Geneva Show 2012: Volvo

The main novelty the Swedish brand brings to the Swiss event is the Volvo V40, a completely new model that falls within the premium compact segment and will therefore go head-to-head with the A3, the 1 Series and the A-Class.

The new Volvo V40 is 4.37 metres long and will be available in our country from €22,950, although we will have to wait until mid-year to buy it. Its engine line-up consists of up to three diesel engines and a single petrol.

The diesel engines available in our country are the D2 with 116 CV, the D3 with 150 CV and the “D4” that reaches 177 CV , which come with a six-speed manual gearbox or optionally an automatic, except in the case of the least powerful engine, for which emissions of only about 94 grams per kilometre are specified. The petrol engine produces 254 CV, allowing it to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 6.7 seconds.

The Volvo V40 will be available in four trim levels: Basic, Kinetic, Momentum and Summum. All of them come as standard with seven airbags, stability control, the City Safety automatic braking system and active head restraints, while alloy wheels are standard from the second trim level up. However, the most eye-catching feature and another of the novelties Volvo has brought to the Geneva Show is the pedestrian airbag, fitted as standard, which covers the area of the front windscreen in the event of knocking down a pedestrian, and even the bonnet rises to mitigate the impact with the car.

Therefore Volvo has presented a model that falls squarely within the premium compact segment, with a starting price of 22,950 euros, which is below the prices of the BMW 1 Series and the Audi A3 Sportback. For this reason Volvo aims to sell around 90,000 units worldwide, to be manufactured at the Ghent plant (Belgium), with 85% of them sold across Europe.

Photos: Highmotor Team