1998 Volvo S40 T4 review from UK and Ireland

ECU has packed up more times than I can remember.

Exhaust sensors have blown everytime you hit the red line, causing the car to stall, it even stalls when going along at speed, if the clutch is pressed, so the engine is at idle. Erratic behavior from engine when stationary, the rev counter can shoot up to 2k-4k rpm.

The build quality is very poor, I have had turbo pipes fall off. Windows clunk when shut, battery cannot stand cold weather, I was stuck in the French Alps once.

The dealers feed you lies, when it is broken. Volvo UK does not want to know about the problems, they say it is the garage's responsibility. Air bags did not deploy in a 20mph crash!

Car has too much power at the front for the weight at the front, in the wet the traction is crap. The so-called traction control (DSA) does not work in wet or dry when the car is pushed to its limits. As a performance saloon, this car is very fast, goes round corners nicely, but reliability is very bad. Volvo are trying to make fast cars, but the cars only like being driven by old gits with dogs! Luckily I do not pay for my petrol, as it does around 10-15mpg when driving it hard.

Saying all this, I do like the performance, and as it is a company car I do not have to worry about costs etc.. It does annoy me when the car is off the road due to faults, as I like to drive it.

One thing I have learned from this car is, if you want performance, buy a rear wheel drive car, which has fat tyres so traction control systems are not required.