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Old 03-10-2004, 12:16 AM   #1
dingo dave
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Default Anyone driven a Volvo turbo S40

I have alway been fascinated with volvos since my parents had an old '72 station wagon. The thing was a monster. I got to drive it during college for about a year. I almost bittch-slapped my dad when he sold it about 8 years ago.
On the volvo website it says the S40 40 is a 2004.5 model...how it difers from the 2004 i don't know. They start out at $24,XXX. Not bad.

Transversely mounted 1.9 L
170 hp double overhead cam
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Old 03-10-2004, 04:02 AM   #2
bmagna
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just saw a new volvo in the parking garage..

it was an S40 "R" awd, looks pretty sweet the stock rims are nice
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Old 03-10-2004, 04:33 AM   #3
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Volvo = blech. Except if it's a 244 Wagon with a Chev 5.7 litre motor in it. Then, that's FUUUUUUN
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Old 03-10-2004, 09:14 AM   #4
gr8-wrx
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I haven't driven one, but if you want a wagon, wouldn't you want the V40?
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Old 03-10-2004, 09:19 AM   #5
filbert
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driven my mom's S80, and sat in a S40 and S40R. If you want a volvo, make sure to get an R. Main complaint against volvos... super soft seats... maybe comfortable, but I have doubts that it will hold you in any way with spirited driving. Also the manual shifter looks funny...
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Old 03-10-2004, 09:24 AM   #6
whtlegacy
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yeah the wagon is the v40. nice looking car imo.
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Old 03-10-2004, 10:26 AM   #7
bluestone
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didn't think the 2004.5 S40 R was out yet? there's just a T5 version. i know someone with a S60R but didnt get to ride it yet
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Old 03-10-2004, 10:38 AM   #8
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i've heard bad things about Volvo's brakes. But maybe they'll be ok on the R versions
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Old 03-10-2004, 10:41 AM   #9
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My sister has a few-year-old (2001?) S40 with the 1.9t, and it's a nice little car. Decent power, smooth power delivery, nice interior, no major problems in about 90,000 miles. I'd love to try out an S40R though!
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Old 03-10-2004, 10:55 AM   #10
DISCOPOPE
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Quote:
Originally posted by dingo dave
I have alway been fascinated with volvos since my parents had an old '72 station wagon. The thing was a monster. I got to drive it during college for about a year. I almost bittch-slapped my dad when he sold it about 8 years ago.
On the volvo website it says the S40 40 is a 2004.5 model...how it difers from the 2004 i don't know. They start out at $24,XXX. Not bad.

Transversely mounted 1.9 L
170 hp double overhead cam
i owned and fairly healthly modded a v40..
it is quick, but nothing like a subaru... the turbo is pretty wimpy.
nice car, you can fit alot in it.... but it has issues.
#1 only one place really to get performance parts. ipd. it can get a tinch expensive, but not so much more than doing a rex.
#2 i would have to spend a ton of $$ to get the thing to take a corner correctly. it hopps, digs, and hogs through a corner...
it sticks well, but do not expect to power on untill you have cleared the apex by a good distance.
#3 my uncle thought it was a saturn.
#4 sucks in the snow.... big time.
#5 torgue steer....
#6 electricla gremlins. i had a ton of wacky **** go wrong inmy car. by the time i traded it in i had the stero replaced 4 times. the speakers had blown due to faulty volume/speed function and were replaced once, the cold start brake pump was replaced 3 times, and it blew about $40 worth of fuses a year... the wiper pumps would turn on all by them selves. and the security system would arm itself randomly.... i think thats it. it had the front end falling apart thing that all volvos have. i think i had them re-do the tierods 3 times..
#7 added after i read above post... yes the brakes go FAST. i think i replaced mine 4 times. the car had 54k miles on it when i traded it in... good thing, they are ford pads, and you can do it yourself pretty easily, but still it's a pain..

a nice car on the inside. not as quiet as the v70, the fit and finish is decent. there are a few pieces of the interior that they made of of the cheapest plastic possable...

all in all, for the $$ a rex wagon is a better car.

ps there is no v or s40r atm. i put an r badge on mine as well...
the real kick ass volvo is the s60r.... but that is a little bit more $$

Last edited by DISCOPOPE; 03-10-2004 at 11:01 AM.
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Old 03-10-2004, 11:21 AM   #11
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My GF has a 2000 S40. She loves it, and it beats the pants off my Outback for pretty much everything except interior space (go figure). I don't spend much time in the car, but when I do it's more than pleasant.

