Why is this section so poorly visited?
 

Volvo sold 5653 XC40s in the UK in the last month (September), which was over 60% of its total UK sales. XC40 September sales alone accounts for over 10% of Volvos annual sales in 2019 in the UK. In fact the XC40 is the 9th most popular car on sale in the UK. So why then is this part of the forum by comparison to other sections limited on posts? Could it be that the XC40 customers are mostly new to Volvo and are not aware of this forum? Or does nothing go wrong with the XC40??

I suspect that most people have been sitting indoors watching their car sitting on the drive, rather than actually being able to enjoy it. It does rather reduce the motivation to talk about your car - while it's not exactly a modders vehicle....

Maybe with nothing better to do during lockdown they have read the Handbook. :tounge_smile:

Not an XC40 owner, but a good question asked by the OP., so I thought I'd chip in to spark a bit of discussion.

It's a new and expensive model, so ownership is still limited and most of these will be with the original 'purchaser' I'd imagine. Outselling the Ford Focus in September however is a hell of an achievement by Volvo!!

As 80% of new cars are 'purchased' on PCP and then 80% of these are returned at the end of the deal, the chances of the 'owner' being interested or inclined to service or modify etc. must be low. I guess it's just a drive and main dealer service vehicle all the way for the majority.

VOC membership still seems niche, and mostly older models in my area. Not aware of a new XC40/60/90 ever turning up to a meeting.

When they become an affordable 2nd hand car, I'd expect the forum use to rise as people want to know how to change brakes, ATF etc. Currently owners seem limited to questions about bluetooth, delivery and mpg! (Mike - good point made about reading the manual :teeth_smile:).

The reality is as well that forum use is dropping as the world moves to anti-social media. The 480 forum I use only has about 10 regular contributors now!

Great looking car by the way. Must get a test drive at some point.

I think you have hit the nail on the head with your deductions Zap, that plus there is a site just dedicated to the XC40 which seems lively enough.

I'm not a XC40 owner either, but I did test drive one, it was the Launch Edition, loaded up to the gunwales with every option bar one. It was priced at just under the magic £40K. I think they only made a certain number of that model. It was nice, but I wasn't overly impressed, although they seem to be selling like hotcakes. Perhaps a lot of buyers moving up from Foci',
Vauxhall et al and new to the brand can see the attraction. As mentioned the forum may well pick up in time.

It'll pickup when the warranty runs out.

I would think 99% of the owners have no real interest in cars just buy what they fancy and drive it , they want something different .. nothing really goes wrong with XC40..

Spot on Clan. Most of my neighbours pay £300/month for a French sh*tbox, drive it, clean it once a month at the £5 drive through and give it back in 3 years for another. Simple A to B economics that works for them.

They all think I'm mad spending a Saturday changing ATF or machine polishing!

Thats an interesting observation. I mean I would expect software glitches etc but I guess a lot of those would have been ironed out due to 2nd gen XC90 having already been running with similar software for 5 years now.

I do wonder what difference the lack of Ford involvement will make to the long term reliablity of these newer Volvos. I do remember trying out a later model V40 and thinking that it felt very solid despite the Ford underpinnings, but more so than the S40/V50.

Most common cars now are treated like a washing machine or fridge ..or gas boiler .. and how many teenagers have an interest in cars like they did 20+ years ago I wonder ... Most of the ones in my car club don't have any mechanical skills or inclinations , neither do that have any interest in going into the Motor trade .

Hahaha, nice one, but I doubt it :-)

I think your right on the money here Clan!

Silent XC40 0wners
 

Guilty Plea: I have no complaints about my XC40 T4, and though I might make a few passing points on this and other forums, I remain normally stum.

Why? Because it does what it says on the tin. As this is my 25th and last vehicle (I am 73) and now do maybe 200 miles a month, the gizmos have no appeal but you get them anyway! In days of old my 42,000+ miles a year seems a lot but most of them were in my "firms" fleet, some of which were in battenburg colours.

Relax OP!

Bhowani
2019 T4 Auto

Personally I believe that there is a better XC40 forum about. https://www.xc40forums.co.uk/index.p...d53c6e6e6e69cf
Before I purchased my latest XC60 3 years ago to replace my MK1 I considered waiting to see what the new XC40 was like and I considered buying one. The XC40 had not been added to this forum and I joined the forum above. I am still a member and post on it as with things like Sensus are the same. This forum was late in getting in on the act with the XC40.

I am picking my Xc40 R Design pro tomorrow and super excited about it. Bein a petrol head, been changing my cars every 2-3 years. Yes, the Volvo may have a perception of older and staid drivers, but I am so looking forward to it.

I have test driven most of the SUV competition, but very little stands up to the XC40 overall. Yes the Audi Q3 or the Beemer X1 may be more fun to drive and the Korean efforts good value for money,will they stand test of time. If Reliability charts are anything to go by. No

XC40 may not even handle like my current Mazda CX5, but please let be excited at my first introduction to Volvo

Absolutely agree. Being a member of both, the static topics on here speak for themselves. I would like to post and contribute on here but the lack of input has put me off. This actual post will elevate me to the dizzy heights of double digits for the first time. The other forum mentioned sees my posts at 553 and not 10!! You could say I’m, and people like me, are the problem. I’m not posting on here cos there’s no traffic. However, there’s no traffic on here because I’m not posting. 🙄

I concur withe earlier comments:
- Most of the time the xc40 "just works" and there is no difficultly. Having said that i sometimes have a problem finding my around the user interface.
- This forum was too slow off the mark. Its late apprearance allowed the other xc40 forum to get established with no competition.

I still feel that there is scope for this forum to build up over time.

Don't worry, Bhowani 2, you may well get a new car in the future. I'm nearer 90 than 80 and am on my third "exit" car.

Villarsch
2020 T5