VOLVO XC70 Review

While not exceeding the pampering induced by almost any mid-size premium vehicle, the XC70 Summum is pretty much getting things done when it comes to comfort. The very-Scandinavian interior is garnished in leather and the wood inserts on the dashboard have a nice feel to them. The seats are pretty comfy and provide a good-enough lateral support, while the color chosen for the leather upholstery was given mixed reviews by our test drivers, with a plus from the male side for some reason.

For some odd reason, Volvo chose to equip the XC90 with an eight-way electrically adjustable and three-position memory driver's seat, while the front passenger seat remains manually controlled. Those silly Swedish!

The automatic climate control is dual zone with two extra air ducts for the rear passengers, a pretty standard comfort option in the year 2008/2009, especially considering the XC70 is no cheap econobox. The audiophile-candy was top notch on the other hand, since we're talking about a 12-speaker system by Dynaudio with surround Dolby Pro Logic II sound.

As for the suspension, let's just say that the Four-C system makes a pretty good job at individually controlling the shock absorbers, almost making you feel like you're driving something with a pneumatic suspension. In other words, the three “hardness” settings should be renamed “softness” settings in the Volvo marketing language.

Although technically a modern common rail engine, the D5 turbocharged diesel kind of lacks the finesse of the latest oil-burners. Considering its 2.4 liter displacement, the 185 hp it develops aren't exactly a groundbreaking achievement, while the turbine lag makes the car have the same response as a rubber-band powered toy airplane.

The fuel consumption was a very nice surprise considering – and by “considering” we're talking about a two ton weight and all-wheel-drive – but, to sum up our opinion about the powerplant, it's pretty much geriatric even though it gives a decent amount of oomph and good mileage.

The electronically controlled shock absorbers don't have anything on Audi Allroad's pneumatic suspension with different ground level settings, but it's an OK compromise. The automatic transmission is a six-speed but lacks both the gear-change speed and the efficiency of the ones from “ze Germans”. There is no “Sport” mode, so its “brain” must continuously monitor the driver's throttle behavior, and even though it probably uses the same “Fuzzy Logic” learning feature as the others, it's still a pretty slow responder.

We more than once bumped into its hardheadedness while trying to make a pass: “Hey, are you sure about it? You want that kickdown pretty bad, huh?”. Still, the transmission's overall behavior more than made up for the engine's lack of power, and we definitely wouldn't put it on the minuses list.

If we were to take into account just the rather unusual toys we could find in the XC70, this would be a very short list. As a matter of fact, it wouldn't even be a list, since the only “special” gadget we could find was the collision alert system. It works by using the cruise control's radar sensors to detect if a frontal impact is impeding, therefore pre-activating the brakes, projecting a stream of red lights on the windshield and making a really annoying sound. Unlike other somewhat similar systems, this one doesn't make the car brake itself and it's just a friendly “Oh my God we're going to crash!” reminder. For example, it reminded us to really shut it off everytime it went “Beeep!” and colored the windshield in red.

The rest of the gadgets list comprises of really boring but helpful devices, and just like the collision system, most of them are also connected with safety, in one way or another. For example, the rear bench has integrated child-seats that fold out and headphone ports for your head-banging two-year old. On the other hand, the integrated Bluetooth system and the push-button-to-magically-close rear hatch are not exactly out of this world, since you can find them on numerous other models.

The sunroof was pretty much disappointing since it's not exactly making the car look like a Targa (it's too small, e.d.) , nor does it provide draft-free motoring when open. The Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) is intelligent enough to have a “follow that car” function. After setting the maximum speed and the minimum distance to the car in front it can casually follow it until the end of time, road or fuel. Of course, if the guy in front decides to brake like a madman while on the highway, the XC70 will just pre-activate the brakes and wake you from the dead, just so you press the brakes and don't crash.

Being a Volvo, a station wagon and an all-wheel-drive, any normal person would expect the XC70 to be absolutely either crash-proof or solid as a rock. Since the car's center of gravity sits pretty high in the air and the frontal collision system doesn't make the car brake for itself, we wouldn't quite say the XC70 is crash-proof, the active and passive safety systems are more than enough to make any hypochondriac feel at ease while driving it.

The Side Impact Protection System (SIPS) is part of the almost impregnable safety cage, which is also in part responsible for the enormous weight of the car. Our test car was equipped with dual-stage front airbags, side and head airbags all around, complementing the extensive array of Volvo-exclusive safety features. If you're scared of just about anything traffic or nature might through at you, the XC70 is a very nice place to be in.

Considering XC70's most in-your-face feature is the fact that it's a family wagon with raised suspension and on-demand all-wheel-drive, we found its interior to be its best characteristic. There are many crossovers out there, but neither one of them shares a Scandinavian IKEA-like interior like a Volvo. Some of us actually felt like being in a luxurious Swedish sauna, without the heat and steam part. Job well done on the designers and color coders!

The bad part about the XC70 D5 was a very debated conclusion. Not because there are so many wrongs with the car (there actually aren't), but because it's not ALL that bad. We are of course talking about its engine. It has the fuel economy of a much smaller car but it's far from kicking like a mule and there were numerous occasions when we just wanted less turbocharger lag and more power.

We would have liked to say that the ugly part of the XC70 is just that, its ugliness, but fortunately this is a handsome automobile. No, it's ugly side is the way everyone is going to characterize you if you buy one. In the United States, most crossover/station wagon owners are labelled as either yuppies, soccer moms or out-of-the-closet lesbians with adopted childred. If that doesn't scare you, learn that in Europe most Volvo station wagon owners are viewed as old ex-hippie hypochondriacs. Ouch!