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Volvo S40
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Comments
not saying that Volvo IS the safest car, just saying that one test (especially that specific test) where the Volvo didn't come out well doesn't mean it isn't safe.
But don't worry, the NEW S40 crashes just as well as the S80 while handles like the best German car even w/o the optional DSC stability control. But what really makes it even safer is its ability to PREVENT accidents to begin with due to the tall Swedes' decision to locate this door armrest so high(much higher than S60's) to allows your inexperienced (teenager)driver bracing the elbow on it while holding on to the 9-o'clock steering rim/spoke & operating the turn signal w/ head looking over the right shoulder all at the same time w/o affecting the steadiness of the steering!
My stupid '86 Volvo 760 Turbo(as if the Swedish climate slows down their people's brain function & took them so long to figure this out) has a low door armrest while the turn signal & the steering spoke are at the 10-o'clock position. So since my left hand was usually at the 8-o'clock position, I frequently skipped signaling while making lane changes that inevitably need to be done immediately.
i wouldn't be worried about the S40. it isn't really related to the old Focus at all.”
If the car is 100% related to the old Focus, than it should be even more reliable than any Japanese car. & I'm talking about the original bona-fide old Focus built in Germany, not the American copy/imposter.
It’s been many years in Germany that only Japanese took the reliability championship each year, but the good o’Focus changed it!
There are no Edmunds partners in my area (Birmingham, AL) and I've been corresponding with dealerships in Atlanta who not only say no discounts, but that these cars are flying off their lots at premium prices. Perhaps my expectations of getting at least a 10% discount from MSRP are unrealistic. Any suggestions for someone who wants this car and needs a dealership who will actually deal? Is the OSD perhaps a better way to go?
Edmunds neglected to post the invoice price for the Premium pkg for the T5, so thier numbers are off by almost $1900.
Other sites(who I can't name) have it right and their pricing guidelines are more realistic.
Hopefully, someone is paying attention and will rectify this.
Ultimately, it is the market that will set the price, right now its MSRP or close to it. Later the price will drop.
OSD will be available in August for the S40.
Savings off MSRP will be somewhere in the 8-10% range. This is ONLY thru OSD, and only because the importer Volvo Cars North America is not part of this sales process.
If the T5 is too costly for you I suggest the 2.4i.
Otherwise if you can wait 6 months or so for your car than OSD is an option.
The XC90 was available for OSD in April of 2003, but was discounted only in November.
It all depends on how strong the demand would be for the new model.
In case of XC90 the OSD discount came first, back in November the XC90 was sold pretty much at MSRP, at least in LA area, where I was shopping.
I also have learned from one friend of mine, former Volvo dealership finance manager, that Volvo cars of NA took a formidable position "advising" dealers against of selling cars over the MSRP. He was complaining about the fact that even the market can bear 10K price mark-up, he can not do that.(I can not guarantee the accuracy, though, however, I have not seen any marked-up XC90 at that dealership either, while I've seen people buying 5-6K "special trim" packages without even blinking, so that seems to be reasonable.)
The cars were in a short supply back then, and dealers were told, that if they will jack up a price, they would be put on a very bottom of the delivery list, which effectively will kill their sales.
So at the same time when Pilot was sold mega$$$ over the MSRP for the standard configurations, XC90 was sold at MSRP + any dealer installed gadgets they could come up with.
It made my loyalty to Volvo even stronger.
We should have S40 order and pricing info next month(hopefully), I believe we will see the standard discount being applied.
2004 disguised Mitsubishi Carisma or Camry LE
"(I currently drive a Volvo 740 GLE)."
That's 32.2-ft turning circle. No one can satisfy you these days! ;-)
One of the closest roomy sedans that still does w/o transversely-mounted engine just like your RWD 740 is the Audi-derived Passat, & hence has a decent turning circle. Per Consumer Reports, it is at least as comfortable as the Camry while superbly more nimble at accident-avoidance speed even more than the Accord. We leased one, & I find it surprisingly agile like a little car in the parking lot.
