I was rearended the other day and the whip system totally did it's job. Bravo! My paint is about 3 years old now and is still beautiful. The interior is spacious for a small sedan. The seat belts and child seat holders are excellent. The engine is the smallest I have ever owned, but the turbo makes up for it. Drives like a typical V6 and besides the occasional wierd downshift it is a very smooth ride. Even over bumbs and I'm am now 9 mths. pregnant.

The dash and interior is like white bread. No frills and fun stuff. The cupholders are not practical and the in-dash one does stick. Comes with 15's. Inexpensive new tires are good, but not pretty or sporty to look at. Does not have home link like many cars of today and the trunk release only unlocks the trunk instead of actually letting it pop open. I love cars. I loved my last car (BMW z3 hatchback) but it was not practical since I am with child. This car is too boring in fact that I can't help but long for something more fun. SOON!

I chose it for the safety features and the great price. The car was a demo with very low miles and it came with a full warranty. Felt like it was a good choice since I am with child. Safe and cheap. Since it was on the lot as a demo I'm sure it had been rode hard and it had some minor flaws as to be expected. The dealership fixed all of them, while lending me a loaner car. I've have noticed that it downshifts kind of rough and spontaneously when I take corners and try to accelerate. The strange thing is that it only does it sometimes. I need to take it in for that. I also just noticed a loose front headlamp. Will have to get that fixed too. Both of which are covered by the warranty. You get what you pay for with this car. It is the baby Volvo in every aspect (price,style,ammenities,engine size, etc...) except safety. One can't expect to pay half the price and get the whole bag of goodies.

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Acceleration Volvo Safety Good Handling/Stable Traction Control Styling (not a boxy Volvo for once!!) Good Mileage Nice Dealership Reliable

Weak Stereo EATS BRAKES! Expensive Maintenance Impossible Upholstery Small Gas Tank

Really nice car! The acceleration was great, I beat plenty of wannabe street racers in their Hondas etc. off the line. Very smooth ride, great handling and really good in the snow! I live in Colorado and the traction control helped me many times. One of the first to come out with side curtain airbags, I felt very safe after being in a flip/rollover accident. Volvo also appears to have stayed away from their usual "box-like" style. I drove on average 50 miles a day and it never failed me. The dealership was also very nice to me (being a young female, they actually explained everything to me instead of trying to trick me into buying crap that I didn't need). Very stable, all in all, I really liked it. My only complaints would be the horrific factory stereo system and weak speakers. I replaced my deck with an Alpine and I enjoyed that a lot, but left the speakers and ended up having to replace two blown ones. The brakes had to be replaced a total of 3 times in the course of two years, there were only 30,000 miles on it! Most of the scheduled check-ups were also very costly-after all it is a luxury car. Also, I had cloth seats and the upholstery was nearly impossible to clean. Even if I spilled water on it, there was a permanent spot. Also, the gas tank is really small. It gets good gas mileage (I normally got around 24-25 in town and 27-28 on the highway) but only holds 10 gallons.

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Acceleration Volvo Safety Good Handling/Stable Traction Control Styling (not a boxy Volvo for once!!) Good Mileage Nice Dealership Reliable

Weak Stereo EATS BRAKES! Expensive Maintenance Impossible Upholstery Small Gas Tank

Really nice car! The acceleration was great, I beat plenty of wannabe street racers in their Hondas etc. off the line. Very smooth ride, great handling and really good in the snow! I live in Colorado and the traction control helped me many times. One of the first to come out with side curtain airbags, I felt very safe after being in a flip/rollover accident. Volvo also appears to have stayed away from their usual "box-like" style. I drove on average 50 miles a day and it never failed me. The dealership was also very nice to me (being a young female, they actually explained everything to me instead of trying to trick me into buying crap that I didn't need). Very stable, all in all, I really liked it. My only complaints would be the horrific factory stereo system and weak speakers. I replaced my deck with an Alpine and I enjoyed that a lot, but left the speakers and ended up having to replace two blown ones. The brakes had to be replaced a total of 3 times in the course of two years, there were only 30,000 miles on it! Most of the scheduled check-ups were also very costly-after all it is a luxury car. Also, I had cloth seats and the upholstery was nearly impossible to clean. Even if I spilled water on it, there was a permanent spot. Also, the gas tank is really small. It gets good gas mileage (I normally got around 24-25 in town and 27-28 on the highway) but only holds 10 gallons.

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None.

7.5k miles between service is too far apart. Small cabin. Radio is passable. Doors too light.

Had to chang rear brake pads and rotors at 22k miles! Lots of stop-go traffic but to replace rotors is ridiculous. Dealer said wear-tear, ok but at least customer should be told about it before it becomes a big problem. Volvo spaced the checkup too far apart at 7.5k miles.

Acceleration, mpg, interior comfort, cargo space, a great looking car

OEM tires

This is a follow up to my original review. We have now had our V-40 for over a year and 23,000 miles. To date we are averaging just over 30 mpg. We have had no problems and are very happy with this car. The only thing that we have had to replace are the tires. We are not purchasing another set of Michellin MXV4. We are replacing them with Toyo Proxes FZ4 size 205/55-15. They are still V rated but have better siping and should offer a more quiet ride. My wife feels more stable in this car than she did in her previous car, a 2000 Land Rover Discovery Seris II.

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The dealership was great.