The S40's motor is pretty small, but it's enough for the car (unlike certain Subaru motors...grrr). The new S40 (the 2004.5) should be even better. I think they did away w/ the 1.8T and replaced it w/ a 2.4 NA motor that's good for 168HP, and the T5 good for ~220HP (not sure of displacement).

My gripes about the 2000, may not apply to the 2004.5:
I don't fit very well (I'm on the tall side).
Motor is a bit rough at idle. BFD, since it works just fine.
Oil changes, service are expensive.
Traction control is useless for standing starts in the winter (is it useful other times? I dunno). Had the S40 and the OB parked tandem when we got 2'+ of snow last December. S40 took 15 minutes and lots of wheel spinning to get out of the space once we got it shoveled out. OB took <15 seconds to get out of the same space.
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Old 03-10-2004, 11:33 AM   #12
alacrity024
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Quote:
Originally posted by wrx_roggie
i've heard bad things about Volvo's brakes. But maybe they'll be ok on the R versions

my mom drives a 2003 S60 T5 AWD sedan.. pretty nice, and the brakes are probably the strongest part.. they're INCREDIBLE.. i'm not sure where you heard bad things, but i guess.. uh.. it wasn't from me
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Old 03-10-2004, 11:44 AM   #13
Stanley
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I rented a 2000 S40 for a weekend. The motor reminded me a bit of the VW/Audi 1.8 turbo in that it had almost zero turbo lag, with a relatively anemic power in the higher revs. It was a good car for the freeway as it would cruise at 80+ mph and felt very stable and comfortable to drive. I have not driven many rentals that I can give this compliment. The handling was OK...again, good for a rental car. It had the expected understeer, but it felt good at reasonable cornering speeds.
The model I had was showing ~4K miles on the clock and little stuff was already starting to break on the interior. I honestly think the interior of my WRX is superior. Definitely not as nice inside as S/V70's I have been in.

Oh yeah, I've always been impressed with Volvo's brakes. They tend to require less pedal pressure than most (they feel overboosted) but once you get used to that, they are great.
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Old 03-10-2004, 12:43 PM   #14
DISCOPOPE
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the brakes stop you, but they do so through self sacrafice... take a look at any recently washed volvo.... you will see brake dust accumilating within 45 min of said fresh scrubbing...

for the v40 us market you currently have a choice of the 1.9l turbo, or the 1.9l turbo....
s40 has the t5 option and i think the 2.4na

Last edited by DISCOPOPE; 03-10-2004 at 12:51 PM.
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Old 03-10-2004, 12:51 PM   #15
Janq
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I had a GEN I Volvo V40 A Wagon from December 2000 to March 2003. Mine was loaded with every option except driving lamps (I didn't want them) and the built in rear seat child booster (I had no need for it at the time).

It was a good car as cars go.
It didn't handle the best but it was from the worst.
It drove very comfortably and moved out well enough.

Mrs. Janq and I both hated that car.
It was soulless. Relative to my Legacy (the gold standard in our household which we both _love_) and all the other varying cars we've owned (a lot) the only car we both hated more was Mrs. Janq's old '92 VW Cabriolet. The Volvo first of all has horrible brake wear characteristics. It has a brake proprtioning valve system unit attached to the rear transverse beam that apportions more braking force to the rear under braking and light loads. Sounds like a good idea but in practice when the rear is empty 90% of the time you end up with shorter stopping distances as the front rotors are undersized but the rear rotors & pads end up wearing out _very_ quickly. We had to replace the brakes all the way around twoice in 3 years of ownership. The rotors have no run out so turning them is not an option after use. The pads are relatively thin & soft too. Also the rotors warp very easily.
Beyond that we had a number of electrical issues witht he ECU and OBD that never left the car non-functional but we'd often have a CEL which meant a visit to the the dealer to get it cleared & diagnosed/repaired via numerous 'software upgrades'. Now this was free via a comprehensive warranty but that did not reimburse us for our time and the trouble of having to go drop the car off and pickit up or wait 2 hours for service to clear the OBD.

