Volvo shares something in common with Audi, the fact that their stationwagon models usually garner more excitement than the sedan models, or at least that was the norm sometime in the past. Things might have changed somewhat now.
The Volvo V50, like other stationwagons in it’s class (3 Touring?) is a somewhat peculiar offering. A stationwagon usually means utility and lots of space, however C-segment vehicles are usually too compact to have the word spacious associated with them.
Read my report on the Volvo V50 T5, courtesy of Volvo Malaysia, after the jump.
The Volvo V50 is a pretty good looking car. The pronounced nose, domed hood, the strong, broad shoulder line, Volvo’s classic L-shaped light clusters at the rear, huge 5-spoke rims showcasing huge brakes. This model was done up in a flat red that just screams look at me, look at me! It’s a looker really, or it might be just the fact that I love stationwagons.
Then you get into the interior. It’s small! The ceiling was low, which might cause you to feel claustrophobic sitting in the car. Rear legroom was not fantastic as well. However the seats were comfortable and in classic Volvo thoughtfulness are made of allergy-free material, and there’s also that thin sleek curved instrument panel with brushed aluminium trim in the center, housing controls of the climate control and audio system. Every surface in the interior exudes a high quality feel. The center instrument panel being thin and also narrow allows for a wider footwell thus making it more comfortable for the front passengers, and hides a storage compartment behind it.
Information panels are in black and green, and has a neat feature: in sunlight, the panels have a green background with black text, but when the car senses it is dark, or you turn the lights on, the meter panels switch to a black background with green text to go easy on your eyes. The meter panels themselves are backlit with green, giving this powerful car a somewhat boring and mature feel to it. You slot the key into a keyhole between the steering wheel and the center console. There are steering wheel controls for the audio and cruise control, a 6-disc CD changer, and dual climate control.
The stationwagon boot has all the usual amneties you’d expect, normally with a 416 litre capacity, extendable into the passenger compartment via a 40:60 split rear bench for a 716 litre capacity, and a tonneau cover.
Although available in AWD in overseas markets, Volvo Malaysia has fitted the V50 T5 with a classic front wheel drive drivetrain, though not all is lost with the inclusion of Dynamic Stability Traction Control. While the car could perform around the bends if you wanted it to, the steering was not direct enough and did not inspire confidence because of a lack of feel. All you could do driving spiritedly was steer the car and hope it goes where you want it to go. However, drive at sane speeds and you’ll experience a nice and composed drive, with the car giving you a stable and safe feeling. Even the accelerator pedal is not that easy to press, ensuring you don’t accidentally set the car going off the edge of a cliff when parked.
The engine is a turbocharged 5-cylinder unit and sounds lovely, with a slight rumble much like a V6’s. Compression ratio is 9.0:1, and there is no direct injection, so it’s obvious to assume that the boost pressure for this turbocharged engine is pretty light. Thus the result is no turbo lag with snappy throttle response, yet a small low boost fast spooling turbo results in lots of torque at the bottom end of the rev range. However, the engine seemed to run out of breath very quickly a the upper revs, though it reaches the upper revs fairly quickly. Peak torque is 320Nm between 1,500rpm to 4,800rpm, while maximum power output is 218 horsepower at 5,000rpm. 0-100km/h takes 7.3 seconds.
The engine is mated to a Geartronic 5-speed automatic transmission with manual shifting, however I doubt you are going to ever drive this car in manual mode. There’s just not much point to it, just floor the accelerator and let it go. Brakes are huge, so stopping power is really good, and the huge wheels coupled with performance tyres ensure there is not much situations where ABS has to kick-in in the dry.
A note about the paint job. Some of you may have heard of Volvo using some special environmentally friendly paint of some sort. I’m not sure if this is the cause of it, but the paint on different body panels are slightly different in colour. While this cannot be observed from a distance, look up close and you can notice, as you can see from the photo above. It’s most obvious between the bumper and the hood, so that might be because the paint turns out differently sprayed on different materials. Despite that, gaps between panels were beautifully done, giving you the impression this car is very well put together.
At RM222,061.24, some might find it hard to fork out that around for a C-segment vehicle from marque that’s seen as less prestigeous than the luxury German carmarkers. However, for abit more money you can only get a basic spec BMW 320i, while this is a loaded V50 T5 with a top of the range engine. It’s also alot more unique, I hardly see any on the road. However, I still don’t see the point of small stationwagons other than looking the part.
