I wonder why the American listings put Volvo at bottom (as there is no comprehensive annual inspection like the MOT or TÜV checks in Europe). In Europe, the bottom quality tends to be American and some French and Italian cars.
A fairly detailed statistics is from TÜV annual inspection reports, found here: http://www.anusedcar.com/
There, Volvo is rather average. Where I live (Finland), Volvos tend to get a bit more kilometers than most other brands, so being not at the bottom of listing means they're doing reasonable quality.
"Consumer Reports said multiple Volvo vehicles, including the XC60 and XC90 SUVs and the S90 sedan, were reported to have issues with their display screens and infotainment systems, including freezes and a failure to display. The publication said issues had also been reported with the XC60's climate system along with rattles inside its cabin, while the S90 also had problems reported relating to engine knocking or pinging. Of the three Volvo models it analyzed, Consumer Reports rated the XC60 as Volvo's most reliable vehicle and the S90 as the brand's least reliable vehicle."
Really? The infotainment system makes it rank low?
>"Really? The infotainment system makes it rank low"
Yes, because modern cars are so good nowadays that people expect perfection.
We are a two car family. In the past decade I've owned Volkswagen, Honda, Toyota, Ford, Mazda, Subaru and Nissan. All have been perfectly good cars, reliability wise. My last two leases I didn't do a thing beyond oil changes for four years, not even tires or brakes. Besides the odd car having some random thing replaced at the dealership under warranty, nothing ever went wrong with any of them.
I realize that's not everyone's experience, but I'm not a lottery winner either. Modern cars are a feat of engineering.
I’m pretty sure that’s not the full report, irc they release a beefy car buyers guide each year to members with the full report, and Consumer Reports has rules against the republishing of the data in their reports.
It makes sense to me. A new car shouldn't have problems, full stop. My 25 yo car got its first maintenance in 5 years apart from oil, the only problem it has is the air switcher is cranky, and that took over 20 years to crop up. If i bought a Volvo (which I’ve been considering because all I want to upgrade on is safety) and it has a problem in the first few years of ownership, even if it was under warranty, I’d be LIVID!
And while we are on the topic of reliability, with the warranties that come with most unreliable cars, why _wouldnt_ a bugged infotainment system rank the car lower just as much as mechanical issues—either way it’s just a trip to the dealer.
I see cars as an appliance, I don’t want to think about it, I just want to use it. So none of this really makes sense to me, if all consumers shared the same sentiment, I feel certain that the market would look considerably different.
The only thing I think of when I hear "Volvo" is safety. Not luxury, not performance, not quality, not reliability, not anything but safety.
I would be very surprised if they were less reliable than most sports cars.