[cyqed]

Hi All,

I am starting this thread for a friend of mine. This friend of mine is planning on buying a new car - so called luxury car. His choices are BMW 5 series or a Volvo S80 3.2 Liter petrol variant. As far as I know, the current version of BMW 5 series is pretty outdated - which will be replaced by a newer, updated version of BMW 5 series. From what the Volvo advertises on their website, they seem to have a superior safety features and tech specifications also looks very appealing.

IMHO, Volvo is probably not as established as BMW in India. BMW seem to have a show-room in every metropolitan city. Will my friend have to end up selling a kidney in the process of trying to maintain this car?

Since buying a 40+ Lakhs worth vehicle is not something that happens every day, I promised my friend that I would get expert opinion from fellow BHPans and help him out. Really appreciate all your help in advance.

[ajmat]

First thing - where does your friend sit - front seat or back.

If being driven - the Volvo is a cost effective bet. It is well built and reliable but very anodyne to drive and resale value will plummet. Volvo's brand was built on safety but others have caught up. if you friend drives on rough roads, the Volvo is built for tough scandanavian conditions. Plenty of them in Sri Lanka for some reason!

BMW is excitiing , great to drive, we all love them but ride is relatively bumpy and it is a bit dark in there.

Frankly it is a case of personal preferences.

[Sahil]

Volvo uses the "safest car in the world" title to market their products, a title they lost years back.

The E60 5 series is outdated by just "date" if you must. It still looks more futuristic than the next gen F10 5 series ! And let's not even compare the outdatedness with the S80

I'd suggest your friend gets the 530d. If he can wait, he should until the new one is out. But as of today the e60 530d is a far better option than the S80.

The BSI plan that BMW offers will keep his kidneys secure, its a one time upfront cost for 3 or 5 years and then your worries are long gone.

Besides if he were to get the 3.2 S80, the only way it would ever give the performance even close to the 530d would be if it was drinking 97 octane fuel that costs almost double of what a litre of diesel cost !

IMO, strike out the S80 from the dilemma here, add some fun to your dilemma by considering the new E, Q5,etc

[Rotorhead]

Though volvos are known for their reliablity, and sturdiness but they really havent been able to get a foothold as niche luxury car makers for various reasons. Their designs in general look more dated or rather uninspiring for a car that costs quite a bit, the S60 being an exception. When considering similiar cars of the same segment , the competition has much more to offer than just a sturdy and well engineered car in terms of addons. Added to that, like you rightly said, finding help in servicing, or finding spares for a volvo is going to be tough given their almost non existent support network.

If you want to have peace of mind and yet again have a wonderful piece of engineering with a lot of other goodies then BMW is the way to go. With a BMW you will not go wrong. But any particular reason why the choice is between volvo and a BMW, in most cases , atleast in indian scenario its generally a tiff between a BMW and a Merc.

[cyqed]

Originally Posted by ajmat

First thing - where does your friend sit - front seat or back.

From what I Know, this car is for long drives and his family will not accommodate a driver. He will be driving and he got 3 kids. So driver is not an option. Yes, this vehicle lacks looks - probably a generation old look but The tech specs looks promising.

Apparently, E series is not his choice. Probably because he owns an older version of C class I guess. What about Audi A6?

I would like to thank you for your opinions and appreciate your time.

[v.anand]

If your friend stays in Bangalore, Volvo don't seem to have a showroom here till recently. I don't know if one has opened now, but that is the whole point. Volvo has lot lesser dealerships and support as compared to German rivals in India. The new Benz E series is an awesome new car whose strength is ride quality all the way. Audi A6 at the moment is the outdated one due to age but still a good all rounder, BMW outdated only because a new model has got released worldwide. Why not wait for the new 5 series?

[jkdas]

Sahil, what if is looking at what Sachin just got? The S80 twin turbo?

[Speeding@160mph]

Volvo is a poor choice - not enough of a dealer/service network, ridiculously outdated looks and significant under-performance compared to its price point competitors.

The A6 is an even poorer choice! Its a glorified old gen Superb! With the new one about a year away, it would be painful to drop 40lacs for second-hand looks. By this criteria, i would eliminate the current 5 also - as you mentioned you dont spend that money 'everyday' - even though it is the BEST of the last gen.

Take another look at the E250CDI or wait until the new 5 is out. Let somebody else be the guinea pig for Volvo while they get their bearings in place - its a chinese company now - there really is no telling what direction they will move towards!

[OmThoke]

First of all, sorry if I'm bumping an old thread, but I want to clear the air, and tell all the fellow BHPians a thing or two about Volvos. I recently bought an s80 3.2 petrol, and until then I had just the same notion!

Originally Posted by Speeding@160mph

Volvo is a poor choice - not enough of a dealer/service network, ridiculously outdated looks and significant under-performance compared to its price point competitors.

