2008 Volvo S40 User Reviews

A Very Good Car...only Slightly Ruined By Its Price — The Volvo S40 does not seem to be a significant car when you take into account that its based on a European Ford Focus but is quite a lot more expensive. Yet after driving one, its really the feature it includes which might explain why its rather expensive. I like the way new Volvos have looked, they're no longer the square bricks I remember from the 80s where some looked ghastly. The interior is actually quite nice in an S40, there's quite a few buttons but not enough to overwhelm you. The most notable feature is BLIT which is basically a blind spot detector, nifty...but hopefully you don't fully rely on it. Still the nice touches are why some might buy one. To drive its pretty similar to driving a heavy Mazda3 since both are based off the same European Ford Focus platform(the American one is outdated in comparison). This means the handling is quite sharp and the drive is quite engaging. The 4-cylinder in the 2.4 is really the only problem here, the car has luxury features but doesn't make up for it in grunt so its not that quick. I do like this car but its priced close to that of a Lexus IS250 which is RWD and if I wanted a car like this I'd just get a Mazda 3 since I don't need the luxury features.

Primary Use: Family transportation

It's Cheap, But Still A Volvo. — I drove this car over a weekend on a road trip as a rental. And obviously, it was pretty much the lowest spec possible. The tiny engine didn't give the car much oomph - understandable when you consider it weighs just shy of two tons. But it was enough to propel it along the road. The transmission was brilliant, though, and made good use of every one of the few horsepowers the engine gave it. And it managed an average of 34 mpg, with the vast majority of the thousand or so miles driven being on the highway, but that's pretty impressive, 'cos that higher than what a prius would've done on this kind of road. It felt fairly light and maneuverable, and most importantly in a volvo, planted. I imagine it's not easy to crash this thing, and what's even more surprising for a volvo, it handles well. That was a pleasant surprise on those twisty roads. The build quality wasn't quite as exquisite as that on my lexus, nor on the other volvo we own. But it seemed sturdy, nothing rattled, and, consistent with volvo's philosophy, form followed function.The most important kit - the airbags and safety features weren't options, but instead, all standard and were still present in this one. And that's a good thing to know on such a long road trip, and that it's still a volvo underneath it all. The back seats aren't terribly roomy, but that's okay - it isn't a very big car on the outside either. My only true bone to pick with this car was the fact that they fitted a pipette for the petrol tank - it only has a range of around 250 highway miles on one tank (or it did for me), and it must be tiny - just 10 gal or so.

Well Designed, Pacey And Solid — Great design features, well laid out instruments and controls. Solid build and still quite a rare car. Performance is more than adequate, fuel economy could be better, ride quality and comfort up there with the best. Engine is refined and responsive.

Good To Have If You Appreciate It — Cool to drive in tiptronic mode always. Not bad torque, handles well, good acceleration, watch for the brakes. Nice attraction on the roads, easy to park, nice features on the dashboard. Beware the extreme heat like in the GCC; windows mechanism get stuck

Primary Use: Commuting to work

The Best Car So Far! — A small Volvo saloon with a powerful 5 cylinder petrol engine that delivers 230hp and 320Nm/tourque