2012 V40 R-Design D3/D4......

[P44YNE]

Hi everyone,

Considering getting one of these to knock about in mainly back and forth to work.

I definetly want the R-Design and I definitely want either a D3 or D4.

I’d like a minimum of heated seats, the larger sat nav display, xenon(?) headlights and the premium sound.

Are there any other options I should look out for? Like I’ve heard that some have a heated windscreen and since I’m using a Ford right now, the heated windscreen is something I’d love to keep but didn’t know Volvo even offered it? Is the BLIS system worth having? Radar cruise over regular cruise? Etc.

Is the premium sound system worth holding out for? I do enjoy a well rounded, rich sound. But maybe the standard setup is good enough?

Manual or automatic? Which suits the car/engine best? I have no real preference whether it’s me or the car that chooses the cogs since it’s mainly a work hack.

Colour recommendations? I usually prefer dark colours, especially grey but the bright blue looks quite nice on photos but is it too much in person? Does it stand out or attract attention too much?

Anything to look out for? Any common problems with the car/engine? (I’ve been led to believe that the D3 and D4 are identical under the bonnet apart from the ECU mapping?)

I was originally going for a 2015> Focus 1.5TDCI Zetec but stumbled across one of these V40’s and really liked it! Plus the extra kit, good looks and basically same underpinnings for similar money is well worth going back a couple of years for!

I’ve watched and read pretty much all the reviews I can find but they are massively conflicting from journalist to journalist I’ve found.

Any info or opinions from owners would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance for anything useful or helpful!!

Craig.

[Petrolhead_Rich]

P44YNE said:

Hi everyone,

Considering getting one of these to knock about in mainly back and forth to work.

I definetly want the R-Design and I definitely want either a D3 or D4.

I’d like a minimum of heated seats, the larger sat nav display, xenon(?) headlights and the premium sound.

Are there any other options I should look out for? Like I’ve heard that some have a heated windscreen and since I’m using a Ford right now, the heated windscreen is something I’d love to keep but didn’t know Volvo even offered it? Is the BLIS system worth having? Radar cruise over regular cruise? Etc.

Is the premium sound system worth holding out for? I do enjoy a well rounded, rich sound. But maybe the standard setup is good enough?

Manual or automatic? Which suits the car/engine best? I have no real preference whether it’s me or the car that chooses the cogs since it’s mainly a work hack.

Colour recommendations? I usually prefer dark colours, especially grey but the bright blue looks quite nice on photos but is it too much in person? Does it stand out or attract attention too much?

Anything to look out for? Any common problems with the car/engine? (I’ve been led to believe that the D3 and D4 are identical under the bonnet apart from the ECU mapping?)

I was originally going for a 2015> Focus 1.5TDCI Zetec but stumbled across one of these V40’s and really liked it! Plus the extra kit, good looks and basically same underpinnings for similar money is well worth going back a couple of years for!

I’ve watched and read pretty much all the reviews I can find but they are massively conflicting from journalist to journalist I’ve found.

Any info or opinions from owners would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance for anything useful or helpful!!

Craig.

Sorry for the late reply, don't frequent PH as much as I used to, but as no-one else has replied, heres my opinion;

We got ours a year ago, I'm a long time Volvo fan and I think the V40 cannot be beaten for the money, go for as many toys as you can (theres very little price difference, the old (Pre 2014) D3/D4 were the Volvo 5 cylinder engine, which I prefer as it is smoother and has more power across more of the rev range, the 2014> models have a ford 4 cylinder engine in (the D2's have a peugeot lump which is known for problems and is totally gutless)

the heated windscreen is the ford patented one (they're basically a focus underneath) and is worth having

if going for an R-Design Nav you'll have BLIS and the built in sat nav display, some top end models also have a remote control for the ICE and a DVD player (can only be used when stationary and only one screen though, but still nice when sitting in on the eurostar etc) the audio systems are all pretty good too.

The radar cruise takes a bit of getting used to but can be a nice feature on long drives, the Automatic version will also have "creep mode" for traffic jams, whereas the manual will only work from 20+mph, you can set the radar cruise to a standard cruise by holding the button down for a few seconds.

We went for manual as the OH will be driving it and didn't fancy an auto, so I've only driven the manual V40's, but other volvo Auto's I;ve had have been pretty nice plus as mentioned if you go for a radar cruise model you have the creep mode in traffic!

Reliability wise, most of the complaints are DPF related and most seem to be on the peugeot engined D2 models, our 2013 D4 is now knocking on 93k with nothing but routine servicing, so as usual with volvo, a big tick in the box there!

Other options include the park assist (parallel park only), panoramic roof, plus theres various styling packs, but shop around because when we were looking there was literally £250 between a poverty spec model and a fully loaded model, the blue is nice and was our initial choice, but then we went for white (mainly due to the spec - we had previously said no to white until we saw it in the flesh!)

Hope this helps (and that you haven't gone and bought a 1.5 focus)

[P44YNE]

Thanks for the reply, very detailed and much appreciated. I haven’t made a purchase yet as I’ve not found a V40 with the correct engine, colour and spec that I want but I’m patient and aren’t in any rush to buy. I have however test driven a Focus 1.5 Zetec, simply because a dealership I drive past regularly had one on the forecourt. It drove extremely well, not fast but felt like it had enough urgency torque-wise. The main thing that impressed me was the steering and suspension. The steering is excellent, well weighted (just) and as direct as they come for this segment of car. The suspension was equally as impressive over rough and broken roads, the car seemed to flow along without any vibration or noise. Very impressed with it to be honest! I’m patient but if one of these pops up for the right money in the right colour and spec, I may just be tempted into one over the V40!

[P44YNE]

Thanks for the reply, very detailed and much appreciated. I haven’t made a purchase yet as I’ve not found a V40 with the correct engine, colour and spec that I want but I’m patient and aren’t in any rush to buy. I have however test driven a Focus 1.5 Zetec, simply because a dealership I drive past regularly had one on the forecourt. It drove extremely well, not fast but felt like it had enough urgency torque-wise. The main thing that impressed me was the steering and suspension. The steering is excellent, well weighted (just) and as direct as they come for this segment of car. The suspension was equally as impressive over rough and broken roads, the car seemed to flow along without any vibration or noise. Very impressed with it to be honest! I’m patient but if one of these pops up for the right money in the right colour and spec, I may just be tempted into one over the V40!