[spicyB48]

I really don't understand. Their S60 (Volvo's entry-level offering) is more expensive than a 3 series or C class. They lost their safety advantage years ago, they aren't anything special in terms of performance or comfort, and the build quality and reliability are poor.

They seem to be marketing themselves with "Swedish minimalism" and "sustainability". I guess lacking basic features is indeed minimalist. Their cars have all sorts of weird design quirks and their sedans drive like pickup trucks. I'd imagine that their SUVs feel like semis.

This is just an anecdote, but I had a 2013 Volvo S60 as my first car (it was a hand-me-down). It was maintained at the dealer since new and it still had so many problems. After a couple years, the interior started falling apart. Then it started having electrical problems (the most dangerous one being the dim headlights). At 60k it started burning a quart every 1000 miles. The dealer said it needed an engine rebuild for $6000. I just kept topping up the oil, then it started running rough due to all the blow by. The engine failed completely at just over 76k and I got rid of it.

Seriously, how are people spending $50k or more on these pieces of scrap metal?