Our car had leather seats, with fanny warmers included as part of a cold weather package. Volvo is famous for its orthopedic seats, and the V40 is no exception. They felt supportive and cushy. There s a headrest for you and each of your four passengers, and side-impact air bags up front are standard. The cargo area provides a good amount of space for carrying bulky loads, like your National Geographic collection, and both the rear seat and the front passenger s seat can fold flat to make more space.
Visibility is just okay.
There s a little hump at the bottom of the rear window that obscures the view, and the sturdy side pillars that replaced Volvo s popular 2 by 4 s are wide enough to hide the occasional semi. The good news is, if you plan to stack V40s in your driveway, no problem. The roof should be plenty strong enough. Everything s a little more complicated than it has to be, in the V40. We sensed the hands of those gadget-loving designers at Mitsubishi at work.