Specifications prices Modifications and Image 2012 Volvo XC70The Volvo XC70 is an impressively versatile wagon. It's smooth, stable, secure, fast and very comfortable on the open highway. Most come with all-wheel drive, which makes the XC70 a good choice for foul weather, be it torrential rain, deep snow or glare ice.
But it's on primitive roads where the Volvo XC70 shines. It handles gravel and dirt roads very well, with stable, predictable handling and excellent traction. Indeed, it can dispense with unpaved roads quickly and ably. The XC70 is engineered for serious gear hauling rather than posing at the mall. And of course it's equipped with all the active and passive safety features that form Volvo's well-deserved reputation for safety engineering.
For 2011, XC70 gets a horsepower boost in both engines. The 2011 Volvo XC70 3.2-liter inline-6 gains 5 horsepower to 240 hp, and the 2011 Volvo XC70 T6 gets a 19-hp boost to 300 hp from its 3.0-liter turbocharged inline-6. The turbocharged T6 engine was named one of Ward's Ten Best engines for 2011, a prestigious award. It's the first Volvo engine to ever win.
For 2011, Volvo XC70 3.2 is available with front-wheel drive for the first time. That should appeal to flatlanders in warm weather, for example Texans and Floridians, although it seems a shame to pass on the all-wheel drive.
For 2011, Sirius satellite radio become standard equipment and comfort and convenience packages have been upgraded. 2011 also brings some amazing price drops, by nearly $4,000 for the 3.2 and more than $6,000 for the T6. All-wheel drive comes standard in those models. The XC70 3.2 comes with a powerful inline-6 rated at 240 horsepower and 236 pound-feet of torque. The high-performance XC70 T6 boosts the power to 300 turbocharged horsepower and 325 pound-feet of torque, the latter an increase of 30 lb-ft for 2011. Its maximum cargo capacity of 72.1 cubic feet is on par with mid-size SUVs, and slightly better than the Subaru Outback's 71.3 cubic feet. The seating arrangement is flexible and the cargo compartment has tie-downs and other useful accessories. With the rear seats folded, the XC70's flat floor and low lift-over height make loading bulky cargo easier than with many SUVs. It's rated to tow up to 3,300 pounds, enough for a small boat or camper or a couple of snowmobiles.
The XC70 is prepared for serious travel in unpaved areas. It comes with full-time all-wheel drive, and its suspension is raised to increase both movement range and ground clearance. Dent-resistant lower body cladding and protective skid plates underneath protect it from damage. Standard Hill Descent Control makes ascending steep, slippery trails easier and safer.
We found the handling of the Volvo XC70 on primitive logging roads to be excellent. This would be a good car to drive to the top of Alaska in the middle of the winter. We know, we've done it. More recently, we drove an XC70 over 120 miles of logging roads in the unpaved wilderness of northwestern Montana. The all-wheel drive made driving around corners easy and predictable on gravel, dirt, mud, and snow. The suspension had just the right amount of compliance to keep the tires on the trail yet gave the driver lots of control. Bumps in the middle of turns never upset the handling. The car was comfortable, whether creeping along over rugged trails or hurtling down an unpaved road at rally speeds.
On paved roads, the XC70 is stable and comfortable. It isn't as sporty as the pavement-oriented Volvo V70 wagon, but the XC70 makes a good grand touring car and great daily transportation. It rides smoothly and doesn't float or lean excessively through the curves, and it should deliver better real-world gas mileage than most mid- and full-size truck-based SUVs. We think it's the most compelling car in the Volvo lineup.
Inside is one of Volvo's best interiors: Scandinavian in style and elegantly understated. It's easy to master its multitude of controls, and it's simpler and more efficient than many of its European luxury competitors.
INTERIORThe Volvo XC70 cabin is understated, but elegant and nicely polished. Materials and overall finish are high grade. The XC70 interior uses design themes and components from the S80 luxury sedan.
The leather upholstery is smooth and stretched tautly over the front seats, and the seats themselves are excellent. It's hard to find a better mix of comfort and support for typical driving. Visibility outward is good, forward and aft. The rear-most side windows are imbedded with their own electrical grid for defrosting.
The XC70 driver sits before a fat, leather-wrapped steering wheel, looking at big, crisp gauges with bright-white backlighting and number gradients that are easy for the brain to absorb.
The standard trim is called dark fineline. Order the Premium Package and this is replaced with what Volvo calls modern wood, while the T6 is trimmed in classic wood.
The center stack is a thin panel, no more than two inches thick, with open space behind it. Most controls are placed here, with audio above climate and a display at the top, arranged in a neat, symmetrical pattern. The primary knobs are big and raised substantially from the surface, and the airflow controls are fashioned in an icon shaped like a seated person, so there's absolutely no confusion about directing air toward the face, feet or windshield. It's all clean and pleasing. Most significantly, measured by function and simplicity of operation, the XC70's various controls are better than most other luxury brands, particularly German brands.
