Introduced almost five years ago in Geneva and facelifted last year, the V40 is Volvo’s entry in the compact hatchback segment.
In terms of rivals, it goes up against the Volkswagen Golf, Opel/Vauxhall Astra, Ford Focus, and Renault Megane, among others, and comes as a five-door hatch with a front engine and front-wheel drive layout.
There’s an extensive petrol lineup available on tap, but the diesels are the most favored, and the range kicks off with the D2, which happens to be the most economical of the family. However, if one is looking for more power, then the D4, with its 187 horsepower, could be the top choice, and at 74.3 mpg UK (61.87 mpg US / 3.8 l/100 km), it’s not that thirsty either.
As all Volvo cars, the V40 comes with a wide range of standard safety kit and all variants have a pedestrian airbag that pops from under the hood in case of an impact. The low speed automatic braking is also offered at no additional cost, but if you start ticking through the options list, the car’s final price could baloon, and paying roughly £37,000 ($45,645) for a compact hatch that it’s not of the hot kind is kind of steep.