Volvo is updating its XC40 for the 2028 model year, adding fresh features and design details to its chic entry-level SUV. The changes are relatively minor, but they should give Volvo’s luxury subcompact crossover some renewed appeal while the Swedish automaker figures out its broader product strategy for the next few years.
A Bit of Volvo Background
After its global reveal in 2017, the XC40 arrived in the United States for 2019. Then, in 2021, Volvo announced plans to become an all-electric automaker and phase out combustion-powered vehicles entirely—including hybrids—by 2030. Several EVs, including the EX40, EX30, and EX90, arrived in the intervening years.
But market conditions evolved, and in 2024 Volvo backed away from that deadline. Like many manufacturers, it has since reconsidered its gas and hybrid powertrain strategies. For several reasons, buyers simply haven’t pivoted to EVs in the U.S. market as readily as Volvo and others initially hoped, with the departing EX40 (formerly XC40 Recharge) and short-lived EX30 serving as cautionary tales for execs at its Gothenburg headquarters. Even so, Volvo remains committed to its slate of EVs, as the recent arrival of the EX60 indicates.
One might imagine that, had Volvo’s original electrification plans held, an all-new, all-electric successor to the XC40 would be arriving about now. Instead, the 2028 updates hint at a backup plan designed to keep the XC40 relevant.
Not that major changes were needed, given the solid basis it’s starting from. After becoming a finalist at our 2019 SUV of the Year contest, the XC40 proved to be an enjoyable member of our long-term review fleet, and subsequent assessments have generally been positive.
In the United States, the XC40 will have a long 2026, and technically there will be no 2027 model. When the updated version “returns” for 2028, its basics will be unchanged, with the same overall size and shape. The B5’s mild hybrid turbocharged I-4 powertrain carries over, although AWD will now be standard; it was an upgrade from FWD in 2026.
Style Remains a Strong Suit
Looks have always been an XC40 selling point, and the evolutionary exterior design changes maintain that appeal. Volvo’s intentions were to make the 2028 model more confident and contemporary, to give it maturity the cute original iteration somewhat lacked.
Everything ahead of the front doors is new. The fenders line up with a clamshell hood that angles more steeply down to the grille. That slimmer grille directly abuts the headlights, which contain matrix LED projector beams for improved illumination. Black housings give the automaker’s signature “Thor’s Hammer” LED accents a brighter, bolder appearance. The SUV’s chin looks slightly chunkier, as the bumper’s corners are more rounded.
At the rear, the taillights lose the previous transparent enclosures and likewise gain black bezels that give the slim red LED strips prominence—they now appear as light on a surface along the lines of a smartphone display, according to Volvo. Those bezels extend 10mm farther rearward and, with the reprofiled bumper, contribute to a tiny aerodynamic improvement. In addition, a new tailgate panel is also applied. Heather Bronze joins the paint palette, and its wheels range in size from 18 to 20 inches are all newly designed.
