For immediate release
"The philosophy that style should be more than a statement of wealth was a guiding force behind Volvo's latest entries into the Canadian car market," says Volvo Cars of Canada Ltd. president and CEO, Ken Brusca.
Volvo Canada has introduced two appealing additions to the Volvo product offering, vehicles that deliver sleek styling combined with traditional Volvo engineering and safety.
"Our two newest models offer the classic Volvo virtues of quality, safety and respect for the environment to a whole new segment of the market," says Brusca. "We are now able to provide a complete model range, one that lives up to our Volvo for life philosophy."
The S40 and V40 will appeal to younger, "pre-family" buyers, families who prefer a smaller vehicle, and post-family buyers who no longer require the amount of space they once might have.
The powerful appeal of Volvo's industry-leading safety engineering in a smaller yet sophisticated package with contemporary features and competitive prices will make the S40 and V40 a success in the Canadian market. "These cars represent everything Volvo stands for in a more compact, affordable package with a premium brand," explained Brusca.
Both the sedan and five-door are equipped with the sophisticated safety features that have come to define Volvo. The impressive list of active and passive safety features includes:
Active safety features include multi-channel ABS brakes with electronic brake distribution (EBD) and available Dynamic Stability Assistance which manages traction in slippery conditions.
Volvo S40 and V40 are powered by all-aluminum 160 hp, 1.9-litre double overhead cam in-line 4-cylinder engines with light-pressure intercooled turbo. These front-wheel-drive models deliver responsive performance (0-100 km in approximately 8.5 seconds) that makes them equally at home in city traffic or on the highway. The S40 and V40 are also being introduced with a new five-speed, electronically-controlled automatic transmission with adaptive programming.
The Volvo S40 and V40 owe their taut handling to a high level of chassis rigidity and contemporary suspension design. MacPherson struts offer a comfortable ride while maintaining a high level of sporty responsiveness. Rear multi-link suspension offers both additional comfort and control. The Volvo S40 and V40 come with 15-inch alloy wheels and 195/60 profile tires.
Products of the new era of Volvo design, the S40 and V40 carry the soft lines and elegant proportions made popular in Canada by the successful S80 luxury sedan and stylish Volvo C70 Coupe and Convertible. Yet the compact size (256.2 cm wheelbase, 454.1 cm overall length) also manages to capture the essence of previous generations of Volvo designs. The grille, with diagonal "sash," marks these vehicles as unmistakably Volvo.
Like the luxury S80, the new Volvo S40 and V40 are being introduced with an Environmental Product Declaration certified by Lloyd's Register of London. The declaration certifies that these models meet environmental standards throughout the life cycle of the car - Volvo's cradle-to-grave approach to environmental management.
The four-door S40 sedan, priced at $31,400, and the 5-door V40 starting at $32,400 are available at authorized Volvo retailers in major markets across Canada.
The S40 and V40 have been successfully introduced in Europe (1995) and the United States (1999). The 2001 model S40 and V40 are being introduced in Canada after a great deal of anticipation. The 2001 models have undergone several enhancements since last year's American debut.
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Information:
Lisa Graham
Volvo Cars of Canada Ltd.
(416)490-5834
Doug Mepham
MacDonald & Co.
(416)975-1572
