Thoughts on Volvo S40 R-Design

NIMAN

I was tempted by a 2012 one of these in the UK (D3 2.0 litre diesel).

I have always liked the look of them but I'm just wondering if it would be wise to buy a car thats no longer made, and whose design is fundamentally from 2004.

Is it getting dated? Would it depreciate badly in I tried to sell it on in 3 or 4 years time?

I went to a local garage to check out an S40, and they are actually a lot more compact than I imagined them to be, with not much room in the rear.

The car looks the part and is well maintained, but I'm split as to whether it would be a good buy or not.

colm_mcm

It's an old design, but being a saloon it wasn't really directly replaced by the V40, I don't think it'd be a good enough reason not to buy one.

bazz26

It uses the MkII Focus platform and share some parts. They are well built but some Volvo parts are expensive as is main dealer servicing. Any issues should be well ironed by the time they were coming to the end of the model run.

NIMAN

Its still a nice looking bus for sure, in a retro kinda way, which is what worries me, but I suppose its down to personal taste.

When its compared to a lot of the modern designs it does look old. But then again, I suppose every new design begins to look old at some point.

R.O.R

Focus chassis is noted for being excellent.

The 5 cylinder D3 is a cracker of an engine, and reliable.

Seats are great, it's not a bad looker.

Very little not to like, quite a lot to like.

NIMAN

This is the car in question
http://www.stoneacre.co.uk/used-cars/stock/volvo-s40-rdesignedition-2-saloon-silver-km61kdf

declan123

I have a 2011 s40 R-Design D2.

I like it a lot, best points:
- Looks
- Handling
- Economy
- Gearbox

Bad points:
- Dated dash board and cabin

The D2 is spritely enough and I've gone from a 2.0 160 BHP engine in my previous car. Close ratio gearbox is great, handling is excellent. Fantastic chassis.

NIMAN

Cheers declan, given me something to think about, although I started to look at 2011/12 S60, and they are sweet! Trying to resist the temptation.

Do you find the S40 a compact enough car? From a distance they always looked big enough, but I saw inside one the other dat and they look same as a Focus or similar sized car.

declan123

NIMAN wrote: »

Cheers declan, given me something to think about, although I started to look at 2011/12 S60, and they are sweet! Trying to resist the temptation.

Do you find the S40 a compact enough car? From a distance they always looked big enough, but I saw inside one the other dat and they look same as a Focus or similar sized car.

Looking at s60 myself as well actually, they are making big money though. I find it a compact car, its no bigger than a focus inside. Boot isn't very big either if that's a problem! For you