2004 Volvo S40 Reviews

There's no question that Volvo has a massive badge disadvantage to overcome with any new model it brings out.Years of flogging the safety horse to death have had their impact, such that the brand has lost its lustre in the eyes of anyone wanting something more than just a safe ride.Many buyers simply bypass Volvo dealers and don't bother to take a look at what the company has to offer and they miss out on some good cars as a result. The S40 was one of those cars. It was often dismissed as just another safe and sound box on wheels when it was a vast improvement on some of the bland models the company had produced before it. It had a distinctive look, a roomy cabin, was well built, and drove impressively.The S40 was a close family relative of the Ford Focus, which was a good start, but Volvo was given sufficient independence by Ford to produce its own car with its own distinctive character. That character starts with the looks, which reflect the family style of other models in the range with a distinctive grille and well defined shoulders. There's nothing offensive about it, it's clean and tidy from all angles. Inside, it has roomy accommodation for five adults, with plenty of head and legroom and lots of standard equipment.Beyond the cabin the boot is deep, if shallow, but is easy to load with a low loading lip. The base model and the SE have a 2.4-litre five-cylinder engine that delivers smooth performance with enough zip to satisfy most owners.The T5 is the one with the most performance. Its turbocharged 2.5-litre five-banger isn't a fire-breather as is sometimes the case with turbocharged engines; this one's got a low-pressure turbo that gives a sensible power boost that's useable. The result is plenty of low-down punch, but still with lots left for the top-end to power it along very nicely.IN THE SHOPThe S40 is well designed and built and that means a reliable run for the most part. There are no serious flaws that afflict it; the things that tend to go wrong are fairly minor and individual. Volvos tend to be well looked after by caring owners, which can make them a good used buy. Even so, it's important to check for a service record, cars that have been neglected are more prone to problems than ones that have had routine maintenance. Also check for evidence of crash damage that hasn't been properly repaired.IN A CRASHFive ANCAP stars are as good as you can get and the S40 gets the top tick from the crash tester. Front, side and head airbags head a long list of safety features that also includes ABS brakes, optimum brakeforce distribution and traction control.UNDER THE PUMPVolvo puts the fuel consumption of the S40 at 8.7 to 9.2 L/100 km depending on the transmission for the 2.4-litre. The turbo 2.5-litre used a little more on average at 9.2 L/100 km, which was in line with what road testers found at the time.AT A GLANCEPrice new: $47,950 to $59,950 Engine: 2.4-litre 5-cylinder petrol; 125 kW/230 Nm 2.5-litre 5-cylinder turbocharged; 162 kW/320 Nm Transmission: 5-speed auto, 5-speed manual (SE), 6-speed manual (T5); front-wheel drive Economy: 8.7 L/100 km to 9.2 L/100 km Body: 4-door sedan Variants: Base, SE, T5 Safety: 5-star ANCAP

Now that safety is one of the main factors buyers consider, Volvo is finding itself in a quandary.

Only for a week, you understand, and it was strictly business.How did I earn this status? I was driving a Volvo S40 with a rear window sticker that proclaimed my status.I hate that campaign. Australians are pretty good at tolerating abuse – but do we have to pay $50,000 for the privilege?Ignore the window sticker and I quickly appreciated that this was one Volvo that I could enjoy.Few other Volvos – with the exception of the expensive S60 AWD and perhaps the even-more expensive S80 – are such nice rides.The whole of the S40 car comes together well – it looks smart, has good interior room, good visibility, an excellent list of standard features, gutsy engine and smooth five-speed auto box.And it's Swedish, so it's stylish, right? Well, it's stylish, but it's made in Belgium.Owners of the previous S40 model remember not only the model name but the sedan's shape.Take off your spectacles and there's not a lot that is immediately different between old and new.Get up close and replace the glasses and there are subtle, yet important, body changes. The nose is longer, with a morepronounced snout, while the rear is stubbier to exaggerate the length of the cabin. Inside you can fit four adults with enough leg and headroom, possibly adding another adult for shorter journeys.The interior trim is pretty close to perfect, with excellent seats and a comfortable driving position helped by a heap of standard features that reflect in the comprehensive dashboard layout.This high level of features really impresses, though the Tupperware plastic look of the optional centre console and door inserts probably should be overlooked in favour of the standard plastic wood.The Volvo radio has a digital read-out that declares upcoming songs, unfortunately only on Nova – which was fine with my daughter. But the level of equipment is overshadowed by a delightful five-cylinder engine and five-speed automatic transmission.Though there is some early lag when pressing the accelerator, it's made up for later by the spirit of the engine. It'll run hard and throaty to the red line.It's also fuel efficient. The 10.1 litres/100km wasn't too bad, given hard driving – mostly using the sequential mode of the auto box – and some slow highway work.I really liked this thing. It delivers solid performance and is very solid in its road feel.It looks great – though perhaps too much like its lesser-rated predecessor – and is possibly the best Volvo that's ever hit the Australian market.

