Complete information on the new V50

[coastal]

Checked all the other major sites and we're first with the detailed info and new photos

Read the articles here: http://www.volvoxc.com/v50/

See the photos here: http://www.xc70.com/pics/thumbnails.php?album=137

[jthorsen]

After reading more about this car and looking at the Detroit show pictures, I love the look of the wagon.  We already have an 04 XC70 but will want to replace my wife's 99 Civic in the next year or two.  The XC70 will be our primary car, so we just need something for the daily commute.  At first, I was thinking of the new S40 T5 AWD, but after seeing the wagon I'm not sure I could resist.  We don't really need another wagon, but buying a sedan kind of seems like a waste!  All the wasted space in the back that could be a cargo area!!

On the other hand. did anybody see the specs on the Subaru Legacy GT?  AWD (of course) and 250hp/250tq!  0-60 in 5.5 seconds!  Lots of standard features for most likely under $30.  I love Volvo but I'll definitely have to check that one out too...

[ifnt420]

is it just me, or does the back bumper on the V50 above looks like its missing??

[jthorsen]

Wow, it certainly does look that way, doesn't it!

[AWD*V70XC]

It's on the new V50 so I would expect it on all releases shortly, auto dimming mirrors that is, I know we have it on the XC70 but it looks like a compass is going to be added as well.

Gentex auto-dimming mirrors automatically darken to reduce glare from the headlamps of vehicles approaching from the rear. The brighter the glare, the darker the mirrors become, making nighttime driving safer.

V50 vehicles sold in the United States will be equipped with a Gentex auto-dimming interior mirror that features a built-in electronic compass display utilising Johnson Controls' PathPoint® Digital Compass System. All V50 models shipped elsewhere worldwide, excluding base vehicles, will come with a base Gentex interior auto-dimming mirror.

The Gentex V50 mirrors comply with new, international, End-of-Life Vehicles (ELV) directives that seek to prevent waste and potentially hazardous substances from entering the environment. ELV legislation, which is currently being enacted in many European and Asian nations, bans some potentially hazardous materials while encouraging the reuse, recycling and recovery of various automotive components on vehicles reaching the end of their useful life.

"Gentex's ability to meet European market requirements is what helped us secure the V50 business, and since this is only our second vehicle program with Volvo Cars, we look forward to growing our relationship," said Gentex Executive Vice President Garth Deur.

Gentex Corporation is an international company that provides high-quality products to the worldwide automotive industry and North American fire protection market.

Gentex Car Products

You saw it here, first.

[TrueBlue]

If anyone is really, really, busrting to find more details about the V50, you can configure a car to your requirements  here and get a feeling for its specifications here

These are UK details of course, but they may give you a guide. There were no details on the US site when I wrote this post.

Perhaps the blue colour is not to US tastes (certainly not mine) or the car is too small

I didn't notice anthing about auto dimming mirrors, but it's early days yet.

[TrueBlue]

I took some pictures of the V50 at a dealer "park and ride" event at Hickstead (Home of British show jumping?) yesterday. They aer in the guest upload area - I may move them here if Coastal makes a folder for them.

The pictures have comments attached to them, so there is no need to repeat them here.

I drove the 2.4 and T5 models, both of which were quite rapid. The trim specs were both SE - which means leather and other extras. Both had GT automatic boxes which worked well, my Minder commented on the smooth upward gear change when I used the GT mode.

The interiors show great similarity with their larger brothers, but one is very aware of very much less room all round, even to the extent that their was no centre speaker and the front door tweeter speakers looked like an afterthought.

There was not enough time - 15 minutes was the allotted time for a test drive and a look - to look at all aspects in detail, but overall I was impressed by what had been done.

Having seen the car I could not see how Volvo could produce an XC version - there is not enough room tor the extra transmission conponents (but I'm probably wrong) and any major changes would make it look less like a '50 - if you see what I mean.

[slender]

Just had a look at your photos, TrueBlue - excellent. I've seen loads of shots of the so-called floating centre console but none show it off for what it really is as well as yours. A What Car? review of this model mentioned the fact that the headrestraints had to be removed to drop the rear seats but (as far as I can recall) did not mention the excellent looking purpose built storage for them.

Just one question; would you buy one, whether they offered an XC variant, or not?

[ifnt420]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (TrueBlue @ Mar. 28 2004,05:09)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Having seen the car I could not see how Volvo could produce an XC version - there is not enough room tor the extra transmission conponents[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
I&#39;m pretty sure about this, I think the new V50 T5 are already available with the Haldex AWD in Europe. &nbsp;

[TrueBlue]

Slender,

Would I buy a V50 (etc)? As a concept (i.e. all things being equal and other prevarications), Yes, I would - If I wanted a smaller, more economical car, and to be honest I could probably live with the smallness right now. I (we) rarely carry passengers and organising my junk would make better use of the load space.

However, I like to think I am a practical man and buy my cars with an eye on the price. Some while ago I looked at replacing &nbsp;Management&#39;s car (440) witha V40. That was not really an estate, more a saloon &nbsp;with a tailgate - not even a hatchback, but more importantly a moderately specified s/h V40 was nearly as much as much as a higher specified V70. That&#39;s the way we went. She complained about the large size - for ten minutes. Yesterday when prompted to go for a test drive - she said; &quot;No, I loooove my V70 I don&#39;t want to change.... &quot;

For me, it all comes down to the prices on the market when I want to purchase; I certainly don&#39;t have any issue with the V50 as a car. It&#39;s got all the bits of a V70 on a smaller scale.

Thanks for your kind words about the photos. I&#39;m not an experienced photographer and just pointed and clicked at the same time as being pushed by the demonstrator. I wish I&#39;d taken more.

BTW - on price - I notice that a top end V70 is now slightly more (£100 ish) expensive than an XC70, if the configurator is to be believed, with the &nbsp;Awd thrown in for free.

Ifnt420,

Yes, you are quite correct; in shame I looked at the VCUK site this morning, &nbsp; Here and previous pages and found the price list and more details (I swear they were not there last Friday when I looked - well at least the price list wasn&#39;t. In the UK the price list also shows options and specifications, so it&#39;s worth downloading. The general V50 webpage mentions awd, but I can&#39;t find any further reference to it. Probably a feature for later in the year when they can get it to work..... &nbsp;

Both cars I drove had DSTC as standard, but I don&#39;t know how effective DSTC would be on a two wheel drive car, or indee how it works without the Haldex system, indeed perhaps the car comes with Haldex as standard.

Watch this (or other) spaces.