Volvo to Impose 112 MPH Speed Limit on All New Cars from 2020

Every SPA Volvo shipping to the US is coming out of Sweden. Only about 6 months worth of production XC60s were imported from China before the tariffs were put in place.

Not true. S60 is here. V60/90s are Sweden like you said.
 
Every SPA Volvo shipping to the US is coming out of Sweden. Only about 6 months worth of production XC60s were imported from China before the tariffs were put in place.
Happy to hear I'm badly informed about the situation.. At least it didn't go the way of Saab automobile.
 
Why impose 112 mph on a Volvo capable of doing 150+ mph?

Why not make a Volvo 112 Sunday Edition for those who don't mind buying that?
Obviously it's a marketing gimmick. "Oh look how green we are, limiting our cars to 112"

Not that it matters, as 99.999% of people never drove that fast and never will in their entire life.

But I think it will backfire. People will take this as taking away some of their freedom. They shouldn't tell people what they can't do. They have no right.
 
Obviously it's a marketing gimmick. "Oh look how green we are, limiting our cars to 112"

Not that it matters, as 99.999% of people never drove that fast and never will in their entire life.

But I think it will backfire. People will take this as taking away some of their freedom. They shouldn't tell people what they can't do. They have no right.

Unlikely. As I said before, German sports car are all limiting their top speed to 250km/h and nobody really minds. They have power to go faster but they all limit the top speed to prevent competition on who has the highest top speed in the name of safety.
 
Obviously it's a marketing gimmick. "Oh look how green we are, limiting our cars to 112"

Not that it matters, as 99.999% of people never drove that fast and never will in their entire life.

But I think it will backfire. People will take this as taking away some of their freedom. They shouldn't tell people what they can't do. They have no right.

Eh, Volvo itself has given up on their sporty lineup since Polestar is it's own thing now and stupid EV cars.

Back when Polestar was more in line with the M or AMG badge and we had the V60/S60 Polestar with the 350hp inline 6, or the refresh with the twincharged 360hp inline 4 more folks would have cared.

The reality is that the enthusiast crowd who cared have all moved on from Volvo at this point since Volvo gave up on that small market.

This is coming form someone who actually owns a V60 Polestar.

The small crowd of enthusiasts like myself who cared about faster Volvo's are now all gone. The only people left buying Volvo's won't care about the top speed thing.
 
Eh, Volvo itself has given up on their sporty lineup since Polestar is it's own thing now and stupid EV cars.

Back when Polestar was more in line with the M or AMG badge and we had the V60/S60 Polestar with the 350hp inline 6, or the refresh with the twincharged 360hp inline 4 more folks would have cared.

The reality is that the enthusiast crowd who cared have all moved on from Volvo at this point since Volvo gave up on that small market.

This is coming form someone who actually owns a V60 Polestar.

The small crowd of enthusiasts like myself who cared about faster Volvo's are now all gone. The only people left buying Volvo's won't care about the top speed thing.


Indeed. Many years ago I probably would have cared but now I drive Volvo simply because they are so comfortable and damn reliable daily drivers.
 
It's depressing seeing so many people today welcoming nanny states and nanny companies. They would be happiest with no control, agency or personal responsibility at all. Heh, maybe ideal Volvo customers now that I think about it.
 
I thought most cars sold in the US have a limiter at about 112-120, and many german cars 155. Maybe that rule changed at some point, that was probably the 90s/early 00s. I just recall that number from car and driver reviews that say top speed: 112MPH (governed) as opposed to something like 123MPH (drag limited). My first car was a 98, didn't have a governer, and had a top speed of 143MPH. Anyone want to guess what it was?
 
Indeed. Many years ago I probably would have cared but now I drive Volvo simply because they are so comfortable and damn reliable daily drivers.


I have two Volvo's.

A 2009 S80 T6 that is fast and comfortable and just won't quit (Getting close to 170k miles at this point, nad I just can't justify getting rid of it because it is working so well)

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I also have a 2000 base model V70 wagon with only 75k miles on it. It was an impulse buy last spring and has been really convenient as a backup car and for transporting stuff. It runs remarkably well for a 20 year old car.

