[Jorg]

I'm considering Volvo S60, Rover 75, Mazda 6, Honda Accord and Toyota Camry. I can get a good price on all of these except Camry.

I'm not a fast rider and I want my car to look good, to be smooth on the road, to have a nice interior, to be reliable and to be safe. I'm leaning towards S60 more and more. Would it be a good choice? Thanks for your help in advance.

 

[soupy]

Skip the camry, definitely safe and reliable, but they lack the class and funfactor of the other options. Mazda 6 is a very enjoyable car, but it wont be as smooth as the Volvo or Accord. If you don't mind spending the money, of those choices I'd go with the S60 as well, with the Accord a close 2nd. I'm not familiar with Rovers so I won't say anything about that.

 

[RYCeT]

It is between volvo and accord. If you want class, elegant and don't mind to spend more on maintenance/parts go Volvo otherwise Accord. IMO Accord will be more reliable and cheaper in parts and maintenance. Volvo is a higher class than Honda. Btw why don't you consider Volvo S40? I like S40 looks better than S60.

 

[seiko_citizen]

Accord is IMO the best, off course I have not driven the Volvo so I wouldnt know, but the camry is not bad. The accord is going to be a bit of a fuel guzzler so that is one thing to watch out for.

What model accord are you looking for? Euro or US version. Ive driven the Accord Euro and it is one very smooth nice car. I can only comment on what I have driven. So I will not comment on the other cars

 

[Imyourzero]

Quote:

Originally Posted by seiko_citizen The accord is going to be a bit of a fuel guzzler so that is one thing to watch out for.

Huh? Maybe the 6 cylinder model, but my girlfriend just traded in her 02 Accord with the 4-cyl VTEC and it had very good fuel economy.

 

[chadbang]

Accord. Volvo's cost a fortune to maintain. You won't have to maintain a Honda.

 

[ls20]

1. volvo
2. mazda
3. honda

 

[00940]

The rover 75 is a very sweet car. I've been driving one for two months (summer job) and it's a real pleasure to drive on long distances. A bit on the smooth, non aggressive side. Very comfortable but it was fully loaded with options. Fuel consumption is low (at roughly 6.6l/100km for the diesel model we had). Cost of reparation could be a pain though.

edit : speaking of safety, you have this website of course : http://www.crash-test.org/ They're all in the same range.

edit2: thinking of that now : the structure of the car and some of the available motors were in fact conceived by BMW.

 

[jefemeister]

I'm a big Volvo fan. My dad has last year's S60 T5. The seats are without comparison; more comfortable than any German car I've been in, and I've even had a Bently owner tell me the Volvo is more comfortable. The car is fast and the steering/handling is very good. The traction control is great, the audio system is very nice, the trunk is big, lots of legroom, etc. I guess overall it's just a refined car where everything is integrated beautifully. It doesn't put up the most impressive numbers but they're still very good. i also think the body styling is awesome. Next year I believe an AWD S60 T5 will be available. You should also look into the S40 T5 AWD with the new Tec interior. I prefer those new cloth seats over the leather even.

I drove the 2005 S60-R over the Christmas holiday. That car is crazy fast, has amazing breaks, the handling is upped a couple notches, and I like the sublte stylt changes. As a whole though, I don't think everything is integrated into a complete vehicle/experience as well as the T5 is.

 

[Jeff E]

The most reliable source of information about cars is Consumer Reports. They accept no advertising, purchase cars to test anonymously off the lot and undertake annual, large scale surveys of owners. Anecdotal evidence pales in comparision, particularly with reliability. My impression from briefly looking at their site is in terms of reliability is that they stack up as follows:
Camry > Accord (close behind) > Volvo S60 > Mazda6 > Rover (in general)

Folks like to bash CR. In anticipation, I challenge them to name a more believable source of information about automobile reliability. I recommend that you subscribe to their site to get detailed info about the cars you are considering, although there doesn't appear to be anything about the Rover 75.

Be aware that some of the opinions you will get here will be colored by the prestige and cost in the writer's country. I was, for example surprised to see the S60 in contention with the three Japanese models since in the U.S. the S60 is considered more of a luxury car and priced accordingly. It is hard for us to put ourselves in your situation in Russia, particularly with something as typically emotional/irrational as car choice. Clearly some of the local factors influencing your decision differ from ours in ways we cannot anticipate (dealer presence, rate of depreciation, prestige, typical driving conditions, cost of repair, etc.).

 

[jjcapurro]

I have a 1998 Volvo S70 that I absolutely LOVE! Yes the parts are a little more expensive, and little things like light bulbs go out more often than on Japanese cars like Hondas/Toyotas, but you get a reliable, safe, classy car that with proper maintanance will last just as long as any toyota... 250,000+ miles is not unheard of for a Volvo lifespan. Volvos depreciate faster than the BMW's or Mercedes Benz' in the same price/class bracket however so be aware of this if you plan on selling the car before it's time is through... Anyway my vote is S60!

...Oh yea, and the ladies appreciate the classier cars...

Cheers,
Jeremy

 

[00940]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeff E Be aware that some of the opinions you will get here will be colored by the prestige and cost in the writer's country. I was, for example surprised to see the S60 in contention with the three Japanese models since in the U.S. the S60 is considered more of a luxury car and priced accordingly.

So true... It is hard for a belgian to put in a same sentence the volvo or the rover, with its "baby-jaguar" look, and the japanese cars (they never really lost their image of cheap cars here). I'd tend to look at german cars as competitors. Even if the price differential is not as great here as it is in the US. We all know that a car's choice has quite a lot to do with standing/class/prestige/whatever and this factor is really difficult to evaluate for us non-Russians


This being said... Rover is a brand with high and lows. They're constantly restructuring and trying to get back as a really serious firm. It could affect the price of your car when you'll want to resell it in a few years. Volvo is a far safer bet.

 

[BigD]

Think Accord and S60!
How'bout Saab 9.3?
Drop Drop Rover 75!

What's your gender?
How old are you?
Cars are lifestyle.

 

[Jahn]

you really can't go wrong with an accord. a safe sensible choice.

 

[jpr703]

My girlfriend got an Accord V-6 about 6 months ago. I don't like the stereo, but it's surprisingly quick and fun to drive. Generally seems well-built and rides nice too.

I've known several people that have owned different Volvo models over the years and they seem to be hit or miss. People either have great luck with them or they fall apart real fast.