4x4 estate car proves capable
Apparently the majority of Volvo XC70 owners are aged between 35 and 64 and university-educated, with a household income of about £74,000, and are either the owner of a small or large business, a company director, a professional partner or involved in a freelance occupation.
That says a lot about the car and an awful lot about the type of person who drives one. I will leave you to draw your own conclusions on that!
Certainly if you take a peek into the driver's side of any you see on the road they fit the bill 90 per cent of the time.
So why do they buy this car? Undoubtedly brand loyalty, having worked their way up to this spacious capable estate and the safety and reliability for which Volvo is known.
When Volvo launched the original V70 XC (Cross Country) nine years ago, it launched a new sector. It was a vehicle that combined the luxury and dynamics of an estate car with the versatility of All Wheel Drive. Volvo had developed an alternative to a traditional SUV (Sports Utility Vehicle).
It has proved a big success - particularly in America and does very well in Britain. It is now known simply as the Volvo XC70 and complements the Volvo XC90 in the XC range.
First of all let me say that it was never intended as a real mud plugger, just a car that could cope with rougher driving conditions and it does this very well. I was driving one when we had the monsoon rains of a couple of weeks ago and it proved extremely sure-footed as roads turned into streams with all sorts of nastiess lurking underneath the water tempting you to lose grip - except the XC70 didn't. It ploughed through and not once did I feel slippage.
The 2007 model year has seen a number of tweaks which have subtly improved this stalwart vehicle.
Outside there are larger, body-coloured rear-view mirrors, which now incorporate the side indicators, a new design of alloy wheel and a new wheel centre cap featuring the Volvo 'iron mark'.
Inside there are satin chrome inlays in the air-vent levers, column stalks, and between the remote controls on the steering wheel. The indicators are now a 'one-touch' function.
There's a choice of 2.5T 210PS turbo charged petrol or D5 185PS turbo diesel engine which give very good pull across the revs including low down. The D5 gives excellent performance and decent fuel economy - even with a big load on (four adults and loads of rubbish being taken to the tip).
Standard specification is substantial and there is a whole raft of extras including Active Bi-Xenon headlamps, which feature a unique design and a facility to change the headlamp beam pattern for driving in mainland Europe, BLIS (Blind Spot Information System), dark-tinted read windows, a compass option for the autodimming rear-view mirror, an integrated telephone and Volvo's RTI satellite navigation system with TMC (Traffic Message Channel) which warns of traffic problems ahead and can even re-route the driver, if required.
Prices range from £30,320 to £32,920.
By Sharon Walters
