Our V40 D4 R-Design
 

Really just to test the new section (already have a thread in the showroom section).

Our new 2013 D4 R-Design Geartronic
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7310/8...c35412b7_b.jpg

Together with the 780
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5333/8...75ecf010_b.jpg

Reflection of the V40 in my "german" car...
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7361/9...2081a327_b.jpg

Christ that is some amazing fantastic "orange peel" in the BMW, but very "BMW" as it will be in the primer layer.

Lovely V40 although I just could not own a black car.

Why not a black car?

Very nice! Test drove one recently and was pleasantly surprised. Shame there's not just a teeny bit more headroom in the back for tall people! But lovely car!

Gets dirty far to quickly and the issues in summer are even worse - pollen on them hours after waste of time.

Hehe, I know what you mean! Have had black cars only (780 excl) since 2006 and it feels like I've done nothing but washing cars ever since!

Looks nice, do like them in black!
Fan of Passion Red myself, mine has just landed and will be in my hands over the next few days!

Spec, pics?

Only just got it home so will post pics if weather allows tomorrow!

Great-looking car there! And one of these new V40s parked next to it, I see. :D

A pre-historic one! IMO, a pure Volvo :D

Looks smashing in black! Just picked mine up a couple of weeks ago, it's Rebel Blue, looks amazing, black was my second choice but my missus pushed me towards the blue as she loved it :P

How is the D4 engine? The D3 is great, nice and flexible, loads of overtaking grunt, the D2 made more sense financially as it's a company car but I'm not putting up with a weedy 1.6!

Thanks!

Wife used to have a 2009 S40 2.0D Geartrionic before so a bit more oomph than the 136bhp was on the cards and I (as well as she) finds the D4 very very powerful for the german autobahn's. Overtaking is a pure breeze.

Personally I find the D4 to be perfect! The 5-cyl engine makes a nice growl (as I am sure you know!) and there's plenty of torque too.

The only real downturn for me is the super hard suspension of the R-Design. It's even harder than my trickery suspension (Adaptive Drive) on the 5-series set on Sport or Sport+! But the super comfortable seats with real quality leather make up for it.

Ours is on order ..... due mid november now :thumbs_down:

V40 Rdesign Lux D4 manual ....went for silver. It's an easy colour to look after
Our current car is black and only looks lovely when clean.

we opted to keep the 17" wheels rather than the 18's

I'll post some pics when it arrives.


I've driven a D2....whats the D4 like? we have the D5 V50 at minute
and it's quick if driven hard and makes a lovely noise but its very seddate
compared to our punchy Golf GT sport which has far less torque

Congrats on new car! What options did you go for?

I agree that Black is really nice when clean.....silver should make your life alot easier when it comes to cleaning the beast!

You will NOT be unhappy with the D4. More or less the same engine as the D5 you have (similar power) and the tyres will go up in smoke if not careful as the V40 is a much lighter car that the V50.

If you have the Geartronic on the D5 I would think this really kills that engine and I am not surprised that it feels sedate compared to the Golf. Saying that the Golf also weights alot less. It's a different story on the new D4 however as the engine and gearbox really seems to work in harmony. Pushing the lever over to the manual mode engages the Sport mode. Wow. Car becomes a lunatic!!

We also went for the 17" and apart from being super easy to clean (easiest wheels I've ever cleaned!) the do look good. The 18" would have been "nicer" but wife refused to to parking scrapes and the like. So far, no damage made :D

Thanks ....... I guess that not many people opt for the D4 due to the cost?

our D5 is a manual so has identical power and torque as the D4.....
so 180ps and 400nm. I'm hoping for the new one to drive as nice

The Golf we have is the 170PD Diesel and is far more lively in the lower revs
but does not sounds as nice as the 5 pot.

We got the LUX 6 speed manual version and only added the rear privacy glass. We are leasing the car so didn't want to add too much as it adds to the monthly payment on the retail price.

we wanted white but worked out better to get a metallic colour.
We wanted to empasise the grey inserts on the bumpers etc but
ultimately wanted something easy to look after.

The black one we have now can't be washed in sun and gets dusty easy but looks the best when it comes down to the depth of shine. I've seen a few black ones and really like them but it was the Mrs's decision as its her car !

We have 18" wheels now and tyres have been expensive - The V40 comes with 225/45/17 which is a common and popular size
And our winter wheels should fit straight on too.

I am sure you'll be more than happy with that car :) Haven't yet seen a silver one (only Blacks, Grey, Red, White and various Blue ones).

i think the uk have different specs to germany?

Do you have the 'lux' version? check it here:-

http://www.volvocars.com/uk/sales-se...figurator.aspx

it has the xenon lights, full leather interior etc....

