Firing order
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Car Reviews
  • Guilty Pleasures
  • Last Orders

The thin end of the wedge: whatever happened to the traditional estate car?

9/9/2010

3 Comments

 
Picture
Think of Volvo and many of you will think estate car.

Mythically beloved of antique dealers, the Volvo estate has been part of the company’s heritage for decades.

Usually with vast luggage capacity and a very practical shape, Volvo’s estate cars have always sold well in the UK.

Even when Volvo made its foray into the British Touring Car Championship in the 1990s, with the 850 estate when they could have easily used the saloon.


It was a company so comfortable in the image people had created, it was able to have a little joke at its own expense.

Except the latest estate – the V60 – we’re told is a ‘sports tourer’. What does that mean exactly? Road cars usually have very little to do with ‘sport’ and ‘tourer’ implies a vehicle of leisure.

The V60 is no track-day car while the vast majority – more than 70 per cent – will be sold as company cars. Selected by user choosers, granted, but driven while on business most of the time.

So the V60 is quite nice to drive, equipped with responsive petrol and diesel engines, and feels comfortable and composed on the road.

But when it comes to luggage capacity, with the rear seats in place it has among the lowest in the class.

At 430 litres, it is less than the German premium brands with which Volvo aspires to compete for sales, and substantially lower than estate cars offered by mainstream brands.

We were told that Volvo defines estate by whether a washing machine (complete with packaging) will fit in the boot without having to fold the seats.

The V60 will not accommodate a washing machine, although the rear seats fold flat and the front passenger seat also folds flat to allow long items to be carried on one side.

Given its size and position in the market the V60 should count the 240 estate as one of its ancestors.

Unfortunately, Volvo traditionalists might well be disappointed.
3 Comments
Tristan Young link
9/10/2010 01:22:13 am

The 'minimum' boot figure isn't quite right - it's a case of Volvo being too honest.
For the UK, the minimum space behind the rear seats (and below the luggage cover) is actually 460 litres. The extra 30 come from the underfloor compartment, as the UK isn't taking a spare wheel.
Rival manufacturers (eg Audi) always quote the larger figure for their cars.

Reply
Simon Harris
9/10/2010 01:47:34 am

Thanks for the comment. Comparison was made using the quoted figure for all cars using the established VDA method - not absolute volume. Audi A4 Avant is 480 litres using the VDA method. As further context the V60 figure is just 13 litres larger than the V50 in the next class down - less than most small backpacks - itself not known as being a big load lugger in its sector.

Reply
MPVcar.co.uk link
10/2/2010 03:20:10 am

Well observed comments Simon. And you're right, there's something very British about seeing an old 740GL lumbering around the Cotswolds, with a sideboard in the back. Volvo seem to be going the same 'swoopy lifestyle' route as everyone else. Will none of the manufacturers recognise the basic need of families to transport people and things in a large practical box on wheels? As long as it's not a Doblo. Keep up the good blog.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    August 2018
    November 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    July 2012
    January 2012
    January 2011
    November 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010

    Categories

    All
    Bentley Turbo R
    Cold Weather Tyres
    Estate Cars
    Fuel Consumption
    Fuel Prices
    Jensen Interceptor
    Kia Optima
    Paris Motor Show
    Peugeot 508
    Rac Future Car Challenge
    Toyota Auris
    Tyres
    Volkswagen Passat
    Volvo V60
    Winter Tyres

    RSS Feed

  • Home
  • Blog
  • Car Reviews
  • Guilty Pleasures
  • Last Orders