecture), it’s a city-focused machine that joins the hit XC60 and XC90 to further expand Volvo’s appealing SUV line.
Prices start from £27,905 and ordering is already open, with first deliveries expected early in 2018. Volvo’s not stopping there, either – it’s introducing a new ‘car subscription service’ lease offer called Care By Volvo, that will let you own a car on a fixed contract for a set monthly fee, as ‘hassle free as having a phone’.
Volvo is so bullish about this new initiative, it believes it will ‘reinvent the traditional model of car ownership’.
Distinctively styled, the XC40 successfully carries through the show car styling seen on the 2016 Volvo 40.1 concept. Its rear C-pillar is very striking, and bold body creases give it a characterful look. Volvo’s also offering it with colour schemes never before seen from the Swedish brand – anyone for China blue with a white roof?
Inside, Volvo’s latest premium interior layout, with its distinctive portrait-style infotainment screen, is enhanced by “a radically new approach to storage”. The door bins are more practical, there’s stowage space beneath the seats, a waste bin in the centre console, and fold-out hooks for bags. Volvo’s even carved out a space just for smartphones, which can be enhanced with inductive charging.
“The XC40 is our first entry in the small SUV segment, broadening the appeal of the Volvo brand and moving it in a new direction, said Volvo Cars president and chief executive Hakan Samuelsson. “It represents a fresh, creative and distinctive new member of the Volvo line-up.”
Volvo XC40: engines
Volvo will launch the XC40 with five different engines, but all will be 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo motors. Three of then will be petrol – 156hp T3, 190hp T4 and 247hp T5 – and there’ll be two turbodiesels: 150hp D3 and 190hp D4.
The T3 comes with front-wheel drive only. The D3 has a choice of front- or all-wheel drive; T4, T5 and D4 are all-wheel-drive only. You can have either manual or automatic gearboxes on lower-powered engines, while the more potent ones are all automatic.
What about hybrids? Nothing at launch, but expect them to follow later. The XC40 will also be the first Volvo to come with the firm’s new fuel-saving three-cylinder engines.
Volvo XC40: specification
The XC40 is offered in a core three-trim lines in the UK: Momentum (entry-level), R-Design (sporty) and Inscription (posh). All are well equipped, coming with nine-inch Sensus touchscreen infotainment, sat nav, LED headlights, 12.3-inch TFT instrument display, dual-zone climate control with an air-cleansing ‘CleanZone’ filtration system, plus rear parking sensors and 18-inch alloys.
Volvo also fits City Safety autonomous emergency braking to all XC40, and its potentially life-saving Oncoming Lane Mitigation tech. This senses if you steer out of your lane and into the path of an oncoming vehicle, giving steering assistance to help you move out of danger.
Momentum models are the most ‘expressive’, says Volvo: you can have black or white alloy wheels, contrasting white roofs, even eye-catching textile and vinyl interior upholstery. We can’t help but love the orange carpet seen in the images…
The R-Design is marked out by gloss black for the grille, door mirrors and front and rear bumper sections, plus a black roof. You get dual exhaust pipes at the rear, sports suspension and diamond-cut alloy wheels. A racy interior reflects this, with perforated leather steering wheel, aluminium dash inlays and leather/Nubuck seats boasting cushion extensions (like you used to get in 1980s Ford Escort RS Turbos).
The lavish Inscription is so upmarket, automatic versions even have a crystal gear lever from Swedish glassmaker Orrefors. Upholstery is full leather, the interior is decked out with chrome highlights instead of gloss black, and the dash carries smart driftwood inlays.
Go Pro
Buyers can also pick Pro versions of each trim line. A Momentum Pro costs £1,550 more and adds heated front seats, a powered driver’s seat, heated windscreen and active bending headlights that avoid dazzling other drivers.
R-Design Pro costs £1,900 extra and includes all the above, plus 20-inch alloys. Inscription Pro costs £1,550 and adds 19-inch alloys and a powered passenger seat.
