- Doors and Seats
4 doors, 5 seats
- Engine
1.9T, 4 cyl.
- Engine Power
147kW, 300Nm
- Fuel
Petrol (95) 7.6L/100KM
- Manufacturer
FWD
- Transmission
Manual
- Warranty
3 Yr, Unltd KMs
- Ancap Safety
NA
1998 Volvo S40 T4 review: Used car guide
The turbocharged engine only adds to this Volvo's safety features, writes DAVID MORLEY.
Sporty personality hides a Volvo soul
We all know that a Volvo isn't necessarily a Volvo any more. And we're not referring to the fact that the Swedish car-maker is now owned by Ford.
No, Volvos are no longer the boxy, boring but undeniably safe vehicles that we came to know and respect in the 1960s and '70s in Australia.
These days, it's a given that a Volvo will be just as dynamically adept as anything else in its price-range and market segment, yet the company is still happy to continue trading (at least partly) on that reputation for keeping us all safe from the big, bad world.
Safety is an increasingly important issue for most of us and it's good to see that Volvo is still moving ahead of legislation and redefining safety standards with its vehicles.
But on a more day-to-day level, it's also good to know that for the past decade or so, it's been possible to buy a Volvo with some true sporting ability.
The company has been offering more powerful (usually turbocharged) versions of its bread-and-butter cars in its campaign to change its public image.
It has worked and while cars such as the S70 T5 have been the hero sporting Volvos of late, there have also been performance versions of the smaller S40.
The S40 (and V50 station-wagon version) have been a little overlooked in Australia, mainly because we're a nation of big-car buyers and the S70 and V70 made more sense.
But the smaller, four-cylinder range is worth a look, particularly if you're after a version with decent performance.
Enter the S40 T4, the top-spec version of the car that looks more rounded and cohesive than simply a downsized S70.
In fact, the S40 is not a bad looking car at all, even with its upright grille. Throw in the T4's small boot-lid spoiler and 16-inch alloy wheels and it looks even better in dark colours.
And just to prove that Volvo hasn't changed completely over the years, the T4 version of the S40 was also available as a station wagon.
While more basic variants of the S40 used non-turbocharged versions of Volvo's strong four-cylinder, the T4 scored a turbo installation and a re-tune to arrive at 147 kW of power and a relatively generous 300 Nm of torque.
It's this enormous torque curve that gives the car its character, too, and it's as happy wafting along on a whiff of throttle as it is banging through the gears at full noise. The point is that with so much torque (or pulling power), you can be lazy with the gearbox and let the engine do all the hard work.
That's in five-speed manual form but if you're habitually lazy there is also a five-speed automatic version. If it's an auto you're after, you're better to buy a Phase 2 version from the end of 2000 onwards, as these replaced the older car with its four-speed automatic.
From that point on, the T4 also got extra capacity for a full 2.0-litres under the bonnet as well as variable valve timing. While the power and torque peaks didn't change, the engine was even more flexible in the mid-range and down low.
Standard equipment levels were in line with the car's premium ticket price and you will get air-conditioning, alloy wheels, remote central locking, full electrics and a trip computer even on the early versions of the base-model.
Move up to a late-model SE and the list expands to include cruise-control, fog lights, leather upholstery and a much better standard of sound system.
As you'd expect from a Volvo, safety equipment was comprehensive and helped contribute to the model's four-star crash-test rating. The earlier (from 1997) models got anti-lock brakes, dual front air-bags, side-front air-bags, traction-control and seat-belt pretensioners.
The more luxurious SE version added electronic brake-force distribution and from the facelift at the end of 2000 onwards, all models were also equipped with dynamic stability control.
On top of its spirited performance, it was a compact car with big-car safety levels and that, as much as anything else, stamped the S40 T4 as a true Volvo.
Need to know
The "turbo" badge means insurance is more expensive than it probably should be. S40s didn't attract the revhead brigade, although we'd be wary of buying a car from a family with teenage boys on P-plates. (But that goes for any car, really.)
Volvo says the engine's timing belt needs to be changed every 120,000 km. That's a pretty long interval for this component and we'd be more inclined to shorten that to about 80,000 km.
The S40 appears to follow Volvo tradition by being made of stern stuff. The four-cylinder engine seems to be all but bomb-proof.
What to pay
Model | Year | New | Now |
T4 | 1998 | $53,450 | $19,500 |
T4 | 1999 | $50,564 | $21,400 |
T4 | 2001 | $56,950 | $30,500 |
T4 | 2002 | $56,950 | $34,200 |
T4 | 2003 | $56,950 | $40,300 |
SE | 1999 | $56,435 | $23,900 |
SE | 2000 | $56,500 | $28,500 |
SE | 2001 | $56,500 | $33,600 |
Source: Glass's Guide |