// ARS TECHNICA — INTELLIGENZA ARTIFICIALE
New corners, new lights for 2028 Volvo XC40
The Swedish automaker gives its small SUV a sympathetic makeover.
Most cars get a midlife facelift about four years after first hitting the streets. It’s a chance for automakers to update the styling and introduce new features and engineering changes that are usually minor but can be quite dramatic—the Polestar 2 swapping from front- to rear-wheel drive comes readily to mind. I can’t think of too many cars that have gone on to have a second update, but here’s one: the 2028 Volvo XC40.
First debuting in 2017, Volvo gave the XC40 a tweak for model year 2023. Rather than launch an all-new version, it has decided to give the popular crossover another update for MY28 with the aim of keeping things fresh. “By enhancing the XC40’s design, technology, and safety features, we’ve created the best version of the XC40 yet,” said Akhil Krishnan, interim lead for the 30 and 40 Series at Volvo Cars. “This already-popular model is now set to continue being one of our best-selling cars for years to come.”
The most obvious changes are the new front and rear lights. Up front we still see the distinctive “Thor’s Hammer” daylight running light signature, but the new matrix LED light clusters appear more minimalist, hiding their details from view. The rear similarly gets new LEDs. But Volvo’s designers have been at work elsewhere, shaving away the corners of the car to make what was already a small SUV take up slightly less room.
From a pedestrian’s perspective, the effect is to make the car seem smaller, with its edges slightly farther away. It’s only an inch here and there, but compared to the trend of metastasizing SUVs we’re normally subjected to, it’s a more sympathetic and socially aware approach that makes the XC40 look less aggressive. Then again, of all the automakers out there, Volvo, with its fastidious approach to safety, would be the one to do it.
The most significant change to the interior is the new 11.2-inch touchscreen for the infotainment system. Volvo was an early adopter of Google’s Android Automotive OS and Google Automotive Services, and that integration continues here, now with Gemini. The addition of more AI will raise many eyebrows, but based on my limited testing, it is more capable as a voice assistant than the one it replaces. There’s also now a cardamom leather interior option that pairs with an open-grain wood trim.
Volvo being Volvo, it couldn’t resist the chance to make the XC40 a little safer. So there’s a new suite of front, rear, and corner radars, a new forward-looking camera, plus new ultrasonic sensors and revised software that includes an upgraded 3D view for the 360-degree fused parking cameras.
The revised 2028 Volvo XC40 goes into production later this year and should go on sale next year. There’s also a revised electric EX40 that benefits from the same styling changes, but the US won’t get that one.