It's called "R-Design Summon" here but it is more or less the same (to lazy to compare like for like). But this was only introduced with last price changes and various updates to other models. We took delivery on 10th May and had to add a few packs to get what we wanted.... but these were the options:

Geartronic (with Start/Stop)
Sapphire Black Metallic
Active Bending Headlights
Heated Front Seats
Heated Rear Seats
Heated Windscreen
Tempa Spare Wheel
Rear Park Assist
Rear Park Assist Camera
17” Ixion Wheels
Cruise Control
Frameless Autodimming Rear View Mirror
Flexible Load Floor with Grocery Bag Holder
Leather Seats
Navigation System
Premium Sound Multimedia System
Keyless Start & Drive
3 Years Servicing

Ah i see.

we opted for the lux as we wanted some toys. As follows:-

Bright silver Metallic
xenon Active Bending Headlights
Heated Front Seats
Heated Windscreen
17” Ixion Wheels
Cruise Control
Frameless Autodimming Rear View Mirror
Leather Seats
Premium Sound Multimedia System with bluetooth
Keyless Start & Drive
Rear privacy glass

i have since bought a spare wheel off ebay for £20 and will find a jack and tool kit closer to the time.

same as this

http://www.volvocars.com/uk/sales-se...BSload=2362515

Nice!

No navigation system?

decided not to bother ...... the dash looks no different
and can get a lot of alternative and transferable generic sat nav for the money so we decided to save the £30 a month it would have cost us.

originally looked and the 'lux nav' version.

• V40 D3 R-Design Lux
• Rebel Blue paintwork.
• Winter Pack (really wanted the heated windscreen due to where I live).
• Premium performance stereo/multimedia.
• Auto dimming mirror.

Tossed and turned about adding the sports pack, didn't bother in the end as it's only a mile muncher and I have a second car for fun anyway.

Brilliant, brilliant car.

how does it compare to the BMW when driving? quality etc?

Nice :thumbs_up:

Pics pls :D

Well.... not so easy to compare, but if we ignore the engines and the weight of the german, I would say that the Volvo is incredible agile and great through corners. It's also quite stable at speed but once you start passing the 135mph mark, then the Volvo becomes a bit "choppy" on the motorway. Not sure why... have checked the tyre pressures (correct) but perhaps it's due to the ultra hard suspension?! Steering is very quick on the V40 and I would disagree with anyone who thinks Volvo does not have feedback through its steering.

You can feel that power through the steering wheel but it's not as bad as the 850 T5's were when they came out (ie twitching to left and right).

The Volvo has the very destinctive warble from it's 5-cyl engine which is very entertaining to listen to. Gives a reason to down turn the awesome Premium Sound System and listen to the engine only!

Quality - I find the Volvo on par or above in many areas of all german makes (Audi comes to mind). Only in certain places have Volvo saved a few quid by using less desirable plastics/cheaper materials (ie footwells) than in the rest of the car.

The quality of the Volvo leather is by far superior to most other car makers IMO. Including the more expensive offerings of "Nappa" etc. Volvo use really good stuff. Soft, supple, comfortable yet suporting seats are known to be the best in the business - for years!

I don't really want to go on about how good the german is (it is actually very good) as I am a Volvo man at heart, but started to look at other car makes as Volvo is refusing to be more "interesting" in the engine department + very expensive to buy/lease in Germany. In the UK I drove Volvo for almost all of my 15 yrs living there!

I did do a short write up on the forum between a Hertz rental V70 and my 5-series estate (see below).

.....

A Volvo will ALWAYS be a fantastic car IMO. Big, comfortable, safe, does the job perfectly fine etc etc. I guess this is the reasons most people buy one. However, in my case, I want a 6-cyl diesel engine - something Volvo haven't done for years (nor seems to want to release in order to compete with the 3 germans).

As for comparison....well, both have their good and bad.

Volvo V70
Good: A very large car, has the best leather quality (on par with the "Nappa" offerings of the Germans, a costly optional extra), fantastic climate control system. After a few tweaks, fantastic sound from the stereo - with or without the Premium Sound option. Silent. Good load ability of the boot with its straight (-ish) windows. I like the new digital speedo's and the Sat Nav + whole system very much. Lots of toys to play with!

Bad: 5-cyl diesels are very agricultural - in particular the D5 IMO. Geartronic gearboxes are getting better, but still miss that little to be at the top. Terrible design at the rear - whoever made it should be fired! Engines could be both much cleaner and more powerful to compete better (the former is a bit strange coming from Sweden with its huge distances and super clean thinking of the environment etc). Volvo could be alot braver with the interior colour options. A little choppy in the ride - not convinced this is down to the 18" wheels when driving on super smooth german autobahns though.

