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In spite of the fact that this engine has been tuned very much with efficiency in mind, there is still a surprising level of torque when you get higher up the rev counter. However, overtaking the transit vans in the middle lane of the M62 was rather more difficult than I’m used to. You can tell that the good people at Volvo have made a real effort to ensure this feels as normal to drive as possible, and when compared to other eco-cars, they have definitely succeeded.

The days of the Volvo being the “box on wheels” are long gone, and the S40 is no exception. One criticism I always have of the fuel efficient cars is that they often feel very light and a bit to easy to fling round corners. Whilst fun, you wouldn’t want to do this with your kids in the car. The S40 breaks the mould in this respect. It’s solid, heavy-sounding doors greet you as you sit in a chunky interior with reassuringly heavy steering.

As you’d expect with a Volvo, everything is rock solid and sits in the right place. The S40 has always had notoriously reliable engine and gearbox, so there’d be no reason to think this version is any different.

As well as economy, the makers of this car have clearly focussed on safety. As well as it’s solid build quality, you can feel re-assured by its’ five-star Euro NCAP safety rating, seat-belt pre-tensioners, a full complement of airbags and deadlocks. The blind-spot lights that let you know when a car is sat out of view in your mirrors are also a nice touch, and very useful on a busy motorway.

Space is at a premium given the class of car, and even though I was able to sit comfortably in the drivers seat, I didn’t rate the chances of fitting anyone in behind me. The controls are neatly laid-out and intuitive, and in spite of the plethora of lights and buttons in the centre of the dash, I found the air-conditioning and radio fairly easy to operate. Having said that, I never worked out how to switch off the “helpful” automatic traffic updates.

It’s always reasonably safe to assume that as this is a Volvo, it will be very reliable and maintenance costs will be kept fairly low. However, the real value in this car is it’s quite staggering fuel efficiency. The car’s multiple efficiency features, combined with careful driving, mean it appears to use almost no fuel. It took me a good 100 miles just to make the petrol gauge move! This combined with low road-tax means that this one be one seriously cheap car to run, and in these times of economic uncertainty, this can only be a very, very good thing.

Performance is eager and spirited with a good amount of torque available when the rev counter reaches 2,000rpm onwards. The gear changes are deliberately long to aid economy but as far as every day driving goes this doesn’t appear to have too much of a negative effect. When you choose to buy or lease a vehicle which is specifically engineered to reduce emissions and aid economy you may expect to sacrifice a lot in performance but this doesn’t appear to be the case here at all.

The ride is firm without being uncomfortable and the handling is precise. One of the features which appears to be evident across the Volvo range is the chunky steering wheel , which in our view improves the driving experience and gives the car a sporty feel.

The Volvo S40 feels extremely solid and has the air of a vehicle which would still be resolutely driving around in 15 years time without too much maintenance being required in the intervening years.

Airbags all around and solid construction bring a very strong sense of well being and safety in the S40. When compared to other vehicles of a similar size you can easily imagine it coming out top in safety surveys. A fantastic feature is the ‘blind side’ lights which illuminate whenever a vehicle is in the drivers blind spot.

Rear passenger legroom is not huge by any means and it is doubtful if any of the three passengers and the driver would find any more room in the S40 than they would in the C30. The car is simple to operate inside though with a minimalist ‘clean’ feel to the dash layout and manages to marry this simple ethos with a sense of sophistication.

Residual values have always been strong on the Volvo product and a large percentage of Volvo customers remain just that for the duration of their driving careers. This ‘safe and steady’ tag is one which Volvo have been making concerted attempts to forget in recent years with a decidedly younger target for their marketing campaigns and the introduction of the C30. In the current climate they may do well to embrace this ethos however as consumers look for a relatively safe financial ownership proposition whilst not sacrificing too much in terms of quality.