Volvo V70 T6 2008 Review

OVERVIEW
Volvo's latest V70 is the third generation model to wear that label. It's a sign of the changing nature of the Australian market that Volvo was uncertain as to whether the V70 would be introduced here in this incarnation.

Why? SUVs, that's why. We, as a country are besotted with our SUVs -- at a time when Americans are actually showing symptoms of SUV fatigue. This leaves Volvo in the ambivalent situation of being able to offer buyers the XC70 SUV without much fear that the vehicle will fail in the marketplace, yet the non-SUV V70, which provides the platform for the XC70, is a harder case to justify.

It doesn't matter how well packaged, well priced, well specified and well engineered the V70 is, it's a station wagon that lacks the apparent high-driving position and the physical presence that demands wariness from other road users. Not an SUV, in other words.

Volvo did the sums carefully on the V70. The marketing people and product planners figured out that there should be a limited market for the V70 in a high-performance, explicitly sporting variant that was designed to convey people across vast distances in considerable comfort and at high average speeds, where required. That is the sort of brief that you would think is a winner in a country like Australia, where people still drive from Melbourne to Sydney and back in a long weekend. All the same, it's a gamble for the Swedish importer.

It must be said however, that the V70 doesn't feel like there's much left out of it in its natural state. There's a pretty substantial selection of standard features as is. Not everyone necessarily wants satellite navigation, for example, so this is a good thing to leave as an option. Volvo has been careful and selective in the items left out of the entry-level car and it's a good balance.

In standard trim, the V70 is fitted with: powered tailgate, triple-split folding rear seat, two-stage integrated child safety seats, Intelligent Driver Information System (IDIS), Personal Car Communicator (PCC), Dynamic Stability & Traction Control (DSTC), 18-inch alloy wheels, electro-chromatic auto dipping mirror, front and rear park assist sensors, rain-sensitive windscreen wipers, six-stack CD audio system and heated front seats.

Options for the V70 include four different styles and sizes of alloy wheel, three different interior trim materials (aluminium or wood), two different steering wheels, four different leathers and two gear knobs.

In addition, buyers can -- also at extra cost -- specify: a subwoofer for the audio system, laminated side glass, dark tinting, Clean Zone Interior, electrically adjustable front passenger seat, ventilated seats, Bluetooth connectivity, glass sunroof, compass, satellite navigation, Blind Spot Information System (BLIS), adaptive cruise control with collision warning and auto brake facility, road-speed sensitive power steering and integrated telephone.

In theory, you could specify every option and wind up with a V70 costing just a bit over $100,000, but most people wouldn't feel the need to do that and even so, it still represents reasonably good value.

MECHANICAL
Where previous models of the V70 were blessed with Volvo's inline turbo five-cylinder engine -- itself a cut-down version of the surprisingly charismatic DOHC six from the old 960 -- the latest model makes a spiritual return to the inline six configuration with a turbocharged 3.0-litre engine.

Unlike the rear-wheel drive 960 however, the inline six in the V70 is turned through 90 degrees to drive the four-wheel drive system from a transverse mounting. The engine is a compact design that adopts similar space-saving measures already pioneered in large-displacement Audis.

Torque for the power steering pump and air conditioning compressor is taken from a gear-drive system at the end of the crankshaft. Two coaxial shafts (one shaft within another) provide different rates of speed for the camshaft drive and the ancillaries. The alternator is driven directly from the crankshaft.

Driven as per the ADR81/01 combined cycle standard, the V70 returns a figure of 11.3L/100km.

With its twin-scroll turbocharger, the engine develops 210kW of power and 400Nm of torque to achieve a 7.2-second time to 100km/h from a standing start. Peak torque, in keeping with other Volvo turbo engines, plateaus at just 1500rpm and remains constant until 4800rpm.

Before it gets to the constant four-wheel drive system, the torque is channelled through a six-speed automatic transmission with sequential-shift facility; Volvo's 'Geartronic' transmission -- actually supplied by Aisin-Warner.

Rather than a viscous coupling or open centre differential, the V70 relies on electronically controlled clutches to split the torque from front to rear.

Steering is by rack and pinion, assisted by electronically controlled hydraulic assistance from an engine driven pump. Brakes are ventilated discs all around and the suspension comprises MacPherson struts at the front and multi-link IRS at the rear.

PACKAGING
Being built on the current S80 platform leaves the V70 with much greater room to move and flexibility than the accommodation in the S60 sedan, which was built on a shortened version of the previous S80's floorpan.

However, in common with other all-wheel drive Volvos, the drivetrain components of the new V70 do eat into the available boot space, leaving owners with a relatively shallow load floor.

Forward of the rear wheels, there's plenty of front and rear headroom, with tons of rear seat legroom. Also, the driver can call on an enormous range of height adjustment for the seat. Just for laughs, the tester tried to raise the driver's seat to its ceiling height while occupying the seat, but had to give it up as a lost cause -- because like one of those horror films in which a disposable cast member perched on the roof of a lift gets squished when the lift reaches its park position...well, you get the idea.

