Long-term report: Appreciating the Google-powered touchscreen in our Volvo XC40

These days, car manufacturers increasingly want to be seen as technology firms more than anything else.

Technology lends itself perfectly to the increasing trend for electric cars and self-driving ability, and an example of this is just how many car firms now attend the CES technology show in Las Vegas each year.

But on a more practical level, one of the most obvious pieces of technology in cars is the main touchscreen. Manufacturers invest millions into their cars’ infotainment systems. The trouble is, often these systems aren’t as slick as they could be. Volkswagen’s latest infotainment, fitted to cars such as its new Golf and ID.3, has been riddled with software issues.

But increasingly we’re seeing car firms outsource such features – as Volvo has been doing recently with its new Android-based infotainment system.

It first appeared on the electric XC40, though it’s since been rolled out across Volvo’s full line-up as part of the latest model year. It’s a feature that I’m a particular fan of on ‘my’ electric XC40 Recharge.

Though slotting into the same nine-inch space in the dashboard as the previous system, it brings some real benefits thanks to its in-built Google features. One of my favourites is Google Maps. It’s something that I tend to use anyway as my preferred navigation, with its traffic information usually being accurate and enabling less time queuing.

Usually, I have to use Google Maps through Apple CarPlay, but in the Volvo, it’s the default navigation so is easier to access. On longer trips, it’s able to suggest the best places to charge as well and factor this into the overall door-to-door journey time. One of my favourite elements is that it tells you the expected percentage of battery you’ll have remaining when you get to your destination, and I’ve found it to be impressively accurate.

It’s also got Google Assistant built-in, allowing you to use your voice to control various features, or ask questions. I’ll be honest, I forget to use this most of the time as I find it’s often just quicker to do the input yourself. But if you like using features like Siri and Alexa, it will likely prove a hit.

While stopped to charge recently and flicking through the Google Play store, I realised games could be downloaded and played while waiting. The screen is a little too small and awkward to use for it, but anything that helps to fill in time is certainly welcome.

What things I don’t like about the screen? Well, there’s the usual bugbear of the climate settings being on the screen, and they’re quite small and tricky to use while driving. In fact, having previously run an XC40 with the old system, I think they’re even harder to operate on this latest model. That said, you can use your voice to control them – if you remember!

While Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are both included as standard, neither is wireless and having to mess about with wires just feels a bit clunky in a £60,000 car. in 2023 Especially so when there is a wireless smartphone charger in the car.

There are certain useful apps that aren’t included in Google Play, which means having to run CarPlay as well – WhatsApp being the main one. It means you find yourself flicking between the two, and you wonder why you might as well just use Google Maps powered by CarPlay rather than the car’s built-in system.

But these are small things that aren’t detracting from what is proving to be a very enjoyable EV to run. With warmer weather recently, I’ve noticed the XC40’s range has had a welcome range boost. Previously it struggled to get 200 miles from a charge, but I’m noticing an average of 220 miles now, and I’m sure more could be achieved with more careful driving.

With plenty of longer trips planning in the electric Volvo in the next few weeks, I’m keen to see if there are any further range improvements.