Considering V40 as next car

[RoyMacDonald]

Originally Posted by andyc1988

Hello,

I've been looking at the V40 for a few months, seeing a few on the road they have real presence in rebel blue and I think the R Design trim looks good. I'm also very keen on the safety aspect. Given the limited 20 minute test drives on offer I'm wondering if I could get some feedback from current owners on certain aspects of the car please?

3 - Automatic - I've been tempted to move onto an auto gearbox, the 8 speed ZF box used by BMW is impressive but many reviews have stated the Geartronic box is slow to react and can get confused. Can anyone verify this? I do have a progressive/roadcraft driving style so am not sure if Geartronic suits my driving.

4 - Cost of ownership - I like to keep my cars under warranty, especially where repairs may be expensive. Has anyone extended their Volvo's warranty after the initial period expires, and has the price/service from the extended warranty been acceptable? I also notice the service pricing on Volvo's website - a credit to their transparency - has anyone managed to beat these prices? Presuming I buy 2nd hand and the car doesn't have a plan they seem quite expensive, Mercedes and BMW both offer much cheaper prices/packages.

.

Many thanks,
Andy

I drove a V40 with the D3 engine and Geartronic box for two weeks, and found it very smooth quick to react and never had any issues with it looking for gears. So I don't understand what the reviews were talking about.

I've used an indi for the last 7 years for servicing and he charges £40 an hour. He has full VIDA software. main dealers charge different rates to each other so it will depend on which one you use.

I've had virtually no unexpected expenditure other than normal servicing running my XC90. Haven't had the V40 CC long enough to comment on reliability yet.

[anton differing]

Originally Posted by RoyMacDonald

I drove a V40 with the D3 engine and Geartronic box for two weeks, and found it very smooth quick to react and never had any issues with it looking for gears. So I don't understand what the reviews were talking about.

I have a Geartronic D3 and I echo those sentiments. I found it much better in this regard than the Golf/Audi A3/Merc A-Class I tested when looking for a new car. There's a particular hill on my standard test route where the three mentioned seemed to have difficulty deciding what geat to be in and shuffled rapidly between them. I don't have that problem with the V40.