This is quite a controversial move on my part. As a journalist I should remain objective at all times. But the problem is that even when being objective, I still love the Volvo brand. I figured that this warrants doing a post to give you the exact reasons why I love it so much. And let’s be frank, I don’t generally play by the rules anyway.
DISCLAIMER: This is NOT paid for or sponsored by Volvo. In case you were wondering.
1. SAFE AS HOUSES
This is possibly the number one reason I love the Volvo brand. The carnage that lashes our roads on a daily basis is terrifying to say the least. I want to know that I am as safe as I can possibly be when I am in a car. Volvo offers this. Not one person has been reportedly killed in an XC90 since it launched. That is quite a stat, hey?!
Did you know that it was Volvo who first introduced the three-point safety belt back in 1959. It is estimated to have saved over one million lives globally, not just in Volvos but in other cars too. And this is because it share the safety love. Volvo Cars has made its safety knowledge easily accessible in a central digital library which it urges the car industry to use, in the interest of safer roads for all.
“We have data on tens of thousands of real-life accidents, to help ensure our cars are as safe as they can be for what happens in real traffic,” says Lotta Jakobsson, professor and senior technical specialist at Volvo Cars Safety Centre. “This means our cars are developed with the aim to protect all people, regardless of gender, height, shape or weight, beyond the ‘average person’ represented by crash test dummies.”
TAKING SAFETY EVEN FURTHER
Earlier this year, Volvo Cars announced that it plans to install “in-car cameras and other sensors” to monitor the driver and allow the vehicle to intervene if a “clearly intoxicated or distracted driver” does not respond to warning signals.
This is just another step in the Swedish brand’s ambitions to end fatalities in its cars. This comes after it revealed plans to limit the top speed of its new vehicles to 180 km/h.
The aforementioned “intervention” could involve limiting the car’s speed, alerting the Volvo on Call assistance service and, as a final course of action, actively slowing down and safely parking the car.
VOLVO ON CALL
VOC is an app-based service that can facilitate a multitude of tasks that helps you communicate with your car. You can remotely lock or unlock the doors, check the fuel level from your office desk, and cool or heat your car before you get into it – you can do this all via your smartphone, smartwatch, tablet or desktop.
South African motorists will particularly appreciate the associated safety and security benefits. If you forget to lock your car you will get a notification message. This cool service will also automatically contact the emergency services if you are involved in an accident and tells them where you are.
Other remarkable capabilities of VOC include the ability to provide an in-car WiFi hotspot, which can be accessed by everyone in your car. You can stream music and films to the car too. VOC is a standard feature in South Africa with effect from model year 2020 Volvo derivatives. It is entirely free of charge for five years.
ONE YEAR FREE ELECTRICITY
Did you know that a Volvo Cars global incentive scheme, branded the Recharge campaign, is available in South Africa? All buyers of all new Volvo hybrid plug-ins will receive a full refund for all electricity used in the first year of ownership. In South Africa, this offer applies to the Volvo XC90 T8. Motorists will be able to monitor electricity used via the Volvo on Call app. The refund is based on data received from Volvo on Call.
This is not just something that benefits you, but it will also benefit the environment. Volvo is dedicated to an all-electric future and that means a manufacturer that is kinder to our planet. Yet another reason to love this brand.
OVERALL PRODUCT OFFERING
Whether it is the XC90, the XC60 or even the V40, I love driving a Volvo. It is easy, comfortable and fuss-free. I think it is clear by now that the Volvo XC40 is one of my favourite cars on the roads at the moment. It is a car I would happily own. I do not say this lightly. To drive a car every single day means it has to be pretty darn incredible. It also has to meet certain needs. Every Volvo model does this for me. If you haven’t yet, you need to get your bum in to a Volvo seat.
PARENTAL LEAVE
This doesn’t have much to do with what I do for a living in terms of test driving new cars, but I have to add this to my reasons to love Volvo because it is just plain awesome. As part of a global initiative, it launched a paid gender-neutral parental leave policy offering mothers and fathers a total of six months leave with 80 percent pay also applicable to same-sex and parents of adopted children. Doesn’t that not just make your heart sing?
THERE YOU HAVE IT
What are your reasons for loving Volvo? Do you drive a Volvo? If so, please tell me why you chose to buy one and if you’re happy with your decision. Tell me on Facebook,Twitter, and Instagram. And subscribe to my YouTube channel obviously.
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