Best Tyres for the Volvo XC40 Recharge P8 AWD

Tyres came as OEM fitted with the car. Not great not terrible. Lasted for a good time and deserves a good grade on how many kilometers they were able to hold on to.

Not a proper summer tire, but not also a proper winter tire. I live in the nordics and have proper winter. These tires would be great off season tires between proper winter and summer times IF i had the interest to change tires four times a year.

These are the OEM tires that came on my Polestar from the factory. Dry and wet grip and braking is very impressive and the tires have great handling characteristics and a comfortable ride. Unfortunately the winter performance is abysmal - during the first snow that we got for the season (about an inch of fluffy, freshly fallen powder) braking from 17mph took about 7-8 times longer than normal with ABS working the whole way. Later that day I was stopping from 20mph and the rear end broke loose and drifted to the right a bit. The tires did take correction well so I will give them that, but they are not nearly as confidence inspiring as the dedicated winter tires I am used to on the other cars in my fleet. I would happily buy these tires again for summer and wet season use, just be aware that they are the traditional "3 season" tires as opposed to some of the newer All Seasons that have winter tire adjacent performance.

TL,DR; Exceptional in snow, great in mud, loud above 50MPH, too soft for high-torque acceleration. Perfect tyre for low temperature climates, less so for temperate. These are Volvo-homologated tyres, but not EV-specific.

I initially reviewed these tyres in September 2022, before the "heavy" (by our standards) snow season experienced over the 2022 UK winter. I said they were soft, likely prone to wear, and probably not great for an EV. I take all that back, with two caveats (different from my first initial review). The tyres, as you'd no doubt expect, excel in the snow. I drove over to Chipping Campden high street in the heaviest snow of the season and drove up that hill like it was a dry summer day. Compacted or fresh snow, the car just carried on. Couldn't be happier. From the review videos we all know this is a snow tyre.

Mud is a similar story. I frequently walk my dog in woodland and open country, and parking is rarely paved. I've never been stuck in the mud, even with deep ruts and wet slurry for a surface. The wide gaps in the tyre tread find something to catch and just pull on through. I'd be lying if I said I considered anything I do as "off roading" but I wouldn't be put off by a muddy trail or gravel track at this point. The car and the tyre seem to be set for adverse conditions.

The two caveats: road noise, and hard acceleration. Above 50MPH there is a constant roar from the tyres. It's an EV; I get that there will be more apparent road noise. But there is a lot of it. Secondly, the front end feels very light under *hard* (maximum) acceleration. I don't remember what the factory-fitted Pirelli's felt like, but it's enough to make me ease off if it's not a dead-straight road. Again, bear in mind this is an EV; 0-60 in well under 5 seconds. It's a rare occurance to push that hard unless you're purposefully pushing the car to the limit. Normal driving the car is comfortable and well planted. Nobody drives TO THE MAX in every day conditions.

I tyres for a car I don't own and driving conditions I very rarely encounter. They were the wrong tyres for me. If you live somewhere cold, they might be the right tyres for you. My next set of tyres will certainly be EV-specific.

Initial impressions are that these are *very* soft tyres. The sidewall is easily moved with a fingertip at 40PSI, as is the tread. I've a set of Pirelli Scorpion Winter tyres which are more firm to the touch despite significantly more siping in the tread blocks at the same 15 celcius ambient temperature. Maybe the design of the siping in the CrossClimate's compensates for this soft compound. I can't help but think that it will lead to early wear on the tyre tread, especially on a high-torque EV. Having said that, the ride is more comfortable than it was on the 20" Pirelli P Zero Elect's that came on the XC40 Recharge, which is a pleasent bonus on this car. Will add more when the wet and cold weather comes upon us. I'd buy this tyre again, but not for an EV.