Volvo V40 Gets 254-Horsepower 5-Cylinder, Start-Stop System , Regenerative Braking

by Derek Kreindler

Published: February 28th, 2012

volvo v40 gets 254 horsepower 5 cylinder start stop system regenerative braking

The styling of the Volvo V40 has taken a bit of a hit among the B&B, but here’s something that’s hard to argue with; a 254 horsepower turbocharged 5-cylinder engine as the range-topping engine. Yes, it’s front-wheel drive. It will also be available with a start-stop system and regenerative braking across the entire range. Hopefully a manual gearbox will appear on the T5 as well.

On the safety front, Volvo’s City Safety auto-braking system (which now works up to 50 km/h), Lane Keeping Assist with haptic steering (i.e., the car steers you back in line if you drift out of the lane) and a park assist system similar to the Focus. Volvo expects to sell 90,000 units per year, with 85 percent sold in Europe.

Derek Kreindler

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7 of 37 comments

Jpolicke on Feb 28, 2012

So what if I should want to drift out of my lane slightly to avoid a pothole or some debris? Is the car going to fight me over it?

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- Redav on Feb 29, 2012
  
  Ford has a technology to adjust the electric steering to negate forces from road crown and wind. I don't think it helps at all, but they have had a problem with a sensor in the steering rack that actually prevents the car from driving straight. Drivers have to constantly fight to keep it in the lane. I suspect that this could have a similar flaw. At times you will have to fight it to make it do what you want.
  
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David C. Holzman on Feb 28, 2012

slit windows

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Mirko Reinhardt on Feb 29, 2012

Why do you think this will be a 5-cylinder? Is this pure speculation on TTAC's side or was there something in Volvo's press release? All recent European-market T5s are equipped with a Ford Ecoboost 2.0 4-cylinder... it looks like the only 5-cylinder in the V40 will be a diesel.

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Wmba on Feb 29, 2012

The V40 will use the 2.0 liter 4 cylinder VEA engine with turbo. That post headline is a glaring error, because Volvo announced the VEA engines last September, and Jacoby blathered on about how 4 cylinder engines are all you need, and that Volvo was standardizing on a 500 cc cylinder. Volvo then promply announced a 1.6 liter version, making the pundits wonder why they had emphasized the 500 cc cylinder, when this one was only 400 cc. TTAC has had posts on this new Volvo engine, but obviously hasn't kept up with its own info. . Yes, well the T5 designation now just refers to a tuning level, not cylinder count.

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- Mirko Reinhardt on Feb 29, 2012
  
  Will it really be the VEA? Is that even ready for production? The 1.6 versions of the V40 will continue to use Ford-sourced Ecoboost engines... Maybe they'll use a similar strategy as they currently use in diesels: 1.6 diesels from PSA, and in higher end models 2.0 and 2.4 diesels by Volvo?
  
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- Wmba on Feb 29, 2012
  
  @Mirko Reinhardt Well Mirko, you may well be correct, because they won't be releasing the VEA emgines until late 2013, I've just read. The old Focus RS had a Volvo 5 cylinder, so are Volvo just buying the new 2 litre Ecoboost from Ford as a thankyou? To tide them over? Weird that they go on so much about VEA six months ago, then stuff Ford engines in the V40 instead. Agree with you that it'll be a 4 cylinder turbo, and not a 5, in any case. On March 6 the V40 will be officially released at the Geneva Car Show, and then we'll know whether the engine is a Ford 2 litre turbo or a Volvo unit. Then again, maybe not because Volvo seem to want to confuse the public as much as possible, and may not want to admit that they're using a Ford engine. Confusing.
  
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