Save for the "saintly" 1800 sports car, it's not often that the words "collectible," "Volvo," and "classic" are juxtaposed. To the untrained eye, Volvo's 780 is just a two-door version of the boxy Volvo 740/760. The cognoscenti--those few in the know--well, they know that this is a Volvo unlike any other.

Like everyone, Volvo has an image its likes to project. That's why, when it comes to press cars, Volvo's mainstay S60 sedan is most often seen decked out as the high-performance T6 or the R-Design. Indeed, Automobile Magazine had a T6 for a Four Seasons test, in which the S60 fared well. However, after spending a week in the standard T5, I can't help but think that this is in fact the best-realized iteration of the S60. It hits the Swede spot.

New For 2013

New For 2013

New For 2013

New For 2013

New For 2013

New For 2013

New For 2013

Up there at the base of the windshield, where you'd expect any respectable Volvo to have its City Safety sending unit, this car has instead a racing-style shift light that glows green, orange, and then red as the revs climb so you'll change into a taller gear before the engine goes ka-blammo. And right now, the darn light is winking at us yet again because the 508-hp turbocharged engine just won't quit pulling, so we shift and then shift again and pretty soon we're hurtling along at a rate that is, well, kind of unseemly for a Volvo.

Hop into the T5 AWD and it isn't that different from climbing into its more expensive sibling, the T6 AWD. The interior is just as beautifully trimmed and laid out, the seating position as adjustable and comfortable as I remember in our Four Seasons S60 T6, the all-wheel drive is just as effective in its ability to deliver instant traction. The engine is nearly as potent, too. Although the T5 is down 50 horsepower on the T6, it's not a slow car, and power delivery is remarkably smooth. At low RPMs the engine is torquey and the exhaust note is gruff but not unrefined -- almost like a good diesel -- but unlike an oil burner, the sound crescendos as the revs rise, morphing into a satisfying roar around 4500-5000 rpm.

When the C30 made its debut back in 2006, it was essentially a stylish hatchback version of the S40 sedan and V50 wagon -- the three cars (and the C70 convertible) all shared the same platform, powertrains, front clip, and interior. In the past six years, Volvo has managed to keep the C30 reasonably fresh thanks to a face-lifted front end in 2010; however, there have been no age-reducing efforts on once-innovative interior.

Of the current Volvo offerings, the XC70 is the most station wagon-like of the bunch. But the fact that the XC60 handily outsells the XC70 is proof that what the market wants is different from what many purists and I believe Volvo should be building.

All-wheel drive isn't just a foul-weather security blanket or a high-performance traction aid; it's a luxury feature. Although most drivers would be better served by a set of decent winter tires, buyers in northern states expect all-wheel-drive on their premium cars just like they expect seat belts and a radio. To that end, Volvo is expanding all-wheel-drive availability on its bestselling S60 sedan to include base-engine models for 2013.

After skipping the 2010 model year, Volvo's wallflower, middle-child sedan, the S60, reemerged for 2011 wearing shapely new sheetmetal and a freshly honed set of dynamic skills. The S60 took many staffers by surprise at our 2011 All-Stars test and ended up as one of the dark-horse candidates to win an award. Its profile suddenly raised, the S60 became an obvious candidate for a closer, yearlong look.

The C70 is beautiful. Its sensuous curves and well-proportioned body have not aged a day in my eyes. It probably helps that the streets are hardly thick with them even after six years on the market.

The Volvo S60 arrived in our fleet a little more than twelve months ago, in April 2011, just before the start of the summer vacation season. Right out of the gate, the Volvo went on road trips to Tennessee, Chicago, and northern Michigan and racked up more than 3000 miles on the odometer. Over those largely highway miles, the S60 showed itself to be a comfortable long-distance cruiser with an impressive powertrain, capable handling, and a high level of refinement.

