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The EV segment is booming, and there are many EV options for customers to choose from. Due to how many options there are, some EVs get overlooked, and this is the case with the 2022 Volvo C40 Recharge, which may be one of the more overlooked EVs on the market right now. Despite that, the 2022 C40 Recharge is still a good car, and here are four reasons why car shoppers should consider it instead of the 2022 BMW i4.

1. The 2022 Volvo C40 Recharge has standard all-wheel drive

One of the things that puts the Volvo C40 Recharge above the BMW i4 is that Volvo gave the car all-wheel drive as standard, according to Edmunds. The Volvo EV has all-wheel drive as standard because it comes with two electric motors, one in the front and one in the rear. 

In comparison, the i4 comes with rear-wheel drive as standard, and that’s because it only comes with one electric motor. That said, BMW offers the M50 trim, which will give the i4 an extra motor and, thus, all-wheel drive.

2. The C40 Recharge has more horsepower and torque

A Volvo C40 Recharge electric SUV model on display in Stockholm, Sweden
Volvo C40 Recharge | CLAUDIO BRESCIANI/TT News Agency/AFP via Getty Images

In addition to getting all-wheel drive as standard, the fact that the Volvo C40 Recharge has two motors as standard also means that it is simply more powerful than the BMW i4. Combined, the C40 Recharge’s two electric motors generate 402 hp and 486 lb-ft of torque. The i4, on the other hand, only gets 335 hp and 317 lb-ft of torque from its standard single motor.

This extra power allows the Volvo to be faster and more capable. Edmunds wrote that the C40 Recharge has a max towing capacity of about 2,000 pounds, while the i4 has a max payload capacity of just under 1,000 pounds. It’ll take the C40 Recharge 4.7 seconds to go from 0 to 60 mph, while it’ll take the i4 about 5.5 seconds to do that. 

3. The C40 Recharge has more max cargo capacity, too

On top of being a more powerful car, the Volvo C40 Recharge is also bigger and more capable than the Beemer. Without folding the seats down, the Volvo has more cargo capacity than the BMW i4. The i4 has 10 cu. ft., while the C40 Recharge has 14.5 cu. ft. This means the Volvo has 45% more cargo capacity without folding its seats down than the BMW.

With the seats folded down, the C40 Recharge gets 48.7 cu. ft. of max cargo capacity. That is still more than the 45.5 cu. ft. of max cargo capacity that the i4 can get, according to CNET. Still, the impressive thing about the i4 is that it has such high cargo capacity numbers despite being a hatchback. 

4. The Volvo has significantly more ground clearance than the BMW

That being said, the Volvo C40 Recharge gets a significant advantage in terms of ground clearance thanks to the fact that it’s an SUV while the BMW i4 is a hatchback. According to Edmunds, the Beemer has a ground clearance of 4.9 inches. In comparison, the Volvo has a ground clearance of 7 inches.

Extra ground clearance is a good thing to have, especially on an EV, as it can help reduce the risk of damaging the EV’s batteries. In the C40 Recharge’s case, its ground clearance advantage, combined with the fact that it gets all-wheel drive as standard, also makes it a much better car for off-roading scenarios than the i4. 

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