Volvo V40 1.6

Advantages: Spacious, Volvo Safety, Road Holding, Reliability
Disadvantages: Underpowered, Comfort, MPG

...I like Volvos. I would hope so now that I have owned 6 of them starting with a lovely, quick Volvo 360 GLT, through the 4 series, S40, etc I bought this V40 1.6 about 12 months ago as I 'needed' a car to get my dog around in after trading my Isuzu Trooper for a Mazda RX8. I didnt want to spend too much on a second car having just splashed out on the Mazda with the 'must have' toys', much to my wifes disaproval. After several fruitless searches of local garages I bumped into an old school friend at the Volvo dealership who introuduced me to this car which they had just taken in. It seemed to fit the bill nicely. It was an estate, ideal for the dog, and was in the price bracket I was looking at. After a test drive, the deal was done So, enough waffling, what are my views of the car. Lets look first at the exterior The car is...

Woodsa12 29.09.2006 · Read review
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Review of Volvo V40 1.6

Volvo V40 1.8 Bi-fuel

Advantages: Smooth ride,quiet & sticks to the road
Disadvantages: Extremely expensive servicing

...This was my first Volvo, my first LPG car and my first estate car. I had it from new for 1 year (only got rid of it 2 weeks ago due to opting out of company car scheme) The car was an SE spec so all the toys, electric everything and all leather,climate control etc. Firstly the fuel thing- LPG took a couple of weeks to get used to as it lacked power at low revs, pulling off required an extra few revs but after that there was no noticeable difference. Beware though this car has no spare tyre because the LPG tank is in the wheel well,a emergency aerosol tyre repair kit was provided and worked when I needed it but I do Know an owner who was stranded with a flat,This also compromises boot space and the usefulness of the estate is lost a bit as the boot floor has a large raised area.Dog owners beware my Lab struggled to get comfy in...

geoffers 20.06.2003 · Read review
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Review of Volvo V40 1.8

A Volvo is for Life, not just for Christmas

Advantages: Wonderful safety features!
Disadvantages: A little more expensive than some other cars!

...A Volvo is for life well in Shane?s case until he rights it off! Well, that not all together fair, okay so he hit the back of a Mercedes Lorry, then a Mondeo car rolled over the bonnet whilst he was on a single track road and then finally someone in a VW Polo hit the back of the car whist he was turning left. These incidents occurred in 300 series Volvo?s since then Shane has had on 440 SE, I have had a special edition 440 redline and currently a 440 turbo. Shane has progressed to a V40 1.8 limited edition (engine 1731cc but is a factory tuned engine) and she is gorgeous, well it is if you like this type of car! Anyway, following his accidents Shane has never been seriously hurt, he gained only minor whiplash injuries. So why do we stick with the Volvo cars? Well it all boils down to safety and comfort at a reasonable price. I...

wulise 05.02.2002 · Read review
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Review of Volvo V40 1.8

V40 - solid, reliable and adequate power

Advantages: Good power, nice shape, feature rich
Disadvantages: None

...Having driven one of these for the last 2 years through my company, I can say that it is a very capable and comfortable cruiser. I churned out over 50000 miles in this car without a single mechanical hitch and it is certainly a pleasant drive over long distances. I can certainly vouch for the solidity of bodywork. My partner, who from time to time took the wheel of this beauty, had the misfortune to reverse into a Ford Mondeo on one occasion. The upshot of this prang was a completely mangled front bumper of the Mondeo and an virtually imperceptible scratch on the Volvo. The V40 is feature-rich and much is provided in the way of providing comfort and convenience for the driver. The cruise control was a bonus for me because I do a lot of motorway driving. Boot space is more than adequate and there is plenty of leg room. All...

Mr_Wink 18.10.2001 · Read review
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Review of Volvo V40 1.8

Volvo - makes my family feel safe

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.

...I have owned a volvo v40 for nearly 2 years which I purchased from new. I was expecting so needed something bigger than my KA. My husband was also worried about safety so we opted for the Volvo. A little more expensive than we wanted to pay but it has been worth every penny. We travel long distances for holidays and visiting friends and it is always a smooth ride. My daughter hardly ever wakes up as it is quiet inside. I am not up to date on looking after a car, but I send it in for its service and touch wood there have been no problems. I think the car has lost some of the old view of what a volvo is whilst still keeping the safety and nice handling, I would recommend this car to anybody with a young family. I think the family pack is very helpful, child locks operated from the front and booster seats....

mkberridge 21.03.2005 · Read review
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Review of Volvo V40 1.8

Changing the appearance of the Volvo driver

Advantages: looks, build quality, dealership service
Disadvantages: insurance

...Having exchanged this car from a GTI and driving away in an estate the general opinion was, what have I done. This opinion did not last, the comfort factor, the build quality and the cars good looks changed my mind, that an estate wasnt just for the family. Volvo what to attract a younger customer for their cars in addition to the faithful Volvo owners that keep going back. I have driven this car now for over 10,000 miles and have found only a few minor problems, which on reporting to the local dealership have been sorted almost immediately. The customer service aspect has been extremely good. Lets go back to the car. The V40 has a more sportier touring approach to design than its big brother the V70. The 1.8 is a good starting point but I feel I will sooner or later upgrade to the 2.0 for that extra overtaking speed...

