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T5_X
07-21-2002, 10:34 PM
So after 3 days driving my parent's new car, I can give my report:


Overall, I'm very impressed with this vehicle. At first, I was a little angry they bought this cause I thought it was damn ugly, while all other vehicles in its class have a nice sporty look (except maybe the benz)
Anyway, the look of it has really grown on me, the off roady sport ute look combined with volvo's new swept front end (while retaining the boxy rear) is actually quite easy on the eyes after you know what this vehicle is all about.

Body/ suspension:
First night, my dad hands me the keys and we inspect the entire vehicle. The body panels are all armored in plastic and apparently they have polyurethane (saturnesque) to avoid dings, which is always a good thing. The plastic flows well with the body and doesn't look overwhelming like GM insists on doing with many of its new off road vehicles. A skid plate is present underneath, that was quite surprising, and the ground clearence truly makes it an off road vehicle... not too high, not too low, it's one of the few vehicles that will never require an adjustment in ride hight. Front susp. is spring strut w/ integrated shock absorbers & control arms, rear is ind. w/ longitudinal support arms, double link arms and track rods. Sounds a little complicated for an off road vehicle, but rest assured, all parts were beefed up from the original V70 to make this capable in rough terrain

Safety:
Considering this is a Volvo, it's obvious why I would outline the safety features. Of course, 4whl ABS goes to discs on all corners. One thing I was surprised with though is the traction control. It is sophisticated, reducing engine torque in short stages, so it's always on the brink of slippage, but always keeps the tires gripped. This is immensly useful in snow and wet weather.
WHIPS- Whiplash protection system, this allows the seats to move back slightly, absorbing some of the impact, reducing whiplash severity
VIC- Volvo inflatable curtain, this deploys above the heads of all passengers (except the person in the middle rear seat) at neck hieght.
SIPS- Side impact airbags, these are located on the outside of each front bucket seat, they have special sensors that deploy them only at a certain speeds, agnles and different severities, particularily in side impacts
SRS - Supplemental restraint system, this refers to the combination of front airbags and 3 point seat belt harness. The front airbags release in stages, meaning that if the impact is less severe, they will inflate to a lower capacity, they can also sense if you're not wearing your seat belt, or if the tensioners malfunction, in which case they will inflate quicker and fuller, it will also inflate only 1 airbag if the angle and severity only require 1 airbag. The seat belts use tensioners that automatically pull you back into your seat to a greater or lesser degree depending on the severity of impact
What else? The side impact beams are beefy and the body is designed to maximize use of crumple zones, but that's something pretty much every company is close to mastering now.
The knobs for everything (volume, a/c, cruise etc) are all located on the steering wheel so you don't have to look away from the road.
Extremely impressive eh? And I'm sure that's not it, it's obvious safety comes first with Volvo

Powertrain: Ah, my favorite part. I was quite impressed by this car! It has the 20V 2.4L I-5 which is turbocharged and intercooled. It cranks out 197 HP and 210 Tq, I believe it's at a pathetic 3-4 PSI, so freeing up lots of power via chip would definitly be an option.... though it will probably be a very long time before I'm allowed to start taking things apart :banghead: speaking of that, it's a very attractive engine bay, i'll post pics if i can find some. Air inlet feeds air into the filter at the front drivers side, it's routed to the turbo behind the engine, then to the intercooler, and out the opposite end into the intake. Runs off of 91 octane, so I can fly through the gears very quickly. Transmission is the new AW 55-50, or "geartronic" it's a 5 speed with the ability to shift up through the gears once the lever is pushed over (that's what, the 6th company to take the idea from audi/vw/porsche?) It's not as responsive as a true manual, so upshifting is boring, but i like downshifting so I can get that extra braking power, plus it's cool to listen to the turbo spooling down from 5000 RPM ;) The turbo is actually very quiet though, but with the stereo down you can get that distinct sound... who needs to hear it though when you can feel it!? There is just a slight touch of lag, then the thing pulls nicely all the way up to around 7500 RPM, though it's nicest in the 3000-5500 range, damn tranny won't respond quick enough though, so you have to time your shifts ahead. Throttle is a little edgy for me, but since it's a turbo, it's differs greatly across the powerband. Brakes are weird... sometimes they feel mushy, sometimes edgy, hard to get used to. I would suspect this would reach 60 mph in around 8-8.5 seconds, it's quite hefty at 3700 lbs.

Ride (on road)
So, first night, after my dad and i looked over the vehicle and I enlightened him on how intercoolers and traction control worked, it was time to take it around the narrow streets of residential vancouver. I get in, and the seats immediatly take me in, unlike many leather seats (I won't name specific companies) where you sit on them, in this volvo, you sit IN them. They are firm at the right spots, and plush at the right spots, ranking 2nd in my all time favortie seats. The knobs are all located very conveniently and the dash, real wood trim mixed with a frosted metallic surface creates a sanctuary... ok, maybe i'm exadurating a little. It really is a beautiful interior, but it does look a tad barren and desolate. The rear seats were very comfortable too, very spacious and accomodating. Plus, all the nice little surprise features you associate with european cars are also present in the volvo. So anyway, I start driving it a little soft, but my dad wants to show off, so we get to a u-turn, with a twisty road after it, and he tells me to gun it as fast as I can. Not argueing, i cranked the wheel, and floored it, turning sharply around the U, then clumsily upshifting through the awkward tranny up the windy street. I was extremely impressed!!!! Hardly any body roll!!!! and for such a long, AWD wagon, the thing turned very sharply, i credit the traction control, AWD system, suspension, and there's gotta be limited slip cause the thing was VERY stable and confident.

Ride (off road)
Today, I got to take the car for a little frolic in the gravel, steep slopes and fields (nothing too rough) after it's performance on road, i felt the suspension was too stiff to make for a comfortable, confident off road ride. Wrong. Though the car lacks the ground clearance of all the "built ford tough" trucks I've driven to take me over some rough stuff, it handled perfectly on the loose surfaces. The technology incorporated makes this volvo probably more capable than any big beefy lifted truck, and a hell of a lot more comfortable, at least in light duty off roading. Tons of grip, and I mean tons... the nice pirelli scorpion all seasons definitly play a role too.

Other stuff:
Well, all in all, I am damn impressed. No need to spend an extra 10 grand and get the audi allroad, this volvo has it all. And if you know someone that's getting a ~50 grand sport ute, tell them to take one of these for a test drive, it's one hell of a crossover vehicle!

SpoonEK9@STRD
07-21-2002, 10:49 PM
"Can we do illistrations?" - Ralph Wiggum

Fluidic
07-22-2002, 12:08 AM
Spoon... you're really into the Simpson quotes aren't you dude... LOL

Peter

Fluidic
07-22-2002, 12:09 AM
Nice review Will... I love your reviews... always so detailed and packed with info! :D

Peter

T5_X
07-22-2002, 06:55 PM
http://new.volvocars.com/models/xc/images/cc_gallery_int7_lrg.jpg

http://new.volvocars.com/models/xc/images/cc_gallery_int3_lrg.jpg

http://new.volvocars.com/models/xc/images/cc_gallery_ext2_lrg.jpg

http://new.volvocars.com/models/xc/images/cc_gallery_ext6_lrg.jpg