SA Road Tests

Welcome

This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. We drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under South African conditions. It also just happens that most of the vehicles we drive are world cars as well, so what you read here possibly applies to the models you get at home.

Unlike most car reports, what you read in these pages will not be a faithful reproduction, albeit slightly reworded, of what appeared in the manufacturer's press release. We look for background material, user experience and whatever else we can find that's beyond the obvious. Our guiding rule is that you will be able to tell that the car was actually driven.

*To read one of our archived road tests, just select from the alphabetical menu of manufacturers' names on the left. Hover your cursor over the manufacturer's name, then choose from the drop-down menu that appears.

*Pre-owned: Our tests go back quite a few years, so if you are looking for something pre-owned, you might well find a report on it in here.

*Please remember too, that prices quoted are those ruling at the time the reports were written.


We cross country in the excellent 2014 Volvo V40 CC T5 AWD Geartronic Excel

Chalk it up to character

Posted: 28 August 2014

Same old bore, you say, but with a shorter stroke? Oh dear…

Now that I have your attention, let me explain. I’m talking about the motor. We all know the five-cylinder Volvo modular engine that was originally created, in collaboration with Porsche, back in 1990. A long chain of development; natural aspiration and turbocharging, the turbo in different positions, single cam and dual cam, two-valve and four-valve, and various capacities have featured in its design history.

The one we remember best is the 2521 cc turbo fitted, with differing levels of power, into many Volvo and Ford products over the years. Hairiest of all was the 224 kW/440 Nm Ford Focus RS that blasted through our consciousness around 2010.

Although the T5 in our V40 CC test car isn’t that one, it is the most powerful version to feature in a local Volvo. Specifically, it’s the 2497 cc, B5254T12, DOHC, 20-valve, turbocharged engine developing 187 kW and 360 Nm - with a further 40 Nm available on overboost. Capacity was reduced by shortening its stroke one millimetre – hence the wicked opening line.

Frankly, this test car was much the same as the T5 R-Design version I drove in September 2013; just fewer pretty bits, more ground clearance and no fancy suspension – simply a good artisan version that will satisfy most buyers. It did an excellent job of keeping the car firmly anchored to the twisty and narrow sections of my favourite test route, so I reckon the designer kit is possibly just unneeded expense. It was very firm, even on Provincial asphalt, so I would rather not make a habit of using it for the cross country (rough dirt) work its name suggests. That’s unless Cross Country, in Volvo-speak, means blasting across Europe on decent roads?

To be fair, it differs from regular V40s in that its suspension was raised by 12 mm, it had Torsen awd with hill descent control and some appearance kit was added: dark, contrasting front bumper with honeycomb mesh grille; contrasting sills; contrasting rear bumper with integrated skid plate; roof rails and black trim for the greenhouse and rear-view mirror housings. I still wouldn’t make a habit of going low-level boonie-bashing in it though – too hard on the glutes.

I drove an Excel which is the second-to-smartest V40 CC available here. Apart from a cost saving of R19 400, differences between this and its Elite sister are that it does without: active, bending, bi-xenon headlamps with washers and daytime running lights; power for the front passenger seat; aluminium inlay for the three-spoke, leather steering wheel; illuminated gear knob; a high version interior lighting package and the eight-inch TFT liquid crystal display. Both models share a comprehensive suite of safety equipment and the familiar six-speed Geartronic automatic gearbox.

The great thing about modern Volvos is that they can be driven in the traditional way – all Model Citizen and decorum – or set your inner hooligan free to use that awesome power. It blasts its way to 100 km/h in 6,4 seconds, just 33-hundredths of a second shy of the time set by the hairy-chested Focus RS mentioned earlier, and  on to its top speed of 210 km/h. And, thankfully, the engineers didn’t dial out all its character. Suddenly whacking Thor’s hammer down causes a wicked little ass-twitch before it regains full traction and hauls itself straight. Not dangerous, just innocent fun.

Its steering is firmly weighted, you feel exactly what is happening all the time and the car’s set up to hang on tight. It’s made for driving, although the engine does show its age occasionally when turbo lag spoils the fun.

I haven’t been into much practical detail in previous V40 reports so let’s do it now. The hatch opens to upper thigh height, the sill is about ten centimetres deep, there are four lashing rings, a light and a 12-volt socket, and two side wells secure small items you don’t want rolling about. The spare is a space saver and the rear seatbacks split 1/3:2/3 to fold flat. Ambidexterous pull-downs mean that lefties don’t struggle.

Fully grown back passengers will find space limited while getting in and out isn’t very easy either. Smaller folk are well looked after with a full set of belts and head restraints, a fold-down armrest, slide-out cup holders, adequate storage, and grab handles for those times when the driver gets a move on.

Those up front, especially the driver with his or her multi-way, electrically adjustable seat with three memory settings are well catered for. Plenty of storage space, an eight-speaker, 180-Watt sound system with Bluetooth, the usual plugs and Sensus connectivity add to the enjoyment.

Small gripes are that, at this price level, a reversing camera to supplement the backup alarm should be original rather than optional because rearward vision is restricted. Further, the parking brake lever is placed for left hand drive and a little out of reach. Oh, well; chalk it up to character.

Test unit from Volvo Cars SA press fleet

The numbers
Price: R437 000
Engine: 2497 cc, DOHC, 20-valve, five-cylinder, turbopetrol
Power: 187 kW at 5400 rpm
Torque: 360 Nm between 1800 and 4200 rpm (400 Nm on overboost)
Zero to 100 km/h: 6,4 seconds
Maximum speed: 210 km/h
Real life fuel consumption: About 9,1 l/100 km
Tank: 57 litres
Luggage: 324 litres with seats up
Ground clearance: 145 mm
Warranty and maintenance: 5 year/100 000 km Volvo Plan

Our report on the 2017 V40 CC with D4 diesel is here

What We Do

This is a one-man show, which means that every car reviewed is given my personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.
Every test car goes through real world driving; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads as well.

I do my best to include relevant information like real life fuel economy or a close mathematical calculation, boot size or luggage space, whether the space is both usable and accessible, whether life-sized people can use the back seat (where that applies), basic specs of the vehicle and performance figures if they are published. In the case of clearly identified launch reports, fuel figures are of necessity the laboratory numbers provided with the release material. If I ever place an article that doesn't cover most things, it's probably because I have dealt with that vehicle at least once already, so you will be able to find what you want in another report under the same manufacturer's heading in the menu on the left.

Hope you like what you see, because there are no commercial interests at work here. As quite a few readers have found, I answer every serious enquiry from my home email address, with my phone numbers attached, so they can see I do actually exist.

Comments?
Want to ask a question, comment or just tell me you thoroughly disagree with what I say? That's your privilege, because if everybody agreed on everything, the world would be a boring place. All I ask is that you remain calm, so please blow off a little steam before venting too vigorously.