Volvo V40 to be revealed at Geneva

The ‘V’ in the name of the Scandinavian car maker’s new premium hatchback denotes its sporty nature which has become a new dynamic at Volvo, alongside safety of course. One look at the V40 and it can be said that the car has been designed with styling cues from bigger Volvos. The V40, in particular, looks like the S60 sedan from the front. "Thanks to input from customers all over the world, our most compact V-range model features an outstanding blend of design, safety and versatility. The car is loaded with features that buyers of modern luxury cars want," explains Stefan Jacoby. 

The V40 has been created with Volvo’s new driver-centric approach for modern Volvos. The top priorities at Volvo while designing the V40 were drive dynamics and safety. The chassis has been designed to create driving pleasure with agility to offer an engaging drive. The V40 will be available with a wide variety of engines from Volvo’s most efficient diesel engine to the turbocharged T5 petrol engine developing 257PS of power.

Inside, the V40 gets a new graphic instrument cluster with a personalised layout designed to convey information to the driver to create an uncomplicated driver experiences.  

Like all Volvos, the V40 comes loaded with a host of features that make it one of the safest cars in its segment. The car has scored a full star safety rating at the revised and more stringent 2012 Euro NCAP safety tests. The V40 is the first car in the world to come with a pedestrian airbag that deploys to protect a pedestrian in case of a frontal impact with a pedestrian. It also has Volvo’s Pedestrian Detection System with Full Auto Brake. The car boasts of several other features such as Lane Keeping Aid with haptic auto steering, ingenious Park Assist Pilot that makes parallel parking a breeze, and an emergency braking system designed to prevent rear-end collisions, etc.

Volvo’s low-speed collision avoidance system has been further developed and now operates at speeds of up to 49 km/h as opposed to 30 km/h earlier. 

"The all-new V40 is the most intelligent and safe Volvo model so far. All its features are designed around the driver, helping him or her stay alert and well informed to avoid collisions and dangerous situations," says Hakan Abrahamsson, Vehicle Line Director C Cars & V40 Vehicle Programme Manager.

The Volvo V40 will slot into the premium hatchback segment in Europe and Volvo says that the car is designed to overtake its segment. Volvo has pegged sales for the V40 at 90,000 units for 2012 with 85 percent of the total volume produced to be sold within Europe. The Volvo V40 will be built at Volvo Car Corporation’s plant in Ghent, Belgium.