Overview & Reviews

Swedish-born Volvo has long been a forerunner in safety research, and its vehicles have the crash test scores to prove it. These days, the brand has improved its offerings by crafting vehicles that also offer generous amounts of style and performance.

In Latin, the word "Volvo" means "I roll." Volvo cars have been rolling ever since 1927, when the first vehicle (nicknamed "Jakob") was produced in the city of Gothenburg. The company's founders, Assar Gabrielsson and Gustaf Larsson, put an emphasis on safety, and that dictum still holds true today. The Jakob was joined by the six-cylinder PV651 in 1929, and by 1931, more than 10,000 Volvos had been produced.

Postwar, Volvo unveiled one of its biggest successes, the PV444. By the 1950s, Volvo had begun exporting cars to the U.S., and the PV444 — with its compact size and stylish looks — helped the manufacturer quickly make a name for itself in its new territory. The decade also saw Volvo building on its reputation for being a vanguard in the area of safety; it was the first manufacturer to make vehicles with a three-point safety belt.

The 1960s saw the launch of a new Volvo sports car, the P1800. The car's sculpted good looks helped earn it celebrity status when it was featured on the long-running TV series The Saint, with Roger Moore behind the wheel. Safety features grew more advanced during this decade and Volvo was again at the forefront of the action, offering features such as padded dashboards and energy-resistant crumple zones in front and rear.

Volvo distinguished itself as the exclusive home to a number of valuable new technologies during the 1970s. If you were looking for safety features such as childproof locks, collapsible steering columns and rear-facing child seats during this decade, you'd only find them in a Volvo.

Like BMWs and Saabs, Volvos became an American "yuppie" favorite during the 1980s. The company proved its technological know-how wasn't just limited to safety when it rolled out its first turbocharged car. By the end of the decade, Volvo had unveiled new models like the front-wheel-drive 480 hatchback (for Europe) and the Italian-designed 780 coupe.

In the early '90s, Volvo launched the 850. The car was Volvo's first front-wheel-drive executive car, and teamed performance with the company's trademark attention to safety. The decade also saw Volvo rolling out new models like the S40 and C70 — cars that updated the automaker's boxy image with a more rounded, sculpted aesthetic. The company became part of the Ford family when it was acquired by the automaker in 1998. Ford helped Volvo financially, while Volvo provided Ford with new safety technologies and car platforms. Due to Ford's financial troubles during the American recession, however, Ford sold Volvo to the Chinese automaker Geely in 2010.

It's unknown how Volvo's new owner will guide the brand long term, but chances are Volvo will continue to offer sedans, coupes and SUVs known for their combination of safety and driving excitement.

User Reviews:

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  The global exie 90 is 1 of the most unsafe cars on - 2018 Volvo XC90
  By Crsig woodland - October 7 - 3:02 pm

  Volvos technology screen is horrible totally User unfriendly and makes driving extremely hazardous worse than texting. Navigation is totally unusable voicing unrecognizable. I knew more about the car then the dealership Working with them was extremely frustrating ready to pull my hair out!! MONMOUTH VOLVO

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  Not true to its reputation - 2002 Volvo S60
  By kylecallahan - October 5 - 6:37 pm

  Volvo is a safe car, right? Thats what weve all come to expect. Careful, my friend, you are being mislead! Ive been reasonably happy; reasonably.... until now. Seems our 2002 S60 indicated a difficulty with the airbag system. No matter, right? It has a bucket of them, whats the big deal if one goes bad? Well, the fact is, when one goes bad, the Entire Air Bag system is disabled!n Go figure! The safest car on the road becomes a hulking death trap. Seems like an extraordinary design flaw, doesnt it? Not according to Volvo - thats what they intended. Inconceivable! Price to fix? Over a grand. Expensive junk, uncaring company, flawed product. Beware, folks. Reselect!

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  Less than desirable - 1999 Volvo S80
  By JHK II - September 26 - 10:00 am

  I so looked forward to owning a Volvo. I found what I thought to be a great deal on their flagship. The deal and the car are crap. I will never purchase from Akin or another Volvo. I have spent over $4.0 after I purchased. I now have so much invested I cant sell. I am just waiting for the $7.0 transmission to fall out.

