outback vs volvo xc

[LetItSnow]

I'm a big subaru fan but my friends volvo is perty. Have you ever considered the volvo awd wagon? or is this blasphemy?

[nipper]

I'm a big subaru fan but my friends volvo is perty. Have you ever considered the volvo awd wagon? or is this blasphemy?

 

Yes.

 

And subaru has the better AWD system. You can see that on youtube.

 

nipper

[ericem]

I think the new Outback looks perty hot to. You will probably enjoy the Subaru more, also consider the fact that you know how well balanced and engineered a Subaru is. Volvo is a car, but no Subaru

 

[Gloyale]

Check this out. Looks like they weew being pretty timid, but still, the Outback rocked the XC's world

 

[Strakes]

Nope, it isn't blasphemy. Subaru's current target market is eerily similar to Volvo's. Subaru is really pushing the near-entry-level luxury market. I hope that Subaru doesn't push us regular guys & gals out of affordablity with their push upwards in price.

 

I've owned 2 Volvos in the past. The old 240 series can't be beat, except by rust. I miss my 240 Turbo a lot. The 850 was my $500 car. Everytime it broke (which was a lot) it cost me at least $500 to get it out of jail. I was helping my neighbor this past week put on a set of brakes on his Volvo XC70 AWD wagon, and he tells me that he too has to bail his Volvo out routinely for $500+.

[keltik]

My old mans just bought himself a brand spankin new Volvo C30. So ive spent a fair bit of time lurking around the local Volvo dealer. I Lurve the front styling, and i hope it lasts as well as his last one did (150k and 9 years with no mechanical issues).

 

But have any of you sat in one of the new Volvos....EWWWW!!!!!! Its like a care home for the elderly. The dash is all soft and the seats look plasticky and boring. The instrument cluster is cleverly designed and BORING. Volvo must have had a special deal on grey trim as thats all i ever see inside the new models. Even the V8 S80 i borrowed for a few days was BORING (but stupidly quick).

 

The old Volvo turbos would rip your limbs off at full throttle......the new ones however have proved to be very safe, green, agreeable and BORING. When i mash the go-pedal in a 2.5liter turbo - i expect to be slammed into the rear window. But somehow volvo has managed to hide all the power in its new models. Very smooth and controllable but not very exciting.

 

I personally like a car with lots of bright gauges, rump roast hugging seats and sharp styling. I Want to be mashed into the seat when i floor it. Thats because driving is more than a means of getting to work for me, i want to enjoy it.

 

However the top end models have more gadgets than you can shake a stick at for a competitive price. Theres a brilliant safety record and immensely better fuel economy than what Subaru can offer.

 

I havnt driven an '08 Outback...yet. But from what ive seen so far - it excites me more than the C70/V50/S80 did.

 

Apologies for the long post - but every morning i have the "My cars better than yours because..." argument with my dad (he started it) and i have to say volvo makes an awesome product for the average driver, but for someone who wants some thrills on the way to work - well Volvo just dont seem to have anything on offer.

 

P.S - if you do get any volvo - get the V8 incarnation with the 6 speed geartronic. The 2.5turbo sucks. The diesel is pretty cool tho.

[NV Zeno]

I live (and work) in high altitude snowy country, and drive just about everything currently available daily(no Lamborghinis or Ferraris though:( ). In the snow, NOTHING handles or sticks to the road better than an Outback, period. Heck, we've had to travel to dig out Xterras and Explorers many times, and we always use an Outback.

 

Since all our Outbacks are non turbo, and a lot of the Volvos are, the power king is definitely Volvo..more room inside, too (IMHO). However, the volvos are typical of all the European cars in that their switches and controls are numerous and over complicated..and of course the repairs are numerous and expensive.

 

Just my 2 bucks

[Skip]

well put Zeno

 

and if he goes the double shot of VO

(VO VO)

will he find a forum as good as this one ;^)

[GeneralDisorder]

and if he goes the double shot of VO

(VO VO)

will he find a forum as good as this one ;^)

 

No - because like many luxury/performance vehicles, owners rarely work on volvo's unless they are the older models. You still see the really old 240's etc here, but anything between those and the late models has to be crushed because of the expense in maintaining them. I had an 850 turbo, and while it was indeed fast, it was a nightmare of a car to work on, and quite expensive.

