I've no experience of Golf's but recently sold my fiesta titanium and bought a V40 so can maybe offer some relevant advice.

Concensus seems to be the Volvo is on the firmer side in its class so personally I'd avoid larger rim sizes if harsh ride is a big concern. I don't have any problems though personally (but I never did in my ford either).

Regarding the move from the fiesta I was very careful to spec the winter pack as I loved the heated windscreen. But, if it's important to you, it's worth knowing that the tinting rear view mirror you are used to also needs to be specced as an extra, albeit a relatively cheap one.

Finally, just to assure you that you won't be disappointed, I had no real complaints about the fiesta which had a lot of gadgets for a small car but am absolutely loving the upgrade to my V40.

 

Thanks for the response. What model did you get!

 

Hi
I have owned golfs ,Audi as well as my new V40.
The v40 has a Ford Focus Chassis so it has an excellent pedigree in road handling. You said you are thinking of the R Design a very nice car with clean cut eye catching body lines but the Volvo has not got the build quality of the German VW brand.A Simple test just close the doors a nice heavy clunk from VW just a normal clunk from Volvo. Look at the paint finish on Volvo its good but does not stand up to the hard quality of VW. Drop the Bonnet into the close position again a nice heavy thud from VW and a bit tinny from Volvo. The carpets are Baggy fit on the V40 foot wells .Why? I don't know.
Volvo do seem to cut corners ( a great shame) and Vw don't .Well not that I can see. On the plus side VW do look a bit dated on the inside and you wont get better seats than Volvo.
Good luck on your choice

 

Have to disagree with the build quality on golf vs V40. I had a few poorly fitting trim panels and come and go rattles on my golf. (Mk6 from new). My V40 has a far higher standard of fit of interior and external parts. Shut lines are better, boot is well sprung and closes properly every time.

Btw, the V40 bonnet has a slight give in its closing mechanism - as there has to be some give in the front latches to allow the rear to pop up for the pedestrian airbag.

 

This sounds familiar. We went from a 10 year old Fiesta Zetec (bought at 1.5 years old) to a V40 (bought at 6 months old). The two cars we went for second test drives were, you guessed it, the Golf and the V40.

My quick thoughts on what I can remember about the Golf:
- marginally more practical
- zillions of them on the road
- good ride
- couldn't get near the spec of the V40.
- felt like you were sitting on-top of the seats and controls rather than in them
- in 1.6 diesel form you only get a 5 speed gearbox - it won't happily go through a 30mph zone in 4th gear which I found annoying

We were looking at Golf Match or possibly GT - but have a quick trawl through the classifieds and there are hardly any with leather seats. Or satnav. Or xenon headlights. Yes from Match spec upwards you get adaptive cruise but there are plenty of V40's with the Driver Support Pack which adds this. About the only extra it has which I'd have liked is the electronic handbrake (though I'm not a fan of the one on the S60 I had as a courtesy car - the switch is in a stupid place).

My wife did not want a Golf as it was boring and you see them everywhere and after a second test drive back to back we were much happier with the V40. We did deliberately go for the SE Lux rather than R-Design Lux due to the ride. Our first test drive was in an R-Design with I think 18" wheels and the ride was a bit harsh. Given the main reason for getting the car was for long motorway commutes it made sense to get a car as comfortable as possible! Plus being an SE Lux it has the non R-Design style LED driving lights which are a bit more unusual in my opinion.

We got a 6 month old D2 SE Lux Nav with Driver Support Pack, Winter Pack and Xenium Pack. This came from Volvo UK as an employee car, we basically gave our criteria to the salesman and send ring when he'd found one. After a few which I rejected (my14 so without Sensus or free map upgrades) he eventually came up trumps with an early My15. I confirmed the purchase over the phone and didn't see the car until I picked it up other than a not-great screenshot of it on their internal website.

 

Thanks for the replies. So it's perhaps best to limit to 17 inch wheels.
I agree with the golf comments....they are solidly built but not many toys for the money and there are a lot around.
And so, how are Volvo on discounts for used cars?

