 What is up you guys, I'll go back to another one. If you're new to the channel, I am blowpony. I do new car truck SUV reviews on YouTube. And today we are in the brand new 2023 Volvo XC40 courtesy of younger Volvo in Hagerstown, Maryland for more information on their inventory. Please feel free to check out the link in the description box below. And so we are in this one today because there is a refreshed look for 2023. Includes new headlights, new front grille, new front fascia, just to name a few. Not only that, the XC40 is an IHS top safety pick plus, which is the very highest designation given by IHS. That pretty much says it all right there. And this is luxury from Sweden. And vehicles from Sweden are kind of rare here in the US. So that makes me excited. But anyways, in this video, we'll be testing out and going over everything about this one from Acceleration, a braking, steering, full ride quality, sound system, exhaust clip, all that fun stuff. So having said all of that, what do you guys say? Let's just go ahead and jump right into it. And as always, let's start with pricing. And so let me first start by saying there are new trim levels for 2023. Core is going to start at $37,640. The plus trim level is the one we are in today, starting at $42,045. And lastly, the ultimate, starting at $45,795. By the way, that was all pricing for the front wheel drive configuration. If you wanted to add all wheel drive, you can do that. Simply add $2,000 then to any of those prices. But so in regard to the sub trim level that you go with, the power plant on the XC40 is going to be the same. However, there are different power numbers. Essentially, the B4 is going to be specific to the front wheel drive variant. And then the B5 is going to be specific to the all wheel drive variant of the XC40. And that is the one we have today. But powering the beast is a two liter turbocharged inline four cylinder for the B4, 194 horsepower for the B5, 247 horsepower. So substantially more there than 221 pound-feet of torque for the B4, 258 pound-feet of torque for the B5. By the way, both configurations coming with mild hybrid drive. So that should help with any turbo lag from the get go. We're going to be testing that out in a second. But power sent to the ground through an eight speed automatic, zero to 60 time, differing quite substantially. 8.1 seconds for the front wheel drive, 6.1 seconds then for the all wheel drive. MPG numbers coming in at 24 in the city, 32 on the highway for the front wheel drive, 23 city, 30 then on the highway for the all wheel drive taking premium unleaded fuel. But so then before we do any kind of fun acceleration test here in the XC40, I did want to mention there are a couple of different configurations where you can alter the driving dynamics a little bit. You do have an off-road driving mode and you can also alter the steering feel. We're actually going to put that on firm right now. So I'm going to go ahead and change that right off the back. Having said that, that's about it for the different modes on this one. So let's go ahead and find a straightaway. Let's put the XC40 here to the test and let's see how quickly we can get our new 2023 Volvo XC40 here up to speed. All right, here's our straightaway. Let's kick it. Yep. Oh my gosh. Dang man, this thing is quick. All right, no turbo lag. Probably thanks to that mild hybrid system on this thing. That was pretty darn good. Let me tell you guys, most vehicles that are turbocharged four cylinders, like I alluded to kind of earlier, you do get some kind of turbo lag, including my own vehicle. But in this thing, there was none of that. So that was wonderful. Instant acceleration, 100% not going to have any issues with merging onto the highway in the new XC40. That was pretty darn good. Anyways, to go along with that acceleration as always, braking is equally important. So upfront, you will find 13.6 inch ventilated front discs. In the back, 11.9 inch solid rear discs. As far as that 60 to zero stopping distance goes, they're just going to come in at 120 feet, which is a very good number on paper, but I will say I'm not a huge fan of the braking feel on the XC40. It's definitely on the softer side of things. I feel like it takes a little more pressure on the brakes to actually bring this thing to a stop. It's not a very natural feeling braking feel. And I don't say that about most vehicles. So I am specifying that in the XC40. You guys, when you test drive it, let me know if you agree or disagree. But then touching on suspension and handling upfront, you're going to get a McPherson strut front suspension in the back, independent multi-link rear suspension. As far as ride quality goes, it's been perfectly fine, actually, my short test drive here today. But perhaps the thing I noticed the most was the lack of cabin noise coming into the cabin. So I'm going 54 miles per hour right now. And when I was going slower, I was getting a lot of echo when I'm just talking right here to the camera. So you guys, and that's because there isn't a whole lot of exterior wind noise or road noise coming into the cabin. So I'm kind of a big fan of that. That was pretty cool. As far as steering feel goes, as I mentioned to you guys earlier, you do have the option to firm up that steering feel, creating a heavier weight to the steering, which is what I just did. Like I said, you can immediately tell the difference between the steering feel. I am a huge fan of this heavier steering feel, having just put it in that mode. So let me go ahead and actually just take it back. Out of that mode, I want