1999 Volvo S80 review from North America

Service engine lights were a bit testy...

I had this car for one month after making an upgrade from an older Toyota Celica.

I read the reviews on this site... weighed my options... as someone trained in research I know that self-respondent websites usually only get comments from extremes. That is, people who either hate it or love it with most people in the middle not passionate enough to bother posting.

SO I decided all the negative nancys here were just those who happened to have all the problems.

That said, in the month I had the car there were a few tiny glitches. A fuse that I changed easily by myself. An engine service recommended light that liked to come on and off (regularly scheduled maintenance?). Other than that things worked fine. And I absolutely loved the performance of the engine, the interior features, the delicious sounding stereo, the heated seats on a cold morning...

So why on earth am I writing a post then?

At the end of that first month I got in a horrible car accident going head-on into a Chevy Tahoe that jumped out of a driveway into my lane. The driver and passengers of that Tahoe all went to the hospital... the S80 was totaled beyond belief... and I had only a small bruise on my forearm.

So now I am the extreme on this website. The extremely positive. If I had had problems here and there and repairs or overly expensive parts... WHO GIVES A CRAP! I will pay for more expensive parts if it can save your life. Or even just save you from whiplash (yes, the car protects against that)... or to holding the cabin intact with extra strength protection... or top and bottom side air bags to cradle you in the accident...

Maybe other cars have these features now, but for my price this is the safest and nicest car possible. I would highly recommend it to anyone who finds it important to protect the contents of your car, be it you or other loved ones.