Volvo V50 2.4D5
Congratulations if youve managed to stick around this long. Most people will spot a story on a diesel Volvo estate and make time to do things a little more interesting such as creosoting a fence or reconfiguring their sock drawer. This, however, is no common or garden Scandinavian suitcase swallower. With a 180bhp diesel engine and an entertaining chassis, this is very much a closet funster.
Volvo may have dressed the V50 D5 in a rather sober suit, but its a car that knows how to entertain if you show it a decent road.
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I suspect that youre not, however. A part of you has recognised that a need exists for something practical and affordable to run, whilst another part of you still hankers for the ability to dispatch dawdlers with disdain on snaking B-roads and to be able to elicit a sharp rebuke from your other half as you floor it down a motorway on-ramp. Thats why youll like the V50 D5, priced from just over £22,000, around £2,500 more than the 2.0-litre diesel variant.
As with virtually all turbo diesel cars, the sprint to 60mph isnt, on the face of it, all that exciting. Volvo claim a figure of 8.8 seconds but if you put away the stopwatches, youll think its a whole lot faster. The reason for this is that diesels rarely excel at the sprint to 60, having to wait for their turbos to spool up and the subsequent gale of torque is often so great that it causes either wheelspin or the traction control system to illuminate the dashboard like the entrance to Caesars Palace.
A couple of factors hint that this Volvo is a genuinely quick car. Firstly the claimed figure was generated with a car fitted with the Geartronic automatic gearbox. Manual cars will follow a short time after and will doubtless knock that time closer to the eight second mark. Secondly, anybody who has ever driven a turbo diesel car capable of notching off these sort of acceleration figures will know just how addictive the mid-range acceleration is when the turbos on full song.
As a cross country tool, this Volvo will be way quicker than its 2.4-litre petrol equivalent.
"The D5 engine is a proven piece of engineering. Putting it into a V50 creates a very potent compact estate"
The 350Nm of torque is more than you could expect from a Porsche Boxster S or a BMW 630i and a good deal more than a comparable vehicle such as the most powerful Saab 9-3 Sportwagon diesel. A particulate filter reduces soot particles by 95 per cent and CO2 emissions should be modest, keeping business users taxation burden in check. This isnt the first Volvo the 2.4-litre D5 engine has found its way into, having seen service in the S60 saloon, V70 estate, XC70 AWD crossover vehicle and the XC90 luxury 4x4.
The difference here is that the V50 has a much tighter engine bay and after much head scratching and chin stroking, the Swedes have redesigned most of the engine ancillaries to get it to fit. The manifold and turbocharger have been integrated into a single unit in order to free up space. Volvo claim the V50 is designed to go head to head with cars like the BMW 3 Series Touring and the Audi A4 Avant, although pricing will pit it closer in reality to the Alfa 159 Sportwagon in a niche just below these premium models. Its a wise choice and at first glance, the Volvo manages to marry the bulletproof feel of the top German cars with a keen price.
As ever with Swedish cars, youll also get a good deal more horsepower per pound. As youd expect, Volvo havent skimped when it comes to safety, and they claim that the V50 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 V50 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.
Although the exterior wont get too many pulses racing, 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 might separate them from rivals. Little of the design flair we usually associate with the Scandinavians has traditionally seemed to translate into their cars.
The spaceball gear selector in the S60 showed that Volvo could come up with some neat ideas and the V50 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. The Volvo V50 2.4 D5 isnt going to be for everyone.
So good is its little brother that it becomes almost an extravagance to opt for the extra power. If you do feel like treating yourself but dont want to get too self-indulgent, this V50 represents a very appealing package.
FACTS AT A GLANCE
CAR: Volvo V50 2.4 D5 diesel range
PRICES: £22,140-£25,590 on the road
INSURANCE GROUP: 12 [est]
CO2 EMISSIONS: 162g/km [est]
PERFORMANCE: Max Speed 143mph / 0-60mph 8.8s [Geartronic]
FUEL CONSUMPTION: (combined) 42mpg [est]
STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: ABS with EBA / DSTC traction control / WHIPS whiplash protection / SIPS side impact protection
WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: Length/Width/Height, 4468/1770/1452mm