It's not easy to make a good batch of chili, but making a great batch is more difficult than simply following a recipe. We know this because Volvo literally pitted a bunch of journalists against one another in a chili cook-off while we were in Scottsdale, Arizona, to drive four of its models equipped with the new performance-enhancing Polestar Package. Just as with chili, taking a car from good to great isn't always easy. Volvo has already been doing an admirable job with its lineup of beautifully designed and fun-to-drive cars like the S60 sedan, the XC60 crossover, the XC70 wagon, and the C30 hatchback. What the Swedish brand has been lacking with its most recent product renaissance is a little spice.

The Volvo S60 has now been in our Four Seasons fleet for a little more than ten months, during which time it has covered more than 26,000 miles. It has gone as far south as Tennessee, made several trips throughout the Midwest (including Chicago, southern Indiana, and St. Louis), three trips to the East Coast, including back-to-back jaunts to Boston over the Christmas holiday, plus numerous trips throughout our home state of Michigan. It's safe to say that it's among the most popular vehicles in our fleet for long-distance cruising.

Thanks to a few unscrupulous sources, you've already seen the all-new Volvo V40 hatchback in its entirety, but Volvo officially released complete details and photography this morning, still well in advance of the V40's official debut at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show.

Volvo's eighty-five-year visual history is rather odd, never quite free of the perpetual "it looks like a..." problem. The earliest Volvos looked like boxes, along with most other cars of the 1920s. The Carioca, introduced in 1935, looked like a Chrysler Airflow; the Philip prototype of 1953 strongly resembled the Darrin-designed '51 Kaiser; and the '50s 122 Amazon was so similar to an Aero Willys that some U.S. car magazines suggested actual American tooling was involved. It wasn't.

Eleven months into the Volvo S60's one-year stay in Ann Arbor, the Automobile Magazine staff seem to be in agreement on the virtues of the Swedish sedan.

At the 2012 Detroit auto show, Volvo will unveil a concept version of the XC60 plug-in hybrid. The electrified crossover was conceived specifically for the American and Chinese markets, and will go on sale in a few years' time.

The C30 made a splash when it debuted in 2008 because it brought style and sophistication to a segment that was largely lacking in those attributes. It now faces increasing competition from other compact luxury cars, but the C30 still has the upper hand when it comes to looks with its unique glass liftgate, long side glass, and chopped tail. Even though it is 8.4 inches shorter, the C30 is built on the same platform and shares a wheelbase with the S40 sedan (no longer available in the United States), so it feels quite roomy inside. The rear buckets--there is only seating for four--are spacious enough to comfortably accommodate two adults. Despite the C30's diminutive overall footprint, there is a reasonable amount of cargo space thanks to the hatchback body style. The C30's interior is a fine example of Scandinavian design. Its center stack is clean and symmetrical, although too many buttons of the same size are grouped together. It looks good but is not very intuitive. The 227-hp turbocharged five-cylinder is reasonably engaging, but the overall driving experience leans more to the side of luxury than do some of the C30's more enthusiast-oriented competition, such as the Volkswagen GTI and the Mini Cooper. On the plus side, the C30 is the only car in its class to offer a blind-spot monitoring system, which shouldn't be a surprise since safety has long been a hallmark of the Swedish automaker.

The Volvo C70 was one of the first convertibles with a folding hard top when it hit the market in 2006. The C70 hasn't seen many innovations since then, but its clean lines and minimalist interior ensure that it will continue to age gracefully. Mechanically, the C70 uses the same 227-hp turbocharged five-cylinder found in the C30 hatchback, and it is paired with a five-speed automatic transmission (sadly, the six-speed manual was dropped last year). Since the C70 is really more a cruiser than a hard charger, we recommend the standard seventeen-inch wheels over the optional eighteens and their more aggressive 40-series tires, which diminish ride comfort while doing little to increase handling prowess. That said, the C70 is a convertible that can be used year-round. The hard top cuts trunk space drastically when it's lowered, but when it's in place it offers the advantages of better sound and weather insulation along with greater security. Although it doesn't have Volvo's latest advancement in safety--the City Safety auto-braking system--the C70 still comes standard with a raft of features that help uphold Volvo's reputation for building some of the safest cars on the road.