German Car Zone

http://www.channel4.com/4car/road-te...06-/index.html

What else can I say? The higher your expectations are the more lilkely you'll be let down. I had very high hopes that the new S80 would mark a turning point in drving dynamics for Volvo, but what do you know, Volvo engineers choose safety(which most owners may never experience) over handling. I guess it would pain them too much if their cars handled more sharply and gracefully. For this reason my current Volvo will be my LAST Volvo... maybe when I marry(if i'm lucky) I'll buy one for my wife. As for me, never again.

The new S80 is said to be based on Ford's C1+ platform meaning a modified C1 platform meaning it's the same platform Focus and S40 use. Sounds like a bugdet option to me for such an expensive car.

On the other hand i really like the interior in beige color. One of the best in it's class and better than some of the German competition IMO.



BTW i heard that there won't be a new S60 but instead the next S40 will grow significantly in size.

I'm very disapointed too. With the S80 using a ford platform I though that Volvo would use it well and produce a very dynamic car but I guess they decided to go their own direction as usual. This turned out the same way as the new S40 vs the new Focus. The Focus is a fantastic car to drive, the streeing feel is brilliant and car handles well while the S40 is plain dull.

The S80 will probably remain as a long distance cruiser and semi luxury car for those who can't Afford a Benz or a Bimmer but don't want to drive around in a Passat. Still I have to give Volvo some props for the interior, it looks amazing. I love it.

I strongly disagree with you Deutsch. AS far as I am conserned, my next car will definitely be a Volvo. Every time i get in this car i feel that whatever is going to happen, I am safe. I mean the feeling of safety that all Volvos give to the driver and the passengers. And this is something very important. If you know or if you feel that your car isn't safe, then you can't speed, you can't "play" with it. You can't enjoy it in general!
For me the feeling of safety is the most important thing. First I buy safety and quality, and then I look for driving fun. I drive because I need to, not because it is fun.

^^
All the talk about Volvo producing the safest cars was true during the 90s but not anymore. Today many manufacturers offers cars which are safer than those that Volvo produces. I my memory is intact you have a S60, right? I have driven the car a few times and I do feel quite safe in it due to its size and very soft suspension and I guess you are the type of people who likes that type of configuration. My problem with Volvo cars is that they lack feedback and their cars simply don't offer any joy of thrill.

BTW I saw two new S80s today, One black and one Silver pushing the opposite direction, not giving me any chance to snapp any shots with my cellphone

You are right Luw. i do have an S60. And what i like about that is the soft feeling of the suspension. It's a cruiser and not a sports car. I know that and i enjoy my car. I don't want any "thrills" and i am not a race driver so that i can get them. And i do most of my driving in the S60 in the highway, not in "joyfull" curvy roads.

Ok, it may not be the safest car of the planet, but it gives me the feeling of safety, and this is very important. It ads to my confidence as a driver. In the kind of driving i do, that lack of feedback is the best thing the car offers. As i said i drive most of the time in highway in speeds about 150km/h and for many hours. So the soft susp. and the lack of feedback is what makes me not get tired easily.

The opposite happens with my old Clio. It is so damn old and crappy that everytime i hit a bump on the road, or it rains much, i feel that the car is gonna brake into pieces.

Points taken, good post. After driving an E90 several times(both models) I became addicted to "road feel', being one w/ the car, once I got out I was a changed man. It's gotten so bad it's turned me against my own car. Volvo really doesn't do much for me in the way of driving experience, it's more like driving a tank of boron steel than a "sports sedan" as Volvo would like to have you think. It's nice, has all the quirky scandinavian features expected of a Volvo, but for a driving enthusiast it leaves wanting for more, much more(especially after drivng a 3). Is Volvo capable? Very much so, but they just won't step up to the plate and make a true drivers car. So another driver they loose, but for one they'll gain 10 new ones that are looking for a "safe" car. "Safety" is no longer a Volvo hallmark, sure there maybe somewhat more a garauntee for Volvo drivers because of the great length Volvo goes to to engineer advanced safety systems and features. At the same time pretty much every other car maker has safety systems on par or beyond Volvo's, especially MB. So Volvo is going to have to do more than switch up it's "style" and step their game up to the competiton. As of this moment, it's no where close.

I get what you mean. I'm quite a sporty driver and love driving in high speed through curvy country roads and my moms car has relativerly hard suspension and a few days I ago I was a passanger in my buddy's S60 and I loved the feeling of all most floating on clouds. With that being said I was will ever be able to afford a sports car I will probably buy a long distans cruiser to. A car with soft suspension is probably the ideal car to drive after 8 hours of work.
BTW, have you driven these face lifted S60s with different suspension settings(Normal& Sport)?

I've driven the S60 R w/ it's gimmick 4C suspension which is absolutel crap, no matter what seeting you select from the would be electronically adjustable system, the ride will alwasy feel the same(as was what I experienced). I second that the suspension is quite soft, if not rubbery, qutie nice for getting off work after a long day and heading home. I guess on some level you could think of Volvo as the Scandinavian take on Mercedes Benz, though not close in any way in terms of engineering, etc. When you speak of a harder ride w/ a car w/ a stiffer suspension setup, such as what you'd find in an E90 3 equipped w/ ZSP, that is a compromise I'd take any day. The runflats do not bother me neither does the increase in wheel size, though in some very very strange way the non ZSP equipped E90 3 feels more commuinicative. Whatever the case may be(entierly subjective) the 3 or maybe even perhaps the 2 is most definately going to be my next car.

most of the time i drive the S60 in highway so soft suspension is what makes you not to get tired easily. other that that, the soft suspension, combined with the very "light" steering wheel is good for after 8 hour of work.
but its size is not that good after work. for that i have the clio with its small size and extra soft suspension.

BTW, mine is a facelift model. But i don't have this suspension you mentioned, nor i have ever driven a car with that. but a friend who testdrove the R said that the susp. is just crap-like every one else...