24th May 2013, 06:34

'Both brands have gone down hill'... According to the views on this site, ALL brands have gone down hill (unless you live in the USA, in which case apparently Ford are getting better)! Lexus and Volvo make excellent cars, but all cars have the potential to go wrong.

24th May 2013, 19:25

Hi, reviewer here.

Do you mean Volvo has gone down hill? I don't think so. The only model I've heard problems about is the S80. This S60 that I have bought is fantastic, and you can see how good they are for yourself, if you read the Volvo S60 reviews on here.

25th May 2013, 13:31

I don't recommend Volvo. After many years of driving smooth, solid and luxurious Lincoln Town Cars, we opted for a Volvo S60 in 2006. What a disappointment. Bland, Honda-like styling, cramped interior, poor ride and nothing remotely "luxurious" about it. You could easily mistake it for any cheap mid-sized car. In 2009 we went back to Lincoln with the incredible MKZ. It's Lincoln from now on for us.

27th May 2013, 03:49

Hi, reviewer here.

I have to disagree... American cars are very uncommon on New Zealand and Australian roads, because they have a bad reputation. My Volvo has many luxurious features and the comfiest seats of any car I have ever owned.

One of my main wants whilst owning a car is reliability, and Volvo has proved to do a great job for me in this sector... The Volvo 850, which I owned prior to buying the Lexus, gave me no trouble whatsoever, and when I sold the car, it had covered around 220,000 km.

Also... Just wondering, if you thought that a car had bland styling and a cramped interior, and all these other faults, why did you buy it? You must have been able to tell when you took the vehicle for a test drive.

28th May 2013, 11:46

Hi - to the reviewer; Don't worry about the guy with the Lincoln/Volvo debate, he has commented the same exact post on here several times and he didn't even personally buy the car - his family did. The car was basically too small for what they were looking for - you can't compare an American barge with a European sports saloon!

I'm with you. I love my Volvo's. Sure, there are a few bad ones out there (as with ALL manufacturers), but mine have all behaved themselves very well, with several over 200k miles. I have been fortunate enough to own a S60 R, which is a stunning car, and that has now made way for a XC90 D5 manual to go alongside our V50. In the past I have owned, 480's, 960's, V70's and more. Great cars - both new and old!!!

29th May 2013, 16:30

Being the owner of a 17-year old Town Car, I have to disagree with you about the whole "you can't compare an American barge vs. European."

In my opinion the Town Car has a smoother, quieter ride, and is more comfortable with more elegant and formal styling than any Volvo I have ever driven in the same class.

As far as reliability, yes a Volvo definitely has that, but yet I have seen many Town Cars that exceed the 300,000 mile mark. Mine currently has over 177,000 miles.

Now, if I had to choose between Volvo and Lexus, I would for sure take the Volvo, seeing how Toyota quality has slipped big time.

31st May 2013, 04:55

Hi, reviewer here.

I don't have a very wide knowledge of vehicles and don't even know what a "Town Car" is, because they were never sold here in New Zealand, as there is very little market for American vehicles over here.

American cars just don't have a good reputation in New Zealand and Australia, therefore I don't consider them very good vehicles, and can't imagine ever buying one unless they suddenly become hugely popular, and up their game in terms of build quality and reliability.

31st May 2013, 09:10

A Town Car is a quality full-size body on frame car built by Lincoln, with an excellent reliability reputation, no matter where you are.

31st May 2013, 16:39

Lincoln is one of the world's best built cars. Comparing one to the rather small and boring Volvo is an insult to Lincoln. Here in the U.S., Volvos are not really regarded as any different from lower priced small cars. The Town Car is a large and very luxurious car, with excellent reliability and an incredible ride.

31st May 2013, 18:46

Funny thing is, I took a little time and browsed all the American built car reviews on this website from New Zealand and Australia. It looks like about 90% of the reviewers are happy with them, and posted good reviews on Ford and General Motors vehicles that were built in the good old U.S.

I did not see any Lincoln reviews, but I do agree with the above poster that the Town Car model is quite reliable, due to the fact that I owned a Mercury Grand Marquis that was built on the same platform.

I can also relate to the fact that Toyota is junk. My 2009 Camry was the worst car ever.

31st May 2013, 23:48

I assume that parts for a Lincoln aren't readily available in NZ or AUS. You would likely have to shop on-line for them.

1st Jun 2013, 04:31

Hi reviewer here.

Okay whatever, if I were to own a Lincoln over here in New Zealand and something were to go wrong with it... I would be forking out a heap of money to import parts to New Zealand, and also the steering wheel would be on the left hand side, which would be a pain in the ass. I'm sure they'd be fine in America, and they sound as though they are one of the only good fairly modern American cars made.

1st Jun 2013, 16:17

And in the U.S., when a Volvo or any other overrated European vehicle breaks down and needs repairs, it also costs heaps of money. Even a simple oil change cost twice as much as it does for a typical American car.

Also, Lincoln is not the only "good" American car. Ever hear of Buick? They built one of the best V6 engines to ever go under the hood of a car.

3rd Jun 2013, 12:45

Isn't a Lincoln a posh Ford?

Obviously, we prefer smaller cars here in the UK, as Volvo are regarded as large cars, but when Ford took over Volvo, everyone complained that quality went down, therefore the same would apply to Lincoln too.

I'm sure Lincolns are well built cars, but very, very few American cars are sold in the UK as they are NOT up to European standards in terms of build or handling. They are cheap and built to a budget - yes, they are cheap to fix, but you have to sit in a cabin made from cheap materials and poor suspension set ups as a consequence! I believe until recently the Mustang had pretty much the oldest suspension set up in production, and this is an 'expensive' American car!

I recently visited the US, and for my 3 week road trip, hired a 2012 Dodge Challenger. This was a sexy car and sounded great, but OH MY GOD, it was built so cheap!!! The interior looked good, but felt horrible, the engine sounded good but was slow (comparing it to my Volvo S60 Turbo). It was great at cruising at 55mph, but wouldn't cope with the back roads my S60 does in the UK, and I fear the same would be said of the Lincoln. Great on a very straight 55 mph freeway, but we have 60mph limits on back roads here with bends in!

My Volvo is a great car and racked up well over 150k miles with no problems, and still makes me smile driving it - a great vehicle in almost every way.