rtlltj

I know the volvo has a faster 0-60 mph time but has anyone test driven both cars and felt a huge difference in power or is it pretty close and not worth paying the extra dough for. I've had this ongoing debate on which car I should go with but after seeing how the tsx comes with all the extras with no huge price increase like the s40 it makes me want it even more.

manavi

Oh boy. It depends on what's important to you. We tested the S40 and I really liked the acceleration the turbo provides. Yes, you can tell quite a difference between the acceleration of the S40 and the TSX. We decided on the TSX because it was a better overall package than the S40.

What was important to us:

- better interior
- better reliability
- better value

What's important to you?

ric

I found the Volvo handling to be on the heavy side, with not as much road feel as the TSX.

leftride

iTrader: (1)

get a v50, i love those!

CGTSX2004

iTrader: (1)

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...ighlight=volvo

I wrote impressions on both the S40 and the Saab 9-2X.

jpswanberg

the s40/v50 are much smaller in the front and the rear, being built on the mazda 3, ford focus chassis. i find the tsx much more comfortable than with any of the three. perofrmance may be a tad better with the turbo volvo, bu the tsx is no slouch in standard trim, and can be made much faster. jps

TinkyWinky

In my mind, the current volvo design looks best in the form of the S60. The S40 looks very very sharp, but also appears dissapointingly out-of-proportion when viewed at various angles.

While the total cost of purchasing my car was not an issue, I could not justify the price difference that did not even include a navigation system.

If you can wait, test drive these cars several times, especially the S40. In my case, the novelty of the S40 interior wore off rather quickly.

For what it's worth, according to Heel N Toe, there should be a turbo kit for the TSX available within a few months (conservative estimate). I apologize for the cliche but, you can have your cake and eat it too. Here, cake = tsx and eat = 0-60 in 6.5 seconds.

rtlltj

haha yea paying more for a car with less options that you get on the tsx standard isn't worth the extra .5 second on a 0-60.

dom

I went over the S40 pretty extensively in Detroit and while I liked it, I found it far to cramped for my liking.

cttsxDAWG

I looked at the s40 T5 when I was ready to trade in my 2001 S60 T5. The s40 had the same rubbery power delivery as my s60. It's like riding a roller coaster, turbo lag inhibits your driving ability. The TSX, which i chose over the s40, lacks the grunt and surge you feel with the S40 t5's turbo but its a much less refined package. The TSX, though not the all out hoss, is a fine tuned precision instrument and it makes you a better driver giving you no surprises. The volvo just doesn't bring it all together, this is the case with every volvo. IMHO, the only volvo sedan that I would consider over my TSX would be the 300hp S60R, but I didn't want to shell out that much money.

Not to mention I drove a Volvo for 4 years and it was by far the most expensive to own vehicle ever. Also, if you hate little rattles and noises, stay away from the raucous personality of a 5 cylinder.

rtlltj

are any of you guys 6ft or taller and have big feet. I heard the s40 is also cramped around the pedals and the tsx has more room. in my current old car i have to like angle my feet so they dont hit the brake and gas at the same time lol.

manavi

I'm not taller than 6 feet, but I'm glad you brought up the pedal issue. I had forgotten about that. When I test drove the S40 it seemed like my right foot barely fit between the brake pedal and the left side of the console. I literally couldn't push the accelerator down without rubbing against the side of the console. I mean, I know some people might like to heel-and-toe, but that was ridiculous. It definitely killed the S40 for me.

By the way, I wear size 10 regular width shoes so it's not like I have clown feet!

matelot

everything else being equal -
i'd pick "Made in same factory in Japan for decades" over "2nd year made in Holland"

nahooneyya

i test drove a auto S40 T5's~ heres my take on it...

the interior looked horrible~

and..

it had a shitty transmission...(every shift was rough, the shift point sucked also~)


but i loved the looks of it though~

rtlltj

haha if your a size 10 and its hard for your feet then i think my 6'3 size 14 foot wont do too well. I've been saving my money since I got my first real world job since i graduated from college back last summer. I think i've researched enough to the point now all i need to do is test drive them. Anyone here live in the monterey bay area in cali? I looked around the only acura dealer here while my gf was at the toyota one and they had like 1 car of each model which i thought was sad as hell. it was like an audi/acura dealer in one. I know theres a bunch of dealers up north about 1-2 hours so thats where i might have to go for the best deal. I'll probably have what i want to put down by may . I can't wait to send this 93 corolla packing which i've driven since junior year in high school. I can't have alumni of ucsb on some sad ass looking car :P.