Volvo aims to give its XC40 a much more functional cabin, according to the latest preview of the upcoming small SUV. It makes sense that a manufacturer hailing from the land of Ikea would take a swing at improving the interior space of its cars.
While Volvo could have simply followed its SUV logic and made a smaller version of its redesigned XC60 — itself a smaller version of the XC90 — the all-new XC40 gave the Swedish company a chance to start from a clean slate.
The interior will feature a dedicated space for smartphones with inductive charging capabilities. Volvo moved the speakers from the doors to increase door-pocket storage, making them large enough for laptops and tablets. There's a hook that pulls out from the glove box to hang items on, as well — a feature usually reserved for larger family vehicles like minivans.
The most unusual idea was based off consumer research. Across multiple demographics, Volvo discovered that many people put boxes of tissues in their cars; armed with that information, Volvo added a dedicated tissue dispenser to the XC40. This will be handy not only for the aforementioned population of tissue users but also those who are sad they didn't buy the XC60 or XC90. There will also be a dedicated trash can to keep all those new storage areas free of garbage. No longer will long road trips be subject to the tyranny of the overflowing shopping bag or the annoyance of that smashed box of Kleenex sliding around the dashboard at every turn.
There's no mention of whether there will be XC40-exclusive tissue boxes that will be the only ones to fit in the dispenser, or if the same will apply to the bags for the trash can — but both would be simultaneously diabolical and unsurprising in this day and age.