Volvo

V70

If it’s a family car you’re looking for with bundles of versatility, then look no further than the highly practical Volvo V70. Offering family-friendly features throughout including split-folding rear seats, the vehicle is packed with classy equipment and has safety written all over it too.

 

 

Test Drive

Volvo V70 D4 SE Lux

Anyone with the misguided belief that a Volvo V70 is just another large, cumbersome load-lugger needs to take a seat and read on because this premium quality, beautifully-crafted vehicle has so much more to offer.

It looks fabulous, boasts all the space you could wish for, handles exquisitely, is economical to run and is bursting at the seams with techno treats and creature comforts.

Admittedly, the asking price of £34,720 (£46,315 with several options fitted) may put off a few potential buyers, but the V70 is worth every last penny.

That’s because it covers so many bases. For example, it makes the perfect vehicle for an active family, it doesn’t look out of place on the school run so the children will be happy, it copes easily with any business driver’s daily demands and has all the transportation and storage capabilities you could wish for.

It may not have all the glitz and glamour associated with some brands, but the V70 is still quite a looker capable of turning heads thanks to smart alloys, twin exhaust pipes, dark tinted rear glass, roof rails, body-coloured door handles and mirrors, large upright tail lights and a sporty, streamlined stance.

Once inside, it’s hard not to be impressed with the vast array of technology that greets you.

The cabin is clutter-free and all dials, controls and read-outs are perfectly positioned for driver usability.

There is certainly a premium build quality throughout the cabin with leather front seats that are electrically adjustable and the driver can store three favourite positions into the memory settings.

The multi-function steering wheel can be heated to beat off the winter chill and there is a premium sound multi-media pack to keep you connected on the move along with Bluetooth, sat-nav, dual zone climate control and even a rear seat entertainment system with screens in the back of the front headrests.

The spacious interior can easily accommodate five adults and luggage restrictions will never need to apply as the generously-sized boot has a 575 litres capacity which can be quickly be increased to 1,600 litres with the rear seats folded flat.

The powered tailgate is another notable feature and very much appreciated if approaching the car laden down with shopping bags.

Speaking of shopping, you will certainly need to search out an extra-long parking bay as the V70 is rather lengthy.

That said though, it is also deceptively agile and easy to manoeuvre into tight spaces thanks to the help of the built-in parking sensors and cameras.

The test model featured an eight-speed Geartronic transmission which was delightfully smooth and the 2.0-litre diesel-driven engine delivered all the power and acceleration you could wish for. If you choose to take extra control there are steering wheel-mounted paddles and a sport function adjusts the car’s settings and responses for an edgier, sharper ride.

The driver is treated to first-rate all-round visibility which is essential for city centre driving with cars darting from all angles and the fact that the rear headrests fold flat helps to keep the view through the rear screen completely unobscured.

And while the V70 is happy to amble along in busy traffic, it’s out on the open road and motorways where the car really excels. The road-holding is exceptional and the 0-62mph sprint time of 8.6 seconds is also impressive for such a large vehicle.

But that’s not all because the V70 is also economical to run too with official fuel economy of 62.8mpg on a combined run and carbon emissions of just 117g/km.

As one would expect from a company renowned the world over for its safety record, the V70 is packed to bursting with all the latest safety innovations.

It’s a fact that the Volvo V70 will not be everybody’s dream car, but when it comes to flexibility, economy, practicality, handling and safety it’s certainly not one to be dismissed either.

Test Drive

Volvo V70 D5 SE Lux

There is always something very reassuring about driving a Volvo in unpredictable wintry weather conditions and the larger-than-life V70 model is no exception to that rule.

Packed to bursting with class-leading safety specifications and numerous accident prevention features, the V70 is the ideal vehicle to be driving when Mother Nature hits back with a sleet storm or gale force winds.

While other lighter and maybe more trendy vehicles were being blown across the motorway carriageways, my path was safe and sound and even winds reaching 90mph were unable to shift the V70.

Powered by a 2.4-litre diesel engine, the test model boasted a highly efficient automatic transmission which moved smoothly and effortlessly through the gears. And there was always plenty of power and acceleration at your disposal too without any fuss or increase in cabin noise.

