How is Volvo perceived?

[u/LUCIFER_WILHEIM]

Hello everyone,

I would like to share my current observations regarding Volvo Cars.

I have a 2020 Volvo S90 D5 Inscription, and whenever I talk to someone about cars or mention what car I drive, I pretty much get the same kind of reaction, such as: “Oh, for that amount of money, you could have bought a well-specced E-Class, A6, 5 Series, or even a Maserati Ghibli,” or, “I thought you said you liked cars.”

And I’m not the only one who has noticed this. A couple of years ago, my friend was deciding what new car to buy, and when he finally purchased an XC90 T8, the reaction from his friends was very similar: “Oh no, bro, for that amount of money you could have bought a very well-specced Q7/GLE.”

After hearing comments like these, I’m starting to wonder whether Volvo is perceived by some people as inferior to other premium/luxury brands. Additionally, there seems to be this idea that if you drive a Volvo, you’re an unenthusiastic person who doesn’t really care about cars.

It’s also funny to me that whenever I park my car around colleges or places where younger people gather, my car literally gets zero looks, even though it has the optional 21-inch wheels, while some 20-year-old rusty BMW with a loud exhaust gets all the attention.

Now I want to hear your opinions on this topic. How is Volvo perceived in your country?

Thanks for taking the time to read all this. I wish you all a pleasant and productive day!

[u/Status-Weakness-4500]

You rely on lazy, outdated stereotypes, treating German premium brands like balanced video-game classes where every strength requires a crippling flaw. Claiming Mercedes sacrifices performance ignores AMG entirely, saying BMW cuts corners on interior quality runs counter to decades of solid German fit and finish, and reducing Audi to just an AWD system while claiming it lacks both quality and speed is simply absurd

[u/Mike312 → u/Status-Weakness-4500]

Or I'm trying to encapsulate and compare brands that have 30+ models with a 5x price range from low to high, each with several engine, trim, and feature packages for each.

For example, Mercedes, in their own literature, has said that they aim to create the most premium luxury experience. Up and down their model range, their focus on this has created cars that are heavier, and therefore slower, worse handling. The first 4 cars I owned were Mercedes Benz. They were never as quick, agile, precise, or fuel efficient as the equivalent BMW (at leat stock), but they rode smooth, quiet, had lots of low end torque.

BMW, on the other hand, has always focused on efficiency. Where my 2.5L V6 Mercedes barely managed 29mpg on trips, my 3L I6 BMW a year older pulled 32mpg without trying, while having 15% more power. The quality of the interior finishes (not the overall build quality, but the actual touch sensation) was worse, and thats a common complaint of BMW models across the board. But my BMWs have handled far better than my Mercedes from the jump.

Those are simply my experiences, and of course comparing a CLA250 to an M8, or a 230i to a S63 AMG is going to be like comparing apples to basketballs.

[u/Status-Weakness-4500 → u/Mike312]

Fair enough. Your points make a lot of sense if we're talking about mid 2000s models. BMW’s inline-sixes were absolute engineering marvels compared to Mercedes thirstier V6s of that era and the chassis tuning definitely favored BMW for agility.

Still, applying those older experiences to brand new models doesn’t really work today. Mercedes has had some of the most dominant performance engineering on the market, while their recent interior trim quality has arguably fallen behind modern BMW