MOTORING
Classy Swede
T
he Volvo V40 has joined the market in a very competitive area of premium class five door hatch backs. Opposition will come from the likes of BMW with 1 series, Audi’ s A3, Volkswagen’ s Golf and the list continues.
Volvo have sharpened up the V40’ s styling taking tips from the more expensive Volvo models, the V40 has been restyled with addition of the‘ Thor’ s Hammer’ headlights that are fitted to the new XC90 SUV.
To compliment the look Volvo has added a larger badge than before and they have concealed the Radar sensor all of which gives the V40 a strong visual identity.
Changes at the rear of the car are minor and less noticeable, it was always a good looking car anyway with its own identity.
The most economical V40 of the many on models on offer the D2 was my choice for a week’ s test. With the market heading strongly in that direction I thought it would be a choice for a car you would use for your day to day travels. I was not wrong. The V40 D2 is powered by118bhp 2.0 litre diesel engine which drives through a sixspeed manual gearbox.
The V40 D2 does feel a lot livelier than the figure 10.5 seconds suggests for the 60mph dash, the engine is smooth quiet and loaded with low down power. I was amazed at the economy figure of 78 miles per gallon, bearing in mind the Volvo is a medium sized car and a well built one at that.
I was able to achieve a very respectable 75 miles per gallon, which did include a couple of lengthy journey’ s cruising at the legal limit, but mostly it was short trips where you
68 www. businessfirstonline. co. uk would expect to use more fuel.
Volvo have done some work on suspension set up of the V40 as it did surprise me when the roads became a bit more twisty and bumpy. It handles extremely well composed on the road with a sharp turn in and it just loves corners which it tackles with ease.
It is good to drive and also comfortable for four passengers, the boot may not be the largest, but this size of a car was never designed to be a load lugger.
The interior is just Volvo and that is a good thing as it is not the same as anything else. The seating position is great, the seats, I think probably the best on the market as by Ian Beasant, BUSINESSFIRSTMAGAZINE motoring correspondent
Volvo always pay attention to the what I think is the most important part of any car and that is where you spend all your time – the seats.
They offer support and comfort in all the right areas and you can drive comfortably all day reaching your destination without the hint of an ache.
The rest of the interior is all about the floating centre console where you find all the switches for nearly everything, it is very neatly and simply packaged making it easy and logical to use.
The V40 is as good as the competition it is up against, I think it might be a little better as it does stand out from the crowd.