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2015 Volvo XC90

The new XC90 isn't just about the new XC90 - it's as much about the new generation of Volvos that will result.
Around the turn of the millennium, Volvo seemed like the perfect automaker to make a crossover. It had, after all, already established for itself a reputation for building all-wheel-drive wagons for transporting families in safety and comfort. But while its competitors marched one by one into the luxury utility market, Volvo held out. That was, anyway, until the debut of the original XC90 in 2002. And it's never looked back since.

Celebrate Volvo's 89th birthday with some neat facts

Volvo, arguably Sweden's best-known non-ABBA export, will celebrate the big 9-0 next year. The company has always operated somewhat under the radar, but it has its share of stories to tell despite an image formed by decades of solid, safe, and sensible cars. To celebrate the occasion, here are five lesser-known facts about Sweden's last remaining car brand. 1. It opened North America's first foreign car plant. Idyllic Halifax was a small fishing city of about a quarter-million in the early 1960s when Volvo arrived and became the first import brand to build cars en masse in North America. American consumers on the East Coast developed a fondness for the Volvo Amazon line in the late 1950s, leading Volvo to seek out a plant in the Americas. Halifax ponied up incentives, allowing Volvo to take advantage of a pact eliminating tariffs on cars built and exported between the United States and Canada. Volvo built cars there until the end of 1998, when it said its facility was no longer viable compared to larger factories in Europe. That brings us to The Netherlands, where Volvo bought a quirky, innovative automaker that once sold a car called the Daffodil (which was actually its luxury model). 2. You can thank Volvo for CVTs – even though it doesn't use them. Volvo wasn't interested in picking flowers. It wanted the automotive arm of truck manufacturer DAF, which would include its assembly plant, its Renault engines, and the first mainstream application of the CVT gearbox. Volvo acquired DAF's car business over the course of a few years in the early 1970s and, in typical Volvo safety-oriented style, it slapped big bumpers and head restraints on the little DAF 66 and rebadged it as the Volvo 66. The Dutch assembly plant would grow to include a partnership with Mitsubishi in the early '90s. Today, it operates as NedCar and builds Mini Coopers for BMW. Volvo is no longer involved in NedCar or DAF (which sold its CVT division to Bosch, by the way), but its acquisition of DAF helped ensure the success of CVTs. Ironically, even though Volvo's investment helped make CVTs mainstream, the Swedish automaker's affair with them was brief, and today it utilizes only conventional automatics. 3. The Swedish carmakers were pals. Over its 89 years, Volvo has been closely connected to a number of automakers – most notably Ford, which ran the company for a decade, and its current owner Geely. But Volvo is most closely linked to its longtime competitor, Saab.

2023 Volvo XC40 Recharge First Drive Review: EV SUV is petite, potent and unpretentious

After years of polishing its plug-in hybrid powertrains, Volvo is jumping into the electric vehicle space with both feet. But rather than trying to make an immense splash in the deep end, Volvo elected to start with its entry-level vehicles – the 2023 XC40 Recharge and its mechanical twin, the C40. Fear not. While they may be small, they are charmingly mighty. Volvo was so eager for us to sample the XC40 Recharge that it actually loaned us a 2022 model for the purpose of this writeup after announcing its planned updates for 2023 XC40 lineup. The changes are of virtually no consequence in the context of this review, as most of them serve to catch the standard XC40 up to the Recharge model, which was already equipped with VolvoÂ’s latest goodies, including GoogleÂ’s new Android Automotive infotainment suite. There are some aesthetic updates (ooooooh, new fog light trim!) but nothing truly noteworthy. While the XC40 is meant to appeal to a more crossover-minded buyer, it and the C40 are virtually identical. While Volvo offers pared-down versions of its EV powertrain in other markets, America gets only the “Twin” variants of each, named thusly for their pair of electric motors. Nope, no bargain-priced FWD-only models here. From the $54,645 (destination included) base model on up, you get 402 horsepower, 486 pound-feet of torque and all-wheel drive. It being a Volvo, everything inside is a little bit different (perhaps just for the sake of being so) but without being Saab levels of weird. Take the time-tested process of turning the car on, for example. There isnÂ’t a key nor start button; VolvoÂ’s electrics are just on by default. If youÂ’re in the car and the key is present, youÂ’re live. Put it in whatever gear you like and set off on your way. When youÂ’re done, put it in park, get out, lock the door and, should you need to or want to, plug it in. While that may seem superficially unconventional, itÂ’s fundamentally a very Volvo thing to do. There are those who choose to believe that Tesla deserves credit for normalizing minimalism in car interiors. ThatÂ’s a neat theory, but VolvoÂ’s been doing it better for longer — and not as a disguise for being cheap. Eliminating the on/off switch seems very on-brand for a company whose cabins have long resembled that one section of the Ikea maze where the college kids canÂ’t even afford to window shop.   If anything, the XC40 Recharge and the C40 both lean a little too far in that direction.