Volvo S40

The Volvo S40 is a series of subcompact executive cars that the Swedish maker Volvo Cars produced from 1995 to 2012, offered as a more mainstream alternative to the compact executive Volvo 850 and later the S60, and positioned against premium-leaning small family cars such as the Volkswagen Jetta. The first generation of 1995 to 2004 launched as the S40 saloon and V40 estate after Audi had reserved the name S4; it was built at the Nedcar factory at Born in the Netherlands, a pre-Ford joint venture between Volvo and Mitsubishi, on a platform shared with the Mitsubishi Carisma, with four-cylinder petrol engines including a Mitsubishi direct-injection unit and a Renault-sourced 1.9 turbo diesel. The second generation, shown at the September 2003 Frankfurt Motor Show, was built at Volvo's Ghent factory in Belgium on the Volvo P1 platform, with mechanical components shared with the Mazda3 and the European Ford Focus and the first five-cylinder engines in Volvo's smaller cars. Its estate was renamed V50, and the range was replaced by the Volvo V40 five-door hatchback in 2012.