compact
Compact as used in politics may refer broadly to a pact or treaty; in more specific cases it may refer to:
* Interstate compact
* Blood compact, an ancient ritual of the Philippines
* Compact government, a type of colonial rule utilized in British ...
and subcompact executive automobiles marketed and produced by the Swedish manufacturer
Volvo Cars
Volvo Cars ( sv, Volvo personvagnar, styled VOLVO in the company's logo) is a Swedish multinational manufacturer of luxury vehicles headquartered in Torslanda, Gothenburg. The company manufactures SUVs, station wagons, and sedans. The company ...
from 1995 to 2012.
The first generation (1995–2004) was introduced in 1995 with the S40 (S from saloon) and V40 (V from versatility, estate) cars.
The second generation (2004–2012) was released in 2004, and the estate variant's name changed to V50.
The range was replaced by the Volvo V40 five door hatchback in 2012.
__TOC__
First generation (1995–2004)
During August 1995, Volvo released its new series, with the intention of calling the cars S4 and F4. However, as Audi had already reserved the "S4" name, Volvo opted to name the range S40 (saloon), and V40 (estate). These cars were manufactured at the
Nedcar
VDL Nedcar is an automotive manufacturing company in Born, Netherlands. Since December 2012 it has been owned by the Dutch industrial conglomerate VDL Groep. Previous owners were Mitsubishi Motors and Volvo Cars. The company had its origins in a ...
factory at Born in the Netherlands (a pre Ford joint venture between Volvo and
Mitsubishi Motors
is a Japanese multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan.Mitsubishi Carisma, later used by the
Proton Waja
The Proton Waja is a saloon car manufactured by Malaysian automotive company, Proton, first released in May 2000.
The name ''Waja'', which means ''(strong as) steel'' in Malay has both physical and abstract connotations. In the United Kingdom ...
. They were also the last Volvos to be produced at the Born plant; a lineage that had begun in the early 1970s with Volvo's collaboration with DAF that had led to the
Volvo 66
The Volvo 66 sprang directly from the DAF 66, which was originally styled by Giovanni Michelotti. The compact car was introduced in August 1975, almost exactly a year after Volvo Cars, Volvo bought DAF Trucks, DAF, and before production of the Vol ...
and the
Volvo 300 series
The Volvo 300 Series is a rear-wheel-drive small family car sold from 1976 to 1991, both as a hatchback and (from 1984) as a conventional notchback saloon.
It was launched in the Netherlands shortly after Volvo acquired a major stake in the ...
.
In the United Kingdom, it cost approximately 50% more than the related Mitsubishi Carisma. The car helped change perceptions of Volvo: The S40/V40 range was the car that finally persuaded buyers that Volvo really could build a credible compact executive car", reported the RAC. For the 2000 model year, Volvo expanded the S40/V40's market to North America, where went on sale exclusively with the 1.9 liter turbo.
The V40, with a
drag coefficient
In fluid dynamics, the drag coefficient (commonly denoted as: c_\mathrm, c_x or c_) is a dimensionless quantity that is used to quantify the drag or resistance of an object in a fluid environment, such as air or water. It is used in the drag e ...
of 0.32, was the first whole model to be introduced under the direction of the British designer
Peter Horbury
Peter D. Horbury (born 27 January 1950)Uzel, Susan, ''The Yorkshire Post'', "Profile - Peter Horbury: Vice president’s lifelong hobby of making cars better by design", 29 Nov 2011 accessed 1 May 2020 is a British car designer who is Executive V ...
, Volvo’s design director, and was marketed in Australia, South America and the Far East. The V40 was named the ‘Most Beautiful Estate Car in the World’ at an Italian award ceremony. The official premiere was at the
Frankfurt Motor Show
The International Motor Show Germany or International Mobility Show Germany, in German known as the ''Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung'' (''IAA'' – International Automobile Exhibition), is one of the world's largest mobility shows. It cons ...
, in September 1995, with the V40 premièring in December 1995, at the
Bologna Motor Show
The Bologna Motor Show (known as the "''Salone internazionale dell'auto e della moto di Bologna''" in Italian) was an auto show which was scheduled to be held annually in December, in Bologna, Italy.
