Volvo V40 D4 Luxury 2015 review

The first thing to do as you slide into the driver's seat of Volvo's V40 D4 Luxury is set a theme for the instrument panel.

The five-door's adaptive digital display is customisable, with three themes from which to choose: Eco, Elegance and Performance.

We select Performance mode primarily because it inserts a big, easy to read digital speedo bang in the middle of the instrument panel.

Features

Other deft touches include speed recognition, showing the current speed limit as a road sign just below the speedo. When you spend a lot of hours on the road, such things count.

There are also active cruise control and high-beam assist which, as its name suggests, dips the lights automatically for approaching traffic - great for night driving.

Value

Priced from $46,490, the D4 Luxury is $4000 below the range-topping T5 and is well equipped, with leather and climate control aircon, daytime LEDs, 17-inch alloys, powered front seats, bi-xenon lights that follow the corner, seven-inch multimedia screen with Bluetooth and audio streaming.

A $5000 option, the Driver Support pack fitted to our test car adds adaptive cruise control with collision warning and full auto braking, blind spot and cross traffic alerts, lane departure warning, road sign information and park assist.

Engine / Transmission

The D in D4 stands for diesel but don't be put off as this is a genuinely sporty drive.

There's a rattle at idle but little noise and vibration penetrate the cabin once you're on the go.

Outputs of 140kW/400Nm deliver strong performance throughout the rev range, especially so in sport mode.

The engine is matched to an eight-speed Geartronic auto with sport mode and optional paddle-shifters. The intelligent auto continuously monitors the engine and transmission, to optimise fuel use (there's also stop-start) and cut shift response times.

Safety

The V40 achieved the best ever result in European NCAP testing and was acknowledged as a "standout performer" in Australian tests. It has a rear-view camera, rear parking sensors and seven airbags.

City Safety, the low-speed collision avoidance system, is standard and now operates at speeds up to 50km/h.

Driving

Punch the accelerator and the car sprints smoothly and surprisingly quickly away from the line. It's perhaps too sporty for an engine that is labelled Drive-E and is supposed to be an environmental flag-bearer for the brand. Our 6.5L/100km over 350km is nowhere near the claimed 4.5L/100km.