You have to reach around the back of the stack to gain access to that shallow storage space, but it's better to have it than to waste it. The stack begins behind the beautifully minimalist shift lever (no goofy balls here), and curves gracefully upward to link the console with the instrument panel. The audio, climate and other buttons are arranged vertically and there are four round knobs at the corners. One of those four knobs is a menu control that easily accesses more detailed information and controls. Above the buttons is an information screen. That's all; it's everything you need, and it's all intuitive, unlike the top-of-the-line models from Audi, BMW and Mercedes.
One problem we had with the thin stack, however, is that during hard cornering, of which the S40 is eminently capable, our right knee rode hard against the edge, and it hurt. A racer's solution would be to patch it with foam and duct tape and be content.
Silver duct tape would match nicely. Our T5 came with brushed aluminum trim, which again was perfect from a style standpoint. Not too much and in all the right places, including the whole center stack. We later drove a 2.4i with a dark wood trim, and it wasn't nearly as good-looking.
The interior comes in three colors: gray, dark gray or dark beige. The buckets in our T5 test model were T-Tec; we think we might pay the $2295 for the Premium Package just to get the plush leather. But maybe it wasn't the T-tec material we didn't like, so much as it was the thin padding under our butt, although lumbar support is standard.
Volvo leads the auto industry in environmental awareness as well as safety. There's an emphasis on environmentally compatible cabin materials and systems, such as trim materials with low PVC content, a standard pollen filter and an optional air-quality system including an activated carbon filter.
Everything is carefully compact in the interior, including the strong stubby door handles, easy to grab and pull. The console compartment is deep, with two good cupholders forward of it, and the glovebox is decent-sized. The instrument panel is clean and simple and workmanlike, with a big 160-mph speedometer (149 top speed of the T5) and 8000-rpm tachometer (redline 6500), white numbers on a black background with red needles.
The new body design opened up a lot of interior space. Since it's wider, taller and has a longer wheelbase than before, the cabin is bigger in all three directions; and even more room is created by the short engine compartment thanks to the new engine. And Volvo typically has created intelligent ways to use that space, as it did with the XC90 SUV; this may be a sedan, but why not? The rear seat is a 60/40 split and the seatbacks open up to the trunk when dropped. The front seat folds as flat as the rears, creating an unprecedented open floor space for a small sedan.
The chopped-off rear end makes the trunk opening small, but it leads into a deep forward well. Below the floor of the trunk is a spacesaver spare tire and a first aid kit, and the trunk lid has a special tensioner/absorber to make its opening and closing smooth and easy.
