Volvo S40 (2004 - To Date)
0, 2.4, 2.5 petrol, 2.0, 2.
4 diesel [ S, Sport, R-Design Sport, SE, SE Sport, R-Design SE Sport, SE Lux])
BY ANDY ENRIGHT
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As a used buy, it stacks up extremely well, a previous owner taking the sting out of the upfront price for you yet leaving you with a whole host of classic Volvo values.
The S40 features a number of styling touches which weve genuinely never seen before. The exterior wont get too many pulses racing, effectively resembling a shrunken S60, but the cabin is a delight. Volvo interiors are traditionally odd things. Although they work supremely well, they are often clunkily designed with scant regard for the sort of slickness that separates them from rivals.
Little of the design flair we usually associate with the Scandinavians has traditionally seemed to translate into their cars. Here, its different. The spaceball gear selector in the S60 showed that Volvo could come up with some neat ideas and the S40 takes the spaceball and runs with it. The key design feature is a centre console thats a softly contoured moulding featuring supremely easy to use controls and fresh air behind it.
You can specify wood, aluminium, plastic or semi-transparent plastic finishes and everybody who gets in will notice it. This is probably the neatest interior design feature weve come across since the original Audi TT was launched. Like the TTs cabin, the S40s feels like it has just rolled off a motor show stand. Volvo havent skimped when it comes to safety and they claim that the S40 is as good to crash in as the flagship S80 saloon.
Making a small car as safe as a big un takes some doing and its only when you look at some of the finer points of how Volvo have achieved this that you realise quite what this commitment means. It involves casting the turbo housing as one with the exhaust manifold so that the engine is more compact when mounted transversely, giving more space for crush zones. It means developing the Intelligent Driver Information System which monitors how hard youre using the throttle, brakes and steering and will hold incoming telephone calls or satellite navigation instructions until things have calmed down so as not to distract you in the middle of a manoeuvre. It means using four different grades of high tensile steel for crash protection.
Would the S40 look a little sexier with BMW-style flame-surfaced concave flanks? Probably. But side impact protection involves having as much deformation space as possible, which is why its slab-sided to keep its occupants looking good.
Prices for the Volvo S40 kick off at around £9,450 for a 2004 53-plated 1.8 S model with SE trim adding another £1,200. The powerful 2.4-litre cars are thinner on the ground, and expect to budget around £11,025 whilst the first 2.
5 T5 models have suffered a steeper depreciation hit and are currently changing hands at around £12,975 for a 2004 53-plated car. Prices for the 2.0-litre diesel models start at just under £10,825. Insurance for the S60 is inexpensive, due in no small part to Volvos enviable safety record.
The 1.6-litre models are rated at Group 7 and even the pacey 2.5-litre T5 variants are only ranked a reasonable Group 15.
The S40 is impeccably built and owners report few significant problems. Even in the hands of motoring journalists traditionally some of the most neglectful drivers around the S40 has proven a doughty counterpart.
(approx based on a 2004 T5) A clutch assembly is around £175, whilst an exhaust system is in the region of £350. Front brake pads will require the thick end of £55, whilst rears are £45 a pair. A new alternator will be £165, but a new starter motor is a fairly reasonable £110.
The undemanding lower powered models are the ones to go for. If you must have something like a T5, then dont expect a BMW 3 Series driving experience. This variant feels recognisably Volvo at the wheel with a strong, characterful engine and handling thats safe rather than spine-tingling. The turbocharger runs at a modest level of compression, which means that torque is spread widely across the rev band.
Drop the throttle at 1500rpm in almost any gear and youll get clean acceleration without bogging, hiccupping or any unseemly lunging. The only clue that it is a turbocharged engine comes in the form of a mild underbonnet whistle in the midrange and a slight mushiness to the accelerator pedal when you blip the throttle. The T5 will notch off the sprint to 60mph in just 6.5 seconds and run on to 150mph.
This would seem to promise great things if Volvo ever created an S40R, although recent experience with the underwhelming S60R tempers the enthusiasm a little. Fast Volvos rarely hit the mark and after sampling the 170bhp 2.4-litre model, theres little to modify that opinion. This engine will still get to 60mph in 7.
9 seconds but needs a bit more work to do so. Despite this, with taller tyres and less torque steer to contend with, the 170bhp car feels a good deal more composed and unruffled than its slingshot sibling.
The MK2 Volvo S40 is probably the first small Volvo that really upholds the marques values. Although some may sniff that underneath that pretty bodywork is the bones of a Ford Focus, anybody who knows anything about modern motoring will realise what a boon this is. If you want the driving manners of a Focus with the design and image of something a little more chi-chi, this Volvo S40 is the perfect pick. Reliable, refined and getting affordable, the S40 makes a very clever used buy.
