NEVER THOUGHT I'D DO IT.
Well, I surprised myself, and bought a brand new Volvo V70R.

It's the 300bhp Volvo Wagon, 155mph top speed (electronically limited), 0-60 about 6.5 to 7 seconds, with the Computer Controlled Chassis Concept (FOUR-C, as Volvo calls it), and the very cool orange Atacama leather interior. Mine has the Geartronic automatic transmission (an auto/manual arrangement that I like), reversing sensors and a third seat.

Only about 760 V70R cars are being shipped this year to the U.S., so it's kind of tough to find one.

I've never bought a new car before. I've always felt they were kind of a waste of money, given the steep depreciation curve, and instead I've tended to buy 5 - 7 year old high end "boulevard" cruisers - a '94 Mercedes SL500, an '88 Jaguar XJ-SC, for example (Alas, I really can't recommend the latter, tho' I still own one).

But anyway, when I went shopping for a 3-seat replacement for my aging Mercedes 300 TE Wagon (1988, 200K), I drove the latest Mercedes wagon versions (give or take a year or so), expecting that's what I'd buy.

Frankly (despite the rapturous reviews in Consumer Reports), I was terribly underwhelmed. They were bland to drive. A bit boring to look at. And way EXPENSIVE - mid $50s for an AWD version (a 2003 model at that). You're paying for the name - a great name, admittedly. Through the nose.

Next stop was a Volvo XC70 (the raised "crossover" Cross Country version), two years used, at a Volvo dealer in Orange County (CA) lot. This I would have bought on the spot - I didn't find it the steering "wandery", per the Consumer Reports review. But with a third seat added, the price was mid-$30s – way too high for a 2002 car. Also, I was unsure how the largely plastic front end would look a few years down the line...many 2000 Cross Countrys I saw on lots didn't look too good.

However, what this dealer did give me was a brochure for the Volvo V70R, with the off-hand comment, "It's too fast for its own good." This immediately got my interest. And the Google web research I did was overwhelmingly positive.

The only problem was...where to get a V70R? This model year, according to their ad agency (Euro RSCG in NYC) Volvo are shipping a combined total of about 3,800 of the S60 and V70 "R" models - worldwide.

80% of these are the S60R sedans, and they’re pretty readily available - three within 20 miles of me - but not the V70Rs. I searched the dealer sites, via the Volvo website - not the easiest experience, as it's currently being overhauled. I called around Southern California. No-one had one. I even looked into European delivery.

Finally, one Saturday morning, somewhat to my surprise, I ran three V70Rs to earth via autotrader.com - one in Pennsylvania, one in Florida, and one at Power Volvo of Irvine, just 10 miles away. 12 miles on the clock. I drove home in it early that afternoon.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS – DEALER AND CAR.
I wish I could tell you I got a great deal, but I didn't. They knew what they had. I paid pretty near sticker - about a 9% margin for the dealer, I later figured. (Consumer Reports suggests you pay 4 - 8% over the CR whole price.) But I was well treated, and I while I am very cautious about referrals, I would recommend both Bob Mirza and Katja Hansson of this dealership (Katja worked for Volvo in Sweden). It probably helps that they are the nearest dealer to Volvo's HQ in Irvine.

Onto the car: Yes, I did drive it before I bought it, just before I wrote the big check (I think). But FYI - be advised - they kept the car on the showroom floor...locked. You'll have to be serious to get a test drive.

The Atacama natural hide interior was a shock, initially - mainly the orange color. But I got used to it pretty fast. I like the sporty feel of the seats and interior generally, and the slightly dated small side-window look.

The blue and silver gauges are great - beautiful, in fact - especially at night, but I've driven enough older sports cars to wish for some supplementary gages - oil pressure, turbo boost, battery, just more stuff to keep me worried on long drives.

The motor-operated high beams are a trip, especially the fact that they adapt themselves to the angle of the car in relation the road.

In handling, it's not an overstatement to say that V70R was a revelation to me. I never knew a car could be so alive (granted, I do usually drive 5 - 10 year old machinery), in terms of anticipating what the driver wants to do.

It's fast enough (from personal experience) to stay neck and neck with a Jaguar XK8 or Lexus LS 430, without even using full throttle (yet). And it drives - to use the motoring journalist cliche - like it's on rails. (I guess every generation has a different opinion of just what this means.) I have not found the limits of the handling, as yet.

There are three push-button chassis settings - Comfort, Sport (my favorite) and Advanced Sport. Advanced Sport is a rough ride for a dedicated boulevard cruiser like me. But using it, 60mph curves become 80mph curves.

To put it another way, this car takes my very average driving skills, and makes me looks great (one reason this computer assisted technology was banned from Formula 1, I believe).

Also, confident.

The breakthrough here for me is not the 300 bhp turbo/twin intercooled engine, light, quick and flat-torque banded as it is. It's the computer controlled ("4C") suspension.

Why did this integration of machine intelligence and brute automotive force take so long to get from racecars and supercars to pretty regular cars like this?

NIGGLES?

Sure, several, and not sure how much they will bug me in the long term.

1. The AC is easy to figure out, but the wonderful-sounding premium HU-803 radio clearly requires a technical degree from the Goteborg Institute of Electrical Engineering. (The "Advanced User" section requires a PhD.)

2. LEDs and text displays are irritatingly dim in daylight.

3. On occasion, there's a slight lag when you hit the throttle. Haven't noticed any flat spots yet. The engine can be surge-y when cold, though. The Geartronic is great - just takes a bit of getting used to (i.e. not quite as simple as rowing my XJS along in second gear until it gets up the power curve.) (The car also comes with a manual 6 box specifically designed for the V70R by Volvo, which makes the car even faster.)

4. The "Sky Hook" concept for the Comfort setting is a cool marketing thought (car suspended from an invisible hook in the sky, suspension soaks up the irregularities) - but roads still have bumps, and you do still feel them.

5. There's a w--i--d--e turning circle on this vehicle - bigger than anything I've driven recently - it's almost a hazard. (A "U" turn is two and a bit traffic lanes, which can leave you choosing between hitting the kerb, or reversing in traffic.)

6. Just a note - buried on page 58 of the service manual (NOT the handbook) are warnings to let the car idle on starting, and for several minutes after hard driving, to allow oil to reach and cool down the turbine compressor vanes ("Great risk of turbine seizure").

Finally, the name. A modest suggestion to Volvo: this car feels like enough of a break from the past to be separated from the prior V70R AWD models, with a different designation.


SENSIBLE OR SENSATIONAL? ER, WELL, YOU CHOOSE, HONEY

I guess I'm just pleased that Volvo produces a high performance WAGON of all things, given how wagons are so generally looked down on in the U.S. as boring "family" vehicles. (Not true in Europe, where they're seen a stylish and practical alternative to a sedan.)

To me, the V70R is simply a tremendous deal - practical and high performance rolled up into in one very cool package. You usually have to choose one or the other. This car can be sensible or sensational road by road, minute by minute, driver by driver, you get to choose.

I think balance is important in a car, as much or more so than raw power and acceleration, and truthfully I don't yet know how this one will shake out over the next few thousand miles. I'll try to keep the site posted.




Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 46,816.00
Condition: New
Model and Options: V70R Geartronic, Premium and Touring Package