Volvo V40 T5 R-Design 2014 review

I came across the world's longest school zone the other day. It went on and on, for kilometre after kilometre - 40km/h all the way.

At least it appeared that way, that is until we realised our Volvo was the root of the problem?

SIGNS

The V40 and other Volvos are equipped with a system that displays the current speed limit as part of the speedometer.

The Road Sign Information system uses a camera mounted at the top of the windscreen that reads and recognises speed signs - the standard ones anyway.

The trouble is our car became fixated on a bus that we travelling behind that - you guessed it - had a 40km/h sign  on the back.

Other than this small glitch it's a clever system that takes into account changes in the prevailing environment such as temporary roadwork limits that fixed systems relying on static maps do not.

It is however unable to read the variable electronic speed signs found on motorways.
 
HEY GOOD LOOKIN'

Volvo's V40 hatch is arguably the best looking car in its segment.

With its low, raked stance, striking tail lights and blacked out tailgate, the design is an evolution of its predecessor the C30.

Looks are of course a matter of personal taste but we reckon the V40 is a better looker than BMW's 1-series hatch and as good if not better than the Mercedes-Benz A-Class that has been kicking goals at the moment.

NEW ENGINE

In this iteration, the five-cylinder turbocharged 2.5-litre engine in the T5 has been replaced by a smaller 2.0-litre four-cylinder Drive-E unit that develops almost as much power and torque.

The new engine develops 180kW  and 350Nm, the latter from a low 1500 revs - compared to 187kW/360Nm previously.

It is teamed with a new 8-speed Geartronic auto, complete with paddles shifts - with drive to the front wheels. The previous 6-speed did not have paddles.

POLESTAR

Unfortunately, there's no Polestar upgrade available yet.

They're still working on the new Drive-E engines.

Volvo says the Polestar upgrades are not available on VEA (Volvo Engine Architecture) engines, "at this stage".

SLOWER

Weighing in at the exact same 1468kg, the new model is a whisker slower out of the blocks at 6.3 seconds versus 6.1 seconds for the 0-100km/h dash.

The difference is probably not noticeable unless you drive the two cars back to back.

The new engine does deliver better fuel consumption however, at a claimed 6.1L/100km compared to 8.1 previously - with carbon emissions of 142g/km versus 189.

WHAT YOU GET

No change to the equipment front.

Includes plenty of sporty R-Design bits, including cloth/leather combo sports seats, a sport chassis with adjustable steering force, autonomous emergency braking (AEB) up to 50km/h, rear parking sensors as well as a rear-view camera and 8-speaker audio with Bluetooth streaming and full iPod connectivity.

The satnav system by the way warns of approaching speed cameras.

HOW'S IT GO?

The power is there when you need it, but most of the time it feels relatively normal.

Switched to sport mode engine response is punchier and even more so, if you start using the paddles to change gear.

The ride on the 18-inch alloys can be a little harsh at times, and it is missing a decent exhaust note.

Our one major misgiving was the fuel consumption. After more than 1000km of largely easy, holiday motoring we were getting 9.1 litres/100km - nowhere near the claimed figure.

With a new engine and more flexible eight speed auto, we would have expected a much better result.

Tinkerers will love the three different themes that completely change the LCD instrument panel, but the one we settled on was Performance because it includes a large digital speedo smack in the middle of the screen.

Lots of safety gear was fitted to our test car especially with the optional $5000 driver support pack, which includes blind spot warning, lane departure assist and park assist pilot.

The back seat folds down converting the hatch into a mini wagon when required, with a space saver spare (not so good for touring).