Test Drive Volvo V40 since 2012 Universal

Rain in Spain

All companies have their own problems. General Motors changes the structure, Ford under its Ford 2000 program reorganizes the control, Lotus is looking for someone to sell.
 
Volvo seems to have problems interaction between marketing units and advertising and external relations department. The otherwise it is possible to explain that the test-drive of S40 / V40 models, which are already known to the whole world for almost 2 years, the company organized only in October for Russian journalists? Apparently the fact that Volvo finally decided to start their official sales in Russia.
 
For the first time, S40 and V40 cars, Volvo showed in Frankfurt in 1995. In November of the same year, their serial release began. Machines in Holland, at the Ned Car plant, which is owned by Volvo, Mitsubishi and the government of the country. At the same factory, Mitsubishi Carisma is released - the same as the IS40 / V40 car, characterized by design and engines.
 
For the Swedish company, the appearance of S40 / V40 models marked an attempt if not fully changed the appearance of their products, then at least filling out completely new for the Volvo market niche. The company is serious about this issue, testifies to the emergence of 2 months ago at the Paris Motor Show another new machine - coupe C70. But about this model, another time, for now - about Test-Drives40 / V40.
 
At the briefing, the organizers told for quite a long time about how the company with the help of S40 / V40 intends to win a completely new group of buyers - young, independent, with individual tastes for whom, when choosing and buying a car, his appearance and style play a major role. Volvo recognizes that her rivals in this area were in many ways averaged, but seriously intends to crash. The S40 / V40 will be important for the company also because the platform of this car is one of the two basic ones on which new Volvo models will be built. Only last year, Volvo has invested in research and development about SEK4.5 billion ($ 695 million), mainly to create a model S40 / V40.
 
Slogan, or, if you want, the motto that Volvo has chosen for this car, - Pleasure to Buy and Own. Question - Where is the first part, Pleasure to Drive? Answer - the idea was repeatedly used by competitors, and indeed everyone now tells it about their cars.
 
The company is dissatisfied with the fact that the S40 / V40 cars to Russia have already become informal ways. (Volvo gray dealers does not like and calculates with them to end the natural way, putting official sales and improving the service). These cars for Russian conditions are not suitable, are not secured by the service and spoil the company's reputation. Another thing is the official sales - cars are fully adapted, the service is adjusted, etc. The truth, it remains unclear what the adaptation of machines for Russia is specifically, and did not mean that cars are certified - a prerequisite for official sales.
 
As you already understood, Volvo loves order. Once officially S40 / V40 in Russia should be on sale in December - January, then the test-drive must be carried out accordingly, so that the materials in the press appear precisely to this term.
 
Well, we are in Spain. Marbella town on Costa del Sol, which means Sunny Beach. October, + 26, Nanabe neither cloud. That's right, how was there in a misconceptionable musical - The Rain in Spain Stays Mainly in theplains?
 
In the parking lot of the hotel lined up three dozen new cars collected in the group of body color. There are many companies on Test-Drive, many companies, the painting of which corresponds to the configuration - to disassemble to freezed journalists. So it was this time - red, purple, silver and blue cars.
 
The model S40 / V40, of course, had to see and before arrival in Spain. But let's try to get rid of previous impressions and start acquaintance with a car anew.
 
In the appearance of the machine, nothing outstanding or brightly detected, it is unusual for VOLVO. Normal middle class car, in a modern rounded, but without frills. Everything is sufficiently strictly and balanced. At the same time, Volvo recognizes unmistakably, especially in front. Designers managed to observe the continuity of traditions and at the same time create a completely new car.
 
Recall that S40 is a sedan, the V40 is a five-door wagon that the manufacturer calls Touring. Different machines with a tail design. There are no other differences between S40 and V40, even in overall sizes. Drive on the front wheels.
 
Macpherson front suspension, rear multi-type.
 
Both vehicles can be equipped with 1.8 and 2.0 liter with gasoline engines with a capacity of 115 and 137 liters. with. And torque 165 and 183 nm, respectively. The gamma has 1.9 liters of Turbodiesel (90 l., 176 nm), the car has been certified with him in Russia, but whether it will go on sale, the company has not yet decided.
 
The car's salon is designed in calm colors and makes a pleasant impression. Everything is made solid and kindly, as in the appearance of the machine, nothing attracting increased attention in the cabin did not find it.
 
Driving seat - no complaints. All adjustments on the spot, their stock is sufficient for a person of any complex. Comfortable to the touch steering wheel, optimal diameter and sections. Standard steering wheel levers, power windows and adjustment of external mirrors (for some reason on the horizontal console between the seats), there are two cup holders. Light control - on the left side of the torpedo. On the central console there are handles and control buttons for air conditioning and decent size of the radio.
 
