- Doors and Seats
5 doors, 5 seats
- Engine
2.0T, 5 cyl.
- Engine Power
132kW, 300Nm
- Fuel
Petrol (95) 7.6L/100KM
- Manufacturer
FWD
- Transmission
Auto
- Warranty
3 Yr, Unltd KMs
- Ancap Safety
NA
2015 Volvo V40 T4 Luxury: owner review
The Volvo V40 with the 5-cylinder 2.0-litre petrol engine is a fantastic car with a few annoying design issues, meaning you are likely to buy this car with your heart rather than your head.
- Unique style, encourages you to push it harder, Lots of Tech
- Turning Circle, Harsh suspension
The pros (for MY2015) are the great styling, its safety and its many features. It has been reliable, powerful enough and most of all has a high level of safety tech. The cons would be the bad turning circle, the not so comfortable suspension, and a tight cabin.
The performance from the 2.0-litre 5-cylinder is at 6.9 litres per 100 kilometres on a fairly easy run from Melbourne to Albury and back, but travelling in and around the suburbs returns 9.3L/100km in normal driving. I am not sure how Volvo's published data is much lower for the suburbs - maybe lots of downhill driving??
The comfort level is superb, so long as you are on a smooth surface - otherwise it can be a little too firm. However the luxury feel of being behind the wheel is something on an other level, with good quality trim and finishes that appear to be well built and fairly timeless, in my opinion.
The thing that is difficult to explain is the way it makes me feel when I'm driving it. It just puts a smile on my face, and believe it or not (for the all the Volvo critics), the V40 is a sharp drive that urges you to push a little harder.
We took up the Polestar ECU enhancement package, which added a few extra kilowatts - now at 167kW. Funnily enough the torque remained the same at 300Nm, but it still has nice and smooth power. Polestar claim greater acceleration for safer overtaking whilst maintaining no change to the fuel economy, but don't believe it as when you get on the throttle, the fuel consumption is well into double digits. My wife always asks me why the car has a chemical smell when I drive it. I simply change the subject.
From a technology point of view, it is up there with the latest tech with self parking, lane assist/correction, adaptive cruise control, auto high beams, turning lights, automatic emergency braking, blind-spot alert, cross traffic alert, lots of airbags and side impact protection.
At the time of our new purchase it was rated the highest in safety ratings.
We have owned the car since new and have had no trouble at all. The improvements that I would like to see would be to have a better turning circle, an option for smoother suspension and better interior packaging, but then again I knew this when I bought the car and I bought with the heart and not the head.
Purchasing a far more practical car with all the annoying complaints that I have mentioned above ironed out would not have been as fun as the Volvo V40, nor would it be able to put a smile on may face every time I drove it.
We have two other high-end Euro cars with much more power, comfort and practicality, however for some reason I always gravitate to the Volvo V40!