Quote:
Originally Posted by piotrek
Please share your impressions how Volvo S80 D4 compares to your Lexus GS250 2013. Noise levels, seats, driving comfort? Thank you.
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Noise levels - much the same - both are very quiet cars. I’d give the Lexus the nod over the Volvo for ride and handling/road holding and I suspect the Lexus made less suspension noise over bumps.
Seats. I’d say the Volvo has a better range of seating adjustment and range of steering wheel adjustment. My main critism with the Lexus wasn’t the seat but that it wouldn’t go low enough, the tilt to angle the squab angle didn’t go high enough and the wheel wouldn’t extend out enough. Both seats are incredible in their comfort but in the Volvo you can get closer to the wheel whilst maintaining comfort - and that’s very very important.
Engine. Lexus more refined at idle - the Volvo are cruising speed above 90 leptons. The Lexus makes a fantastic roar from its engine - but that roar turns to a slight drone at continental autoroute speeds. I drive all over Europe - this stuff matters.
Gearbox. Volvo hands down - the 8sp is incredible and at say 140km/hr you cannot hear the engine due to the long gearing. The shorter intermediate gears facilitate very good acceleration. Allthe gears in the Lexus were too long so despite a 26bhp advantage the Lexus isn’t any faster, and probably slower. I’ll miss the roar of the V6 though when driving in a sporty way. But that’s not what cars like this are about.
Cabin layout. Volvo is more logical - Lexus more interesting and probably better trimmed and assembled-but again very little in it. Volvo more roomy upfront - Lexus more roomy in the back. Lexus has awful swan neck mechanism - Volvo the canteelever boot hinges which don’t eat into the boot space.
Bodywork/paint finish. Volvo just better. There was quite a lot of rust on the underside of the Lexus and the paint chipped incredibly easily. It’s a car for a dry warm climate - not a Scottish one. Styling - I don’t think the Japanese ever really get this right with large cars. The Volvo looks better.
Reliability - nothing went wrong on the Lexus bar a “clock spring” in the steering column which meant it squeaked a lot. Fixed under warranty. Volvo I’ve had a week but I am concerned about the EGR issues associated with this engine.