HOT TAKE: Volvos aren't as special as people make them out to be.

"not for canada - australian in disguise" (for-canada) 09/01/2016 at 10:40 • Filed to: None

3

27

BUT they have two very good purposes.

1. Family cars. This mainly goes for the wagons and SUVs. As Clarkson said about the XC90: “It was actually designed by someone who had children”.

Not only that, but their safety record would be alluring to someone who doesn’t wish death upon their offspring.

2. Comfort. Big Volvos (S80, S90, that sort of thing) are some of the most comfortable cars out there. Up there with stuff like the B-Body and the old Buick Park Avenue.

Sure, Volvo has had plenty of performance cars. But be honest, do you really see Volvo as a performance brand? I certainly don’t, but apparently a lot of people do, for some reason.

Forge Crown Victor! > not for canada - australian in disguise 09/01/2016 at 10:46

2

As a former volvo tech, I agree. I only disagree that the 80/90 series is as comfy as a roadmaster. They ride totally different. I will concede that passenger comfort is actually the best in the sub $150k market.

not for canada - australian in disguise > Forge Crown Victor! 09/01/2016 at 10:49

0

I think it’s a different TYPE of comfort, but on a similar level. Sitting in a B-Body is like sitting on a couch. Volvos are more ergonomic, if you will.

bob and john > not for canada - australian in disguise 09/01/2016 at 10:50

10

Argument: volvo IS special because they arent trying to out do the germans. they do their thing with safety and ergos and really dont care THAT much about perforamnce. and that sets them aside. we dont need another BMW/Adui/merc/Cadillac. that market is saturated. volvo is pretty good where they are.

not for canada - australian in disguise > bob and john 09/01/2016 at 10:52

2

That is a good argument. Volvo’s always kind of done their own thing. I appreciate that.

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > not for canada - australian in disguise 09/01/2016 at 10:54

3

I love me some rolling couch.

Forge Crown Victor! > not for canada - australian in disguise 09/01/2016 at 10:55

2

Aye. That’s what I meant by passenger comfort. Volvo found the design for the most comfy seat in the world and I applaud them for it

gmctavish needs more space > not for canada - australian in disguise 09/01/2016 at 10:58

1

I know what you mean about them not being a performance brand, but they do have rally and BTCC heritage. That said, they don’t use it in any way. The Polestar cars are just their own strange and wonderful thing. In my mind, a good Volvo is a practical and safe car, that can rip down a dirt road if need be, and generally plow through whatever weather Sweden can throw at it.

Ash78, voting early and often > not for canada - australian in disguise 09/01/2016 at 10:59

2

Really? You have to ignore the media and promotional stuff. For me, the proof that Volvo isn't a performance brand is the sheer amount of applause we give them for the R models (especially in the early 2000s) and now the Polestar models. It's like watching the really nice, smart, friendly kid on the football team finally get a touchdown after playing for 3 years. That doesn't make him Thurman Thomas. But he's such a cool kid!

Margin Of Error > not for canada - australian in disguise 09/01/2016 at 10:59

2

Volvo stopped being special a long while ago when they jumped into modernity and switched to FWD with the P80 cars (850).

Now, being special is not always a good thing. The 200/700 series were terribly outdated. The risible 114hp engine, the solid rear axle all contributed to make their cars outperformed on all levels by the competition. It was time for them to do something.

Since then, they made some good stuff, but never “great” stuff, and their tendency too grossly overprice their cars and their terribly long model life cycles sent many potential buyers directly to the competition.

The new XC/S90 are promising, they are off to a good start, but for how long ? Competition is fierce in that price range and you need to update your shit often to stay in the game.

As for anything else they did in the last 20 years, it was mostly Swedish Buicks.

EL_ULY > not for canada - australian in disguise 09/01/2016 at 11:08

3

Someone is taking their promos the wrong way lol :]

This ad though represents Volvo very well:

Aaron M - MasoFiST > Margin Of Error 09/01/2016 at 11:11

0

The outdated aspect improves the old RWD Volvos in the eyes of the enthusiast market, though. The 740 is probably the simplest and cheapest turbo car on the market for people looking for projects...and you can get one that’s less than 30 years old. And being so outdated at the time helped them depreciate, too.

Honeybunchesofgoats > bob and john 09/01/2016 at 11:12

3

Someone please explain this to Jaguar as well.