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  Not that great - 2006 Volvo XC90
  By jeff - September 24 - 1:43 pm

  Weve had to bring out car in several times already and its 4 months old. The heat was blowing hot and cold air which turned out to be a software problem. It was also making a very annoying whirring noise, which we were told was normal for rack and pinion steering. It finally went away after our last visit to the shop. Gas mileage is poor. Design on some of the dials arent to great since they have little faint light indcators which are impossible to read in the sun(the fan level indicator, e.g.) The trunk unlock feature is annoying, you cant just pop the trunk.

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  Over Rated - 2008 Volvo XC90
  By Carl - September 5 - 2:20 am

  We have owned this vehcile less than 60 days and have had to have the front right blinker light replaced( cracked at factory), have replaced the cam shaft value as it "popped off" leaving a large oily mess and the 90 portion of the XC90 emblem on the back had to be straightened as it was installed crooked at the factory. We are averaging 17 miles per gallon and this is FWD ! We did get a "good" deal based on the over $40K sticker price and final price of $36,250 with dealer cash and X plan discount. This is our first Volvo and may be our last. Traded our Infiniti and have had second thoughts many times.

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  DONT buy a Volvo - 2006 Volvo XC90
  By teddym - September 2 - 4:04 pm

  My XC-90 is horrible, front to back. Friends don’t let friends buy volvo’s. Treatment from the volvo dealerships in Houston is horrible, unless you are super rich, they will certainly hook you up, otherwise, bring your checkbook. You pay out the nose to own a volvo. My xc-90? 3 sets of wheel bearings burned out, the rear end went out, the fuel pump has already been replaced, the CURRENT check engine light issue will cost me $1,000, just put $1,500 into it to get the steering column to work again, the Houston dealership seriously jacked me over. you HAVE to take it to the dealership. They know theyve got you by the throat. OBTW, my windshield leaks. Headlights fogged from inside. $500 each

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  Nothing but trouble... - 2000 Volvo S40
  By Volvo Hater - July 28 - 10:00 am

  This car has been in the shop too many times to count. We have almost replaced the whole car piece by piece. Just when we think were finished, something else goes. Fuel pump first 7000 miles,numerous bulbs of every kind,sunroof twice,brakes,brakes,brakes,and headlight wipers. Oh,did I mention brakes? Brakes have failed and makes me feel unsafe. Lots of other repairs on miscellaneous parts. Our service dept. is terrible and the dealer wont help us out of the lease. We are counting down the months until were out! This is one family that wont be buying another Volvo. Also, my daughter thinks its ugly. Maybe because the paint is falling off.

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  Rolling Produce - 2004 Volvo XC90
  By DeanDeanDean - April 21 - 2:00 am

  In shop over 37 days. Chronic brake & steering problems, still not resolved. Generally takes multiple visits to get anything fixed, and the fixes seem often to be band-aids rather than actual fixes. Zero confidence in the build quality of this vehicle. Its supposed to be a safe car, but you have to be able to drive it to benefit.

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  Never Again - 2002 Volvo C70
  By sldghmr - April 20 - 4:33 am

  Like everyone says, its fun to drive. Thats true. My wifes car and its been the biggest pain to own. We tell our friends that when you look at the car you do not see a single original part, its all been replaced under warranty. No kidding our stack of maintenance receipts looks like a magazine, a thick one. One day while driving I was passenger, the dash just snapped in half. Problem after problem. As I write, it is in the shop for a new fan and fan assembly which is on back order because they ran out. Symptom was smoke coming out of it, never a good symptom. Engine block is the only original under the hood. Its only safe because it rarely runs. But she loves it.

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  Disastrous Volvo XC90 - 2016 Volvo XC90
  By Jaimie Vonlembke - April 7 - 3:51 pm

  This car sold me on how beautifully it was designed - I was so excited for this new car... the excitement ended quite quickly. This list of things that went wrong are too many to list, however my car was in the shop every couple months the first year. The worst part is the Volvo strung me along with my major issue being that there is a computer glitch on the 2016 model that is causing transmission problems. When you go to accelerate there is a major lag, and Volvo just admitted to me after 6 months of dealing with this that they dont know how to fix it!