Automotive Reviews
Posts tagged Volvo
2011 Volvo S60
Jun 3rd
A sexy, ultra-modern sedan showed up in the driveway, painted a handsome metallic burnt-orange and looking like it had been driven out of a science-fiction movie set four or five years in the future. Without any overt performance styling tropes like massive fender flares or spoilers, the car communicated a quiet sense of capability that was backed up by the familiar circle-and-arrow logo in the grille. Remember when Volvos were boxy, forgettable cars?
Volvo’s S60 gets a style update for 2011, as well as a horsepower boost and a bunch of new technology. Though the tweaks are subtle, they’re telling ones, and this capable European luxury sedan is suddenly looking like a show car come to life. More >
2006 Volvo V50 AWD
Oct 23rd
Watch your back, Audi. There’s another all-wheel drive station wagon that combines European styling and luxury with entertaining performance at a price most mortals can afford. The all-new Volvo V50 AWD may be the first serious challenger that the Audi A4 Avant has ever had. BMW’s 3-Series wagon is available with all-wheel drive and has the European sport-wagon thing down, but it costs too much. Subaru’s all-wheel drive wagons aren’t quite luxurious enough to compete, even in upscale L.L. Bean trim.
But let’s not talk about the also-rans. The newest, smallest Volvo wagon is a serious contender, with spirited performance, over sixty cubic feet of cargo space and the stability of all-wheel drive. We’ve driven it in the dry, in the wet, in the snow and even on a race track plowed into the ice of a frozen lake in Quebec. There seems to be no weather condition short of a tornado or hurricane that will significantly upset the V50. More >
2005 Volvo XC90 V8
Oct 21st
What? A Volvo with a V8 that wasn’t installed by Maine’s Converse Engineering? Never mind, it’s a Volvo-guy thing. What’s important is that Volvo’s XC90 SUV needed some additional snort, compared to the rest of its class, and now it’s got it. And just like the XC90 itself, which is a luxury SUV with surprising off-road ability, the V8 engine is a large and powerful engine with surprisingly “green” tendencies.
It doesn’t look like it, but it’s actually big news. For 2005, the XC90 is equipped with a 4.4 liter V8, Volvo’s first-ever V8 engine. The new engine addresses the XC90′s horsepower and torque problems, with 311 horsepower. It’s also one of the first in the industry to achieve ULEV emissions ratings. To fit under the XC90′s short hood, the V8 was installed transversely–that is, it’s perpendicular to the car, rather than the usual front-to-back arrangement found in most SUVs. The alternator and other ancillaries are mounted directly to the engine, eliminating the need for brackets. Aluminum construction is used to keep the engine weight down, so the XC90 isn’t nose-heavy. It’s also a narrow-angle V8, to keep the external dimensions as small as possible. The 17/21 fuel economy is respectable as well, especially considering the horsepower on tap. For development work, Volvo tapped the master engine builders at Yamaha, and the partnership seems to have paid off. More >