 

I agree with the comments so far, I am very familiar with Golfs having owned or driven every one since the mk1 in all variations. We have also just traded in our Mk7 Golf Match 2.0 TDI for a.... Mk7 Golf Match 1.4 Pertrol with auto this time it came with more toys like sat nav, heated seats and the auto box.
It's our second car and more of a run around for my wife we traded in the TDI early because this time the Diesel engine kept giving us grief wanting constant regen due to the short journeys, where as our previous Mk6 1.6 TDI was fine over the 3 years.
My Dad works for our local VW dealership, so we are able to get very good deals.

My impression of the Golfs is is yes they are very good at giving the impression of qaulity, the solid thunk of the doors, the fit and finish of the interior and excellent material choice, little things like feltlined door pockets etc. Volvo needs to play catch up to match this implied impression of qaulity.

Realistically build qaulity is near enough the same apart from Volvo's annoying corner cutting.
Paint qaulity as mentioned is also stronger on the Golf, my V40 picks up stone chips far easier and seems softer than the Golf.

Ride quality is much firmer than the Golf, other than the D2 which confusingly in Rdesign trim comes with sports suspension as standard, the rest of the Rdesigns have the same suspension as a standard V40.

Discounts are high you stand more chance of a bigger discount on new than second hand, it seems Volvo have priced high from new I presume to compete in the company car market? So will heavily discount if pushed. It's one of the reasons I got the V40 over a Golf GTD even with the discounts I could get on the Golf the V40 blew it away on price v spec.

I am also a little bored of Golfs now.

 

The bonnet is also not made of steel, and will therefore sound different when being closed. I've had two Golfs from new, and now on second V40. The golfs were very nice, but I much prefer the V40.

 

Is the bonnet aluminum or some other material?

Any one knows? Buzby? *hopeful tone*

 

DSG 'box on the Golf makes for a ridiculously slow take-off from the lights imo. This was a deal breaker for me. It felt like you were starting in 2nd gear. Agree with comments on the seats, I think Volvo make the best seats of any manufacturer. I do quite a few 900+km day trips throughout the year and my body always feels fresh in the V40 at the end. It never does in any other car I might take. I also think the interior is far more luxurious than the Golf, and also more intuitive. I much prefer hard buttons on my console than a touch screen. It means you can do more things by feel rather than having to take your eyes off the road.

Only think I preferred with the Golf was that amazing turning circle! Small price to pay though

 

I came from a fiesta titanium and had a golf straight after. I then got the V40 after a polo GT in between but it was between the golf and the V40.

The fiesta titanium is an exceptionally firm ride being on low profile tyres in a small car and the wind noise was horrendous. Although I bought the V40 CC, I didn't find the R design anywhere near as harsh as the fiesta. I would limit any purchase to 17" wheels on our awful roads. I found the golf to be marginally quieter on wind and road noise than the V40, but that's because my golf had 16" wheels. The V40 isn't exactly a noisy car however.

Both the Mk7 Golf and the V40 are of great interior quality, but the V40 is just a much nicer place to sit and the buttons and dials are all in logical places (bar the light switch, that's just stupidly positioned!). The golf has the bigger boot and is cheaper to buy at the moment with all the deals as VW are desperate for customers. It will also retain value better if you're worried about that. The volvo comes with climate as standard whilst the golf has adaptive cruise.

I have the old 1.6 diesel and although it's quoted exactly the same mpg as the golf 1.6, I can only get 60mpg in the Volvo whilst I got 68-70mpg in the golf. Insurance is about the same for both cars for me.

When I made the choice between the two, I test drove both and on paper the golf made more sense. it was more economical (I drove the same test route), quieter and a lot cheaper per month for me on finance. I even ordered one. However, the next day I cancelled my order and went and ordered my V40 and I can tell you that I've never been happier. It's a fantastic car that you don't see loads of, unlike the golf, and it beats the golf hands down for me because it's fun to drive, the seats are exceptionally comfortable and the interior has plenty of character to stop me getting bored. I also think the V40 is a bit of a looker, whilst the golf just looks like every golf before it (to me).

Test drive both for as long as possible is my advice. Both are excellent cars, but having had a golf I couldn't have another as they're boring to me despite being better on paper. I could easily have another V40 however, as it's just such a gorgeous car.

