At a media luncheon in May, Robert Norrman, Volvo Car Malaysia’s President, said that “we will be seeing you once a month for the next few months” because there were many developments to come, particularly new models. An event every month is rare for Volvo and even more unusual is introducing a new model almost every month – which is what has been happening.

Since late May, we have seen the new XC90 and then the new C30 and this morning, an updated S40 was launched. The rush of new models should keep Volvo on people’s shopping lists and the new S40, in particular, should really attract attention with its new and lower price of RM169,500 (without insurance). This puts it right in Toyota Camry 2.4 and Honda Accord 2.4 territory which makes it an interesting proposition indeed.

While it may seem pointless to try to take on the two Japanese models, the S40 has something which those two don’t have: it’s a European product and there are still many Malaysians who regard European models as being a notch better than Japanese ones, especially when it comes to strength and safety. Of course, Volvo Car Malaysia (VCM) is under no illusions that it can match the numbers of the Camry or Accord but certainly, by repositioning the S40, it could see additional sales.

The new S40 is essentially a facelift with a lot of cosmetic changes and no obvious technical differences from before. Of course, under the skin, there may be numerous detail changes to parts and materials to make them better or for cost-savings (without necessarily compromising quality) from one model year to the next.

New S40 (left) has 'softer' nose and revised grille as the main changes

At one time, Volvos stood out on the road because of their boxy shapes but today, the styling philosophy – though individualistic – is less distinctive in some ways and the designers have decided that the brand logo as well as the brand name must be more visible. At the front, the ‘iron mark’ – which is what the square Volvo badge is called – has been enlarged by 50% while at the rear, the ‘VOLVO’ lettering on the bootlid is larger. The S40 is the first model here to receive this change which will be progressively adopted in other models.

Larger VOLVO lettering at the rear of the new S40 (left) is intended to give greater prominence to the brand name

Area between front seats of new S40 (left) offers better storage area than old one (right), but handbrake is still nearer passenger than driver

Incidentally, the ignition key is still on the dashboard to the left side of the steering wheel. The remote control unit is said to have a longer range for sending the signal to unlock the doors and battery life has also been extended.

5-cylinder 2.4-litre 170-bhp engine unchanged along with 5-speed Geartronic transmission

As mentioned earlier, there are no obvious mechanical changes so the S40 still has a 2435 cc 5-cylinder 170 bhp/230 Nm petrol engine under the bonnet which delivers power to the front wheels via a 5-speed Geartronic automatic transmission.

The S40 catalogue also lists the price of a maintenance service package which is RM1,192 for the 20,000, 40,000, 80,000 and 100,000 km services and RM1,624 for the one at 60,000 kms. It sounds expensive but you pay that much every 20,000 kms only – which is 4 times the intervals specified for the Japanese models. Thus for every 5,000 kms, the S40 service cost would average RM298, which is not too bad for a European model.

Past experiences with the S40 have always shown it to be a pleasant car to drive and undertones of sportiness also make it fun to drive. Now that it costs less than before, perhaps it’s a good opportunity for those who want a European model to buy one and who knows… you could then have a ‘Volvo for Life’, as their tagline goes.

After the launch of the S40 today, it’s still not over yet for VCM! Mr Norrman has already ‘booked’ us for another event to occur in about a month’s time and he promises that it will be ‘a very exciting development’.

Talk about the new S40 in the MTM Forum

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Prefer the old version? Check the MTM Database for listings of secondhand units, updated weekly