My first impression - xc70

[stevel0923]

We picked up our car last Monday on 2/3 and decided to take a road trip up to Yosemite from Los Angeles in order to road test our vehicle and to spend a pre-Valentine weekend together. *Here's some PROs and CONs we've discovered about vehicle being that this is the first Volvo we ever bought. *


PROS
1. Great acceleration and pickup especially on the hills. Handle S-curves and hairpin turns without much effort.
2. Comfortable leather seats. Love the memory position along with the mirror setting and remote control synchronization.
3. Rubber mats is a must if you are planning to travel a bit. *Kept the car clean from dirt and dust.
4. Rear cargo rubber mat protected the carpet from some water spills
5. Tires were fairly quiet but you can still hear a little road noise.
6. Mud guards kept the side of the car really clean from sand and dust on the road
7. ASC on radio was a nice surprise! Really makes a difference as you are driving in different environment as the radio compensates for the engine noise.
8. Loved the manual geartronic. *Used it a couple times for freeway on ramps when I needed to pass slow moving vehicles.
9. Rainsensor is cool as the wiper adjust speed with the condition of the rain

CONS
1. Sun shade is too small for side usage. *Wish there was double shade for front and side (standard on GM)
2. Need coin holder of some sort (Standard on GM)
3. Transmission feels a little vague from stop to slow start. *Wife said thats a Volvo thing from previous Volvos she has driven.
4. Rear center section is kinda unusal. *You have to remove it and flip it around to make it a center arm rest. *Wish that it would just folds down.
5. Cargo cover can be tricky to latch on/off. *Tolerance too tight.
6. Cargo netting is a real interesting accessory but not sure if we would ever use it. *Volvo should make it optional. *I would rather get other things instead.
7. I do not like the placement of the controls on the driver side door. *I feel like they are too far back. *I am 5' 8" with average built yet I still need to pull my arm back in order to activate the door/window controls.
8. Wish door locks would automatically lock once the car is in drive. *Or unlock when we turn off the ignition. *Many third party car alarms provide this feature for cars with power locks.
9. Glove compartment box requires a little bit of slamming to close and lock.
10. What are the tiny pockets in the rear doors used for? *Barely holds pens or markers.
11. Wish there was an external handle for rear hatch. *Not sure where to put my hands when I close it. *It gets pretty dirty back there and I don't want to put my handprint on the exterior if the car has been washed.
12. Still trying to get the hang of the trip computer to figure MPG. Instantaneous and Average is much less then the MPG printed on the sticker.

Maybe some you of you can make some suggestions on the CON issues. *Overall, we loved the vehicle when we first order it and we love it even more after our initial road trip. *One of the best cars we've driven in a long time being current owners of a GMC Jimmy and Toyota Camry.

[baz957]

Yosemite - What a great place !

2. Need coin holder of some sort (Standard on GM)
- Available as an accessory.

9. Glove compartment box requires a little bit of slamming to close and lock.
- A TSB came out from Volvo about this, check with dealer.

11. Wish there was an external handle for rear hatch.  Not sure where to put my hands when I close it.  It gets pretty dirty back there and I don't want to put my handprint on the exterior if the car has been washed.
- Two indentations on the bottom of the hatch to use for this.

Enjoy !
Atlas.

[stevel0923]

The identation works fine to pull the hatch down but eventually you have to touch the exterior to slam it shut.  Thanks for the tip on the glove compartment.

[wiz]

You shouldn't have to slam it shut. *At least with ours, you bring it down slowly and then it just sort of falls shut by itself...

I really like the cargo net. *Put it in the car 2 days after we got it and it's stayed there. *The two kids didn't like it at first but when I explained what it was for they got the concept right away. *I haven't seen one in any car other than the XC.