Volvo V40 Hatchback (2012 - 2019) D4 (190bhp) R DESIGN Lux Nav 5d Owner Review

D4 Engine (190BHP) is fantastic. The car accelerates effortlessly from 40mph - 70mph and makes overtaking or speeding up to join a motorway a joy. Build quality is excellent, the car feels solid and very well put together. R Design ride is stiffer than non R Design models but is not harsh and the car feels well planted on the road with minimal body roll. Interior is excellent, good choice of materials make the interior luxurious but contemporary without being flashy. Auto climate, media, sat nav, bluetooth are all intuitive and easy to use. There is also a USB port in the center console. Colour change theater lighting and different dashboard options on the TFT display are a nice touch, as is the built in hard drive for storing my music. Full leather heated seats are very comfortable and have loads of adjustment options. The cruise control and speed limiter are great - very easy to use - all controlled with your left thumb on the steering wheel. Both can be adjusted easily as speed limits change with clear indication of current set-points on the speedometer. No need to take your eyes of the road. 40:60 split rear seats fold down easily with one hand and boot space is reasonable for a car of this size. The front passenger seat folds flat forward which is useful for carrying long items. I am very pleased with the car so far. I purchased a genuine Volvo spare wheel for mine as it only came with a sealant kit. It fitted in the boot well with no loss of boot space. I have the lower boot floor option and there was no need to purchase the raised floor to accommodate the spare. I also had the Volvo dog guard fitted as unlike other makes it has a 60:40 split and bolts to the back of the rear seats so can stay in place when the seats are dropped. I also use the car to carry bikes on the roof and can recommend the genuine Volvo (made by Thule) roof bars and bike carriers, which after the initial setup take less than 10 mins to fit each time. Only niggles so far is that both 12v sockets are in the centre console - would have preferred one in the back for the rear seat passengers and one in the boot also.