THE XC40 is Volvo's smallest SUV but it still offers as much Swedish style as its larger siblings the XC60 and XC90.

It delivers a nice blend of comfort and premium refinement and it is also very practical.

It may not be the most exciting thing to drive but it does have a funky cabin with an excellent infotainment system and a premium feel.

The exterior styling is bold and features a clamshell bonnet, croncave doors and distinctive daylight running lights as well as the Volvo family grille. Contrasting body and roof paint made the car I sampled even more striking.

The XC40 looks more trendy and youthful than its larger stablemates and it will appeal to a younger audience.

The spacious interior has bags of room for four - five at a push - and although it does not offer the same luxurious touches of the larger cars, it still has a clean and uncluttered design with lots of nice practical features.

There is good all round vision and stacks of technology with the XC40 getting the same nine-inch portrait-layout infotainment display as the larger cars as well as an excellent 12.3in digital instrument panel.

It is easy to operate when you get the hang of it and you are able to transfer important information from the sat nav over to the digital instrument panel.

On the practical side the cabin offers considerable storage space, comfortable seats and generous equipment levels. Volvo has even designed the doors to overlap the sills so that you don't get dirty as you get out of a mucky vehicle.

The boot is fairly large and the electronically operated tailgate lets you access a flat floor with a hidden storage area also provided.

The XC40 is available with a choice of two or four-wheel-drive and a range of turbo-petrol or diesel power plants.

I sampled the car in Momentum Pro trim with the150bhp diesel engine with automatic transmission and all-wheel-drive.

It offers a good blend of economy and performance and would be my choice. It has a claimed combined fuel economy figure of 52.3mpg with emissions of 131g/km. Top speed is 124mph and the sprint to 62mph takes 10.4 seconds.

The eight-speed gearbox is very smooth but I found the stubby selector slightly awkward to operate.

There is a choice of driving modes from eco to dynamic and you can also set individual preferences to suit your style of driving.

As you would expect this new Volvo is one of the safest cars on the road and it is built more for comfort than to provide a dynamic drive. That said it handles well and is reasonably agile on country roads. It is a fine motorway cruiser and its AWD system means that it always feels well planted.