Interesting take on safety

[abdiel]

To my way of thinking, Volvo have always done 'Safety' because they wanted to, not because they had to.

[Fika]

Not that these crash tests are the arbiters of what is "the" safest car, but Volvos do perform consistently well in Euro NCAP and IIHS tests.

The company does use the word "safety" as if there were an element of pride involved and as everybody in Sweden is apparently safety oriented and opt for Volvos for "safety reasons", that's got me sold (naively).

The cars made do tend to be quite substantial- I leaned on a door panel of a VW clown mobile and Mercedes A-class (the cheapest cars by those companies) and they began to cave in. I'm a clumbsy oaf, so it wasn't really a valid "test". Stuff like that doesn't happen so much on even the cheapest Volvos of the same year.

Of course all cars are built to a cost, but when you prioritise safety, that comes with sacrificing MPG and vehicle cost. Any cheapo car you'll buy (Renault, Citroens)- it's not going to have sufficient materials to survive a 5mph collision with my butt.

That said, Volvos ain't cheap...

[Clan]

Originally Posted by abdiel

To my way of thinking, Volvo have always done 'Safety' because they wanted to, not because they had to.

Exactly and they have gained a huge knowledge base from attending every accident in sweden involving one of their cars since 1970 to analyse ACTUAL accidents . Now who else would bother doing that .

[andy_d]

Originally Posted by Fika

Not that these crash tests are the arbiters of what is "the" safest car, but Volvos do perform consistently well in Euro NCAP and IIHS tests.

The company does use the word "safety" as if there were an element of pride involved and as everybody in Sweden is apparently safety oriented and opt for Volvos for "safety reasons", that's got me sold (naively).

The cars made do tend to be quite substantial- I leaned on a door panel of a VW clown mobile and Mercedes A-class (the cheapest cars by those companies) and they began to cave in. I'm a clumbsy oaf, so it wasn't really a valid "test". Stuff like that doesn't happen so much on even the cheapest Volvos of the same year.

Of course all cars are built to a cost, but when you prioritise safety, that comes with sacrificing MPG and vehicle cost. Any cheapo car you'll buy (Renault, Citroens)- it's not going to have sufficient materials to survive a 5mph collision with my butt.

That said, Volvos ain't cheap...

its not "just" doors that are now made of "painted tinfoil",
various makes have wings/bonnets and roof all made of "painted tin foil"
when you use a machine polisher on a car panel and watch the panel Flex you Shudder as there is Very little IF any pressure being applied, only time that is a issue is the center of some roof panels on larger estates, they flex a Little ,without any worry of "will it pop back or dish" but Only when you apply Pressure with the tool.


Sis has had a raft of "other makes" some worse than others, non anywhere near a volvo on build quality. last one was a "seat" suv thing, poxy 3 pot turbo petrol engine, so a good job it Was painted tin foil body, as there is no way that poxy engine could pull a proper body. (thankfully she has sold that POS,,and bought a Smart,,)