Volvo 940 safety?

[rippedoffagain]

One of my relatives doesn't approve of my new 940. She hasn't said as such, but it is quite clear.

First she had a dig about its fuel economy. More than once I should add.

Then today came the bombshell. 'Its big on safety features though is it!'

I had to ask her to repeat, I wasn't sure I'd heard correctly.

'Apparently it got less than one star, your sister's car got 6'.

My sister drives a Vauxhall Astra.

I tried to explain that Volvo have always led the way on safety features, and have always been years ahead of most other manufacturers but I could see I was wasting my breath.

I've seen plenty of videos on t'interweb of old Volvos being 'tested' and they seem to do really well. I wonder what this 'less than 1 star' could mean, surely not the Euro NCAP stuff?

I don't care. I think the 940 is one of the safest cars on the road, even by today's standards, but it would be good to be able to tell this relative that she is talking out of her rear end.

[SteveP]

I don't think the 900 series was ever tested to Euro NCAP standards. At the time of manufacture the 940 was a very safe car. It probably still is but safety has definitely moved on leaps and bounds in the last 10 years.

I think bizarrely the second generation Renault Laguna was the first car to receive 5 stars - if the Astra is a relatively new model it wouldn't surprise me if it turned out to be safer than the 940 - but then that's not exactly fair is it?

I wouldn't let your relative put you off anyway, the 940 is a safe car (even more so if you compare like for like) - it's just that the modern stuff is even safer

[Palmer]

Fortunately, ive crashed a 940 into an astra.....


Lets put it this way... I didn't feel a thing, and drove my car onto the trailer. Nuff said....

How many miles has her astra done to your 940? Throw that in her face lmao

[Blue 8]

In tearms of safely a new astra would no doubt run circles around your 940 , so ask her polity to put money where her mouth is and buy you a new astra if shes so concerned, basically put up or shut up.

[Forrest]

The reason I bought my first 940 was because I had seen the immediate aftermath of a crash between a Volvo estate and a mini on the motorway many years ago. The Volvo was parked on the hard-shoulder and apart from the pushed-in front bumper still looked drivable and you had to look twice to see it had been in an accident at all. The mini was in two halves about a hundred yards apart.

Your relative is probably thinking about the well known Renault Modus vs Volvo 940 crash test video which you can find on YouTube. It is true that the safety of small cars has improved. Most are designed around a structural safety cage and they also have a host of additional safety features such as air-bags that were only available on large luxury cars when the 940 was designed. However, the 940 is still a safe car and is also much more likely to be safely repairable after an accident than a modern super-mini.

In terms of economy, you need to consider total cost of ownership. You could undoubtedly buy a car which could do twice the mpg compared to the 940. However, could you buy a really nice one for under £1,000. Would it be easy and cheap to maintain and be good for 250k miles without major expenditure? You can buy a lot of petrol for the money you save on depreciation and servicing.

Finally, think how your 940 compares to an Astra for load space and towing capability. And, with a bit of care, it will still be on the road when the Astra is baked-bean cans!

[Paddler Ed]

Originally Posted by SteveP

I think bizarrely the second generation Renault Laguna was the first car to receive 5 stars - if the Astra is a relatively new model it wouldn't surprise me if it turned out to be safer than the 940 - but then that's not exactly fair is it?

It was only the first one to get a 5* rating because they introduced the 5th Star after they tested the original S80...

[rippedoffagain]

I've just watched the Modus vs 940 thing on youtube. It was a bit of an eye opener, but I'm not put off my 940.

I've also seen everything I need to tell my relative that she is talking out of her exhaust. The 940 has no official safety rating, therefore this claim that it has 'less than 1 star' is clearly utter rubbish. Just completely made up and irrelevant.

My approach to road safety has always been the same anyway, no matter what I'm driving. My safety rule book only has one short sentence in it.

"Don't crash".

And if I do crash it, accidents happen after all, well if I crash head on with a closing speed of 80mph, its going to hurt no matter what I'm in.

[S70 B5254T]

A traffic officer once told me of a collision between a 900 and a Transit, where the 900 had T-boned the van after the van driver pulled out of a junction in error.
The van driver died (unsurprising considering that vans never used to be engineered for crash safety), but the female driver of the 900 was not wearing a seatbelt and walked away with a small bruise to her face.

Every collision is different, and there are so many variables affecting chances of survival - the slightest change of collision angle or more obvious ones like speed and the weight and collapsibility of the object being collided with.

With the advent of transverse-mounted engines for their FWD models, Volvo themselves will have found it much easier to build crumple zones that deform predictably and assist in minimising cabin intrusion.
Having a longitudinal-mounted engine and the increased likelihood of cabin intrusion is probably a significant reason why the 700/900 crumple zones can't quite match modern standards.

I'd still love to own a nice one though!

[gpl1968]

Maybe you could show her this thread: (click on pic to go to thread)

[Forrest]

I've had two minor accidents in my 940s. An unfortunate snow experience where I left the road sideways on a bend and passed through a barbed wire fence. Two fence posts broke off. Because of the barbed wire I had to get some panels resprayed but no panel beating was required.

On another occasion I ran into the back of a VW Golf. The third party insurance claim was £370. I repaired my own car for £20 - replacement headlamp unit of eBay. £200 excess avoided.

You're right about the 80 mph head-on collisions, but most accidents are minor and the 940 is very tough!