Why I don't understand Volvos

Just saw a 2004 S60R with 30k miles on it for $27k on a lot. NICE car. Good cheap, safe, reliable, fast fun.

 

Ryan, the history international channel had a history of volvo a few days ago. Interesting watching. I learned a bit.

I would still rather a BMW though.

 

Except the service and parts bills...

 

I used to have an 850R and loved it. One of the better sedans I have owned. Someone mentioned crap, nothing from Europe is crap when compared to domestic offerings.

 

Actually, take a look at maintaince costs on a well maintained volvo out of warrenty. It was easily the same as a BMW.

 

I heard the T5R understeered like hell. True?

 

Not true. Yes, there is some understeer simply because of the front wheel bias. However, it does handle quite well. Put the 4-C chassis in Advanced mode and go to town. It's fun stuff.

 

my V70R has a slight front end push. Not bad. The key is, its AWD, when the front end pushes a little you get in the throttle to make the rear wheels hook up. End of front end push.

IPD USA sells sways bars that can change the V70R's slight understreer to a slight overstreer.

Remember I'm talking about the understeer you notice when tracking the car pretty hard....

tracking a station wagon, pretty hard.

pretty derned cool if you ask me.

 

Yes I have driven a few different Volvo models, including the V70R. Like I said earlier, at that prive range it's junk. Lets start start from the outside. They are NOT good looking cars, but then again thats subjective so it doesn't really count. The interiors are poorly designed with cheap plastics , and wierd lay out. BMW and Audi are miles ahead in interior design and layout. Then comes the handling. Can you say poor steering feel and feedback. EVERY Volvo I have driven undarsteers like a barge, and that includes the AWD models, which tries to compensate for a poor chassis design. Acceleration is ok with the R,, but now you have more power in a bad package. I will give them the fact that they are safe cars to drive. But as AURORAPTOR said, give me a 7 series anyday. In MY opinion, the other Euro makes have a much better product. Why someone would pass up an Audi, Merc or BMW for one of these just amazing to me. But It is MY opinion. No reason for anyone who owns one to get all ass chaped about it.



Darrell.

 

not arse chappage at all. The only issue I took with the statement was the inaccurate portrail of model line up.

Price, options, trim level, feautres all compare very favorably with the competition. you dont like them, thats fine. Others do. Opinions about all the makes you mention are all over the place.

it comes down to personal preference, which is why Audi, BMW, Vovlo and others are in business. I never said anyones personal preference was wrong.

I dont get how AWD is an compensation for a poor chassis design though...

 

I just feel that if a car doesn't have a solid and neutral handling chassis to begin with, AWD is simply a band-aid. The problem that I have seen in the Volvos I've driven, is that they all understeer really badly. The AWD one a bit less but not much. They are not neutral handling cars, and for the ones with the " R " it makes it even more of a dissapointment.



Darrell.

 

Well, as I said, kudos to the 850R. It served my pops well. Although, I did once read somewhere that statistically, Volvo drivers are the worst drivers on the road. They bought the cars because Volvo so heavily touted the safety aspects, and so people figured they could "half drive" in their Volvos. So plenty of them are cluttering up scrappies 'round the world. All said, the 'R' is a great car. I'd have to say that I'd take one over a Bimmer, given a choice. Namely because this is the type of person who buys a BMW 3-series; "I'm a 20 something yuppie who wants to look like every other 20 something yuppie out there so I bought this BMW 323i which I can barely afford the payments on, not to mention I bought a car that will be worth jack s**t in two years, but it's ok, I look like a proper yuppie, right?"

Of course, you can stick other cars under that umbrella, but 9 times out of 10, that crowd goes for the BMW over anything else.

Did I mention I used to sell BMWs?

 

Well I still drive a 96 850t5 when I am in south africa, bough it new. Reall comfortable seats the rest of the interioir a little hard but durable. Car now has 77 000 km and has been solidly reliable. Suspension is hard for what it is, really just stiff springs and hard shocks to button it down, whereas a BMW would be smoother with better quality suspension.

Yes the FWD causes understeer especialy at lower speeds with power on and there is like zero steering feel. But I have run along the open road at 250kmh for over 30 mins and the car was solid and stable at this speed, the ac worked and nothing got too hot. I find that between 190 and 215kmh it is a little slow, but above that speed it is in boost again and just charges. The tranny is also a bit abrubt.

