Reviews and Road Tests
First Drive: 2004.5 S40 T5
By by: George Achorn
Oct 28, 2003, 19:00

Malaga, Spain - Imagine finding yourself in a beach town along the Costa del Sol in the South of Spain, something more akin to a James Bond movie than your standard commute. You walk through the lobby of your hotel, passing guests sipping on Sangrias, and stroll through the main entrance where you are bathed by the warm Spanish sun and slide into a brand-new Volvo S40 T-5 with 6-speed manual transmission. You move the odd-looking new key to its dashboard-mounted starting position and fire it up. Several minutes later, you're blasting down curved roads as the snake along the sides of cliffs above the Mediterranean. You glance occasionally south at the Sea and beyond that, a mountainous silhouette that is the Moroccan coast of Africa. One sense you might be feeling, aside of satisfaction and excitement, is freedom.

According to Vic Doolan, President and CEO of Volvo Cars North America, Volvo is embracing a new facet of safety with their products nowadays and in particular with the all-new S40. As Vic states it, "Safety means freedom."

The reasoning behind Mr. Doolan's comments is this. With the highest quality of safety that the Volvo name is synonymous for, one can feel free to have a lot of fun. Think of the driver as the trapeze artist and the Volvo as the safety net. One can have a lot of fun without falling to their peril when a mistake is made.

With the S40's wide display of class-leading safety equipment, the best and the worst drivers amongst us can feel free to go just that much further with the security of a highly controllable car that also happens to be packed with state of the art safety engineering.

Back to the S40 T-5 blasting down roads that snake through the mountains above the Mediterranean in the South of Spain, you rev the car through its lower gears, quickly overtaking a truck laden with large slabs of granite as it lumbers up the steep incline You glance into the rearview mirror only to see an ominously black brand new BMW 645 CSi coming up hard behind you.

As you come up on traffic, seemingly out of nowhere, motorcyclists overtake you on the left, even as oncoming traffic careens toward you all in what appears to be an oncoming disaster at the heart of a sharp left hand curve. They pass and seem to surround you as you enter the bend.

When you think of it, it's just could be a James Bond movie. The only thing is, it's slightly skewed, with Bond driving the T-5 and being pursued by the villains in their menacing black 645 CSi. It's almost as if Mr. Doolan, formerly with BMW, gets his ultimate "back at ya" by convincing Ford's Premier Automotive Group (the current high bidder for automotive product placement in Bond films) to place the S40 instead of say, the newest Aston Martin. It could happen.

Too be truthful, it did. Well part of it did. Actually, all of it happened up until the James Bond part.

Swedespeed was recently invited to the worldwide press launch of the all-new S40 in Malaga Spain. After a short informational meeting on the new S40, we headed out to the rows of S40s, managed to nab one of two T-5 manual cars on hand and headed into the hills.

Our chosen route, predetermined by Volvo for its wonderful selection of various road-types and stunning views, also happened to be the same route being used by BMW for its worldwide launch of the new 6er. And, well, Spanish motorcyclists are certifiable nutcases. At least the ones we "met" were.



As for the T-5, the car is extremely impressive. Could I dust the Bimmer, well the reality of this trip is already spectacular enough. Let's just say I held my own and the journalists in the BMW stared quizzically at us when we pulled over for a quick review of the map. It might have been that these foreign automotive journalists recognized a new Volvo when they saw it, and maybe it was the speed with which our S40 passed slower traffic in the short straight-aways forcing them to play catch-up. Realistically, this new S40 may not beat a car twice its price up the Mountain, though they never did manage to pass us until we stopped to check the map. The T-5 is a truly impressive vehicle.

Handling is extremely well balanced for a front-wheel-drive car. This quality, in particular is a major upside to the corporate parts-sharing and development that the new S40 makes use of. While some Volvo loyalists might shutter at Ford and Mazda DNA being shared with Volvo, an enthusiast need only look at cars such as the European market Focus RS or Mazdaspeed Protege to learn where much of the lessons were learned before development began on this new Volvo. For a front-wheel drive car, it is refreshingly neutral in its handling characteristics. Toss it into a corner, lift off the throttle and the back slides into line.