The D5 model can reach from 0-60mph in 8.2 seconds which is pretty impressive for such a chunky car and has a top speed of 137mph.

But despite the V70 being as safe as houses and having all the driving dynamics you could wish for, there is a gentle subtleness to the car’s interior design with a certain refined elegance.

And the number of on-board gadgets and technical wizardry seems almost endless.

The cream interior – leather of course – helped to create a bright and airy atmosphere and being such a spacious vehicle means there is ample room for five adults to travel in comfort along with all the luggage requirements you could wish for.

The layout is beautifully crafted with all controls and dials situated in a large central stack making them easy to access and very driver-friendly.

Features include dual-zone air con, heated seats, an excellent sound system with iPod connectivity, digital TV, Bluetooth connectivity and a whole lot more besides.

Despite its length, the V70 proved pretty easy to manoeuvre although a three-point-turn may turn into a five-point one on the odd occasion!

The added front and rear park assist is a great asset and the driver also benefits from excellent all-round visibility. In fact, one feature that almost goes unnoticed is the trio of rear headrests. While in many cars these days the rear headrests obstruct visibility through the rear-view mirror, the ones in the V70 fold down flat when not in use.

As I mentioned previously, the V70 boasts a range of accident prevention features such as a blind spot warning system and a lane departure warning that alerts the driver if the vehicle is drifting across the carriageway.

And as one would expect from Volvo, no stone has been left unturned in the search for pioneering safety technology and the list of features built into the V70 is world class.

So the V70 looks great with its smart alloys and tinted windows, boasts exceptional comfort and performance credentials and is a safe as it gets.

The test model was priced at £34,500 (£37,650 with the optional extras) which is not cheap. But what price can you put on protecting your family?

Test Drive

Volvo V70 D3 R-Design

Long gone are the days when Volvo’s estate styled vehicles resembled the back end of a box. Nowadays, there’s sleek streamlining, eye-catching elegant curves and a ready-for-action appearance that simply has to be explored.

The latest V70 can still carry all your worldly goods with ease, but there is a certain classy feel to it that many other “longer” vehicles lack.

Snazzy alloys, dual chrome-plated sports tailpipes, colour-coordinated mouldings and a tailgate spoiler are just a few of the design features that grab your attention from the off.

And once inside, the R-Design model supplied for my test drive was packed to bursting with quality features, and the comfort levels can only be described as superb.

The cream and off-black leather seats are as relaxing as your favourite armchair and the quantity and quality of creature comforts are class-leading.

Such thought has gone into the technology that back seat passengers can even listen to their own music separate from front seat occupants.

Then, there’s the multi-function steering wheel – leather of course – and features such as cruise control, automatic wipers and a great climate control system.

There is a lovely feel to the V70 and I think that is partly down to the quality of build and partly down to the almost simplistic interior design. There is a neat silver trim throughout that contrasts perfectly with the black dashboard and the gear stick has a bold silver surround too.

The dials, controls and read-outs all seem to be ideally positioned for ease of use and clarity which leaves the driver to concentrate on the road ahead rather than messing with fiddly buttons.

Another great plus factor of the V70 is its great economy. The manual D3 model tested out boasted combined fuel economy figures of 51.4mpg but that didn’t detract from the powerful 2.0-litre diesel-driven engine.

In busy traffic, the V70 proved deceptively agile, although the turning distance rather reflects its size. However, the great all-round visibility made parking simple and the addition of sensors makes it near perfect!

Then, on faster roads the V70 glided through the traffic. All the bumps and dips on today’s road network were easily absorbed and the cabin noise remained very quiet even at higher speeds.

Needless to say, storage in the V70 is plentiful. The boot appears to go on forever and there are numerous other compartments too, such as the large glove box and a generously-sized central box.

As one might expect, Volvo has crammed plenty of top notch safety features into the V70 including anti-lock brakes, traction control, numerous airbags, reinforced laminated glass, side impact protection and loads more.

All in all, the V70 boasts all the carrying ability of a larger-than-life estate vehicle but somehow blends in the finesse and charm of a family saloon.