Love my S40

I purchased my S40 in February of 2006 and I don't have any major complaints. I did experience a few technical speed bumps, although the experience was made less negative because my local dealership made a loaner available to me at no extra costs, plus all fixes were still covered by my warranty.

First off, I am a loyal Volvo owner. My first car was an '87 Volvo station wagon, my mom owned a '90 Volvo station wagon that saved her life in a bad accident, and I now own an '06 Volvo S40 sedan. I love the new S40 body design because I love the look of the BMW 325i although I couldn't afford the price tag on the BMW. The Volvo is more affordable and I love the new features (well, features I'm not used to in our old Volvos), such as the unique stereo/air con control panel, faux wood paneling, and the safety features (Valet key, seat locks to block trunk access, approach light, etc.). I opted for the leather interior and the 6-CD changer, which I love.

On another note, in the 9 months that I have owned my S40 I have had it in the shop at least three times. I can't remember the order of events, but here is a jist (mainly technical in nature):

First issue was a blown fuse for my car lighter plug. Sure this kind of thing happens all the time but I had barely used the plug before it went kaput.

Second issue was that my air con stopped working (in the middle of a hot summer). In fact, it started blowing out HOT air.

Third issue was that the foot fan for the air con stopped working. Entire dash had to be removed which resulted in technical issues with my car key. But from this issue, I realized that if you are left with the actual metal key to get in to your car, the alarm will always go off until you deactivate from the inside.

Fourth issue was a popping noise that I kept hearing when I turned the wheel to back out of a parking space or just turning a corner. I don't think this truly got fixed.

Some of these are true Volvo issues, others I think were related to my local Volvo service department.

Blind spots were a minor issue for me in the beginning, but I am a "turn-my-whole-body-to-check-the-next-lane" kind of a person so it doesn't bother me as much. The blind spot that bothers me more is the two blind spots created by the front side bars(?). It can be tricky to see pedestrians coming from the sides or even cars turning at the sides, depending on the angle. To alleviate the blind spots at the back I pushed the center seat headrest all the way down, although I had to resolve the same issue in my old VW, so I wouldn't say that this issue is specific to this car.

My current peeve is with the trunk opening. The trunk does offer a lot of space and it is very deep so it stores a lot. However, you are really limited in what you can put back there (really not used to this with my station wagons). I bought a new computer and tried to fit the box in through the trunk and in through the passenger side doors with no dice. The box wasn't overly huge; the trunk isn't very accommodating for boxes, etc., so if you're a big IKEA shopper you may have some trouble every once in a while. I actually considered trading in my car for a V50 just for the accommodations in the back, but again this is more of a personal choice. This is my first sedan so I'm not used to the limitations on cargo.

Overall I really love this car. I have fun driving it and I love the look of it. The electronic issues were a definite annoyance but it hasn't given me a bad taste in my mouth about Volvos, mainly because I know that I am driving one of the safest cars on the road and value it for its safety more than the minor issues I have experienced.