Many posts for brakes in the past bemoaned the quantity of brake dust given off by Volvo pads.

Many owners search for cleaner pads which are probably harder than Volvo pads.

Many squeal, and some do not work well at the first application in the rain - do you like to wait half a second for your brakes to start working?

I suspect that your new car has Volvo pads and nice fresh fluid.

We have owned 4 740s, 3 850s, and 2 XC70s - all have braked strongly and quietly and the pedal feel in all was about the same.

All our cars had brake jobs performed by Volvo dealer techs - one of the main reasons that I drive Volvos is great brakes.

Are all your rotors clean and shiny after a drive? I mean, all area swept by the pads clean and shiny.

If not, the pads or rotors are defective.

They rotors eventually get scored and rust can live in the groves, eventually the rust gets deposited on the pads and rust on rust does not brake your car very well.

Two years ago, we bought an '07 XC 70 - as part of the process, I had it examined by my dealer - the tech wrote the brakes up as the pads did not completely contact the rotors - There was rust polished on the rotors. The Lincoln dealer that I bought the car from replaced all the rotors and pads because it was a safety item. This car brakes as well as our '12 XC 70.

Why not get the brakes on one of your older cars serviced at a dealer - I'll bet that the car will brake like your newer car.

As the advertisement says - If your car takes 18 feet longer to stop, that space might have a car in it!