The Garage – Volvo V40 T5 R-Design – CTL 42D

Why don’t more people consider a Volvo?  Perhaps you’ve never given it a second thought, so here’s a look at another great Volvo that should be on your shopping list if you’re in the market for a medium sized premium hatch.

Make: Volvo

Model: V40

Variant: T5 (R-Design)

Engine / Transmission: 1969cc four-cylinder 16 valve DOHC turbocharged petrol

Vital Stats: 180kW @ 5500rpm / 350Nm @ 1500-4800rpm

Volvo Claimed Fuel Economy: 6.1l / 100km

EFTM Claimed Fuel Economy: 7.8 / 100km

RRP: $50,400

Price as tested $58,425*

Wow Factor: Apart from the striking Volvo blue surrounding our review vehicle and the good-looking style of recent Volvo models, this little beauty packs a nice bit of punch when required, but trotters around as an every-day drive with complete ease. It’s also full of tech to keep you safe on the road, with a focus on the road for the driver

Most Impressive: I struggle to get past the outstanding driver assistance package that Volvo has, and I long for the day that it is standard in not only all Volvos, but all vehicles.  We’re talking about adaptive cruise control that is easy to use and intelligent when on the open road meaning the intervention of the system is completely natural

Least Impressive: It’s pretty hard to fault this vehicle, if you’re in the market for a car of this size, it’s critical to be a consideration for ride and options – perhaps the need to spend more cash to get the best driver assists is a disappointment, and if we’re getting really picky the boot space seems deep by not quite “tall” so it does seem to lack space – but that’s a stretch

Early Verdict: I think the only reason Volvo don’t sell more cars in Australia is they don’t have the massive dealer networks of Ford, Holden and Toyota among others, if more people test drove a Volvo, I am sure more would buy – that’s the simple thing I remember every time I get behind the wheel of these Swedish beauties, I recommend you do too.

[schema type=”review” rev_name=”Volvo V40 T5 R-Design” rev_body=”Stunning design, great handling and performance for the average driver plus a bit, and tech-features the envy of most cars” author=”Trevor Long” pubdate=”2015-03-08″ user_review=”4.2″ min_review=”0″ max_review=”5″ ]