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This is a comparative analysis for Volvo S40. Volvo seems to have designed it to compete with the BMW 1series and Audi A3 but the being a saloon it is now competing with BMW 3 series and Audi A4, in the compact car sector. This paper compares Volvo S40 with Audi a4 and BMW 3.20 in terms of price, safety, and design.
Volvo S40
Volvo produced Volvo S40 between the years 1995 and 2012. There are two variants for this, the Volvo S40, which is the saloon variant, and the Volvo V40, which is the versatile or the wagon variant. This paper discusses mainly Volvo S40 variant, but some overlap might be there as they have similar specs.
Specs
There were two generations of Volvo S40, the first from 1995 to 2003 and the second from 2004 to 2012. Volvo produced the first generation in collaboration with Mitsubishi and the Volvo S40 received acclaim and awards, a notable award being the most “Beautiful Estate car in the World” at an Italian award ceremony. The Petrol engine variants of the first generation were 1.6 L I4, 1.8 L I4, 1.9 L I4, 2.0 L I4, and 2.0 L turbo I4. The Diesel variant was 1.9 L turbo I4. However, the petrol engine variants for the second generation were 1.6 L I4, 2.0 L I4, and 2.5 L turbo I5 while the Diesel variants were 1.6 L I4, 2.0 L I4, 2.0 L I5, and 2.4 L I5. The Volvo S40 series cars were equipped with four-cylinder engines. The American version was a 5-speed automatic whereas the European version had a variant with a 5-speed manual version also.
Prices
The Volvo S40 prices in 2011 started at $26,000. This is competitive when compared with the prices of Audi A4 starting at $30,000 and BMW 3 series starting at $31,000. The Volvo S40 was a classified as a compact car by some and Compact Executive Car as others whereas the Audi A4 and BMW 3 series are Compact Executive Cars.
Safety
The Audi A4 had safety features that included Bosch ESP 8.0 Electronic Stability Program and Anti-lock Braking system. Insurance Institute for Highway Safety awarded it the “Top safety pick for 2007”. The European New Car Assessment program, NCAP, rated the Audi A4 93% safe for adult occupant, 84% for child occupant, 39% for pedestrian, and 71% for safety assist features. Euro NCAP rated the BMW 3 series 95% for adult occupant, 84% for child occupant, 78% for pedestrian, and 86% for safety assist features. Euro NCAP rated the Volvo S40 98% for adult occupant, 75% for child occupant, 88% for pedestrian, and 100% safety assist features.
The Volvo S40 was the first car get a 4-star rating from Euro NCAP. The Volvo S40 had safety features like rapidly flashing lights in case of emergency braking, Optional Blind spot information system for assisting while coming out of reverse parking. It also had a front impact rating of 4 out of 5 and side impact rating of 5 out of 5.
Conclusion
Volvo S40 sold 352,910 cars in the period 1995 – 2012. It was an affordable car, which had high safety features, floating center dash panel and ergonomically excellent interiors. However, it was not a powerful car when compared to the Audi A4 and BMW 3 series but the handling was true, suspension fantastic and the steering sharp. It had a ranking of 63 in JD power customer satisfaction at 77% customer satisfaction in the year 2013 and was a good buy.
References
2007 Volvo S40 Crash Tests. (2015, April 10). Retrieved from Motor Trend: http://www.motortrend.com/cars/2007/volvo/s40/crash_test_ratings/
2011 Audi A4 vs 2011 BMW 3-Series vs 2011 Volvo S40 comparison. (2015, April 20). Retrieved from The Car Connection: http://www.thecarconnection.com/car-compare-results/audi_a4_2011-vs-bmw_3-series_2011-vs-volvo_s40_2011
2013 JD Power customer satisfaction survey - full car model results. (2013, May 24). Retrieved from Autocar UK: http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/2013-jd-power-customer-satisfaction-survey-full-car-model-results
Audi A4. (2015, April 10). Retrieved from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audi_A4
How Safe is Your Car - Audi A4. (2015, April 10). Retrieved from Euro NCAP: http://www.euroncap.com/en/results/audi/a4/11031
How Safe is Your Car - BMW 3 Series. (2015, April 10). Retrieved from Euro NCAP: http://www.euroncap.com/en/results/bmw/3-series/10914
How Safe is Your Car - Volvo S40. (2015, April 10). Retrieved from Euro NCAP: http://www.euroncap.com/en/results/volvo/v40/10952
Volvo S40. (2015, April 11). Retrieved from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volvo_S40