Conclusion anvil tough, stable solid and real fast. Probably of little use in the USA where 80mph 130kmh is already fast. To appreciate this car try running over 120mph. Hey it aint no BMW but then it cost a whole lot less than a 540 and can do an equivalent job. By the way my 91 vette was slower above 200kmh and cooked various bits from sustained high speed running. That is the difference between domestic and european.

 

A few years back, in 2000 I believe, they did a survey about Volvo ownership here in UK.
-Most Volvo owners are attracted by the passive safety on Volvos.
-Most Volvo owners are not interested in performace but reliability.
-Most Volvo owners intended to keep their car between 6 and 10 years.
-Most Volvo owners have a secondary residence.
-Most Volvo owners have a dog.
-Most Volvo owners are middle class
-Most Volvo owners have more than 2 children.
-Most Volvo owners can afford a more expensive car.
-Most Volvo owners don't know the maintenance cost of their car.
-Most Volvo owners don't know the fuel consumption of their car.
-Most Volvo owners think their car is discreet.

The professions most likely to buy Volvos are doctors and estate agents.

And to conclude, 41% of all Jewish families in UK own at least one Volvo!

 

That describes my mom to the tee except that she knows about her car, and wants something not a lot of people have. (Hence the likel for the new C70).

 

^^^ much of that list fits with the reasons I bought a certified S80.

A lovely, quiet, comfortable car to cruise to the office everyday. Better handling and brakes than you would think.

Cheap price and 100,000 mile warranty. Really cheap to insure, and best of all it is very discreet.

I do not need anyone to see me in a Mercedes or BMW, very bad form.

Fast? Fast enough.

Did I mention comfortable?

A nice sportbike provides my thrills; I just don't need thrills going to the ER at 3 in the AM. Every vehicle for its purpose...

 

Check again. They actually have factory embossed 'Pelosi for President' designs in the bumper. No need for stickers.

Well, there you go. In contrast,
-Most Ferrari owners would like to leave this world in a spectacular 200mph fireball in an Enzo, with news cameras rolling
-Most Ferrari owners have a Freudian attraction to their mechanics
-Most Ferrari owners are shopping for their next car as the first one rolls off the truck
-Most Ferrari owners have a secondary garage
-Most Ferrari owners can't afford a dog any longer
-Most Ferrari owners were middle class before their major service bill
-Most Ferrari owners would have had kids except they looked over the 4-seater Ferraris and had a vasectomy
-Most Ferrari owners have sent their fuel gauges in for a rebuild at Palo Alto
-Most Ferrari owners have a leather bound volume detailing every $50 lockwasher they bought for their car
-Most Ferrari owners wish their car could be less discreet

 

has anyone considered they keep that logo because they still build stuff like this

http://www.volvo.com/NR/rdonlyres/17F68D08-7489-432F-BDAA-CD3D14B5E931/0/Artics_800x600.jpg

 

different company, no relation to the car company anymore.

 

Funny my daily driver is an 850 wagon, might not be perfect but its my 2nd car to my Mondial.

 

If you think a new BMW looks better, I'm appauled!
Volvos are great cars for people with Scandinavian size dicks, who don't NEED to buy a BMW or Mercedes!

 

WHOOOOOAAAAAAAH!! TMI !

 

I have to defend Volvo a bit here. I can't say anything about the recent models one way or the other, but they used to be great cars. I had a '71 1800E which was a great little touring car. The performance was competitive with the other small sports cars of the time, and although the suspension was soft, the handling was quite neutral and the ride was good. It was also tough. I was changing the oil once using ramps to elevate the car and I drove right over them, coming down on the jacking points. It folded up the metal ramps and didn't hurt the car. A gentleman in New York State has a '66 1800S with over 2.5 MILLION miles on it and climbing. I have a '62 122s now, and it's actually very nimble. The suspension is nice and firm and the handling is good. The PV and 120 series had a lot of success in rallies and touring car racing. The performance isn't much, but in the context of 1962 it was better than most small cars. And I would venture to say that either of my Volvos drew more attention and received more compliments than my Alfa Duettos, my TVR, or my Maserati.

I grant you that by the early 70's styling turned into the boxy brick, and what sportiness there was in previous models was mostly lost as safety became priority #1. Styling has come back at least to mediocrity. Performance might not be on par with BMW or Audi but that's not what Volvo is about. Volvo makes a tough, safe, comfortable semi-luxury car that's a step up from American or Japanese stuff even if it isn't a German luxury sedan. Just my $.02.