Compare the2022 Volvo C40 RechargeVS 2021 BMW i3

Safety
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Environmental Friendliness
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Towing
Ergonomics

Safety

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For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Volvo C40 Recharge have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The BMW i3 doesn’t offer pretensioners for the rear seat belts.

The C40 Recharge’s pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The i3 doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Volvo C40 Recharge are height-adjustable to accommodate a wide variety of driver and passenger heights. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages passengers to buckle up. The BMW i3 doesn’t offer height-adjustable seat belts.

The Volvo C40 Recharge has a standard driver’s side knee airbag mounted low on the dashboard. The knee airbag helps prevent the driver from sliding under the seatbelts or the main frontal airbag; this keeps the driver better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. A knee airbag also helps keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The i3 doesn’t offer knee airbags.

The C40 Recharge has a standard front seat center airbag, which deploys between the driver and front passenger, protecting them from injuries caused by striking each other in serious side impacts. The i3 doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.

The C40 Recharge has a standard Whiplash Protection System (WHIPS), which use a specially designed seat to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the WHIPS allows the backrest to travel backwards to cushion the occupants and the headrests move forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. At the same time the pretensioning seatbelts fire, removing slack from the belts. The i3 doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety tests front crash prevention systems. With a score of 6 points, IIHS rates the City Safety in the C40 Recharge as “Superior.” The i3 scores only 3 points and is rated only “Advanced.”

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The C40 Recharge offers optional CTA Auto Brake that uses rear sensors to monitor and automatically apply the brakes to prevent a rear collision. The i3 doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.

The C40 Recharge has all-wheel drive to maximize traction under poor conditions, especially in ice and snow. The i3 doesn’t offer all-wheel drive.

The C40 Recharge’s lane departure warning system alerts a temporarily inattentive driver when the vehicle begins to leave its lane and gently nudges the vehicle back towards its lane. The i3 doesn’t offer a lane departure warning system.

The C40 Recharge offers an optional 360° Camera to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The i3 only offers a rear monitor and front and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the sides.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the C40 Recharge’s standard rear cross-path warning system uses sensors in the rear bumper to alert the driver to vehicles approaching from the side, helping the driver avoid collisions. The i3 doesn’t offer a cross-path warning system.

The C40 Recharge’s driver alert monitor detects an inattentive driver then sounds a warning and suggests a break. According to the NHTSA, drivers who fall asleep cause about 100,000 crashes and 1500 deaths a year. The i3 doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

Both the C40 Recharge and the i3 have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, daytime running lights and rearview cameras.

The Volvo C40 Recharge weighs 1508 to 1845 pounds more than the BMW i3. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety rates the general design of front seat head restraints for their ability to protect front seat occupants from whiplash injuries. The IIHS also performs a dynamic test on those seats with “good” or “acceptable” geometry. In these ratings, the C40 Recharge with leather seats is safer than the i3:

	C40 Recharge	i3
Overall Evaluation	GOOD	ACCEPTABLE
Head Restraint Design	GOOD	GOOD
Distance from Back of Head	6 mm	15 mm
Dynamic Test Rating	GOOD	ACCEPTABLE
Seat Design	Pass	Fail
Torso Acceleration	11 g’s	13.3 g’s
Neck Force Rating	Low	Low
Max Neck Tension	236	561

(Lower numerical results are better in all tests.)

For its top level performance in IIHS driver and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, side impact, roof strength and head restraint tests, its standard vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention system, its standard vehicle-to-pedestrian front crash prevention system, and its standard headlight’s “Good” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the C40 Recharge its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2022, a rating granted to only 77 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The i3 is not even a standard “Top Safety Pick.”

Engine

The C40 Recharge’s electric motors produce 234 more horsepower (402 vs. 168) and 302 lbs.-ft. more torque (486 vs. 184) than the i3 REx’s standard 0.6 2-cylinder hybrid. The C40 Recharge’s electric motors produce 221 more horsepower (402 vs. 181) and 287 lbs.-ft. more torque (486 vs. 199) than the i3s’ standard electric motor.

Fuel Economy and Range

The C40 Recharge’s maximum EPA estimated driving range is 226 miles on a full charge, 48% further than the i3’s 153-mile range. The i3 REx can only travel about 126 miles before it has to start its internal combustion engine.

