Volvo V40 revealed. And it's not an estate

New Volvo V40 | click for full-size gallery

Volvo are generally known for producing estates, saloons or SUVs, with very impressive safety technology. What they're not known for is making the ever-popular five-door hatchback. Until now, of course. Volvo have just released some pictures and info on their new V40 (which is not an estate as the naming system might suggest...), and first impressions are rather good indeed.

However, the new V40 is launching into one of the most competitive sectors of the car industry, so it's going to have to be a very good car indeed to stand out. And this being a Volvo, the area the company is emphasizing most is, of course, the safety equipment. For instance, Volvo already have the City Safety system on a number of models, but in the V40, they've updated it so that it will brake the car to a halt (if it detects an imminent collision, naturally) at up to 31mph. Which is eminently more useful than the previous 19mph. There's also Pedestrian Detection with Full Auto Brake (have a guess what that does) and lane-keeping aid and so on.

However, this car isn't just about sensible (boring?) safety systems; Volvo state it will have "class-leading driving dynamics" too. Which is quite a statement, and one which we'll have to wait a while to verify - though one thing we do know now is that you'll be able to get a 254bhp petrol engine under the bonnet. That'll allow the car to get to 62mph in just 6.7 seconds, which is a good thing.

The design's not too bad, either. Certainly more interesting than the Focus and Golf.

New Volvo V40

New Volvo V40. Nice frameless rear-view mirror, isn't it?