Volvo V40 2014 Review

Volvo's V40 hatch was a long time in gestation but it was worth the wait. A biggish hatch the V40 replaces the funky four-seat C30 and the rather staid S40 sedan and wagon.

VALUE

Prices for the V40 kick off at $34,990 for the D2 Kinetic, a 1.6-litre manual turbo diesel. Our test car the top of the line D4 Luxury diesel is priced from $45,990 and is available only with an auto. For the same price you can also have the T4 Luxury, with a 2.0-litre turbocharged five cylinder petrol engine instead.

The range topper is the sporty T5 R-Design with a 187kW 2.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine, priced from $49,990  but there's still plenty of room for extras if that takes your fancy. Rear park assist and a reversing camera are both standard on our test vehicle.

Leather, climate air, 17 inch alloys, Bluetooth and satellite navigation are also part of the deal, along with High Performance Multimedia audio with a 7 inch colour screen and eight speakers.

ENGINE / TRANSMISSION

The five cylinder 2.0-litre D4 turbodiesel has been fine-tuned to deliver its torque from low revs. It produces 130kW of power and 400Nm of torque, the latter available from a low 1750rpm. This model comes with a six-speed Geartronic automatic transmission that includes a sports mode letting you change gears manually.

The dash from 0-100km/h takes a creditable 8.3 seconds and the auto promises fuel consumption of just 5.3 litres/100km and carbon emissions of 128g/km. All versions of the V40 have stop/start engine technology and regenerative charging, regardless of whether it's an auto or manual.

DESIGN

The V40 looks classy and more importantly like something you'd want to own certainly it's all the car you need for around town.

It's a practical design with a boot that is quite deep when the false floor is removed.  The V40 looks classy and more importantly like something you'd want to own certainly it's all the car you need for around town. That's not to say it doesn't adapt well to the role of long distance tourer if required because it's comfy and as a diesel can stretch its legs with the best of them.

SAFETY

It wouldn't be a Volvo unless it scored five stars for safety, now would it? Volvo claims the V40 is the most intelligent and safe car in the segment, with standard City Safety and Pedestrian Protection with auto braking up to speeds of 50 km/h. Other safety systems are available in a $5000 add on pack which includes Adaptive Cruise Control with Collision Warning and Full Auto Braking, BLIS and Cross Traffic Alert, Driver Alert System and Park Assist Pilot.

DRIVING

We had a ball driving the hatch very hard on some of Italy's fabulous winding mountain roads. It's smooth and very quiet for a diesel, especially at motorway speeds but there's a little diesel rattle at idle outside the car.

Sophisticated torque vectoring provides greater corner control. The system brakes the car's inner driven wheel causing more power to be transmitted to the outer driven wheel. This prevents any tendency to understeer and allows the driver to corner more smoothly and maintain their desired line, especially on winding roads, on roundabouts and on wet surfaces.