The chassis's supple and unaggressive state of tune reveals something about the car's priorities. Even in this T5, or high-performance, V70, the focus remains on traditional Volvo virtues such as comfort, predictability, and safety. The seats, for example, would be at home in a long-haul semi (which may explain why Volvo rigs are growing so popular on our Interstates). Associate editor Joe DeMatio said: "For two ten-hour days, I never felt fidgety in these seats. Whether I was driving or riding shotgun, my thighs never got numb, and my back was never sore. There are a lot of manufacturers out there who need to dissect a Volvo front seat and copy the design and technology."
The 60/40-split rear seats also took their share of bows, both literally and figuratively. We folded them frequently, and no groin-ripping gymnastics were required. Just pull the grip on the seat backs, and--voil--a flat load floor. You needn't even remove the rear headrests. With the seats down, the V70 provides an impressive 71.5 cubic feet of cargo volume. That doesn't make it the best in its class--the Mercedes-Benz E-class wagon is the volume champ at 82.6 cubic feet--but the V70's slight tumblehome and its upright tailgate create the most boxlike and useful cargo shape of any mid-size wagon. Adding some more Swedish utility, the rear seats have two seatback-angle settings: a fully upright position for in-creased cargo space and an obtuse angle to be deployed whilst chillin'.
For further peace of mind, the V70 has the full complement of safety devices, none of which we had the misfortune to test. These include dual-stage air bags, whip-lash-protection seats, and ISOFIX attachment points for rear child safety seats. The ISOFIX hooks ensure that the kiddie buckets don't migrate up the side window whenever the car's cornering angles turn lurid.
Which, admittedly, didn't happen too often. For all our enthusiasm for sport wagons--a winning proposition of SUV utility and sedan dynamics--this T5 version of the V70 seemed more beefy than athletic. It may be interesting to note that, unlike other European (okay, German) sport wagons, whose scopes and tenors are set by their sport-sedan counterparts, Volvo's wagon-led entry into the mid-size segment establishes a decidedly tame attitude for both the V70 and the subsequent S60 sedan. The whole aura of this car is one of upright civility, of responsibility and parental role-modeling, so much so that we never really felt like misbehaving in it. There is something awkward and slow about the car's dynamics that encourages wheelside moderation, too. Unlike the Audi, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz sport wagons, this car actually feels faster than it's traveling, not deceptively slower. An insidiously clever safety feature, true, but kind of an annoying one.
Next Page »