I have had this car for just over a year now, I bought it second hand with over 20,000 miles on the clock, 2 years old, the person who had it previous to me had put in leather seats and parking sensors, so I got a bit more than the basic model. I have had many estate cars in the past, mostly BMW's, a RAV 4 and a vauxhall, I have never owned a diesel before this, and I must say, the fuel economy is fantastic compared to my previous cars, 40-45 mpg! It is comfy, suspension is not too hard, but not spongy either, the cockpit is just right for me at 5ft 7in, but my OH at 6ft 2in finds it cramped. I imagined a diesel to be a bit slow on acceleration, but not this one, it has no problem accelerating from any speed.It has never let me down, starts every time, even when left outside all night in the snow.I recently had to purchase two new tyres for the front and they were much cheaper than the BMW ones, services are reasonable too. The only two bugbears I have are the lack of legroom in the back, If an adult sits on the back seats then I find that the front seats need to be moved uncomfortably forward, also there is not a lot of storage space, just one lift up compartment in the centre console, would have liked somewhere to put a cup whilst driving, nothing in the rear either, take note if you have small children who like their drinks. I like the safety aspect part of the SIPS, side impact protection sysyem and the two front airbags, very reassuring, and it just feels safe and substantial to drive, not heavy though. The boot space is good, more than enough room for my huge German shepherd to stand up and turn around in. On the whole I would totally recommend this car as a reliable, fuel conscious, safe family car.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
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
Sorry for the low rating again! As a Volvo driver the V40 can be specified with factory fit cup holders depending on the year the model you have was built. Cant be much of a family car then if it has a lack of legroom though. Much as I love the classy looks of the V40 (Jaguar definately copied Volvo when it came to designing their X type estate) I found the 2.0 litre engined V40 a real struggle to tow anything other than a small trailer for garden waste. The diesel enfines are infact made by Renault. In my mind the best engine Volvo ever made in their S/V40 series was a 1.8 GDI engine made by Mitusbishi.
yellowkylie 02.06.2006 21:43
Thanx for the info. I have the family to fit in it but not the money to buy one yet. Beth xx
Jun 2nd, 2006
helpful by (80%):
somewhat helpful by (20%):
