i thought i was getting a Volvo, but turns out its made along side the Charisma in the Mitsubishi factory!! OK its got Volvo badges on it but the engine & gearbox on my version are Mitsubishi. Of course I took out the T4 & LPT but settled (for tax reasons & economy) on the 1.8iSE. Full leather, climate, winter pack (heated seats & headlamp wipers)groovy alloys...Theoretically a nice car but unfortunately has some annoying problems i wudnt expect from a £19,000 otr car. The main problem is it scrunches when changing between 2nd & 3rd gear. It went on scrunching everytime i went up from 2nd to 3rd so i mentioned this to my dealer who said it was cos it was new. Ok, so left it for 10,000 miles, still had the same problem, so they changed the gearbox (so say). It still had the same fault, then a guy @ the garage gave me a memo between mitsubishi & volvo saying there was a fault on some of these gearboxes but didnt have a clue how tofix it!! Over 40,000 miles later, it still scrunches between 2nd & 3rd. Thats my worst gripe...now for the rest...it needed new rear brake pads @ 20,000 miles, it gets thru bulbs like their going out of fashion (look for 4 tail lights on v40's, normally got at least 1 blown)& the trim rattles & creaks like my old ford escort. My 1.8i with the direct injection mitsubishi engine is very economical (average 44mpg but can get nearly 50 if i go careful) but although having tons of torque & 125bhp it isnt very quick off the mark. It is ok on motorways but the wind & road noise gets quite loud at 70mph. I will be replacing it in 2004 but more than likely wont be Volvo...more likely Laguna, Passat or the new Vectra. At 50,000 miles & just less than 2 years old, the engine started running rough as...u knows, & the tickover was all over the place. Mentioned it to the dealer & they said it needed a decoke!!! They said it was common for GDI's @ that sort of mileage. Agasp, it was done under warranty, but surely a modern engine doing mostly motorwaydriving using mostly BP regular unleaded shud be squeaky clean inside?? At 60000 miles it had new discs fitted on the back & new pads all round. It's just had the original rear tyres replacing & they changed the fronts as well but I think they would have done another 15000! The car has gone back to the leasing company now....good riddence!! I had choice to replace it with a V50 but the quality of the V40 & appalling dealers left me no choice but to look elsewhere. I got a Peugeot 407SW instead!
Estate - Front (FWD) - 6 Speed - (Man) / 6 Speed Geartronic - (Auto) - 2401 cc - Max Speed: 140 mph - 185 bhp - Diesel - Available Trims: R-DESIGN, R-DESIGN Premium, SE, SE Lux, SE Lux Premium, SE Premium, S, Sport
Not bad intro, but info on what the car has to offer would have resulted in a higher rating (eg comfort, ride, equipment, insurance costs etc.). If you ever redo this op, please let me know and I'll reread it and review my rating
CareBear 21.01.2003 21:15
I was severely disappointed when I test drove one of these. Sounds like you had a few problems. A bit more info required in general for the higher ratings. CB
Advantages: The whole feel of safety, I drive my 18 month old daughter around and will never choose another make of car! Disadvantages: Heavier on the fuel than I am used to, not drastically but costs more to run than my old 1 litre.
mkberridge 21.03.2005 ·
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful
Review of Volvo V40 1.8
Jan 21st, 2003
(Oct 26th, 2003)
helpful by (60%):
somewhat helpful by (40%):
