Volvo S40 Drive
Mies van der Rohe, the architectural maven of the influential Bauhaus movement famously said “less is more.” In an age of excess consumerism I guess we begin to see value in this. The reality of course is that less is, well, less. Minimalism is the concept of reducing a design down to its necessary elements. The Volvo S40 DRIVe is just that, a minimalist compact sedan. Competing with the BMW 3 Series and the Merc C Class it has to be different. It needs to Zig to their Zag. While they make a statement about their owner's wallets, ability to drive and of course the size of their testes, the Volvo tries to just be. It doesn't even scream “I am a conservative safety weenie” anymore. The car that refuses to make a statement about its owner.
In fact, if you consider that this is Volvo's tree-hugging, planetsaving frugal eco-warrior, it doesn't even shout its lentil eating credentials in the way Prius does. Other than the most subtle budging, this is a minimalist success in understatement. In the black of my test unit it looked sophisticated, elegant even. The interior uncluttered by the buttons of its competitors because it doesn't need them. Just what you need. Sound system and climate control on the dash. Simple lines, classic textures. With start stop engine management which turns the motor on and off seamlessly at the traffic lights, regenerative braking, attempting to recharge the batteries by using braking energy rather than needless constant charging, it has some alternative strategies at fuel frugality.
In the real world this little 1.6 diesel surprised me. One of the most smooth and linear accelerating engines I have ever driven. That isn't due to its mere 80Kw, but it might just be because of its stump pulling 240Nm of torque that seems available anywhere in the rev range. Unfussed. Most buyers of BMW and Merc small sedans are seduced by the power of the M3 and AMG offerings and then go out and buy the baby models. Cars which won't deliver on the sporting pretensions of their hero cousins. The Volvo doesn't even attempt this. It just is. Simple. The buyer of this gets a compact executive sedan that can keep up with any traffic and make overtaking maneuvers without drama. Fast enough to cost a drivers license in lost points.
This car is defined in fact by what it doesn't do. Most importantly it doesn't attract the new Emissions Tax. It slips in below the threshold, with 104g/km and a claimed fuel consumption of 3,9l/100km. Real world and admittedly very heavy driving had me never see more than 6l/100km. I was impressed by that. At R299,100 it isn't Volvo's cheapest S40 but probably its best one. If you want simple motoring, if you want to actually do something for the environment rather than make statements this could be for you.
