The big change? Volvo dropped the (Thor) Hammer on the front end, bringing its signature light styling cue to the V40. It also added a new grille, beefed up the Iron Mark, and brought five new colors, including four versions of blue. The vehicle also receives new so-called "rank marks" that differentiate the trims. You'll know if you get the base car as opposed to the Cross Country as opposed to the R-Design.
Inside, the V40 gets a new upholstery, City Weave, new aluminum trims, new colors, and updated door inserts. The R-Design also gets new treadplates. As you can tell, this is kind of a minor update.
Meanwhile, Volvo improved its On Call smart phone app to include voice-control for some features and a Flic button that allows some tasks to be done with a single button.
Now, these are European updates for the car and features that are on sale currently overseas. We expect the V40 to come to the US market as some point, possibly around 2017, according to reports. A spokesman tells us: "There are no plans to bring the V40 to the United States at this time."
This modern V40 is more of a hatch than the traditional wagon, but in this day and age, enthusiasts will take what they can get.
