Michael Wilson
simply a beautiful wagon. Now volvo, lets have the polestar version!
moreover
Those 30 miles on electric are eminently useable. In my Chevy Volt I end up going 85% of my miles on electric (which is also the average for the entire Volt fleet). Hope the concepts of range extended electric cars gets widely adopted as it can make a huge difference on fuel consumption. And what an elegant car the Volvo is!
otto17
Exactly why some of us drive the Subaru Outback and not the Forester or other SUV: a nice low profile all-wheel drive with some easily accessed cargo space. Volvo is not the first "antidote" to the SUV. However the Subaru Outback has been growing taller the last few years, perhaps attempting to blur the difference between it and the Forester (a mistake I believe) and has caused me to start looking at alternatives. Perhaps Volvo can provide my next "classic station wagon".
wanderkip
A gorgeous alternative for those who appreciate driving dynamics with their extra hauling space. Taller SUV's are actually less safe in rollover situations with their higher CG and truck-based geometry. This is the same discovery that AMC made when it invented the crossover platform, (Eagle) to lure families out of ugly Wagoneers with contemporary styling and true 4WD safety. Kudos to Volvo!
Lbrewer42
It is about time a station wagon was made again. And the engine specs seem adequate, but I wonder how this vehicle stacks up against the large station wagons I grew up. We could easily slide full 4 X 8 sheets of plywood into the back end and have a few inches to spare at the front of the bed (seats down of course)?
Six people easily fit into those station wagons with some of them being rated as 9 passenger cars (not cramped either). The fold out seats built into the back end of the bed... reminiscent of "rumble seats" from my Grandfather's era spawned such stories.
As good an idea as Volvo reviving the station wagon is, I just hope its a "real" station wagon if it wants to replace someone having the need for a real SUV. I never understood why people are crazy enough to shell out money for smaller and more plastic content cars.
But that was an era where OWNING your own car was a lot more possible financially. And when wrecks occurred, the cars were not automatically totaled (think the old days of telephone poles being sheared off with a car impact or cars deliberately hitting bumpers when parallel parking so as to know space between the cars). But its all about money nowadays instead of quality.
bergamot69
In Europe the 'estate car' (station wagon) has never gone away, despite the increase of SUVs and MPVs. And whilst SUVs have questionable appropriateness in urban and suburban settings, MPVs do offer for many a more useable form factor, taking up less road space yet offering better interior height.
Its nice to have the choice though. I'd rather have a traditional estate than most MPVs, and this Volvo looks to be, on the face of it, a very nicely executed return to form for a maker who, in the UK at least, sold far more estates than saloons (sedans).
Martin Hone
Certainly a gorgeous looking wagon, but Volvo have had good looking wagons for some time. Remember the XC70 ? I had one as a company vehicle back in 2003. Lovely machine Don't know how the collision avoidence system will work against kangaroos. They tend to jump out from the sides of roads without warning........
BZD
A bit strange how Volvo doesn't mention their smaller wagons.
I think the V90 looks really good and the power train should be great just as it is in the S and XC, but I do not like they have gone all touch screen on us. While it is nice some of all the buttons are replaced by a screen I simply can not see how a touch screen works for the things you like to adjust while driving. I like being able to adjust the heater without looking simply by knowing almost on instinct where the buttons are and my fingers feeling their way - no screen can offer this.
Michael Wilson
@Lbrewer42. Its less about quality and more about survivability. A car like that, which can shear a telephone pole in half does not transmit energy well. Cars break apart and splinter today, by design because the body absorbs the impact rather than transferring it into the occupant. Theres a reason why road-based fatalities are much lower today. As for size, part of the reasons why wagons at least in the US, fell out of favor was because of the size. People saw the large land yacht country-squire wagons of old as dinosaurs of their stodgy parents. They still needed the space, but wanted to differentiate themselves from their forebears, so they flocked to better marketed SUVs. Detroit also had a hand in this, by heavily marketing SUVs as the new, hip vehicle because larger trucks can be built on older, cheaper to build (read: truck chassis) frames, and do not have to perform as well in crash tests or get as great a fuel economy as sedans. Thus, with less R&D, cheaper build costs and a perceived bit of luxury, SUVs can be sold for more money, and make higher profits for the automotive companies. They are in turn marketed heavily towards consumers, and the large wagons of old find themselves put to pasture.
Keith Reeder
"In Europe the 'estate car' (station wagon) has never gone away"
Indeed, Bergamot - some of my favourite cars are the Merc, Audi and Beemer estates currently available here in the UK.
I can't help but think, when people make comments like:
"It is about time a station wagon was made again"
that's it's about time they came out from under their rock - or just remembered that there's more to the world than just the USA.