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What makes a Volvo?

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Old Sep 8th, 2019, 10:37   #11
Harvey1512
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Solid, functional cars, better than many, not as good as the best. They are Ronseal cars.

The above is not a criticism, it is why many of us have chosen them.
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Old Sep 8th, 2019, 12:32   #12
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In days gone past it was safety & longevity. These days it's a left field choice with marginal individuality.
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Old Sep 9th, 2019, 09:09   #13
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Some interesting views here.I suppose thinking about it a little more they have[until at least recently-possibly still do but I'm not sure]leant more towards functionality more than outright style-I don't say this as a criticism[estate cars with sloped roof lines cutting down on load space what's that all about!]certainly they've been at the forefront in pioneering safety.On the older ones especially longevity was a forte-perhaps better quality steel used?but could that very trait also be seen as a negative?After all if you make something that lasts[just for a figure say 20yrs]why would there be a need for an owner to replace it thereby cutting the very sales the company needs to survive.From memory the 144 and 245 I had years ago were certainly comfortable cars as are the V70 and 960 I presently own.
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Old Sep 9th, 2019, 15:21   #14
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I'm a relatively new Volvo owner, had my V70 D5 Auto for just over a year, it's ten years old and it's tight as a drum, every single thing on it works as it should, it drives like new. I don't get the Ford thing as far as my car goes, I've owned plenty of Fords, and they're definitely not built like this 2009 V70, not even close. A 10 year old Ford will be squeaking, rattling and generally falling apart in my experience. I think there's a certain snobbishness and dewy eyed nostalgia for the pre-Ford era Volvo's. I know they were solid cars, my Mother owned a very nice 745, but many of them never did the mileage that modern cars do now.

I see plenty of older Ford era Volvo's on the road, still ticking along quite nicely, these cars are still significantly better than most cars for reliability, safety and as general work-horses. I was drawn to Volvo for their reputation in those areas, and I needed a big solid car for towing my Caravan, trips down the tip and pretty much anything else I throw at it, and its lived up to it's reputation so far, I have no complaints and if I don't get it past at least 200K I'll be disappointed, it's certainly nothing like any Ford I've ever driven.
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Old Sep 9th, 2019, 21:47   #15
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The Ford thing is actually a bit back to front these days from my experience, and it possibly changed when Ford and Volvo co-created the Mark 4 Mondeo and P3 V70.

I had a 2005 54-reg Mark 3 Mondeo TDCi 155, and by 160K miles and 6 years old it was a bit creaky and making odd noises. It had already suffered a number of broken front springs, and the clip near the rear view mirror for the driver's sun visor kept coming unscrewed. Definitely approaching spares or repairs status, especially considering the dodgy reliability of its engine. So I traded it in at that point for a Mark 4 Mondeo 2.2 TDCi that was unfortunately written off a month later.

April last year, I owned a 2009 59-reg Mark 4 Mondeo 2.0 TDCi with a similar high mileage but it was far better built, and it barely showed any signs of age at all. I traded it in for my current V70 but nearly bought it back again shortly thereafter for my son.

So I can say that what made a Volvo 10 years ago also largely made a Ford in more ways than one.
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Old Sep 10th, 2019, 08:31   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FunkyMelon View Post
Anything under Ford ownership from 2004+ no longer had the reliability, cheaper materials, rehashed shared designs and the safety was on par with anything else out at the time - They were just expensive Fords in a frock.
Nonsense. Volvo were still engineering them to perform well in crash, not designing them to pass existing tests. Which explains why when the US introduced the small offset frontal impact test the V60 or S60 did well as the Volvo accident response team was already well aware of that type of accident and how the forces affected the car and as such were already designing to a handle them
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Old Sep 11th, 2019, 12:44   #17
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For me & this is only my opinion & others may disagree

1) Style - They're a bit quirky but not Japanese plastic fantastic quirky
2) Comfort - I can drive my XC60 for 500miles & get out without feeling it
3) Different - It's not a BMW/VW/AUDI like so many others aspire to & when they get there have to change personality & driving style to match (Note this is not all drivers of said cars)
4) Reliable
5) Dealer Experience - when you visit you're not pounced upon by sales trying to get you to but a new one (Most Dealerships), you're treated with respect & not looked down on because your car may be a bit older than the current model (Again most dealers). In fact when I had my C70 the mechanics tripped over themselves at being the one to look after the beast.
6) It just works
7) Safety - Again they're at the forefront, notice how most manufactures are hyping city safety etc. now, Volvo have had it for years.
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Old Sep 12th, 2019, 12:31   #18
MtillingVolvo
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Hi All,

Interesting to read the various opinions.

My take on it all (having worked for Volvo since 2003) would be:

Safety - Volvo have always been (and still are) ahead of the curve on this, although the gap probably isn't as wide as it has been in years gone by. Volvo still use more Boron Steel (strongest, and most expensive available for automotive use) in their vehicles than any other manufacturer (that I'm aware of) - We've had some systems on our cars, such as the city safety, as standard for longer than most manufacturers too.

EDIT - Thought I'd find some information to back up the Boron steel Claim... have a look at the below:

http://www.boronextrication.com/2014...e_extrication/ - 2014 XC90

http://www.boronextrication.com/2018...ody-structure/ - 2019 BMW X4


Note that the Volvo uses more "Ultra high strength Steel" (boron) around the main cabin (encapsulating the whole cabin, rather than part of it) and generally uses a higher proportion of Steel over aluminium. The most suprising part for me was that the BMW doesn't seem to have any steel in the roof going from left to right of the car, so presumably in a rollover incident the BMW would be far "softer" than the Volvo....anyway.. think I've made my point!


Equipment Levels - When you compare Volvo to BMW/Mercedes/Audi the level of standard equipment is usually higher. An example of this would be the Adaptive Cruise in S/V/XC90.

Seat Comfort - This has been touched on already, but is something which until you've spent a while in a Volvo you don't really appreciate. I did have a short stint out of the motor trade where I had a BMW 420d Coupe (which I didn't pick myself...) as a company car and, while it was a nice car, the seats were awful!....I was doing the equivalent of 30,000 miles a year in it and used to ache like nothing else by the end of the day. Did look nice and handled well (in the dry) but the seats would have been a deal breaker if I was buying one....

Build Quality - Apart from during the Ford Era I think the build quality has always been as good as, if not better than our competitors. I'm probably a bit biased!...

The fact they aren't a BMW/Audi/Mercedes - Volvo sell significantly less cars in the UK than "Zee Germans" - I always see this as a good thing as far as its less of a herd mentality for someone to choose a Volvo. The "Old Man" Stigma is well on its way out and we do see a lot of people moving over from German Manufacturers now, which we didn't so much in previous years as we had more people moving up from the Renault/Vauxhall/Citreon crown than people moving across from the German Competitors - I take this as a good sign Volvo are doing something right!

Styling - If you put a current R-Design model next to a BMW M Sport / Audi S Line / Mercedes AMG line then I (personally) think they look every bit as good... something you certainly couldn't have said back in 2003 when I started!....

There is much more (and I could probably talk about it all day), but gives you an insight into my take on what makes a Volvo!
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Last edited by MtillingVolvo; Sep 12th, 2019 at 12:48.
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