No more Volvo estates!

[cort1977]

On 8/2/2023 at 10:56 AM, Split_Pin said:

I hate SUVs (apart from a Duster as they're relatively unpretentious) and I hate how the public seem to have no imagination and are all buying them.  I also can't understand why they are so popular. What is the advantage over an estate? 

As someone who's wife is getting an XC90 in the face of my preference for an estate, the answer is seven seats.  The other part of the answer is 'it's what everyone wants nowadays'  and 'keeping up with the Jones''.

[eddyramrod]

3 minutes ago, cort1977 said:

the answer is seven seats. 

You mean like the seven seats my 740 estate had?  And they call it progress...

[Datsuncog]

On 8/2/2023 at 11:27 AM, lisbon_road said:

The door is open for the Chinese companies to fill the market for smaller more sensible cars. 

We can but dream...

The cars : Huandu CAC6430 - AROnline

[danthecapriman]

3 minutes ago, Datsuncog said:

We can but dream...

The cars : Huandu CAC6430 - AROnline

See, if that was sold here new, I’d buy one! It looks like a proper car despite being new.

[cms206]

[Dobloseven]

51 minutes ago, eddyramrod said:

You mean like the seven seats my 740 estate had?  And they call it progress...

I'm guessing they were rear facing though. A no no nowadays, I would guess. 

[UltraWomble]

1 hour ago, Datsuncog said:

We can but dream...

The cars : Huandu CAC6430 - AROnline

I mean YES

I imagine these have all the structural integrity of a soggy cardboard box full of lead weights in the event of an accident - but I would absolutely roll in one of these.

[eddyramrod]

1 hour ago, Dobloseven said:

I'm guessing they were rear facing though. A no no nowadays, I would guess. 

They were, so probably.

[SiC]

8 hours ago, FakeConcern said:

And the public wants what the public gets
But I don't get what this society wants

 

Paul Weller said it some while ago

Slightly incorrect! It's more:

The new car buying public wants what the new car buying public gets. 

 

It doesn't help that the population are getting fatter, unfit and more immobile from that. 

[timolloyd]

I wonder if there will be some bizarre run-out estate models, with loads of accessories and stripes?

Maybe some boxy bodykits to imitate a 240?

[EyesWeldedShut]

How about this - maybe too boxy for a 940 but passable as a 240?

[Aston Martin]

5 hours ago, Aston Martin said:

The V and S 90 are absolutely stunning.

But now this means ex copper Volvo estates will be wanted by us all in 15 years as "they didn't make them"

 

 

Coppers can still have them. 🤷‍♂️ sounds very expensive for 1000 cars?

[artdjones]

6 hours ago, inconsistant said:

Suzuki Vitara or  X90?

The Vitara has a proper high/low range transfer box, so is a real 4wd, not any kind of SUV.

[GeordieInExile]

4 hours ago, Aston Martin said:

 

Coppers can still have them. 🤷‍♂️ sounds very expensive for 1000 cars?

There's gonna be a strong market for those when they're flogged off after the cops are done with them, you'd think. Proper collector's items. 

[Disco Fever]

[AnthonyG]

Cops are moving to SUVs like everyone else. Gloucestershire police has XC60s. 

[eddyramrod]

7 hours ago, artdjones said:

The Vitara has a proper high/low range transfer box, so is a real 4wd, not any kind of SUV.

Old ones did but not the modern hybrid type we have from Motability.  Mind, it's quite nice as small SUVs go.  But it's no 740.

[artdjones]

8 hours ago, GeordieInExile said:

There's gonna be a strong market for those when they're flogged off after the cops are done with them, you'd think. Proper collector's items. 

I'm not sure I see the point of Volvo withdrawing non police saloons and estates from the market. All the heavy lifting of keeping a rhd production line going is done anyway. So why not let anyone that wants buy one?

 

[Asimo]

13 hours ago, SiC said:

It doesn't help that the population are getting fatter, unfit and more immobile from that.

 

[Dobloseven]

Anybody on here actually bought a brand new Volvo estate in the last five years?If not enough are sold, then they won't be worth making. No use saying "The one I bought for 500 quid was the best car ever and why do people buy SUVs?" 

[eddyramrod]

Sad but true.