 

Golf v. V40? For what it's worth, this was the question with which I was also faced. I drove both several times (I drove both dealers mad). Impressions? Both excellent, very similar and yet very different. Subjectively on the road, very similar (as an elderly gentleman interested more in comfort than in performance, I ignored the sporty models - I sat in a Golf GTi and hated the seats immediately, and I don't mean just the tartan design). In the end, I was totally bewildered - I could have tossed a coin and been happy with either.

The factors that pushed me to the Volvo? Financial/practical.

(i) Question marks hanging over VW's DSG transmission (I needed an automatic)
(ii) Report in the motoring press as to the high incidence of engine failure in German cars (except Mercedes - the Japanese were best (of course) and Volvo was up there with Merc).
(iii) VW Schweiz was incredibly mean with guarantees - Volvo Schweiz, on the other hand, gave a 5-year guarantee and 10 years'/150,000Km free service
(iv) VW Schweiz wouldn't give me any sort of rebate for my micro-company, but Volvo did.

That settled it.

 

We came to Volvo this time from a scirocco after handing back our Volvo s 40 at end of lease, with the vw coming with run flat tyres fitted as standard, god help you if you even looked at a pothole, but we really liked the car with its wide opening doors and low sill height it was ideal for mrs d, but when it came to looking for a new lease as the scirocco had been removed from our lease list at the time we looked at the golf but mrs b found it difficult to get in and once in the seats were not comfortable for her back problem, we had previously had a mk4 some years back which was perfect, so after that set back we didn't have to look to far with memories of the s 40 and the comfort of Volvo, the v40 is a nice car, which still draws looks in the car park and the odd comment, as most older members know we had a really bad Volvo v40 cc with software and hardware faults and should have put us off Volvo for life, so after great consideration and member input we went for the v40 r lux and its been just a great car so far, just 2 rubber door seals replaced, in a weeks time it going in for its first years service, and looking forward to having the car for another 2 years. :smile2:

 

I've had my V40 for 3 months now and have had the chance to try a couple of Golfs recently. I think that VW are very good at increasing the perception of quality with such things as the felt lined door bins already mentioned. The fetishism of the 'thunk' of the doors distracts from the fact that the interior is so interminally dull!!! The V40 interior is a lovely place to sit, the seats are the most comfortable I have sat in this side of a wedding car!

Onr important factor to consider is the hefty discounts available from Volvo UK dealers, they will drop their drawers by 12.5% pretty much straight away and you may be able to haggle further. I got 13.5% off and that was for a factory order (they only seem to stock R Design) you may do even better with a stock vehicle. That makes the lovely, less common V40 even more attractive and the 'thunk' of German steel even easier to resist.

 

To echo what's already been said, I've gone from a Cooper s into a V40 (or I will do once the order arrives)..
I drove what I think was the 1.4 match golf and was blown away by the gadgets (easily impressed coming out of an 07 mini), and was practically ready to sign, visiting volvo simply because I didn't want to buy the first car I sat in.
Cue a test drive in the T2 R design and I forgot all about rhe Golf. Once id done the maths and worked out that a T3 with all of the gadgets I actually wanted (if not quite as well specced as the golf) was cheaper than the slower 1.4 (especially once I'd factored in volvos affinity deal), it was a no brainer.. Golf kept ringing, and asked if I wanted a go in the faster ACT model, and I simply told them if they could get the numbers to match, then absolutely. Needless to say, I'm 4 and a bit weeks away from picking up my Volvo..

 

Volvo>VW IMHO

I have owned cars from both manufacturers and personally found Volvo to be a notch above VW in terms of quality and reliability. As others have said, VW are good at perceived quality but in reality about average. Electrics are often a weak point and the paintwork looks good when new but does not seem to be particularly durable in the longer term. Reliability statistics seem to back this up. If I had to find an alternative to Volvo, it would probably be Japanese.

 

Thanks for the replies. It's really helpful. I don't intend to buy a new car but maybe a year old. I have always had fords so was asking about the likely discount from a Volvo dealer so I know roughly what to expect. Thanks!