It had decent fuel economy and rode well. We drove it to Mass. a few times with our 120 lb dog in the back and all was well. The biggest thing I can say for it though is that Volvo's are built for one thing and thats safety. I have been in three Volvo wrecks. The first two as a passenger in an early '80's 240 DL and a mid '90's 740 and both times walked away from a mangled car without a scratch and nothing more than being a bit dazed. With our V40 it too to was wrecked. This time though I was the driver with Mrs. Janq sitting in the passenger seat and a 3 mo. old Baby Janq in the rear sleeping in her infant carrier.
Some fool ran a red light and flew out into an intersection directly in front of a row of traffic with me just happenign to be in the lead. My approach speed was 40 mph and impact occured under pedal to the floor ABS braking. I had only about 25 feet or reaction and braking distance prior to impact as per witnesses and the police investigation. I've told the tale of this wreck several times before so feel free to run a search as its in the archives.
But long story short I'm sitting here today able to tell the tale becuase the Volvo protected me and my family better than anything I can think of outside of a Bradley troop carrier. We hit a much heavier vehicle broadside and the front of my car went into and through the mini-van my front wheels wer inside the mini-van, which had unbelted passengers (!). They were thrown upward and into the back most area of the mini-van upon impact and entry of my car.

It was horrible. Not the worst accident I've been in but it was really bad none the less. The volvo did its job exactly as advertised. Airbags went off (destroying the interior dash assy.), the seat belts pretensioners fired (bruising my ribs and Mrs. Janq's ribs & swollen breasts). The front aluminum sub frame literally bent in half allowing the engine to drop down to the ground. The bell housing fractured and the trans broke free from its mounts. I later learned this is all designed into the car to occur upon impact. Basically my car was unrecognizeable even to me from where the front bumper used to be (was still _inside_ the mini-van) back to the B pillar. Even the glass held firm though the windshield shattered as did the two front side glass and oddly the rear hatch glass too. We did though suffer from cuts and ingested glass as the windshield broke at the base and glass shards entered the cabin via the air ducts.

In the end as much as we had hated that car and belly ached about it through the years, it saved our lives. So say the witnesses, the paramedics (LifeFlight came to take away the mini-van occupants), the hospital staff who were amazed we had no life threatening issues though I was hurting badly & Mrs. Janq looked like she went a round with Mike Tyson. BabyJanq slept through the whole affair and had nary a scratch. The bodyshop that reviewed our car estimated repairs to cost more than the cost of a new '04 V40 (!) and it was declared a total loss. My insurance company claim rep. called me at home personally to tell us how amzed she was that we walked away from that accident and had also reviewed the other vehilce (also a total loss). She and all the others noted that Volvo's consistently protect its occupants better than anything else on the road. I knew this and that was one of the deciding factors as to why I went with it rather than a '00 Forester which we both had wanted.

In hind sight I'd do it again and based on safety alone would give a V40 the thumbs up. Just be prepared to spend a lot of money on maint & upkeep.

- Janq
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Old 03-10-2004, 01:10 PM   #16
whtlegacy
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my mom has a V70 n/a (the slow one). it handles very good considering the crappy, skinny, all season tires, rides VERY well, and has smooth power from the 5 cylinder. from the moment i first drove it i realized the best feature was the brakes. they are very easy to modulate and "stop on a dime" perfectly applies here. you should test drive one.

oh yeah- one thing that bugs me is that if you change the oil by yourself, the service reminder message won't stop displaying. does the dealer have to clear it or something?
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Old 03-10-2004, 01:33 PM   #17
Anyotherone
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My dad had a MY00 Volvo S80 that I drove for 3 months while sorting out insurance after getting hit in my prelude by some lady that fell asleep at the wheel doing 65mph.

The brakes on that thing were (are) incredible. It had the 6cyl. 190hp engine (auto) that had some pretty good get-up-and-go.

The S60R would be a very nice car from what I've seen, but for the price, I would get an EVO or STi.
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