[MiniMinorMk3]

Volvo estate to become flagship display at the Natural History Museum

Here's TopGear.com's roving correspondent, Cory Spondent, with his mostly incorrect exclusives from the world of motoring

The skeleton of an enormous Volvo estate is set to become the main attraction at London’s Natural History Museum, just days after the species went extinct in the UK. The last of Volvo’s estate and saloon vehicles died out on these shores after the ecosystem that supported them collapsed, although they continue to roam the continent on mainland Europe.

Unearthed in a garage in Scunthorpe, the carcass of the Volvo 245 will be hung from the ceiling of the museum’s world-famous Hintze Hall before being moved into a permanent exhibit, where it will sit alongside a fossilised Ford Fiesta and a Volkswagen Beetle preserved in amber. The display will also serve as a warning to visitors about the ongoing threat posed by the predator that killed it: the terrifying Essyewveeitus Gargantuous, more commonly known as the 'SUV'.

“We’re delighted that this stunning example of a 245 is coming to the Natural History Museum,” said a spokesperson. “The moment we told David Attenborough about it, he immediately binned off a day doing voiceover for Blue Planet 3 so he could attend the grand opening in person.

“What’s exciting is that our younger visitors will be able to see what a practical car used to look like, and understand that our ancient roads used to be a diverse place; not the wasteland of pointlessly bulky, high-riding crossovers that dominate the landscape today.

“And they won’t believe how big the 245 is. It’s huge. The hall used to be home to an adult-sized Diplodocus, but getting that through the entrance was a piece of cake compared to this.”

[Dobloseven]

Apart from SUVs, other automotive distractions have come along. MPVs have come and mostly gone, along with the estates. But ones with commercial links in various sizes have come on in leaps and bounds. Berlingos , Caravelles etc. have become fashionable. Combi vans and pick ups with tops have tax advantages for business users. Practicality wise, one of my sons has a current model Vauxhall Combo Maxi. Essentially a LWB Berlingo with 7 seats. Take them out and you'd just about get a 245 in there. 

[Disco Fever]

I’ll be hanging on to our V70 as long as possible.T5 Jap import with (ahem) powershift. Already replaced that of course. Shame but folks want SUVs right now so here we are.

[NorfolkNWeigh]

In recent years Volvo estates have become lifestyle cars. If you wanted a proper estate car you bought a Mondeo, Passat, Superb or E Class. The Volvo load lugger since 2004 has been the XC90. I was shocked how small my 2012 V70 was inside . We had a Freelander2 at the same time and it had a far more usable if not quite as long loadspace.

As for the first Crossover/SUV things , I think the Frontera was a turning point, OK now we see them as proper off roaders as not very civilised but when they were launched they were considered as normal estate cars with a bit more ground clearance.

[sierraman]

God the Frontera! A mate had one, a 2.4, it was like a ship at sea in a storm, it rolled all over on tight bends. They did a 3 door with a soft top and a 2.0 that was a bit more ‘yuppified’ I think. 

[Conan]

1 hour ago, NorfolkNWeigh said:

In recent years Volvo estates have become lifestyle cars. If you wanted a proper estate car you bought a Mondeo, Passat, Superb or E Class. The Volvo load lugger since 2004 has been the XC90. I was shocked how small my 2012 V70 was inside . We had a Freelander2 at the same time and it had a far more usable if not quite as long loadspace.

Exactly this. And if you think the V70 P3 was bad, the current V90 is even worse. Yes they've become stylish as hell, but sacrificing actual usefulness. The current V60 is a MASSIVE car compared to the 850 and even 700/900 series, but you wouldn't know from sitting in it and seeing the load space.

When Volvo designed the 850 they talked about designing Delta Link rear suspension which allows for lower boot space, reducing the wheel well size to the minimum, putting mechanical bits way out front etc. all to improve inside space. They definitely don't do that anymore, which kinda defeats the point.

And unless they bring back literal box on wheels it won't get any better.

[NorfolkNWeigh]

I bet this would have gone IN a 240.

[BorniteIdentity]

Some nice love letters here. 

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/aug/05/nostalgia-trip-volvo-estate-owners-reminisce-about-swedish-workhorse-before-its-withdrawal-from-uk-market?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

[EyesWeldedShut]

30 minutes ago, NorfolkNWeigh said:

I bet this would have gone IN a 240.

My 940 can take 4' wide sheets through the tailgate but the floor between the wheel arches is an (infuriating) 44" wide - still a massive boot though. Family member has a XC90 and the interior space in that is, by comparison, naff. It does have an 'infotainment' centre tho'