In my little bubble of the Northeast, there are a lot of old Volvos on the road. People love them because they have character. They have quirks and sometimes personalities that other cars don’t always have. It’s also my opinion that their cars are built to a higher standard in some ways – maybe they give up some 9/10ths driving dynamics, but they reward their owners by lasting a long time. My 2013 Volvo is almost rust-free; my mother’s 2012 Acura (same climate) is rotting at the sills. Modern Volvo engines are not perfect, but (with the exception of 2015-16 4-cylinders) they are able to cover serious mileage. I have seen 6cyl cars with over 300k on them, and 4/5cyl models with almost that much. You can definitely get that from other cars, but I would trust a well-maintained Volvo engine to do that. I wouldn’t trust most Audi or BMW engines to accomplish the same mileage, by comparison.
Aesthetically, Volvo represents a simpler and more tasteful design philosophy. It’s a good thing that their designs age well, because their cars tend to stay around for a long time. After spending time with Volvos, many other cars seem overstyled, fussy, and passé. No need to reinvent the wheel with every facelift like Hyundai does, or double down on needless chunkiness like Toyota and Subaru.
I do not like the tactile feeling of most Japanese cars, with the exception of my old Mazda 3 and a Lexus LS430 that I once drove. For the most part, I find that Japanese cars are both aesthetically and tangibly dissatisfying. We’ve had the gamut of Honda and Toyota products in the family, with a Subaru to boot. The only car that has rivaled Volvo’s interior appointments, solidity, and perceived build quality has been my grandmother’s 2010 Lexus RX. (After the Lexus was given to my uncle, my grandmother went back to Volvo.)
As an extension of that point: most of the Japanese cars I’ve encountered have had terrible paint and trim quality compared to their European counterparts. Plastic bumper tabs always snap, window mouldings pop out, paint scratches easily, headlights fog, wheels corrode (some Volvos do this too, in fairness)… most old Volvos I have experienced, while not always perfect, wear their years well.
Volvos generally aren’t snobby cars. They have become a little more flashy in recent years, but they are not ‘ego machines’ like many of the German vehicles, or the American luxo-trucks. In my area, Volvos are owned by all types: tradesmen (yes, really), parents, college kids, underpaid academics, wealthy suburbanites, you name it. They project intelligence more than anything else – that’s why they’re often used in TV and movies to portray characters who own them as bookish or esoteric.
There are other cars that have these attributes, but there’s nothing out there (at least right now) that appeals to me with such a cohesive blend of good design, generally good quality, safety, comfort, features, and social desirability. Most importantly, I love my Volvo in a less objective way. It’s just a cool little car. I like the way it feels and drives and will replace it with another Volvo when it’s ready to be retired.