Volvo makes one of those beautiful, elegant SUVs that you see driving along, happily, without a care in the world. It isn’t getting hell from the environmentalists like a Hummer would, and it isn’t anemic and underpowered like a Hyundai or other small SUV. Finally, it’s not “fancy” like a BMW X5 or an Mercedes-Benz R Class. It’s just right in that sweet zone, where all of its attention seems to be positive, and nobody really has anything but praise for it. Even in road tests it just keeps getting the thumbs up from those that review it.
And that’s pretty much exactly what driving it is like. People aren’t staring at you with a glare as you roll past in a mighty dominator, they smile and wave, and let you into traffic. You, in return, smile back as you turn up the radio from the steering wheel mounted controls. You use the extremely well designed dash controls to dial in that perfect temperature, and swing past slower motorists in the fast lane with a swiftness that would keep your grandmother from guessing you were driving faster than you should. The pedal is ready to take you into ‘ticket-land’, but it’ll do it so gently that you have to watch that creeping speedometer or you’ll be explaining to the officer how it’s really not your fault that Volvo makes such a smooth ride.
A friend of mine and automotive appraiser, Dave Kinney, is recreating the Texarkana -> Atlanta run in a vintage 1979 Trans Am. His trek starts later today, and he’ll be journaling his travels over at the Cars That Matter site. Should be a great time, and great stories to come. Keep an eye for the updates as the story progresses.
