Volvo comes to grips with its wild side

The V40 range has stepped out from the comfort zone and is arguably one of the best-designed and most stylish machines out of Sweden in many years - with the new T5 R-design version packing parts that defy the brand's sensible vehicles. A huge front airdam, skirts, a rear diffuser and an add-on roof spoiler with deep channels, big alloys and, in the version tested, an alarmingly vivid blue paint job.

This isn't to say that the wild little T5 isn't dripping with Volvo's latest and greatest to keep driver and passenger as safe as possible. In fact, it's even taking pedestrian safety to the next level, with the industry-first pedestrian airbag. If, in the unfortunate event that you bowl over a pedestrian, the car is not only applying auto-braking to avoid hitting anything, or anyone else, it pops out its rear bonnet hinges and lifts the back of the bonnet while triggering an airbag that covers the wiper recess, the bottom part of the windscreen and the A-pillars to minimise injury.

Volvo's safety suite is comprehensive, from passive features like its ability to read road signs and add them to the readout on its TFT dash display, through to the aforementioned auto-braking, which is active up until 50km/h and offers the sort of collision avoidance ability that is extremely useful in stop-start urban traffic.

A large combination of sensors, cameras and radar do everything from "see" pedestrians, auto steer you back into your lane, warn of impending doom and give visual and audio guidance to help you back into a parking space without scratching that stunning blue paint.

The 360Nm torque peak is impressive in a small-ish car, and gives the car the power to pull out 0-100km/h times in the 6.1 second region. It does suffer a bit from torque-steer when attempting these quick-shifting, foot-flat sprints, and wheel-mounted paddles would probably be quite useful to allow drivers to keep their hands on the tiller when coping with this front-drive side China ceramic tile.

The transmission software gives a fairly aggressive response when burying the boot, and first gear is allowed a bit of wheelspin off the line and a bit of chirp as second is selected. The bold instrument layout keeps everything where you need it - the rev counter is front and centre, backlit brightly without searing retinas, and your road speed appears in the centre of that in large, easy to read numbers.

Navigation, multimedia and Bluetooth phone functions are all set up through the centre-dash screen, clear and easy to read, although those who aren't used to navigating through menu structures might find a quick flick through the manual helpful. The language used is fairly plain English, so the bluffers' approach of trial and error will furnish the same result after some cursory explanation.

The well-designed interior has a black-on-black vibe, which I quite like, but some find a bit dark, but it's all very comfortable and well-appointed, and the deep sports seats are extremely supportive, which is always useful when exploring the outer limits of grip.

And grip the V40 T5 does - on smooth surfaces particularly, the lower suspension and 18-inch Pilot Sport-shod rims and some clever front-end set-up means the car sticks to the ground and exhibits very positive turn-in. It's probably not capable of the same edgy sharpness as the likes of the ST, but still well-settled enough for a bit of adrenalin to finds its way into the system.

Harsher road surfaces can be a bit of a trial, particularly when pushing hard when there's dips and hollows exiting a corner - but with traction control, electronic brake force distribution and other tech tricks aplenty, it's more than able to hold its own when having a bit of back road fun.

Most apartments will never come with the same perks as hotels. No room service. No wake-up calls. No daily housekeeping. No fancy soap in the bathroom or mint on your pillow. But while your typical apartment lacks these instant-gratification niceties, many come with at least one or two alluring perks of their own. A yard, rooftop deck or other outdoor space for hanging out. A pool or fitness room. On-site laundry (or even that elusive, magnificent find: free on-site laundry). Most of these amenities are well-advertised as part of the landlord's sales pitch. Other perks, for various reasons, aren't offered, and you have to ask for them. There's no guarantee your landlord will say yes to any of these extras, but it's worth making the inquiry.

 In all buildings, particularly in big cities, space is at a premium. Income-generating use (that is, rentable space) typically gets priority over everything else -- hence the tiny studio apartment wedged into the basement corner, just past the mechanical room. Even in these buildings, though, there may well be a parking spot or two in back, or a storage room down a dank hallway. If they exist, however, there's probably not enough space for everyone in the building. So how can you grab one of the spots? It may be as simple as just asking. You may have to settle for putting your name on a waiting list, or you may have to pay a nominal additional monthly fee, but at least you'll end up with more options than you had otherwise.