[MikeyV]

After 2 years with a e91 Msport wagon and an expanded family we decided to buy a bigger car, after a lot of looking which included Audi A6, BMW 5 series, Mercedes E class and Ford Mondeo we settled on a Volvo V70 R Design, it's a 2.4 litre 5 cylinder diesel, 175hp. Price wise it was over 150,000 NOK cheaper than A6, 5er and E Class wagons with the same specs, a wee bit more expensive than the Mondeo. So far I don't regret the purchase, as a family wagon I think it would be pretty hard to beat, excellent spec, decent price, ride is good, handling is ok, and it has the bests seats my butt has ever sat in.

I was sad to see the e91 go, it was a great car, I will get another BMW one day, most likely the future FWD sub 1 series to replace the MINI.

The old e91 and our MINI Cooper Clubman D


and the new V70

[Garduna]

safety!!!

[stickypaws]

Good choice for a basic family wagon. Safe, unassuming, good room inside, decent interior.

The Volvo logo on the front grille is HUGE now.

My only big issue is owning a Chinese car. I used to own older R Volvo's and part of the draw was that it was an eccentric and sort of cool Swedish car. Not anymore.

[MikeyV]

The company might now be Chinese owned but the cars will still be designed in Sweden with Volvos for Europe and US markets made in Europe, Chinese made Volvos will not be exported.

[blue2fire]

Originally Posted by stickypaws

Good choice for a basic family wagon. Safe, unassuming, good room inside, decent interior.

The Volvo logo on the front grille is HUGE now.

My only big issue is owning a Chinese car. I used to own older R Volvo's and part of the draw was that it was an eccentric and sort of cool Swedish car. Not anymore.

Come on, Aston Martin is 50% Kuwaiti and Jaguar is 100% Indian. Still does not detract from the cars, same people build and design them. In fact, the brand might get more attention in some cases (The Middle Eastern people tend to leave the nitty gritty to other people entirely). I read an article talking about how the man that runs TATA learned to drive in his grandfather's XK120 and the fact that he flew over as soon as the deal closed to meet the dealers that were making a huge fuss of it being an undesirable connection.

The dealers said it was the first time they met any higher executive, let alone the top man. That said, very curious about how the Chinese do things, probably doubt the main man learned to drive in a P1800 in Mao's China and just the way they treated MG.

[stickypaws]

I don't care, I still don't want a Chinese owned car.

Like I said, for me the only thing Volvo truly had going for it was because it was a Swedish owned car company. The cars themselves are nothing really spectacular. But part of the cult of owning a Volvo was the Swedish personality and aura. That was the whole deal back then; safety and Swedish character.

Yes, I know they are also built in Belgium. And yes, Ford took them over at one time. And that was the beginning of the end of the Volvo cult.

Sure, the Chinese can run the company okay. But it's no longer really Volvo, the pride of Sweden.

And with much better choices out there as far as cars go, imho, Volvo is just no longer on my menu.

p.s., The V70 is no longer be available in the US, unfortunately. And neither is the V8 for the S80.

[ibeclueless]

cool

[MikeyV]

Originally Posted by stickypaws

I don't care, I still don't want a Chinese owned car.

Like I said, for me the only thing Volvo truly had going for it was because it was a Swedish owned car company. The cars themselves are nothing really spectacular. But part of the cult of owning a Volvo was the Swedish personality and aura. That was the whole deal back then; safety and Swedish character.

Yes, I know they are also built in Belgium. And yes, Ford took them over at one time. And that was the beginning of the end of the Volvo cult.

Sure, the Chinese can run the company okay. But it's no longer really Volvo, the pride of Sweden.

And with much better choices out there as far as cars go, imho, Volvo is just no longer on my menu.

p.s., The V70 is no longer be available in the US, unfortunately. And neither is the V8 for the S80.

I bet you own lots of other stuff that's made by a chinese owned company, the first thing is probably the computer you used to type your message.

They were also built in The Netherlands and Canada. Volvo hasn't really been Volvo since the day Volvo AB sold the car division to Ford, you can still buy a Swedish Volvo truck or Volvo Penta boat motor if you want a real Volvo.

You can still get an XC70 in the US. As a family wagon the V70 is the best on the market, even the new 5 series doesn't come close, especially since BMW jacked the price up.

[stickypaws]

Originally Posted by MikeyV

I bet you own lots of other stuff that's made by a chinese owned company, the first thing is probably the computer you used to type your message.

Duh. This is an age old argument. Of course my computer brand is made in China and owned by a company in Cupertino. But if I don't want to buy a car from a Chinese company, made wherever, that's my choice.

Originally Posted by MikeyV

They were also built in The Netherlands and Canada. Volvo hasn't really been Volvo since the day Volvo AB sold the car division to Ford, you can still buy a Swedish Volvo truck or Volvo Penta boat motor if you want a real Volvo.

Duh. BMWs are made in South Africa, too. What does this have to do with me not wanting to buy a car from a Chinese company? And I already said that Volvo lost it's mystic when bought out by Ford. And sorry, but I'm not interested in driving a Swedish semi-tractor trailer truck around town. Or a boat with a Swedish motor. We're talking about Volvo cars.

Originally Posted by MikeyV

You can still get an XC70 in the US. As a family wagon the V70 is the best on the market, even the new 5 series doesn't come close, especially since BMW jacked the price up.

Yes, you can still get a XC70 in the US. But you cannot buy a V70 in the US, so it is not the best on the market for buyers here because it's not on the market

I've owned many Volvo's in the past including the real R series (not the R cosmetic package.) I really liked Volvos. And if you noticed in my post I said it's a great choice for interior design, space, safety. Nothing wrong with your car so stop defending your purchase, that's not necessary here.

My point, is that I'm not comfortable owning a Volvo now as a Chinese company. Actually the Chinese government, since Zhejiang Geely Holding Co's purchase was backed by the government. We'll see what happens to the brand in the years to come. Now the Chinese have more engineering to appropriate and copy. Especially safety technology. Good move on their part.

It's unfortunate what happened to Volvo, imho. It was the pride of Sweden. The car division tried very hard to not let the sale go through and instead to become a whole new Swedish company (e.g., via the tentative Crown consortium buy.) It now becomes symbolic of the current Chinese phenomenon.

That's all. Now relax and enjoy your new wagon.