Why do these cars seem unpopular. I have yet to see one being driven on the roads.
I am thinking of buying one.
My other chioce is the Accord Touring,
both in the diesel versions.
Yes I know the Honda is bigger, but I may not want such a big car
|
Hard ride
cramped in rear
expensive for its size - its only a focus in drag you know. If you want a S40 you might was well buy a Mazda 3.
--
Espada III - well if you have a family and need a Lamborghini, what else do you drive?
|
Friend has one, having traded down from a V70. Think it is the Diesel.
He regrets changing down from the V70 - he got more toys for his money obviously, but likes neither the lack of space nor the ride. Also says it is a bit underpowered (but he is a petrol head, so take that with a pinch of salt).
I think they look quite nice, but if I had that sort of money for a car, would go elsehwere
Jono
|
My wife would like one as well as our V70 2.4T!
I must admit I like the V50 a lot (especially the body shape and fantastic floating centre console), and find them a lot more attractive than the new Focus they share their floor pan with, but to buy one would be like buying an Audi over a SEAT or ?koda - Largely paying for the name over anything worthwhile, which even as a Volvo enthusiast is against my normal car buying protocol.
Additionally, the new Focus ST will have the Volvo S40/V50 T5 engine, and probably make a better fist of using it in a performance biased chassis. The damned cheek of it! ;-)
|
I would agree with most of the points raised above, but, take into account that people would have waited for a little while to evaluate what car they wanted to buy and before you know it we were getting close to 05 registrtion plates so they would have held off from buying one 'til now. You will start to see a lot more in the coming months.
Even so, no Volvo is going to shift the volumes like Ford will so they will remain a relative rarity. Look out for the old V40. How many do you see on the road on a day to day basis? And they were around for years.
Part of what you will buy is style. The Volvo has it, the Focus Estate (or hatch for that matter!) IMHO doesn't. To stand out from the crowd with such a well sorted product sounds like a good idea to me!
|
|
Reckon the S40 and V40 look great and have had good reports however there is as bit less badge snobbery around nowdays, most people realise an X-Type is related to a Mondeo, a Golf to a Leon etc etc therefore the smaller Volvo's might suffer at the hands of the new Focus estate and saloon both of which are cracking lookers, much more stylish than the hatch.
|
- The S40/V40 sold really well in its later years: Volvo got the blend of brand/kit/price spot on.
In comparison, the V50 looks expensive and also seems smaller. A nearly-new V70 looks to offer a lot more car for the money; that's where my money is going when the S60's time is up.
I don't think that people who are looking for "brands" (Audi, Volvo, etc.) are often swayed by cheaper alternatives, even if the alternative Ford or Skoda is actually a better car.
|
|
|
|
I think the consensus among road testers was that although the V50 is stylish and quite good to drive, it isn't actually very good at being a Volvo estate. Not a lot of room in the back and no easy (like the Audi) or clever (Mazda 6, Honda Accord) way of folding the rear seats down.
So if you only need the space occasionally you may as well go for the A4 Avant, or a BMW Touring (if you don't need much space at all) or if you need more, the V70 is also good to drive with the bigger engines.
|
|
|
