The Volvo XC40 is one of those vehicles that you either love or hate. For the most part, everyone seems to love it. Not only did it win the Best Subcompact Luxury SUV from Car and Driver, but it now has another award to add to its list. MotorTrend has ranked it as the Best Subcompact Luxury Crossover SUVs. 

What is the Volvo XC40?

The 2020 XC40 is the smallest SUV produced by Volvo, and it has been earning a lot of respect from critics. It has a price range from $34,700­-$45,061. This might be a little pricey, but it’s definitely worth purchasing.

It comes with a 2.0L turbo I-4 engine and an eight-speed automatic transmission. The fuel economy is decent enough. It gets 22 mpg city, 30 mpg highway, and 25 mpg combined. There are certainly better vehicles out there in terms of fuel economy, but for an SUV, that’s not too bad.

Why is the XC40 so special anyways?

A vehicle just doesn’t rack up the awards from major critics unless it’s well earned. So what’s so special about the 2020 Volvo XC40? Is it actually worth the price you pay? 

Let’s start with the safety features. The XC40 earned the IIHS 2020 Top Safety Pick Award. It received a near-perfect score, which is highly unusual. There are also several standard safety features that include forward collision warning with automatic emergency braking, lane keep assist, rear-impact mitigation, automatic high beams, and road departure mitigation.

If you shell out a little more money, you can get adaptive cruise control (part of Volvo’s Pilot Assist suite), blind-spot monitoring, and rear cross-traffic alert.

There’s also plenty of tech to keep your passengers entertained. A 9.0-inch infotainment touchscreen running Volvo’s Sensus user interface comes standard.

Other standard features include Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, Bluetooth streaming, a 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster display, two front-row USB ports, an eight-speaker audio system, and a four-year subscription to Volvo’s On Call smartphone app. GPS navigation and a wireless device charging pad are optional if you are willing to pay more.

Even the 2020 Volvo XC40 has a few flaws

You’ll be hard-pressed to find any problems on the 2020 XC40. The only complaint MotorTrend had revolved around the cabin noise. It was apparently just loud enough to be on the annoying side.

For those who treat their ride like their sanctum of solitude, this might be an issue, but let’s be honest. Most drivers are going to have the music pumping so loud the cabin noise won’t be noticeable.

The other problem that MotorTrend disliked was “a few questionable ergonomic choices.” What those specific ergonomic choices are was not expanded on in the review.

The XC40 beat out some tough competitors

To say that the 2020 Volvo XC40’s spot as number one on MotorTrend’s Top Crossover SUV was hard-earned is an understatement. Volvo is considered a luxury brand, but it’s typically at the lower end of the scale. In this case, Volvo beat out all the other luxury brands to earn the top spot.

Some of the vehicles that the XC40 had to best include the BMW X1, Lexus UX, Audi Q3, and the Jaguar E-Pace. The Buick Encore has yet to be ranked, so it’s unclear where it falls on the list at this time. 

The Jaguar E-Pace was once considered to be a top contender in the subcompact luxury SUV division, but it actually came in at the bottom of the list. The BMW X1 came in directly behind the XC40, and while it might be the best used luxury SUV you can buy, it can’t quite top the 2020 XC40. What the 2021 list will look like is unclear, but the XC40 will most likely be near the top of that list as well.