 

I'm driving a -15 v40 R-design as we speak.. And that **** sticks to the road..
Yeah.. It's stiff.. but keeps you from falling asleep.. Feeling the road is a joy ^^,
Driving the west coast of Norway with it.. pure sex...

Running on 225/40/18

 

I used to drive a Mk.6 Golf with a 1.4 petrol engine and a 7 speed DSG. I currently own a 6 speed manual D2 V40.
I cannot make a comparison on specification as the Golf was pretty spartan and the V40 has quite a few bells and whistles. I can, however, tell you my thoughts on the driving experience...
The Golf is a tall car and the seat feels considerably higher for a reasonable adjustment to see ahead. The door pillars are steeper than the V40 and this adds to the feeling that it is a car primarily designed to be practical. The tall profile exacerbates body roll and, combined with vague steering, made the drive quite uninspiring for me. However, the auto box was excellent and consistently smooth through all gears. For me, the V40 is much nicer to drive as the stiff suspension promotes confidence. The ride is firm and some folks might consider it to be overly harsh.
Both are practical and easy to live with. I have used both cars on holidays full of luggage and passengers. But the Golf's boot opening is a better shape for loading with a much lower lip than the V40.
My V40 returns far better MPG (being a diesel). It's used on short and medium trips mostly. Usually less than 10 miles and I have not yet experienced any DPF regeneration issues (touch wood). The fact that it is free to tax in the uk is a bonus.
Overall, I had a positive experience with both cars. And I still have access to drive the Golf as it is our family's car. However, I would always choose to drive my V40 given that it offers the premium feel that the Golf just can't match.
Home my ramble helps with your decision.

 

I have been weighing up all the latest hatchbacks over the past year to two years. I have looked closely at the Mercedes A-Class, Audi A3, Volvo V40, VW Golf and BMW 1-series.

In my opinion I would actually go for An Audi A3, with the Volvo second. But I am really basing this on all-round aesthetics, comfort, performance and cost. Practically, the Golf is probably the best to go for.

 

I have owned a Golf GTD and driven many Golf's and VW's.

I owned my GTD from new over a period of 3 and a half years.

I guess what VAG cars do well and the Golf is no exception is that everything works and everything is well thought out. The Golf was a great car to live with everyday because it never demanded much. Quality was good and the infotainment system was great. Compare a Golf with a Seat Leon and there is a difference in how solid they feel, the Golf has a good chunky feel about it and if you have a GTD or GTi then it comes with some genuine heritage. As I said in another post, a Golf is every car you ever need. I wouldn't hesitate to own another but car ownership and car liking is never that straightforward

I've been in the V40 a couple of days so I have limited comparisons to make but the V40 is more comfortable and looks better, I don't think it will be as well rounded as a a Golf but then it was not designed to be. It's more interesting to look at an something different and used it seems to be better value.

It depends what you need a car to be and do. For me space is not a priority but safety kit is and whilst it is available on the Golf, it's all extras and by and large your Golf will be one of many on the road. Comfort is important for me and the Golf wasn't uncomfortable but i prefer my Volvo - also as an aside in conversion from LHD to RHD they don't move some of the bits behind the bulkhead and they intrude into the driver footwell which in turn means you lose a proper footrest.

I think these days it is hard to buy a bad car, I wouldn't be looking at Audi or BMW or anything like that personally.

James

 

Seems to be confusion on what quality is. VW choose to give the illusion of quality by what you touch and feel rather than the oily parts. Just look at some of the huge bills they generate on ABS systems, wonky gearboxes and body computers. And these parts are exactly he same on Audis. So the game appears to be use the same oily parts but change the bits you see to justify moving up the product ladder.

And I can't see why we are even seeing them as a car vendor after the appalling engineering cover up of emission testing. If your engineers are driven to cheat the figures what else are they driven to do.

 

I agree quality is a subjective issue - if you take the interior - the touch points - they are very good in the Golf, less so in the rear though.

Drive a Seat Leon and there is a difference. The question is, is that difference worth paying for with the Golf especially when buying a Leon new you can get sizable discounts and leasing a Leon is much cheaper.

The emissions scandal as a VW owner never bothered me - all car makers are doing something you might consider dishonest and if you buy new and absolutely believe what you're being told, then more fool you. That said, had it adversely impacted the value of a car I owned then maybe I would have a different opinion.

