It's Boxy but it's got Pop-Ups! Volvo 480 review and drive
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- Опубликовано: 10 фев 2023
- Swedish brand Volvo's 480 model is a Dutch-built coupé, based on a French floorpan, with a French engine bolted to a German gearbox. In the 2020s, does this ambitious little car still stack up?
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Great video! A few points to mention:
1- The ECU in the boot you mention is for the Traction Control
2- The boot roller cover was actually a factory option and is quite rare. As standard, the 480 had a useless floppy fabric cover with 6 clips
3- If you lift up the driver’s door handle, the door lock will light up green
4- The switch next to the heated seat controls disables the high beam flashers. What the purpose of that is, I don’t know.
6- I have also experienced spongy brakes on my 480s. I think they’re just a feature of the car
7- Assisted steering is variable, and at higher speeds, there is almost no assistance whatsoever.
8- the later 2.0 engine (introduced in 1993) was a big improvement on the old rattly 1.7 unit.
9- Handling is excellent as the rear suspension was developed in conjunction with Lotus.
Thank you, those are really helpful points
@SherpaFan03
1- The computer in the boot is the early ATE MkII ABS system which did not feature traction control. The later MkIV ABS was located in the engine bay and some (not all) featured a rudimentary traction control system called TRACS.
4- It only disables the flashers when the popup lights are up, then you can flash or use high beam with the dual filament H4 bulbs in the popups. If the switch is enabled, you will have 4 lamps to flash or use high beam.
5- you skipped a bit ;-)
6- I have used the 480 for towing a 600 kg folding caravan, when I first braked... I SAID BRAKE! AAAAAHHH PLEASE BRAKE! They are absolutely not great.
10- The Pop Up lights have a " light me home" function
What a classic design. Great video, Siôn! Can you imagine this car is designed by the same (Dutch) designers that made the 343 only 10 years before? 😃👏🏼
Aww thank you. Yes, both designed by John De Vries and his team.
Had a red one with full leather. My first car actually. A lot of electrical issues since it was already quite old at the time, but the chasis was absolutely amazingly strong. Knew a guy that hit a wall on highway at 200KM/h and survived the crash. Exited the wreck through the back tailgate and the guys from ambulance couldn't believe he survived that, let alone without an injury (few scratches aside). He still owns a black, pimped up (wide body kit) version of the 480 to this day.
Thank you for excellent review, although I do not concur in all respects completely. I drive Volvo 480 since 1987. First an ES (1.7 N/A) from 1987, next a turbo, later a GT turbo. The latter bought new, in 1995, last year of production, full options, which I still own as a first owner and use as a daily driver. Difficult to put in words, but this car has such appeal to me that I have driven it since 40 years, with hopefully many more to come.
I find your reviews very interesting. You should have way more subscribers.
That's very kind, thank you ☺️
My absolute no.1 dream car Sion. Wanted one from the day they were launched. I made a serious attempt to find one in the early - mid noughties but dithered too long over one that would have been perfect and lost out by half a day to another buyer. Probably the reason i have kept my 2007 C30 so long, it being the ‘modern’ iteration of the 480. When i look around now its either £400 wrecks or £££££ minters and I neither have the mechanical/ electrical/ bodywork skills to do up a wreck or the dosh for a minter (sighs…..).
Yeah, a lot of cars get to that stage sadly
Id an absolutely gorgeous 480 in Paris blue (same colour as this clip) and full 2 tone leather interior (turquoise and grey).......it was a 1.7 injection 1991.......ive never seen another........i traded it in for an 850 estate but wish id kept it.
You forgot the light that turns on in side the door lock cylinder when you raise the handle. And there is an vent under the steeringwheel to.
Some clarification is needed. The car was not "based on the Renault 9". There was no Renault engineering involved in the making of this car. Perhaps an unfortunate use of wording or bad translation, what he meant was that the engine and the room needed for it was based upon the Renault 9, so they had to take into consideration that the engine was rather tall when engineering the engine compartment. This is not a Renault with a Volvo name on it.
If you mean that it is not a badge engineered Renault, you are right, but the floor pan and complete drivetrain were taken from Renault and then modified by Volvo Car BV and their subcontractors (rear suspension re-engineered by Lotus and cilinder head re-engineered by Porsche). The bonnet, front and covers of the popups have "Made for Volvo by Renault" stamped on them, the engine lower block and the gearbox have Renault stamped on them. John de Vries' exact words in this video ruclips.net/video/WlT13CBEDw8/видео.html
"I don't know if you still remember the Renault 9? Well, this one is based upon that one. The worst part was the firewall, the firewall which is located in the rear [of the engine bay], that was also from that car. You are building a sporty car [based] on an ordinary family saloon car! Later they, when there was no way back, when the shape was fixed, they have lifted that constraint, but it was too late."
Absolutely love these and nice to see such a nice low mileage example.
Nice review! I considered one a long time ago, but without ever haven driven one, it always gave me that "not quite" feeling. I guess the Turbo did improve things as it mainly seems to improve torque, and make the engine quieter. The original non-turbo 480ES was too much of a compromise I think. I think the Nedcar name came into play much later when Volvo had already sold off their dutch part, and was independent of but still working for Volvo (and Mitsubishi).I wrote my Bachelors at them, during the time they were being sold to Benteler. Needless to say the atmosphere was tense, but I enjoyed it enough to decide to continue studying and do an Automotive Bachelor after my Electronics' bachelor. So in a sense the company has had quite a big impact on my life. And now, about 20 years later, who could have guessed it, I work at... yes, Volvo, in Sweden!
