Volvo V40 T5 R-Design 2013 Review

Price Guide (recommended price before statutory & delivery charges): $49,990
Options fitted to test car (not included in above price): Driver Support Pack $5000; metallic paint $1550; rear window tinting $850; keyless start $1500; panoramic roof $2650
Crash rating: Five-star (Euro NCAP)?
Claimed fuel economy (L/100km): 8.1
CO2 emissions (g/km): 189
?Also consider: Audi A3 Sportback 1.8 TFSI (from $42,500); BMW 125i (from $49,177); Mercedes-Benz A 250 Sport (from $49,900)

The V40 is without doubt the finest small car Volvo has ever produced -- and the range-topping T5 R-Design easily its most convincing hot hatch.

In fact, genuinely competitive engine performance, a well-sorted chassis, a beautifully crafted and unique interior, impeccable refinement and cutting-edge safety systems -- all wrapped in a striking wedge-shaped five-door hatchback body -- could make this the best Volvo ever; period.

However, the V40 flagship doesn’t come cheap, and a $50,000 starting price -- before you consider options -- sees it line up against some seriously formidable German rivals, including the top-shelf A 250 Sport variant of Mercedes’ brilliant new A-Class range, a similarly turbocharged four-cylinder performance version of Audi’s next-generation A3 Sportback line-up, and the benchmark-setting, rear-wheel drive BMW 125i.

Subjectively, the finest example of the V40 breed is as handsome as any of them. It’s unmistakable a Volvo, but so contemporary it makes many of its forebears look like shoeboxes.

The elegant theme continues inside, where existing Volvo owners will be relieved to find the outstanding ergonomics and unique Scandinavian design cues they expect, finished with first-class build quality and extraordinary attention to detail.

White-stitched black leather seats and a soft-touch black dashboard contrast nicely with brushed silver alloy trim around instruments, the large central colour screen, centre console, air-vents, door trims and across the glovebox.

Volvo’s now-trademark ‘floating’ centre stack, which liberates just enough storage space behind it to be a talking point, houses four main rotary dials surrounded by an array of aircraft-style push-buttons to operate the climate, trip computer, audio navigation and phone functions.

Ahead of the driver there’s a classy blue TFT ‘virtual’ instrument panel dominated by a large central tacho. It features a floating red needle with white numbers on a blue and black background, and houses a clearly legible digital speedo.

There are nicely integrated fuel, engine temp and ‘power’ gauges, while smaller readouts allow two trip computer functions or the time or outside temperature to be displayed at once.

Also setting a new small-car standard is a host of standard R-Design features including the smart bodykit, exclusive powered front sports seats with upgraded leather and a choice of perforated facings, LED daytime running lights and menacing black/silver-spoked 18-inch alloy wheels.

There’s also the three-mode TFT instrument panel, bi-xenon active headlights, a multifunction steering wheel, cruise control, rear parking sensors, auto wipers and lights, Bluetooth audio streaming, and a smart frameless rear-view mirror.

The array of steering wheel buttons takes some acclimatising, and the only things missing from an impressive small-car equipment list is dual-zone climate control and an electric parking brake, which some other small premium cars now offer.

Naturally, however, Volvo’s newest model is a five-star safety performer (in fact it achieved the best overall Euro NCAP score ever) and, as part of Volvo’s development goal to build in the same safety level as in larger cars, there’s a host of standard safety gear.

This includes first-in-class features like Volvo’s City Safety low-speed (up to 50km/h) autonomous braking system with pedestrian detection, driver’s knee and pedestrian airbags, power rear child locks and a reversing camera, which is handy because rear vision is below average.

There’s also the option of a Driver Support Pack comprising luxury-car driver safety aids like lane departure warning with haptic auto steering, which gently steers the car back into line if it crosses road markings, a highly effective road-sign recognition system that displays the speed zone in the TFT panel, blind-spot monitoring, adaptive cruise control with full auto-brake, automatic high beam and a rear cross-traffic alert system that warns of oncoming cars while reversing.

Unfortunately, this package of handy, potentially life-saving features costs an extra $5000, which when you add metallic paint ($1550), rear window tinting ($850), keyless starting ($1500) and a fixed panoramic sunroof ($2650) brings the price to more than $60,000 before on-road costs.

If you’re prepared to pay for one of the best-equipped Small cars available, however, its sparkling performance comes for free and comes courtesy of Volvo’s sonorous 2.5-litre five-cylinder turbo petrol engine.

Matched exclusively to a conventional six-speed automatic transmission -- but with no steering wheel shift paddles -- it delivers a healthy 187kW at 5400rpm and no less than 360Nm of torque between 1800 and 4200rpm, with a further 40Nm available during overboost.

The result is a big dose of performance in anyone’s language -- certainly enough to stretch the friendship of the solid front-wheel drive chassis, which shares its fundamental platform with the latest Ford Focus.

Indeed, while the T5 is significantly quicker to 100km/h than any other V40 (6.1 seconds makes its a bona fide hot hatch), it never feels unwieldy in terms of torque steer, there’s no hint of steering kick or rack rattle and, although it’s steering is suitably responsive, it never offers more than what you’d call vague steering feel or feedback.

So the V40 T5 is a seriously quick, sharp little car, but it also uses more fuel than any other V40 (we averaged 9.0L/100km) and is significantly firmer, with ride quality that borders on brittle and plenty of tyre noise on any surface less than perfect.

That and more than $50K is the price you pay for the fastest, most capable small Volvo ever.

Given the wonders Volvo’s performance partner has worked with the larger S60 sedan, we can only wonder how fearsome the Polestar-tuned V40 -- Sweden’s first direct rival for the Audi S3 and Mercedes A 45 AMG -- will be.

If the V40 T5 and subsequent Polestar hot hatches don’t change the perception of Volvo among young well-heeled Australians, nothing will.

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