The ovloV (Volvo) combat thread

I don't see any brands that would stand out, but one thing I see almost every day: Suicidal overtake maneuvers, overtaking into blind corners etc.

And who does this? Underpowered cars, no matter if it's a subcompact with 5 people in it or a white van. It's just like they forget that the rest of the traffic moves too - they just see there is enough space in the very moment and don't realize how much that can change while they are on the other lane...
 
Twice my old volvo got hit when it was standing still. The biggest damage I had was a loose trim piece on the front bumper and some scratches in the plastic. The back end of the mitsubishi that backed in to it was pushed in fairly well. The second one was a hit in to the same corner, no damage on my car. The other car suffered a broken turn signal and a loose bumper. Good 'ol "two by four" :D
 
James May wades in (old column). He likes Volvos, but sees them as the point of no return for "growing up".

It?s still a Volvo; still the archetypal understated middle-class-twinset-woolly-jumper-orchestra-practice garden-centre-camping-holiday-in-the -Loire-sodding-valley kind of car, for people with the right priorities but who smell a bit biscuity.
It?s still the car that serious motorcyclists loathe, and which is apparently always driven by people who can?t. And I believe there is no retreat from Volvo ownership. It?s a little like smoking, probably: no one ever really gives up, they?re just leaving longer between puffs.
 
I see more idiot motorcyclists on a daily basis than I do idiot Volvo drivers. Just saying.

That said though, I see an awful lot of idiot drivers/riders on a daily basis, regardless of make or model.
 
James May wades in (old column). He likes Volvos, but sees them as the point of no return for "growing up".

Absolutely true - I drive a Volvo and I can't ride a motorcycle :)

To quote more from the article:

Then, of course, came the 850 and especially the T5 version, and Volvo?s moral victory in the British Touring Car Championship, in which it campaigned T5 estates with stuffed dogs in the back. With the 850, Volvo?s profile began to soften, and with it, attitudes. Blah blah blah. Anyway, no one would deny that these days a Volvo is a designer artefact, free from the aesthetic shackles of Etch-a-Sketch and impact-absorbing rubber. A Volvo has long been cool.
 
I know I'm a little late to the party on this but here's my opinion, for what it's worth. I tend to find that Volvos are generally very well driven, and I have never heard of the "Volvo drivers are bad drivers" stereotype until now. The groups that I consider to be the worst drivers are people in really cheap old cars who simply don't give a shit, middle-class 'yummy mummys' who seem to feel they can do whatever the bloody hell they want, sales-reps/executives in Audis, Lexus' and SUVs who also seem to think they don't have to obey the same rules as us and older people in Nissan Almeras and Kia Picantos who will obliviously drive at 43mph in a 60 zone then continue at 43 when it changes to a 30 zone.

However, I know that these are generalisations and cannot by any means be considered to be a rule and I would never make an immediate judgement about someone simply by the car they drive.
 
What? You get your common sense out of a Spectre thread! You do it now! :mad:
 
What? You get your common sense out of a Spectre thread! You do it now! :mad:

Seconded! This is a place for bigotry, gross generalisation and man-breasts!

Mainly man-breasts!
 
Interesting comparison/test-drive article from MotorTrend in 1995 - Volvo T5-R, Jaguar XJR, AMG C36, BMW 540i

http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/112_9505_destination_desolation_road_test/viewall.html

Its front-drive arrangement and Nordic-bred suspension setup make the T-5R more stable and confidence-inspiring at its cornering limit, allowing non-professional drivers to extract more of the car's potential. While the balanced handling of the BMW and Mercedes rewards skilled drivers, few Americans have studied long enough to pass the oversteer pop quizzes the Germans so love. And the T-5R easily tops the handling of the Jaguar, which pushes like a snowplow in hard corners, and darts on undulating high-speed straightaways like a schizophrenic chipmunk.

Them's fighting words!
 
Interesting comparison/test-drive article from MotorTrend in 1995 - Volvo T5-R, Jaguar XJR, AMG C36, BMW 540i

http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/112_9505_destination_desolation_road_test/viewall.html



Them's fighting words!

You're just mad because the C30 was a failure.

Also, in the Motor Trend test, it might have helped if they didn't overinflate the XJR's tires, thus reducing the contact patch for the heavy sedan. This has long been thought to be why Motor Trend was the only reviewing magazine to report such issues at the time.

For example, here is a contemporary review from another source:

owever, power is only part of the story. The new XJ's improved chassis and rugged suspension provide a level of handling that's certainly as agile and aggressive as any car in this class. It's interesting to note that the XJ sedans achieve their handling superiority without resorting to electronic suspension trickery - self-adjusting shock absorbers and the like.