Transmission (4 repairs) Replacement Transmission (2 repairs) fuel gauge headlights brakes check engine light (4 repairs) Paint on Bumper defective (replaced) Cupholder (replaced) Steering Column (4 repairs, finally they replaced the Rack and Pinon) Air Conditioning Unit (4 repairs)

I had a horrible experience with the car, but an even worse experience with the company, Volvo! They did not resolve my issues and discouraged any kind of resolution. They violated the California Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act and the Tanner Consumer Protection Act section 1793.2. I was thoroughly frustrated and tired of dealing with VOLVO after 2 years of trying to get these issues resolved. Horrible customer service. All in all I had over 17 repair attempts, and 13 out of the 17 repairs, something was replaced. I finally was able to obtain an adequate resolution by contacting a lawyer! If you need a lawyer versed in California lemon law, please feel free to contact me and I will refer you to one!! Volvo needs to know and understand that they cannot push around their customers and continue to have a good reputation for reliability!!! If you have ANY kind of problem with your volvo, take it in and demand that it be fixed, right away! Don't let VOLVO bull you over like they tried to do to me!! My lawyer demanded Volvo buy back my vehicle, and finally they did. But not without legal persuasion. I hate to think that if I had not retained a lawyer..I would still be driving a lemon!!!

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Feel very safe. Steel side column plus front, side, and curtain airbags. Front seats collapse to reduce chance of whiplash. 3 anchor points for infant/toddler seats. The turbo charger gives you acceleration when you need it. Great braking distribution between front and rear pads...you don't feel like the car is lunging forward. Perhaps that's why the rear pads wore out so quickly. Checkers, NAPA, and ebay carry parts, so it's cheap to change oil, filters, plugs, brakes, etc. if you DIY. Priced near the Camry & Accord (1/3 - 1/2 of the Audi A8 locally). Good adjustments on the driver seat. Foam cover almost complete encases battery. Takes 87 octane and conventional motor oil.

Almost no leg room in the backseat if you move the front seats all the way back. The trunk is tiny compared to my Camry...have to rotate between baby stroller or golf clubs. Small gas tank so have to fill up more often. Have to have a moonroof (= future leaks) w/the sports package. Rear seat headrests (removable) hinder view when changing lanes to the right. Chilton & Haynes don't have a repair book out yet. Very little storage area in the cabin. Owner manual very sparse.

Love my car. Hate the dealership. Don't service your car there! After 2 months still don't have my title. It was a loaner car for the dealership in its previous life. Has about 15,000 miles on it now. The left outside mirror was loose and the rear brake pads needed changing (how do you wear out rear pads so quickly?). Other than that, it's been wonderful.

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The car looks ok, but is blown away by the Audi A4 in every comparison. I'd go for the A6 - it bigger and gets about the same gas milage.

Built in the Netherlands.

This car is produced in the Netherlands. As an American that has lived amoungst the Dutch it doesn't surprise me how many problems people are experiencing with these cars. The Dutch only work 4 days a week and have a socialized country. The government runs their lives and they are incapable of making any decisions or judgement calls. I can guarrentee that if a shift ends that the workers immediately run home to thier families and don't even bother finishing what they were working on. If you don't beleive me there is a book called "The Undutchable" that talks about their culture. The Dutch actually do manufacture some very popular products that are distributed world wide, such as Ecstacy, 85% of the world supply is from the Netherlands. It's also a nice place to visit because Marajana and Prostitution is legal in every city. The Dutch are also big on Bicycling manufacturing. They produce steel bikes that weigh over 35 pounds and are based on 1950's designs. Trust me you do NOT want to buy a car manufactured in the Netherlands, maybe some home grow weed, but not a car.

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Fast, solid, reliable car with great handling.

It's definitely the loudest car I've driven.

Mine was a demo car. I bought it with just under 5,000 miles on it. So far, I too have had the brake pads replaced at 19,000 miles...a little too soon, I thought. Other than that, I just had a temperature sensor replaced because AC began blowing warm air. Occasionally, it won't start for no apparent reason, but turns over on the second or third try. Overall, it's a great car. I like the price I paid, and the dealership is great. They provide a loaner car if you make an appt. in advance for service. Mine has 27,000 miles on it currently because I drive it alot for my job. After reading some of the horror stories, I am sorry I didn't buy the extended warranty because now I don't know what to expect.

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The ride is amazingly, wonderfully smooth. From the moment you close the door, to the moment you open it again at your destination, everything about the car feels firm, solid, and - big surprise - safe. The power delivery is just as smooth as the ride; mash the gas pedal down to pass someone on the highway, and you're going 90 without even feeling it. Plus, for added bonus, the guy behind you is scratching his head reading that 'Volvo' emblem.

Let's see... what actually HAS gone wrong with the car? There's a chip in the "wood" trim on my shifter. Yeah, I think that's about it. As for changes that should've been made: Chrome trimmed guages would be nice, aluminum with leather too - not just cloth, higher stereo, or at least angled up (your eyes need to be off the road too long - safety first, remember?), a "no seat-belt" chime is very mysteriously absent, but mostly, where's the manual transmission option?!

I don't know what happened to a third of the cars delivered to the people writing reviews here, but thank god it didn't happen to me. In the past 25k miles, my "check engine" light has come on ONCE. I went to the dealer, after reseting he asked me if I left the car running while I got gas. When I told him I did, he told me to stop. The light has never come on since. Oddly, I do recall a rattle in my driver-side door when the music was up loud enough, but I haven't heard it in months. Hmm. Was probably something I put in the door pocket. Let's see, what else? Oh, yeah, I'm still on my original set of brake pads, and ask any passenger - I drive this thing hard. As for smoothness, I felt comfortable enough at 135mph to see how loud it'd be inside if I opened and closed the sunroof. Uhm, really loud. Once sealed though, no bumps, no rattles, just pavement whizzing past. I work as a valet, and I must say that for this class - and most any other for that matter - I can't find an interior I enjoy being surrounded by more.

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Everything. Seriously, if it has four wheels, I've driven it.