2004+ Volvo S40/V50 - Any Experiences?

[MADDER]

Anybody own one? Know someone that owns one? etc.

Interested in hearing any Aussie experiences of these newish little tanks. Dropped alot in price at the start of this year and am pretty set to get a V50 as a new-family car. Corporate rate brings the price and delivery down even more and I get 3 years/100,000Ks free scheduled servicing (of which I am wary as does not include consumables).

Can anybody talk me out of it??

S40 HERE

V50 HERE

[Bossxr8]

Wheels have had the V50 as a long term tester and have been fairly impressed by it. Its built on the same platform as the Focus and Mazda 3.

[FTE217]

haha Madder don't feel embarrassed I have a soft spot for them also. Soon to update me think and the V50Wagon lowered a bit with 19's will look "out there" in the Bloody Volvo Driver ranks lol.........
I will consider when the time comes, very affordable and not bad in the quality ranks and depreciation compared to the Ford.

[XR8 Uterous]

I have heard alot of good things about them from various sources, not alot of bad things, definatly worth considering.

[Des]

V50 T5 sounds alright.

[PH47]

Not sure about those but dad has one of the newish (04/05?) S80.. absolutely awesome machine.. scared lots of ricers off the lights ;) noone expects performance from a Volvo.

His wife (stepmum) has an '05 XC90.. pure pimp to drive it, so comfortable.. heaps of room, handles nicely for such a big car.

[DRU842]

I had a lot of fun with the previous model V40 T4. Fabulous touring car & scared the hell out of alot of guys who had no idea it was packing 150kw; albeit all through the front wheels, i.e. never drive without traction control!

[Lagom]

Very good cars - the S40/V50 have a nice chassis and the best powertrain of any car on the Ford C1 platform. Manual gearboxes are slick, 5sp autos have good logic and shift nicely. Well refined, well built, etc. 12 speaker Premium Sound Dolby PLII surround is arguably the best stereo in its class. T5's come with AWD now, move pretty well (320Nm from 1500-4800 ain't bad for torque). Even the base model moves pretty well, especially compared to the Euro competition. Plus the 5 cylinder engines have a unique warble and song when pushed.

I've driven a good few - the new model is chalk and cheese compared to the old one.

Downers - storage space in the cabin isn't great, S40 headroom is a bit tight in the rear with the coupe roofline. V50 alleviates that problem.

Volvo would sell a lot more cars in Australia if people would actually drive them instead of just being prejudiced towards them - ignorance really hurts them. It's funny how people think they're slow, within their respective classes, they're pretty much the best powered Euros. A base S40 comes with a 125kW 5 potter, the base A4 only has a 96kW 4 potter.

[Steffo]

My godfather owns a 2000 or 2001 Volvo V40 1.9 T4 wagon (now replaced by V50). And it is an excellent car. The build quality is impeccable, it handles pretty well, the ride is sporty, but not too firm to be untolerable, and its very comfortable. It has just the right mix of fuel economy and grunt for an FWD car of that size and class. I love it.

I'd personally say go for the V50. You won't regret it.

[MADDER]

Thanks all. Good to hear some other impressions of the new generations tanks.

Special thanks to Steffo, this thread would not be complete without your input and your seal of approval is especially valued.

Unfortunately can't stretch to the V50 T5, even second hand. Have settled on the V50 2.4 S, NA engine and 5-speed auto. Been given a price of $44k on the road, no options. Base car is well specced anyway, instead of leather though it has a trim in a couple of different techno fabrics which I like and feels grippy. As much as I'd like 17"s at least, the standard 16"s give a much more acceptable ride. Looking to go the no-cost red paint, all other colours tend to reinforce the old Volvo conservatism (and cost $1350 extra).

Ride is smooth, body tight and brakes are bitey which takes a bit of adjusting to. Visibility is a bit poor due to the extra pillar strengthening etc. Very simple inside to the point of being too simple but all controls feel nice.

In case anybody is wondering, this will replace the BA XR8 Ute. Keeping the plates as Mrs Madder won't have them on the Volvo as it's the family car and enough of a target being a Volvo. I'll bide my time and get an old ute as the hauler.

[FTE217]

Good luck Madder I'm sure you and the family will be happy.

[Mack 6]

No matter what model you get, go to http://www.evolvecars.com/

I have seen some of their work before and they are one of the leaders in aftermarket stuff for late model volvo's.

Nice pics as well

[chief]

A lady friend of mine got a brand new S70. Got all the options with it. Its is a great car, but surprisingingly heavy on the juice. The car is luxurary but in other aspects its not. The ride is nice, cant really corner (but that can be fixed). Little or no room in the back seat. Stereo is Bose and sounds good. The woodgrain is a plastic stick on, over the grey or cream coloured plastic. Sunroof has minimal noise. Overall a nice car, not to many faults that I have heard from her about from fuel consumtion.

[Lagom]

Originally Posted by chief

Stereo is Bose and sounds good.

I'm guessing it's an S60.

Stereo is actually made by Mitsubishi Electric, speakers made by Harman in Sweden.

Higher end Volvos have Danish Dynaudio speakers, Alpine amps, etc. They're one of the few manufacturers in the world that have in house audio in car entertainment engineers, most other manufacturers outsource audio/don't put that much effort in.

[chief]

S70 Lagom

[Lagom]

Originally Posted by chief

S70 Lagom

You sure?
The S70 was replaced by the S60 back in 2000.