The editions of 2009 and 2012 were the shor ...
.
In July 2000, Volvo updated the 40 Series ("Phase II"), implementing a number of technical improvements, including improved engine management, diesel direct fuel injection, extra safety features, larger brake discs, new front suspension and steering, revised rear suspension, larger tyres and a wider track.
A minor facelift gave more streamlining, slightly different front wings and front bumper, and larger front indicators, as well as minor instruments and fascia re design.
The 40 Series cars were equipped with four-cylinder engines, such as a 1.9 turbo diesel or 1.6 (1588 cc), 1.8 (1731 cc, later increased to 1783cc), 2.0T (1948 cc), 1.9 T4 (1855 cc, later increased to 1948cc) or 2.0 (1948 cc) fuel injected gasoline engines all of which are derivatives of the Volvo Modular engine series that started life in the Volvo 960 and carried in both 5 and 6 cyl formats in Volvo's bigger FWD cars.
There was also a 1.8 L (1834 cc)
petrol direct injection
Gasoline direct injection (GDI), also known as petrol direct injection (PDI), is a mixture formation system for internal combustion engines that run on gasoline (petrol), where fuel is injected into the combustion chamber. This is distinct fro ...
engine provided by Mitsubishi as part of the platform sharing between the 40 series and the Carisma. The Volvo S40/V40 series was a completely new car from the ground up, only one engine – the 1.9 turbo diesel – carried over from the old 400 Series.
The low (2.0T) and high (1.9 T4) pressure turbo variants were positioned at the top of the motor range. The 2.0T was rounded down and badged as 1.9T and was the only engine available in North America. The five speed manual transmission, widely available in Europe, was not certified in North American S40s, with the five speed automatic as the only option. No electric CVT was planned, unlike the 440 HTA / High Tech Auto CVT that had been released before the 400 series was completely phased out.
In the United Kingdom, trim levels were S, XS, SE and CD. Later on, trim levels offered were supplemented with SE Lux and Sport Lux trim designations. A limited edition 'Xi' trim level was also offered for a short run on Phase 1 and Phase 1.5 cars, often painted yellow with black bezel headlamps.
The Volvo S40 was the first car to earn a four star
Euro-NCAP
The European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) is a European voluntary car safety performance assessment programme (i.e. a New Car Assessment Program) based in Leuven (Belgium) formed in 1996, with the first results released in February ...
safety rating.
Engines
Sales
S40
V40 sales
Total Produced 423,491
Motorsport
The S40 was homologated for racing in the
Super Touring
Super Touring, Class 2 or Class II was a motor racing Touring Cars category defined by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) for national touring car racing in 1993. It was based on the "2 litre Touring Car Formula" created ...
category on 1 January 1997. It competed in the
British Touring Car Championship
The Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship is a touring car racing series held each year in the United Kingdom, currently organised and administered by TOCA. It was established in 1958 as the British Saloon Car Championship and was renamed as ...
with
Tom Walkinshaw Racing
Tom Walkinshaw Racing (TWR) was a motor racing team and engineering firm founded in 1976, in Kidlington, near Oxford, England, by touring car racer Tom Walkinshaw.
The company initially handled privateer work before entering works touring ca ...
between 1997 and 1999 with
Rickard Rydell
Rickard Rydell (born 22 September 1967) is a retired Swedish racing driver. He won the 1998 British Touring Car Championship, the 2011 Scandinavian Touring Car Championship, and has also been a frontrunner in the European/World Touring Car Cham ...
1998 AMP Bathurst 1000
The 1998 AMP Bathurst 1000 was the 40th running of the Bathurst 1000 touring car race. It was held on 4 October 1998 at the Mount Panorama Circuit just outside Bathurst. It was the second year of the controversial split between race organise ...
. The S40 also competed in the
Australian Super Touring Championship
The Australian Super Touring Championship (formerly known as the Australian 2.0 Litre Touring Car Championship) was a CAMS-sanctioned national motor racing title for Super Touring Cars.