Every XC40 can also be equipped with Volvo Pilot Assist semi-autonomous tech: at speeds of up to 80mph, it can steer the car within a lane and maintain a set distance from a car in front.
Volvo XC40: prices
A front-wheel-drive 2.0-litre turbo T3 Momentum XC40, with 156hp, costs £27,905. The entry-level 150hp D3 diesel is £28,965, or £30,405 if you want all-wheel drive. R-Design models are £1,850 more, with Inscription versions commanding a £2,500 premium over base Momentum.
The most expensive XC40s will be the launch-special First Edition variants, offered either as a 247hp T5 petrol or 190hp D4 diesel. Based on R-Design Pro models, they add a punchy 1,200W 12-speaker Harman Kardon sound system, power tailgate, heated rear seats, wireless smartphone charging, Pilot Assist and Volvo’s Xenium Pack which combines a panoramic glass sunroof with automatic parking and a 360-degree surround-view parking camera.
A T5 AWD First Edition is £40,355; the D4 AWD First Edition creeps under the £40k barrier, at £30,305.
The Government has launched an urgent review into whether cyclists who put lives at risk should face similar penalties to dangerous drivers.
Transport minister Jesse Norman announced the review, which comes after the recent death of mother-of-two Kim Briggs who was killed after being knocked over by a cyclist, Charlie Alliston. The 20-year-old cyclist, whose bike had no front brakes, was found guilty of ‘wanton or furious driving’, an obscure 19th century offence.
The Government has trebled spending on cycling since 2010, bringing a huge increase in the number of cyclists on UK roads over the last seven years. Two pedestrians were killed and 96 seriously injured after being hit by a bicycle in 2015. More than 100 cyclists are killed and 3,000 are seriously injured on our roads every year.
While the review will looking into whether a new dangerous riding is offence is required as a priority, it will also consider wider improvements on road safety for cyclists and pedestrians.
“Although the UK has some of the safest roads in the world, we are always looking to make them safer,” said Norman, announcing the review.
“It’s great that cycling has become so popular in recent years but we need to make sure that our road safety rules keep pace with this change.
“We already have strict laws that ensure that drivers who put people’s lives at risk are punished but, given recent cases, it is only right for us to look at whether dangerous cyclists should face the same consequences.
“We’ve seen the devastation that reckless cycling and driving can cause, and this review will help safeguard both Britain’s cyclists and those who share the roads with them.”
The Government is expected to announce its conclusions early next year after consulting the public and independent legal advice.
Plug-in hybrids return “worryingly-high fuel consumption and emissions” compared to diesel models, a company which monitors fuel usage for fleets and company car drivers claims.
The Miles Consultancy (TMC) analysed real-world fuel consumption data on 14 hybrid models and seven plug-in hybrids using its mileage capture and audit system, which holds detailed records of fuel transactions and total mileage for each vehicle.
On average, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) in the sample returned less that 45.0mpg, compared to their average NEDC figure of 130mpg. The official NEDC test is known to be unsuitable for plug-in hybrids as a large part of the test can usually be carried out under electric-power alone, skewing the average fuel consumption results.
This average fuel use equates to actual CO2 emissions of 168g/km – higher than the real-world emissions of most diesel company cars, says TMC. The diesels’ emissions averaged 159g/km.
“There is a real risk that fleet managers are adopting a PHEV strategy for completely the right reasons but unknowingly actually increasing their fuel bills,” said TMC managing director, Paul Hollick.
“PHEVs can be a cost-effective choice where drivers cover only moderate mileages; but only if the cars’ batteries are recharged daily. On the evidence of our sample, one has to question whether some PHEVs ever see a charging cable. In a lot of cases, we see PHEVs never being charged, doing longer drives and this is not a good fit for a lot of business car users. A robust PHEV deployment policy is essential.”
