>sorry, dont take it personal on that "niche market" thing.

No offense taken. I'm a "niche customer" as I am a bit picky.

>So take leather option. Its high quality and with proper care, it should last for years. The door panel are easy maintenance. As far as the moonroof issue, before writing this post, I sat in the car and calculated at least 4 inches clearance from the top of my head to the headliner. The car is really confortable and you sink into the seat. Even on bumpy roads (T5 suspension with 17inch), there is no way my head will move up and down more than an inch.

I may have failed to factor in the stiffness of new seats affecting headroom. But I have another whine related to leather... call me old-fashioned but I prefer the simplicity of manual seats. Leather usually means electric seats.

I do need to correct another bit of mis-information on my part. I browsed the local Volvo lot yesterday and it appears that the one cloth interior I found only had cloth on the door insert panel... not up top on the window sill surface... so that's an improvement for me as I can rest my arm on the sill without soiling cloth over time.

One other thing about cloth... it is grippy! Those seats grab you and hold on. I wonder if that is a good thing or not?

Another ancillary issue... if I go with the base build... ie. white or black paint... black seems out, so what are the issues with owning a white car? Dirt? Hood glare? Visibility to others on the road? I don't know... I've never owned a white car.

>I will go and pick it up for you if you cant go.

Hmmm... you may have proposed an interesting business... I could start a service for prospective Volvo customers wanting custom builds.

>but I wish they would build cars like in the old days.

Wanna buy my aged '87 240 wagon and reminisce the past? I should warn you that the wiring is starting to crumble, it stopped starting last November, the front suspension needs service, the floors are rusting out, the cargo floor is rusting out, and the cargo windows are rusting out... but the front seats are in mint condition as they been under sheepskins since day one!

My only substantial complaint with my '99 V70 is that the suspension is bumpy... not as comfortable a ride as the 240. I'm wondering how much the tires/wheels affect this as this is something I could change... but probably won't bother with.

Another problem I've got with the '04 V70 is that it doesn't look like I'll be able to mount my Yakima roof gear on it... at least not without incorporating the Volvo load bars somehow, but even then I don't think I'll be able to carry both a canoe and rocketbox together.

Thanks for the feedback!

Glenn