fzanetti Posted December 16, 2005 Share Posted December 16, 2005 Keep in mind that you are most likely referring to a pre-Ford Volvo. The real thing, not a penny-pinched, watered-down, platform-sharing wannabe. This is NOT your father's Volvo!! I also must add that there is nothing wrong with sharing platforms, the only problem is if they are really doing a lot better job from chassis up on a Volvo compared to a Focus... We all know that Ford Focus all over the world (for those who had the pleasure of driving one - rental etc - across the pond or down in South America) is a lot better car that the one we have here, primarily because it's offerred as a pre-luxury car and not as a popular car like in the US, where big boats/huuuge cars are still the majority - I do believe this will change very soon with the 2.50 USD gas gallon price. Anyways, the bottom line is to see we are really only sharing pltforms/chassis and doing a complete different job with them... Let us take the PAssat and A4 for example, same chassis, but from the suspension up completely different cars..... Opel Omega and Cadillac Catera, same chassis, even though they share a lot of parts, those cars got completely different handling and driving feeling. My 0.02 for this discussion.... Flavio Zanetti Boston, MA P.S. I have not driven the S50/V50 in Europe/South America yet, but I imagine they can be diffferent cars as well, same reason for the Focus, different car luxury categories. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BDII Posted December 16, 2005 Share Posted December 16, 2005 http://www.evolvecars.com/albums/album17/05_VOL_SEMA_066.sized.jpg thats badass lookin!! Need forum help? Private Message legGTLT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harrydog Posted December 16, 2005 Share Posted December 16, 2005 I drove an S40 T5 and the thing that really bothered me right off the bat was that the gas pedal is too close to the brake pedal. I had to twist my foot so that I didn't depress the brake when I was on the gas. It was horrible. Since I was more interested in the Outback than the Legacy, I also drove an XC70 and I liked at a lot. But the reliability problems and cost of maintenance scared me away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spec.B-Jay Posted December 16, 2005 Share Posted December 16, 2005 S40 and Legacy are not even in the same class i nmy opinion... I chose the Legacy GT over the S60R because of the spec.B pacakge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NHLEG Posted December 16, 2005 Share Posted December 16, 2005 Is it me or is that car running some serious negative camber? Nice FMIC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elej Posted December 17, 2005 Share Posted December 17, 2005 Overall length of S40 is shorter due to stubby bumpers and transverse engine, however passenger volume is nearly identical, Volvo is slightly wider interior where subaru is slightly longer (cars.com). I think they fall into about the same class. Subaru gets points from me on heritage alone. Volvo's deal has always been safety, but according to IIHS, subaru "out-crashed" all the Volvos (and just about every other car on the road). Those seats in the Volvo are super comfortable though, but after test driving and reading many mediocre reviews of the Volvo, I lost some interest. S40 is a nice car, but just didn't strike a chord with me like LGT does. Boxer motor, proven AWD, rally heritage... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rfd425 Posted December 17, 2005 Share Posted December 17, 2005 meyth, you should ask the same question on the S40 board, or Volvo board or whatever. I'd be curious what the other side has to say. And if you do, please provide a link for our entertainment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cynder Posted December 17, 2005 Share Posted December 17, 2005 Been seeing a few responses about the Volvo S40/V50 being the same as the European Ford Focus and the US/JDM/Euro Mazda3. The Volvo S40 doesn't share an engine, suspension or interior components with the Ford or Mazda versions of this platform. It only uses the base platform. If anything the Euro Ford Focus and the Mazda 3 are much more likely to have shared parts. However the Mazda 3 is not made in a Ford factory or with Ford parts (unlike the USDM Mazda 6). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riscy Posted December 17, 2005 Share Posted December 17, 2005 I also must add that there is nothing wrong with sharing platforms, the only problem is if they are really doing a lot better job from chassis up on a Volvo compared to a Focus... Sorry -- didn't mean to imply that there's anyting inherently bad in platform sharing. I just don't trust Ford to do it right. I know that Ford and GM appear to make better cars for their foreign markets than they do for the US, but that right there says everything there is to know! If nothing else, buy the LGT becuase there's a better chance that FHI will exist as a company to service the thing in 5 years! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
len Posted December 17, 2005 Share Posted December 17, 2005 Did anybody consider this car before they bought the LGT? I'm considering a LGT limited and have been also looking at the S40 T5 AWD. Any thoughts? S40 is not the car to compare with Legacy LGT. You should compare S60 AWD or S60 R that is also AWD, high pressure turbo and is 300 hp. R is bit pricey around 40K. I almost bought V70 R but then went with V70 Cross Country – more practical car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.