The Volvo S40 is a series of subcompact executive cars marketed and produced by the Swedish manufacturer Volvo Cars from 1995 to 2012, offered as a more mainstream alternative to the compact executive Volvo 850 and later the Volvo S60 to compete in a lower pricing bracket. The S40 was more or less positioned against premium-leaning small family cars like the Volkswagen Jetta, as well as some mass-market large family cars.
The first generation (1995–2004) was introduced in 1995 with the S40 (S from saloon) and V40 (V from versatility, estate) cars.
The second generation was released in 2003, and the estate variant became differentiated from the sedan, having its name changed to V50.
The range was replaced by the Volvo V40 five door hatchback in 2012. __TOC__
First generation (1995–2004)
During August 1995, Volvo released its new series, intending to call the cars S4 and F4. However, as Audi had already reserved the "S4" name, Volvo opted to name the range S40 (saloon), and V40 (estate). These cars were manufactured at the Nedcar factory at Born in the Netherlands (a pre Ford joint venture between Volvo and Mitsubishi Motors) and based on a common platform with the Mitsubishi Carisma, later used by the Proton Waja. They were also the last Volvos to be produced at the Born plant; a lineage that had begun in the early 1970s with Volvo's collaboration with DAF that had led to the Volvo 66 and the Volvo 300 series.
In the United Kingdom, it costs approximately 50% more than the related Mitsubishi Carisma. The car helped change perceptions of Volvo: "The S40/V40 range was the car that finally persuaded buyers that Volvo really could build a credible compact executive car", reported the RAC. For the 2000 model year, Volvo expanded the S40/V40's market to North America, where this range went on sale exclusively with the 1.9 liter turbo.
The V40, with a drag coefficient of 0.32, was the first whole model to be introduced under the direction of the British designer Peter Horbury, Volvo’s design director and was marketed in Australia, South America and the Far East. The V40 was named the "Most Beautiful Estate Car in the World" at an Italian award ceremony. The official premiere was at the Frankfurt Motor Showin September 1995, with the V40 premiering in December 1995, at the Bologna Motor Show.
In July 2000, Volvo updated the 40 Series ("Phase II"), implementing several technical improvements, including improved engine management, diesel direct fuel injection, extra safety features, larger brake discs, new front suspension and steering, revised rear suspension, larger tyres and a wider track.
A minor facelift gave more streamlining, slightly different front wings and front bumper, and larger front indicators, as well as minor instruments and fascia redesign.
In late 2002, there was a subtle update to the range. On the outside, there was a new "egg crate" style grille and colour-keyed trim mouldings. Inside, there was a three-spoke steering wheel and new instruments with four dials. Other changes include improved fuel economy, new side-impact curtain airbags, updated seats and a new key with integrated remote.
The 40 Series cars were equipped with four-cylinder engines, such as a Renault-sourced 1.9 turbo diesel or 1.6 (1587 cc), 1.8 (1731 cc, later increased to 1783 cc), 2.0T (1948 cc), 1.9 T4 (1855 cc, later increased to 1948 cc) or 2.0 (1948 cc) fuel injected gasoline engines. All of the gasoline engines are derivatives of the Volvo Modular series, which started life in the Volvo 960 and was seen in both 5 and 6 cylinder layouts in Volvo's bigger FWD cars.
There was also a 1.8 L (1834 cc) petrol direct injection engine provided by Mitsubishi as part of the platform sharing between the 40 series and the Carisma. The Volvo S40/V40 series was a completely new car from the ground up, only one engine – the 1.9 turbo diesel – carried over from the old 400 Series.
The low (2.0T) and high (1.9 T4) pressure turbo variants were positioned at the top of the motor range. The 2.0T was rounded down and badged as a 1.9T and was the only engine available in North America. The five speed manual transmission, widely available in Europe, was not certified in North American S40s, with the five speed automatic as the only option. No electric CVT was planned, unlike the 440 HTA / High Tech Auto CVT that had been released before the 400 series was completely phased out.