The old '04 S40 is just a disguised Mitsubishi Carisma. Why not get a disguised Audi A6 -- the Passat. People are getting it at $2k below invoice during March & April(one advertised at $17988 w/ std height-&-lumbar adjustment for BOTH front seats), so you might even be able to afford the 2.8 V6 w/ leather, wood, stability control(only $280 more on the base model), etc. The Audi(not VW) 2.8 engine on the Passat has none of the ignition-coil recall, but even the other engine -- the 1.8 turbo -- should run fine after the recall work's being done, if the late '04's still has the recall.
This plush-riding German(not Mexican or Brazilian)-built '04 VW is definitely CLASSES above the Japanese-derived crude-riding & not-so-reliable Dutch(not Deutsche)-built '04 S40.
The Passat has safety features like side curtain airbags, ABS & traction control all standard. Even the standard stability control on the upper models is only a $280 option on the base model, as the '04.5 new S40 charges $695 for all models!
The April '04 Consumer Reports(page 29-31) rated the Passat's overall safety score even higher than the Volvo S60 due to better "Accident avoidance" performance, let alone the old S40. The Camry has high safety rating only if you get the heavily loaded model, as the standard Camry LE trails behind the Volvo S60.
It is available separately as a dealer installed item.
Base T5's get the wood trim.
Thanks.
Tony
The interior is better in light colors that show contrast, like the light gray. I didn't love the volvo t tech but it seemed to be grippy. At this point I'm not used to the lower visibility and lower driving position that the car offers, I'm used to the 700/900, s70 driving position, so I felt like I never sat in a commanding position. It felt similar to driving a Passat in position, but with smaller windows. Seats are firmer than s60 and bigger Volvos, but supportive enough. They just don't have the plushness of the bigger Volvos. Car looks nice enough, I still find it truncated at the back. I like the red car with black base, as opposed to all red. For me, the s60 is still the best looking Volvo sedan and the s80 the most balanced, though aging. I'll say the s40 may look sportier in some ways than s60.
I didn't test acceleration and brakes. The cars run smoothly and have a different exhaust note than s60. There's not enough room to test these things though some drivers tried and got warning by Volvo personnel to slow it down.
I would need a more extensive drive, over bumps, over various types of roads, accelerating and merging, to get more of an idea. Still feels like a Volvo cruiser to me, not as tightly sprung as most German cars, but I'm not sure. I'd be able to tell over crests and bumps and such. I'm a little warmer on the interior but don't like the plastic molding on top of the doors. I don't feel the high arm rest that Creak is talking about and think the doors panels could be more organic. They feel a bit boxy. Center console looks good, though not necessarily revolutionary, even if it is. I'm more interested in the controls and placement on them and their layout. Interior is simple, maybe a bit too simple. I don't feel this car is a BMW 3 series competitor in how it feels. It may handle and perform well, but the overall feel isn't in that league. I'll go along with Acura TSX as competitor, not sure it matches Audi A4 feel either. The BMW competitor is the softer handling s60, that feels like a higher quality car, especially after going to it from sitting in an s40 that was right next to it.
s40 is nice car, but maybe still feels like an entry level Volvo and lower rung than the s60, v70, s80, xc90, which all feel fairly close to each other in quality. I'd have to think about the s40 and test and retest it. But I'd probably end up with the s60, I don't value handling that much over overall feel, here's where the s60 is superior and worth a little more money to me even if the back seat room is poor. The new s40 is a big improvement over the old, in solidity, handling, engine, tightness of chassis, and is an up-to-date car, complete with the silly integrated grill in bumper that would have to be replaced if bumper is damaged. What happened to the European form follows function? There are many concessions to style in most of the new European cars.
By the way, the current Passat is an old Passat based on the Audi's from the '90's. The new one coming next year has nothing to do w/ Audi, not even the V6, & like the new S40, the rear suspension is Focus-engineer engineered.
