The all-new
2008 Volvo XC70 demonstrates both the appeal and the value of so-called crossover vehicles, which the original XC helped popularize starting in 1996. This third-generation XC70 is the best yet, but its basic character hasn't changed much, and its appeal can be distilled into one thought. There may be no better compromise between what people want in a true, truck-based sport-utility vehicle and what they need for daily transportation.
The XC70 offers moderate off-pavement capability and superb gravel road handling. Yet it's also smooth, quiet and comfortable on the highway, and more maneuverable than nearly any truck you can buy. It provides good passenger-cargo flexibility and more cargo volume than some mid-sized SUVs, but its exterior dimensions are relatively compact, and it's easy to park. It can tow a camper, a fishing boat or a couple of snowmobiles, but it gets decent real world gas mileage.
The 2008 XC70 is the first with a six-cylinder engine, rather than Volvo's familiar five-cylinders. Its 3.2-liter inline 6 was first used in the 2007 S80 sedan, and it generates 235 horsepower at 6200 rpm, with 236 pound-feet of torque at 3200 rpm. That's an upgrade of 27 horsepower, compared to the most powerful engine in the 2007 XC70, and the new engine uses the latest in control and materials technology, including emissions-reducing variable valve timing. It's matched to a standard six-speed automatic transmission, with one more gear than the previous model, to improve both response and fuel economy. This transverse (or sideways) mounted engine is also very compact, which helps explain why the 2008 XC70 is nearly a foot shorter than the previous model, yet offers more interior space.
Volvo's new six reminds us why we like inline six-cylinder engines, or straight sixes as they're known. The just seem to power-up faster than more common V6s, spinning more freely and smoothly as they go. In a vehicle of the XC70's heft (4092 pounds), Volvo's 3.2 doesn't qualify as a screamer, but it delivers acceleration-producing torque in smooth, linear fashion and breathes well at high rpm, which means it doesn't gasp or get rough if you run it near the redline. From a stop or for passing at higher speeds, the XC70 accelerates better than adequately, and the eager quality of its engine might make you actually want to shift the six-speed automatic manually as you go about your business.
No need to do so, however. Volvo's Geartronic transmission is probably its best automatic so far. It seems to shift in all the right places, and whether it's up a gear or down, those shifts are smooth, tight and relatively quick. The Geartronic manual feature can be enjoyable nonetheless, should the driver choose to get more involved. There are no paddle shifters behind the steering wheel, as many cars now feature (that's where Volvo put controls for its navigation system), but there's a manual slot for the shift lever left of the normal gear-selection path. The up-down gear change action has a smooth, quality feel, and the transmission won't insult the driver by shifting up on its own if the revs get to high.
The XC70 doesn't get tiresome around town or on the open road, as some conventional sport-utilities can. It rides comfortably and quite smoothly, and despite some fairly substantial suspension travel, it's not mushy. There's none of the stiffness or racket you'll find in some truck-based SUVs, either. The XC70 leans a bit in corners when driven aggressively, and pitches some between hard acceleration and hard braking.
The brakes are superior to most. They stop the vehicle right now, with Electronic Brake-force Distribution (EBD) to instantaneously transfer the most stopping power to the tires with the best grip. And Volvo has nearly eliminated the spongy feel that characterized its brake-pedal action for years. Braking distances are very, very long on unpaved surfaces, however, where controlled locking of the brakes is far more effective.
The all-wheel-drive system gives the XC70 handling stability in slippery conditions. It normally delivers 95 percent of the engine's power to the front wheels, so the XC70 behaves like a front-drive vehicle. But if the traction starts to degrade, as it might in snow, on dirt or on a rain-slick road, the AWD will send up to 60 percent of the power to the back wheels, balancing torque among the tires with the most friction underneath, and increasing the chances that the XC70 will continue controlled forward momentum.
The system works well, and seamlessly, in that few drivers will ever notice when the AWD shifts power between the wheels. It's a genuine safety advantage, in combination with Volvo's standard Dynamic Stability and Traction Control, or DSTC. This system uses various sensors to monitor the XC70's forward or lateral movement. If it detects a potentially dangerous sliding movement under any of the four tires, it automatically tries to correct the instability by braking one or more wheels or throttling back the engine.
Hurtling along 120 miles of logging roads in the unpaved wilderness of northwestern Montana showed off the stability, handling and ride of the XC70. The all-wheel drive made driving around corners easy and predictable on gravel, dirt, and mud as snow began to fall. The suspension had just the right amount of compliance to keep the tires to the trail yet gave the driver lots of control. Bumps in the middle of turns never upset the handling. More aggressive tires would improve on this further in these conditions.
Volvo's product planners say that active outdoors enthusiasts tend to buy the XC70 wagon, while Volvo's larger more SUV-looking XC90 is more popular among urbanites hauling groceries and kids around town. We're not sure why, but we're certain of this: The XC70's off-road enhancements are genuine.
This wagon has good suspension travel, and 8.2 inches of ground clearance (more than most so-called crossovers and a few truck-bases SUVs). With the all-new, shorter 2008 XC70, approach, break-over and departure angles have all been improved by about 10 percent. That means a bumper is less likely snag on something when traversing a deep rut or noising up a steep rise. The XC70's standard skid plates offer an element of protection for underbody components if it encounters fallen tree limbs or large rocks, and you won't find skid plates on a Lexus RX350, for example.
The Hill-Descent Control works great, managing the throttle and braking and minimizing slides on the way down fairly steep dirt surfaces. We experienced this in two locations: at a moderately challenging ATV park in Germany and on a much more challenging trail along some power lines in northwestern Montana. With HDC, the car is slowly lowered down a steep descent. All the driver has to do is steer. And that's the point: Without this system, it's easy to lock up the wheels and slide off the trail, which is never convenient. With all-wheel drive and Hill-Descent Control, the XC70 can traverse some truly primitive roads, limited only by ground clearance. We drove the previous-generation models down the Baja Peninsula in Mexico over some of the same rocky roads used in the Baja 1000 off-road race and up the icy haul road that runs along the Trans-Alaska Pipeline to Deadhorse, for thousands of grueling but trouble-free miles. And this new one is superior in every respect. next page