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The styling of the Volvo V40 has taken a bit of a hit among the B&B, but here’s something that’s hard to argue with; a 254 horsepower turbocharged 5-cylinder engine as the range-topping engine. Yes, it’s front-wheel drive. It will also be available with a start-stop system and regenerative braking across the entire range. Hopefully a manual gearbox will appear on the T5 as well.
On the safety front, Volvo’s City Safety auto-braking system (which now works up to 50 km/h), Lane Keeping Assist with haptic steering (i.e., the car steers you back in line if you drift out of the lane) and a park assist system similar to the Focus. Volvo expects to sell 90,000 units per year, with 85 percent sold in Europe.
37 Comments on “Volvo V40 Gets 254-Horsepower 5-Cylinder, Start-Stop System , Regenerative Braking...”
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Regen braking meaning it’ll be a hybrid? What would you do with regen braking if not?
Probably a mild hybrid system. Volvo’s is called DRIVe.
No. My 2011 Volvo S60 has regen braking, and nothing about it is a “mild hybrid.” The regen braking helps out with battery charging, saving (probably miniscule) alternator operation, and thereby a bit of gas over the lifetime of the car.
Start-stop system + regenerative braking sounds an awful lot like a mild hybrid:
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/fuel-efficiency/hybrid-technology/mild-hybrid1.htm
BMW does this too as part of thier “Efficient Dynamics” suite of fuel saving features. Under normal use, the alternator only charges the battery when coasting or braking. Supposedly this is good for a percent or two improvement in fuel efficiency. This is also partly why BMWs need a new battery “registered” to the computers when replaced – the alternator charges HARD when it is charging – my car has a 220A alternator. You can definitely feel it when it kicks in if you are paying attention.
And given this is being sold in Europe, the chances of the 254hp engine NOT being offered with a manual are absolutely nil.
Audi offers the same kinds of functions (stop-start, regenerative braking, clutched alternator) in Europe though it’s not yet clear which parts will make it to the US/Canada on the new A4.
And for that manual … the 333-hp S4 is not available with a manual gearbox in Europe any longer (though it will be on this continent).
@krhodes1: Does your alternator belt require any special replacement interval, or is it physically different from belts used in recent BMW’s not equipped with such a system?
@th009
Audi has DSG, Volvo does not (and I sure hope they don’t buy in the Ford version). The sporting cred of the DSG is well-established.
@Robert.Walker
Looks like an ordinary serpentine belt to me. No particular replacement interval, I think it just gets inspected at the regular service intervals and replaced “as needed”. I doubt that it is any harder on the belt than the A/C compressor is – those can use 7-8hp to run when working hard, with a LOT more shock loading when the clutch cycles.
@krhodes1
Many European-market Volvos have the Ford-sourced dual clutch transmission.
Pch101, mild hybrids typically assist the engine to turn, e.g., to keep the engine going without fuel when idling or to boost torque during accelleration.
Start/stop + regen braking may or may not be used to supplement the engine. Mazda’s system uses the recaptured energy from braking to power the electronics while the engine shuts off, reducing the strain on the battery. That’s a system with stop/start + regen braking that is definitely not a hybrid.
You’re killing me here. Would love to see this available in the US. Even for the few of us who actually still love wagons, particularly Volvo wagons. I’ll even promise to replace my 16 year old 850R for one of these. Pretty please….
You and me both. Though I’m not clamoring to get rid of my 850T or 1800 wagons.
Me three. Almost. It’s too small. Bring the V70 version and I’ll ditch my 2005 V70.
I was one of the ones that was perhaps a bit harsh on the styling of this car, but that engine is hard to argue with. As much as I love the v50, if there’s one thing it needs, it’s more oomph….mind you, we have the base 2.4 and not the Turbo, so we’re a little handicapped in that department.
I wish the City Safety auto-braking feature was around in the Acura that was sold to the woman who rear-ended me at a stoplight a few weeks back….
Will there be a sedan version of this Geel…, err, I mean, Volvo, and what will it be called in that case – S40?
i am in the market for a sporty hatch/wagon. this would definitely make the short list. cmon volvo!
I’m in the same market but I can’t see picking this over a GTI. Not that it will matter as it is highly unlikely this will see our shores.
It looks like the Chinese have not caught up with the Koreans yet. The Koreans can get 274 HP out of a 2 liter turbo inline-4 (e.g. Optima/Sonata), while the Chinese can only get 254 HP out of a 2.5 liter turbo inline-5 engine.
The C30 at least looked cool (IMHO), this loses its porportions, and also loses the all glass P1800 inspired hatch.
The Chinese should just claim to achieve whatever numbers it takes to impress people that know a little bit about cars the way Hyundai does.
254hp from 2.5L = lack of direct injection? Looks like the new Ford Focus from the angle of the headlining photo. Same platform / chassis?
