Vehicle on test
Volvo V70
Good:
Looks, attention to detail, huge load space
Not so Good:
Price, ride could be firmer.
Overall:
I’m convinced that there’s a dictionary somewhere that under “estate car” simply has the instruction “see under Volvo”. After all, the Swedes were the first to come up with a van with windows (the Duett, in 1953) and so it’s no surprise that they’ve made the large estate market very much their own over the years. The launch of the new V70 (and its 4WD sibling, the XC70) in early August 2007 was, therefore, about as important as things get in the world of estates.
Looks-wise, we think the new car is attractive in a chunky kind of way, although we can see how some Volvo fans might be put off by the way it looks. Based on the new S80, it’s bigger than the previous V70 in every dimension and it’s the rear seat passengers who benefit the most from the size increase. Volvo also performed a couple of cute demonstrations of its load-lugging capabilities that saw a full-sized dishwasher (including packaging) loaded into the back of the car without resorting to folding the seats. A similar feat of cramming in a series of suitcases and backpacks convinced us that family holidays also hold no fears for the new car.
A choice of five engines and three trim levels await the V70 buyer. Of the engines, the two diesels are the predicted best sellers, while Volvo reckons the base-level SE spec will be the choice of over 70% of customers. Additional engines, including Flexifuel options, will follow later in the year. The SE models are quite well equipped - just as well for a range starting at £26,495 - but £2,750 extra gets you the equivalent SE Lux model and the SE Sport variant will set you back another £100 on top of the Lux price.
We tried both a T6 petrol-engined range-topper and a D5 diesel, both in SE Lux trim. The T6’s performance was impressive, yet it’s easy to see why the D5 alone will account for 40% or so of sales. A 0-62mph time of 7.2 seconds confirmed the T6 as the performance choice, although I was far more impressed by the D5’s fuel economy figures of 38.2mpg. Both cars had Volvo’s Geartronic automatic transmission (standard in the T6, an option in the D5) and the Four-C Active Chassis system that allows pushbutton control of the suspension setup. Actually, since the Comfort setting was far too soft for my liking and even pushing the Sport button didn’t stiffen the ride up enough, the too-soft ride quality was about my only real complaint about the way the V70 drove.
Actually, since the previous V70 was such a good car, the only way Volvo could improve things was to concentrate on the little details almost to the point of obsession. The result is a string of well-designed features that have a “why hasn’t anyone else thought of that” feel. A powered rear tailgate that overlaps the false floor, for example, making the storage of valuables like laptops far more secure, or adaptive rear lights that “know” if the tailgate is open (tied to cover a long load, perhaps) and so use the tail lights as temporary brake lights. Rear seats that incorporate child booster cushions aren’t new to Volvo, but they now feature two height positions. Genius.
Lots of reasons why the new V70 continues the Volvo dominance of the big estate sector, then. That’s a huge relief, as anything less would have been a big disappointment, akin to Mercedes making an uncomfortable S-Class or Land Rover producing a Defender that surrendered at the first sight of mud. Unthinkable, in other words.
Report by Mark James
