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Volvo V40, Volvo's attempt to lower the average age of owners to below Italy's retirement age which is 120 years. And they succeeded. But is the Volvo V40 really worth your money, especially if we are dealing with its issues? Can we "fix it"?

This Volvo V40 has nothing to do with the original V40, which was the predecessor of original V50. In fact, the Volvo V40 hardly has anything to do with Volvo. Built for a totally different audience than what we are used to, this is the second hatchback attempt of the nords. With prices that place the car in the VIP lounge of the hatchback segment, the Volvo V40 steps on the trails left by the Golf VI and Golf VII, competes with the Mazda 3 BM and stays away from the new A Class. So, you have a hatchback that you know nothing about and that demands more money than most cars in the segment.

Anyway, if you look at any Volvo from the new generation, you probably don't know much about cars and you don't want to know too much about cars anyway. And in the case of the V40, it's better not to know some essential details such as the fact that you have Ford and Peugeot technology on this car. You only know that it has many safety systems and that any car demands money. Although, if you want to buy a V40 you are probably under 30 years old and I wonder if at this age your #1 priority is safety in a hatchback. I understand if you have children that you are interested in safety, but a bag of seeds barely fits in the trunk of a V40, the basic luggage of a small child has no chance. So it's quite difficult for me to understand what they wanted to do here with the new V40. I know instead what they did with V33, an absolutely exceptional vodka, usually positioned on the bottom shelves of large stores. It usually costs as much as half a pack of cigarettes and gives you a good feeling for a few days when you don't know what's wrong with you or how the train stopped spinning again, before you sit down on a bench on the platform and take a nap, because you will definatelly wake up on a train station bench.

Volvo V40 Engines

Petrol

• 1.5 turbo B4154T5 and B4154T6 of 122 and 152 horsepower - Coming in 2016 in the form of T2 and T3, this engine is the famous VEA engine, only with one cylinder removed. In 2016, Volvo decided to make their own engines, so they made a 2 litre petrol and a 2 litre diesel, which they developed in various stages. And this is the light version, with one cylinder less. The 122 horsepower version especially is similar to an iPhone: expensive and slow.
  


• 1.6 EcoBoost B4164T of 150 and 180 horsepower – Here we have an engine "borrowed" from Ford, specifically from the Ford Focus. There are no notable issues with this engine, only that all that muscle seem to be rather fictitious, because the car definitely does not run as if it had at least 150 horsepower. Mind you, the coolant pipe tends to crack and the thermostat fails to pick up on the increasing temperature and so the engine might catch fire. Best to replace the coolant pipe as soon as you buy the car. If you manage to find an EcoBoost V40 that is.


• 2.0 Turbo B5204T4 of 122, 152, 190 and 248 horsepower - Now we are already talking about the serious stuff. If you strap 200 horsepower on a Volvo, you will surely go just as slowly because you have so many safety systems that will prevent you from enjoying the whole experience. Or you can be a true chav and deactivate them. Like the 1.5 3 cylinder, there are no specific issues with this engine.


• 2.5 Turbo B5254T14 of 250 horsepower - A really interesting choice, which nobody bought. Partly because it was available only from 2013 to 2015 so about 5 minutes in the real world, partly because it was too expensive because it was the top of the line V40, and partly because the V40 is not a ram jam of a car.

Diesel

• 1.6 HDi D4162T of 115 horsepower - The same 1.6 DV6 diesel that we are used to on Ford Focus II, Focus III, Peugeot 307 and so on. Basically, kind of the village bicycle but which breaks down every 200 meters. Dependent on quality oil changed on time just as I am addicted to Atlas beer, this engine promises to have fixed its past problems. Has it though?


• 2.0 D5204T straight-5 cylinders of 148 and 175 horsepower – The legendary 2.4D did not die, it shrunk and transformed to take its last hurrah under the hood of the Volvo V40. Retired by emission standards, this is also the end of the line for 5-cylinder engines in the world of compact cars. For car enthusiasts, this engine is the last call before closing.


• 2.0 VEA D4204T of 121, 152 and 190 horsepower – The VEA diesel engines are as complicated as the 1.5 TSI petrol engines from VW or the 2.0 diesel from Mercedes. In plain welsh, they are more complicated than my relationship with Sofia Boutella. It's very complicated. She doesn't know about my existence, but I know about her existence since 2003 when she was in Axwell's music video "Feel the Vibe". In order not to prolong it more about Sofia Boutella, I will say that these engines only need the highest quality diesel, otherwise the EGRs will fail more than people fall from their seats after drinking 3 Primator 24 Double pints.. In particular, the 2 litre D4 diesel is affected. This is because they have built a very complicated gas recirculation system to avoid installing an AdBlue system, and this water-cooled EGR is not the best unit around. And the intake manifold is prone to cracking.

Volvo V40 Reliability Issues

• Occasionally there are issues with keyless entry in the sense that the sensors no longer work as they should and the doors no longer open. For this you have two alternatives: You can repair the reception antenna or you can use the button on the keyfob.


• Pay close attention to the safety systems. Actually, scratch that, check absolutely all the systems and push all the buttons or as many as you can.


• The clutch pedal has a habit of squeaking, but the solution seems to be WD-40. Which is not a solution, but a spray. How confusing.

Volvo V40 Verdict

It wanted to be the successor to the S40, and it worked out. A simple, entry-level Volvo that is not exactly in the spirit of Volvo, but that gives you enough to be satisfied. It still has the surfing board on the dashboard, it has some power and a lot of safety kit. Although, making a car intended for the 40+ for the 30s is like trying to make Ray William Johnson relevant in 2025. It's like publishing the Yellow Pages for millenials. However, it has a bit of S40, it has a bit of C30 and practically tries its best to convince you that you can buy this car without waiting for the first signs of arthritis. And did it succeed? No.

What engines do I recommend? First of all, I only the straight-5 engines, Volvo's own recipe. So that's the 2 litre turbocharged straight-5 petrol and the 2.0 and 2.4 straight-5 diesels. And I guess you can cram in the 1.5 VEA turbocharged petrol too. But no VEA diesels.