The research also revealed that drivers of standard hybrid cars used around 10 percent less fuel on their day-to-day journeys than drivers of plug-in hybrids. In real-world use, drivers of plug-in hybrids consumed three more fuel than official figures would suggest.
Opinion: This proves that PHEVs aren’t right for everyone
Just like electric vehicles aren’t right for everyone, neither are plug-in hybrids. For company car drivers, or anyone who regularly covers long distances where stopping every 30 miles to charge isn’t practical, plug-in hybrids will prove to be thirstier than an equivalent diesel.
That’s not to say everyone should dismiss a plug-in hybrid as their next car. If you’re able to have a charge point fitted at home and most of your journeys are short (less than about 30 miles), you’ll be able to complete most of your journeys under electric power. Unlike electric-only vehicles, though, you’ll have the back up of a conventional engine for the occassional longer journey. We ran a Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV for six months and found that, under these circumstances, it worked well.
The company that has provided this research monitors fuel use for fleets, and it’s true that fleet managers should question the intended use of the car if a plug-in hybrid is being considered. While current company car tax rules favour plug-in hybrids due to their supposed low CO2 emissions, new regulations being introduced in 2020 will penalise plug-in hybrids with a short electric-only range. We suspect diesel cars aren’t going to waiver in popularity for high-mileage users any time soon.
The ever-growing Mercedes-AMG GT range is a tricky one to get your head around. Just as Porsche doesn’t hold back on launching new variants of its 911, you’ll soon be able to visit your Mercedes dealer and buy an AMG GT with the exact power for your requirements. Kind of.
In the name of consumer research, I travelled to Germany to drive the entire AMG GT range and work out which you should spend your money on. Here’s how I got on.
Mercedes-AMG GT
The entry-point to the range, the ‘humble’ GT is powered by the same 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8 as the more powerful models. Unlike its main rival, the Porsche 911, the GT’s engine is located in the front of the car, but positioned as far back as possible in what Mercedes describes as a ‘front-mid engine configuration’. Power goes to the rear wheels via a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox.
Mercedes offers the standard GT in Coupe or Roadster guises, the latter with an electrically-folding fabric roof. I opted for the latter: if only for maximum exposure to the standard AMG performance exhaust system.
How does it drive?
If, like me, your first AMG GT exposure is the entry-level model, you’ll find yourself wondering how anyone could want anything more. You sit directly over the rear wheels, with a huge bonnet stretching out in front of you. It feels special from the second you sit in it, helped by the trademark Mercedes-Benz quality interior.
Initial reports on the AMG GT, when it came out in 2014, complained the steering was nervous and slightly remote. Since the range was tweaked earlier this year, the steering is still on the light and uncommunicative side, but it feels less darty than it did. If the steering is the GT’s low point, the engine must be its high point. Not only does it sound the part (especially with the sports exhaust button pressed) – almost muscle car V8-esque – it’s also immensely tractable. There’s next to no turbo lag – thanks to the turbochargers’ location within the V of the cylinders – and it’ll just keep pulling throughout the rev range. As an entry to the line-up, the GT feels pretty much unbeatable.
So how has Mercedes gone about improving on the GT? While no one could accuse the GT of needing more power, it was an obvious upgrade for the S. The standard car’s mechanical limited-slip diff has been replaced by a trick electronic one (I’m sure it will save, oh, milliseconds of slip when getting the power down out of corners). Bigger brakes bring it to a stop quicker, while AMG Ride Control with three-stage adaptive dampers provides a more focussed feel.
How does it drive?
Suddenly, the standard AMG GT feels a bit soft. Even left in Comfort mode, the GT S’s dampers provide a harsher ride than the GT with little roll, while firming things up makes for near-flat cornering. The steering is improved, too, and you can opt for four-wheel steering on the S, should you want a smaller turning circle around town. The result is a car that’s more than the sum of its parts: while the GT has an element of (very fast) boulevard cruiser about it, the GT S feels like an out-and-out sports car.