105623_upload_2018-2-18_15-26-8.png





I love these two cars. When I bought my S80 years ago I was reticent. It wasn't as sporty or fun as my Saabs I had had previously. The handling felt a little trucklike, and the fuel economy was pretty bad. Then I started getting used to the AWD (which was great in the winter) and the comfort level for long highway trips, and the fact that it just keeps going and going and won't quit. At 100k my Saabs were rattly worn our messes. This S80 just keeps trucking. I've never owned a car this long before. I always traded them in at about 100k because I knew they were about to fall apart.

So I am very happy with these two cars, but that said, they will likely be my last Volvo's. Why? A few reasons.

1.) I don't trust their new Chinese overlords. The design is still in Gothenburg, Sweden, but what pressures are they getting from above? I also will never buy a car manufactured in China.

2.) They are going the wrong way for me. Growing up in Sweden Volvo's were basic rugged dependable and safe cars for people who were above all pragmatic. Now they are trying to go all crazy and compete with the Germans on ridiculous styling and frag harder disco lights. I want none of it. I want basic cars with no connectivity and no ridiculous lights.

3.) This is probably the most important one. Volvo's have always been designed for tall people. Not surprising considering the tall reputation of Swedes. At the New England International Auto Show a while back, I sat in their new S90, a very large car. I'll admit. It was very fancy and very nicely put together, but I was shocked how little headroom I had in the drivers seat. I made sure the seat was all the way down and still I had less headroom than in either my large S80 or my smaller V70. My head wasn't hitting the roof or anything, but it was a lot less than I was used to and it felt very constricting.

Then I tried to sit in their new S60, their mid size. (I don't necessarily need a luxobarge, and getting better milage would be nice. I went to enter the car and I was shocked. I almost couldn't get in. I had to bend my head forward and squeeze it around the pillar to fit. Again, I made sure the seat was all the way down and tried again. Nope. I was so flabberghasted I had my dad who was with my take this picture of me trying to enter the car. It was terrible. I test sat so many other cars from just about every other manufacturer (Neither BMW nor Mercedes were there for some reason) and I didn't have this problem anywhere else...

50249844_10105964883098342_6513827931750400000_n.jpg?_nc_cat=109&_nc_ht=scontent-lga3-1.jpg


I'm not even THAT tall at 6'3". Absolutely awful.

I think the problem is the modern sloped A-pillars that are so popular. Until they get rid of them or somehow redesign for more head room, I'm going to have to find a different brand of car next time around.
 
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I don't disagree, but as another poster said....It's their car.
They could slap a 30mph limiter on all their cars if they like. And paint them plaid.

ehhh that's slippery slope. look what happened to digital privacy because we didn't ask people to learn how the internet actually works. now every app and website and OS want telemetry data for who knows what dumb reasons. same thing here. today it's volvo. tomorrow it's every auto maker.

I'll be more understanding when it's all in the realm of self driving cars. then the driver can definitely say, "the car screwed up, not me" but this in between BS where the driver sometimes has control and sometimes not, guess who will get the raw end of the deal when shit hits the fan? definitely not the auto maker...
 
I have the S80 with the V8 that I drive around as my daily driver beater. I love the thing, and i've got an aftermarket exhaust on it. The Yamaha V8 sounds incredible, and the car sounds way faster than it actually is.
 
I have the S80 with the V8 that I drive around as my daily driver beater. I love the thing, and i've got an aftermarket exhaust on it. The Yamaha V8 sounds incredible, and the car sounds way faster than it actually is.


I'm a little jealous. When I went shopping for my S80, I decided to go with the T6 because I just assumed it would be more fuel efficient.

In real world driving - however - the T6 just almost as much gas as a V8 would have. Would have been nice to try having a V8 just once, before the end of the ICE era.
 