to see if it, it still relaxes the steering. Much more loosey-goosey. So let's go back into that firm steering. So huge fan of the steering feel, with it in that firm driving mode. I guess you could call it for the steering. So big fan of that. That's what you're going with visibility. I can see perfectly fine out the back. It's typically with an SUV of this shape, you're not going to have any issues. So 100% on point there. And this second row headrests actually do fold down. I got one of them folded down right now. So that's going to be even better visibility. But anyways, rain-sensing windshield wipers that I did want to mention for forward visibility come standard on every single trim level across the board. So whenever the XC40 detects an account of Mr. Rainfall, it's essentially automatically going to turn on those windshield wipers for you. So it's just one less thing you got to worry about there. So I'm a big fan of that as well. But that pretty much rounds out the performance segment of this review, you guys. Let's now go ahead and take a look at the exterior of our brand new 2023 Volvo XC40. All right, so here she is, you guys. The new 2023 Volvo XC40 finished in crystal white metallic. In case you were curious of our exterior color name, but let's go ahead and start up front because there have been a lot of changes for the 2023 XC40, including a completely redesigned front bumper. So you guys could probably tell there is quite a bit going on up here. Revised front grille, and by the way, when it comes to that front grille, there is now a bright or dark theme. It was called something different previously, but we have the dark theme. So that's going to add gloss black accents as opposed to silver accents everywhere essentially. So keep that in mind throughout the exterior walk around here, but to the sides, these headlights have been reshaped to kind of look more similar to the new Volvo XC40. I'm sure you guys could probably see that. Less boxy, more kind of swoopy on the insides there, but they are LEDs. LEDs do come standard with LED Thor's hammer daytime running lights, of course. Automatic feature coming with that, along with automatic high beams as well. I personally love that feature. Essentially when you have your high beams on at night and it senses a vehicle coming in the opposite direction, it's going to automatically dim those back to low beams. Then when the vehicle is gone, it's going to automatically bump it back up to high beams. So very convenient feature there. Tim would also mention though, pixel LED headlights. That's an option for $350. Essentially each headlight then has 84 pixels of lighting that adjust, for example, if there's a car coming in the opposite direction, it's going to adjust the angle of the low beams if it senses that vehicle coming and then adjust it back when the vehicle is gone. So kind of interesting concept there. Tim would also mention there are two new colors for the XC40 for 2023. For George Blue, essentially like the C40 recharge that I reviewed. And I probably mispronounced that again, but that's okay. And also Sage Green is another new color for the 2023 XC40, but LED fog lights then coming with the plus and ultimate trim levels, meaning you're not going to get them on the core. So do want to emphasize that. And that's of course down to the bottom corners there that front fascia and aluminum or gloss black front lip again, depended upon the theme that you go with. Again, we do have the dark theme. So we got the black front lip up front. So anyway, so let me know what you guys think of the new redesigned front end in the comments section below and that about rounds out the front end. So they'll go ahead and make our way to the side of the XC40. All right, and something else since we are around to the side of this one, starting all the way to the top there, you will either find aluminum or gloss black referrals. Again, depended upon the theme that you go with. Chrome or gloss black belt line molding, rear privacy glasses going to come standard across the board, gotta love that. Take a look at the side mirrors. They are body colored power adjustable side mirrors. And they will also be heated. And again, if you go with the dark theme, they're actually going to be gloss black as opposed to the body color that I just said. But anyways, then take a look down at the wheel, set up 18 inch double five spoke diamond cut alloys for the core and the plus. Our wheels look dang good in my personal opinion down there. 19 inch five spoke diamond cut alloys for the ultimate and there are some 20 inch wheel designs available. And actually 19 inch wheel designs available as well. And we actually do have 19 inch wheels on our plus trim level that we have with us here today. But anyways, pretty much rounds out the side profile. Let's now go ahead and make our way to the back. All right, so now since we are around to the back of this one all the way to the top, body colored shark fin antenna, just below that rear spoiler with an integrated brake light just below that rear window wiper affixiated to the rear glass there. Got some Volvo lettering spelled out horizontally. That definitely looks good. You got the B five all wheel drive badging or you're going to get the B four badging if you get the front wheel drive configuration. LED tail lights of course comes standard because this is a Volvo. It has to be extra safe with those LEDs. And all the way down to the bottom you're either going to get aluminum or gloss black trim on the very bottom portion of that rear bumper there. But ultimately down