Volvo refreshed the XC40, but it's sadly doing away with the all-electric EX40 in the US.
Tim Stevens Add Engadget on Google: Preferred Source Google Discover Volvo is a brand traditionally known for its safety-minded station wagons and the Labrador Retrievers contained within, but lately it has well and truly embraced the SUV wave. While its midsize offering, the XC60, is its primary sales winner in the United States, the compact XC40 is the brand's third-best-selling model here, and second-highest internaionally.
The current-generation XC40 dates back to 2017, joined by the all-electric XC40 Recharge in 2019, which was rechristened in 2024 to become the EX40 to keep up with the company's evolving all-electric nomenclature. That branding includes the EX30 , EX60 , and the EX90 .
For the 2028 model year, both the EX40 and XC40 are getting a major visual refresh plus an injection of extra tech into the software interface and active safety systems. That's the good news. The bad news? Starting in 2028, we'll only get half of that pairing.
Tim Stevens The current-generation XC40 got a slight refresh in 2022, but looking back, you'd be forgiven for having a hard time telling the two versions apart, with a slightly reshaped nose and revised headlights.
For 2028, the revisions are a bit more significant, even if the overall shape of the car again remains largely the same. The front, though, is significantly revised. Where the front bumper formerly presented a face with numerous cut-outs and scalloped sections, now everything is far simpler.
It's a distinctly more modern look highlighted by the revised headlights. Yes, Volvo's trademark Thor's hammer design remains, but the various other lighting elements are now largely hidden, creating a stark effect.
Tim Stevens The hood and fenders have likewise been resculpted, and things out back have changed to match the revised front end, again all resulting in a cleaner design throughout. Cast a shadow over the new XC40, and you won't spot the differences, but in the daylight the net result is a distinctly more modern-looking SUV.
Over on the electric EX40, that machine gets all the same revisions. That means these two SUVs are nigh indistinguishable when sitting next to each other. Yes, the badging on the back is different, of course, but the bigger tell is the grille on the revised nose. The EX40's grille is a flat, body-colored panel, while the XC40's now contains an array of diagonal slashes meant to accentuate the Volvo logo and the arrow it's forever firing up and to the right.
Tim Stevens Volvo retooled the interiors of the EX40 and XC40 as well, but the changes are even more subtle. The most notable is a new, larger screen that's been somewhat crudely grafted atop the center of the dashboard. Where the old display was nicely recessed between the tall central vents, fitting nicely in a recess in the dash, the new one stands outward, taller than the dash.
It's not a bad look, and the result is 11.2 inches of display real estate, up from the 9 inches the XC40 had before. The software running behind that screen has been updated as well, the latest flavor of Android Automotive that brings Google's Gemini to the party.
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