This was a thing for a while in America already. I remember disabling the governor in my buddies 2002 Formula Firebird in high school and promptly doing 145mph lol. Prior to that it was governed to ~112. Simple hand tuner would overwrite it. I imagine Volvo's feature will be more complex than late 90s American engineering but whether it's software or hardware someone will disable it.
 
It's a hilarious engine. It really doesn't make the greatest power all things considered, but Yamaha knows how to make good sounding engines. You've just got to remove the stock volvo muffler that removes that nice V8 sound too much.

I bought the V60 Polestar because I knew it was going to be their last real ICE performance car, but ended up trading it in a year ago because that twincharged engine just wasn't special enough to care much about, and tuning options don't exist due to how locked down the newer Volvo ECU's are.
 
They got lucky, they were pulled from the wreck before it burned to the ground.

Lucky indeed, if they've got any sort of quality of life left. Still impressive that the car protected them to the point of surviving though.
 
It's a hilarious engine. It really doesn't make the greatest power all things considered, but Yamaha knows how to make good sounding engines. You've just got to remove the stock volvo muffler that removes that nice V8 sound too much.

I bought the V60 Polestar because I knew it was going to be their last real ICE performance car, but ended up trading it in a year ago because that twincharged engine just wasn't special enough to care much about, and tuning options don't exist due to how locked down the newer Volvo ECU's are.

I feel like it makes decent power, but the S80 is an exceptionally heavy car with AWD, so it takes a lot of power to make it move.


Yeah it's a shame about the ECU restrictions.

I also wonder how long these little I4's with high pressure twin charging are going to last.

I5 Volvos have the reputation that as long as you take care of them, they will practically run forever. My indie has a loaner fleet of P80 (1998-2000) V70's with 400k miles on them and they run great!

I have a feeling this won't be the case with the twin charger I4 generation of Volvo's.

It also feels wrong that a T4 doesn't T have a turbo. The T used to stand for turbo. Furthermore modern T5's and T6's all have 4 cylinders, not 5 or 6...
 
180 kph is a common speed limit in Germany on the Autobahn, not many areas left where there is no limit due to congestion.
What? There are plenty especially when there is no traffic. The old company van even does 160 ffs.
 
2006 mustang had a limiter due to the driveshaft at over 108? News to me.

People have put well over 400rwhp through the stock shafts without them twisting up and if they do, it is usually on a launch.
It's critical shaft speed causing vibrations and is a well know issue. Not power but rotational vibration. And they were not limited afaik can see a few videos of it happening if you look.
 
I have two Volvo's.

A 2009 S80 T6 that is fast and comfortable and just won't quit (Getting close to 170k miles at this point, nad I just can't justify getting rid of it because it is working so well)

View attachment 147268



I also have a 2000 base model V70 wagon with only 75k miles on it. It was an impulse buy last spring and has been really convenient as a backup car and for transporting stuff. It runs remarkably well for a 20 year old car.

View attachment 147269




I love these two cars. When I bought my S80 years ago I was reticent. It wasn't as sporty or fun as my Saabs I had had previously. The handling felt a little trucklike, and the fuel economy was pretty bad. Then I started getting used to the AWD (which was great in the winter) and the comfort level for long highway trips, and the fact that it just keeps going and going and won't quit. At 100k my Saabs were rattly worn our messes. This S80 just keeps trucking. I've never owned a car this long before. I always traded them in at about 100k because I knew they were about to fall apart.

So I am very happy with these two cars, but that said, they will likely be my last Volvo's. Why? A few reasons.

1.) I don't trust their new Chinese overlords. The design is still in Gothenburg, Sweden, but what pressures are they getting from above? I also will never buy a car manufactured in China.

2.) They are going the wrong way for me. Growing up in Sweden Volvo's were basic rugged dependable and safe cars for people who were above all pragmatic. Now they are trying to go all crazy and compete with the Germans on ridiculous styling and frag harder disco lights. I want none of it. I want basic cars with no connectivity and no ridiculous lights.

