Even though it’s supposedly my long-term test car, it’s rare that I spend any more than a few days on the trot with the Volvo without interspersing it with a run home and back or a business trip with another test vehicle.
However, I recently stuck with it for a fortnight (a week off after Easter helped to instigate a bit of consistency with the keys) and I paid close attention to the fuel economy.
Between my own usage and when the V40 has been nabbed ad-hoc by other members of the BusinessCar team, we’re averaging a commendable 47.4mpg.
It’s still a fair distance from the official figure of 78.5mpg, but Volvo certainly isn’t a lone offender in that respect. Whatever way you look at it, that kind of economy from a lower medium hatchback driven in a variety of conditions, isn’t bad going.
Part of that has to be down to the stop/start system. I raved about it in the first report, praising its consistent performance and the fact that it never fails to cut out when you come to a halt.
Four months in and it hasn’t faltered, despite seemingly endless cold weather, which often causes lesser systems to give up the ghost.
