04 Mar 05
Still, few similarly-themed speedy estates manage to combine performance of this kind with such room; a Subaru Impreza Turbo wagon may be cheaper, but it's much smaller, the four-wheel drive Skoda Octavia estates or incredibly cavernous Honda Accord Sport Tourers can't match it for power, and Mitsubishi's wonderful Galant VR4 is long out of production. Apart from the aforementioned posh hatchbacks, only the higher-powered - and more expensive - C-Class, A4 Avant or X-Type 3.0 V6 estates are in a similar league, though the upcoming Saab 9-3 SportWagon could run it close.
Like most Volvos, it has superbly comfortable, supportive armchair-like seats, excellent cabin layout, and a monochrome, minimalist interior design which is distinctively Scandinavian: plain and simple without being stark or unhomely. A few unique-to-Volvo touches include the 'floating' centre console with translucent trim panels and thin central instrument stack. It's all beautifully put together and well thought-out, and of course, the car's safety credentials are impeccable too, with side and full-length curtain airbags, five three-point seatbelts and headrests which automatically deploy to prevent whiplash injuries, as well as the rigid but impact-absorbing exterior structure.
