I have tried it. The 1,6 engine is the most common used engine in Ford Focus and is not a bad engine. In the S40 I would prefer a bigger engine. You can easy follow the trafic with th 1.6 but you have tu use the gear a lot, spesially when you want to pass other cars. The 1.6 engine do the job but I recomend that you buy the 1.8 if you can afford it.
Have you tried the 1,6 diesel engine.
It had to be a lot better because it has a torque of 240 Nm. I have not tried it but I chosed the 2.0D because of the high torque. It is 320Nm just the same as the toque in the T5. I live in Norway with very high taxes on horse power. A diesel engine i therfore a very good alternativ .
But buy a S40 even if you have to buy a 1.6 engine. I am very satisfied with my Volvo S 40.