Volvo S40

sonnet

Whats people general view on this car? I'm thinking of buying one but havent heard too much about them

E92

Had one until yesterday:(. Now recycled to a distant cousin of mine. Would have another gladly, just stay away from Volvo stealers and it's all good.

mikedragon32

Have one. Like it.

If you're buying a pre-owned one, make sure to get one with lots of toys.

Martron

how old are you? if you are older than 50 its ok.

and if its a new one you do realise its a ford focus with volvo bodywork!

i will leave that with ya.

better looking cars in that class

unkel

Martron wrote: »

how old are you? if you are older than 50 its ok

Meh. The average age of buyers of new cars is about 50 anyways and there's (surprisingly) little difference between traditional sports cars makes and others

colm_mcm

newv or old model?

Dinkie

I have one. I like it but there isn't much boot space in it.

RobAMerc

Martron wrote: »

and if its a new one you do realise its a ford focus with volvo bodywork!

i will leave that with ya.

I don't see thats a bad thing - the focus is still the cream of the crop for ride and handling in its segment.

OP first thing I would do is take anything I am told on here with a pinch of salt. Its half informed rubbish like Martron's post you need be most sceptical of.

I like the s40/v50 provided its the current model your talking about, the previous generation ain't wonderful imo. (pre 04), do get loads of toys though and be choosy theres a few about.

Gregor Samsa

Martron wrote: »

and if its a new one you do realise its a ford focus with volvo bodywork!

I know they're built on the same platform, but anyone who's ever even looked through the window of a Focus and a S40 (let alone sat in them) will know what a crock that statement is.

Tabnabs

Have one and am very impressed with it. The boot isn't actually that small it's just a very narrow opening, I've stuffed a ridiculous amount of gear into it, it just takes planning.

Agree with people saying get a good spec, if you're going secondhand, go for the SE Lux spec. Rush hour traffic becomes a lot more bearable!

geoff29

i haven't driven the new one - but the S40/V40 steer pretty well. Quite easy to drive, big mirrors, seats adjust well, they are now *very* cheap - and back in 96/97 when they came out - they were just about the safest car that could be bought - as tested by the Euro NCAP. Even to this day I remember reading that article when it came out - how the S40 had made mincemeat of the *then* current C-Class and 3-series crash-wise.

Like I said, havent driven the S40/V50 combo - but sat in them at showroom. Current ones quite nice and with flexifuel discount are very good value. I question how well they will wear the miles though - and I'm starting to see an awful lot on the used market...

If it was me - I'd probably be wanting an 04 S40/V40 - i.e, the last of the old ones with 50/60k on the clock - and I'd want that for no more than 8-10k. My experience of them has seen total reliability also.

trabpc

sold my 98 1.9 d last year. Not the quickest off at the lights but good motorway car. very comfy seats. sold with 180,000 miles.
had a tow hitch on it pulled 2 axle trailer with it. Some times with 1-2 tonnes. Not a bother other than regular service 6000 miles and a bushing /shock and a few other small things. not so sure about the look of the new one though. It does not look as big or as well built as old one. My bro has the new one would no fancy pulling 2 tonnes behind it.

Eoin

mikedragon32 wrote: »

Have one. Like it.

I've seen Mike's S40 in the flesh, and it's a very smart looking car.

bazzachazza

Have the 2.0d se premium and have to say its a fantastic car.

Boot is a little small you can still get two dead bodies in it.

Not a fan of the mid life body upgrade though.

Spec is well worth the extra money.

Green Hornet

Was thinking of buying one myself a few months ago but got put off by the tales of depreciation. Checked it out and it seems to be a bit of an issue alright. If it was a second hand buy it would probably be OK but they depreciate heavily enough from new. Nice looking car though. The only other slight concern is that they don't age very well (not that any do I suppose).