The worst thing about the all-new Volvo S40 is its badge. No amount of "Bloody Volvo Driver" advertising will convince some anti-Volvo stalwarts that it's worth a look against Audis, BMWs, Jaguars and even Benzes.But the S40 is simply the best car we've driven with a Volvo badge, including the rorty old 700-series turbos, the latest S80 luxury sedan and even the towering XC90 four-wheel drive.Volvo has pulled all the pieces together in a car that has a distinctive look, a big cabin, Swedish quality, a solid feel and dynamics that make it a much better drive.Ford has helped, twinning the S40 with the all-new Focus we'll get in 2005, but it has left Volvo to put its own stamp on the car.It's much the same deal that Ford has done with Mazda, and that has worked a treat.The S40 – and its V50 wagon companion – have just arrived and promise big things for Volvo in Australia.Volvo has been in retreat in recent years, which is the reason for the radical "Bloody Volvo Driver" campaign and its plan to break out of the "boring but safe" box that's restricted the brand since the 1970s.Volvo has been working on a breakthrough with its latest aggressively styled machines, which share the same family front and sides with pronounced shoulders, but it's the compact S40 and V50 with the biggest jobs.They have to win newcomers to the prestige car scene and lure defectors from rival brands, which is never going to be easy when an over-full basket of opponents is led by the benchmark 3-Series BMW and everything from the Alfa 156 to the Renault Laguna.The S40 must become Volvo's best seller in Australia, partly to push the brand back and to justify its share of the $540 million investment on the compact cars.They have taken over from an underdone S40/V50 combination based on a Mitsubishi design and never felt any more than a Japanese car with a Swedish veneer.The newcomers' arrival in Australia also means a new approach to selling. Prices are up a little, as you'd expect, but Volvo Cars Australia says the increase is offset by a value boost.The starting-price S40 2.4, at $45,950 or $47,950 as an auto, has automatic airconditioning, cruise control, six-speaker CD sound, alloy wheels, airbags and anti-skid brakes.The basic S40 has a 2.4-litre four-cylinder engine and the range runs up through the SE – from $49,950 with the same engine – to the T5 at $59,950 with a turbocharged five-cylinder motor.On the roadThe S40 has the same strong, aggressive look as the rest of the new-age Volvo family. It's comfortable and roomy, and feels as if it can take anything.Volvo Cars Australia was smart to stack its test-car line-up with the flagship T5, but we're sure the basic strengths are the same for all S40 models.The T5 is billed as a performance-ish machine and it gets along very smartly. The five-cylinder turbomotor has plenty of pulling power from very low revs, with a cracking top end that produces a full 162kW of power.Our test car was a six-speed manual, but the engine is so meaty that we often skipped ratios and still kept up with the traffic.The car will sprint to 100km/h in 6.8 seconds and it has oodles of overtaking urge, but we were just as impressed with fuel economy of 9.3 litres/100km.It's what you get with a low-stressed turbo motor that only gives up its go when you need it.The six-speed manual has one of the slickest shifts we've tried in recent times, and the ride and handling are very classy.The new Volvo is well equipped, and we're sure it will get a five-star rating for safety.It has space inside for five adults, with good headroom and plenty of leg space.The S40 has that tricky-looking centre console, which Volvo says is a design breakthrough. Yes, it's different and the open space behind the switches is a talking point.But it would have been better if they'd put the effort into the cupholders. They don't have nearly enough space, won't hold a big water bottle, and when you fill them it's hard to change gears.And the boot, though it's easy to load and very deep, isn't all that tall. You'd have trouble doing a double-decker job with suitcases.We also wondered about the side support of the front buckets in the sporty T5.The headlamps are fantastic, the horn is loud, the sound system is excellent and the car has all the right equipment to make life tough for all of its rivals, including the 3-Series and Audi's A4.The only question now is whether people will be prepared to risk a change. It's a little like the cola wars between Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola, with the S40 emerging as a tasty new Swedish fizz.The bottom lineThis is one Swedish car that makes you happy and proud to be driving a Volvo.