News & Reviews- Make: Volvo

To say the XC90 is important for Volvo would likely be the year's biggest automotive related understatement. Crucial is a better descriptive. Over the past year Volvo has gone from a respected albeit almost forgotten premium brand to one of the most desirable, its Canadian sales catapulting from a somewhat embarrassing 4,033 unit total after the first 10 months of 2015 to 5,215 during the same period in 2016.

To appreciate the new XC90's impact alone, the mid-size luxury SUV's sales jumped from 390 units over the first 10 months of 2014 (there were no XC90 sales during the first five months of 2015) to 2,432 as of October 31, 2016. That latter number also tells another story, that the XC90 has comprised nearly 47 percent of the entire brand's year-to-date sales. Factor in that Volvo sells 11 models altogether and the weight of responsibility borne by the XC90 is beyond significant.

This scenario holds true for most premium brands. From Acura with its MDX and RDX to Read Full Story

Most everyone is familiar with Volvo cars. Affectionately known as "bricks on wheels," these sturdy Nordic trackers were high on safety and reliability in the past, but lacking in style and luxury. No one ever placed Volvo, Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Cadillac in the same circle. The once-befallen Cadillac has steamrolled its way back into the mix with the impressive CT6 sedan, and Volvo has kicked the door in with the hard-to-believe-it's-a-Volvo S90.

There's nothing carried over from earlier Volvo sedans like the S80. This is a clean sheet attempt to right what was a sinking Volvo ship.

For decades, Volvo had been a niche automobile for drivers and families who wanted the ultimate in safety and convenience. Indeed, my daughter came home from her birth hospital in a 740 wagon. Yes, it was built like a tank. I can recall a Volvo advertisement with several Volvo wagons stacked on top of each other to show roof strength. Another showed a Volvo driving off a cliff, landing Read Full Story

Minimalism: It was once a German tradition, the modernist Bauhaus movement bringing us now cherished art, architecture, furniture and more, yet most things German have overcomplicated in recent years, especially within the automotive sector. Fortunately we have the Scandinavians to fall back on, creators of clean modern furniture design, tastefully styled clothing, elegantly simple horology, and Volvo.

Whether we're talking Ikea, H&M, Daniel Wellington, or any number of other Swedish or Danish brands, some more luxury-oriented names being Andersen, Artek, BoConcept, and Lyx on the home front; House of Dagmar, Malene Birger, L'Homme Rouge, Filippa K, and Sondergaard amongst wearables, the latter category also including Bravur, Pansar, Epoch, Obaku, Skagen, and Triwa wristwatches, not to mention the latter company's eyewear, the common theme being a less is more design philosophy that's often combined with unparalleled value. Volvo is not only included in this reductivist rooted Read Full Story

Volvo has one of the widest arrays of models in the "Tier 2" luxury sector, which refers to all premium brands other than Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi, and Lexus.

Along with the entirely new S90 luxury sedan that replaces the long-in-tooth S80, and V90 sport wagon soon to enter the market, plus the recently redesigned XC90 crossover SUV that's rejuvenated the Swedish brand's sales, Volvo's current lineup includes the XC70 crossover wagon, XC60 compact SUV, S60 sport-luxury sedan, S60 Cross Country crossover four-door, V60 Cross Country crossover wagon, and V60 sport wagon. What's more, many of these get performance-tuned Polestar editions, Volvo's version of AMG, M, RS and F.

The vast majority of these models haven't received Volvo's much-lauded new styling enhancements or its revised interior design, but the V60 sport wagon being reviewed here remains a thoroughly attractive premium compact nonetheless, and plenty luxurious, while the model tested incorporates the brand's Read Full Story

Only a year after the XC60 was introduced in 2009 it replaced the XC90 as Volvo Canada's bestselling model, and while this will change for 2016 thanks to the brilliant new XC90, the smaller compact utility remains a strong seller for the Swedish luxury brand.

Having been editor more often than writer when Volvo introduced the XC60 I had the pleasure of proofreading five XC60 reviews before getting my first weeklong tester, a pre-facelift 2012 T6 AWD R-Design, which after a couple of additional edits was followed up by a refreshed 2015 T6 AWD, both of which I heaped praises upon, so time recently spent with a 2016 T5 AWD in SE Premier trim was like being reacquainted with a favourite traveling companion.

A quick glance showed it was still stylish, although next to its totally redesigned bigger brother the XC60's gracefully sporty lines certainly look a generation behind. Granted my loaner was at the lower end of the "Editions" quad, the other three being the R-Design, Read Full Story