German Car Forum

I'd consider this kind of like blogging, feel free to pitch your thoughts if you feel the need. Here are mine:

CON's

- The brand has a really stodgy image, if that's what you care about. The management seems to have a resistance to making their cars sportier because they believe somehow that would compromise Volvo's outstanding reputation for safety.

- Stupid engineering flaws that should not be; The wheel wells on my car are not deep enough, therefore the turninig radius is at an ungainly 42ft. Inexcusable IMO.

- Dearth of performance upgrades provided through the factory under warranty. You have to look to outside sources and hope that your warranty isn't voided should you actually upgrade and take your car into service sometime later (BMW makes money off BMW tuners, Volvo is really missing out).

- There's the constant worry that Ford management will push for more bottom line products and skimp on unique, niche cars, Volvo cars.

- Not enough R models. Where's the support???

- Lack of engineering cooperation w/ Ford Europe that could yield more performance oriented Volvo's.

-They don't put their car through enough paces in testing to get the most of what their engineering team can do. I don't think I've ever seen a non Hieco Sportiv Volvo on the Nurburigring.

- Volvo designs have the tendency to "blend in", not enough eye catching details

- Chicks will always say your car is "cute" - uughhhhhh

- Everything the company does has something to do w/ safety and nothing else. Hell the Ford F series has all the sudden become the "safest" truck on the mkt.

one extra - Their marketing department blows, no motivation or real cutting edge talent to push products, make them more interesting to consumers.

PRO's

- Volvo's will run FOREVERRRRR. My aunt has had her 240 since I was 3 and STILL has it (major factor in purchasing my S60 when we originally bought it as my first car).

-Cheap to run.

-Unassuming - I was driving sixty in the only part of my town where there is no posted speed limit (and yes, enough space to be driving that fast), there was a cop chillin out on the otherside of the street who didn't noticed that I was going rather fast til I was over the hill and saw his lights go on after I had passed and was well on my way to who knows?

- Scandinavian Quirkiness - A Volvo hallmark, they will think up the most off the wall things as features for thier cars (i.e. pen holder in S60 interior right before the gear shift).

- Orthopedically designed seats will never make you feel fatiuged, work great over long distances.

- Low end torque from turbocharged engines; turbolag is kept down to a minimum which allows the engine to respond more smoothly to your inputs.

- Beautifully designed cars that have a quality of timelessness to them, though a bit bland.

- The aftermarket tuners that do exsist for Volov produced quality work (i.e. http://www.heicosportiv.de/mainframe.asp?lang=en&e1=160)

- As it stands, Ford has yet to weasel their way into forcing Volvo to it's half arsed way of engineering and building cars.

- Reasonable asking prices, great features and plenty of conetent.

Deutsch i agree with the most points of yours.

-turning radius: it never bothered me, and i don't think that it is big enough to be inexcusable. On the other hand, the i compare it with a Renault, which we all know has the worst turning radius in the automotive world.
-desing: Noone said that B-E-A-U-TIFUL is the right adjective to describe a Volvo, but they are definitely not ugly cars. Volvo, IMO, has a different approach on designing their cars. They want their cars not only to drive for ages (you said that) but not to look ugly after some years. So, not the best design, but it will always look good.
-not enough R models: true. Just imagine of a S40R
-price: that's the best part. Offer quite as much as a german car, with at least 3.000eur for a base model.
-Scandinavian Quirkiness: i assume you have a pre-facelift model. After the facelift the pen holder was removed. i guess noone used it. I use the pen holder inside the passengers closet or whatever is said.
-seat: well nothing more to be said. just the best seats i have ever seated myself in

what i don't with the chicks part. With me, chicks don't say anything about my car. It is usually dirty, really dirty on the exterior. But when they step in, that's the funny part. Most women don't believe what they see.

Yeh, most girls really like it when the see how nice the interior is, and those seats really knock them out when going for the ride.

As someone who has driven several S80's, a V70, an S40 and to top it off a 240 and a 244 that was older than me, this is what I have to say.

- The turning circle (in the newer/bigger cars) is awful, and that's because Volvo engineered the platform to take a transverse straight-six. Of course this means that there's more room inside but nevertheless is a pain when parking.
- The image. 'Round here Volvos are everywhere and Volvo drivers (esp. V70 drivers) are considered to be bullies.
- The low-end model(s). The S40 I drove was a first-generation post-facelift car and to be honest it was not really Volvo-like. It didn't feel solid and robust like Volvos are supposed to be, and apparently it was supposed to be the best small Volvo so far... Of course you Americans never had to suffer the small, Dutch-made Volvos before the S40.
- The performance. As I said, I've driven several S80's. The lowest-power model ('99 2.5D Auto, with 340,000 km on the clock!) was very slow and all models I drove had trouble putting the power to the ground, especially in the winter.

