The gauges are neatly designed with a gray-on-gray theme, although some people might find the lettering a little small to see. An optional onboard computer provides useful trip information such as average speed and average fuel consumption (28 mpg while we drove the car). Climate control on all models is automatic, and last year's somewhat haphazard climate and radio controls have been re-arranged and improved for 2001.

Front headroom and legroom are good, but tall passengers in the rear seats will find themselves somewhat cramped unless the driver is short. Access through the doors is fine, as they open wider than in some other cars.

Access to the trunk is somewhat restricted because the rear window slopes a long way back. Trunk capacity, however, is quite good at 13.2 cubic feet (about the same as the Honda Accord). The rear seat splits 70/30 and can be folded down to substantially increase carrying capacity. The V40 wagon has a total cargo volume of 61.3 cubic feet with the rear seats folded down, which is slightly less than the VW Passat. Cargo nets and belts are provided in both models for securing stuff.

Safety, as we said, was a key consideration in designing the S40. A sophisticated new dual-stage airbag system for 2001 senses whether or not seats are occupied, and whether or not occupants are wearing their seat belts, and sorts accident impacts into five different "trigger thresholds." The system then decides whether to activate the seat-belt pre-tensioner and/or the airbag at each individual seat, plus whether to inflate the airbag at 70 percent or 100 percent speed. With this system, a belted front-seat occupant would be subjected to a 100 percent air bag inflation only in the severest (level-five) crashes.

Additionally, S40 comes with side-impact airbags (SIPS) and a whiplash protection system (WHIPS). Development by Volvo has lead to a second-generation SIPS that activates in different ways depending on the type of accident. Volvo claims the system is effectively two airbags in one. Inflatable curtain (IC) air bags, providing additional head protection, have joined the standard equipment list for 2001.

WHIPS is the same whiplash protection system that is found in bigger Volvos. It is activated when the occupant of a front seat is forced back against the backrest and headrest in a rear-end collision. The body is cushioned by the backrest, which moves back in a parallel movement. It helps prevent rebounding of the body milliseconds after the initial impact.