If this is your year for a new Volvo, then here’s some of the best news you’ll hear: The S40 sport sedan now starts at just $26,200, and the V50 sportswagon begins at just $28,700. The news only gets better from there.
The Volvo S40 sedan and V50 sportswagon spring from the same “platform” in car-speak, in this case the Volvo Intelligent Vehicle Architecture (VIVA) that yields a high-strength safety structure. The “good stuff” engineered into the basic package applies to both models. And there is plenty of “good stuff.”
First, Volvo design speaks for itself. The Scandinavian approach eschews clutter and frivolous lines, allowing the purity of shape to catch the eye. Stylish, yet not contrived, these vehicles are designed to look contemporary and fresh for many years.
Really, the biggest decision you might have to make is whether you need the extra space the V50 wagon offers – in this case, a maximum of 62 cubic feet with the rear seatbacks folded down. Even if you don’t need the space right now, the V50 sportswagon is a looker in its own right. And it’s amazing how, when you have extra space, it tends to fill. Not that you should become a packrat!
The S40 models offer three levels of performance: The 2.4i, the T5 R-Design and the T5 R-Design AWD (all-wheel drive). The V50 sportswagon comes as the 2.4i and the T5 R-Design AWD. Both the S40 and V50 2.4i models are powered by a 168-hp five-cylinder engine, matched to a standard five-speed manual transmission. The Geartronic five-speed automatic is optional.
Stepping up to the T5 R-Design raises performance considerably, putting 227 hp and 236 lb/ft of torque at your disposal, controlled with the standard Geartronic five-speed automatic transmission. You can easily see that those figures suggest sporty performance. But it’s when you drive the S40 or V50 with this engine that you realize how their performance feels even “bigger.”
Volvo tunes its turbo engines to produce its peak torque (the force that actually moves the car) starting at 1,500 rpm, which pretty much means as soon as you touch the gas pedal. By sustaining that torque right through 5,000 rpm, the S40 and V50 with this engine give you a powerful surge in all driving situations, not just when you want to accelerate to highway speeds. Also, this is not “jerky” turbo performance, but linear and smooth, as Volvo has been doing for nearly 30 years.
Introduced last year, standard R-Design equipment gives the T5 a sporting, performance-oriented edge. It's dressed with a unique grille with matte silver surround and R-Design logo, a sport body kit with color-keyed side skirts and front and rear spoilers, split premium leather/flextech seating surfaces with embossed R-Design logo, aluminum sport pedals, a sport shiftknob, R-Design inlays, a watch dial instrument cluster and sport steering wheel.
At the top of the S40 and V50 lines are the T5 R-Design AWD models. The advanced Haldex® all-wheel drive system with Instant Traction™ has to be felt to be believed. The system directs power to the wheels with the best traction, reducing slippage even before it can start. This AWD system is a boon to handling in all conditions, not just the wet. And, music to an enthusiast’s ears, AWD is paired with a standard six-speed manual transmission (Geartronic five-speed automatic optional).
Now, this is just a suggestion, but a V50 sportswagon T5 R-Design AWD ($33,050), in black, with the standard Spartacus 17-inch alloy wheels, seems like a fitting homage to the “classic” Volvo turbo sportswagons of the 1990s. Those wagons – especially in black – gave Volvo a definite “cool” factor among car enthusiasts (and car magazines) and made minivan drivers green with envy.
Adding luxury to the S40 or V50 is easy with the available Preferred Package (power glass moonroof, power front passenger's seat and Keyless Drive), the Climate Package (heated front seats, headlamp washers, rain sensor windshield wipers and Interior Air Quality System (IAQS) and the Multimedia Package (12-speaker Dynaudio Premium Sound System and SIRIUS Satellite Radio with six-month complimentary subscription.
Top all that off with the Volvo Safe + Sound = Best-in-Class Coverage Plan, which combines a five-year/60,000-mile warranty, five years factory scheduled maintenance, five years wear and tear coverage and five years Volvo On-Call Roadside Assistance.
Yep, sounds like your year for a new Volvo.
