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The Modern Guide to The Thing Before Preppy

Tuesday, November 8, 2022

Reader Volvo Cross Country Questions

 Questions from two readers:


A short while ago there was much discussion about cars, but I don't remember anyone mentioning the Volvo V90 Cross Country that came out a couple of years ago.  Has there been a discussion of this car?  I'm one of the lamenters of my late Volvo XC70.  


And this one: 

I am wondering…I have driven Volvos most of my adult, married life. Aside from the safety factor (which is why I began driving them) I truly loved the boxy body. Although I gave in and purchased a 2020 version of the XC, I miss the old body style. Am I the only one who prefers the older body type or am I just an old dog not liking new tricks?

15 comments:

  1. We have a 2004 Wagon and for me these are the best along with the 2008 ones. Especially since the all-wheel drive is durable. For the older XCs it is getting difficult with spare parts. We've downed 200,000 so far and never had any technical issues.

    Unfortunately, the new Volvos are not an alternative for me. I had looked at the new Subaru Outback for this. These are really great cars.

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  2. Definitely prefer the XC70 over the newer 60s and 90s, although we own a 2010 V50 and a 2016 XC60. We like both, but I would love to buy a good, used XC70. Unfortunately, prices have gone through the roof because of supply and demand. If I wanted to buy a 2016 XC70 with under 50K miles, it would likely cost the same or more than what we paid a year ago for our 2016 XC60, which only had 19k miles on it.

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  3. Indeed, I still really miss my monkey vomit green 1976 244DL, which bit the dust in the late 90s, mainly because I lacked the money as a grad student to pay for the necessary repairs. When it ran, that baby had some real zip on the Interstates though, and I drove many times between Pennsylvania and Madison. It wouldn't surprise me if someone were still driving it in southern Wisconsin, or Northern Illinois even now.

    Kind Regards,

    Heinz-Ulrich

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  4. Volvo S60 & Subaru Outback owner here. We bought the S60 vs the XC because we wanted something a little smaller for city driving. We own both because they are supremely comfortable, were easy for the kids to learn to drive, meet our cargo & hauling needs (one kid in boarding one kid in college), and are safe.

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  5. Yes, absolutely! We had our first Volvo, a 240 DL wagon for 18 years. That was the largest car we ever had. But our son once commented that you could tell that it was a really old car because it had no cupholders. It was replaced with I think an 850 wagon, which was lower but still fairly big. My wife now has a VW wagon. Neither VW nor Volvo has an ordinary wagon, and hardly anyone else does either. They've all evolved into SUVs. I also had a V40 wagon, which started to give trouble at around 140,000 miles. But it wasn't what you'd call a big car. Just about the same size as the Ford Escort wagon that I drove for over 190,000 trouble-free miles. Haven't seen one in ages.

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    Replies
    1. @BlueTrain I agree that most vehicles seem to be converging on the small crossover category, which I think is unfortunate.

      My wife and I agree that even our Subaru Outback is basically a crossover SUV for people who don't like crossover SUVs. They're big, high vehicles.

      Buick's Regal TourX wagon that was discontinued a year or three ago is probably the closest thing produced recently.

      I have a couple friends and neighbors with the older Acura TSX wagon that's basically a fancier Accord wagon, and the Mazda 6 wagon from ten or fifteen years ago. All seem pleased. Those cars might be the last crop of standard 2wd utility wagons.

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    2. One could say that an SUV of any size--and some are huge--are nothing more than tall station wagons. After a couple of model years, some SUVs are made larger. Even so, some SUVs are more truck-like than car-like. That's not saying much, though, given what a typical privately owned pickup truck is like these days. Some of those are more like an SUV with a pickup bed too short to haul fence rails. But nothing's perfect. It's a pity, though that many small cars that an economy-minded commuter would prefer, seem to have been discontinued. And the popularity of minivans appears to have come and gone, too.

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  6. We have a ‘97 S90 with 107,000 miles on it. It’s in very good, not “mint,” but very good condition. Though I might say the interior is in “mint” condition. It looks like a small car by today’s standard, which suits us fine. But it rides heavy like our old ‘85 Cadillac (was it a “Fleetwood Brougham d’Elegance?”). Sitting in the backseat of that car was like riding around in the living room sofa. Anyway, the Volvo is a little “tricked out” with chrome as far as Volvos go. It was the car they gave to Swedish ambassadors for their personal use. We use it as a Sunday car. Our day to day wheels are a 2007 Forester. It has a few dings and dents. But we never think twice about that, especially if ski equipment, garden tools, or a load of firewood are filling up what we called, as kids, “the way back.” The odometer will turn 280,000 probably by the New Year.

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    Replies
    1. That's a lot of driving. The thing with the size of a car is that there will invariably be times when you wish it was bigger, just like the closets in the house.

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  7. We’ve found the XC60 to be a very good substitute for the XC70! A little higher up but not tip-over-on-country-roads high. I love driving it and it handles so well.

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  8. A truly hard to beat classic!

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  9. For anyone interested author David McCullough's 2000 beautiful dark blue Volvo C70 convertible (30k miles) is up for auction this coming Sunday at Thomaston Place Auctions: 800-924-1032
    info@thomastonauction.com

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  10. I purchased a 2022 V60 Cross Country in December of 2021. The odometer is just shy of 10,000 miles. For me, I wanted a wagon in order to be different than all the SUVs and crossovers out there; plus I have the 240 wagon nostalgia. The vehicle is super comfortable, with a bit of style and a ton of Volvo safety features. In hindsight, I probably would have enjoyed the V90 a little more since it is slightly larger. Not to sound too cheeky, but size does matter, especially in a collision. The larger your vehicle, the better protected you’ll be. I miss the boxier looking cars. My biggest fear is when Volvo goes all electric. Today’s electric vehicles just don’t have the range I need for travel. Maybe in another 10 years, the technology will be much better. In general, I miss the “good ole days”, and I’m 51. In my mind, I’m wearing cords, driving a red 240 GL wagon, and listening to REM.

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  11. As a prior owner of a 2001 XC70, I would never again own one out of warranty.

    Time will tell on my 2022 Outback, but I also opted for the extended warranty for piece of mind.
    I too am nostalgic for the old boxy 240’s, but like most products the current offerings are similar in name only!

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  12. My family has owned a number of Volvo station wagons over the years going back to the early 80’s. Our last was an XC90 and since then we’ve been buying Suburbans (4 kids to haul about). I had thought about buying one for our house on the north shore of MA but we opted for an e-class wagon instead.

    Unfortunately Volvo has pledged to go all EV in the coming years which may be good for emissions (depending where your local area sources it’s electricity) but is actually quite bad for the environment - lower useful life of the car, horrible environmental consequence for battery generation and disposal, and reliability over duration of ownership (range goes down incrementally over time).

    Hoping for a quantum leap in battery technology but we are nowhere close. Before we bought Volvos our family generations back owned Ford and Buick (read: American) station wagons. I would love to see American brands bring station wagons back so we could stop so many from surrendering to the Japanese alternatives (read: Subaru). It seems most of the iconic European brands are falling victim to climate hysteria-induced EV priorities and those that will maintain internal combustion engines (BMW, Mercedes) will be out of reach for most.

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