Volvo’s V40 hatchback has been updated for the 2014 model year with cleaner engines and a new touchscreen multimedia system.
There’s also an automatic gearbox available for V40s with the diesel D2 engine, which was previously manual-only. The D2 engine itself has been tweaked for improved emissions and fuel consumption, with manual versions now emitting 88g/km of CO2 (previously 94g/km) and averaging 83.1mpg, a 4.6mpg improvement.
As is usually the case, the automatic version isn’t quite as efficient with a CO2 output of 102g/km and average fuel consumption of 72.4mpg. It will be available across the range on the V40, the higher-performance V40 R-Design and the off-road V40 Cross Country.
There’s a new petrol engine too for the V40 and V40 R-Design: a four-cylinder 1.6-litre unit called the T2 with 118bhp and 240Nm of pulling power. This will average around 53mpg with CO2 emissions of 124g/km.
In terms of equipment, the biggest news is that the V40 will be available with the ‘Sensus Connected Touch’ multimedia touchscreen system already added to other models in the Volvo range.
The system connects to the internet via either the driver’s smartphone or a car-mounted 3G/4G plug-in dongle and allows access to an array of features, including access to music streaming services such as Spotify and internet radio. You can also use the system to browse the internet as you would with a home PC (although not while driving, naturally) and share a WiFi network with passengers in the car.
It’s displayed on an infra-red seven-inch touch-screen display, which can be operated while wearing gloves – a feature which Volvo says is a world-first. Many of the system’s Apps can also be controlled by voice activation.
The Sensus Connected Touch system is being rolled out across the majority of Volvo’s range from the end of April 2013 onwards, and we have more details here.
Prices for the revamped V40 will be announced in April and available to order from then onwards.
The updates bring the V40 into line with the rest of Volvo’s recently refreshed models, including the S60, V60, XC60, V70, S80 and XC70. The next model to be refreshed will be the XC90 off-roader, which will replaced with an all-new version next year.