3.) This is probably the most important one. Volvo's have always been designed for tall people. Not surprising considering the tall reputation of Swedes. At the New England International Auto Show a while back, I sat in their new S90, a very large car. I'll admit. It was very fancy and very nicely put together, but I was shocked how little headroom I had in the drivers seat. I made sure the seat was all the way down and still I had less headroom than in either my large S80 or my smaller V70. My head wasn't hitting the roof or anything, but it was a lot less than I was used to and it felt very constricting.

Then I tried to sit in their new S60, their mid size. (I don't necessarily need a luxobarge, and getting better milage would be nice. I went to enter the car and I was shocked. I almost couldn't get in. I had to bend my head forward and squeeze it around the pillar to fit. Again, I made sure the seat was all the way down and tried again. Nope. I was so flabberghasted I had my dad who was with my take this picture of me trying to enter the car. It was terrible. I test sat so many other cars from just about every other manufacturer (Neither BMW nor Mercedes were there for some reason) and I didn't have this problem anywhere else...

View attachment 147270

I'm not even THAT tall at 6'3". Absolutely awful.

I think the problem is the modern sloped A-pillars that are so popular. Until they get rid of them or somehow redesign for more head room, I'm going to have to find a different brand of car next time around.

It is a real shame if that is the direction Volvo is heading. It will mean a change of brand is ahead of me.
 
Then I tried to sit in their new S60, their mid size. (I don't necessarily need a luxobarge, and getting better milage would be nice. I went to enter the car and I was shocked. I almost couldn't get in. I had to bend my head forward and squeeze it around the pillar to fit. Again, I made sure the seat was all the way down and tried again. Nope. I was so flabberghasted I had my dad who was with my take this picture of me trying to enter the car. It was terrible. I test sat so many other cars from just about every other manufacturer (Neither BMW nor Mercedes were there for some reason) and I didn't have this problem anywhere else...

I'm not even THAT tall at 6'3". Absolutely awful.

I think the problem is the modern sloped A-pillars that are so popular. Until they get rid of them or somehow redesign for more head room, I'm going to have to find a different brand of car next time around.

Buy the XC60, no issues. The sedans are an afterthought for Volvo at this point, their bread and butter are the XC models.

I bought the V60 Polestar because I knew it was going to be their last real ICE performance car, but ended up trading it in a year ago because that twincharged engine just wasn't special enough to care much about, and tuning options don't exist due to how locked down the newer Volvo ECU's are.

Heico has tunes, they haven't taken the T6 Polestar that far yet but there isn't a whole lot of headroom anyway even with the larger turbo the Polestar variants get.
 
Unlikely. As I said before, German sports car are all limiting their top speed to 250km/h and nobody really minds. They have power to go faster but they all limit the top speed to prevent competition on who has the highest top speed in the name of safety.
It's far from an universal standard. Most of their higher end models come with the speed limiter disabled from the factory.
 
Buy the XC60, no issues. The sedans are an afterthought for Volvo at this point, their bread and butter are the XC models.

I will never own a crossover, SUV or Truck from any brand. The rising center of gravity for on road vehicles is the dumbest thing to ever happen in the history of vehicle design.

I know it's being driven by consumer preference, but those consumers need to be reeducated. Preferably in hard labor camps. :p
 
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I will never own a crossover, SUV or Truck from any brand. The rising center of gravity for on road vehicles is the dumbest thing to ever happen in the history of vehicle design.

I Kno it's being driven by consumer preference, but those consumers need to be reeducated. Preferably in hard labor camps. :p
What’s funny is that in most cases the wagon version offers just as much if not more storage space anyways. Consumers here are just idiotic and want something higher off the ground, facts be damned.
 
Buy the XC60, no issues. The sedans are an afterthought for Volvo at this point, their bread and butter are the XC models.



Heico has tunes, they haven't taken the T6 Polestar that far yet but there isn't a whole lot of headroom anyway even with the larger turbo the Polestar variants get.

