Volvo V40 R-Design Review

"Road Magazine" (roadmag) 04/28/2014 at 17:28 • Filed to: None

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Volvo has moved on from being boring to being stupendously safe and innovative. The V40 is no exception to this. Volvo kindly sent out a V40 R-Design D2 for us to test over a period of a couple of days. The short answer is, we're impressed, read on to find out why.

Beginning with, as always, performance. Our Volvo V40 test vehicle featured Volvo's economical 'D2 4-cylinder 1.6-liter turbocharged diesel engine which produces a decent 115 bhp. Equipped with this decent amount of power, the V40 can hit naught to 60 mph in 11.9 seconds. If you decide to push hard enough you can hit a cool top speed of 118 mph.

The engine itself is extremely economical in its setup but it lacks the low-down grunt you require when hovering around town. However, on the motorway, the D2 engine feels potent and torquey above 3rd gear.

Compared to the automatic, I would strongly advise anyone to go for a manual when going for a D2 Volvo as it gives you full and easy control over the car. The clutch is a little heavy in rush hour traffic but once you're up to speed, the 6-speed manual is fun and intuitive to drive.

Economy is the Volvo V40s party piece. Get this – The Volvo V40 R-Design D2 with the 6-speed manual can do, wait for it… 83.1 mpg! That's WTF levels of MPG isn't it? I managed to squeeze about 55mpg out of it, but I live in a town where traffic moves for 5 seconds and stops again. On a good couple of motorway runs, I have faith it can can achieve these figures.

Moving onto the exterior, the V40 has sexy curves and cues which can turn some heads yet it's probably the only car that has function (safety) in its design. The bonnet for instance actually has a hidden airbag underneath if it detects a collision with a fellow human being, which is a world's first.

Practicality has not been compromised by aesthetics at all either, the V40 has a decent sized boot to fit the weekly shop and plenty of head and leg room in the rear. Our test vehicle featured lovely leather and supportive seats with many gadgets including heated seats, satellite navigation and even Volvo's self-parking system.

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