Volvo V40 (2012-2019) Review

There’s no doubting the ability and the appeal of posh premium German hatchbacks such as the Audi A3, BMW 1 Series and Mercedes A-Class. The thing is, though, do they have character? Are they likeable? Do they have charm? We suspect that many people would argue that they don’t, and we also suspect that many of the same folk would argue that the Volvo V40 - with which these cars compete - does. It’s hard to put your finger on precisely why. 

Maybe it’s because the Volvo V40 replaces ruthless German efficiency with sophisticated Scandinavian style. Maybe it’s because it’s just a bit less common, and so a more left-field, imaginative choice. Maybe it’s because some people just like backing the underdog. Whatever the case, though, the V40 is a solid, distinctive and appealing choice.

As we’ll discover, the range of engines changed unrecognisably throughout the Volvo V40’s life, but happily, there was never a bad choice among them. 

Even the entry-level T2 (petrol) and D2 (diesel) engines will have enough go for some people, but we reckon most buyers will want the extra in-gear muscle provided by the more powerful T3 and D3 models. If you want more power, your D numbers go up to D4, while your T numbers go up to T5.

From a trim level perspective, it’s a game of two halves with the V40, as Volvo completely reorganised the trim structure during a 2016 facelift. Buyers of older cars will probably want the Volvo V40 SE, which provides the best balance of kit and cost on a budget, whereas if you’re buying a newer car, you’ll probably be prepared to spend the extra on the V40 Inscription for a few more luxuries.

The Volvo V40 is a posh five-door family hatchback that blurs the boundaries between mainstream hatchback offerings like the Peugeot 308 and Ford Focus (with which it shares its mechanicals, incidentally), and more premium offerings like the Audi A3 Sportback, BMW 1 Series and Mercedes Benz A-Class. 

In that sense, it's quite similar to other posh-but-not-too-posh rivals like the Volkswagen Golf, Honda Civic and Lexus CT200h.

The Volvo V40 was always going to have a tough job in this area. When you’re trying to keep pace with Audi, BMW and Mercedes, this is one of those areas in which the standards are particularly high. And when it was first released back in 2012, the Volvo didn’t feel too out of place. 

The dense soft-touch dashboard covering looked and felt pretty good, and the various switches and buttons worked with a slick precision. However, the Volvo’s interior didn’t age as well as those of rivals, in terms of both its materials and its design. What’s more, some of those rivals were replaced soon after the V40’s arrival, with cars that were significantly higher in quality than their predecessors, and which felt considerably posher and more high-tech than the Volvo. 

You could even argue that the Volvo V40 was overtaken by non-premium rivals like the Volkswagen Golf and Honda Civic in this regard. Don’t get us wrong, the V40 doesn’t appear cheap, and the build quality feels sturdy and solid, it’s just that it can’t match its super-impressive rivals for tactile appeal.

Early V40s all came with the same infotainment system as standard. It came with eight speakers, Bluetooth, a CD player, a USB port, and aux-in socket, and an AM/FM radio (DAB was a cost option), and it was controlled by scrolling through menus on a 5.0-inch screen using a rotary controller. 

Now, we usually favour such systems over more modern touchscreen systems, but this one features long, convoluted menus and rather fuzzy graphics, so it’s not as intuitive to use as rival systems found in Audis and BMWs. If you wanted nav on any of the trims, even the loftier ones, you had to pay extra, and this brought a bigger 7.0-inch screen and voice control. However, it was based on a similar interface to the regular system, so it was no easier to use.

When the car was facelifted in 2016, DAB became standard-fit and standard navigation was added to Inscription and R-Design Pro trims. Again, if you wanted to add it to Momentum or R-Design trims, you’d need to add the Nav Plus package at extra cost. It was the same basic system as before, too, so usability wasn’t any better.

Those up front in the Volvo V40 won’t want for more space, while those in the back don’t do too badly, either. There’s a similar amount of headroom and legroom to that found in rivals, so tall adults will sit in reasonable comfort, although there probably won’t be all that much spare space in which to spread out. 

Two small children in child seats will have space to spare in the Volvo V40, too. Like its rivals, this is also a car that’s better suited to carrying two adults in the back rather than three, due to limited shoulder room and a middle seat that’s narrow, hard and raised. 

The boot space capacity on the Volvo V40 is a decent size at 355 litres, but it can’t match its main rivals on this score, and the narrow opening can make it tricky to load in awkward items like pushchairs or golf clubs. There’s a very hefty lip to negotiate when loading heavy items, too, and when you drop the 60/40 split folding rear seats for more cargo space, there’s a pronounced step - and a slope - in the extended load floor. You can get a moveable boot floor to improve matters, but this costs extra. 

In terms of dimensions, the Volvo V40 is similar in size to a Ford Focus. It measures 4370mm long, 2041mm wide (including door mirrors) and 1420mm high.

It was a bit difficult to keep up with the engine range offered in the V40, because Volvo changed it pretty much constantly. The important thing to remember is that the basic essence of the offering remained reasonably constant, with petrol choices including the T2, T3, T4 and T5, and diesels including the D2, D3 and D4. 