History
Super Touring was introduced into Australia in 1993 ...
with
Volvo Dealer Racing
Volvo Dealer Racing, known originally as the Volvo Dealer Team and occasionally as Volvo 850 Racing or Volvo S40 Racing was an Australian motor racing team that first appeared in 1994 racing in Group E production car racing and at the Bathurs ...
in 1998 and 1999, with Volvo winning the Manufacturers Championship in its second year. It also competed in the
Swedish Touring Car Championship
Swedish Touring Car Championship (STCC) was a touring car racing series based in Sweden, but also with rounds in Norway. They began operating in 1996, heavily influenced by the British Touring Car Championship and the success of BTCC racing on Sw ...
Volvo V50
The Volvo V50 is the station wagon version of the Volvo S40 small family car first unveiled at the 2003 Bologna Motor Show, both assembled at Ghent, Belgium. Sharing the Ford C1 platform with the European Ford Focus and the Mazda 3, the V50 ...
, for convertible variant, see
Volvo C70
The Volvo Group ( sv, Volvokoncernen; legally Aktiebolaget Volvo, shortened to AB Volvo, stylized as VOLVO) is a Swedish multinational manufacturing corporation headquartered in Gothenburg. While its core activity is the production, distributio ...
, for hatchback, see
Volvo C30
The Volvo Group ( sv, Volvokoncernen; legally Aktiebolaget Volvo, shortened to AB Volvo, stylized as VOLVO) is a Swedish multinational manufacturing corporation headquartered in Gothenburg. While its core activity is the production, distributio ...
''
Introduced in the beginning of 2004, the second generation S40 (known as the 2004.5 Volvo S40) introduced a new design based on the Volvo P1 platform built at the Volvo Cars factory in
Ghent
Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded i ...
, Belgium. At the same time, the V40 was replaced by the estate V50, also based on the P1 platform and built in Ghent.
The S40 was nominated for the ''
World Car of the Year
The World Car Awards (formerly World Car of the Year, WCOTY) is a group of automobile ''Car of the Year'' awards selected by a jury of 82 international automotive journalists from 24 countries. Cars considered must be sold in at least five countr ...
'' award for 2005, and won the
Canadian Car of the Year Canadian Car of the Year winners, as chosen by the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada:
Canadian Car of the Year
2014
:Canadian car of the year: Mazda 6
:Canadian Utility vehicle of the year: Jeep Cherokee
:Best New Small Car (under $21, ...
''Best New Sport Compact'' award for 2005. It was also elected the ''South African
Car of the Year Car of the Year (COTY) is a common abbreviation for numerous automotive awards.
The "Car of the Year" phrase is considered to have been introduced by ''Motor Trend'' magazine in 1949 when the new publication named Cadillac as Motor Trend Car of the ...
'' for 2005 by the ''South African Guild of Motoring Journalists''.
The chassis for this car and the majority of its components were developed by Volvo, however similar mechanical components can be found in the
Mazda3
The Mazda3 (known as the Mazda Axela in Japan (first three generations), a combination of "accelerate" and "excellent") is a compact car manufactured by Mazda. It was first introduced in 2003 as a 2004 model, replacing the Familia/323/Protegé ...
and the European
Ford Focus
The Ford Focus is a compact car (C-segment in Europe) manufactured by Ford Motor Company since 1998. It was created under Alexander Trotman's Ford 2000 plan, which aimed to globalize model development and sell one compact vehicle worldwide. The ...
. It had the latest generation of Volvo's modular five cylinder engines.
The inline fives were frequently improved upon by Volvo since the engine's debut in 1991 for the 1992 model year Volvo 850. The top-of-the-line S40/V50 T5 AWD, as well as the 2.4 and 2.4i, powertrain is still made by Volvo. The transmission is developed with
Getrag
Getrag (), stylized as GETRAG, was a major supplier of transmission systems for passenger cars and commercial vehicles. The company was founded on 1 May 1935, in Ludwigsburg, Germany, by Hermann Hagenmeyer; as the ''Getriebe und Zahnradfabrik ...
at Volvo's Koping Transmission Center in Sweden, and the AWD system bought from
Haldex Traction
Haldex Traction is a manufacturer of intelligent all-wheel drive (AWD) systems, founded in Sweden. Since invention of Gen I in 1998, the company produced several generations of products licensed to and customized for some major automotive brands, ...
of Sweden.