The navigation system is well worth the price of the Multimedia Package. The screen pops up vertically from the center of the dash, though it's canted forward at a strange angle. The driver surfs through menus and makes choices with buttons on the back of the steering wheel spokes, almost where you'd expect paddle shifters for an automatic transmission. We think it's better than many other systems. The menus are no more difficult to learn, and they're managed without taking hands from the steering wheel and fishing for the controls. Passengers can control the system with a remote. The system was improved for 2010 with more user-friendly icons and more distinctive menus. For 2011, a rearview camera was added to this package.
Cubby storage is decent, better than other Volvo models. The center console and glovebox hold quite a bit of stuff. The pockets behind the front seatbacks are handy and the cupholders work well.
The rear seat is not the roomiest, given the apparent size of the vehicle it's in. We wouldn't recommend it to six-footers for a cross-country trip. There's enough room that someone 5-feet, 9 inches won't get claustrophobic or cramped riding in the back of the XC70 across town, however. And we think it would be fine for families until the kids are well into their teens. With the stereo upgrade, there are redundant audio controls and headphone jacks for rear passengers.
The cargo area is one of the XC70's strengths. The back seat folds easily, 40/20/40, so the center section can work like a pass-through for skis or hockey sticks. With a maximum cargo capacity of 72.1 cubic feet, the XC70 compares favorably with the larger, heavier Mercedes M-Class (72.4 cubic feet) and BMW X5 (75.2).
The cargo floor is perfectly flat with all the seats folded down, providing a smooth, friendly area for cargo as well as dogs or even people: One or two people could sleep comfortably back there. We tested this. It's a useful feature for camping or for stopping for a nap on long road trips, a potentially important feature not found on many vehicles. A perfectly flat cargo floor can be critically important for some owners so be sure to check this on any wagon or SUV on your shopping list.
A fold-flat front-passenger seat is a valuable feature that should not be underestimated. The XC70 has such a seat and the fold-flat design does not seem to diminish seating comfort. The seatback can be folded forward to the same level as the folded rear seat and cargo floor. This allows the XC70 to carry long narrow items such as ladders, fly rods, two-by-fours securely inside, or maybe a kayak. Under the load floor is a lockable, shallow storage area, no more than six inches deep.
The cargo floor itself features aluminum rails with movable anchorage points for securing loads. The anchors can be tucked down into the rails when not used, to keep the floor perfectly smooth, and there are more anchorage points in the side panels. Accessories are available to secure your cargo: hooks, nets, space dividers, and a cargo cover. A steel cargo barrier is available that flips down from the ceiling behind the back seats and a safety net that pulls from behind the back seats; marketed as protection from flying cargo, they could also help corral pets, though a harness is still recommended. Or favorite is a drawer, a sliding floor that locks into the rails and pulls out beyond the bumper for easier loading. It will easily support 50 pounds. One disadvantage of the XC70 compared to the typical SUV is a lower ceiling; an SUV will accommodate taller items, or items in an upright position. In practice, we've seldom found this an issue but it does occur. The XC70 has a lower liftover height than most SUVs do, which makes it easier to load cargo, lower height for dogs jumping in and especially out.
The seats are designed to help reduce whiplash injuries. During a rear-end impact, the WHIPS seatbacks move rearward to reduce acceleration forces on the occupant's back and neck, while the headrest pushes forward and upward slightly to meet the neck and head as they are thrust backward. Power rear headrests are available.
EXTERIORThe front of the XC70 features a grille that looks similar to the one on Volvo's XC90 crossover. The nose of the wagon is distinguished by bright fog-light surrounds and dark bumper cladding. The wagon's cladding extends around the lower edge of the XC70's sides and back to the rear bumper, where the XC70 has a flat-black treatment. Ground clearance is 8.3 inches. Exterior features include:
- Available 16-, 17- or 18-inch alloy wheels
- Standard aluminum roof rails
- Standard power-operated and heated side mirrors with integrated turn signals
- Optional power liftgate
- Optional rain-sensing windshield wipers
- Optional bi-xenon high-intensity-discharge headlights with swiveling lenses
ENGINE
The 3.2 and T6 models use different engines: a 3.2-liter inline-six-cylinder for the former and a turbocharged 3.0-liter six-cylinder for the latter. The T6 includes hill descent control, which is designed to keep the XC70's speed at 6 mph when traversing challenging terrain. Mechanical features include:
- 240-horsepower, 3.2-liter six-cylinder with 236 pounds-feet of torque (3.2)
- 300-hp, turbocharged 3.0-liter six-cylinder with 325 pounds-feet of torque (T6)
- Six-speed automatic transmission with clutchless-manual mode
Summary
The Volvo XC70 is an excellent choice for outdoor adventurers. It offers genuine off-pavement capability and it's very good on unpaved roads. It has lots of room for gear and the cargo compartment is perfectly flat. It offers many advantages over truck-based SUVs, including better fuel economy, better handling, better ride. Yet it's quiet, maneuverable and pleasant for the sort of driving most of us do most of the time.
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