Correct, no direct injection, and I assume tuned more for a nice spread of torque than for peak power. And yes, this is an old engine these days, dating back to the modular “white block” engine family introduced in ’92. Which was VERY advanced for its time.
Same platform as the current Focus, more-or-less.
Excuse me, but although there is a Chinese owner, all Volvo products, including this one, were in the hopper pre-Geely. Volvos are still designed and built in Scandinavia, and it shows, if you have looked at or driven one lately. Yes, there is still some Ford influence, but no Ford out there has the Volvo feel of the S60 or XC60. Chinese owners have allowed Volvo to survive and grow (unlike Saab), and Ford may yet regret their decision to off load Volvo. At one time, Volvo being bought by Ford engendered a similar set of criticisms regarding the demise of genuine Volvo.
Not to mention, the Chinese, like the Japanese and Koreans, will learn quickly how to produce and market competitive products on the world stage. They already have passed the US as the world’s largest car market. It wasn’t that long ago that it was “Red China” and Mao suits and cars that weren’t even as good as the pathetic Soviet efforts. Scoff at your peril. China already owns us.
1. I did not scoff at the Chinese, I said that they have not caught up with the Koreans *yet*.
2. Apparently I should have said that the Scandinavians have not caught up with the Koreans yet.
3. Take it easy, I’m just making fun of the crappy tractor engine that this thing has, that a commodity family sedan has not just a more powerful engine, but a more technically impressive engine. The I5 is a relative gas guzzler, which I think hurt the C30 a lot compared to the GTI and Cooper S.
Is the V40 still the same as the Focus/Mazda 3?
My understanding is that it is based on the previous generation European Focus/Mazda 3.
It’s a 5-cylinder – yuk.
All the recent European-market Volvo “T5” models use the Ford Ecoboost 2.0 4-cylinder. Why would this use a 5-cylinder? Pure speculation…
It is insane that Volvo doesn’t have a hybrid. All the Volvo types I know have strapped their kayaks on a Prius.
Guilty as charged. When it was time to replace the 850 a few years back, the S-60 just didn’t impress. Seemed very lagging technology-wise (do they they variable valve timing even now?) and a Prius with the airbag package seemed just as safe. I feel like the Prius might be less durable long term, but so far so good, it is much easier to live with in terms of little aggravations.
These engines are DOHC. They introduced VVT on one cam (intake?) in 1999. Newer versions of this engine have VVT on both intake and exhaust but I don’t remember in which year this was introduced.
So what if I should want to drift out of my lane slightly to avoid a pothole or some debris? Is the car going to fight me over it?
Ford has a technology to adjust the electric steering to negate forces from road crown and wind. I don’t think it helps at all, but they have had a problem with a sensor in the steering rack that actually prevents the car from driving straight. Drivers have to constantly fight to keep it in the lane.
I suspect that this could have a similar flaw. At times you will have to fight it to make it do what you want.
slit windows
Why do you think this will be a 5-cylinder? Is this pure speculation on TTAC’s side or was there something in Volvo’s press release?
All recent European-market T5s are equipped with a Ford Ecoboost 2.0 4-cylinder… it looks like the only 5-cylinder in the V40 will be a diesel.
The V40 will use the 2.0 liter 4 cylinder VEA engine with turbo. That post headline is a glaring error, because Volvo announced the VEA engines last September, and Jacoby blathered on about how 4 cylinder engines are all you need, and that Volvo was standardizing on a 500 cc cylinder. Volvo then promply announced a 1.6 liter version, making the pundits wonder why they had emphasized the 500 cc cylinder, when this one was only 400 cc. TTAC has had posts on this new Volvo engine, but obviously hasn’t kept up with its own info.
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Yes, well the T5 designation now just refers to a tuning level, not cylinder count.
Will it really be the VEA? Is that even ready for production? The 1.6 versions of the V40 will continue to use Ford-sourced Ecoboost engines… Maybe they’ll use a similar strategy as they currently use in diesels: 1.6 diesels from PSA, and in higher end models 2.0 and 2.4 diesels by Volvo?
Well Mirko, you may well be correct, because they won’t be releasing the VEA emgines until late 2013, I’ve just read. The old Focus RS had a Volvo 5 cylinder, so are Volvo just buying the new 2 litre Ecoboost from Ford as a thankyou? To tide them over? Weird that they go on so much about VEA six months ago, then stuff Ford engines in the V40 instead.
Agree with you that it’ll be a 4 cylinder turbo, and not a 5, in any case. On March 6 the V40 will be officially released at the Geneva Car Show, and then we’ll know whether the engine is a Ford 2 litre turbo or a Volvo unit. Then again, maybe not because Volvo seem to want to confuse the public as much as possible, and may not want to admit that they’re using a Ford engine.
Confusing.