In the United Kingdom, trim levels were S, XS, SE and CD. Later on, trim levels offered were supplemented with SE Lux and Sport Lux trim designations. A limited edition 'Xi' trim level was also offered for a short run on Phase 1 and Phase 1.5 cars, often painted yellow with black bezel headlamps.
The Volvo S40 was the first car to earn a four-star Euro-NCAP safety rating.
Engines
+Petrol enginesModelEngine codeYear(s)Power at rpmTorque at rpmDisplacement 1.6 B4164S 1996–1999 at 5500 at 4200 1.6 B4164S2 2000–2004 at 5800 at 4000 1.8 B4184S 1995–1999 at 5500 at 4100 1.8i B4184SJ/SM 1998–2001 at 5500 at 3750 2.0 B4204S 1995–2000 at 6000 at 4500 2.0B4204S22000–2004 at 6000 at 4000 2.0 T B4204T 1998–1999 at 5100 at 1800–4800 2.0 T B4204T2 2000 at 5100 at 1800–4800 2.0 T B4204T3 2001–2004 at 5250 at 1800–4500 2.0 T B4204T4 2003–2004 at 5500 at 1800–5000 T4 B4194T 1998–1999 at 5500 at 2400–3600 T4B4194T22000 at 5500 at 2400–3600 T4 B4204T5 2001–2003 at 5500 at 2500–4000
+Diesel enginesModelEngine codeYear(s)Power at rpmTorque at rpmDisplacement 1.9D D4192T 1996–1999 at 4250 at 2250 1.9D D4192T2 1999–2000 at 4000 at 2000 1.9D D4192T3 2000–2004 at 4000 at 1750–3250 1.9D D4192T4 2000–2004 at 4000 at 1750–3250
Sales
S40 Calendar year United States Canada 2000 29,862 1,682 2001 22,451 1,735 2002 15,383 1,454 2003 13,058 1,195 2004 4,726 279 Total produced: 576,543
V40 sales Calendar year Worldwide 2000 156,498 (S40/V40 combined) 2001 69,012 2002 61,475 2003 53,592 2004 Total produced: 423,491
Limited editions
Super Tourer (Australia)
A special edition of the S40 T4 and V40 T4 sold in Australia in 2000. These were available in Panama Yellow, black or silver and came with headlights with black bezels, leather upholstery and 16" "Ares" alloy wheels.
Sports Pack
Introduced in February 2003 was the S40 and V40 Sports Pack. These models featured the sports chassis with Nivomat body levelling, 17" "Arcadia" wheels, headlamps with black bezels, clear side side marker lights, body-coloured trim and chrome door handles.
These were available only in Silver, Sapphire Black and Virtual Blue (all metallic), and featured side sills and the lower sections of the front and rear spoilers painted in Titanium Grey metallic. Interior colour was black with combination cloth/leather trim.
Motorsport
The S40 was homologated for racing in the Super Touring category on 1 January 1997. It competed in the British Touring Car Championship with Tom Walkinshaw Racing between 1997 and 1999 with Rickard Rydell winning the 1998 title. In Australia, Rickard Rydell and Jim Richards won the 1998 AMP Bathurst 1000. The S40 also competed in the Australian Super Touring Championship with Volvo Dealer Racing in 1998 and 1999, with Volvo winning the Manufacturers Championship in its second year. It also competed in the Swedish Touring Car Championship and the 2003 Norwegian Touring Car Championship.
Second generation (2003–2012) For the station wagon variant, see Volvo V50. For the convertible variant, see Volvo C70. For the hatchback variant, see Volvo C30.
First shown at the September 2003 Frankfurt Motor Show, with production commencing in October, the second generation S40 introduced a new design based on the Volvo P1 platform built at the Volvo Cars factory in Ghent, Belgium. Going on sale part way through the 2004 model year, it is sometimes known as the 2004.5 Volvo S40. 4,566 examples were built in calendar year 2003, with 16 cars having been registered in Sweden. A few months later, the V40 was replaced by the estate V50, also based on the P1 platform and built in Ghent.
The S40 was nominated for the World Car of the Year award for 2005, and won the Canadian Car of the Year Best New Sport Compact award for 2005. It was also elected the South African Car of the Year for 2005 by the South African Guild of Motoring Journalists.