Externally, the V70 measures 4823mm in length, 1861mm in width (not including mirrors) and 1547mm in height. The wheelbase spans 2816mm.

Inside the car -- and returning to the matter of load area restricted by the underfloor drivetrain components -- the V70 measures an internal load height of 801mm, with a maximum width between wheel arches of 1223mm and a load length to the rear seat of 1089mm.

Volvo claims a luggage capacity of 555 litres with the rear seat raised for the V70 and that's about on par for a relatively large wagon with drivetrain components at the rear. It's actually 55 litres better than the figure for the BMW 5 Series Touring.

SAFETY
Volvo's V70 engineers and designers have applied their usual diligence to making the latest model a state of the art exemplar for active and passive safety.

On the active safety front, the V70 features the patented Four-C ('Continuously Controlled Chassis Concept'), all-wheel drive, DSTC stability control, Emergency Brake Assist, 'Ready Alert Brake' system and 'Fading Brake Support'.

Passive safety features include: two-stage integrated child safety seats, dual front airbags, twin-chamber side impact airbags, side curtains (extended downwards 60cm for children in the rear seat) and WHIPS anti-whiplash protection system. In addition, Volvo specifies front seatbelt pre-tensioners and anti-submarining three-point seatbelts for all positions as standard for the V70.

The child safety seats are a development of the integrated seats Volvo developed for the original S40/V40 models from the late 1990s. In the V70, the seats can be raised an additional stretch, to accommodate smaller children, so they are properly boosted to be able to rely on the standard seatbelts AND to be able to look out the side windows. That will reduce the child's boredom and the parents' stress levels on long trips -- enough to reduce some risk there alone, it might be argued.

The twin-chamber side-impact airbags deploy from the lower chambers with five times the force of the upper chambers, since the hips can absorb greater energy than the chest. This ensures that the side impact force is directed more to where it is easiest absorbed by the human body.

The reviewer tried out the anti-pinch system on the powered tailgate. It works, but doesn't come particularly recommended, except perhaps for masochists with weak stomachs.

Volvo offers a number of safety features as options. These include: laminated side windows (which are a comfort feature also), a first aid kit, a Blind Spot Information System (BLIS), Adaptive Cruise Control with collision warning and auto brake and speed sensitive power steering.

COMPETITORS
As the tester had driven an Audi A6 2.8 FSI quattro sedan a matter of weeks before the V70 launch, that was the car that sprang to mind as an obvious competitor to the Volvo. There's an A6 Avant version with a 3.2-litre naturally aspirated FSI V6 and the quattro system, but that is priced at $109,650 -- substantially higher than the Volvo's $67,950 and lacking the turbo torque as well.

A BMW 530i Touring is even more expensive still and, while it comes close to the V70 for power, it falls well short on torque and is rear-wheel drive only.

The Peugeot 407 comes in well under the V70 for price, but other than being a wagon, is hardly comparable.

Volvo doesn't see the Saab 9-5 Estate as a competitor to the V70, since Volvo buyers tend not to cross-shop the two cars, but the Saab is fairly comparable to the V70, in a broad sense. Even so, it's more expensive, doesn't develop as much power or torque, lacks the all-wheel drive traction, is powered by a large capacity four rather than a six and features a five-speed automatic, rather than the Volvo's six-speed unit.

Another car that might give the Volvo a run for its money is the Subaru Liberty GT Spec B STi. Priced in the same ballpark as the Volvo, it might seem like an odd choice, but what it gives away in engine output and physical size, it makes up in reduced kerb weight.

The final option would be the Volkswagen Passat R36. As for the Subaru, it offers a price competitive to the Volvo, although the V70 still undercuts both the Volkswagen and the Subaru in standard form.

The Volvo is ahead of the Passat and Liberty in respect of torque and is larger than either. Although the features vary between the three, the V70 is certainly competitive.

ON THE ROAD
This is one of those instances where the reviewer must come up with a description that splits the difference between good and great -- at exactly the right point. 'Impressive' is a good place to start describing the V70.

From the personal point of view of the reviewer, the V70 doesn't quite have the presence of the XC70, but it remains an attractively styled car with a good balance of form and function.

The V70's driving position proved very quick and easy to adjust to suit the driver, compared with some similar spec Euro cars.

The leather trim on the seats was a little slippery in corners or during braking and a driver could find him or herself sliding down in the seat at times, despite that anti-submarining feature.

In the view of one journalist attending the launch, the steering wheel was too large in diameter, but this reviewer didn't find that to be the case. The steering wheel rim was bound in a soft, durable leather.

Instruments are easily legible and the controls require relatively little familiarity to use correctly. In this aspect, the V70 contrasts markedly with certain German cars which shall remain nameless.