Environmental Friendliness

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Volvo C40 Recharge higher (10 out of 10) than the BMW i3 (7 to 10). This means the C40 Recharge produces up to 11.8 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the i3 every 15,000 miles.

Brakes and Stopping

For better stopping power the C40 Recharge’s brake rotors are larger than those on the i3:

	C40 Recharge	i3
Front Rotors	13.6 inches	11 inches
Rear Rotors	13.4 inches	11 inches

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the C40 Recharge has larger tires than the i3 (235/45R20 vs. 155/70R19). The C40 Recharge’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the i3 (235/45R20 vs. 175/55R20).

The C40 Recharge’s tires provide better handling because they have a lower 45 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the i3’s standard 70 series front and 60 series rear tires. The C40 Recharge’s tires are lower profile than the i3s’ 55 series front and 50 series rear tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the C40 Recharge has standard 20-inch wheels. Smaller 19-inch wheels are standard on the i3.

Suspension and Handling

The C40 Recharge has standard front and rear stabilizer bars, which help keep the C40 Recharge flat and controlled during cornering. The i3’s suspension doesn’t offer stabilizer bars.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the C40 Recharge’s wheelbase is 5.2 inches longer than on the i3 (106.4 inches vs. 101.2 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the C40 Recharge is .6 inches wider in the front and 1.7 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the i3.

Passenger Space

The C40 Recharge has standard seating for 5 passengers; the i3 can only carry 4.

The C40 Recharge has .4 inches more front legroom, 3.1 inches more front shoulder room, 4.2 inches more rear legroom and 7.1 inches more rear shoulder room than the i3.

Cargo Capacity

Pulling a handle automatically lowers the C40 Recharge’s rear seats, to make changing between passengers and cargo easier. The i3 doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

A standard locking glovebox keeps your small valuables safer in the C40 Recharge. The i3 doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

To make loading and unloading groceries and cargo easier, especially for short adults, the C40 Recharge has a standard power liftgate, which opens and closes automatically by pressing a button, or optionally by just kicking your foot under the back bumper, completely leaving your hands free. The i3 doesn’t offer a power trunk.

Towing

The C40 Recharge has a 2000 lbs. towing capacity. The i3 has no towing capacity.

Ergonomics

The C40 Recharge’s standard power windows have a locking feature to keep children in the rear seat from operating them, but the driver can still raise and lower all of them with the lock engaged. BMW does not offer a locking feature on the i3’s standard power windows.

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the C40 Recharge has a standard rear fixed intermittent wiper with a full on position. The rear wiper standard on the i3 only has an intermittent setting, so in a hard rain visibility isn’t as good.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) conducts detailed tests on headlights for their range both straight ahead and in curves and to be certain they don’t exceed acceptable amounts of glare to oncoming drivers. The C40 Recharge’s headlights were rated “Good” by the IIHS, while the i3’s headlights are rated “Acceptable.”

In poor weather, headlights can lose their effectiveness as grime builds up on their lenses. This can reduce visibility without the driver realizing. The C40 Recharge has standard headlight washers to keep headlight output high. The i3 doesn’t offer headlight washers.

Both the C40 Recharge and the i3 offer available heated front seats. The C40 Recharge also offers optional heated rear seats to keep those passengers extremely comfortable in the winter. Heated rear seats aren’t available in the i3.

On extremely cold winter days, the C40 Recharge’s optional heated steering wheel provides comfort, allowing the driver to steer safely and comfortably before the vehicle heater warms up. The i3 doesn’t offer a heated steering wheel.

The C40 Recharge has a standard center folding armrest for the rear passengers. A center armrest helps make rear passengers more comfortable and it can provide a boundary between children. The i3 doesn’t offer a rear seat center armrest.

The C40 Recharge’s standard dual zone air conditioning allows the driver and front passenger to choose two completely different temperatures so people with different temperature preferences won’t have to compromise. This makes both the driver and front passenger as comfortable as possible. The i3 doesn’t offer dual zone air conditioning.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Volvo C40 Recharge has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. The i3 doesn’t offer wireless personal charging.

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