Volvo XC40: The Trouble With Advancement

Theres So Much Going Right With The Volvo Xc40. But Whats The Point, Really? Is There One At All?

- Raunak Ajinkya

Enough and more’s been said about the XC40 so far, don’t you think? For whatever it’s worth, most of whatever’s been written and said about it has been, more or less, positive, and I’m not here to put a dent in that in the least. I just want to, let’s say, expand on those purported qualities that everyone seems to be bigging up, because there’s a lot that a week of driving a machine can teach you. Plenty of useful and, um, rather scary things, at that.

A lot of these things have to do with the active safety features that Volvo’s been very keen on pushing since the onset. And with good reason, too. Why wouldn’t it? Things like the lane-keeping assist and the active collision avoidance system are important features — on paper. Now, after reading this write up, you may jump to the conclusion that this is a rant. And yes, it is, but the direction and the intention of the rant isn’t to put the XC40 down; not in the least. I’m happy that Volvo’s bringing these unheard-of features to India at a relatively affordable price tag. It makes us ready for the future and, in theory, it makes the roads safer. I’m all for that, but the key words in the last statement are ‘for the future’. We’re just not ready to accept cars like the XC40 yet, I’m afraid.