With 6 airbags, DSC, and legendary Volvo safety, this is a good buy for someone young, earning a comfortable sum of money, and perhaps has young children and frequently engages in activities like mountain biking, or even picnics, that require the space of a stationwagon. The amount of power and torque this car has allows you to haul lots of stuff and people around while not compromising your driving experience.
If your children are much older and bigger, you might want to consider forking out more to upgrade to a D-segment car, or downgrading to a large D-segment Japanese sedan. If you’re going to spend that much money, you might as well make sure your whole family is comfortable.
Some photos (interior, boot, engine bay, to be exact) courtesy of Hunting the Snark, as I had lost mine. Nearly all my photos were lost in a recent hard drive crash, save for the very few I uploaded to Flickr.
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Got an opportunity to test drive it when it was nearly launched. The good sales rep over at SMarque was kind enough to provide a silver colored one, that looks adorable and sporty too.
Agreed that the interior somehow feel cramped, but I do think like all Volvo, its almost feel like being in a glove, snug and safety feel, but not uncomfortable. Especially on the door panels which looks thick and safe.
On drive sense, I felt a bit of torque steer from the car, when shooting off from a stand still amidst the rumble and growl of the engine.
On the move, its less noticeable. The ride was to me a bit harsh, probably bcos Volvo set its suspensions in the T5 towards a bit sportier or spirited drive mode.
Nice sport stationwagon to own actually. Shod with bigger 18" wheels, the car would definitely be more than a send-kids-to-school car.
Love it.
RM222,061.24 camry 'fully loaded' 2.4 is cheaper and bigger than this…..what else…..toyota wish, new xtrail, and many more….yet their resale value also higher. Feel more proud to own a huge camry rather than this humble tiny swagon
If its a stationwagon/estate, sure i'll take a Volvo
love Volvo V-series all these while… even the older boxy 850 T5 also look damn nice but the price deter me! and the maintenance cost too!
V50 a great car but kinda small!
wait for the latest V70 reaching our shores!
might be the primer used on the bumper had some chemical reaction toward the paint resulted slightly differs in colour…. and our climate might have some input in this matters too…. anyway i stilll take a V50 if i can afford one!
Volvo car are in different league compared with Camry, X-Trail, Accord even Estimas!
Volvo built quality, fittings its top end!
Had the best safety feature a car could get!
Many other makes replicate/copy Volvo in terms of safety feature such Whiplash, SIPS, Curtain Airbag and etc.
The paint looks a lot different, can see form the pic of the rear. Some people might be put off because of that
I don't think it is fair to compare a toyota wish or X trail to a volvo V50. The volvo is a very solid car.Even the merc doors don't shut with as reassuringlyd as the volvo.But the thick doors do take up a lot of space hence the feeling that the interior is compact. Volvo's are also powerful cars especially on the straights.Did you see the torque figures (320Nm).A wish only makes about 190Nm. But maintenance cost is expensive. Resale will be poor so buyers will have to keep the car for years to make it worthwhile.
I think Not! not just becoz of paint and size! these are just two little minor cons! Volvo pros are more than the cons! i would take a Volvo V if i can afford(the car and expenses to owns one)
what s60t said is right! maintenance, part availability(chop-shop) and resale deter many…
my opinion, a car should built like a Volvo! Then its really a car! :)
The V50 has dual airbags, side impact airbags for the front row and curtain airbags. So six altogether, not just dual airbags stated by Paul. This is from Volvo's Malaysian website.
sorry abt that. fixed.
a volvo cant be compared to a camry la.. totally different car. a guy who buys a camry is also a different person as compared to the volvo buyer.
but a 2.4 camry still feels extremely underpowered, when compared to the V50.
The Volvo V50 has a slightly bigger engine and it's turbocharged compared to the Camry. This gives it around 100nm more torque across the rpm range, that's why the Camry feels underpowered compared to the V50.
But the V50 is very small, rear legroom is probably as much as the Satria only (although it's slightly wider I think).
I've always wondered how Volvo could manufacture cars that are so cramp when Swedish are not physically small like Asians. In fact, the younger generation of Asians are taller and larger. Then again, cramp cars like Vios out sold the spacious City by about 3:1 so I guess the general public likes "intimate" cars?
