The (larger body) SUV will be finally here in about 18 months (Fall of 2002) as a 2003 model.

It looks GREAT! Not a big SUV fan but the looks are very nice! Imagine the XC but much more handsome all-around lines, higher off the ground (did not measure it but perhaps 3" to 3.5" higher!), fatter (in the bottom) tail lights than the XC but endig up in a thinner "arc"...tremendously modern look to it, 7 passengers (all forward facing) with the last seat being able to be removed to enhance the cargo capacity. The tailgate opens up almost like that of an SUV; the top 2/3 of it is glass and it pops open and the bottom 1/3 is the actual tail gate which opens and lays flat...But when closed, you cannot see that they are TWO pieces! Amazing!

The wheels are bigger than those of the current XC and the (best part) peice will be in the high 30s (!) and no more than $40K!

Its look can best be described as a combination of a Range Rover and a BMW X5.

Stay tuned!

Yannis

So, are you implying that you actually saw a prototype of the vehicle or did you see pictures of it? The styling seems to be headed in the right direction, I thought that the ACC was quite dissapointing.

Is the base price going to be in the high 30's or is that a loaded version?

I have heard that since De La Vega is out, that Volvo interiors are getting a more classy treatment like the VW AG group cars. The interiors have recently been criticized for having too much plastic and have a stark look.

Of course, they have the best ergonomics in the industry.

The ACC is a prototype, a vehicle that represents a concentrated "formula" if you will, ideas in a single vehicle. Some of those ideas will be discarded and some will be kept. But you need a vehicle to present them. That does not mean that this "vehicle" will come into production under its present "form".

What I saw was an early version of what we will see. Let's say that I had an..."insider's" preview...;)

Price well equipped will be $40K ...

Yannis

Yannis

Just in time for the END of the SUV craze. The wagon market is about to turn way up and Volvo does not have a moderately priced, moderately sized, family wagon for the US market. We own a 760 and 940. Every time I try to show my wife the V70 she just looks at the back storage area and says "its smaller back there than ours!". Volvo, just bring back the 940 wagon!

Exactly, John....but this is not a truck SUV...that is what will be out the door in a few years. The "hybrids" are the near future of that segment.

Now, no offense, but if they bring back the 940 wagon, then we might as well pack it up and go home!

Yannis

>>Now, no offense, but if they bring back the 940 wagon, then we might as well pack it up and go home!

Yannis

>>

Is Volvo selling very many of the V70 wagons? I live in California and I have not seen even ONE on the road yet. If the sales are there then I guess they are going in the correct direction in the short term. Volvo's prior nitch to me was that they offered cars similar to MB and BMW but at a more rational and practical level. They now appear to be chasing their competitors in the upscale market and abandoning their roots. The VW Passat seems to taking up the wagon territory that Volvo left behind (not my personal choice). What do you think? Where is a traditional Volvo wagon buyer to go now?

Thanks for the briefing Yannis!

My current lease is due fall 2003 so definately, I'll keep an eye on this one since the family keeps growing! :)

Any powerplant hints under the hood? Hopefully not the I5 although there's nothing wrong with them.. I would just like to see a better displacement (cubic inches) or additional cylinders (perhaps the T6?) especially for a 7 seater..

AWD in the news? Haldex?

Thanks!

Eric G. wrote:

> Any powerplant hints under the hood? Hopefully not the I5 although

> there's nothing wrong with them.. I would just like to see a better

> displacement (cubic inches) or additional cylinders (perhaps the T6?)

> especially for a 7 seater..

T6 base engine is what I'm hearing and they're planning to squeeze even more HP and torque out of it. Rumor has it that in the second MY you'll be seeing a V8 as an option.

There is talk (as usual) about Volvo co-producing (w/ Ford) their own V8 but my gut feeling is that the I6 found in the T6 will be the powerplant of choice.

Haldex? I tried to "probe" about that but they are being mum which tells me that they are seriously thinking about this! I would certainly think so...

Furtermore, I forgot to mentio in my original post that this car was designed IN Volvo's California Design Studio FOR the US market, exclusively. And if you don't know about this, the guy who oversaw the interior development of the latest Volvos (MY1998 and up), J. De La Vega, has been transferred to Dearborn, MI to work for Ford!

Yannis

I went to the NAIAS here in Detroit, and saw the prototype. The prototype had 5 seats, but i talk to a lot of volvo reps there and they said that it is going to have 7. I believe i remember hearing that it will have the T6 engine.

Zain,

what you saw in Detroit was a totally differetn vehicle, a true prototype. The car that was displayed i Arizona, last week, was the real deal and the bigger vehicle. It is a 7-seater.

Yannis