Margin Of Error > Aaron M - MasoFiST 09/01/2016 at 11:16

0

And ?

dogisbadob > Honeybunchesofgoats 09/01/2016 at 11:16

0

Jag needs to bring back the hood ornaments as well. The X-Type wagon is the best Jaguar ever! That car was their peak :)

They lost their way once they started pulling out the hood ornament

Aaron M - MasoFiST > Margin Of Error 09/01/2016 at 11:18

1

Well, who’s calling them special, third-owner enthusiasts or new car buyers? The only thing I’ve heard about the new Volvos from someone with enough money to buy one was “oh look, they got their shit together” when they saw a new XC90. Other than the <$4000 crowd, I’ve never heard anyone claim Volvo was special, other than maybe a couple misty-eyed Swedophiles (like my parents, who spent the 70s and 80s buying Saabs).

dogisbadob > not for canada - australian in disguise 09/01/2016 at 11:19

1

The V60 and V90 need a third seat

Margin Of Error > Aaron M - MasoFiST 09/01/2016 at 11:20

2

Other than the <$4000 crowd, I’ve never heard anyone claim Volvo was special, other than maybe a couple misty-eyed Swedophiles (like my parents, who spent the 70s and 80s buying Saabs).

Now that’s a statement I can agree with !

S65 > not for canada - australian in disguise 09/01/2016 at 11:20

1

I agree

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > not for canada - australian in disguise 09/01/2016 at 11:26

3

What about someone who DOES wish death on their offspring?

kanadanmajava1 > not for canada - australian in disguise 09/01/2016 at 11:30

1

I think that Volvo has tried to pull away from performance car sector. They still offer powerful cars but in slightly different category.

I test drove a S90 on Tuesday. Our company’s CEO want to swap his company car into a S90 hybrid. It’s not yet available as the hybrid version so we loaned a normal version to see if he would like it. I used my change to see what it’s like.

For some reason Volvo gave us a T6 version that had 21" wheels with sporty 35 profile tires. The tire noise on our rough Finnish roads was quite terrible even at very low speeds. The CEO’s driver also took it for a spin and he even managed to curb one of the wheels.

I kinda liked it. Not enough to search for a method to buy one but enough to say that someone else should buy one. It was quite pleasant to drive and seemed to go quite fast if needed. The S90 even looks like a car as the rest of the modern Volvos look utterly horrible to me. Weirdly the engine sounds like a diesel if you try to do semi fast accelerations. The tire noise was indeed pretty annoying as the rest of the car was very quiet.

The car had a lot of different kinds of gimmicks but I didn’t do very through test for everything. The semi automated driving and the “bird’s eye display” to help parking were interesting. I have seen these in some modern M-B as well. It would fun to test how the semi automated driving would work on longer trips.

For Sweden > not for canada - australian in disguise 09/01/2016 at 11:34

1

That’s a banning.

whiskeybusiness NOW A DANGER TO CROWDS NEAR YOU > not for canada - australian in disguise 09/01/2016 at 11:36

1

Counter-point: Volvo may not have anything exceedingly special in their performance line, but they had affordable, turbocharged, manual, Inline-5 powered cars in hatchback, coupe, convertible, wagon, and sedan configurations, with the same rough specifications as the bigger ST sibling and are way more affordable on the used market.

not for canada - australian in disguise > Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer 09/01/2016 at 11:44

4

Just stick your kids in the trunk.

TFSIVTEC drivesavolvo > not for canada - australian in disguise 09/01/2016 at 12:11

0

My S40 disagrees with your list

I’m not trying to say it’s a sports car, but I really enjoy the comfort of a Volvo with the fun of a stick shift

jkm7680 > not for canada - australian in disguise 09/01/2016 at 12:22

1

To be honest, I’ve always just seen Volvos as cars for people that either want to keep their kids safe, or want “reliable” cars.

DipodomysDeserti > EL_ULY 09/01/2016 at 12:51

0

What’s funny is that you see the same people driving Volvo SUVs as you do driving Merc/BMW SUVs. That commercial would be more suitable as a Subaru ad.

EL_ULY > DipodomysDeserti 09/01/2016 at 13:26

0

Subaru Outback, Volvo XC70, same thing :]

We sell both Merc and Volvo at my dealer.... at least here in TX, the customers are very different peeps.