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Comments on the V40[ALL/1988] posted by S.SAMANDI on
Wednesday, 11 February 1998, at 3:46 a.m.
Hello,
I hope this is the right place to ask my question.
I am interested in purchasing a Volvo V40, but knowing the newness of this car I don't see any comment (press, Web site, etc..) about it (neither in good nor in bad).
In addition, I know nobody possessing this car to ask him question about it (I leave in France and it is rare to see a V40 in the street).
So if anybody here possess a V40 I am interested to have its comments about the car (e.g. problems encountered, known factory problem, ...). I am also interested by web site discussing about the car.
Thank you in advance
S.SAMANDI
Re: Comments on the V40[ALL/1988] posted by Tube on
Wednesday, 11 February 1998, at 4:58 p.m.
HEj S Samadi
I drove the S40 for 3500km through the north west of France this past summer.Very solid little car good road holding comfortable seats and relatively good stereo.
The car I used was a 1.8 or 1.9l with five speed,It seemed a bit slow at first but I realized that i had very little problem keeping up with traffic hurteling through Paris during rush hour.Somebody has to do somthing about those french road signposts that stand 15 meters high and have 20,mabey even 30 direction signs pointing every which way.It took awhile to get used to them but the S40 was more than willing to go around and around to be able to read the signs.I think I have just realized the purpose(?) of the french road system.It saves you from having to back up and check the sign.You just go around and try to look at the next bunch and see if you can locate your direction.So the car seemed very good in the city,nice gearbox willing little motor.
Once out on the highway and travelling along at 140kmh the car was very smooth.
I noticed that the car was fitted 15" wheels which probably added to the ride comfort.Was very quiet for such a small car,I found it had very good rearward vision and had no problem seeing the headlights of BMW's coming up from behind me,while split secounds later notice the single head light of a Duccatti pass in between us at over 230kph.The use of the rear view in Europe is paramount to survival for highway driving,unlike Ontario where everbody turns their brains off once behind the wheel.
Enough about the french driving habits,I found the car very solid and stable at all speeds,ample power for normal driving.However if you need more then there is always the S40 T4 200hp.Good brakes,as most any car in Paris has to put them to the test quite frequently.Good A/C even though it had a hard time this past summer with all the hot weather. It was not brand new about 42,000 kms.It had not developed alot of squeeks even on country roads around grandmas.
Over all I would seriously consider the car if I were to be in the market,
given its a Volvo.
The British press have been in high praise of the car in some of the reports I have seen.
GooD Luck Tube,.
Re: Comments on the V40[ALL/1988] posted by Terence Lui on
Wednesday, 11 February 1998, at 11:11 p.m.
I am not daydreaming, but I saw a dark grey V40 in Morristown, NJ last week. I am sure it is a V40 because I have seen tones of them when I was in London this summer. I saw this lady getting out of the car. If I was going somewhere with my parents that night, I definitely would have stopped and asked the lady about here V40. My guess is that she is one of those Volvo executives (the Volvo headquarters is only an hour away) who have the first taste of the new cars. When I was at the VCOA open house last October, there were already C70s with license plates parked in the "Volvo Corp. executive parking." So I guess we will definitely get the S/V40s in the US soon!
Terence Lui
Re: Comments on the V40[ALL/1988] posted by Topi on
Wednesday, 11 February 1998, at 11:49 p.m.
I'm not a fan of FWD but I'm always intested in ALL cars, specially Volvos. So, when these rumours started to circulate I rented a Mitsubishi Mirage to see if V40 would be something to own - or to rent. It only had a 1.5 L motor but still it was a good car. I drove 830 miles in 18 hours, non stop, from Las Vegas to North Rim of Grand Canyon, to Zion, to Pryce Canyon, and back. Very good and quiet car, exellent seats and perfect steering. If V40 is anything like this, it'll be a winner. Unless they try to sell it as a Bimmer.. For the same money as Mitsu they can sell all they can make. V40 looks much better than Mirage and the engine's bigger , too.
Re: Comments on the V40[ALL/1988] posted by abe crombie on
Thursday, 12 February 1998, at 5:58 p.m.
The S/V40 doesn't share any pieces with the Mirage. The shared Platform with a Mitsu is a Carisma, which isn't sold here.
Re: Comments on the V40[ALL/1988] posted by Topi on
Thursday, 12 February 1998, at 7:20 p.m.
Well...we'll find out if/when V40 gets here! I think I'm right, because: '98 Mirage is the same as Lancer. Lancer is the same as Carisma. And all of them are same as Indonesian built Proton Wira...You can see pictures of these at www.mitsubishi.com Look at rally pages and compare. Also, www.FIA.com has all homologation papers.
In my book you are the most qualified guy here, but still: What's your info based on?
Re: Comments on the V40[ALL/1988] posted by abe crombie on
Thursday, 12 February 1998, at 9:15 p.m.
I picked up a British car mag at an airport newsstand about a year ago due to it having a picture on the cover of a S40 in racing form. It had info on the car and it listed a Mitsu codename for the platform and made mention of it being more of a variant, but unique in most regards to the Galant. Volvo was listed as contributing major safety work on the car and Mitsu was the contributor of more efficient production methods. It also mentioned that the venture was proving beneficial to both involved. They call the company Nedcar. The Mitsu versions get mitsu drivetrains and the Volvo versions get Volvo gas motors and a Diesel built by Renault--I'm not sure on the diesel. I recall it saying that there were not many shared parts on mitsu and volvo versions. I've seen one of the cars, it had diplomat plates, and it was Galant sized, not as small as a Mirage. It didn't strike me as being very much smaller than a 850, maybe a 7/8 scale 850.
Re: Comments on the V40/think Volvo will try production at Mitsu. Illinois plant?[ALL/1988] posted by Stoney on
Thursday, 12 February 1998, at 9:40 p.m.
A logical US Volvo/Mitsu. US assembly point would be Normal, IL where they
Mitsu already builds the Spider and Mirage. I was inside the plant in '96, all modern Robotic/Humanoid setup, and considering they have never hit full production they could easily add the V40 to the line...Of course this is all "wishful" thinking and they'll probably do any N.American assembly in Matamoros at $1.98 per hour!
Re: Comments on the V40/think Volvo will try production at Mitsu. Illinois plant?[ALL/1988] posted by Topi on
Friday, 13 February 1998, at 12:20 p.m.
I was reading European magazines and there's an announcement Volvo S40 will get a Mitsu GDI (Gasoline Direct injection) engine. This engine is praying gas directly to the cylinder and can operate very lean, like 40:1 ratio. Normal is 15:1.
Abe - I didn' t find much more info about the floorpan. Volvo in Sweden is downplaying their association with Mitsu because Mitsu has been accused cutting down Brazilian rain forest and as you know, Volvo and Saab are The Tree Huggers official vehicles....
I found pictures of S40 and Carisma/Galant/Lancer and they sure look like same car. Our new Galant is not the same as European, ours is US only, made for V6 engine and is based on Diamante. And then again, I can be all wrong...Maybe someone in Holland can help ?