2008 Volvo S60- OEM vs. Aspherical Side View Mirror Comparison

If you are considering a Euro style mirror for your car use the following information to help you make your decision. We used two vehicles to demonstrate a common scenario on the road.

The Avalon is in the blind zone of the Volvo and barely visible in the OEM mirror, as you can see from the photo below. Any lane changes at this moment would be very risky and not recommended.

Replacing the original mirror with a wide-angle one is a quick and simple process. After snapping in the aspherical mirror into place, the field of view is increased, so that the Avalon is clearly visible. In this case you would not attempt to change lanes until you have a clear opportunity to do so.

Hopefully, this little experiment sheds some light on the benefits of using wide angle mirrors.

Two cars in a driveway positioned in such a way to demonstrate blind zone
Real life blind zone experiment.
A flat side view mirror with barely visible car
Field of view with OEM mirror
View of disassembled 2006 Volvo S60 OEM mirror
Original Volvo mirror removed from housing