Test drive Volvo V70 2000 - 2004 station wagon
Country & Western
More recently, we tested the new Volvo V70 station wagon and were very pleased with them. It's time to present an all -wheel drive version of this car, which has its own name - Cross Country. However, the same was called the same modification of the predecessor V70. Volvo statements about the intention to release an off -road version of the V70 station wagon at one time were met by potential buyers with some skepticism (we are talking about the first generation of CROSS Country, which appeared in 1997 - see Motor No. 4, 1999). But the time and results of sales showed the correctness of the marketing course of the company, so it is quite logical that the release of the V70 model was very quickly followed by the release of its version V70 XC - Cross Country.
Outwardly, the Volvo V70 XC is, in general, the V70 already familiar to us, the body of which itself is quite original. However, if the exterior of the first generation of the SUV almost did not differ from the road version, then in the second generation the changes are more noticeable - the customers wanted the type of machine to emphasize its off -road opportunities, and the company would meet them.
Large bumpers are visually connected by panels in the lower part of the body's sidewalls and the tutorial arcs of the wheel arches - it is formed as if a continuous circuit along the perimeter of the car. The massive radiator cladding is a single whole with a front bumper. All this protective body kit is made of dark plastic painted in the mass, on which abstracts and scratches received on the off -road. In addition, the dark color emphasizes the high landing of the machine.
The chassis was redone according to recipes already familiar by the first generation of the car - lengthened by the wheelbase, expanded the front track, increased the road clearance. Cross Country clearance is 208 mm. For comparison: Land Rover Discovery - 210 mm. (They say that the Volvo designers considered the suspension option with a changing road clearance to improve running qualities on the highway, but we thought that we can limit ourselves to increasing the ruts and wheeled base.) We will not forget the special Pirelli Scorpion S/T dimensions of 215/65 R16, and A full -wheel drive transmission.
The transmission with a viscous coupling completely passed from the first generation of the V70 XC, but in a lightweight version, so the all -wheel drive version weighs only five kilograms more than the V70 station wagon.
A single engine is provided for the car. This is a five -cylinder motor with a volume of 2.4 liters with a low -pressure turbocharged, developing power of 197 hp. The characteristic of the torque has an interesting and useful feature - the curve has a shelf from 1800 to 5000 rpm, which promises a good elasticity of the engine. Cross Country can be equipped with three five -speed transmission - one mechanical and two machine guns. The first machine is an ordinary adaptive, the second is with the ability to choose a manually transmission, GearTronic. This is exactly what costs our Cross Country.
The car has a Tracks system, braking the slinging wheels to redistribute the torque on the blocked or having the best clutch on the road - to drive the car in motion, it is only enough for one solid wheel. The front suspension is Macpherson with a hard triangular lever, the back is a long -flowing multi -line independent Multi -Link. In the brake system, the electronic distribution of brake force between the front and rear wheels EBD (Electronic Brake Distribution) was used.
The salon is distinguished by quality and restrained luxury (as, however, the V70 salon). It was complemented with several stylish little things, for example, a large prostrate appeared on leather seats and the same inserts on the inner door panels. The original handrail between the front seats is striking.
In the second row, everything is still, quite comfortable, except that in a couple a tall driver is a high rear passenger, the latter will probably experience some inconvenience in the knees. The rear seat is folded in three parts in a ratio of 40/20/40. The narrow central part is removed, and in this way the place is exempted, for example, for a car refrigerator. The Cross Country trunk can be separated from the passenger compartment with a grate, which is folded under the ceiling ...
I occupy the driver’s chair. It is equipped with mechanical adjustments that provide convenient landing. The setting of the seat in height and the angle of inclination assembled was required. At the base of the pillow there are two handles, releasing each of them, you can put the seat in the right way with your weight, but for this you have to practice a little in balancing. The rest of the driver’s workplace is like the original V70.
The steering column is not regulated, but this is not necessary, since its position is optimal. The transmission lever is no less conveniently located - it is pleasant to deal with it in automatic and manual mode. In the latter case, the lever from position D (the lowest) must be translated to the left and then move longly: forward - for switching to higher gears and backward - to go to the lower ones. Simple and logical. Duplicate control buttons of factory audio installations and cruise control are carried out on the steering wheel. After a series of acrobatic exercises in the seat, I bring it to the view I need. Thanks to an increased clearance, visibility is even better than in the usual V70. In addition, it is always nice to take a high position in the traffic flow, in any case, the drivers of simple cars sit lower.
The engine working at idle is almost not heard. The cabin has excellent sound insulation, no harmful sounds penetrate outside. The engine reluctantly responds to the game an accelerator at idle - the presence of a turbocharged, although it is low pressure, affects. The gas pedal turned out to be so easy that at first there were even doubts about its informativeness and sensitivity, but the further development of events dispelled them.
Touching. First - automatic mode. The car marks noticeably in the dynamics of the V70 familiar to us. There is almost nothing left of the previous thoughtfulness: Volvo, are you? Cross Country demonstrates almost sports enthusiasm, and if he corresponds to the mood of the driver, you can go quite dynamically. In addition, to his services - manual gear shift with a very clear algorithm of work.
Rubber with a pronounced tread pattern behaves perfectly on the asphalt, without creating excessive noise. The suspension is noticeably tougher compared to the usual V70, the rollerness and slowness in corners disappeared - despite the fact that the car has grown, and the height of the center of gravity increased. Cross Country is much more interesting in driving - active steering, high -speed rebuilding and turning through the turns of the vitales are pleasure. It turned out here that the gas pedal allows you to perfectly dose the torque. All this is quite unexpected for serial Volvo. Cross Country does not fit into the prevailing stereotype, according to which a car with a diagonal line on the radiator lining is nothing more than a solid family vehicle.
The machine is excellent in the bend, demonstrating neutral rotation and a decent supply of wheels with the road in the lateral direction. There are no complaints about the brakes either - the slowdown is confident and well predicted, with a slight effort on the pedals. Riding on solid ground only confirmed that Volvo specialists did a good job on Cross Country. The suspension was checked at the bumps perfectly - neither breakdowns, nor strong shocks or strokes in the body. By the way, the suspension would be even tougher if the car was not intended for the American - the main market for Volvo - the market.
Rubber and here behaved well done, demonstrating good tenacity in corners. It seems that the car does not care where to drive, so successfully selected for Cross Country Tires - having developed primers, they will not let you down on soft soil or in mud ...
The Volvo V70 Cross Country deserves the title of car for the driver and at the same time has a number of valuable consumer properties, which always differed in the models of this brand. A good highway, on which you can safely leave the hard coating, without especially thinking about the dangers that await an ordinary car a few meters from the asphalt.
Text: Fedor small
Source: Motor magazine [No. 11/2000]
