I'm missing rear wheel drive

External Since: May 27, 2008 Posts: 6

After ten years of great service, I've come from the redoubtable
GM/Opel/Vauxhall/Holden Omega (RWD) to the unbelievably fuel-efficient S80
D5 (averege : 50 to 60 MPG) ... an impressive machine.

But boy do I miss RWD.

I've had smaller FWD machines in the past ... Minis, Peugeots, Renaults, but
never a large, powerful one until now.
And I never recall finding them boring to drive.

But the S80 really is a bit dull AND tedious to drive.

Why ?

Well, you really HAVE to be on the steering wheel all the time.
You can't just take your hands off and enjoy the scenery <- (joke) ....
because there's always something going on with the steering, which forces
constant vigilance with the wheel (tedious).

And FWD is very lurchy.
You take your foot off the gas, and the thing really slows down - whereas
with RWD, you get much smoother, gentler deceleration.
The same goes for acceleration - the steering wants to be in charge.

One of the joys of RWD is that you can feel when you're accelerating and
braking through the reaction of the steering, which is a great form of
feedback that makes RWD a really tactile driver's car.

But then, putting 340 NM's-worth of gyroscopic force through the steering
was never going to do it many favours.

The result is a less than relaxing, less than agreeable and a very great
deal less than fun car to drive.

That said, the generous cabin-width and frugality make forgiving the car a
little easier.

Oh, and the other thing is the interior design still suffers from the Nordic
obsession with orthogonality (squareness to you).
A lot of the control gear (including the steering wheel) could have been a
LOT more ergonomic, which also compromises/spoils the driving experience.
And the driver's seat isn't the most comfortable either.

I truly want to love my S80, but from a subject driving perspective, Volvo
have made this just a little to difficult.

6/10 .... could have done better.

External Since: May 14, 2008 Posts: 15

Centre Parting wrote:
> After ten years of great service, I've come from the redoubtable
> GM/Opel/Vauxhall/Holden Omega (RWD) to the unbelievably fuel-efficient S80
> D5 (averege : 50 to 60 MPG) ... an impressive machine.
>
> But boy do I miss RWD.
>
> I've had smaller FWD machines in the past ... Minis, Peugeots, Renaults, but
> never a large, powerful one until now.
> And I never recall finding them boring to drive.
>
> But the S80 really is a bit dull AND tedious to drive.
>

I drove an S60T5 and found it fairly boring as well, but if they offered
the D5 here I'd be ok with boring to get that kinda fuel economy.

I don't understand why people are so excited over hybrids, a couple
friends of mine bought Prius's, they love them, but averaging 45 mpg,
ho-hum. If they got 80-100+ mpg I'd take a second look even with all the
added complexity of a hybrid powerplant, but 45? Even with gasoline
costing what it does now, it makes economic sense to stick with my 25-28
mph long paid for 740. Wish they'd offer the simple, dependable, and
nicely drivable European Diesels here.