Volvo V40

Original Poster

2,290 posts

184 months

Thursday 1st August 2019

Changing jobs shortly so my very much loved 8P S3 has to go. 25mpg will not cut it.
New trainee role has allowance that works out as £300 a month in my pocket. Advisory fuel rates work out as 12ppm.
The S3 is paid for so that will go towards a new fun car for the better half, R56 Cooper S to M135i.
So looking to get a loan from the bank (currently 3%) to pay for a car for myself. Usage will be travelling between sites but home based. When I did the job previously I could do Bath from Derby return in a day easily. Milage will be 25k a year.
Putting 10-12k into a V40 will get me the new 2.0 D4 engine which gets goods reviews; a balance of economy and power. Does anyone have any real experience of these cars. Size wise it’s perfect. What are the auto boxes like? And are there any inherent issues?
I have never really strayed away from Vag. The last two work vehicles were a mk6 Golf GTTDI and a Passat TDi, both were excellent.

MarkJS

1,550 posts

148 months

Thursday 1st August 2019

My OH's car is a V40 D4 R Design with the 8 speed auto 'box. It's a great car overall - very well equipped and the D4 engine has a fair bit of grunt for what it is whilst returning good economy. Probably my biggest gripe is the auto 'box. Whilst it's fantastic 98% of the time, it does get a little bit caught out when (for example) rolling up to a give way junction and you can see that it's clear, it often seems to be in 1 higher gear than you want so there is a slight hesitation before it realises that you want to get going again without coming to a stop. But, in saying that my Alfa Giulia Veloce ZF does that at times too.

Anyway, the V40 is a great quality car with an excellent blend of performance and economy. It's also very comfy yet can be hustled down a back road when the opportunity arises. We have done 19k miles since getting ours at 3k miles (ex demo) with no issues.

Original Poster

2,290 posts

184 months

Thursday 1st August 2019

That’s great, cheers. One of my questions was auto vs. manual. My only experience was the DSG in the Passat which was excellent.
What average MPG does it get? Even better do you know off hand how much it is to fill a tank, and how many miles you get out of it?

ZX10R NIN

27,640 posts

126 months

Thursday 1st August 2019

Original Poster

2,290 posts

184 months

Friday 2nd August 2019

Thanks for that, the Infinity does look like a good choice. However now you have me looking at the GLA. Which I have always liked but assumed to be out of budget.

Original Poster

2,290 posts

184 months

Friday 2nd August 2019

Oh the 220 is over budget......
Back to the Volvo.

MarkJS

1,550 posts

148 months

Friday 2nd August 2019

The trip computer is currently showing 44.3 mpg as an average but that is probably 80% town and 20% motorway. We get the best part of 600 miles per tank more often than not.

I would have to take issue with the post above suggesting that the Mercedes A klasse is better built than the Volvo. The Mercedes is what we originally set out to buy (an A200 or A220d both AMG Line) and the quality wasn't as good as the Volvo and the ride on both Merc's was pretty harsh (all cars on 18"s) by comparison. Don't get me wrong, the Mercedes wasn't poorly built - I am a Mercedes fan, but the Volvo was a better all round proposition at the time. There's abviously a new A Klasse now. And, of course, the Infiniti might be a whole lot better put together.

If you do go ahead and budget allows, seek out models specced with packs including the panny roof, leather, heated front screen & seats - I can't remember what all the packs are called now!

DavidY

4,459 posts

285 months