TLCK9 04.03.2001 · Read review
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Review of Volvo V40 1.8

This baby can move

Advantages: Very Spacious, Looks lovely when clean, If you can really drive then this baby can move.
Disadvantages: Me personally would like a bigger engine in it, and the electric window button is definately in the wrong place

...changed my cars as often as most people redecorated. Then last may i decided it was time to settle down and for once i was givng the car more thought, to just looks and comfort. I went and looked at a few and none shouted out at me, then by accident the gentleman that was talking to me said, i have got one that has just come in but it is a used car and took me around to their valenting depot, and there she was...... She was a Volvo V40 estate. She was Dark Blue and yet she gleamed. She drives beautifully and you would not believe that the engine is a 1.6. She handles the road very well, corners very well wether on a tight corner or long one (there's that sticking like glue thing again) She loves being let out into the open and can get up to some good speeds. The seats are reasonably comfortable for long journey's as back pain has...

Porsche-25 29.03.2005 · Read review
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Review of Volvo V40 1.6

A thing of beauty

Advantages: Fast, Comfy, Fast, Cool, Fast
Disadvantages: Group 17 insurance, Thirsty

...You probably see a lot of Volvo Estates on the road but next time you see a V40, (the baby one!), check to see if it's a T4. Look for rear roof spoiler, big oval exhaust, trim on each wheel arch and big big big alloys and very low profile tyres. Yes - it's a Volvo and it leaves the factory like that! Probably the easiest way is to look for a big grin on the drivers face!!! So, what's good about it? To start with we are talking about a fully loaded mobile rocket that will outpace all of the hot hatches plus give a lot of BMW's and Porches a bit of a shock. Golf GTI's, Vectra SRi's - likes to eat one of each for breakfast every morning! This car is a wolf in sheeps clothing. Apart from the obvious joy of 0-60 in a tad over 7 seconds it tops out at over 140mph and pulls over 100 in 3rd gear (so I'm told :-) . You get full leather...

mandarin 22.01.2003 · Read review
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Review of Volvo V40 T4

Sexy, Safe & Sensible

Advantages: sexy, safe & sensible
Disadvantages: none

...The Volvo V40 is a superb blend of sexy, safe and sensible. Lets face it - we all want the sexy car - the sporty things with two seats and plenty of umph, we also like the safe, believing that we CAN travel at 100mph in complete safety (?) - and as hard as it is to admit, for those of us with kids we all desire the sensible. OH NO! NOT THE SKODA TYPE SENSIBLE - NEVER - we like a boot, some space. Well, this volvo has it all: Four-cylinder petrol engine (129 BHP), 16 valves. 0-62 mph in under 7.0 seconds. Electronic engine management. The turbo-charged petrol engines also have twin-scroll turbo and charge-air cooler (Intercooler). Its easy handling front-wheel drive, five-speed manual gearbox gives this car the handling of any sports car. For a large acr it has an amazing turning circle of just 10.6 m. When we talk safety this...

weebgenerations 10.09.2000 · Read review
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Review of Volvo V40 1.8

Quality and performance at a bargain price

Advantages: Power, build quality, comfort, equipment, maintenance costs
Disadvantages: Image, fuel economy

...I bought my 1999 V40 2.0T XS after having to get rid of my BMW 323i coupe due to an expanding family. I was pleasantly surprised by the Volvo after the BMW - the performance in higher gears was actually superior, though over the 0-60 sprint a bit slower. Also, you can't chuck it around country roads as much, but ithe handling is reasonable for a family estate car. It is most at home on motorways - the handling is solid, precise and refined. The power really gets going above 4000 rpm, and it is easy to overtake with no effort whatsover. In fact, it embarrasses most hot hatches on the motorway - you can see why the police use them as pursuit vehicles. I paid £5, 800 for the Volvo, and at the time, this got me a 5 year old 48, 000 mile FSH one owner machine. The equipment was impressive - the XS is one of the leaner trim options, but...

Hell27 31.08.2005 · Read review
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Review of Volvo V40 2.0T