 

GD

[NOMAD327]

My friends with volvo use brickboard.com, but that's not the only volvo message board out there. The C30 and C40 are the same chassis as the Mazda 3 series which is based on the European Ford Focus which we do not get in the united states. The volvos do use the five cylinder drivetrain used in the 850s, compared to the price of some european models, they do not look too bad. I would stick with a Subaru unless there was no local dealer.

[dhewitt]

A few years back when we were checking out the market in this genre, we looked at (don't laugh) the Honda Element, the Toy RAV4, and the Honda CR-V. We wanted something that could take us camping and generally cart around a lot of cr*p. I had my little Toyota truck to do the tough stuff. None of these other three had the interior room of the Soob except the Element, but that thing got awful gas mileage for a little car with a 4-banger (22-24 I think). I guess being shaped like a box ain't good for aerodynamics... We eventually looked at a Passat wagon and a Volvo too. The Passat had all sorts of mechanical trouble except for one year model and we weren't willing to take the risk. We liked the Volvo a lot but when we called a couple shops locally they basically told us to steer clear because of the amount of work and expense of the parts. If the mechanix will tell you that, it means something. Bought the Soob and never looked back... wouldn't change anything.

 

(Ah how things have changed now... just finished settling on a Toyota Sienna. I can hear the crying in the back seat already!)

[Chip]

I hope you weren't expecting an unbiased opinion form folks on a Subaru message board....?

[frag]

I hope you weren't expecting an unbiased opinion form folks on a Subaru message board....?

 

Why should we be biaised? We own the best cars in the world...

[NV Zeno]

Why should we be biaised? We own the best cars in the world...

 

Just my 2 bucks here, but the Acura that my wagon shares the garage with is pretty nice...:cool:

[jib]

Lone dissenting voice:

 

In really nasty (life threatening) winter conditions, I do prefer our 05 Volvo XC90 over my 02 Legacy GT, but:

 

1. The Volvo cost twice what the Subie cost

2. The Volvo has twice the ground clearance of the Subie

 

on the other side of the equasion,

 

3. Volvo parts are 50% more expensive than Subie parts.

4. Volvo is more likely to need service than the Subie.

 

They both have Nokian Hakka snow tires on all four corners and it is my personal belief the you tube video is a piece of BS. Volvo's Haldex AWD is known to be one of the best on the planet, and it's pretty awesome, but in 95% of conditions, the traction will be the same or very close. Where the Volvo excels is in the specific drive train electronic controls.

 

Bottom line is that I am comparing apples and oranges with these two vehicles. Bang for the buck, the Subie is far superior. It's nearly as good as the Volvo at almost half the cost.

 

99% of the time, we take the Subie up the nasty winter roads. I can be a very aggressive winter driver; aggressive in terms of doing what it takes to get where I am going. I'm more comfortable throwing the Subie around and wailing it up snow covered roads, possibly because it's so low and stable, but with the Washington State I-90 pass closed due to depth of snow and avalanches for most of the past week, if they open it up tonight, we'll be in the Volvo. 9 inches of ground clearance and huge tires will get us where we want to go better than the Subie.

 

Again, I am comparing apples and oranges with these two vehicles. The comparison may be different with two similar sized vehicles, but don't discount the Volvo AWD based on the you tube video. There is a lot of fine engineering behind both of these vehicles.

 

Jack

[3Pin]

Subaru is the new Volvo in my mind and has been for quite some time. They are gret in snow and bad weather are easy to work on and parts are available and affordable.

 

I don't claim to be an expert, but over the years,I have had 3-240's and an 850. On the Subaru side, we have had an 86 XT, 2-95's Legacy's, 2-96 Outbacks, still have the 98 Forester and an 02 Outback LL Bean Wagon.

 

The 240's were pretty indestructable except for all of the electrical relays and being prone to rust, but my 850 was a great car. It did have lots of little things at the end though.

