1997 Volvo S40 review from Finland

Nothing yet, but there are slight signs of superficial rust in the underside so a car inspection engineer suggested to bring it to a protective treatment.

After quite a short period of ownership of this second-hand car, I couldn't think switching back to my old one.

Although the car is more than five years old, and has run roughly 150TKm:s, the overall feeling is one of a quite new car's: no rattles can be heard during the drive, all switches, handles and knobs work and feel robust, steering is precise and the car is very steady to drive at high speeds. The servo brakes are very effective and the power steering is not over-effective so you can still feel the "touch" to the road. I assume this car has not yet reached half-way of her life span.

The engine feels like it has all it's 137 HP:s still there, and the car's performance is reasonably good - at least when compared to my previous cars which have all been equipped with engines smaller than two liters displacement. The engine provides a clearly noticeable power peak above 4000 RPM - if you switch the gear based on your ears instead of tachometer read, you may loose some of the kick and fun while accelerating, as the motor sound may suggest an earlier switching point.

The car is pretty easy to handle in the city too, but it takes some time to get used to the dimensions especially while you have to reverse into a parking space using the mirrors - there's quite limited visibility through the rear window.

The interior is ergonomically sound and comfortable, but there are no leather seats or wood trim in my car which might add some luxury feeling, the basic cloth/plastic interior is not much different from modern mid-sized Japanese cars. Air conditioning (optional) is a feature I've loved during this hot summer.