below you will find dual exhaust outlets although they will be tucked away for both configurations there. So having said that, I do believe you guys know what we have to do next as always here is that exhaust clip. All right, so now since we are around to the back of the XC 40 when it comes to opening that rear tailgate it is a height adjustable power tailgate for every single trim level across the board. And by the way, that's newly standard for the 2023 model year as well. So you get another change there as well. Cargo capacity is going to come in at 20.7 cubic feet if that was not enough space. There is a 6040 split bumping that up to 57.5 cubic feet. But there's a lot going on in that cargo area. There is a 12 volt power outlet back there. There's grocery bag hooks. And one of the coolest things is if you lift up the cargo floor you do have a little bit of in-floor storage which is pretty cool in itself. But when you lift up the cargo floor you can kind of lock it in place to have an additional three more grocery bag hooks if you wanted to. I always find that pretty cool with Volvo's. They've done that in some of their other vehicles. You have cargo lighting back there. You got a cargo cover that also comes standard. So overall there is a good bit going on in the cargo area of the XC40. But then making our way up to the rear legroom that is going to come in at 36.1 inches. So for reference I am an even six feet tall. This is how much space I have back there. There is a rear center armrest with cup holders that does come standard. There is a 12 volt power outlet as well. There are dual phone charging ports that come standard back there. Rear ventilation along with that. And if you were to go with a climate package that goes for $550 by the way you can also get heated rear seats which we do have with us here today. So you can spoil the rear passengers here at Western Maryland because we do get a lot of snow here. So that is pretty cool. Then making our way up to the front seats power adjustable driver's seat with power lumbar coming standard. You get memory settings for up to two different drivers. It can be found at the driver's side door there. Also coming standard for all trim levels. Leather seating is going to come standard yet again but you will get a suede leather combination if you go with the ultimate. Heated front seats are going to come standard. I got to love that. And my very favorite part about the seating. You actually have the flag of Sweden found on the passenger seat along with every other vehicle I think that Volvo makes. But still I always liked the little added touches. So about the attention to detail but overall with the lumbar adjustment on this thing especially definitely not going to have any issues finding your perfect driving position. But then taking a look at the steering wheel it is tilt and telescoping. It is leather up for all trim levels and it will be heated with that climate package I was telling you guys about that gave you the heat of rear seats as well. So that is pretty nice. Now let's go ahead and make our way to the startup. Let me start by showing you guys the key here. You do have your Volvo logo on the one side and all of your buttons actually are located on the side of the key. You got lock unlock and the button to pop the rear tailgate there. But do what I also mentioned key one is going to be black but then your key two is going to be orange. And that's the key that I personally like. Anyways it is all keyless entry with a push button start. So all I'm going to do here is simply put my foot on the brake and press that black engine start button located just by the driver's right knee there. And so once started up when it comes to the gauges you will find a full digital gauge cluster that comes standard across the board and you can actually display your navigation up there if you wanted to as well. But by the way the navigation and all of all those are powered by Google so it's Google Maps so that is pretty darn cool. There's your outside temperature how many miles you have left until you hit empty road time recognition. So it's going to tell you the speed limit of any given road. But overall it's a very nice looking gauge cluster. I will definitely say that. Then make your way to overall interior quality if you're looking for a panoramic moon roof that we have today. You're going to go with the plus or the ultimate trim levels. High level LED interior lighting for the plus and the ultimate trim levels yet again. And the coolest thing about those LED interior lights there's really no button form. You just kind of put your finger over them and it's going to turn on and off. Which is pretty darn cool. I don't think I've ever seen it done like that before. By the way to open and close the power moon roof you simply just swipe your finger backwards if you want it open and swipe it forwards if you want it closed. So I like the cool little easy gestures that Volvo has included in this thing. You also do get a crystal gear shift knob by Orphors if you go with the plus trim level that we have with us here today. And that looks dang good. They actually redesigned it for this XC40. So big fan of the look of that thing. That always looks dang good. But universal garage door opener does come standard and that's just underneath of the frameless rear view mirror as well. So that's pretty cool. Aluminum interior accents coming with the ultimate trim level. Driftwood trim coming with the plus and that's found on the doors just above the passenger side glove box as well. And I'm a huge fan of that. Barless