The S40/V50 T5 (one of the several variants) features the 2.5 L B5254T3 (later B5254T7) (2521 cc) five-cylinder
fuel-injected
Fuel injection is the introduction of fuel in an internal combustion engine, most commonly automotive engines, by the means of an injector. This article focuses on fuel injection in reciprocating piston and Wankel rotary engines.
All com ...
engine with a light pressure
turbocharger
In an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (often called a turbo) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to pro ...
DOHC
An overhead camshaft (OHC) engine is a piston engine where the camshaft is located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier overhead valve engines (OHV), where the camshaft is located below the combustion cha ...
design.
The engine is transversely mounted at the front of the vehicle and was available with the M66W (front wheel drive) or M66C (all wheel drive) drivetrains. In the United States, the manual (six speed) transmission was only available on the V50 in 2006, 2007 and 2010 and only with AWD and R-line trim.
The initial 2.0 diesel engine was the DW10, produced by PSA. A new range of engines and transmissions were introduced at the end of May 2010 (see "engine specifications" below).
There was also 1.8 L (Mazda L engine) petrol version available in the European markets.
Marketing
Volvo launched an advertising campaign for the S40 titled ''The Mystery of Dalarö,'' using a documentary style video approach. The eight minute film was credited to fictitious
Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
n film maker Carlos Soto. In fact, as was disclosed later, it was directed by Spike Jonze.
The film is set on 25 October 2003, where 32 people supposedly purchased a Volvo S40, at the same local Volvo dealership in
Dalarö
Dalarö is a locality situated in Haninge Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden with 1,199 inhabitants in 2010.
It is situated south-east of Stockholm and is part of Metropolitan Stockholm and serves as a recreational summer spot for Stockholm ...
, a small village to the south east of Stockholm. In addition to this film, a four minute documentary of the documentary, calling into question the validity of the events, was posted as Soto's "personal edit" on his alleged homepage.
The S40 was the first Volvo car to be launched in China by the brand under the
Changan Ford
Changan Ford (; full name Changan Ford Automobile Co., Ltd.) is a Chinese automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Chongqing. It is a 50/50 joint venture between local Changan Automobile and US-based Ford Motor Company. The company's p ...
joint venture and commenced production in March 2006. Engines choices consisted of the 2.0, 2.4 and 2.5 litre petrol engines paired with either a 5 speed manual or 6 speed dual clutch gearbox.
Facelift
The S40 was refreshed for April 2007. Improvements include improved audio systems, increased storage space and new safety features like emergency brake lights which flash rapidly during hard braking to alert traffic behind the car. The new S40 also comes with optional active bi xenon headlights which point the light beam in the direction of the road as it curves (standard in SE Lux models).
There was also an optional BLIS (blind spot information system) camera located on the side mirrors which alerts the driver of passing vehicles beside the car.
Volvo released the 2.0 litre diesel
Powershift
The Ford PowerShift is a six- or seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, produced by the Ford Motor Company.
on the third week of February 2008, except in Ireland, where it was released in the last week of May, because of delivery intervals.
The T5 model received a new engine (the B5254T7) with a performance increase of , giving an output of . The D5 engine became available with a manual gearbox offering of torque and an
automatic transmission
An automatic transmission (sometimes abbreviated to auto or AT) is a multi-speed transmission used in internal combustion engine-based motor vehicles that does not require any input from the driver to change forward gears under normal driving ...
offering in the second half of 2007.
The model of 2009 saw rear end boot lid changes, with wider spacing of the 'Volvo' lettering and larger characters, as in the newer Volvo models.
In 2010, the new, larger, circular Volvo logo appeared on the front grille, in the United States, a manual transmission was briefly available with the T5 AWD version. In North America, the naturally aspirated five cylinder engine, all wheel drive, and manual transmission were all dropped for the model year of 2011, leaving only the automatic, front wheel drive T5 in base and R-Design trims. The model year of 2011 was the last for the S40 in the United States and Canada.
Engine specifications (2011)
From the end of May 2010, a new range of engines were available for the so called "2011 model".