It's definitely NOT under-powered, nor over-priced - you see a BMW 520d selling for 50L+ (on-road in Bangalore, and can be brought down to barely 49L after LOT of nego.), which delivers < 200hp, while the s80 pumps out 230hp. And, 520d has a 4-cyl pot, and if you want V6, you'll have to stretch to 60L+ for 530d, which simply doesn't make sense (at least to me), because then you can start looking at a Jag XF(on-road is 75L, but after nego it can be brought down significantly - I know people who've got bargains like 66L on-road in Blore).

The A6 is an even poorer choice! Its a glorified old gen Superb! With the new one about a year away, it would be painful to drop 40lacs for second-hand looks. By this criteria, i would eliminate the current 5 also - as you mentioned you dont spend that money 'everyday' - even though it is the BEST of the last gen.

Technically an A6 with 2L engine - V.POOR value for money; take the 3.0TDI but be ready to again cough out 50L+, but still don't get stuff like refrigerator at rear-seat, rear infotainment etc etc.

Take another look at the E250CDI or wait until the new 5 is out. Let somebody else be the guinea pig for Volvo while they get their bearings in place - its a chinese company now - there really is no telling what direction they will move towards!

Sorry I'll have to STRONGLY disagree; I took the E250 for a TD, and then when I stepped inside S80 - there was NO comparison whatsoever. The quality of leather seats, the comfort, and just about everything was better (Ok probably I'm being a little biased towards Volvo since now i own it, but perhaps that's just 5%)

The point is s80 gives you what NOBODY gives you under 50L budget (on-road), barring the snob value.

So, if you don't really want the world to know that you've a 50L car, then nobody can beat the s80 at that pricing point.

Agreed that there's lack of dealership and service network, but so what - you get it serviced ONLY once a year

[Rasputin]

Originally Posted by OmThoke

First of all, sorry if I'm bumping an old thread, but I want to clear the air, and tell all the fellow BHPians a thing or two about Volvos. I recently bought an s80 3.2 petrol, and until then I had just the same notion!



Sorry I'll have to STRONGLY disagree; I took the E250 for a TD, and then when I stepped inside S80 - there was NO comparison whatsoever. The quality of leather seats, the comfort, and just about everything was better (Ok probably I'm being a little biased towards Volvo since now i own it, but perhaps that's just 5%)

The point is s80 gives you what NOBODY gives you under 50L budget (on-road), barring the snob value.

So, if you don't really want the world to know that you've a 50L car, then nobody can beat the s80 at that pricing point.

Agreed that there's lack of dealership and service network, but so what - you get it serviced ONLY once a year

Great Buy..! Believe there are a few S80s and S60 available with dealers in Cochin. Would you mind sharing how much it costed you..

[OmThoke]

Originally Posted by Rasputin

Great Buy..! Believe there are a few S80s and S60 available with dealers in Cochin. Would you mind sharing how much it costed you..

Well, only s80 D4 Kinetic, and Summum D5 is available in India unfortunately, and both of them don't have enough power punch that new 5 series packs in.

The s80 3.2 petrol and V8 AWD versions need to be imported, which is a bit of hassle until you have good contacts

But, if you manage to do so, it'll certainly be worth it, because you get mini-bar plush leather seats, dyna audio with dolby surround sound 7.1 and all that you can demand under 60L on-road budget

The Volvo dealer might actually help you as well, if he's willing to take a special order. It should cost you about 56.8L on-road

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by OmThoke

First of all, sorry if I'm bumping an old thread, but I want to clear the air, and tell all the fellow BHPians a thing or two about Volvos. I recently bought an s80 3.2 petrol, and until then I had just the same notion! Sorry I'll have to STRONGLY disagree; I took the E250 for a TD, and then when I stepped inside S80 - there was NO comparison whatsoever. The quality of leather seats, the comfort, and just about everything was better (Ok probably I'm being a little biased towards Volvo since now i own it, but perhaps that's just 5%) The point is s80 gives you what NOBODY gives you under 50L budget (on-road), barring the snob value. So, if you don't really want the world to know that you've a 50L car, then nobody can beat the s80 at that pricing point. Agreed that there's lack of dealership and service network, but so what - you get it serviced ONLY once a year

Am so glad. Thank you for stepping up on the first class cars that Volvos are. I recently went to their HQ and Museum in Arendal, near Gothenburg...amazing cars from an amazing company.

I aspire to a Volvo XC60 or similar. That's really the car for me! I ve tested the S80 top end model in Cochin- there was an orange one lying about there as a test car. Absolutely plush and lovely inside and extremely powerful and feature loaded too. The vehicle simply shrieks quality from every pore.

Indeed the dealer there, Forbes, said that the particular orange car had hit 20k kms as a test car and was going to be sold. He offered a super price, around 27 lacs or something. Good value since it was in first class condition and maintained properly by the dealership.

Quite unlike silly old Beemer especially the 3 series and the X1 sold here in India and unlike even Merc's B Class and C Class. I am unhappy that somehow the Mercs sold here in India appear to be of a lesser quality than for example those lovely E Class Taxis that one takes in Europe and/ or even in Jakarta! Buying a Volvo as a strong, well designed, high quality and safe car, is an eminently sensible thing to do in India, if you have the budget.