In many ways, I reckon the GT S is the ultimate AMG GT. It’s the perfect compromise between hardcore sports car and useable road car, and cosmetic upgrades including 10-spoke alloy wheels mean it looks the part.
The facts:
Power: 522hp
0-62mph: 3.8 seconds
Top speed: 193mph
Price: £112,060
Mercedes-AMG GT C
The Mercedes-AMG GT C is the latest addition to the range. Unlike the S, the C is available as a coupe or convertible, but currently only as the ‘Edition 50’ special edition, celebrating 50 years of AMG. It’s 57mm broader than lesser models, allowing room for a wider rear track and wider rear wheels. It also gets the active rear steering from the R (optional on the S, standard here), while cosmetic upgrades include matte grey paint, black chrome trim and bespoke alloy wheels.
It really looks the part: much meaner than the GT and GT S, thanks to its wider stance.
How does it drive?
I haven’t mentioned the extra power from the handbuilt 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8. The C boasts 557hp – up 35hp from the S and 81hp from the standard GT. As before, torque is available from low down, and there’s little in the way of turbo lag. The performance is incredible, obviously, while the quick-witted steering makes a bulky car feel agile. It’s more vocal than the S, too, thanks to the C’s unique performance exhaust system with adjustable flaps able to make the car noisier or quieter, depending on your mood.
While I reckon the GT S will be the perfect quick road car for most drivers, the C offers that little bit more bite for anyone brave enough to take a £140,000 car on a track day.
So we come to the daddy of the range: the hot-tempered AMG GT R. Mercedes describes it as a “racing car approved for use on public roads,” and I find it hard to disagree with that. It forms the basis of the AMG GT4 customer racing car, with carbon fibre body panels, four-wheel steering, and active underbody aero. You can even spec an optional AMG Track package, made up of a roll bar and four-point seat belts.
How does it drive?
My first drive of the GT R was on the Bilster Berg test track in Germany. As you’ll see in the pics used to illustrate this story (and the video below), it’s a complicated track: a mini Nurburgring, with terrifying crests, blind bends and little opportunity to take a second’s breather. A 585hp ‘racing car for the road’ was exactly what I need to familiarise myself with this complicated track, then.
That engine, in full psychopath guise, only requires the shortest of straights to propel the GT R well into three-figures, but fortunately the optional ceramic brakes scrub speed off quicker than you can utter a four-letter profanity. The corners are the fun bits, though, where the R’s quick steering makes it feel like a much smaller car, albeit one that’s almost too keen to let the rear end step out, especially in the more dynamic driving modes.
Of course, many GT R buyers won’t go near the track. I’ve also driven the GT R on UK roads where, frankly, it feels a little bit like overkill. In the wet, it struggles for grip, with the traction control light flickering at the slightest hint of enthusiastic throttle use. Standard Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tyres will partly be responsible for that, not to mention 585hp through the rear wheels, but in the dry it’s a much more confidence-inspiring car. That’s until you get to city centres, where the GT R’s mass will put you on edge. It gets so much attention, too, so you’re always conscious that you don’t want to mess up in case someone is watching. That’ll appeal to some people… me, I’d prefer the comparatively subtle GT S.
The facts:
Power: 585hp
0-62mph: 3.6 seconds
Top speed: 198mph
Price: £143,260
Apple has released its latest iOS 11 operating system, bringing with it a useful tool for drivers: a ‘Do Not Disturb While Driving’ mode. This blocks phone notifications while you’re at the wheel, with the aim of reducing crashes caused by people using their phone while driving.
If you’ve just installed iOS 11, your phone will detect the first time it thinks you’re driving and, once you’ve arrived at your destination, show a description of the Do Not Disturb While Driving feature. If you tap a button to enable the feature, it’ll turn on automatically when connected to your car’s Bluetooth, or when it senses driving motion. Alternatively, you can select to turn on the feature manually.
What does Apple’s ‘Do Not Disturb While Driving’ feature do?