The current European minivan from VW/Ford, the Sharan/Galaxy, are based on the previous non-Audi-design VW Passat platform. The new ones are unrelated but share the new Focus-suspension-type of design in the rear. The next VW Sharan will be based on the next Passat, while the next Ford Galaxy will be based on a stretched S40(Focus II) platform.
If you don't mind 1st-yr European car's reliability & are considering the new S40, you can also wait another year & get the super-roomy new Passat, which looks like a cuter version of the $100k VW Phaeton & will be available w/ 3.2 VR6 engine.
I personally love the new S40's driving position especially w/ that high door armrest for my elbow, but will consider the T5 only when their charcoal filter becomes available in this country. Unlike the Audi-badged ones, current Passat also lacks the charcoal filter.
Also, as creakid1 pointed out, the Passat is based on an aged platform. A completely redesigned version is going to be introduced soon. If you go with the '04 Passat, make sure you are getting a very good price, because there will be additional depreciation once the new models arrive at the showrooms.
No doubt the Passat is a better driver than any Camry or Accord sedan, but it doesn't have the suspension tuning to be a sport sedan (except for possibly the very expensive W8 model). However, it is roomy, and it serves well as a fun-to-drive family sedan. It has a classy design to it.
The S40 is smaller and sportier. I completely believe that my S40 has the best steering of any FWD car I've driven. I'm also impressed with the safety that was engineered into this car.
Before I leased the S40, I considered several other models. To be honest, the Passat was not one of them. My list included the Acura TSX, Mazda 6s 5-door, Saab 9-3 Linear, Mercedes C230K, and a BMW 325i (which was only ruled out due to its price).
Its heavy nose on an Audi-layout only makes the handling clumsier.
Anyway, if you're getting a stripped Passat GL, don't forget to add the optional $280 ESP.
and I had been looking at the new TL when I happened to see the Volvo S40. Has anyone compared the two? How do you like your S40?
I too have an Acura TL (but not the S-Type) and have looked at several cars including the new Acura TL, TSX, the Volvo S40 T5 and a few others. From a pure price/feature standpoint, the TL is a great vehicle. I love how Acura puts virtually everything into the vehicle and have very few manufacturer options (like the navigation system). I've test drove the TL, TSX and the S40 and can't say anything bad about the Acura vehicles, however the S40 T5 was incredibly impressive. I love the look, it's more distinctive than the Acuras and it feels extremely quick. I like the compact size of the car as I think it helps it feel/look more sporty than the Acura TL. The insurance quote on the Volvo was less than the TL and the gas mileage is a a little better.
When the 2005's hit the dealer lots, I plan on getting a loaded silver S40 T5.
the present s40 and the 2005 model?
The only differences I am aware of between the 2004.5 and the 2005 is the addition of a Dynamic Package (I'm not sure if that's the official name) and a new color - Blue Benard Metallic. My understanding is that the Dynamic Package adds the front, side and rear lower moldings you see in the Volvo S40's pictured on the front of the 2004.5 brochure instead of the black molding you see most of the cars pictured in the brochure.
I'm waiting on the 2005 just because I don't like the 2004.5 designation and it will give me a couple more months to save up a bigger downpayment.
Tony
The Dynamic pkg gets a new 5 spoke 17" wheel.
Dynamic only available in Black, Silver and Red.
Eventually will be available in Flint Gray.
Warranties, by and large Volvo's are good reliable cars. Their repair expense isn't bad for a European car. A Honda is cheaper to fix and more people can work on them. An extended warranty is like insurance. Some people believe in insurance some don't.
1) a real documentary based on facts
2) a fake documentary entirely made-up by Volvo's hired advertising agency to mislead ppl and sell cars
3) a spoof documentary made-up by Volvo's hired advertising agency to entertain ppl and sell cars
thanks
The 1.9% from Volvo is a special rate and not subject to negotiation.