Edmunds CarPool

Character is vitally important to a car-buying purchase. It can come in the form of aesthetics: styling, interesting colors, mood lighting or quirky features. Then there's character in the form of driving: the sound of an engine, the power delivery of that engine or the way a car handles. Sometimes, you can prefer having no character at all, hence a Corolla purchase.

Character is obviously an unquantifiable X factor, but for younger car buyers, it's becoming increasingly important. Just look at many of the inexpensive vehicles being introduced nowadays, especially those just north of $20,000. Mini is the obvious culprit, but then there is a largely forgotten entry: the Volvo C30.

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Categories: Test Car Notes, Volvo

This is going to sound bad after yesterday's topic, but I think I'd suggest a larger CUV over this 2008 Volvo V70.

Now hear me out. First, the fuel mileage on this crate isn't all that impressive at 16/24 mpg. By comparison, a 2008 Mazda CX-9 with front-wheel drive scores 16/22 while being superior to the V70 in just about every measurement. The Mazda is quicker (no turbo for the V70 this year), handles considerably better, offers greater interior space, seats two additional passengers, tows more and has higher ground clearance (yeah, those last two items are more theoretical than practical for most potential buyers). The CX-9 also has a price advantage that nicely offsets the V70's 2 mpg advantage on the highway.

The V70 still has the upper hand in terms of standard and optional safety equipment (active front head restraints, integrated child booster seats, childproof door locks, collision warning system, lane departure warning system, etc.). The V70 also has excellent front seat comfort. But in our test car the flaccid throttle response and floppy handling seemed excessive, even for a Volvo station wagon.

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Categories: Mazda, Volvo

Well, it's official. Ford is keeping Volvo. As the one division in the PAG that's shown any sign of life (and profit) over the past five years, this decision makes sense. But, as I noted recently in my 2007 Auto Sales post, Volvo is down nearly 10 percent for the year, and it seems there's been a stagnation in their product line-up. Yeah, the new C30 is exciting, but I don't see it causing a sea change in sales. And while the redesigned V70 should keep that model competitive, I sense the need for a philsophical shift in the design of Volvo vehicles.

What say you? What would you do if you held Volvo's future in your hands? I've got my plan.

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Categories: Talk Back Tuesday, Volvo

This 2008 Volvo C30 would make a helluva Ford Focus. Of course it rides on Ford's C1 platform, the same one underpinning the European Focus -- the same one we should have here by now, but don't. There's no way this car will convert Mini Cooper fans, as Volvo suggests, and I'm not sure I see many urban males going after it either (another claim by Volvo). After all, it's still a Volvo with a hatchback, and neither factor suggests a stampede of G4 viewers.

However, its combination of power (turbocharged 2.5-liter with 227 hp) and tossable (if not outright sporty) handling make it the most fun you can have in a Volvo short of testing the crumple zones. Our recent road test of the C30 had it pulling zero-to-60 in 6.6 seconds, so it's not slow. And a slalom time of 69.1 mph jibes with our impression of the car being more than capable for most drivers. But at 3,200 pounds it ain't light, so once again I don't see Mini Cooper or Civic Si buyers lining up for this one.

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Categories: Ford, Volvo

Here's the follow-up to our look at Europe's future product as predicted by Automotive News. Yesterday we hit Alfa Romeo through Maybach, so today we'll start with Mercedes-Benz.

Mercedes-Benz: Lots of activity for 2008, most of which we've already seen (SLR Roadster, S65, all-new C-Class, etc.). Next year we get the C63 (457hp), a CLK convertible, an E-Class update, an SLK restyle and an SL freshen. In 2009 we get a CLS freshen, an AMG E-Class, an S-Class convertible and -- believe it or not -- a small crossover called the GLK.

Mini: The Clubman just debuted in Frankfurt, and we'll see how the small-car brands fares with a larger model. The new John Cooper Works model looks cool (and makes 207 horsepower while weighing 66 pounds less) and the convertible gets a full redesign, to catch up with the coupe, for 2009.

Porsche: Both the Boxster and the Cayman get freshened next year, while the titanic 911 GT2 debuts with 530 turbo-charged horsepower. A full redesign of the Cayenne happens in 2009, while Porsche's first sedan, the Panamera, hits town in 2010 (and yes, the company will still have a "soul" -- along with a stronger bottom line).

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Categories: Auto Shows, Future Vehicles, MINI, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Saab, Smart Car, Volkswagen, Volvo

The Volvo S80 is one of those cars I have a tough time figuring out. On the one hand it's perhaps the most technically advanced sedan on the market, at least in terms of overt -- no, make that glaring -- safety features. Seriously, the collision warning system uses a row of glaring red LEDs, along with a wailing alarm, to hit you over the head with "You're about to crash!" every time you get within five feet of another vehicle. The first time I set it off I was braking hard after a slow-moving truck pulled into my lane. Okay fine, but the second time I set it off I was sliding through a hole in traffic between two other vehicles on PCH. The third time (and every time afterward) I just ignored it. Apparently Volvo's engineers never heard the rule my friend told me when I moved to L.A. 12 years ago. "Remember Karl, in L.A., if your car will fit there you can put it there. It has to fit -- but if it does, you're good." Then there's the blind spot indicator (I got pretty good at ignoring that item, too) and a full battery of airbags at the ready.

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Categories: Safety Systems, Volvo

Crossovers certainly garner more headlines these days, but while those tall station wagons have been enjoying the spotlight another segment has undergone its own transformation. Not so long ago the retractable hardtop on the Mercedes-Benz SLK afforded it major bragging rights. Now there's a BMW, Chrysler, Mazda, Pontiac, Volkswagen and Volvo sporting this technology -- and all of them cost less than the SLK. Pretty soon soft-top convertibles will be like four-speed automatics -- they'll still exist...but you won't know why.

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Categories: Volvo

The Volvo XC90 has occupied an honored position in my view of the automotive landscape for the past few years. Since it debuted in 2003 I've felt it's the car I'd most like my family to get into an accident in while driving. No, I don't want my family to have an automobile accident, but if I knew they were about to, and I could pick the vehicle they'd be in, this is it. It's low enough to probably not roll over (unlike too many large SUVs), and it has a high-strength roof that should prove unbendable if it somehow does. Yup, the XC90 has long been my first choice for accident survival.

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Categories: Safety Systems, Volvo

I just drove the "Saab" 9-7X. So the obvious question is: Why would Saab slap their badge on a Chevy Trailblazer and try to pass it off as one of their own? The supposed answer is: Without taking such action there would be no Saab.

The argument has some merit -- just look at Jaguar. They've never come out with any sort of SUV (heck, they didn't even want to bring their X-Type wagon to the U.S. -- not that it saved them when they finally did) and I think the leaping cat's current financial predicament is clearly related to the lack of "SUVinating" Jaguar. But there is a theoretical upside, that being a lack of any Jaguar-badged SUVs. Confused yet?

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Categories: BMW, Chevrolet, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Saab, Volvo