Apple’s ‘Do Not Disturb While Driving’ mode is an extension to its ‘Do Not Disturb’ feature, which can be enabled for certain times, turning off notifications when, for example, you’re asleep or at work. The driving mode can be turned on manually, or can be triggered by connecting to a car’s Bluetooth. There’s even an automatic setting, which disables notifications when it detects the movement of a vehicle. You can manually turn this off, though, for those occasions when you’re a passenger in a moving car.
While active, Do Not Disturb While Driving will disable any notifications: such as incoming calls and text messages. Your iPhone screen will stay dark, and there’s an option to turn an automatic response to texts – telling contacts that you’re currently driving. This can be customised for certain contacts.
It can also let through notifications from your favourite contacts, or if a caller dials twice within three minutes.
“Illegal handheld phone use is one of the biggest in-car problems of our time and it will take a concerted effort to get the message across to drivers that it’s simply not okay,” said RAC’s Be Phone Smart spokesman Pete Williams.
“We need organisations to work together and to come up with creative ways of helping drivers realise that no text or tweet while driving is worth the risk.
“Apple’s iOS update is a major step forward and will mean that handsets used by millions of people will, for the first time, include in-built software that can reduce the distraction risk posed by handheld phones. Now we need the other major operating systems – Google’s Android and Microsoft’s Windows Mobile – to follow suit.”
Harsher penalties for mobile phone use at the wheel were introduced earlier this year, with police handing out £200 fines and six penalty points for drivers caught using a handheld phone.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has upheld a complaint over a tweeted posted on the Alpine UK account.
The tweet from the Alpine Cars UK Twitter account, posted on 8 March 2017, said: “Mountains and twisted roads: The #AlpineA110 in it’s [sic] favorite [sic] playground.” It showed a video of the Alpine A110 being driven along the closed Col de Turini mountain road by French racing driver Nicolas Lapierre.
A complainant was concerned that the video “glamourised and promoted dangerous driving,” as it showed the car being driven at speed on a twisty road, including one shot of the car skidding at a corner.
Renault said the focus of the video, which has now been deleted, was not on speed but about “demonstrating agility and handling”. As the car used was a prototype, its speed was limited to ensure it did not exceed 90km/h (around 56mph), and it was filmed on a closed road under the supervision of the Monaco Automobile Club.
Regardless, the ASA upheld the complaint, saying that it “considered that speed and acceleration were the main messages of the ad, that parts of the ad implied excessive speed, and that the ad encouraged and condoned irresponsible and potentially dangerous driving.”
Despite Renault offering to amend the ad with a warning stating that the professional driving should not be replicated on public roads, the ASA ruled that such a message would be insufficient and the ad should never appear again in its current form.
The tweet was posted a day after the Alpine A110’s official debut at this year’s Geneva Motor Show. The Porsche Cayman rival is powered by a four-cylinder turbocharged engine producing 250hp. It weighs just 1,080kg and marks a return for Renault’s Alpine sports car brand. The A110 will go on sale in spring 2018.
The ASA has also investigated a TV advert for the Jaguar F-Type which appeared in June 2017. Five viewers complained that the ad’s message, “DON’T JUST TAKE THE CORNER. OWN IT”, promoted dangerous driving. The complaint wasn’t upheld as the ASA considered that “viewers were likely to interpret it as relating to responsible cornering where the driver was very much in control.”
In less than two months, 17 drivers have already caused tailbacks through a major section of roadworks due to running out of fuel – leading Highways England to introduce rapid-assistance motorcycles carrying emergency fuel to stranded motorists.
The new Volvo XC40 is the Swedish brand’s entry into the booming compact SUV sector, currently dominated by the Audi Q3 and Range Rover Evoque. Built on an all-new platform called CMA (Compact Modular Architecture), it’s a city-focused machine that joins the hit XC60 and XC90 to further expand Volvo’s appealing SUV line.