Also going for this new Volvo are those wonderful laws of physics. Much smaller than its S60 sibling, the higher levels of dexterity and tossable nature for this new car are immediately obvious. One could even go so far as to say, with the exception of the R's trick 4C suspension, the new 40 might just be the best handling Volvo product straight from the factory…ever.

Inside, our T-5 was handsome with its charcoal leather and aluminum interior trim, including the unique center stack dashboard segment. During Volvo's presentation, they shared how non-automotive product design elements such as a Bang and Olufsen remote control unit can inspire Volvo design much like this center stack. Looking at the stack in the aluminum finish that our T-5 test car had, the inspiration becomes immediately apparent.

Quite obviously, this new center stack design is revolutionary. While quite different than anything we'd driven before, the logic of the layout becomes apparent quickly and the learning curve is quite short.

We're told that owners will be able to choose through functions and options that were previously controlled through dealer diagnostic computers only. Drivers will be able to customize how their car performs certain tasks such as the number of times the key fob must be pushed to unlock the entire vehicle. We're looking forward to spending more time in an S40 to explore these functions.

The stereo, typical of a Volvo, is one of the best in its class. A common occurrence on these press events is for the manufacturer to load the CD changer with various CDs that journalists might listen to during their time spent in the car. Not surprisingly, these CDs are often jazz, easy listening or light pop; music that passes the time but does its best not to offend. We were surprised that one CD was a Rap mix. Specifically, Track 2 was the new Busta Rhymes "Lite Your Ass on Fire", with an extremely heavy bass line that would leave most factory audio systems reverberating and distorting throughout the track. The S40 pumped out Busta with authority, truly showing the range of this system and figuratively showing the range of appeal Volvo hopes for this vehicle.

There is one feature Volvo neglected to add, which we really wish they'd try to work into the super progressive S40 interior design. We've noticed that there is an increasing demand by owners that few if any manufacturers provide for. Music listening habits by consumers are changing and audio inputs located on or near the stereo head-unit for digital and music devices such as the ever-popular Apple iPod and portable MP3 players such as the new Virgin products I see Target advertising so heavily on television would be a great addition for the younger side of the car's demographic.

Otherwise, that the system is exceedingly good is a wise move on Volvo's part. Not only will this be a high priority for the younger target market of the S40, but also the unique center stack design would prove difficult to retrofit an aftermarket stereo into. We're sure people will still try, but the factory audio system should be more than enough for 99% of the potential owners of this car.

Volvo's use of rubber for shift boot and cover on the parking brake handle appear to fit better than earlier show cars we've seen, though Volvo designers say they're still perfecting the finish on the pieces to improve the finish and lose mould lines that are still visible on these early production cars.

The S40's intended use of alternative materials such as rubber as a way to design in new ways is growing on us, but we're still not entirely convinced. While it looks great with the aluminum interior trim, more traditional leather would probably look better with the wood-finish equipped cars. Further, the shift boot sometimes makes a bit of a puckering sound when you shift into gears on the lower side of the shift map.

Speaking of the shifter, the knob on manual cars also left us wanting. It's tall and narrow shape doesn't seem as comfortable as wider and more robust knobs found in other European makes and even other Volvos. Further, the center plastic shift-map segment appears to be simple black plastic, something that would look great accented with even more brushed aluminum.



Being familiar with the entire Volvo line, we couldn't help but wonder if designers from Gothenburg considered the Space Ball shifter for this car. We're told the 6-speed manual transmissions equipped in the T-5 is the same as the new R models, though perhaps the matte silver Space Ball configuration might be too much darn aluminum in cars such as our brushed aluminum equipped S40.

The brakes on the T-5 are the largest on any C1/P1 car from the Ford Motor Company. AWD variants get an even larger setup we're told. Our drive was on Spanish public roads and, with other traffic, we weren't as hard on the brakes as we might be had we driven the car on the track. That said, the hilly nature of our drive, and the quick changes of pace were certainly not easy on them either. During this period, the 11.8" brakes (10.9" at the rear) were up to the task with little noticeable fading.

