Anyone know the Volvo V40 with the newer VEA engines?

[eltax91]

Hi all

Wifey has an ageing Qashqai with a 2.0 petrol, it's an 08 J10 model and has been utterly bomproof for last 7 years. It's now getting a bit leggy with 173k under it's belt and after an expensive recent run (clutch and DMF, rusty suspension arms and a rough running issue) attention has turned to a replacement.

SWMBO has zero'd in on a focus-sized hatchback with an economical petrol engine and the usual trick here is for us to trudge around test driving half a dozen cars that fit the bill, her to declare a top 2 and then for me to go out and find the best of the chosen ones that our budget can stretch to.

One of the cars that has taken her fancy is a v40, she's seen a 17 plate model at a supermarket that we will test this afternoon. As usual I have dived in to my research having never really looked at these before and i discover that it's built on the focus platform (good start) but that volvo started building their own VEA engines again after moving away from a Ford one under the Geely ownership.

So, anyone had one? Can you comment on it's reliability/ longevity? We will keep this car for some time, she's not one for changing often so it will be run until it's worthless/ dead most likely.

[BevR]

eltax91 said:

Hi all

Wifey has an ageing Qashqai with a 2.0 petrol, it's an 08 J10 model and has been utterly bomproof for last 7 years. It's now getting a bit leggy with 173k under it's belt and after an expensive recent run (clutch and DMF, rusty suspension arms and a rough running issue) attention has turned to a replacement.

SWMBO has zero'd in on a focus-sized hatchback with an economical petrol engine and the usual trick here is for us to trudge around test driving half a dozen cars that fit the bill, her to declare a top 2 and then for me to go out and find the best of the chosen ones that our budget can stretch to.

One of the cars that has taken her fancy is a v40, she's seen a 17 plate model at a supermarket that we will test this afternoon. As usual I have dived in to my research having never really looked at these before and i discover that it's built on the focus platform (good start) but that volvo started building their own VEA engines again after moving away from a Ford one under the Geely ownership.

So, anyone had one? Can you comment on it's reliability/ longevity? We will keep this car for some time, she's not one for changing often so it will be run until it's worthless/ dead most likely.

I have a 16 plate T3 R design with the Xenium pack and its great. Comfortable and practical, over its life it has average about 38mpg, from a 2.0L turbo (admittedly only putting out 150bhp). We haven't had any mechanical issues in 3 years, the only thing we have replaced is the mirror (went green around the edges. We have some uneven wear on the rear tires, I was planning on replacing them this year anyway so I will just tag on a alignment when I get them done. The diamond cut alloys are a but of a pain and have a few curb marks on them and the center caps have all cracked but these are things that no one else is going to notice and I only get reminded of when cleaning the car.

I previously owned an 06 Civic Type S which was quite uncomfortable but I can drive for 3 or 4 hours quite comfortably without a break, my only real complaint is the lack of a dead pedal to rest my left foot.

You can buy one with a sports chassis, I don't see why you would as the cars characteristics don't encourage you to push on but you can. The infotainment feels a little dated compared to most 17/18 cars in its bracket but the bluetooth works fine for music which is all I really need, our car is fitted with the optional stereo upgrade (I dont know how good the standard stereo is). The panoramic roof is great for those in the back but it starts quite far back and is not as good as the one in the Civic.

I think they are pretty cheap now, we bought ours for £19k (one year old) and we were recently offered about £10k part exchange (ony 18k miles on it). The Volvo is a much nicer place than the Focus in my eyes, better seats and materials in general. I dont know if there is much of a difference in price between 16 and 17 plate cars as that is the time they introduced the facelift which introduced the Thors hammer headlights. I don't think there were any other upgrades?

[VR99]

How's the practicality of these cars? I like how they look and the comfort of the seats has been mentioned a few times..something I need as my lower back feels broken after long runs in my MK1 focus. Similar the OP I hold onto my car's for years ( had current one 10 yrs) so longer term reliability is important though I assume Volvo servicing is pricey.
As a final qu, has anyone owned or driven both a S40/V50 and a V40 and if so curious to know just how much 'better' and modern a V40 is? S40/V50 are quite cheap now but getting on a bit in age.
My friend has a D2, felt more pokey than the numbers suggest but as I do less than 6k miles per year looking at either the T2/T3.

[jamei303]

I've got a petrol one, very comfortable and massively more relaxing to drive than my previous Focus. The VEA engine seems bigger than it needs to be if that makes sense, with the turbo not doing all the work, so it doesn't seem to get very stressed. As it's not exactly pushing the boundaries I wouldn't expect too many problems with it.

[VR99]

jamei303 said:

I've got a petrol one, very comfortable and massively more relaxing to drive than my previous Focus. The VEA engine seems bigger than it needs to be if that makes sense, with the turbo not doing all the work, so it doesn't seem to get very stressed. As it's not exactly pushing the boundaries I wouldn't expect too many problems with it.

Sounds promising is yours an auto or manual and which version..T2,T3 etc?
Wonder if the T2 would be a bit underpowered for what might be a fairly heavy car. Saying that the torque curve looks quite broad on those VEA engines so would expect to have reasonable shove..and yes I was sad enough to look at the torque curve figures!

[jamei303]

VR99 said:

Sounds promising is yours an auto or manual and which version..T2,T3 etc?
Wonder if the T2 would be a bit underpowered for what might be a fairly heavy car. Saying that the torque curve looks quite broad on those VEA engines so would expect to have reasonable shove..and yes I was sad enough to look at the torque curve figures!

It's a T2 Auto. It doesn't feel underpowered at all at 122PS, it's got quite a bit of oomph when needed.

In fact Volvo are putting a 129PS T2 into the XC40 later this year, which is 200kg heavier. The dealer I spoke to said he expects that to be surprisingly acceptable.

[eltax91]

We drove it an hour ago. it was nice. She liked it, it's defo "on the list". It was a T2 auto, she's comparing it back to back with a 118i and a 1.4T i30 and she didn't seem to feel it was under powered.