1. Consumer Reports recommends it, and predicts "average" reliability.

2. I'm not sure my indy Volvo shop can work on the '06s, unless they rent the software ($$$$) from Volvo!

3. I'm considering a buying a S60T5A for my kid for a graduation present. Volvo USA is throwing in the premium package, gratis right now. So the S60T5A as I'd configure it for her would be $38,180 sticker, $33,977 invoice, and $30,066 plus tax as the actual transaction price. My point is -- the overseas delivery may not be the cheapest way to go. Check carsdirect.com for the price in your zip code and check the Volvo USA website for any specials they're running.

4. I also have two (2) Honda Odysseys. You can buy full paper maintenance manuals for them from Honda (or more correctly, Honda farms out the printing and distribution to Helms). We did the 90,000 mile service on the Oddy that my kid's using right now and it took us maybe an hour or two, including the engine air and cabin air filters, greasing the door tracks and changing the wiper blades. She was twirling the wrenches herself. Try THAT with a Volvo today! You can easily perform every service on a Honda product yourself up to the 105,000 mile service which gets a little complicated with the timing belt and spark plugs.

5. I drink the Volvo Kool-Aid like everyone else here and I like the cars, but I'd be hard pressed to recommend a Volvo over an Odyssey on any grounds except for emotion. Safety? I don't think there is any evidence at all that an Odyssey is any less safe than a V70, what the Volvo offers in structural integrity the Odyssey offers in bulk. My wife drives an '05 Oddy and with 244HP it's actually fun to drive! It's probably a quicker than a base V70 stick, too.

6. I would NOT buy the Mazda!

-BTC

'98 V70 T5 5-speed, 167k mi, front IPD stabilizer bar, rear factory HD bar, Bilstein HD, Volvo strut tower brace and skidplate, e-codes, XC grill, Lidatek LE30, V-1, Mobil-1 since new

"The major difference between a thing that might go wrong and a thing that cannot possibly go wrong is that when a thing that cannot possibly go wrong goes wrong it usually turns out to be impossible to get at or repair." -- Douglas Noel Adams (1952-2001)