There is not much place behind the place, the knees will still have to rest. But some options for the configuration include the presence of children's seats integrated into the middle of the rear sofa pillows. Children's pillow easily rises up and fixed, the child with age up to 10 years sits fastened as an adult, and can overlook landscapes outside the windows.
 
The decent sizes of the trunk, especially on the wagon, with a reasonable loading height and a highly rising lid, which you will not touch your head.
 
But back to the salon. On the dashboard, only three round scales - speedometer, tachometer and onboard computer display, which shows the fuel reserve, its instantaneous and average consumption, the average vehicle speed and much more. To find a small round handle, with which the computer's readings switches, I had to spend a lot of time. The handle eventually found himself in the middle of the central console, but even after that it had to seek it every time.
 
We adjust the mirrors under it, inspect. The pedals in place, the lever of the gearbox - reasonable sizes, the head works comfortably in hand. Touch the clutch, brakes, gear shift. Everything is fine, even between the 3rd and the 5th almost not mistaken. You can go.
 
The car rows smoothly, as if reluctant. Even if you prevent gas with excess, leave the black trail on the asphalt does not work. Perhaps this is the result of the work of the APS. Further everything is going fine, the overclocking is confident, although I won't call it particularly frisky. The gear ratios are wicked successfully, switching is soft and clear.
 
On the first T-shaped intersection, from which the routes started by organizers began, it was found that the front racks are not perfect. If the left front was able to adapt, leaning back slightly, then it was not important to refer to the right - at the entrance to the intersection, the review closed the front desk, and the passenger and the middle rack.
 
Changing the machines, several routes passed the day, which partially passed through the highways, but mostly in the mountains. Machines on the road a bit, in some areas it was possible to move quickly and actively.
 
The steering is very easy, but woven at any speed. On a good straight line, it does not interfere, you sit comfortably, only slightly touching the ram. But on the mountain serpentine, the desired trajectory of the steering wheel was accounted for literally to grope - it was fit to glue some kind of ring on zero steering wheel.
 
Approximately the same situation with the suspension - everything is great on the highway, moderately and comfortably. And the east turns of the car begins to fall out before what you expect from it. In some situations, the tires began to scatter 40 km / h. Returns to the desired trajectory the car is easy, just slightly reset the gas. But the more informative steering wheel would still have not prevented.
 
To confess, on the same 850th, we probably would have passed the devices not as strong as on S40 / V40. But it provoked the appearance of a car, differing from traditional angular solid forms of Volvo. It is worth noting that for S40 / V40 there is also a more rigid - the sports version of the suspension, with which the behavior of the car becomes more appropriate to its appearance.
 
To brakes there are no complaints, stopping smooth and confident from any speed. Experimental with the ABS was nowhere, the coating of roads is rough, and the soil curbs of a special desire did not cause - it hurts the breakdown.
 
The gearboxes for S40 / V40 are offered both mechanical and automatic (only for gasoline versions), the latter has three modes - ordinary, sports and winter. Mechanical boxes for 1.8 and 2.0 l engines are different only by the second transmission. Interestingly, with a manual box, the difference in the acceleration dynamics of cars with 1.8 and 2.0 l motor motors is not felt, it seems more with the machine.
 
If you want to achieve a truly frisky behavior from the car, the engine needs to turn thousands of up to five - almost to the limit. With a manual box, this is not a problem, you just need to not forget to look at the prudently installed tachometer. Yes, and with a machine gun, this device does not interfere at all - to give a car of the desired suquity, you have to use the sports mode of the box, and on the mountain road, it is also forced to include reduced gear. In this case, the tachometer arrow to the red zone is very close.
 
All this is the impressions of the first day, when you listen to the car and watching especially picky. The next morning the car seemed already completely acquainted, and in any modification. If at first I wanted to certainly take a car with a 2-liter engine and a manual box, now the difference between them was almost never felt. Any modification is a normal middle class car, firmly shot down, easily controlled, moderately soft on which it is possible to ride with the breeze through the highway, and roll to the settlement.
 
However, one feature still discovered. On the last, the longest route went to S40 with an engine 1.8 liters and an automatic box. The high-speed track along the coast, smooth and spacious, it is quite possible to try the high-speed quality of the machine. Through the car smoothly and confidently. Speed \u200b\u200b120, the driver running ahead of the car politely frees the left row. We will and we are polite, perhaps quickly.
 
Pedal to the floor - and nothing happens, the car slowly slowly gains speed. Once again, the pedal sharply to the floor to the failure. Again no effect, the transfer down does not switch. Weird. We start experimenting.
 