What’s more, the power outputs in each case remained pretty similar, even though there was lots of change in the amount of cylinders or cubic capacities used to deliver them. For the petrol engines, the outputs in question were around 120PS for the T2, 150PS for the T3, 180PS for the T4 and 250PS for the T5. 

The T2 was just about perky enough to haul the V40 around with a reasonable amount of purpose, although it did need working a bit harder when rushing up to motorway speed. The T3 undertook that task with a bit more ease, and generally provided a useful bit of extra urgency, so it’s worth the upgrade. The T4 was a bit quicker, although the difference isn’t really all that noticeable in everyday use, while the T5 had some serious pace, seeing off the benchmark 0-62mph dash in around six seconds.

It’s a similar story with the diesels. With around 120PS, the D2 was fine most of the time, but the 150PS D3 provided a useful amount of extra urge on those occasions when you wanted to build speed quickly. The 177PS D4 was stronger still, but we never tried it in its later 190PS guise.

The T5 and D4 both came with an eight-speed automatic gearbox, which worked fairly unobtrusively, while the rest had a six-speed manual as standard, and it was quite satisfying to snick through the gears. Most of them could also be specified with a six-speed auto’, but we never had the opportunity to try it.

Of all the various engines offered at various times, you shouldn't have complaints with any of the petrols. All of them do a decent job of keeping themselves to themselves, even when you work them hard, and there isn’t much in the way of vibration transmitted into the cabin. 

It’s no surprise that the diesels are a little noisier, and they’re not as cultured at the equivalents in some rivals, either. In the scheme of things, though, most of them are quiet and smooth enough unless you really flog them, and if you avoid the D2, you shouldn’t often have to.

All the engines do a good job of settling down to a distant hum on the motorway, and because wind noise and road noise are also really well isolated at 70mph, the V40 is a very peaceful way to cover the miles.

This is an area in which Volvo has dazzled us for years, and the V40 is no exception to the rule. It was one of the first cars of its type to include automatic emergency braking as standard across the range, a move that has to be applauded, and is probably part of the reason that this important safety feature is so commonplace on more modern cars.

The occupants of the cars also have seven airbags to help keep them safe in a smash, and there’s even one outside the car to help protect any unfortunate pedestrians that might unwittingly get in your way. Unsurprisingly, the V40 absolutely aced Euro NCAP’s crash tests, with a maximum five-star score. However, it’s worth noting that you have to upgrade to a high-end Inscription car to get parking sensors as standard, and even-higher-end R-Design Pro trim for a reversing camera.

The Volvo V40 didn't exactly put in a sterling performance in the 2023 HonestJohn.co.uk Satisfaction Index. It featured 9th on list of the least reliable cars in the entire study, and 7th on list of the worst cars to own overall. Yikes.

Common faults include problems with the troublesome Powershift automatic gearbox, while the diesel engines suffer from EGR (exhaust gas recirculation) issues.

Insurance groupings on the V40 range from 17 on the entry-level D2 to 35 on the highest-powered T5. The T3 and D3 versions you’d want, meanwhile, sit in the early 20s. Since insurance groupings range from group 1 at the cheapest end of the scale to group 50 at the most expensive, you can see that premiums will range from reasonably affordable to rather steep. If you really want to cut your costs, choose a version with as modest a power output as you can tolerate.

On most V40s, you’ll pay VED based on your car’s CO2 emissions. This is good news for those wanting the entry-level diesel, because on some versions, you’ll pay nothing whatsoever, and on others you’ll pay a paltry £20 per year. Bills on the D3 range from between zero and £30, while most versions of the D4 sit on £30 as well. 

The news isn’t so good on the petrols. Buyers of the T2 and T3 pay an annual sum of £125, while bills for the T4 sit between £125 and £165. On the T5, meanwhile, you’re looking at an annual outlay of between £265 and £305. However, if the car you buy was registered after April 1st 2017, then none of that applies. On this date, the Government introduced new tax laws to apply an annual flat rate to all petrol and diesel cars under £40,000, so that’s what you’ll pay. That flat rate currently stands at £190 per year.

On early cars, the trims available were ES, SE, SE Lux and R-Design. The entry-level Volvo V40 ES came with plenty, including alloy wheels, climate control, four powered windows, remote locking and a leather steering wheel, on top of all the safety and infotainment kit we mentioned earlier. The V40 SE added posher cloth upholstery, cruise control, automatic wipers and power folding door mirrors, while the Volvo V40 SE Lux added leather upholstery and bigger alloys. Volvo V40 R-Design versions got a range of styling upgrades and part-leather upholstery. 

Then in 2016, the trim structure changed completely. Momentum was now the entry-level trim, which was pretty much the equivalent of SE but without cruise control. That box was checked by the more luxurious Inscription trim, along with ones for full leather, rear parking sensors, automatic wipers and sat-nav. 

V40 R-Design trim was basically the same as Momentum but with more styling bits, while the  R-Design Nav Plus added (guess what?!) navigation, cruise control and parking sensors, and R-Design Pro trim topped it up with the leather and automatic wipers, as well as a reversing camera.