James

 

It's almost 3 years now since we chose our V40. Golf was initially on the list but just didn't get close in terms of having the right technology and luxury feel.
It felt solid but "industrial". At the time it didn't even offer the option of electric seats, let alone with memory!
We also looked at Audi, BMW (I really do now wonder why?) and Lexus but the only competitor that was close was the Jaguar XE.


Things of course have moved on since then and the V40 may well be gone soon, though the XC40 looks to be a reasonable successor.

 

Volvo have good spec and are great for safety features you got more for your money with Volvo most of the other car brands are tight on standard spec

 

It never bother me because the diesel engine I had wasn't affected - that's selfish but ultimately my view. In the end the scandal didn't leave owners out of pocket - did people have the right to feel cheated? I guess so, but you're being cheated in many ways if you step into a dealer and buy a car new. There has been evidence of other car makers cheating, whether it's emissions or fuel economy itself. How many posts do we see on forum where people are confused that official mpg doesn't match real world MPG.

VW will pay in the long term anyway and lose customers, so they will pay. Step into a new T-Roc and notice the dip in quality? People like me who were or have been pretty loyal to the brand will walk away.

There is a big difference between a Skoda and an Audi - platofrm sharing in whatever form is commonplace and doesn't detract from a car. Where the problem lies now for VW is that buying a Skoda or Seat doesn'r present a big dip in quality. That will be the issue going forward, is it really worth buying a Golf over a Octavia or Leon? It used to be quite defined the differences in quality, looking at the new Skoda Karoq compared a T-Cross - Karoq feels much nicer inside.

I am not dismissing the dishonesty or peoples right to be annoyed but VW aren't alone in this sort of thing.

James

 

For me I would say Volvo V40 over the VAG same sector cars (A3, Leon, Golf, Octavia). Having owned the V40 for almost 5 months now, nothing rattles (yet), and comfy seats. Unlike the Seat Leon and Golf I've driven, rattles rattles rattles..

The Audi A3 vs V40 debate, tough one.. Audi's minimalisic dash and buttons as possible, vs so may buttons.

Also, the only thing Volvo V40 hasn't 'yet' managed to achieve is decent fuel economy (especially since it's a newish Drive-E variant) on their petrol engines, and a more modern ICE system. It's still waay off what their competitors in the same sector. 25-30mpg in city to 40-45mpg on 'extra urban' real world is way short on it's competitors where as the VAG cars petrol engines can do 10+ mpg like for like. Or maybe the VAG engines have a mpg cheat device (hee hee, sound familar?) and Volvo's are telling it as it is!

 

I can indeed confirm that the seats are a world of difference, especially leather ones, they sit better somehow.
Long drives were giving me back pain in my previous VW cars.

Once I went out to order a new VW and specifically researched if they have seat upgrades and they do.
But they have this very restrictive policy that the sell the "sport" seats only on the fastest engine setup.
They plainly refused to add a better seat as an after-sales option. So huge turn down, never went back.

 

Ey up,
I have never had a golf so can't offer an opinion but have just moved from a fiesta albeit an ST3 and while the ride quality in my v40 r design with 18" alloys is firm it is by no means as hard as the ST (it basically just has steel rods instead of springs so you feel every little pebble lol)

However I think you'll find the v40 a step up in terms of quality and build, I'm not taking away from the fiesta here and I have owned many as they are a fabulous little car but everything about my v40 is better than the ST apart from performance in my opinion.

I didn't want my ST to get nicked but in hindsight it made me go out and look for something else and the v40 is just excellent so far.

 

I have a golf 2016, highline, all possible options on it, TSI1.4, 150 hp, and a V40T4 2015, 190hp, summum, not all options.

We have 4 with drivers licnese a home, none of them will choose the golf over the V40, world of difference.

The build quality of the parts of a golf is far less than the V40.

Everything works in the Golf, perfectly, but touching the handles vs those in th eV40 is like touching toys.

Audio; V40 = 7 , Golf = 4, horrible.

Yes i am biased towards Vovlo, its my third VW, never problems, just hate it. so don't ask me to compare.