Bmw 5-series Touring
Good: Engine (would be as I have the 535D and 313bhp - tuned to 265bhp), 8-speed auto, sport seats are very comfortable. Leather is of nice quality. Feel just as safe in this car as in the Volvo. Sat Nav and the whole setup of the system is almost as good now (was better before) as in the Volvo with the latest Sensus software. Love the options of other interiour colours than just black or beige. Super clean engines compared to everyone else. I do love the looks of the 5-series saloon or estate, especially in sport (the latter I have).

Bad: Drug dealer image. Standard seats are crap IMO and one needs to spend top money for better ones. Everything is costly extra's. Not as big inside as the V70, especially the load area.

Which one is best I could not tell. I like them both! I like my wife's new V40 very much (although she won't let me drive it too often!). Volvo's are safe and dependable cars that probably won't let you down, ever. I think it's only really the (hardcore) engine and drive which I really do like of the 535D compared to the Volvo.

My pref option would be a Volvo with a 6-cyl diesel engine around the same output (say in the range of 280-300bhp) as in the Bmw. Then I would be the first to order one!

we love our V50 - it's like a comfy shoe. You know you can get in and drive for hours and get out again ok.

We've done a tour of Germany in it and it put my mates E61 520d M sport to shame on the autobahns.....We were travelling back from Fussen to Creglingen and were on a straight stretch of unrestricted autobahn. So off i went and he was losing ground on me. He wasn't best pleased to say the least !

The volvo build quality and reliability has been better than the previous VAG and BMW's we've owned.

We are hoping the V40 will be as good and if not better - we had a D2 V40 as a hire car in may while in croatia and enjoyed having it. Boot was a bit small for luggage and baby buggy but we managed

The luggage area is a real downturn on the V40. We used the V40 to the UK in June for various business meetings + a stop at the BKV and it was difficult to fit everything in for 3 people. However, the car performed superb!

IMO the 520d is a bit under powered even though it is not "slow" and will reach very fast speeds, eventually. No wonder your V50 kicked his E61 :D My F11 has been tuned to 365bhp so not much that can keep up with it (it shaved off 4.5s between 50-130mph!). Except that M5 that was behind me the other day.... although there were no way for me to tell the difference looking at him in my rear view mirror!

I am off to Sweden in October for a couple of trips and have booked a V40 on both trips as a rental car. Be interesting to see what I get, especially as I've booked an automatic on both occasions!

thats our worry - V50 boot isn't massive but a large surface area thats flat - it will be missed. I liken the boot on the V40 to the e87 1er.

The mk5 golf will become the workhorse. I have my other car for weekend kicks !

You do get about fella ! how come you ended up in Germany?
I've been to Stuttgart a few times with work this year. I am a big fan of Germany. The Meilenwerk in Boeblingen is worth a visit for any car nut.

Long story short.... I am swedish, moved to Colchester in -96 and onto Cologne in 2010. Saw the 780 first time in 1985 and swore I would, eventually, buy one. Have one since 2009 which was 1 of only 2 in the UK when it was regged there. So despite driving a german, I do keep my Volvo genes alive with that :)

The Meilenwerk in Stuttgart is very nice and actually the last one they built. The other sites are in Berlin and Dusseldorf. Both worth a look for, as you say, car nuts.

What other car do you have?

I've got a 1990 mk two golf gti. Its an ongoing project and money pit.

I work in automotive engineering so get to some pretty cool places.
Spent a week twice this year in boeblingen. The meilenwerk is pretty impressive
to walk around.

Eating Food in the wichtel while sitting outside watching awesome cars pull up is
A nice place to be

I will do if it ever stops raining and generally being foggy and **** here in Aberdeen :(

As for boot space, it's fine for us currently as there is only me and my missus but yeah, it isn't massive, I think we'd probably cope if a nipper arrives but if it became a struggle then it'd have to go for something bigger.

Sounds great! Stuttgart is the home of German cars (well, almost all!) and the city itself is, albeit small, quite interesting. The Black Forest nearby is wow!

Ever in Cologne, give us a shout!

Sounds like a great idea. I bet that rebel blue is interesting. Never seen it except on pics.

Btw, that weather reminds me of many days down in Essex and you probably won't like the fact that today (after a couple of weeks of rain btw!) we had 24C and sun.....

Not been to koln for years. Used to deal with johnson controls.
Last time I was there stayed at welmerkirchen?

I think you mean Wermelskirchen, just south of Wuppertal? Nice area...

Lovely gasthof called zum schwann (the swan)

Sounds to me that you would like to go back for a visit! :D

Not far from us, there's a great restaurant called Ville Express in Liblar. It is housed in 6 or 7 old railway wagons with a steam loco to match from 1945!

As I always say "only in Germany!".

Never had a bad time in germany tbh

The early part of the weekend was lovely, all turned to crap now though! :<