Oh thanks for that, it's good to know I'm not alone in my feeling about the 480. Yeah, the atmosphere and internal employee politics at car companies is probably not something we think about enough when considering car models. That's so cool that you work for Volvo, that's awesome!
The tailgate isn’t the main source of leaks. The rear taillights were notoriously leaky, used to have to butyl tape them.
This is such a beautiful car. Wish we could've gotten these in the States. Also as someone who used to drive a pop-up headlights car many years ago I can confirm that trying to flash at another driver during the daytime was a futile endeavor.
Interesting fact is that the 480 was always intended to be sold in the US, and US-spec prototypes were made, but it never happened for some reason.
The flip up headlights don't flash unless they are up and on dip.
When not up the 2 other lights flash.
Superb video again,very detailed and informative thank you
Exciting car
Renault still make the f type engine. I don't think it's used in Europe anymore. But it's used in places like India and Brazil. The Clio 182, 200 and the Mégane, Laguna, etc all used a f type. (The Mégane RS up to the mark 4 used a f type engine. So up to around 2016 in Europe I think).
Love this quirky car, I swear I've seen one or two in my younger years over here in Canada but I can't find any evidence of its having been sold here. 🤷♂ I'd have mine in a manual though. Thanks for the fun review! 😍
Lovely looking car, good review thanks
Glad you enjoyed it
I had the late 2ltr ES. Lots of great ideas in that model.
If you want more active response from the gearbox, just get it out of drive and manually select the gear you want... 4th gear is Drive again...
It's a shame we didn't have time back in September to let you drive in my 2 litre manual 480 Sion, it's a totally different experience than a turbo auto. Mine also has a front strut brace (not a factory nor a dealer option, someone made one for me) which stiffens the front end a lot but also adds to the rattles! Mine also has received new suspension including new Koni shocks, many suffer now from worn out rubbers and shocks which greatly deteriorate the ride. Though I do agree with you that a 480 is very fragile, you might have noticed the rivets in the door cards of Alex' 480, they aren't original but surely keep the door cards in!
Yes that was a shame, but another time perhaps! I did notice the rivets but decided not to dwell on them in the video: I felt I was already a bit mean about the car 🤣
You should have put the peddle to the metal. The 480 really has some punch, especially the Turbo version. Ok, it’s not a T5R, but it goes
For those who can understand Dutch, here John de Vries explains to me how the car was based on a Renault 9: ruclips.net/video/WlT13CBEDw8/видео.html
And here are more stories: ruclips.net/video/fa0Z0IO3It4/видео.html
it was recorded with a Nikon D3100 DSLR with built-in mic which decided to adjust the focus all the time, so the sound is not very clear unfortunately
Thanks Robert, I will take a look. I learned some Dutch a few years ago, so hopefully I can pick up a bit of what he is saying
I just read the excellent story and interview in Dutch magazine Autoweek Classics. So they wanted to use the Renault 9 platform and firewall at first, made the design fit around that, and then in the end didn't use the Renault platform at all 😂
My father owned one.
It was a later turbo model and it was the most problematic vehicle he ever owned.
Everything from minor niggles to catastrophic failures and he traded it for a low-mileage Opel Monza that was basically trouble-free for as long as he owned it.
The Monza was his last vehicle before he stopped driving.
You did not deserve a Volvo 480. Shame on you. Buy a Suzuki next time and have fun!
I enjoyed the video. At the time the 480 started to appear I was driving for the town bus company. I would always notice these Volvos, I thought them great looking and very distinctive. However, not being enthusiastic about Renault, the engine put me off ever owning one.
You are just simply a fool. Renault petrol engines are robust and bulletproof, so as the B18FT engine in tje 480 Turbo. Learn the facts!
I had one. It's a DAF with a Renault engine and Volvo badges. A nice looking conversation piece but it almost drove me mad with its eternal electrical problems and the flooding of the front footwells.
its not a DAF you fool
I've always thought, design wise, it looked similar to the Honda Civic's of that same period but slightly bigger & a bit more luxurious being a Coupe.
No way! Honda Accord Aerodeck you mean. But Volvo 480 came first, so the Honda Accord Aerodeck wanted to look like a 480.
Sono proprietario di una turbo bicolore, ha tanti piccoli problemi che ti sfinisco uno in particolare che entra acqua nel portellone posteriore dal cablaggio elettrico che disturba la guarnizione di tenuta, però nn riesco a fare a meno di lei perché la metti in autostrada e vai lontano che è una meraviglia
18:57 ; You say it didnt give you third gear, but couldnt you just lock it into third in the gearbox? I have heard other reviewers of other cars disliking the same thing with auto box cars, but I just dont see why you couldnt use the step locks in this, or the + - ability of the shifter in more modern ones... Perhaps I judge too you harshly from experience of other reviewers, but it seems mostly like many just arent used to use the stick on an automatic and it becoming sort of a mental "blind spot" and saying "its not possible to shift yourself" even though it technically often is, just without a clutch... Very few if any reasonably modern cars with an floor mounted shifter autos havent got a manual shift mode.
Anyway, I enjoyed this review. The 480 looks more retro cool to me for every year that passes, both in interior and exterior. To bad about the rattles, I would have a hard time stomaching those myself. Cheers.
That creaking plastic dash... Sometimes you *WILL* want to listen to some spoken word! I owned two of the worst GT (UK spec) examples... I still love them, though.
Thanks for not showing us the pop-ups in action popping up, I'd have hated to have seen that. ffs.
Lol I'm Swedish and have never seen this car
Shame on you, dude 😂
Binical is inside ...
It would look better with a traditional grill placement.
Nedcar rattles...lol!
🙈
Slow down your speech. Were all not from bittttttrannnn
You speak too fast.
It was very cold!!
Learn English fast!