Volvo V50 2006 Review

When Abba ruled the Australian pop charts, the box-shaped 240 series Volvos were the top-selling European car here. In 2006, the Abba-inspired musical Mamma Mia plays to packed houses around the world but Volvo has fallen off the charts Down Under, selling just under 3000 vehicles a year.

Remove XC90 and XC70 SUVs from the equation and Volvo's passenger cars find fewer than 1000 buyers a year. Volvo sells more trucks.

The S40 sedan and V50 wagon deserve better. The small twin models are a breakthrough for the Swedish maker, now owned by Ford. They're engaging and competent to drive in a way no Volvo has been since Abba's Waterloo won the Eurovision song contest. And now they are sensibly priced with the basic 2.4-litre S40 hitting the significant $39,950 price point and the V50 wagon at $42,950. Automatic transmission costs no extra — a nice touch and a sign Volvo is serious about lifting sales.

The higher performance T5 version of the S40 and V50 has also had a price cut at the same time as gaining all-wheel drive. At $57,950, the V50 T5 is $5000 cheaper than last year's front-wheel drive model.

Our review of the front drive S40 T5 was rapturous, possibly from shock that a Volvo could be anything other than turgid. Two years on, with another two driving wheels, the turbo V50 wagon doesn't seem quite as outrageously good but make no mistake, we're still impressed.

The foundations of the S40/V50 are sound, no matter how many wheels are driving. It shares its suspension and floorpan layout with the Ford Focus and Mazda 3, both cars renowned for their fluent handling. The next Land Rover Freelander, due next year, is also tipped to share this platform, so it too should be a good thing on the road.

The uniquely Volvo bits of the V50 are its body, interior, engines and safety systems.

The body manages to retain the characteristic Volvo look — prominent shoulders and bumpers — while also introducing a lightness and elegance the brand hasn't seen in sheet metal since the P1800 models of the 1960s.

It's just as sleek in wagon form, but it's not terribly big. Although the well-finished cargo area offers tie-down points, fold-flat rear seats and a built-in net barrier it failed The Australian's highly subjective and capricious mountain bike test — I had to take off the front wheel, dammit.

An irritated flick through the owner's manual revealed Volvo quotes a mere 417 litres of luggage volume, only 13 litres more than the boot of the S40 sedan. But Euro-wagons are traditionally more briefcase than suitcase, and by their standards the V50 isn't particularly tiny.

Its small rear hatch opening is more of a problem than outright lack of space.

The passenger compartment is slightly snug but redeemed by very comfortable front seats. Their useful little pockets on the leading edge of the cushions are becoming an unofficial Volvo trademark - they make up for small door pockets. But they could use more side support to match the cornering capabilities of the AWD system.

Decor remains a combination of avant-garde and functional minimalism. The so-called floating centre console (it has an open storage space behind it) contains four easily comprehended buttons for stereo volume, tuning, air temperature and fan speed.

It's only when confronted in other cars with unwanted blizzards from the climate control and the previous drivers' questionable taste in music that you realise how well set up the Volvo console is. It makes up for the novelty of having the key in the centre of the dashboard. The Dolby Surround stereo also sounds great although disappointingly, it won't play MP3 format CDs.

Volvo's safety extends to six airbags, electronic stability control, anti-whiplash seats, integrated child seats in the rear and an intelligent driver information system — this holds incoming phone calls and minor warnings (such as for low washer fluid) if it detects the driver has a high workload from hard driving or heavy traffic. The idea is to minimise distraction.

Even without this feature the S40's European crash test rating is five stars.

Safety is expected from a Volvo, but the V50's finesse on the road is still a novelty. The steering is light but accurate, and sharper around straight-ahead than any other model in the range. By sports sedan standards there's a slight hesitation just after the wheel is turned. Thank a weight bias to the front and a relatively soft suspension. To be fair, Volvo doesn't market the wagon as a sporting vehicle, preferring to concentrate on all-wheel drive as part of its safety package. It still does a credible imitation of a sports sedan in the tight stuff with strong grip and nicely adjustable throttle balance through corners.

Performance doesn't feel quite as sharp as the front-wheel drive S40, and by Volvo's own figures the AWD versions are 0.3 seconds slower to 100km/h. The extra 100kg of the rear driveshaft, differential and axles also seems to have slightly diminished sharp throttle response of the old car.

The figures still say maximum torque is produced from 1500rpm but the wagon needs twice that on the tacho before it really starts to move — although it's happy to pull high gears in city driving. It's not so much that the Volvo is peaky, just that the direct-injection Mazda 6 MPS has established a new benchmark for low-rev torque in small-engined turbo performance cars.

Fuel consumption was reasonable by the gluttonous standards of performance turbo cars, with 12.8 litres per 100km over our test.

A pleasant gearshift and clutch combination seems less twitchy than our memory of the front-drive version.

Enthusiasts might complain that it's a little light, but it's positive enough and easy to use with a gradual clutch take-up.

Automatics will, of course, account for the majority of sales but Volvo's offering of a six-speed manual as test car made the point that it's an appealing set-up.

Ride is firm but somehow springy, like a rubber-coated pavement. Some might find it hard, but in our opinion it successfully straddles the competing demands of sportiness and comfort and is free from the outright crashing and jarring that has marred other performance Volvos.

All-wheel drive seems to have taken some of the sharpness off the V50 but has also smoothed some of its rough edges.

For those who miss those edges the Ford Focus XR5, on sale mid-year, will offer the old S40's sharp combination of five-cylinder turbo engine and front-wheel drive. Despite feeling a touch softer and heavier, with all-wheel drive the new S40/V50 remains our favourite Volvo. It may never sell by the truckload, but it certainly deserves to outsell Volvo trucks.