For many people, if you have about RM200,000 and you want a fast, exciting, luxurious hatchback, you’d buy a Golf GTi. Which is fair, because it’s been around for 41 years, and it’s spent all of that time cementing its reputation as the hot hatchback to which all are measured.

But, it’s 2016. It’s a brave new world, not least in the motoring industry. Toyota is trying to be sporty, Honda has seemingly lost the plot, and Proton is making some proper cars (at last). Volvo has been making changes too, finally embracing innovation and technology to ensure that it remains a contender in the premium segment.

We have to remember that, not too long ago, Volvo’s were bought almost exclusively with money from pension funds. It was the car of choice for brittle, ageing retirees, desperate to eek out as many years as they can before they eventually kick the bucket. And Volvo was seemingly happy with this for a while, until someone in Gothenburg realised that once all their existing customers had died, they’d have no one to sell cars to.

So they had a rethink. And in the early ‘naughties, they tested the waters with more imaginative cars. They had the S60, which bore a shoulderline that made small children leer. And then there was the C70, which remains (to this writer, at least) as one of the sexiest coupes ever made. And then they rewrote the book on SUVs, with the XC90.

Those, were the first wave of imaginative, interesting Volvos. The Volvo V40 I have here, is part of the second wave. More imaginative, more interesting, and more engaging than ever before, the V40 certainly makes a case for itself as a contender in the premium hatchback segment. Though, to be a contender, the T4-spec model is more than adequate. With this more powerful T5, the V40 certainly has hot hatchbacks like the Golf GTi in sight.

For starters, the whole thing looks completely unafraid to try new things. Its low nose, swept-back headlights, strong shoulderline (my favourite highlight of every Volvo), and sharp LED taillights make for a very beautiful sight indeed. In T5 spec, it also has slightly bigger wheels (with a rather unimaginative design, I should add), a bigger central screen inside, a fully-digital heads up display… and a more powerful engine.

The T5 unit in question is a 4-cylinder, turbocharged 2.0 engine, from Ford. With 240hp, power goes to the front wheels via a 6-speed automatic gearbox (with no paddle shifters in sight). Claimed consumption figures aside, realistically, it should return about 10l/100km on a normal day, which is perfectly acceptable for something as powerful as this.

Of course, Volvo’s aren’t necessarily slow anyway. A Volvo 244GLE I drove a while back was fast enough to plant me firmly in my seat, but where it disappointed was in the bends, where its soft suspension setup left me wanting for more agility. In the V40, the ride is slightly firmer than one might expect, but it can never be described as uncomfortable. And joy of joys, around the bends, it simply excels. Plenty of control, plenty of agility, and very little in the way of body roll. The rorty exhaust note, though not as characterful as it used to be with the old 5-cylinder powerplant, eggs you on to push the car a little harder.

And when you do, you’ll be absolutely amazed with the amount of grip there is. The V40 is seemingly immune to understeer (unless you drive like an absolute yob), and the steering is well-weighted, accurate, and surprisingly communicative. Despite the performance and ability on tap, the baby Volvo is still a very plush place to be. Plenty of brushed metal inserts around the cabin, and a gorgeous center console fill the space between the effortlessly comfortable, sculpted, and supportive leather seats.

A jack of all trades, is what I thought of the Volvo V40 T5. I was rather unimpressed with the lower-spec T4, as it just felt like nothing more than a slightly more expensive Ford Focus, rather than a sweet, smooth Swedish mistress. The T5 however, is most certainly all that I expected of it. It’s a truly wonderful car, and to be frank, if you want a hot hatchback that can really do everything you could ever ask of it, then the Volvo V40 T5 might just be the hatchback for you.

It most certainly is for me.