Test drive Volvo V70 2000 - 2004 station wagon

Swedish wall

Both professionals and amateurs use this simple sports device. Both that and the other will like another Swedish shell - Volvo V70 Cross Country.
Journalists saw the new Volvo V70 Cross Country in January in Detroit. It is clear - the American market is a priority for the company in the sale of these cars, it absorbs almost half of all all -wheel drive universals. Then there was another presentation - in Geneva in March, but only in the summer European journalists were admitted to the body.
Looking at the new car at the exhibition stand with the naked eye, it seemed that these were variations on the theme of the former station wagon V70 - a more courageous appearance and high road clearance. But after the working test in Sweden, it became clear that the Cross Country-2000 is not a variation, but an independent topic.
Warm -up. We recall the presentation of the Volvo V70 XC AWD in 1997. In Road-Book, an off-road plot was then marked, but at a briefing of journalists they warned that the new Volvo was not a jeep, and there was no need to kill it on the off-road. Off-Road turned out as a result with a dusty Spanish laneshole, rammed by Don Quixote and Sancho Pansi. Boring, girls ...
Three years have passed, and in Gothenborg we have been opening a map of a new route laid for the new Volvo Cross Country. Again we see an off -road plot, but no one loads us that Cross Country is just an all -wheel drive station wagon. Together with the abbreviation XC AWD, the fear of Volvo representatives before serious impassability disappeared. The evidence was the track itself, laid through the forest at a special auto policy and conditionally divided into two stages. The first is a snake through the forest through dirt, stones, sticking out the roots of trees with a finish in a rather deep puddle. The second is a series of steep lifts-scourges along the sandy forest road. It was even refused to ride especially nervous, confidently lit on Cross Country on the auto track.
Muscle swing. The new Cross Country uses actually the same full -wheel drive system as in the first -generation car. The torque is transmitted by default to the front wheels (about 95 percent of the power), however, if necessary, Wyskoft connects the rear axle to the engine. The distribution of power is not limited by anything - the torque can be transmitted only to the rear or only on the front wheels.
The Cross Country all -wheel drive is complemented by the Tracs traction control system operating on all four wheels. When it hits, for example, the right wheels on a slippery surface, they are slowed down, and the car is pushed forward with the left side.
The suspension stroke has been increased, some levers have significantly changed the shape. The spring racks were elongated to increase the road clearance. Moreover, the entire suspension shifted a centimeter back compared to the Volvo V70 station wagon. This is done so that large wheels are not crowded in the wheel arches. The use of such wheels led to another significant change - the track became 60 mm more.
Achieved by exercise. Let's go back to the SUV. We made the first circle slowly - we got acquainted with the terrain. On the second, they allowed themselves to fuck. The third-as if it were a test drive of an Suzuki vitara SUV type SUV. The sensations are unforgettable - both from the cross -country ability of the machine, and from its own coolness. By the way, there were only cars with the journalists with the journalists with an automatic gearbox such as GearTronic, but we did not translate it out of harmfulness to manual mode. It was interesting how the machine reacts to the rapidly changing conditions of off -road.
With deep dirt, Cross Country coped playfully. The car without slippers confidently held a given direction, and its movement practically did not have to adjust the steering wheel. It was enough to regulate the engine's traction with a gas pedal - here it is, the charm of a low pressure turbine, when a high torque is achieved at relatively low speeds.
We fly out sharply on the stones, and it becomes worse for everyone - the front suspension is noticeably piercing, and the passenger dangles through the cabin, like a flower in a hole. For a long stylish handle between the seats, to put it mildly, is inconvenient. One thing remains-to lose speed up to 10-15 km/h. We crawl with a turtle step to the puddle, noting along the way that torpedo is so reflected in the windshield that we are half a half on the forest path on the forest path.
The puddle and slopes of the ascends did not cause problems, although on a steep traverse-40 percent-the machine gun is clearly not enough. If we had dirt under the wheels, not sand, we could not climb up. But this is not Bach Seliger.
MARATHON. On the highway, Cross Country behaves the same way as his younger brother - the Volvo V70 station wagon (No.4, April 2000), although there are some differences.
The Cross Country is installed exclusively a 2.4-liter engine with a low-pressure turbine externally familiar in the previous model. However, he was subjected to large -scale improvements - the system of constantly altered intake/release phases (CVVT) was phased, an electronic control unit was re -prescribed, and all moving parts were reduced by 25 percent. As a result, fuel consumption, noise level and the release of harmful exhausts decreased, but the dynamics and softness of the work has significantly improved.
My colleague, who has been traveling with a mechanical checkpoint all my life, I really liked the new Volvo machine. Firstly, due to the rapprochement of the gear rates relative to the old Cross Country box, it accelerates perfectly and got rid of thoughtfulness with sharp overtaking. The introduction of blocking blocking made gear switching smooth and inconspicuous. But do not forget that there are very cruel speed restrictions on the Swedish roads. At the same time, violators are punished strictly, despite the ranks and ranks. Therefore, we will not begin to talk about how Cross Country keeps the road at maximum speeds, how it bursts into corners. We can note one thing - in a day we had to overcome more than 500 kilometers in a rather limited time. We drove along the highway and on rural roads - at the end of the path there was not even a hint of fatigue. Comfortable riding is the most important result of the road test.
Among the simulators. The Cross Country Salon is richer than in the V70 station wagon. It seems that everything is the same: the front panel, the seats, but there are many pleasant little things: finishing for titanium, leather upholstery of seats, stylishly stitched by rude stitches, a magnificent audio system with a built-in CD changer, universal holders and latches for bags, bags, documents and more God knows what.
But the subject of special pride of Volvo is a three -section rear seat, the first in the world. It is divided in relation to 40/20/40. This means that its central part can be folded or even removed from the car. A specially designed refrigerator with a useful volume of 17 liters or a bag designed to store small items-toys, CDs, etc. can be inserted into the space between the two rear seats. There is a third option - to pull out the back of the central seat and expand it, creating an armrest for two passengers sitting behind. Say the little things? Yes, of course, there are trifles, but the pleasure of possessing one or another car is made up precisely from such trifles.
Multifunctionality - the horse of the Swedish breed. And the new Volvo V70 Cross Country was born at the junction of several concepts - a station wagon, a parquet SUV, a prestigious sedan. Whether he will be as viable as the Swedish wall will show life.
Text Nikolay Kachurin, photo Sergey Sherestnikov

 

A source: "Autopilot"