If Volvo keeps cranking out beautifully sculpted cars like the C70 convertible, its reputation as a provider of frumpy but safe sedans is going to be in serious jeopardy.  Our lovely Swedish test car was mistaken for a BMW or an Audi on more than one occasion during its stay with us.

The C70 was introduced in 1996, and was a surprising addition to the lineup, coming as it did from a brand better known for bank vaults on wheels.  The C70 has kept the same basic design since then, and …

At speeds below 10mph, the XC60 will come to a stop before impact. It’s a spooky way to keep you and your passengers safe; the XC60 simply stops itself.

It’s surprising that of Volvo’s current, curvy lineup of fashionable cars, the compact S40 is perhaps the nearest to emulating the Swedish manufacturer’s tradition of dependable yet stodgy cars.  Although the little sedan and its V40 station wagon sibling put Volvo’s name into a class that it has not (in the US anyway) competed in for very long, it’s very much the wallflower of the bunch when compared to the competition from Volkswagen, Nissan and Audi.

That’s not a bad thing, though.  For shoppers who don’t want to get into the …

Storming along the high banks of the Las Vegas Motor Speedway at almost 130 miles per hour, we knocked off a quick heel-toe downshift for the upcoming turn, dove into the left-hander without a hint of brakes, trusting the capable chassis to keep us on the pavement, and realized that no one would ever believe we were talking about a Volvo.

No one except the Volvo faithful, of course.  Hard-core fans of the “Swedish bricks” remember the screaming yellow T-5R wagons of 1996, and the audacious performance which it brought to …

Soccer moms of America:  Volvo wants you back.
Back in the ’80s, Volvo’s 240 and 740 wagons were the vehicles to have among the nation’s suburban kid-shuttlers.  The sturdy, dependable wagons combined just the right levels of safety, versatility, and European snob value to be the perfect Yuppie complement to the BMW coupe or sedans they frequently shared driveway space with.  A decade later the ubiquitous Volvo wagon was unceremoniously rousted from its comfortable position by the minivan, which subsequently gave up the mom-taxi business to the SUV.  And now, maybe …

I know you’re skeptical.  So was I, and I’ve owned a Volvo or three.  But don’t worry.  Volvo hasn’t lost its head over the SUV craze.  The vehicle you see before you may appear to be a flying leap onto an overcrowded bandwagon, but this all-new Swedish sport-ute is every screw and rivet a Volvo, too.

The 2003 Volvo XC90 shares structure with the S80 and S60 sedans.  You might think it’s Volvo’s first light-duty truck, but the Swedish manufacturer produced a military staff car in the 1950s called the TP21 …

Here’s proof that racing improves the breed, when it comes to automobiles.  Not many Americans know it, but Volvo went racing back in the early Nineties.  It wasn’t the first time the Swedish cars had competed in motorsport, but the boxy Volvo 850 station wagons that took part in the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) that year were all but laughed off the track.  But the Swedes stuck in there, rubbing fenders with BMW, Alfa Romeo, and Audi.  And over the years, Volvos started to lose their corners, becoming swoopier …

What’s this?  A car has shown up on our doorstep, with a familiar Volvo badge and grill, yet nary a right angle to be found anywhere.  And why is it so small?  Is this really a Volvo, or some sort of corporate trick?

Relax; it’s just the 2000 Volvo S40.  And before you accuse Ford of homogenizing Volvo with rebadged Contours and sullying the recently taken over Swedish make’s heritage, rest assured that the S40 and its wagon sibling the V40 predate the Ford Motor Company’s takeover.  The smaller Volvo has …

Only one thing can save us from complete domination by hordes of sport-utility vehicles:  a four-wheel drive station wagon can do all of the same things asked of by the average suburban SUV, but in a more efficient, better handling, less expensive package.

Enter the Volvo V70 Cross Country.  Tough SUV looks, a raised suspension, off-road sensibility and capability enough to tackle anything that Ted the poser will want to do with his Mountaineer, surely? But what’s this?  The Cross Country gets seventeen miles per gallon, and only costs, er, a …

The 2001 Volvo V70 T5 was in for a rough test the moment it arrived.  Why?  Were we hard, uncaring drivers?  Did we force it to haul six hundred pounds of manure and a grand piano?  Heaven forbid–schoolchildren?

None of the above.  The V70’s test was tougher than most simply because of the 1988 Volvo 740GLE wagon it was sharing driveway space with all week–the writer’s much-loved personal car.
Like loyal Saab and Subaru owners, Volvo people tend to be proud of their cars’ merits, tolerant of their shortcomings and quirks–and very, …