The range now included three
petrol engine
A petrol engine (gasoline engine in American English) is an internal combustion engine designed to run on petrol (gasoline). Petrol engines can often be adapted to also run on fuels such as liquefied petroleum gas and ethanol blends (such as ' ...
s (1.6, 2.0 and T5, the latter only available with
front-wheel drive
Front-wheel drive (FWD) is a form of engine and transmission layout used in motor vehicles, where the engine drives the front wheels only. Most modern front-wheel drive vehicles feature a transverse engine, rather than the conventional longitu ...
and
automatic transmission
An automatic transmission (sometimes abbreviated to auto or AT) is a multi-speed transmission used in internal combustion engine-based motor vehicles that does not require any input from the driver to change forward gears under normal driving ...
), four
diesel engine
The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-ca ...
s (the existing DRIVe and the new D2, D3 and D4) and the 2.0F flexible-fuel engine that can run either on normal petrol or
E85
E85 is an abbreviation typically referring to an ethanol fuel blend of 85% ethanol fuel and 15% gasoline or other hydrocarbon by volume.
In the United States, the exact ratio of fuel ethanol to hydrocarbon may vary according to ASTM 5798 that ...
, an
ethanol
Ethanol (abbr. EtOH; also called ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol, drinking alcohol, or simply alcohol) is an organic compound. It is an alcohol with the chemical formula . Its formula can be also written as or (an ethyl group linked to a ...
petrol mixture. Production ended in May 2012.
The updated 2.0 and T5 and the new D2, D3 and D4 are compliant with the
Euro 5
The European emission standards are vehicle emission standards for pollution from the use of new land surface vehicles sold in the European Union and EEA member states and the UK, and ships in EU waters. The standards are defined in a seri ...
emission standard
Emission standards are the legal requirements governing air pollutants released into the atmosphere. Emission standards set quantitative limits on the permissible amount of specific air pollutants that may be released from specific sources over ...
(the rest are
Euro 4
The European emission standards are vehicle emission standards for pollution from the use of new land surface vehicles sold in the European Union and EEA member states and the UK, and ships in EU waters. The standards are defined in a seri ...
compliant), and the DRIVe included a start-stop system for reduced fuel consumption and emissions. New six speed gearboxes are used in the D2 (manual: B6 D2), D3 and D4 (manual: M66D, automatic:
Aisin
is a Japanese corporation that develops and produces components and systems for the automotive industry. Aisin is a Fortune Global 500 company, ranked 359 rankings. Aisin is a member of the Toyota Group of companies.
Aisin was founded in 196 ...
AWF21).
(*) Available from September 2010
Note updated: In 2012 the last variant of the S40 2.0 Comfort, was the same 2.0 Petrol Engine, but with a PowerShift 6 speed automatic transmition. Adding to this, was a little differences in headlights and tile lights.
S40 sales
Total produced: 602,910 (1995–2012)
See also
*
Volvo V50
The Volvo V50 is the station wagon version of the Volvo S40 small family car first unveiled at the 2003 Bologna Motor Show, both assembled at Ghent, Belgium. Sharing the Ford C1 platform with the European Ford Focus and the Mazda 3, the V50 ...
, estate variant of the second generation
*
Volvo C30
The Volvo Group ( sv, Volvokoncernen; legally Aktiebolaget Volvo, shortened to AB Volvo, stylized as VOLVO) is a Swedish multinational manufacturing corporation headquartered in Gothenburg. While its core activity is the production, distributio ...
, three door hatchback bearing the same design as the second generation
*
Volvo C70
The Volvo Group ( sv, Volvokoncernen; legally Aktiebolaget Volvo, shortened to AB Volvo, stylized as VOLVO) is a Swedish multinational manufacturing corporation headquartered in Gothenburg. While its core activity is the production, distributio ...
, coupé and convertible version of both the first and the second generation
*
Volvo S70
The Volvo S70 is a compact executive car produced by Volvo Cars from 1996 to 2000. The S70 was essentially a facelifted 850 saloon. The S70 was replaced with the Volvo S60.
Overview
Introduced in Europe in late 1996 for the 1997 model year and ...
, mid size car bearing a similar front end design with the first generation