fan charger can be found just in front of the shifter there. That is pretty darn cool. And I remember in the past there's actually gonna be a button to open the glove box but it looks like they did away with that because I actually have a handle on the glove box this year. So maybe that's a little bit of a change there. But just like the C40 it looks like you got the little grocery bag hook that can pop out of the glove box if you wanted to hang a bag there. So just notice that there's actually a little section for you to slide a pen in there right next to that ur-pencil I guess. But that is pretty cool too. I like how Volvo did that. Another thing I wanted to mention on the interior quality is the doors and just around the center console here everything is very soft. I don't know what kind of material this is but it almost feels like carpet. It's just a super soft feeling. And there is a little bit of indented storage right around the center console here as well. So that's pretty cool. Just in front of the shifter you do have a couple phone charging ports. There's a 12 volt power outlet. You got your dual cup holders to the right of the shifter there. Election mechanical parking brake. Decent amount of storage within that center armrest and yet again a removable trash bin in typical Volvo fashion. They always like doing this. They do that with their C40 as well. So I'm a big fan of that too. So a lot of cool little Easter eggs in the Volvo. I'll just put it that way. But now let's go ahead and make our way to the infotainment screen here. Nine inch vertical color touch screen display does come standard Bluetooth and audio streaming Android Auto Apple CarPlay. Climate control settings you can check out up there as well. Heated seat buttons you can check out up there. There's that heated steering wheel button you can find up there as well. But so then of course you can check out your radio information up there as well. And so when it comes to the sound systems there are two of them. First one is going to be an eight speaker sound system with 250 watts. That is what's going to come standard. But then there is the upgraded sound system which is a 13 speaker Harman Kardon sound system. But that is not the one we have today. We actually do have that eight speaker sound system with us here today. So what do you guys say? Let's go ahead and turn on the radio see what we got playing today and let's test out the clarity of this one. All right actually not bad because there was a decent amount of base with that eight speaker sound system. Clarity was pretty darn good as well. And it's not your traditional six speaker sound system which is what you usually will find in base sound systems in SUV. So the fact that you got eight speakers in a vehicle the size of the XC40 it's not even a larger SUV. This is a pretty darn good sound system being honest for the XC40. So I absolutely personally have had no issues there with that sound system. But anyways last thing I wanted to mention to you guys on the infotainment screen is when you do put the XC40 in reverse you will find a review camera coming standard across the board with a 360 degree camera that is gonna be optional. We do have that option. So I wanted to show that to you guys as well giving you that bird's eye view which is always is going to lead us into safety. And so IEHS top safety pick plus to start with which is the very highest rating. Like I said by IEHS that are pretty much as it all right there front side side carrying airbags do come standard drivers knee airbag as well. In the back you're gonna have latch AKA lower anchors and tethers for children for the rear car seats, rear child door locks for a person monitoring system but also coming standard blind spot monitoring system with rear cross traffic alert rear parking sensors lane keep assist lane departure warning and roadside recognition then as well. And if you're ready to go with either the plus or the ultimate terms you're going to add to that front and rear parking sensors. So that is pretty darn cold. But overall when it comes to my final thoughts here of the XC40 brilliant safety in this thing I absolutely love that the flag is sweetened on the passenger seat I always love that. That's a nice functionality in the cargo area with all of those grocery bag hooks. I also like what they did with the passenger side glove box here with the coat hook in there and the little place to put your pen. I don't see that on most vehicles out there the crystal shifter is absolutely amazing. As far as room for improvement goes multicolor ambient lighting would look pretty darn good in this thing. I would definitely add that since this is the luxury SUV a lot of other manufacturers like BMW, Mercedes Benz and even Hyundai and Kia they do multicolor ambient lighting beautifully. So I would love to see that in here and also again with the braking feel it just does not feel natural. It's very weird braking feel in this thing. You really have to stop on it to get it to stop. Anyways, let me know what you guys think of the XC40 and the redesign of the comment section below. That is about it for this one. You guys thank you so much for watching. Feel free to follow me on social media at the bottom of the screen if you want to see what's coming next on the channel before it gets to YouTube. Be sure to hit the subscribe and the bell notification button if you're into new car reviews that is what we do here on this channel after all. Do appreciate you guys watching more than you know when I will see you guys all in the next video. Stay Gold.