The chassis for this car and the majority of its components were developed by Volvo, however similar mechanical components can be found in the Mazda3 and the European Ford Focus. It had the latest generation of Volvo's modular five cylinder engines; the first of Volvo's smaller range to get more than four cylinders.
The inline-fives were frequently improved upon by Volvo since the engine's debut in 1991 for the 1992 model year Volvo 850. The top-of-the-line S40/V50 T5 AWD, as well as the 2.4 and 2.4i, powertrain is still made by Volvo. The transmission is developed with Getrag at Volvo's Köping Transmission Center in Sweden, and the AWD system bought from Haldex Traction of Sweden.
The S40/V50 T5 (one of the several variants) features the 2.5 L B5254T3 (later B5254T7) (2521 cc) five-cylinder fuel-injected engine with a high pressure turbocharger. The valvetrain has four valves per cylinder and is a DOHC design.
The engine is transversely mounted at the front of the vehicle and was available with the M66W (front wheel drive) or M66C (all wheel drive) drivetrains. In the United States, the manual (six speed) transmission was only available on the V50 in 2006, 2007 and 2010 and only with AWD and R-line trim.
The initial 2.0 diesel engine was the DW10, produced by PSA. A new range of engines and transmissions were introduced at the end of May 2010 (see "engine specifications" below).
There was also 1.8 L (Mazda L engine) petrol version available in the European markets.
Engines +Petrol enginesModelEngine code Model year(s)Power at rpmTorque at rpmDisplacementComment 1.6 B4164S2, -S3 2005–2012 at 6000 at 4000 I4 16V Multipoint fuel injection 1.8 B4184S2, -S11 2005–2010 at 6000 4000 I4 16V Multipoint fuel injection 1.8F Flexifuel B4184S2, -S8 2006–2010 I4 16V Multipoint fuel injection (E85 compatible) 2.0 B4204S3, -S5 2004–2012 at 6000 4500 I4 16V Multipoint fuel injection 2.0F Flexifuel B4204S4 2011–2012 I4 16V Multipoint fuel injection (E85 compatible) 2.4 B5244S5 2004–2010 5000 4000 I5 20V Multipoint fuel injection 2.4i B5244S4 2004–2010 6000 4400 I5 20V Multipoint fuel injection T5 B5254T3 2005–2008 5000 1500–4800 I5 20V Turbo Multipoint fuel injection T5 B5254T7 2008–2012 5000 1500–5000 I5 20V Turbo Multipoint fuel injection
+Diesel enginesModelEngine code Model year(s)Power at rpmTorque at rpmDisplacementComment 1.6D D4164T 2005–2010 at 4000 at 1750 I4 16v Turbo Multipoint direct fuel injection 1.6D DRIVe D4164T 2005–2010 I4 16v Turbo Multipoint direct fuel injection D2 D4162T 2011–2012 at 3600 at 1750 I4 8v Turbo Common rail direct injection D2 DRIVe D4162T 2011–2012 I4 8v Turbo Common rail direct injection 2.0D D4204T 2004–2010 4000 at 2000 I4 16v Turbo Multipoint direct fuel injection 2.0D (France) D4204T2 2005–2006 4000 I4 16v Turbo Multipoint direct fuel injection D3 D5204T5 2011–2012 3500 1500–2750 I5 20v Turbo Common rail direct injection D4 D5204T 2011–2012 3500 1500–2750 I5 20v Turbo Common rail direct injection D5 D5244T8 2006–2010 4000 1750–3250 I5 2.4D (Belgium) D5244T9 2007–2008 5500 1750–2750 I5 D5 (Belgium) D5244T9 2009–2010 4000 1750–3000 I5 D5 D5244T13 2009–2010 4000 2000–2750 I5
Marketing Volvo launched an advertising campaign for the S40 titled The Mystery of Dalarö, using a documentary style video approach. The eight minute film was credited to fictitious Venezuelan film maker Carlos Soto. In fact, as was disclosed later, it was directed by Spike Jonze.