Heico's 'tunes' require a man in the middle box that fools sensors. I don't consider this a real option, even if it's repeatable results on a dyno.
 
What’s funny is that in most cases the wagon version offers just as much if not more storage space anyways. Consumers here are just idiotic and want something higher off the ground, facts be damned.


That's what happens when you have an uneducated consumer base that goofed off in highschool science because "I'll never use any of this" and makes emotional decisions rather than rational ones even on the narrow areas of physics they do understand.

Idiots buy vehicles because of image rather than because of how well they meet their needs.

Even most tradesmen who claim they need big trucks would probably be better served by something like a Ford Transit Connect than by a huge honking truck, but image being what it is, their fragile sexualities can't handle driving something smaller when everyone else they work with drives a truck.... :/


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I will never own a crossover, SUV or Truck from any brand. The rising center of gravity for on road vehicles is the dumbest thing to ever happen in the history of vehicle design.

I Kno it's being driven by consumer preference, but those consumers need to be reeducated. Preferably in hard labor camps. :p

You're missing out, the SPA XC vehicles are excellent.

What’s funny is that in most cases the wagon version offers just as much if not more storage space anyways. Consumers here are just idiotic and want something higher off the ground, facts be damned.

The V90's cargo area is noticeably smaller than the XC90s. Even though the V90 is just an inch shorter, it gives up 5" in width and 12" in height. So in the US they'll sell you a vehicle that's less useful at higher price. Plus you can only get the rear Air Suspension with the FOUR-C active chassis on the V90, instead of having front and rear air suspension like the XC90. Unless you have a very low garage or one that's narrower than 2m, the the V90 is just a less useful version of the XC90.
 
You're missing out, the SPA XC vehicles are excellent.



The V90's cargo area is noticeably smaller than the XC90s. Even though the V90 is just an inch shorter, it gives up 5" in width and 12" in height. So in the US they'll sell you a vehicle that's less useful at higher price. Plus you can only get the rear Air Suspension with the FOUR-C active chassis on the V90, instead of having front and rear air suspension like the XC90. Unless you have a very low garage or one that's narrower than 2m, the the V90 is just a less useful version of the XC90.
That's only the V90. The new V60 actually has more cargo room and rear leg room compared to the new XC60.

A better example is the Focus and the stupid Ecosport. Ford isn't bringing the Focus over here anymore even though it actually has more cargo room and room in general then the Ecosport. Idiots will buy the ecosport though, because of the stupid ride height.

Another example is Jaguar's XF Sportbrake. It only gives up 1 cubic inch over the F-Pace but has a noticeably better interior, and obviously handles way better.

On average, if you look across the board, the wagons almost always actually have more interior space, or about the same, and you aren't sacrificing handling to get it compared to the CUV/SUV equivalent. The only thing the stupid CUV/SUV's having going for them is potentional for 'off-roading', but in most of these examples these stupid buyers will never off-road them anyways.
 
That's only the V90.

A better example is the Focus and the stupid Ecosport. Ford isn't bringing the Focus over here anymore even though it actually has more cargo room and room in general then the Ecosport.

Another example is Jaguar's XF Sportbrake. It only gives up 1 cubic inch over the F-Pace but has a noticeably better interior, and obviously handles way better.

And for another comparison, I had an 328d M Sport pack F31 and still have my X3 M40i G01. The G01 drives better, has a much better interior and has more passenger and cargo space. There's a reason why BMW has dumped wagons for the US market with this being the last year of the F31.
 
And for another comparison, I had an 328d M Sport pack F31 and still have my X3 M40i G01. The G01 drives better, has a much better interior and has more passenger and cargo space. There's a reason why BMW has dumped wagons for the US market with this being the last year of the F31.

That's because BMW isn't building a decent wagon anymore. The fact remains you can do the same interior space with a wagon and have a better handling/performing vehicle on the road. The XC60/V60 is the perfect example of this.
 
