What's the news?
Volvo's excellent Drive-E engines - which we drove earlier this year - are now making their way into the V40, with the 190hp D4 and 245hp T5 variants ready to order from May.
Exterior
Apart from badging, there's not much to differentiate the new Drive-E models on the outside, although there are some new colour and wheel options for both the V40 and the V40 Cross Country. Choose from Osmium Grey or Power Blue for the body, while there are now 17-inch Spider and 18-inch Tamesis rims for the V40. The Cross Country can even be specified with a 19-inch Damara alloy design.
Interior
Not just the V40 but all new Volvos now have improved interior infotainment, with more 'cloud-based possibilities' in terms of connectivity. Minor revisions have been made to the main control system and you can achieve all manner of tasks from within the Volvo - such as finding and paying for parking, locating restaurants at your destination, streaming music and even booking your car in for a service if it tells you it needs it (you'll need the Connected Service Booking app for this, though).
Mechanicals
The new Drive-E engines offer that desirable duo of more power and less emissions than the units they replace. The D4 has 190hp and fitted in a V40 with a manual gearbox, returns 74.3mpg combined and emits just 99g/km CO2, making it VED-free. The same drivetrain in a heavier Cross Country pushes CO2 up to 104g/km and economy down to 70.6mpg, both still respectable figures.
However, if you prefer to let the car do all the work, the eight-speed Geartronic automatic can be paired up with the D4, equating to 67.3mpg and 109g/km for the V40, and 65.7mpg and 112g/km for the Cross Country.
Go for the T5-badged petrol derivative and you get front-wheel drive and the Geartronic transmission as standard. That means combined economy of 47.9mpg and CO2 emissions of 137g/km, which means an extra £350 in your back pocket in terms of tax when compared to the old T5.
Anything else?
The D4 and T5 are both available to order now, however production of the V40 D4 will only start in September.
Matt Robinson - 4 Apr 2014