Volvo V40 Hatchback (2012 - 2019) D3 (4 Cyl 150bhp) Inscription 5d Geartronic Owner Review

The fact that this is the second V40 we have owned says something about our level of satisfaction. The original D3 SE LUX 13/62 endured only one fault (rear door locks failed) during >6years/>60k miles of ownership & was only changed in order to move to an automatic. After 15 months/10k miles the replacement not quite lived up to expectation. One radar camera has failed (under warranty), the grille mounted radar camera regularly clogs (debilitating driving aids) (unscratched) wheel paint is beginning to laminate & value engineers seem to have been let loose on the front seats which seem less supportive. However, having owned most of the competition ,VW Golf (less comfortable), BMW 1 Series (less reliable), Audi A3, that we still own, (less comfortable & under equipped), a well spec'd Volvo V40 represents much better value for money in all but one area, namely service costs! Whereas all the competitors apply a flexible service option, giving lower mileage drivers like us up to 20k miles/ 2 year intervals, Volvo stick religiously to an 18k/1 year schedule which doubles our service cost before we even start the engine!. An almost reliable, excellently comfortable car only let down by totally unnecessarily expensive service support.