Volvo S40 1.6

Bought a T- Reg Volvo S40 1.6 petrol base model as my first car and it's made me so happy I didn't get a common first car (Corsa, Micra etc). It averages about 35 mpg, using it for long distance motorway drives from Newcastle to Portsmouth. I've owned it for 4 months now, paid £500 and I've only had to change a main beam bulb. Engine is running smooth at 55K on the clock with full service history, it has absolutely no rust on the chassis or engine. Very comfortable for long distance driving, only thing I wish it had is cruise control, other than that it's brilliant. Plenty of power (105bhp for the base model) and cheaper insurance prices than a normal first car. Envy of my friends, and it's a Volvo. T5, here I come.

i ve got my s 40 1.6 almost for 18 months now and apart for some problems with the air con which they fixed by the dealer whithout any charge,i am very satisfied.i disagree with the other reviews that it is underpowered.it is absolutely capable of running excellent in the motorways.i d like to add that it is very classy and luxurius for the money it costs, and it has very good driving feeling.

I have had this as a company car in a bid to be green and reduce fuel bills etc etc.

I took delivery of this car on lease last August.

I have now done 30,000 miles and its going back to the lease company.

It is underpowered for long runs, and hence noisy at autobahn speed. its poorly equipped as standard ( not even front foglights as standard ), and has a fairly rotten customer service attitude at its dealership.

I expected a robust and comfortable car like the S70 I used to own, but this is really not a motorway car, and seems barely suited for long distance driving.

It may make an ideal town car or occasional long distance, but not suitable for regulsr long distance european motoring.

I have had exactly the same problems as the reviewer above. I had the Volvo S40 1.6 for 6 months and then the air conditioning failed. They tried to charge me to re-fill the gas before they could find the fault and said there was no guarantee that the problem would be covered by the warranty. So I complained directly to Volvo headquarters alleging that the dealer was trying to rip me off and that I would take them to the tribunal under the provisions of the warranty. Basically it would have cost me nothing to take them to the tribunal, as I am a commercial barrister and I would have welcomed the opportunity. I only mention this as I doubt they would have been as accommodating otherwise, as the dealer had initially been very abrupt and unconcerned. However, the next day the dealer called and offered to fix it free of charge.

About a month later there was a fault with the stereo, which kept cutting off for no reason, it was fixed free of charge after another trip to the dealer.

A month later the power steering failed, fortunately it happened as I was driving passed the dealership, so I drove it in, left it and requested a courtesy car immediately, which was provided. Once I had the courtesy car I told them they were not getting it back until my car was repaired free of charge and under the warranty. It took over a week but it was eventually repaired.

Also the dash rattles and squeaks and now the power keeps cutting out when I reach 60mph at about 3000revs. I have taken it to the dealer and they have installed some "software" which basically means they have not got a clue what is wrong with it because it keeps happening.

In conclusion this car is absolutely useless, it is overpriced and depreciates so quickly it is unbelievable. This will only get worse as Volvo have now cut the prices of the new models even further. I can not wait to get rid of it in 4 months time.

DO NOT BUY THIS CAR.

I've had this Volvo S40 for about a year and from the day I bought it I've had problems. The anti roll bar came loose which was fortunately covered under the warranty as i bought it from a main dealer. The next thing to faulter was the air con. Took it to the dealer who was pleased to tell me that the regassing is not covered under the warranty, costing me £116. Within a month it started the engine started to cut out, took it back to the dealer who then carried out £176 of work without my permission. To cap it all off the four tyres have had to replaced at a cost of £299 although I've actually only done 7500 miles since buying it!! I think they saw me coming!!!