 

What killed it for me was the Volvo dealers. In the early days, it was allways a $500 a trip to the dealer. After I wised up, my local mechanic worked on it and we did all of the regular maintenance. Occasionally I would take it in to the dealer for something out of the ordinary. They would turn off the service light then upon presenting some proof or understanding that the work was performed. The last time I took it there, they refused to turn off the Serice light and were just a bunch of pricks about it.

 

That really ticked me off. My wife and I looked hard at the models available last year and really felt that the V70 was the only viable model for us. The 60 was too small, the 80 too big and grey haired for us. In the end,the price tag and the maintenance record on the V70 that really made me step back though. In the end, I sold one of the 96 outbacks, upgraded to the 02 Bean and bought her a 06 Nissan Altima.

 

It almost appears that after Ford bought Volvo, I think they have gone down the tubes. I hear about lots more repair issues from my friends that have them and they all eye up my 02 LL Bean wagon and ask, How do you like that?

 

 

Just my 2 cents.

[Gloyale]

2. The Volvo has twice the ground clearance of the Subie

 

............ 9 inches of ground clearance and huge tires will get us where we want to go better than the Subie.

 

 

 

 

You are comparing you're XC90 to a GT model. Outbacks have almost 11 inches of clearance.

[jib]

You are comparing you're XC90 to a GT model. Outbacks have almost 11 inches of clearance.

 

Yes, I'm comparing a GT to a SUV. I stated that. I can't compare what I don't know. What I do know though is that no stock Outback has 11 inches of ground clearance - ELEVEN inches of freeboard below the suspension. Sorry, but no way. Maybe 7 or 8 inches

 

FYI - I stated very clearly in my post both of the following statements:

 

"Bottom line is that I am comparing apples and oranges with these two vehicles. Bang for the buck, the Subie is far superior. It's nearly as good as the Volvo at almost half the cost. "

 

And

 

"Again, I am comparing apples and oranges with these two vehicles. The comparison may be different with two similar sized vehicles, but don't discount the Volvo AWD based on the you tube video. There is a lot of fine engineering behind both of these vehicles."

 

I love my Subie and I love the Volvo. Two very different vehicles, each with strong points. My point was that I wouldn't judge the Volvo by the youtube video. Volvo's AWD system is exemplary, but expensive to buy and repair. The Subie does great with a much less expensive product.

 

FYI - We bought the Volvo for my Realtor wife. It was one of the few vehicles I felt justified the absurd price. She sells homes in the high dollar range, so the investment in her professional appearance made sense, but bang for the buck, nothing out there beats the Subie for overall performance and value.

 

BTW - 2 hours after they opened the Mt. pass which was closed most of the week, we cruised up in the Subie, not the Volvo.

 

3pin - Yeah, I think Volvo has slid somewhat under Ford, but mostly quality, not engineering. BTW - I'm a pinhead too; well more of a "cable" head these days.

 

Jack

[CPAScott]

What I do know though is that no stock Outback has 11 inches of ground clearance - ELEVEN inches of freeboard below the suspension. Sorry, but no way. Maybe 7 or 8 inches

 

Jack

 

Well, you're correct about that. The XT Limited, for example, has 8.7 inches of ground clearance and, TTBOMK, is the highest ground clearance Outback made.

[Gloyale]

OK, I take it back. Stock outbacks do not have 11 inches of clearance. It's worth noting still they have as much as the Volvo in this discussion.

 

I measured on a 96 OBW, unloaded, it had 9.4" inches of clearance.

 

My friends 91 Legacy wagon with 99 OBW struts has 11.2"

[Suzam]

Buy the latest Consumer Reports magazine.

 

The artical "Who Make the Best Cars"

 

These are "overall" scores:

 

#1- Honda 78 overall

#2- Toyota 75

#3- Subaru 72

#4- BMW 71

#5- Nissan 71

#6- VW 71

#7- Mazda 71

#8- Mercedes 67

#9- Hyundai 66

#10- Volvo 64

#11- Mitsubishi 63

#12- Ford with 61

#13- GM 54

#14- Suzuki 49

#15- Chrysler 49

 

There are some intersting write-ups in this April 2008 issue.