Volvo XC40

[Col Lamb]

Who don't they just dump the Volvo badge and stick on one that says

Zhejiang

[Hawkeye]

In my view, Volvo unshackled by new ownership seems to be producing more interesting cars than they did before. They seem particularly to be doing some interesting interiors.


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[Deleted User 1874]

Not convinced about the rear 3/4 styling. A bit too much sheet metal back there makes it look like a van. Otherwise I quite like it.

Agree also that Chinese ownership has done Volvo much more good than harm - much better than being under the Ford shackles. From the outside at least it appears that the designers have been allowed to flourish. I know from experience that under Ford ownership literally everything they did would have to be signed off by Ford senior management.

[goron59]

Indeed, Chinese ownership is probably the best thing that happened to Volvo.

[Nuclear Nick]

Agree about the rear quarters. It will be interesting to see what it's like to reverse. But then again, I suppose the car will do it for you.

[Col Lamb]

Yep, the 3/4 styling looks very wierd reminiscent of the 1970's Datsun 100.

The dash is not a patch on a Macans.

What are those slit things?

It is something common to most manufacturers, they align the vents to blow air over the drivers hands, rather than direct to ones face.

[goron59]

The slit things are air vents, and like every other manufacturer, they can be angled up/down and left/right. You can point them at your hands if you wish.

The dash, frankly, pisses all over the current Macan. The current Macan dash is awful. Redundant dials, grouping variable displays in restrictive ways, tiny displays, useless analogue speed dial... the list goes on and on.

It might not be to everyone's taste, but the Volvo one is certainly one of the more ergonomic and feature-rich around, and contrary to what some reviewers think, you don't actually have to touch the central screen for anything.

[Col Lamb]

Cheers Goron, I thought that that is what the slits were for imho not the most attractive design feature by a country mile.

I totally disagree regarding the dash comparison, the three dials in our Macan is a heritage design feature that goes back 50 years with three prominent dials, with speedo, and a larger rev in centre.

There is no doubt Volvo make quality cars but sadly the XC60 & 90 that I looked at had Jaguar quality of materials internally.

In the Macan after 18 months ownership I have zero issues with the layout of the interior switches on or close to the steering wheel, the overhead switch panel is a pain and should only be the blind and sunroof.

Good luck with your hunt for a replacement for your Turbo.

[Wing Commander]

I totally disagree regarding the dash comparison, the three dials in our Macan is a heritage design feature that goes back 50 years with three prominent dials, with speedo, and a larger rev in centre.

I think the five dial set up is more the Porsche heritage as in this model from around 1964/65:

[goron59]

Yep, “heritage” is 5 dials. The Macan broke the tradition but kept the worst bits. I wonder if the Mission E will have a pointless rev counter in the middle. And counting revs of what? The average if the rotor speeds? Or just make it up. Or shock! Have a modern dash that shows useful information.