Up to 100 km / h, everything is fine, the box, as it be laid, responds to Kick-Down, moving the transfer to one down. After 100 km / hour, it makes it less and less eagerly, and 120 km / h and above are categorically. The machine at the same time is not very eagerly accelerated, but when the road went slightly up, the speed above 130 km / h did not rise, so that the gas pedal would do.
 
Maybe defect specific machine? In the evening, Volvo employee complained, which is responsible for the technical condition of the fleet. Carefully listened, clarified the number of the car, sat down and left. Returned in an hour.
 
- Well?
 
- Yes, everything is in order, you just need to put it stronger on the pedal.
 
To do this, needed an hour to ride? And what, I do not know where the car has a floor? Something is wrong here. I propose a version of the problem with a specific copy of the car was still, because journalists are treated at all as with their own. And the explanations of the employee - the desire to preserve the face of the company.
 
When it was working on this material, a computer toy was remembered to the end of the 80s. The task was to pass on a car a certain route. If you go too fast, you have enough traffic police and drag into prison. Too slowly - do not fit in the allotted time. When you go through all the rules, then in time and without adventure you get to the finish. And there you will be welcomed by the inscription: you would have ride on Volvo, with a bolon on the seat.
 
Of course, the toy is old, and nothing bad in this is actually no - solidity, reliability and security are always associated with Volvo products. And it is quite legitimate to transfer these associations on the S40 / V40 machines. But at the same time confuses some discrepancy between the external appearance, which the creators gave this car, and sensations from the management of them.
 
Objectively, according to technical specifications, everything is in order, and speed, and overclocking up to hundreds. But from the car with such an appearance subconsciously wait for something more than from the usual VOLVO machines. And there is a feeling that part of the slogan - pleasure to drive, the company did not use not only because the idea belongs to competitors. And, accordingly, the question - who will buy these cars in Russia? Who are they are, independent, with individual tastes? And, by the way, with considerable money.
 
Factory vacation price of the cheapest version S40 (1.8 liters, manual box) in the basic configuration (driver airbag, front electric windows, heated seats, brushes on headlights) is SEK133500 (about $ 20,600). If you add air conditioning, the pillow for the passenger, the central lock and rear power windows, the price will grow to SEK151450 ($ 23400). The version with a 2.0 l engine with the same options will cost SEK160650 ($ 24,800). The factory price of the V40 station wagon with a 2.0 l engine, an automatic box and all possible options, including a modified suspension and DSA (APS) system, will be SEK198700 ($ 30700). It seems reasonable, especially for the Volvo brand. But if you add domestic customs cheating to this, Russian buyers may prefer products from other manufacturers. By the way, the cost of Mitsubishi Carisma with a 1.8 l engine, sales of which in Japan began in October, in the basic configuration amounts to 1.548 million yen (about $ 15,500).
 
I would like to spend any parallels with S40 / V40 buyers in the West, but the car is sold less than a year and no data yet. Yes, and Volvo believes that any serious impact on the sales company S40 / V40 will be able to render no earlier than in the 3V4-m quarter. And these figures will appear only by the beginning of next year.
 
We must pay tribute to the Test-Drive organizers, everything went great, clearly and without any linings.
 
Well-selected routes, clear and understandable legends, an excellent organization. It is impossible not to note the extract of Volvo employees who were good and patiently answered all the questions of journalists, even the most annoying. They were not tired to emphasize that S40 / V40 could not be compared with the C850-th - yes, formally these cars of the same class, but they are intended for completely different categories of buyers. And once again tried to explain what the difference between Volvo S40 and Mitsubishi Carisma. With a smile, they repeated that they could not answer questions about the future models of the company, since the Volvo policy is to disclose their plans and intentions.
 
The policy is understandable, why declare this in advance to competitors. But sometimes it came to the absurdity. All attempts to learn something about the prospects for using 1.8 liters of the Mitsubishi engine with direct injection on Volvo cars only led to the answers of the type: if this decision was made, then according to the technical parameters, this motor would have come true for S40 / V40.
 
And at that time, Ulf Torn, the official representative of Volvo, reported to journalists in Stockholm, which negotiations about this with the Japanese company are held. And according to our information, the GDI engine procurement agreement was already concluded by this time, which subsequently confirmed Mitsubishi.
 
The company's policy gives its fruits, a little is known about the future plans of Volvo - in Detroit, the C70 cabriolet must be set on the basis of the C70 coupe shown in Paris, and in Geneva, the All-wheel drive wagon V70. So far, all waiting for next year.
 
Text: Mikhail Vasilyev
 
 

Source: Motor magazine [№8 / 1996]