CD Article: 2008 Volvo V70

[CD_Editor]

Test Drive:


This Volvo wagon "is quite the modern, luxurious and eye-catching piece," says Senior Editor, Paul Williams.  "All in all, good value here from a company that puts a lot of thought into its vehicles," he says.

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Read the article | View the photos | All The Test Drives

[quadzilla]

Wheels are 16-inch alloy (17-inch available)

Wow a $40K car that still comes with 16 or 17 in tires. That is nice to see.

Similarly, fuel economy is good, but not great. I averaged 10.1 litres/100 km, from highway driving at moderate speeds. Not bad; not exceptional.

I don't think that is very good (6 cyl with 235hp/236tq) for hwy driving unless moderate speeds are above 140kph.

I wonder how these are selling. As tested was over $50K, not for the average family.

[airbalancer]

I guess you should be happy it was not the driver side wiper screwing up
I think 10l/100 is not bad for a wagon like V70, what else has this much room and has a lower really life L/100km
Why are the passenger power seat always an extra?

[quadzilla]

My wagon comes close for space and I can get 8.5L/100 hwy with the cruise set at 125kph.

[airbalancer]

"Returning to Ottawa at night through the mountainous Lake Placid region, we encountered heavy snow and unploughed, unsalted roads"

Driving through those condition  probably made for a lower L/100km as compared to the GTA

[ktm525]

The first thing that hits me is: Wow 53K, that is a lot of money for a non-performance station wagon. The price is starting to get close to what I paid for my V70R.

Fuel economy is similar to the old V70R. I can get about 10L/100km at 125-130 km/h cruise. Unfortunately power is waaaay down in the 6 pot and I am pushing the additional friction of AWD. Is this progress over the old blown 5 cylinder engines?

Add in the better brakes, seats, 4C with three modes, stereo with sub, AWD, and less weight... If I was in the market for a Volvo wagon I would be scouring the lots for a Certified pre-owned 2006/2007 V70R for less money.

[sirAQUAMAN64]

Seems fairly well priced to me.

God I hate the wood Volvo's using on the interior though. Not against matte Sweede look, but it's just boring and cheap here IMO. And the vents with them appear downmarket blah. But the guages sure are beautiful.

[ktm525]

You are probably right wrt the pricing. I bet Volvo will offer a large discout or subvented lease to move these. Look for close to 0% lease rates soon with the usual inflated residual.

[Eric Green]

ktm525 is on to something. It's now a heavy, very expensive wagon. VOLVO wagons are no longer for the middle class; that mantle is now being worn by Mazda, Sube and the other small cUTEs. Even the Cadillac SRX and the other mid-sized premium crossovers are cheaper (and likely more reliable). And a used 5-series Touring would be more fun to drive.

One saviour for VOLVO would be introducing the 2.5 diesel that's available in Yurp.