What Drives the Swedes

Someone smart once said, you are what you drive. That statement also holds true for auto-manufacturers and the cars they make. Cars are a reflection of that designer in question; that engineer, their culture and sometimes, even what their nation stands for.

Keeping that in mind, this week we look at a Scandinavian automaker, which hails from a place where blonde is the hair colour for all seasons and where furniture-giant Ikea is king.

Yes, you may have guessed it; we are talking about Volvo, and specifically the 2015 V40. We also go a step further by counting a few of their cultural norms and engagements — all this to see what makes this car particularly Swedish.

Design & Aesthetics

‘Lagom’, as they call it in Sweden, is the societal code of conduct, which, loosely put, means ‘just enough’. It means blending into the crowd aptly without obvious and vulgar public displays of emotion. And that unwritten rule translates to their vehicular appearances as well. Volvos are not only known for their safety but their safe design — nothing stark or intrusive. And the new Volvo V40 is the perfect example.

You’d be surprised to know that this car is actually based on the Ford Focus. It is a tightly bound vehicle with limits well within the compact segment — 4,369 mm long, 1,802 mm wide and 1,420 mm tall. But with the current generation of cars, Volvo says, safety doesn’t have to be boring. They have moved away from the robotic box 
design to more fluid lines that may seem forced to some eyes, but is still a welcome change.

Upfront is an emoticon style grille — a semi-circle of sorts — and traditional no-frills black cross-slatted bars in it. And if the styling doesn’t give away the ‘Volvo-ness’, I’m sure the large Volvo logo will. The other very subtle detail is in the lower apron, which, in other cars, is populated either by an air intake or a faux one at least; instead, you have miniature strip LED lighting for fog lamps — a nifty embellishment, I say. There is more detailing at the face with the hood and lower apron creases all converging into the grille, which gives it a ‘cutting edge’ look, quite literally.

The height of the bonnet is partly determined by safety legislations and, quite fortunately, in the case of the V40, the nose is sporting and low front, thanks to the world’s first pedestrian airbag that pops out from under the hood and covers bits of the windshield and the A-pillar. There is more sporting appeal in the form of the very lightly raked windshield that merges seamlessly with the hood and roof, similar to a sports car. You also have a shoulder line that is so pronounced, it begins at the front lamps large and flat, and then angles itself as it flows over the hood, and all the way below the windows and to the rear.

The rear is an evolution of the C30’s rear (the car that it replaced), with large vertical tail lamps and blacked out edges of the large rear window. It is also defined by three horizontal ridges, one from the edges of the roof-mounted spoiler, the other a truncated body panel and the edgy bumper.

To me, the artistic sense of the Volvo designer was always questionable, but so is art in general. It’s a bit of ‘are we there yet?’ and to that I say, ‘no’. It doesn’t seem complete, but they are definitely onto something. It still is fresh in appearance when in the company of the typical German bunch.

And then we come to gender quality, which is so firmly rooted in Swedish society. The V40 is a bit of a unisex car — you never know who is driving it. Also worth mentioning is that in Sweden, ‘business casual’ means jeans and a long sleeve shirt; in relation to the V40, this hatchback is mature without being boring, and fun without being outlandish. I hope you get the analogy!

Much of the exterior design language mentioned above is conveyed in the cabin as well. It is all about nicely defined lines and contours, soft touch materials and a bit of bling in the form of satin-finish aluminium trimmings.

In terms of tactility, the steering wheel and column stalks have a nice chunky look and feel. It feels robust without being industrial grade and has a design that is sensitive for human interface and movement, without feeling artificially enhanced.

The instrument binnacle in the background is a stylish unit. It has a Lexus LFA sort of set up, with a speedo on centre and two satin-finished edges cupping the remaining instruments on either side. The blue-lit background has a lux level that won’t hurt the eye and brings some cheerfulness to the ambience of the mostly black interior. It comes with a customisable digital display from which you can select your drive modes and other stuff.

The signature floating console remains on the V40, which means your centre-console is just a slate with buttons on it, allowing for some partially concealed stowage space behind it.

The front seats are highly stylised, with a curved headrest and, don’t think that the slimness of the padding is going to impede travel comfort — they are, in fact, soft and supportive, with a great range of adjustability.