I personally think the V50 is a good looking car with the right amout of performance, except for the interior space. The S60 was already pretty tight but bearable in the sense that it's about the same with the 3 series. The S40, which should be the same as the V50 was plain claustrophobic for a sedan. I'll put my money on an A4 Avant.
tishaban, i know what the V50 has under the hood, i'm just saying that the camry, at only 2.4ltrs being the largest engine available in malaysia for such a large car is really underpowered. It needs a 3.0 ltr at least. But if that happens, it will probably be imported, and cost near Rm200k, just like the CBU honda accord 3.0.
anyways.. i personally do not find the S40, or V40 cramped, especially for the driver and front passenger.. Where it is really cramped is the rear seats.
yes… in bolehland, size does matter!
but this V50 had been sold world wide! even those mat-salleh can cramp insider why couldn't "bolehsian"…. :) Cheers!
KL-ATR said,
March 29, 2007 @ 11:42 am
I’ve always wondered how Volvo could manufacture cars that are so cramp when Swedish are not physically small like Asians. In fact, the younger generation of Asians are taller and larger. Then again, cramp cars like Vios out sold the spacious City by about 3:1 so I guess the general public likes “intimate†cars?
I personally think the V50 is a good looking car with the right amout of performance, except for the interior space. The S60 was already pretty tight but bearable in the sense that it’s about the same with the 3 series. The S40, which should be the same as the V50 was plain claustrophobic for a sedan. I’ll put my money on an A4 Avant.
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Intimate? lol, then 1-series would've sold like hot cake :P Also, ppl will stop complain Satria Neo too shallow for tall ostriches out there…..
my mom had a head on collision with a lorry in a 740 turbo. airbag was still not standard at that time, she survived the accident. the door was still able 2 open, no need bomba come & saw open it. the car look like a half cut without the front part. yet the front cramp engine part never crash in2 the interior. my mom suffer fractured chest bone only, due 2 the pulling force from safety bell. at that time, i think only volvo can passed this crash test. now she is using s60 t5. treasure ur life.
Would have been a good buy if it has AWD. For now, the best value is still the Toyota Caldina GT-4 N-Spec at RM 180k.
well, for those who drives other than a Volvo, should be thankful to the company for not patterning the 3 point seatbelt.. the fact that the 3 point seatbelt were introduced by a Volvo engineer, what will happen if that system were not implemented in all vehicle?? hehehe
all i can say is… volvo's are cars to be safe in. period.
i can drift my 240 gl better than a s80…… oh wait… the 240 was a FR car…. the day volvo chose fwd was a sad day… (points at the 850 disparagingly) Blearghhh!!
OH YES… I AM A TROLL…. A PRO ALTERNATIVE TROLL….. I WILL BUY YOUR VOLVO'S, ALFA'S, FIATS, BMW'S, JAGUARS, SUBARUS AND OTHER NON-MAINSTREAM CARS AFTER YOU ARE DONE WITH THEM….. AND WILL LAUGH AT YOUR FACE WHEN YOU TELL ME YOU BOUGHT A '97 HONDA FOR 40K…..
Volvo V50 T5 has now become my 2nd wife. It just a powerful car that makes people [especially me] tends to be over confident especially during overtaking. The chances of 4 to 6 cars at one time is easy as the power is always there when you needed it. You can feel the G force as it pull to its maximum but sometimes have to be careful of the drift after you lifted the fuel paddle as it tends to flow flasted and its usually without you knowing it. It's a marvelous car if you wish to have one and I had owe it as early as a few days before Federal Auto lanuches the model. Mine is no 15 on the road. On straight at 180 kmh and above you can feel the cross wind effect and so becareful. Max speed I've tried is 225 kmh for just 10 seconds and my adrenaline starts to flow and promised that I will not do it next. The second time trying I got snooped at 220 kmh on LPT. This keeps me at a lower pace now.
I also wish to share and know other owners view.
You guys gotta be kidding comparing a Volvo to a Camry…..shhhh
Just booked my unit, seriously comtemplated getting the non-turb0 2.4i and save myself RM50k but decided against it. This is my fist car since the birth of my first son. I used to drive a Camry 04' (my dad's wedding present to me) but decided to get a Volvo as it is safer and my sons deserves the best.
is this car cbu or ckd?
Drove this car to fraser hill !!!! Bloody fast car (too fast for me) , it love corner very much …….. I am the guy usually drive a car around 100-150bhp so i need alot of time to feel comfortable with it . BTW very nice car + spacious
I only dislike 2 things:
1) Manual mode sluggish
2) Bad FC