My S80 is now 2 years and 55 000 miles old. When comparing the cars I was worried about the reliability of this new Volvo: it was a completely new vehicle with totally new technical approach (at least new to Volvo). I must admit that I already had a beta tester´s suit on me (or at least in my mind) when I received my new car on February 1999.

Here is my list of failures:

- automatic climate control unit replaced 3 times (OK for over a year now)

- both the front and the rear brake disks replaced (30-40 000 miles, original brake pads only 50 % worn-out!)

- automatic transmission control unit replaced and software updated (10-30 000 miles)

- steering re-lubricated (odd noise when turning the steering wheel, 40 000 miles)

- central locking system repaired twice (driver´s door, 20-40 000 miles)

- front suspension pivot-joints replaced

This list is, believe me or not, as long as I would expect from a completely new car from a small company like Volvo.

Everything has been repaired without any delays and nobody has ever asked me after my money (warranty is only 12 months). They seem to be aware of all the problems but they never tell me the real origin of them. And why should I be interested in that? If everything is fixed with a minimum pain in the ass, why should I be worried? All I have done is that I´ve made it clear I´m not going to pay _anything_ for repairing the climate control unit in the future. I can be a beta tester but I´m not going to be it for free.

In my country (Finland) the S80 is especially cheap compared to the continental European cars and, excluding some quality problems, I´m completely satisfied with my S80. My wife´s car, a Lancia k (= kappa) from Italy, is far more reliable, but doesn´t afford the same quality of a quiet long-distance work-horse I have been after. When pushing it hard, the situation is completely different, naturally. Volvo is not a Porsche.

I think that all we need is a little bit more tolerance for these new models. If we want to be pioneers, we have to accept some degree of imperfection and simultaneously be happy with the extra satisfaction that a completely new concept delivers.

Hannu Mikola