- The seats cannot be praised enough. But I heard the seats on the new S80 are not on the same level as the old ones.
- The build quality seems to be there. At least it was on the older cars which had done considerable mileages but were not much worse for it.

We can only hope that Volvo will make fun to drive cars again...


Volvo's weren't always FWD you know???

- Volvo's image is something very complex. In Sweden the 80% of the cars are Volvos, while here in Greece there are not many in the streets. Even though an S40 or S80 is a not so common sight, you gott be very lucky to see an S60 around here.

- As for the lower end models, i think that they are quite ok, at least the new ones that i know about.

- And about the performance, i have test driven most Volvos, most of them on base engines and they were quite ok. We get a base S40 with 1.6l engine, and the S60 and S80 with the 2.0T engine as base. So it's quite good. Only the S40 could do something more. But, hey, if you want a fast car, you gotta pay for it...

It is my experience that w/ most Volvo's, while the engines are smooth you have to rev the nutz off of them to get things moving along quickly. It all comes down to turbo lag.

BUMP!!!

The Volvo blog-a-log contiunes...

So I took a nice cruise on PCH last saturday, and when I parked my car, the engine ran extremely rough at idle, so I turned it off and took a stroll and sit on the beach. Then I came back and it was still there (an hour later!!!). So I thought maybe running it for a bit and let things go back to normal, and they did... up until parking outside this afternoon coming home from work, the rough idle started again, really struck an even bigger chord this time than last, becasue I popped open the hood to have a look at my engine cooilant and what not. To my amazement I stood and watched my engine bounce back and forth, at some point it sounded like the engine was just going to cut out. Not all that long ago I recieved a letter from Volvo on a recall they were doing on my car and others equpiped w/ "ETS" or "Electronic Throttle System". which works as a device that mitigates throttle iinpt to the engine through a computer. This sytem has been known to fail on early models (my car) and cause problems. So having some sort of idea as to what could be the root of this rough engine idle I call my local Volvo dealer to get some more insight, so I spoke w/ one of the friendly techs and he told me to bring my car in this week to get a software upgrade. CAN'T WAIT!!! Nothing like a smooth running Volvo, that's for damm sure!!!



On another note, looking at the new S80 it is starting to come across as more familiar than "new". While a good looking car, the lines leave me feeling largely uninspired and wishing that they'd been more brave. All the while it's still a beautiful car. Which brings me to an inner conflict, buy another Volvo or try something else??? I hung out w/ one of my best freinds last Sunday and his sister just purchased an extrodinarily attractive '06 XC90 V8 Ocean Race edt., now I see many a Volvo everyday, I have neighbors that have S60's too, but this car reminded me of how special Volvo's truly are. From the intuitive tailgate release once opened, to the neat looking dashboard and comfy orthopedically designed seats. As for Volvo's lack of character??? What lack of character??? The more time I drive my car and remember other Volvo's I've driven, I recognize the unique character of these Scandinavian lazyboys. Only so many cars have seats that give you support from all sides, offer strong torque from the low down for the everyday, and such clean design and intuitive features, and of course the unique overall value they posess. Sure these cars can use some work in the dynamics department, but you really tend to ignore that when you stretch back in the drivers seat and mash down the throttle on the way home from work on a long day. Truly rewarding, Volvo's are desiged for and around people, unlike so many other cars. At the same time I'm a driving enthusiast and like ultimate road contact, and here most definately Volvo fails me and many others, perhaps swaybars will save my S60's dulled enthusiasm??? We'll see, but the next S60 (if there is to be one) will have to very good indeed in order to keep BMW from superseding my current car.

i have never heard of that ETS... Anyway, go for the update. I need to go for an update too!

PS. I liked that "Scandinavian lazyboy"

BTW, Deutsch, have you ever slept in your S60? If not, try it!

LoL, last time I slept in a car someone ran up and threw a beer bottle right outside the door to wake me up. Don't think I'll be doing that unless I'm on the freeway and someone else is driving, preferably my Mom.

I have never slept in the Volvo while someone else is driving. Most of the time i am talking. Yes, when i don't have anything to do, i'm very talkative.

I mean to spend a night in the car. Hence, i did it once. There was an earthquake and mum was very scared and told me to take the car, drive to an open space and sleep there. At first i didn't do it, but she called every 10 minutes to make me leave..

My aunt bought a XC90 and here are 2 reasons not to buy a Volvo:

• Faulty brakes
• A moonroof that stayed open (wouldn't close)

All that within a week of being purchased!!! I guess Ford quality finally trickled down to Volvo!