It is an easy climb into the rear, but the view out of the windows is hindered — no thanks to the pulled back effect of the glazed areas. Volvo has done a smart thing, considering that most people travel with 3-4 passengers; they have pushed the outbound seats a little inwards. What does this do? Well, there is more shoulder and space for those passengers and allows for some stowage space on the sides. However, the fifth passenger must make do with a tiny middle seat and has to deal with the transmission tunnel. Another innovative idea is the cups holder pop-up from the lap area of the centre seat. There is a panoramic sunroof available but it will eat into some rear headroom.

Overall, the V40 is a case of ‘like’ at first sight. In fashion-speak, it is more the classic Armani suit as opposed to one of those flashy Roberto Cavalli creations. The fit and finish is beyond commendable and very comparable to the Germans.

Powertrain & Performance

The V40 speaks to two types of customers; there are diesel variants available, but the car in question today is the more popular petrol engine. All engines are turbocharged with power going to the front wheels.

Our test car came equipped with a force-fed 1.6-litre inline 4-cylinder motor matched to a 6-speed automatic. This was no high-performance T5 model, hence we got what we went looking for — modest power outputs. At full steam, the car makes 177 horsepower at 5,700 rpm and, as for twisting force, you get 240 Nm between 1,600 and 5,000 revs. The spec sheet set a 0 to 100 km/h target of 8.5 seconds, but we eclipsed that figure several times in our test runs. If you factor in the small dimensions and throttle-happy nature, this V40 makes for a zippy car around town and beyond. And that reinforces the means to the Swedish nature for punctuality — which, by the way, is important, whether for a board meeting or coffee with friends.

On the move, the V40 is agile and brisk. The electric power is speed-dependent and can achieve a 10.8 m turning circle, which helps it swing around parking lots and traffic lights with ease. It also exhibits enthusiasm for the twisties, with plenty of traction to keep the lines around corners. But the steering feel is not as connected as the German counterparts; it can feel numb, but it does the job. There are various drive modes that like ECO Sport and Elegance modulates driving involvement, but it is no hot hatch.

The Swedes are an outdoorsy bunch and, for good reason, their government has made it easy to cherish nature by giving their people the Right of Public Access. So, for people like them, they have an all-terrain friendly V40 Cross Country. Another popular trait in Swede-nation that they consider it safe to drink from the tap — because it is that clean — and like to keep it sustainable, so most Swedish grocery stores will charge you for plastic or paper bags. The fact that they are closest to the melting polar ice caps would explain this priority — so how does the V40 have anything to do with that frugal earth-loving nature? For starters, it consumes only 6.1l/100km of fuel and emits only 149 g/km of C02. And surely, there will be plenty of time and kilometres to drive before you empty that 62-litre petrol tank. They have invested a lot into the technology that makes this happen, like stop/start technology and brake energy recuperation. You should also know that 85 per cent of the car is recyclable.

Features & Functionality

Supposedly the Lexus CT 200h and A3 have a bigger boot, but you have a useful 324-litre of boot space to stow your large suitcase and if you fold down the 60:40 rear seats, you get 1,032 litres. You also get a foldable floor panel.

Safety remains front and centre for Volvo, literally! With its city-safe system, it can identify people and objects and brake for you, if you happen to ignore the audible alerts. You can expect the usual suspects of high-end safety features like blind spot monitoring, 
lane keeping system, adaptive cruise control and tyre pressure monitoring. You also have the parking sensors, a rear camera and a Park Assist Pilot that is capable of parking your vehicle in a space minimum 1.2 times the length of the car.

In terms of entertainment, you can add a digital TV receiver to the 7-inch multimedia screen. We must mention that the on-board audio system was not fulfilling. You can also avail Bluetooth to stream audio and talk hands-free.

Yes, there is dual zone air conditioning and to prepare a fresh environment in your Volvo, a ventilation cycle, which sucks the hot air from inside and disp-erses it when you unlock the car, preventing a stuffy environment

Verdict

Swedish cars like the 2015 Volvo V40 can be described as functional, environmentally-conscious and safe. The V40 is no hot hatch, but you may just like the silhouette, build quality and praise-
worthy detailing, which is enough to get in line for one. Just remember to keep the queue though — to keep with Swedish tradition, of course.