Volvo V70 brings sporty performance to station wagon styling
Bob Plunkett
Date Posted: 5/10/2005
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NICE, France -- The N85 highway, a curlicue two-lane strip cascading down Provence hillsides in the Maritime Alps just north of Nice on the French Riviera, looks like a location set from so many James Bond movies where the master spy in a sensuous sports car races around corkscrew curves while pursued by a big black limousine loaded with grenade-lobbing bad guys.
Celluloid images of the spy in a sports car careening over alpine curves came to mind recently while steering a sporty new model in tortuous road tests on a downhill run through kinks and hairpin crinkles of the N85.
Our vehicle, equipped with a high-powered turbo engine and a controllable five speed manual shifter, also stocked high-tech automotive hardware as inevitably appeared in the cars James Bond used in spy movies. There were no heat-seeking missiles or ejection seats aboard, of course, although the machine did have substantial armaments for safety like a computerized vehicle stability and traction controller that actively blocks dangerous skidding when steering around slippery corners.
It handled all of the Riviera wiggles with the lithe agility of a world-class sports car, Pirelli P6000 tires hugging pavement and the body holding a level stance with little lateral lean through turns and scant dive at the nose when braking or dip of the tail when accelerating.
Despite the keen handling and powerful performance gear, our vehicle also contained sophisticated appointments for comfort and luxury, like the cars that Bond drove.
The only conflict to this image of a Riviera hill route with a James Bond car compared to the reality of our road test was the fact that the sporty vehicle we steered also carried the voluminous rear bay and external boxy structure of a suburban carpooler's station wagon.
Can you picture James Bond steering a station wagon?
Well, perhaps he might if it's the new V70 by Sweden's Volvo, which transforms a wagon's image from tame to wild.
New generational designs for Volvo's V70 of 2001 demonstrate that a single station wagon of mid-size dimensions can meet varied automotive needs from diverse attributes ranging from practical and safe transportation to luxurious accommodations and sporty, even muscular, performance.
The practical nature of a station wagon is evident from the flexible arrangement of seats for as many as seven riders and an expandable cargo compartment with tie-down hooks and accessories available to manage on-board freight.
Its sophisticated nature shows with posh appointments in an insulated passenger compartment, with power-operated controls and a high caliber of equipment in the mode of elite European touring sedans.
Its slant to safe motoring traces from Volvo's historical emphasis on safety to innovations in safety cell structures with active seats rigged to block whiplash injuries. Occupants are shielded by passive safety devices like air bags set ahead, beside and above, and the driver commands active safety tools like quick-to-turn steering, anti-lock brakes and traction control to check wheel spin.
Its performance character arises from turbo-charged engines and adaptable five-speed transmissions designed to propel the car quickly up a freeway on-ramp and allow it to keep pace at autobahn speeds when desired.
And the wild side comes from a rigid chassis with suspension tuned for sporty handling and the choice of a manual five-speed shifter for a high-output turbo edition.
If all cars were so diverse, practical but fun to drive as the V70, everyone would drive a station wagon.
The design for this latest Volvo estate wagon starts with a new platform borrowed from the larger S80 flagship sedan. Compared to the predecessor V70, this one has the wheelbase stretched by 3.6 inches and a body expanded by 1.7 inches, with the wheel track also widened -- 1.2 inches in front and 3.1 inches at the rear.
A longer and broader chassis creates a solid base to attach independent suspension elements. Then the bonding of body panels instead of spot welding during construction adds exceptional torsional stiffness to the structure, which in turn sets up predictable behavioral traits.
The V70 retains a boxy rear bay of the previous wagon, but shapely curves replace the tank-like angles of earlier Volvos and fresh forms for a larger package in broad stance appear downright aggressive.
A stylish interior treatment sets rich appointments in an understated cabin with muted tone-on-tone colors. The conventional layout puts two bolstered buckets between a multi-purpose console and ahead of a bench with three seat positions. Seats feel extremely comfortable and perform tricks when necessary for safety or saving space.
Front seatbacks incorporate mechanisms to guard against the whiplash effect from a rear-end impact.
Seatback sections on the broad rear bench move to two different positions, one for comfort and the other more vertical to make room for additional gear in the rear. Sections also fold forward to form a flat cargo floor.
That back bay can be outfitted with convenience items like a container for shopping bags or a table that pops up from beneath the second-row seat for use with an optional third seat sized for children. For infants and toddlers, anchors are in place to secure two new designs for rear-facing child's safety seats that use a base frame to house a cradle-style padded seat with integrated safety straps. One style fits infants, another works for a child to 40 pounds.
Luxurious appointments include power controls for all equipment, an automatic climate system and deluxe audio kit.
Front-wheel-drive versions of the V70 will be the first to reach North American markets, but will soon be followed with an all-wheel-drive edition and an updated XC AWD Cross-Country version with suspension jacked up for off-road work.
The pair of front-wheel-drive V70 models differs in terms of powertrain and content of interior equipment.
As entry point to the series, the V70 2.4T pulls from a 2.4-liter inline five-cylinder light-pressure turbo-charged engine that generates 197 hp and links to a five-speed electronic automatic transmission. Pricing for this base model starts at $32,400 with many standard safety features including anti-lock brakes and traction control.
The V70 T5 for $33,400 packs a 2.3-liter inline five high-pressure turbo with 247 hp applied through a manual five-speed gearbox. Firm suspension settings set up a sporty flavor. Volvo's computer-linked Dynamic Stability and Traction Control device may be added to either version ($1,250 for the 2.4T; $1,100 for T5), and a navigation system pulls $2,500 more to the bottom line.
All adds up to a nimble car of high performance and sporty character, with the long wheelbase and refined suspension generating plush ride sensations in the flavor of a luxury sedan but a wagon's bay applied for practicality.
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| 2001 VOLVO V70 VEHICLE SPECIFICATIONS |
| Description: |
Mid-size 5-door estate wagon
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| Model Options: |
Mid-size 5-door estate wagon
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| Wheelbase: |
108.5 inches
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| Overall Length: |
185.4 inches
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| Engine Size: |
DOHC 2.4-L I5 LP-Turbo
DOHC 2.3-L I5 HP-Turbo
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| Transmission: |
2.4T: Auto/5
T5: Manual/5, Auto/5 Geartronic
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| Drive: |
Front
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| Braking: |
Power 4-disc/ABS/TCS
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| Airbags: |
2 (front) + 2 (side)
+ 2 (side curtain)
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| Gas Mileage: |
2.4-L A/5: 21/27 mpg
2.3-L M/5: 22/30 mpg
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| MSRP Price: |
$ 33,000 to $ 39,000 |
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