Although the basic XJ6 is impressive in the handling department, the XJR does add some extra capability, primarily because of its 17-in. wheels and fatter performance tires with a lower profile. The level of cornering power that goes with this setup is eye-widening. Our XJR gobbled up winding back roads at a pace that would certainly leave many competitors - particularly its front-wheel- drive competitors - far behind.

The steering is direct, precise and sports-car quick, just 2.8 turns from absolute left to absolute right, which enhances the XJR's sporty feel.

Superb braking performance rounded out our XJR experience. With big vented discs at all four corners, powerful calipers plus ABS, this system does an exceptional job of dealing with the car's substantial mass. Try as we might, we were unable to provoke any brake fade in hard stops.

You might expect that limited body roll and high cornering capabilities would produce a firm ride - and you'd be correct. The XJR, along with the other members of the series, is indeed firm in the ride department. But like other European road cars, firm shouldn't be confused with harsh. Shock absorber valving in all the XJ sedans is supple enough to damp out small bumps without drama, although really nasty potholes can produce jolts.

From interstates to boulevards, though, the XJ sedans will provide the kind of ride you'd associate with a luxury car.
 
Last edited:
Ahh okay, I see. They overinflated the tires on the XJR, but they didn't overinflate them on the T5-R. Sure.
 
Ahh okay, I see. They overinflated the tires on the XJR, but they didn't overinflate them on the T5-R. Sure.

You quoted Motor Trend, who is known to have some wildly varying results on tests. This is the magazine that once reviewed the Miata as having 'severe understeer' and they liked the stability of the Porsche 930 Turbo.

Edmunds and most other publications generally check to make sure everything is up to spec before performing tests, and Edmunds is where I got that T5-R review from.
 
You quoted Motor Trend, who is known to have some wildly varying results on tests. This is the magazine that once reviewed the Miata as having 'severe understeer' and they liked the stability of the Porsche 930 Turbo.

Edmunds and most other publications generally check to make sure everything is up to spec before performing tests, and Edmunds is where I got that T5-R review from.

So by extension this makes the XJR a well-handling car, and the T5-R automatically a bad one. Your logic being that - everything Motor Trend says has to be reversed?

Or was there a plot that had only the XJR with overinflated tires so that it would lose against the other competitors?

In other news, I just read the reviews of the 500hp Polestar S60 in both Motor Trend and European Car. Sure they praised the car, but it's a concept monster so it's kind of irrelevant. They did speak about the Volvo brand in general and they had nothing but good things to say about the cars from the last several years.
 
Last edited:
The ovloV (Volvo) combat thread

So by extension this makes the XJR a well-handling car, and the T5-R automatically a bad one. Your logic being that - everything Motor Trend says has to be reversed?

Or was there a plot that had only the XJR with overinflated tires so that it would lose against the other competitors?

Nope, it means that MT reviews should be looked at skeptically.

Another example: MT is also notorious for somehow obtaining low time 0-60 results that no other magazine seems to be able to duplicate. The joke is that MT tests some of their cars on a downhill slope with an occasional tailwind.

They also have a nasty habit where 'car of the year' seems to correlate well with 'bought the most ad space' - Motor Trend made the new decontented and cheapened VW Passat their 'Car Of The Year' recently. And they have *lots* of VW ads this year. And the Passat isn't even vaguely deserving of that award.

Their recent COTY track record isn't very good, either. It reads mostly like a rickhamilton Wish List Of Awful.

2011 Chevrolet Volt
2007 Toyota Camry
2005 Chrysler 300
2004 Toyota Prius
2002 Ford Thunderbird
2001 Chrysler PT Cruiser
2000 Lincoln LS
1997 Chevrolet Malibu
1995 Chrysler Cirrus
1991 Chevrolet Caprice Classic LTZ
1990 Lincoln Town Car
1988 Pontiac Grand Prix
 
Last edited:
I'd contend with the 300C and Lincoln LS being undeserving of praise. But not to forget MT's worst winner of the award:

280px-Ford_Mustang_II_%28Centropolis_Laval_%2710%29.jpg
 
Okay, the 300C and LS weren't terrible. But there were a *lot* better cars in their respective years (IIRC) and I wouldn't say they were entirely worthy of COTY.

Other embarrassments:
1983 AMC / Renault Alliance
1980 Chevrolet Citation
1976 Chrysler, Dodge Aspen and Plymouth Volare
1971 Chevrolet Vega (this is where they started going off into the weeds.)
 
Last edited:
Well, in this article they really like the BMW 540i and I believe declare it a winner. Using your logic, because it's MotorTrend, it must be a bad car...no?

Just because they screw up from time to time, does not automatically mean that the T5-R was a bad car and that their observations are inaccurate.
 
Top