Long-term report: Challenging winter conditions put our Volvo XC40 to the test

You’d think that growing up in rural Yorkshire I’d be acclimated to a cold winter, but oh boy is this season not a highlight of mine.

It’s always a shock to the system when the temperature plummets, and I was helped quite massively last winter by having a pick-up for the coldest spells, meaning that I wouldn’t think twice about heading out in a blizzard or on the snowy ungritted roads around us.

But this year I’m back in a more ‘normal’ car, and despite how the Volvo XC40 looks with its chunky plastic wheel arches, high-set driving position and plentiful ground clearance, ‘my’ hybrid long-termer is actually front-wheel-drive. As a side note, the B4 petrol is all-wheel-drive, as is the P8 electric model, for those wanting that extra traction.

However, despite my initial preconceptions, and thinking how easily a quite heavy front-wheel-drive car would get stuck, KM70 XKO has really surprised me.

On a recent Sunday, when there had been snowfall followed by ice overnight – arguably one of the worst driving conditions – I thought I’d brave the weather to take the dog for a good long walk. While thankfully the main roads were all quite clear, some of the other stretches weren’t.

One particular section of tarmac could only be described as sheet ice, and has one steep uphill. I was adamant that the XC40 would barely get a fraction of the way up on its standard-fit Pirelli tyres (it’s not on winters or all-seasons). But to my amazement it didn’t even struggle, going straight up with no skidding at all – amusingly passing the tyre marks where people had had to give up. I was particularly impressed.

This latest cold snap has also reaffirmed one of the XC40’s best features, which is the app that goes with the car. It essentially means your smartphone can connect with it, allowing for a range of functions to be accessed remotely. There are some that are impressively useful, such as being notified if you’ve left the car unlocked, with the app then letting you secure the car, regardless of where you are. There’s also a feature that lets you send sat nav routes to the car, but given I tend to default to Google Maps anyway, I’ve yet to use, or really see the point of it.

But by the far the best thing that the app lets you do is warm the car before you get to it. I know it’s a first-world problem, but it’s quite unpleasant to come to a car that’s cold and frozen (particularly when it’s got leather seats) in the morning. But with the app, you can heat your car up before you get to it, by programming it for up to 15 minutes. It even gives you control over the heated seats and steering wheels, meaning you’ll soon have a warmed backside and toasty hands when getting in.

If you have the same routine each day (whether that’s commuting or setting off on the school run), you can even set a timer, meaning the car will automatically heat up for you. In the summer months when your car might be too hot – oh how we can dream – it also works the opposite way, meaning the Volvo will be cooled down for you.

This isn’t just a Volvo-exclusive feature, and many hybrid and electric models, in particular, have this ability but the Volvo app seems especially slick to use.

It’s also rather good if, like me, you’re big into your stats, with a particular favourite feature being the ‘usage’ map that tells you how many miles have been electric. Over the last seven days, for example, my XC40 has done nearly 50 per cent of its miles purely on electric, which is pretty good going and emphasises the benefits that a plug-in hybrid can bring.

With KM70 XKO sadly set to return to Volvo in the New Year, I aim to keep enjoying it up until the very last second. And should the weather take a turn for the worst, I’ll know that a cold interior is one thing I won’t have to worry about!