1999 Volvo S40 XS from UK and Ireland - Comments

Intermittent problem with the driver's side electric window, sometimes it closes, sometimes it refuses to close and gets stuck halfway up.

Refuses to start 1st time, especially noticeable when it's cold. Apparently this is a feature of some 1.6 models, dealer's comments...

Terrible fuel economy...!

The Volvo S40 has good ergonomic design with comfortable seats and good driving position. I've done nearly 30,000 'ache free' miles in the last year.

Handling is poor, it rolls like a barrel in the corners/roundabouts.

In 1.6 guise it is seriously under-powered, with only 109 BHP it struggles big time, overtaking manouevres are best avoided, unless you like scaring yourself.

Fuel economy is very poor, it averages between 25 and 27 mpg regardless of how it's driven. I came from a 2.0 litre Hyundai Coupe that never did less than 30mpg and had considerably better performance.

Overall a reasonably built, safe and comfortable car. Avoid the 1.6, insist on the 2.0 litre or T4 to get decent performance. I had no choice though.

I sold my 1.6XS because of the sluggish acceleration, but I did get over 35mpg regularly.

I had zero quality or reliability problems, but suffered pretty steep depreciation for a "quality" brand.

The 1.6 engine on the latest models are fine for general motoring by most drivers. Test drive one and see - unless you spend all the time on motorways or need to grow up out of the boasting 'boy racer' phase the small engine has a lot to offer.

You get what you pay for. I've got a 1.8 16V S. E and it goes. I wouldn't touch a 1.6 though.

Have driven both the early and late 1.6 S40s prior to te new model being released. The early 1.6 is best avoided as it frankly lacks power. The later one is not bad, and is comparable to a similarly engined Ford Focus. Handling is better in later years, but my now 6 year old 2.0SE with 100K + miles still goes like a rocket, is comfortable, and doesn;t roll much (although I have it on good authority ths is due t uprated dampers as standard on my car). I have however found that it eats brake pads (I do a lot of A road driving in the UK), have the commented upon Drivers window fault (slow or sticks half way up) and have gone through so many headlight/running light bulbs its ridiculous. However total cost of maintenance is £2750 for 5 and half years (and some 90+K miles) which is unbelievably cheap cf most competitors.