V40 - Help buying and speccing

[Falmouthboy]

Over here from the V50 pages where I normally linger as I run a D4 as our 'workhorse'

Our other car is currently a Mini Clubman with a decent spec. We intend to replace it this year and a V40 is high on the list. We do about 10-12k miles a year in the car, mainly country A/B roads. We like our 'toys' and 'sounds' in a car and don't want too sluggish. So - questions-

I suspect a D2/T2 will be too slow for us so D3/T3 seem the best balance price/power wise, there now seems to be a price premium on Diesels with their petrol equivalent though which wasn't there at launch - I don't think I've seen a petrol V40 yet, is that a bad thing - although mileage would point towards petrol, would this depreciate more? Are discounts better for petrol?

Is the cross country 'form over function' or worth the extra £?

What is the 'sweet spot' model wise and any 'must have' options?

How good is Volvo sat Nav?

How good is the standard sound system?

Is the electronic dash worth the extra £?

What sort of discounts are people getting - again, down here in Cornwall it's not easy to 'do the rounds' to get the best deal.

Any thoughts or opinions appreciated.

[Falmouthboy]

Anyone got any thoughts?

[scw]

We have a new R-Design Lux Nav with the T4 lump and premium audio (plus
some other gadgets).

We tested the R-Design in both T2 and D2 guise, but dismissed a diesel on the
grounds that the car would be used for more short journeys than long - not
good for the DPF. The T2 engine is responsive in normal driving but runs out
of steam too early when pressing on. I initially decided to go with the T3,
since the T4 is around £6k more. However, heart won over head and I
decided a T4 would be much more fun; which it most definitely is!

The Volvo satnav is a marmite thing. I personally find it very easy to use, with
clear instructions and decent routing. Keep in mind I've had the same system
in my XC60 for 3.5 years so I'm very familiar with it.

Premium audio is a significant step up from standard and I can't recommend it
highly enough if you enjoy quality sounds. Just a shame Volvo don't offer a
sub-woofer option on the V40. The lows are still pretty good despite that.
When we were looking, the dealer had two R-Designs which differed only in
that one had regular audio and the other had premium audio. The difference
between the two, at least to my ears, was significant. I don't want to go all
"What Hi-Fi" so I'll leave it at that!

The other must-haves for us were winter pack and Xenium pack. The former
gives heated seats and screen, while the front/rear park assist plus camera in
the latter are very convenient for town centre car parks. The kids love the
view out the huge sunroof too!

If the car will be driven regularly by both you and your partner then keyless
drive together with power driver's seat is a must have. This links seat, mirror
positions and instrument display settings to each key so that they adjust
automatically on entry. I have it on my XC60 and it was the first option I
ticked on the V40.

The electronic dash is growing on me, though I wasn't keen at first.

We got a reasonable discount, but I've heard some people getting up to 20%
via drive the deal. Our wasn't that high, but not too far off.

[Falmouthboy]

Hmmmm. Plenty of food for thought, thanks. We would love a T4 and R Design style. I fear budget will put the kibosh on the former and poor Cornish roads on the latter. However, we will see how we can engineer your other suggestions into a T3 on the configurator.

[OldCroc]

Originally Posted by scw

We got a reasonable discount, but I've heard some people getting up to 20%
via drive the deal. Our wasn't that high, but not too far off.

Please could you explain the "drive the deal" bit? I have a D2 but not too happy and want to trade up.
OldCroc

[tickedon]

Originally Posted by OldCroc

Please could you explain the "drive the deal" bit? I have a D2 but not too happy and want to trade up.
OldCroc

Go to drivethedeal.com

Select model, engine, add extras.

Either elect to buy through drivethedeal (they will then put you in touch with a normal Volvo dealer to complete at the displayed price), or, note price and approach your local favourite Volvo dealer - ask them to match. Most dealers won't without lots of pressure. Many will eventually though get close enough so you can feel happy sealing the deal.

[Keil29]

I was told by my dealer that the only on line company that volvo will match is drive the deal, my in laws took two quotes in to our local dealer from them today and they matched both no questions asked, ok they were ordering two cars two weeks after I had ordered one so they had got some decent business from us, but it is definitely worth taking a quote in

[Mickybirt]

Originally Posted by Falmouthboy

Hmmmm. Plenty of food for thought, thanks. We would love a T4 and R Design style. I fear budget will put the kibosh on the former and poor Cornish roads on the latter. However, we will see how we can engineer your other suggestions into a T3 on the configurator.

I've t3 and for normal driving it's fine, with a change of gear it's able to over take quickly average mpg 50-53 ,I have found if you use 5th gear at 40ish your mph is better than 6th . Think the se spec is best for me with almost all I need I got rear sensors and a spare wheel .only thing I'd like is a power socket in the boot!

[RoyMacDonald]

I just bought a My14 XC40 D2 Tiptronic for my wife and it's absolutely fantastic. I find it really responsive and great fun to drive. The suspension and tyres really handle the country lanes and potholes fantastically. I also bought a Range Rover V8 at the same time and I prefer the XC40 it's just more fun and doesn't appear to use any fuel.

Negatives are we are fighting over who drives it.

My advice would be to test drive one with the D2 engine and see if you need any bigger. I was surprised at how responsive it is and the torque is exactly where you need it.

I also tried a new V60 with the new 4 cylinder 181bhp D4 engine and 8 speed Geartronic and that is astounding. If the D2 isn't enough for you get one with that engine in and have fun shredding your tyres.

The new Volvo diesels are just amazing.

[Chris308]

My 2 penneth.

I have just had a fully specced V40 courtesy car while my V70 was in for a service. I ended up keeping it overnight as mine needed a part.

My first impressions of the car was that it was a great car. I really liked the electronic dashboard although my wife thought there was too much information on it and found it distracting - she may have a point with hindsight.

I really liked the BLISS and the variable speed cruise control although it was a bit disconcerting the first time and I found myself driving with my foot hovering over the brake just in case.

Reversing cameras were great and first time I have used them.

Sat Nav I found easy to use - very similar to the one in a 5 series BMW I was in recently..

I didn't try the automatic parking although I understand that you still need to brake.

I am not sure about the collision detection. The red light was on the windscreen a number of times when I didn't think it should have been. It was as if it new I was on the motorway and therefore should be the distance behind the vehicle in front if I was travelling at 70mph. However, it didn't seem to reduce the distance even though we were only travelling at 30 and you needed to leave a ridiculously large gap to get it to go away. The warning buzzers are also triggered sometimes if you are close to parked cars.

The actual collision detection system works on the V70 - I know as mine has triggered when it detected that a car park barrier hadn't cleared it's area of detection and it stopped me dead, applied the handbrake and put the auto box into neutral.

The speed limit indicators I really liked at first until I realised that it was telling me I was in a 40mph zone when I was in a 30mph zone and on another occasion it told me I was in a 30mph zone when I was on the motorway. Great in principle but a liability if it is incorrect!