2001 Volvo V70 Review
Add your own review or comments

By Bob Plunkett

Overview

Volvo's all-new V70 mid-size wagon may be practical and safe, but it also has another side that's luxurious, sporty and wild.

The practical nature becomes apparent from the adaptable arrangement of seats for as many as seven passengers and an expandable cargo compartment with tie-down hooks and various accessories available to manage on-board freight loads.

Its luxurious side comes from posh appointments in an insulated passenger compartment in the mode of elite European touring sedans.

Volvo's historical emphasis on safety lives on with innovations to safety cell structures and active seats rigged to thwart whiplash injuries. Occupants are shielded by airbags positioned ahead, beside and above. To avoid crashes in the first place, the driver is armed with active safety tools including responsive steering, anti-lock brakes and traction control to reduce skids.

The sports appeal comes from turbocharged power and an adaptable five-speed automatic transmission designed to propel the car quickly up a freeway on-ramp and allow it to keep pace at autobahn speeds when desired.

And its wild side comes into play from a rigid chassis with sporty suspension tuning and the choice of a manual five-speed shifter for the high-output turbo T5 edition.

Model Lineup

The new generation design for Volvo's V70 estate wagon of 2001 splits into two front-wheel-drive models that differ in terms of powertrain and interior equipment.

The V70 2.4T draws from a 2.4-liter inline five-cylinder light-pressure turbo engine linked to a five-speed automatic transmission. Pricing for this base model starts at $32,400 with many standard safety features aboard, including anti-lock brakes and traction control.

The V70 T5 for $33,400 packs a 2.3-liter inline-5 high-pressure turbo that musters 247 horsepower through a manual five-speed gearbox. The T5 uses firm suspension settings for a sporty flavor.

Volvo's computer-linked Dynamic Stability and Traction Control (DSTC) system may be added to either version ($1,250 for the 2.4T, $1,100 for T5), and a navigation system adds $2,500 more to the bottom line.