Power delivery of 2.5-liter T-5 motor is aggressive. Volvo claims 218hp at 5,000 rpm which, while good, doesn't tell the whole story. Torque comes on strong, as low as 1500rpm and pulls consistently on up to about 5000rpm before it begins to lose steam. Peak torque is 236 lb.-ft. and Volvo claims it can hold that level of output between 1500-4800 rpm. If you're a traditionalist in regards to your power delivery, you might go unsatisfied by the flat nature of the car's power delivery, however those familiar with many modern turbocharged cars should be right at home.

Our test car, with only FWD, is quite pleasing. Certainly, the highly capable Haldex all-wheel drive system will aid in handling and traction, though it will also add more weight and friction loss due to the drag of the system. Ask any Audi TT owner, another turbocharged automobile with Haldex as an option, and you'll learn that the system has its upsides and its downsides from a performance perspective.

Without the all-wheel drive, torque steer was apparent but not horrible. Put a wheel into the gravel with your foot on the throttle though and the 3-spoke steering wheel will dance a bit. The T-5 is quick but surprisingly manageable for a high horsepower front-wheel drive car.

Standard equipment on the S40 T-5 includes: 2.5L I-5 Turbocharged motor, Factory Scheduled Maintenance, Color Coordinated Exterior, CD Player, Emergency Brake Assist, Stability & Traction Control (STC), Manual Gearbox, Leather Covered Steering Wheel, 60/40 Foldable Rear Seat, Cruise Control, Electronic Climate Control, Leather Gearshift Knob, Wood Effect Inlays, Trip Computer, Fog Lights, Power Driver Seat, Audio Controls in Steering Wheel, 16-inch Wheels and T-tec Upholstery.

Option packages include:

Premium Package - Leather Seating Surfaces, Power Glass Moonroof, Power Passenger Seat, Memory Function Driver Seat and Mirrors

Sport Package - 17-inch Wheels

Versatility Package - Home Link, Auto Dimming Mirror, Compass in Rear View Mirror (a first for Volvo), Cabin Filter (active, with sensor), Grocery Bag Holder

Audio Package - Premium Sound System, 6-CD In-Dash Player

Climate Package - Rain Sensor, Heated Front Seats, Headlight Cleaning

Stand Alone Options include: Metallic Paint, Power Glass Sunroof, 5-speed Geartronic Transmission, Dynamic Stability Control (DSTC), Gas Discharge Lights (GDL), Laminated Windows, DVD Navigation System, and Dual Booster Cushions.

Our test car was an early production model, so it wasn't built to North American specification, however it was basically a T-5 fitted with the Premium Package, Sport Package and Audio Package from what we could determine during our short stay with it.

The 17-inch 7-Spoke wheels fitted were attractive, yet subtle. Volvo will also offer a Sport package as seen in previously released photographs with color-matched body kit and 18-inch wheels that makes the car much more of a head-turner. That said, we noticed our T-5 test car was equipped with a rear-mounted trunk spoiler that is more subtle than the Sport, but as of yet unseen in photographs Volvo has released of the car up until this point.

In bringing the new S40 to market, Volvo has set the Acura TSX, Audi A4 and Volkswagen Passat directly in its crosshairs. It also believes the new car will pick up owners moving out of the Honda Accord, Toyota Camry and the Volkswagen Jetta who might be seeking a bit more luxury. Additionally, Volvo believes the median age of the new S40 will be 35-40, lower than just about all of its targeted competitors save the Jetta.



While S40s will begin to roll into dealerships as early as this spring, they will be limited to front-wheel drive cars fitted with Geartronic only. Though T-5 and 2.4i models will both be available straight out of the box, those yearning for all-wheel-drive or a manual 6-speed will have to wait until 2005 models begin to appear sometime next summer.

Perhaps Volvo is right. The underlying theme behind the new S40 just might be "freedom". Picture the 20-30 something consumer whose inner secret agent persona wants something racey, but also has a significant other or family to think about. Even better, think of the teenager whose parents are trying to figure out what car to buy them. Either could bring up the new S40 around the dinner table and have the idea be received with a smile. The parent, or the partner can think of our prospective S40 owner as a responsible individual concerned about their well-being, while our prospective owner may think of themselves a little more differently, with their adventurous side feeling stirred and not shaken.

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