2008 Volvo S40/V50

Volvo's entry level S40 sedan has led the last two full-line Volvo makeovers, each of which has met with critical acclaim. Despite the fact that the S40 and its V50 wagon sibling were last redesigned in late 2003 and are both still looking great, like vain Hollywood 30-somethings they've gone under the knife for a nip-tuck anyway. It's nothing overly serious, just a retool of the soft parts on either end, but the result is striking and serves to heighten the resemblance of the S40 to the new flagship S80, and the V50 to its V70 sibling, which is thoroughly renewed for 2008.

Specifically, the S40's face gets new headlamps, a deeper-set chrome-ringed grille with a larger Volvo emblem, and a single lower air intake spanning the width of the chin. The V40 retains its three lower air intakes to emphasize a strong vertical element and gets a prominent black egg-crate grille like the V70's in front. New taillamps and a fascia with new exhaust outlets freshen the rear of both models. An R-design sport-appearance package will become available soon on both the S40 and V50 (also the C70), consisting of lowered front and rear spoilers and side sills, a modest rear wing, and more.

Both models' interiors are freshened to offer more storage space in the doors and the center console, which now includes two cubbies thanks to a new, more space-efficient handbrake design. The trademark slim, freestanding center stack that holds the radio and climate controls can now be finished in Scandinavian oak plywood, to resemble a bent-wood chair (the veneer face is oak, the plywood plies are a resin material-they can't actually bend plywood that thick and use it for a dash, as it would splinter in an accident).

Speaking of safety, the BLindspot Information System (BLIS) is a new stand-alone option ($695), tire-pressure monitoring is standard, and the hazard lights are now programmed to come on automatically in any accident that triggers the airbags. Self-steering bi-Xenon headlamps are new options for the top T5 models ($800).

The range-topping turbocharged T5 variants of each get nine more horsepower, for a total of 227, and that's about all that changes under the skin. We took a test drive in the new S40 T5, and we have to say that the four percent boost in power is less easy to feel through the seat of the pants than is the torque steer through the wheel rim-at least on our front-drive tester. It's not at all unruly-one needn't establish a death grip on the wheel before lowering the hammer, but the effort goes unnaturally light at launch and when the Geartronic transmission upshifts to second under full throttle, especially when the car isn't heading straight ahead. It's a subtle reminder that this entry-luxmobile shares DNA with the Ford Focus and Mazda3 compacts.

The S40 and V50 may not sell themselves to enthusiast drivers based solely on the way they carve corners and dust the quarter mile; but neither should their dynamics deter the hip, IKEA-loyal, young prospective buyers lured by their now even better-looking exterior styling and unmistakably Scandinavian interiors.