I've had quite a few Volvo engines and generally they are excellent. They are capable of v high mileage if looked after.

Given the weird way they made up this range, I was never sure whether the 2.0 was a N/A car, as it appears to be with only 124PS (essentially the same as the Mazda3 with its 2.0 N/A petrol engine [no longer shared since the divorce from Ford, just similar outputs]), though the V40's torque is 162 lbs-ft and 184 lbs-ft for the T2 and T3 (current, according to HJ's reviews section) compared to only 155 lbs-ft for the Mazda.

Oldly enough, the Mazda3 2.0 is 1 sec quicker to 60 than the V40 2.0 (8.8/8.9 vs 9.8). The 1.5 in the T2 is the same output and performance as the 2.0 in the same car, yet in the T3 its increased in both power and torque. All very confusing. Never mattered to me as when I was looking for the uprated T3, my local dealer (18 months ago) wasn't exactly willing to sell me on, only diesels.

I was distinctly unimpressed with their attitude (and it seems this wasn't a local phenomenon) and the confusing way Volvo marketed their engines and auto gearboxes - they don't tell you which (at the time) were Ford Powershift dual clutch ones and which were other brands/TC types. No way was I going to buy from them.