Volvo XC40 SUV Momentum D3 FWD 5d Owner Review
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In their own words
I was halfway between 4 and 5 stars for the simple reason that this is an excellent car in its basic configuration and the price/value equation gets worse as you move up the range. The Volvo philosophy is driven by safety and you pay a lot for gizmos that relatively competent drivers should be able to handle themselves. Sadly this specification is not now available as Volvo does not manufacture diesels anymore. I'll probably keep it until it is no longer allowed on the road.
Despite being on paper the lowest powered of the XC40 range the low down torque of the diesel makes it surprisingly agile when it needs to be. It is always a comfortable ride with a conventional suspension set up that seems very well suited to our often atrocious road conditions. If you like racing round public roads (which I do not) better go for the R-Design as the base model seats provide little lateral support.
Mine is a manual which takes a bit of getting used to with 6 forward gears and a tendency to stall if you are in the wrong one and a confusing restart process - either press the clutch or the ignition switch. I've got used to it but an automatic (over a grand extra) is no less economical and much easier for occasional drivers.
How reliable do you find the car?
Given lockdown it has done only a few thousand miles in my ownershipDoes the car do everything you expected it to do?
Surprisingly economical on short journeys. Excellent ride and the road holding seems no worse than the Four Wheel Drive version and is more economical. The absence of bells and whistles of higher spec models is barely missed, a lot of which is often infuriating to use. For example adaptive cruise control is far too cautious - the car will decelerate if you come within 200 metres of a slower vehicle making moving out into the passing lane on motorways far too early. Lane assistance is also a pain for the same reason. Tons of space for back seat passengers and lots of thoughtful gadgets to hold luggage in place, even a plastic clip on the windscreen to hold parking tickets. Only downside is the complicated software. Auto stop sometimes works and sometimes doesn't. The download to use Google Maps rather than the pretty useless Apple system does not want to work either.About their car
- Fuel type Diesel
- When purchased June 2020
- Condition when bought Used
- Current Mileage 7,000 miles
- Average MPG 49 mpg
