Volvo will bring its smaller, compact-sized V40 wagon, its related crossover and long-wheelbase, Chinese-built S60 sedan to America, Autoblog is reporting.
The newest generation of the Volkswagen Golf-sized V40 wagon is being built with the U.S. in mind, Volvo senior vice president Alan Visser told media in the Netherlands. The earliest it could reach the United States would be 2017.
Visser also said the XC40, a compact crossover based on the V40 Cross Country, would make its way to the States shortly after the V40.
It’s unclear what engine would power the V40 in North America. Worldwide, the V40 is powered by a inline, four-cylinder diesel- or gasoline-powered engine. Visser told De Telegraph that the V40 would also be available as a hybrid.
The company also said that it would make available its long-wheelbase version of the S60. The Chinese-built S60L would go on sale later this year in North America and Russia, according to Reuters.
When I was car shopping last year the Volvo dealer mentioned that they really wanted a smaller Volvo like the V40. I think he missed the C30.
Then he is one of the very few who missed the C30. Because based on sales nobody bought the darn thing. My wife has one and LOVES it.
If the only way to put a better radio in it wasn’t to trade it in for another car, I may well have bought one back in the day. It was a unique and fun little thing.
I truly don’t understand why they call these things “wagons”. What can you put back there, a folded baby carriage? Two carry-on bags?
To me, this is just a lowered CUV…
Plus, it looks nothing like the Volvos of yore, it could have a Subaru badge and no one would bat an eye…
Yes, it’s really a four-door hatchback, not a wagon.
Exactly, th009!
Which means, th009 likes it!
EDIT: This is the Volvo version of a Venza. It will sell just as well.
Hey, I like wagons, too!
Good point. The Golf has a bigger trunk. Still a really sharp looking hatch, though.
You know the styling on this (while I’ve liked Volvos of the past and present) just looks like a melty 5-door Focus, and does nothing for me. The copious amounts of sheet metal above the rear wheel really ruins it.
Because it is a Focus underneath. I am not aware about Volvo ever having its own compact platform. Before Ford it was Mitsu.
Oh nooo!
If only the Focus had AWD, you could skip Volvo altogether.
If you need a AWD Focus theres always the Escape.
I pray that it doesn’t have external wiring like the Volvos of Yore, or a fuse box right next to my foot.
Ugly car yes, its a Mazda 3 envisioned by Hyundai.
Have Mazda’s lawyers called Volvo yet? That V40 looks a LOT like a Mazda 3 hatchback.
My only comment on this article was going to be:
DON’T BUY THIS UNTIL YOU HAVE TEST DRIVEN A MAZDA 3 HATCHBACK.
But to be fair, this car has been in Europe for a full 3 years. Well before the latest gen. mazda 3 came out.
I was thinking the same thing. Change the taillights and it’s nearly a dead-ringer.
I think the two look the same, only in the sense that they are both hatchbacks. The Mazda has a longer hood, resulting from a bigger distance from the front wheel to the firewall.
The XC40 will not be based on the V40 Cross Country. The relationship among the V40, V40CC and the XC40 will be just like that of the current V60, V60CC and XC60.
I like it. Very sharp looking. Two questions: Will they do a Polestar and will it have a stick?
I’m not even sure if Volvo still sells manuals in Europe, but I doubt they would in the US. :( I really love the looks of that hatch too (wagon? Yeah riiight)
According to their international site, they offer manual with a 1.6 turbo gasoline engine, and with diesels. No manuals on any engines that we currently get in the US or in Canada.
I would be very tempted by an S60 with a manual and their new 300 HP 2.0 4 cylinder (now that Saab is gone), but it doesn’t look like that’s available in any market.
There used to be a time when people were able to see out of the car without help of the cameras/LCD screens…. All of the older pre 2008 Volvos come to mind. I don’t know what happened, but these slits for the windows are not going to work for me. Mazda has same windows, and that’s a number 1 reason i don’t want Mazda. Honda still makes fairly big grenhouses for their cars, so there’s still hope…
Go buy a VW Golf
I measured the new Golf’s side window against my VW Mk V GTI. Bad news, it has an inch less vertical glass area. After owning a half-dozen Mk II, IV and V Golfs, this one feels claustrophobic to me. But I’m a freak who sits tall in the saddle and likes to see the view outside.
Lowering the roof is the simplest and cheapest way to reduce frontal area and raise MPGs. It also gives some folks a false impression of safety, so it will be done. But it’s turning me into an Old-Car Guy (mind that hyphen!).
What they need is a V60L, all these super swoopy wagons look great but are glorified hatches at best.
They’re dumping the ancient S80 flagship, and are going to attempt to replace it with the Chinese-made S60L “flagship” at the same price.
Volvo, this is a standard-smallish midsize. Even when you add three inches to the back, it’s still a mid-size. Stop it, and make a real flagship sedan. And don’t you dare price the S60-L at or above the 5-Series (which you will).
I think the S60L is three inches of wheelbase, the S80 I believe is ten inches long than 60, and its not even very big.
So who is the S60-L for, then? Oh that’s right – the Chinese market! Doesn’t make sense here. There’s a reason Audi doesn’t bring over the A4L and the A6L, also.
I’ll believe in the S90 when I see it. It had better not be an S60-L-L.
They’ve strongly hinted that there will be an S90, sharing much with the new XC-90.
It is about time…I was told two, or maybe three, years ago the V40 would be coming to the USA. I was also told it would be available with a manual transmission. I was probably going to purchase another Mazda (maybe the 3 hatchback GT with the 2.5l and 6sp manual) in the near future but maybe I will wait to see what the V40 is like, the extra cost versus the Mazda, and whether it has an available manual transmission before I move forward. I am still not sure about the S60l, though (since it is made in China); I am sure Volvo will need to convince buyers, somehow or other, that a made in China vehicle is safe and of good quality before they can sell many of them in the USA.
Looks like it comes with pedestrian neutralizing phasers (image 70 of 92 on their sideshow).
http://www.blogcdn.com/slideshows/images/slides/159/560/5/S1595605/slug/l/069-2014-volvo-v40-1.jpg
Looks like it’d be a nice alternative to a Golf (or GTI). I’m not sure I’d call it a true level field with a Mazda3 – I had an ’08 and my Mk VI GTI has far, far more sound deadening material than the 3 did. I’d imagine the v40 would be even quieter (though a bit less athletic).
That blue is so beautiful. Too bad the car looks like it was produced by squeezing while dragging a big tube of that color.
It looks just like everything else. The wind tunnel dictates shapes and forms, leaving designers to tweak the proportions, tack on lights and sculpt the surfaces. Damn, cars are getting dull these days!
Wait a minute, guys — pictured above is the CURRENT-generation V40.
The Volvo guy in the article, however, seems to refer to the NEXT-generation V40.
Or am I misunderstanding something here?