That's because BMW isn't building a decent wagon anymore. The fact remains you can do the same interior space with a wagon and have a better handling/performing vehicle on the road. The XC60/V60 is the perfect example of this.

The XC60 has 30 cubic feet of cargo capacity, the V60 only has 23. They don't have the same interior space. Plus the F31 drives better than both of them, if BMW isn't building a decent wagon, then Volvo has some real issues.
 
The XC60 has 30 cubic feet of cargo capacity, the V60 only has 23. They don't have the same interior space. Plus the F31 drives better than both of them, if BMW isn't building a decent wagon, then Volvo has some real issues.
New V60 is 32 / 51 rear seats folded. That's the old V60 number. New one, in fact, has slightly more room then the XC60.

I'm sure the BMW does drive better, this doesn't change the fact that either the BMW wagon or the Volvo wagon will drive better then what either company is offering for a SUV. No idea why you brought this up.
 
I love all the outrage here about not being able to go over 112mph in a fucking Volvo.

A private car manufacturer that markets themselves on the safety of their vehicles plans to limit their future vehicle's to ONLY 40% higher than the highest speed limit (80 or 85?) in this country.

That somehow managed to trigger people. Unbelievable.
 
I love all the outrage here about not being able to go over 112mph in a fucking Volvo.

A private car manufacturer that markets themselves on the safety of their vehicles plans to limit their future vehicle's to ONLY 40% higher than the highest speed limit (80 or 85?) in this country.

That somehow managed to trigger people. Unbelievable.

People expressing their opinion that it's a stupid idea equates to 'outrage' and 'triggered'? Calm down there CNN.
 
That limit is still quite high. 85 MPH should be the highest governed speed to accommodate the highest speed limit in the country. Ideally, vehicles would use cameras to read speed limit signs and govern them that way as well.


not sure how it is in the states ( i am told you cant do this here)
But in Denmark you can drive with citizen emergency. normally requires emergency lights on and a white cloth attached to the car.
At this point you are allowed to be ( but still responsible for) going above speed limtis and run red lights.

Once at the destination you have to call the police to inform about the drive so they can cancel out and close cases opened by people calling in your mad driving.


You would need a way to bypass this in such system so you can driver in emergency mode.
 
People expressing their opinion that it's a stupid idea equates to 'outrage' and 'triggered'? Calm down there CNN.
CNN? Fox would be a better example but that's a side topic.

Even with just a quick skim through the thread I saw Godwin's law being invoked multiple times. Thanks alone tells me there are some overdramatic people here.
 
New V60 is 32 / 51 rear seats folded. That's the old V60 number. New one, in fact, has slightly more room then the XC60.

It's interesting, the German site has it at 529L for the V60 and 505 for the XC60. The US site still hasn't been updated with the V60s specs. European measurements typically don't count the area above the seatback which is why they're so much smaller. But the V60 is 2.9 inches longer than the XC60 and has 2.7" less rear legroom according to the German websites diagrams.

I love all the outrage here about not being able to go over 112mph in a fucking Volvo.

A private car manufacturer that markets themselves on the safety of their vehicles plans to limit their future vehicle's to ONLY 40% higher than the highest speed limit (80 or 85?) in this country.

That somehow managed to trigger people. Unbelievable.

Because some of us regularly go over 180 km/h in our Volvos. But thanks for your concern.

IMG_1175.JPG
 
It's interesting, the German site has it at 529L for the V60 and 505 for the XC60. The US site still hasn't been updated with the V60s specs. European measurements typically don't count the area above the seatback which is why they're so much smaller. But the V60 is 2.9 inches longer than the XC60 and has 2.7" less rear legroom according to the German websites diagrams.



Because some of us regularly go over 180 km/h in our Volvos. But thanks for your concern.

View attachment 147416
That's nice. You'll continue to be able to go that fast in that car in the future as well. Nothing is going to change there as far as I'm aware. Though it's not really relevant to the fact that Volvo is choosing to focus their future efforts on vehicles that don't go over 112mph as part of their drive toward safety.
 
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