Topic: Test Drive: 2015 Volvo V60 R-Design

[MR2Pritch]

Dear Volvo, and Justin Pritchard,

You owe me a new keyboard.

Love Jacob.




*and pants

you almost owe me a new laptop, i nearly spit my tea all over it when i read that!

[rrocket]

I'm not fond of Chinese cars...

[mmret]

This wagon is awesome, but for $59k...hard to sell like hotcakes.

They need the 2.0T AWD version pronto well equipped for $45k and utterly fully stacked for $48k.

Not really $59K though.  You can get the R-Design for $51K plus $1700 Freight & PDI. 

If I really had to cross shop this car, I'd have to give serious consideration to the Q5 TDI on the high end ($51K before PDI, for the basic config) or GLK250 Bluetec ($49K before PDI almost fully loaded).    Would they be as fun to drive?  Heck no, but there's something to say about ride height....

You could but would you want to? $51k with no Navigation, no rear camera, no parking sensors, mere base stereo, no fancy gizmos?  I guess for some its fine but IMHO if you're going to spend that kind of coin on a sporty family wagon I want it to be better equipped than a $30k Mazda.

[KD]

Those $60k SUVs and Crossovers tend to wear fancier badges though, and they all have "small engine" options that keep the price sub $50k.

$57k buys you a comparably equipped Q5 3.0T, though I'll admit that is sans-SLine and not nearly as sexy as the V60 RDesign. But how many 3 liter Q5s do you see exactly........not sure if I've ever seen even one in the wild!

Yeah, good point, I don't think I've seen any 3.0T's on the road here.

Regardless of the price point, I think what Volvo needs to do, from a marketing perspective, is hammer home the dynamic virtues of their wagons over CUV's, much as they did 20 years ago - not that CUV's were around back then, but at least the wagon marketers understood the allure and sporting pretensions of their product.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/a/img809/969/c4g3.jpg

Same here and there are a few new X3s in my neighborhood in the last year and I noticed that none of them are the 3.0T version either. 

Interesting car for sure and great looker.  Even my wife drools over the pics I've shown her.  May even talk her into a test drive next time we are in Fredericton.  She put the kibosh on the pre-owned Lexus LS-600hL I was swooning over last week.  After all it will be her car, so I guess she should like it too...right?    We (she  ) kinda decided we won't buy until next year, so hopefully Volvo will get their together and offer up the 2.0T in AWD by then for comparison. 

Good review Justin!  Love the video reviews...

 

[quadzilla]

I'm not fond of Chinese cars...

Good thing it isn't made in China then. 

[Scaerio]

Dear Volvo, and Justin Pritchard,

You owe me a new keyboard.

Love Jacob.




*and pants

Automotive porn with wet-dream like results for you for you or did you spill/spit your coffee/cola/tea/etc.? 

[Scaerio]

I'm not fond of Chinese cars...

Good thing it isn't made in China then. 

Good one.  I'd rather have a car made in Sweden or Belgium (actually, I have one of these) by a company that is Chinese-owned, than have a car built in the USA by a German or Japanese company (f@ck you X5, ML, Camry, Accord, etc., etc...)

[rrocket]

I'm not fond of Chinese cars...

Good thing it isn't made in China then. 

Oh.  So Toyota isn't a Japanese car company because some of their cars are made here?  So we shouldn't refer to any Japanese car made here as an "import car"??

Fact is, it's owned by a Chinese company, so it is indeed a Chinese car.  Just like BMWs made in the USA are referred to as a German car (though FGC around these parts!)

[OliverD]

I'm not fond of Chinese cars...

Good thing it isn't made in China then. 

Oh.  So Toyota isn't a Japanese car company because some of their cars are made here?  So we shouldn't refer to any Japanese car made here as an "import car"??

Fact is, it's owned by a Chinese company, so it is indeed a Chinese car.  Just like BMWs made in the USA are referred to as a German car (though FGC around these parts!)

So do you consider a Ram truck to be Italian?

[rrocket]

I'm not fond of Chinese cars...

Good thing it isn't made in China then. 

Oh.  So Toyota isn't a Japanese car company because some of their cars are made here?  So we shouldn't refer to any Japanese car made here as an "import car"??

Fact is, it's owned by a Chinese company, so it is indeed a Chinese car.  Just like BMWs made in the USA are referred to as a German car (though FGC around these parts!)

So do you consider a Ram truck to be Italian?

It is indeed owned by the Italians...but some of them are made in Mexico.  Spaghetti and salsa!  Yummy!! 

Funny you mention that...most of the locals here who build the minivan are still in denial that they work for a foreign car company.

[rrocket]

Good one.  I'd rather have a car made in Sweden or Belgium (actually, I have one of these) by a company that is Chinese-owned, than have a car built in the USA by a German or Japanese company (f@ck you X5, ML, Camry, Accord, etc., etc...)

Odd sentiment.  Especially considering those very same Japanese companies (Honda, Toyota) put food on the table for thousands of Canadians.

[2JDM]

I'm not fond of Chinese cars...

Good thing it isn't made in China then. 

Good one.  I'd rather have a car made in Sweden or Belgium (actually, I have one of these) by a company that is Chinese-owned, than have a car built in the USA by a German or Japanese company (f@ck you X5, ML, Camry, Accord, etc., etc...)

 

[Scaerio]

Good one.  I'd rather have a car made in Sweden or Belgium (actually, I have one of these) by a company that is Chinese-owned, than have a car built in the USA by a German or Japanese company (f@ck you X5, ML, Camry, Accord, etc., etc...)

Odd sentiment.  Especially considering those very same Japanese companies (Honda, Toyota) put food on the table for thousands of Canadians.

