Like the new C70 convertible, all is not what it seems with the V50. Beneath those expertly crafted lines lies the platform of nothing more noble than a Ford Focus. Some would get snotty about this but not us: we rate the Focus as having one of the best chassis around, not something we’ve regularly been minded to say about Volvo’s homegrown product so, as far as we’re concerned, this particular marriage has a better chance than most of having a happy ending.
While the V50 is available with 1.8, 2.4 and even 2.5-litre turbo motors, most people will be interested in this 2.0-litre diesel model, which is perhaps as well as it is convincingly the best V50 of the lot. We’ve tested it here in mid-spec £21,290 ‘Sport’ guise, a particularly unimaginative title for a car Volvo already and erroneously insists on calling a ‘Sportwagon’.
The Ford/PSA motor produces an unremarkable 136bhp at 2000rpm and 236lb ft of torque at 2000rpm but, as we shall see, it still shines on the road.
The suspension uses the same front struts and multi-link rear end as the Focus though Volvo’s chassis engineers have been allowed to determine their own spring and damper settings in an attempt to make the V50 feel more like a Volvo than a cross-dressing Ford.