Volvo has equipped the V70 with the virtually ubiquitous auxiliary input jack for the audio system in the centre console storage bin. This is one of our current favourite features in any car and shades the thoroughly overrated and passé cup and bottle holders.

Speaking of those, there were two cup/bottle-holders installed between the centre armrest/storage bin and gear selector plinth.

At open road speeds, the V70 was very quiet, with a slight preponderance of wind noise and a little rumble from tyres over coarser surfaces.

On the subject of wind, it was curious to discover that the park distance sensors at the front were occasionally susceptible to false activation through buffeting from the slipstream of on-coming cars. Sitting at a traffic light, waiting to make a right hand turn, you'd be suddenly alarmed by the park distance sensor as an on-coming car passed by on the right.

There is an electric toggle for the parking brake, which makes itself felt if activated while the driver is depressing the brake pedal. The pedal sinks a little under the pressure from the driver's foot as the parking brake is activated. The system works well, but hand-brake turns are never going to be the same again.

One car driven was trimmed in cream leather and this reflected sun glare to the extent that the Satnav screen and the blue digital read-outs in the centre of the major instruments were hard to read.

As to driving the V70, the engine was a willing unit, sounding purposeful in an inline six-cylinder way. It doesn't emit the sort of engine noise to send chills up and down the spine, but nor would you hold back from letting it rev to high heaven.

In fact, that's recommended for spirited driving. Despite Volvo's specifications showing that peak torque is developed from as low as 1500rpm, it feels a bit dozy in higher gears at that speed. There could be a number of reasons for that: weight, turbo lag and perhaps efficiency losses through the automatic transmission and all-wheel-drive system. Whatever the case, the engine definitely goes harder with a few revs up.

And when it goes harder, it likes a tipple. At one point, the average fuel consumption was up as high as 18.6L/100km, but with more moderate driving, it returned to 13.5L/100km. With less urban driving, most V70 owners probably could do better than the ADR81/01 combined cycle average of 11.3L/100km.

The six-speed automatic transmission has a sequential-shift facility with a separate plane to the left of the standard PRNDL gates. Located on the passenger side, the sequential-shift plane would work better closer to the driver, but few cars from Europe provide this type of facility for RHD markets. Volkswagen does though...

If you run the vehicle in a specific gear with the lever in the sequential-shift quadrant -- say third gear, for example -- and kickdown through the accelerator, the transmission will select an appropriate gear and drop down, rather than leaving it in third.

However, once you've eased up on the throttle, the transmission will not return to third gear, staying in second instead. It's a case of kickdown overriding the sequential shift facility but not handing back control to the driver in the same status as before.

One of the Volvo staff did point out that sometimes, it's easy to forget the car is in a specific gear in the sequential-shift mode -- and at least the kickdown facility will get you out of trouble if you pull out to overtake and you're in the wrong gear on the wrong side of the road.

Second gear feels a bit low at times and engine will rev hard when changing down from speeds where third gear is too high for a fast exit from a corner -- and this with an engine purportedly developing maximum torque from as low as 1500rpm.

The V70 was surprisingly throttle-sensitive for an all-wheel drive -- in a good way -- and with discrete use of the three electronically-controlled damper settings: 'Comfort', 'Sport' and 'Advanced', the driver could quickly set the car up for precisely the sort of operation required at the time.

Overall, the differences in suspension settings were generally more apparent in the car's handling than the ride.

In the twisties, there was more initial understeer when suspension was set to 'Comfort'. Turn-in and steering response were better and handling was significantly closer to neutral on the 'Sport' and 'Advanced' settings.

It's not something recommended, but around long bends, drivers can adjust the car's attitude by changing from Comfort to Advanced mid-corner, to modulate understeer. And if the V70 is taking too big a bite of the cherry, changing back to Comfort will force a wider line.

With the 'Four-C' system, the suspension will adjust automatically, depending on attitude and input from the ABS and DTSC (stability control), irrespective of the prevailing ride setting. The system can adjust damper rates independently and immediately in the event of an emergency. It will adopt the Advanced setting for individual dampers as soon as it detects a need for more immediate (emergency) response from that corner of the car.

Ride differences were more noticeable over the sort of long frequency bumps left in bitumen by the passage of heavy trucks. Leaving the V70 in the Advanced setting over this sort of undulation could churn up the stomach contents after a while.

This will be when you want the Comfort setting, which is noticeably more compliant over road surfaces like that. Other than that though, most of the time, drivers will be happy enough with the Advanced setting. It's not by any means rough-riding and nor is the Comfort setting absolutely pillowy soft either.

Fun, fast and occasionally febrile. The V70 was pretty much all that, given its head -- but it was also comfortable and refined. Buy one? Yes, why not? It's good value, it's quite practical and it's far and away the best package of its kind for under $70,000.