Volvo V40

Volvo V40 at a glance

Development and platform

The V40 used Ford's C1 platform, shared with the Focus down to the bulkhead, with revised electric power steering and its own spring and damper settings. Wikipedia DE calls it Volvo's last new model on a Ford platform. Chris Benjamin designed the exterior and Pontus Fontaeus the interior; it was the last Volvo designed under Steve Mattin.

After its premiere at the 2012 Geneva show, the car went on sale on 15 September 2012. It replaced three models at once: the C30 coupé-hatchback, the S40 saloon and the V50 estate. Its larger stablemates were the Volvo S60 saloon and the V60 estate.

Safety: the first pedestrian airbag

The V40 introduced a world first: a pedestrian airbag. In a collision with a person the bonnet is raised and an airbag unfolds over the lower third of the windscreen and the A-pillars, covering hard areas that a pedestrian could hit.

Euro NCAP published its result in August 2012. According to GoAuto, the V40 scored 98 per cent for adult occupant protection, the best yet recorded, and a record 88 per cent for pedestrian protection. Safety assistance reached 100 per cent and child occupant protection 75 per cent. Euro NCAP's secretary general said the car set a new standard. The V40 collected several safety prizes afterwards, among them the Auto Express Safety Award 2013 and a Road Safety Award in 2014.

Engines: Ford and five-cylinder to Drive-E

The engine range changed completely during the car's life. Until 2015 the V40 used Ford's 1.6 EcoBoost petrol engines, Volvo's own five-cylinder petrol and diesel units and a 1.6 PSA diesel. From 2015 Volvo's modular Drive-E four-cylinders of 1.5 and 2.0 litres took over.

Wikipedia also lists a T4 with the 1.6 EcoBoost (132 kW, 240 Nm) and a 157 kW (213 PS) version of the 2.0 five-cylinder. Converting the outputs to horsepower or back is easy with the power converter.

V40 Cross Country, R-Design and Polestar

The V40 Cross Country arrived in early 2013. It sits 15 mm higher and has protective body cladding, bigger wheels and hill descent control. A fifth-generation Haldex coupling sent drive to all four wheels: as an option on the T4, as standard on the T5. The Cross Country won the Tow Car Awards in 2013 and again in 2015.

The sporty R-Design trim also came in early 2013. Polestar offered a Polestar Performance software update that raised the output of several engines. Wikipedia DE gives the example of a D3 that matches the D4 after the update, since the two engines differ only in their software.

The 2016 facelift

The updated V40 was unveiled at the Geneva show of 2016 and reached showrooms in April. Its most visible change was the new front with "Thor's Hammer" LED daytime running lights. New upholstery options arrived, and the top trim was renamed from Summum to Inscription. In July 2019 production ended, and Volvo did not replace the car directly. The smallest Volvos today are compact SUVs: the Volvo XC40 and the even shorter electric EX30.

The first V40 (1995–2004)

The V40 name first appeared on an estate. Volvo launched the S40 saloon and V40 estate in 1995; the V40 premiered in Bologna in December 1995. Both were built at the NedCar factory in Born, the Netherlands, on a platform shared with the Mitsubishi Carisma, and they were the last Volvos made there. The original plan was to call them S4 and F4, but Audi had already reserved the S4 name.

Outputs ranged from 66 kW (90 PS) in the 1.9 diesel to 147 kW (200 PS) in the T4. A Phase II update in July 2000 brought revised engine management, direct-injection diesels, larger brakes and revised suspension. Volvo built 423,491 of these V40 estates between 1995 and 2004, after which the V50 took over.

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