My sentiment is just as odd as calling Volvo a Chinese car...  Based on country of manufacture, my C30 is Belgian... My ar$ehole comment was inspired by a previous ar$ehole comment.  I guess the TT is a Hungarian car, and all those Cayennes/Q7s/Touregs are Slovak... 

If you are looking at ownership as a measure of the "nationality" of an entity, since China pretty much finances much of the US debt, the USA should be renamed the People's Republic of China II.

[rrocket]

Good one.  I'd rather have a car made in Sweden or Belgium (actually, I have one of these) by a company that is Chinese-owned, than have a car built in the USA by a German or Japanese company (f@ck you X5, ML, Camry, Accord, etc., etc...)

Odd sentiment.  Especially considering those very same Japanese companies (Honda, Toyota) put food on the table for thousands of Canadians.

My sentiment is just as odd as calling Volvo a Chinese car...  Based on country of manufacture, my C30 is Belgian... My ar$ehole comment was inspired by a previous ar$ehole comment.  I guess the TT is a Hungarian car, and all those Cayennes/Q7s/Touregs are Slovak... 

If you are looking at ownership as a measure of the "nationality" of an entity, since China pretty much finances much of the US debt, the USA should be renamed the People's Republic of China II.

Volvo is owned by a Chinese company.  It is manufactured elsewhere.  But ownership and profit return to China.  It is a Chinese car.

I have never heard of an RX350 (or Honda Civic) being referred to as a Canadian car.  They are both referred to as Japanese cars. 

Wondering why the double standard with Volvo??  (apart from you owning one that is)

[Scaerio]

According to CCRA and DFATD (my employer) the Toyotas and Hondas manufactured in Canada (t least the ones in which the amount of Canadian-made components passes certain percentage -- Civic and Corolla) are considered Canadian cars and therefore escape import duties, as do the cars made in USA and Mexico that have adequate North American content (thanks to NAFTA).  According to the Government of Canada, the ML, X5, Camry Accord, Sonata, and a number of others are American cars, not Japanese, German, or Korean...

[rrocket]

According to CCRA and DFATD (my employer) the Toyotas and Hondas manufactured in Canada (t least the ones in which the amount of Canadian-made components passes certain percentage -- Civic and Corolla) are considered Canadian cars and therefore escape import duties, as do the cars made in USA and Mexico that have adequate North American content (thanks to NAFTA).  According to the Government of Canada, the ML, X5, Camry Accord, Sonata, and a number of others are American cars, not Japanese, German, or Korean...

Yep...for taxation and duty calculation.  But never do I hear them referred to as "Canadian cars".  Do you?  And the BMWs made in the USA...I NEVER, EVER hear them referred to as "American Cars".  Another way to look at it is how the stock exchanges list the companies.  Obviously, Toyota, Honda, etc are listed as foreign companies in NA...Not domestic, despite the fact they make cars here and despite the fact the have a Canadian division. 

It's generally accepted than the brand's country is used when referring to the nationality of the car.

However...YMMV....especially when someone says you drive a Chinese car. 

[Waterlooresident]

$60,415 for a SMALL WAGON ?   
( Isn't that a bit expensive? )

[quadzilla]

$60,415 for a SMALL WAGON ?   
( Isn't that a bit expensive? )

Depends on your budget. For some people that is peanuts. Also, if all you see is a small wagon then this car is not for you.

[OliverD]

Good one.  I'd rather have a car made in Sweden or Belgium (actually, I have one of these) by a company that is Chinese-owned, than have a car built in the USA by a German or Japanese company (f@ck you X5, ML, Camry, Accord, etc., etc...)

Odd sentiment.  Especially considering those very same Japanese companies (Honda, Toyota) put food on the table for thousands of Canadians.

My sentiment is just as odd as calling Volvo a Chinese car...  Based on country of manufacture, my C30 is Belgian... My ar$ehole comment was inspired by a previous ar$ehole comment.  I guess the TT is a Hungarian car, and all those Cayennes/Q7s/Touregs are Slovak... 

If you are looking at ownership as a measure of the "nationality" of an entity, since China pretty much finances much of the US debt, the USA should be renamed the People's Republic of China II.

Volvo is owned by a Chinese company.  It is manufactured elsewhere.  But ownership and profit return to China.  It is a Chinese car.

I have never heard of an RX350 (or Honda Civic) being referred to as a Canadian car.  They are both referred to as Japanese cars. 

Wondering why the double standard with Volvo??  (apart from you owning one that is)

Because you're missing a big part of the equation. Ownership and country of manufacture are just two factors. Volvos are still engineered in Sweden.

When Lamborghini was owned by Chrysler, no one called it American. No one calls Bentley or Rolls-Royce German.

[mmret]

Lets not complicate things further by introducing the question of who holds the stock....that might get people into a knot. It could very well be less than 50% "Chinese". I'm fairly sure this includes both the free float and the closely held stuff - would be part of HK reporting requirements for public listings.

175 HK, Reporting Holders (%)

CHINA   44.4
UNITED STATES   27.8
UNREPORTED   7.5
BRITAIN   4.0
LUXEMBOURG   3.7
IRELAND   2.7
BERMUDA   2.4
NORWAY   2.1
SWITZERLAND   1.5
HONG KONG   1.1
JAPAN   1.0
SOUTH KOREA   0.4
SWEDEN   0.4
CANADA   0.4
BELGIUM   0.2
SINGAPORE   0.1
FRANCE   0.1
AUSTRIA   0.1
FINLAND   0.1
TAIWAN   0.1
DENMARK   0.1
ITALY   0.1
NETHERLANDS   0.0
AUSTRALIA   0.0
MALAYSIA   0.0
PORTUGAL   0.0
CAYMAN ISLANDS   0.0
SPAIN   0.0
ISRAEL   0.0
GERMANY   0.0