At first glance the 2018 Volvo XC40, which arrives in the U.S. in May next year, bucks the conventional wisdom about how a modern Volvo should look. There’s no studied elegance to the exterior surfaces, no calming Swedish zen to the interior ambience. Instead, there’s a pugnacious swagger to the XC40 inside and out, with forms, materials, and colors that are reminders that not all Scandinavian designs are a riff on birch wood and mid-century furniture.
And that’s exactly what Volvo...