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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  Excellent niche vehicle - 2015 Volvo XC70
  By neoskizzle - November 7 - 4:38 pm

  Full disclosure: This is my 3rd XC70 and 5th Volvo. Its not that Im a fanboi, they just best fit my current needs as family commuter and weekend sports equipment hauler. In fact, I shopped around A LOT before replacing my 2011 S60 T6 AWD with the 2015 XC70 T6 AWD. Im not a fan of SUV looking vehicles but I require good rear leg room and ample cargo capacity. I also prefer more ground clearance than sedans+ as pot holes and high/steep curves have ruined my day in lower sitting cars. The wagon body-style is more popular in Europe and that suites me just fine. If youd prefer a car but need more room and like the idea of extra ground clearance, you owe it to yourself to test drive an XC70.

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  Great All-Around SUV for the family - 2013 Volvo XC60
  By dcraider - November 7 - 2:15 pm

  The XC60 was a great compromise for value and features including, of course, safety for my new family. The cargo handling is great as we have a dog, and car really achieves both form and safety pretty seamless and gives us the feeling of both comfort and zippy performance on the highway. This car really kicks and has smooth power throughout all stages of driving (highway, local, cruising, etc.). We looked at most of the other SUVs and chose this one on value (which is hard to say given they all are upwards of +mid-30s when well equipped.

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  the volvo s80 is excellent - 2002 Volvo S80
  By greg - November 6 - 10:56 pm

  my volvo S80 T6 is a excellent car. the cars performance on the road is excellent, very smooth, very powerful, and very quiet. this car is very reliable. i never had any trouble with it. i would recommand this car to other people.

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  Volvo Review - 2000 Volvo S70
  By J Fields - November 6 - 2:00 am

  Dependable and fun to drive. Good fuel economy and no problems so far. I like this car a lot.

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  30K+ gut check on the xc - 2003 Volvo XC70
  By BR - November 6 - 2:00 am

  We have 33,000 miles on our XC in an urban environment. Gone through one set of tires and had some maintenance on the beast that was covered under warranty-We are thrilled to death with all it has to offer so far. Nice pick up, good mileage, interior is holding up well in a severe duty environment (2 small children that throw food. Our experienced problems were: digital info center on dash failed, sway bar failed, power stearing pump was leaking, a dash rattle, and the remotes needed re- programing. Service was very good and included a loaner car. All the maintenance was covered and done at about 28K.

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  Rolling Artwork - 2003 Volvo S60
  By notpostal - November 6 - 2:00 am

  I just drove home in my new Platinum Green Metallic Volvo 2.4T with Geartronic 5 speed automatic. I chose this car over the Acura 3.5RL and the G35 Infiniti. While both the other cars were very nice, I felt the Volvo had the best combination of comfort, safety, performance and styling. Just getting into this car evokes a feeling that the other two couldnt equal. As for reliability, I will have to judge that later. However, I have two friends who have Volvos, one with over 200,000 miles and the other with over 100,000 and neither have had any major problems. Im looking forward to a long comfortable ride.

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  Awesome car - Technology needs improvement - 2015 Volvo S80
  By Kevin NC - November 5 - 2:27 pm

  Joel Hs review was spot on. The 2015.5 Platinum Drive-E is awesome. The gas mileage is impressive - I got as much as 38.5 mpg on the highway. City mileage generally is not near the EPA estimate of 25 - more like 19. It is a very understated car - most people do not realize what an exceptional car it is - great ride and comfort. The folding rear seats give you additional room when you need to move something. The headlights are absolutely awesome! - They are very bright and turn as you turn the vehicle. I can attest to the fact that it is a safe car. I was in a major accident and my S80 was totaled (not my fault - another guy ran a red light). It did exactly what it was supposed to do - side curtain airbags deployed but the front ones did not (since by then my speed was reduced when I hit a pole). I am glad the front air bags did not go off when they did not have to - my head never hit the steering wheel. Even though the front-end of the car sustained substantial damage, the air bags did not go off when they didnt need to. My only major complaint about the car was the Volvo On Call App. It was one of the main reasons I bought the car - ability to remote start, send destinations from smart phone to GPS, etc. But the connectivity and Volvo support was not very good. Even though reliability was only around 60-70%, I needed it for the remote start. Prior to the accident I renewed my Volvo On Call for 54 months. I paid $600 for 54 months. After the accident, I realized I had 48 months left on the service that I would not be able to use. I called Volvo to get a refund of the remaining time since I obviously would not be able to use the service since the car was totaled. Volvo said too bad - we have your $600 and are going to keep it even though we know we cant provide you the service. So as a word of CAUTION, it may be tempting to renew for a longer period of time because $11.11 per month (for 54 months) is more reasonable than $16.67 per month (1 year renewal). However, if anything happens to your car, you could be out a lot of money. It basically cost me $100 per month for the service (used 6 of the 54 months). Not worth $16.67 per month for the service and absolutely not worth $100 per month!! Also, as I understand it, if you sell the car, it is not transferable and the new owner will have to buy the same service again. So not good if you think you might sell the car. Just something to consider should you decide to renew. I was extremely disappointed in Volvos response to my request for a refund. I will never ever make that mistake again! I have another car (different manufacturer) with a similar app and it is substantially more reliable and substantially less expensive. So I know there are manufacturers out there that have Apps that work well.

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  never again! - 2001 Volvo V70
  By nomorevolvos - November 4 - 4:26 pm

  I thought Volvos were better cars. You know, Sweden has harsh weather and terrain, so the vehicles produced there should be appropriately durable. maybe they have that public health care thing for cars also. yes, add me to the list of casualties. I bought my V70 XC last year and have had nothing but problems. Transmission was jerky so I took it to the dealer, only to have it reflashed with no improvement. While there, they discovered bad trans and engine mounts, leaking angle drive and several broken suspension components. This is in addition to the $2000 scheduled maintenance, adding up to almost what I paid for this vehicle. The service and repair history I requested was 34 pages!

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  Good car - 1997 Volvo 960
  By browns31687 - November 1 - 10:00 am

  leather is falling apart

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  Its the real deal!!! - 2004 Volvo S60
  By Frankster - November 1 - 10:00 am

  This car is everything it was billed to be, quick & agile with a big car feel (when you want it) and a sports car feel when you want it...