just test drove the 07 xc70

[xc4life]

yesterday i test drove the all new 2007 XC70, when with my family buying a car. God!! This is so much nicer than mine! Larger lights in mirrors, nicer looking wheels/caps, better bumpers, lights, wood interior, god I want one!!! :mad:
Who has a 07' here?? I'm thinking now about getting one in a year....experience?? are they going to keep the design for next year as well???

[coastal]

Nothing official, but I've been told that Volvo typically employs a seven year design cycle, so I'd probably expect to see a new model for 2008.

Sure, the brand new 07 is a nice fresh ride, but I still think the earlier models are reasonably up to date.:)

[barrysharp]

I would agree with Coastal/Taylor here. I saw '07 XC70 at dealership the otherday and yes it had that new car feal and smell. However, quite honestly I didn't see anything in the '07 that made me feel I needed to ditch my '03 in favor of it. The outside styling has changed little between '03 and '07. When I bought my '03 I added plenty of accessories such as DTSC, Rear spoiler, center cooler box, full size spare, rear trunk 12v outlet, etc for the primary purpose to avoid this type of impulse to view newer Volvo models with some element of envy. I'm still very happy with my '03 XC70 and I'm sure the '07 is a fine addition to the XC70 product line/heritage.

If, as Taylor say, we see a model change for '08 that will be far more interesting IMO.

I would say if you have an XC70 model '01 thru '05 and really want to buy a newer XC70 it will be best to wait for 2008/2009 timeframe.

[ellita]

Well, I recently had the pleasure of driving a 2007 XC70 for about 10 days around the wilds of Sweden. The car is now sailing toward Halifax, and it will hopefully rejoin me soon. Before buying this car, I test drove a 2006, since the 07's were not yet on the lots, and there wasn't much difference between the two. I went for the 2007 mostly because I couldn't find a properly configured '06 with DSTC, and my wife was all for the idea of going to Sweden.

I can't say how well this car compares to '05s or earlier XC70s. I'll be ditching a ten-year-old 850 wagon when the XC70 arrives, and compared to the 850, the XC is bigger, more comfortable, more powerful, smoother, and has a much, MUCH nicer interior. On the downside, the 850 can turn more tightly, gets better gas mileage, and can stop quicker (all that goes with being a smaller car). Too bad the 850 began to develop a liking for my mechanic, otherwise I'd keep it.

As for the replacement V/XC70, everything I've heard says that it will be unveiled sometime in 2008, which may mean that it won't be on the lots until MY2009. I am also reluctant to buy a new model in its first year, since many cars, including Volvos, aren't at their best until at least a couple of years after introduction. That, and the meatball lunch in Gothenburg, made me go for a new car this year.

[barrysharp]

ellita:

CONGRATULATIONS on your '07 XC70 and I know you will enjoy the upgrades over what the 850 wagon offers. I agree with you wrt the 1st/2nd year new model issues. The 3rd year does seem about right. :)

[JsR]

:D :D :D - 11 days and counting...

John R

[glansberry]

Well, I recently had the pleasure of driving a 2007 XC70 for about 10 days around the wilds of Sweden. The car is now sailing toward Halifax, and it will hopefully rejoin me soon. Before buying this car, I test drove a 2006, since the 07's were not yet on the lots, and there wasn't much difference between the two. I went for the 2007 mostly because I couldn't find a properly configured '06 with DSTC, and my wife was all for the idea of going to Sweden.

I can't say how well this car compares to '05s or earlier XC70s. I'll be ditching a ten-year-old 850 wagon when the XC70 arrives, and compared to the 850, the XC is bigger, more comfortable, more powerful, smoother, and has a much, MUCH nicer interior. On the downside, the 850 can turn more tightly, gets better gas mileage, and can stop quicker (all that goes with being a smaller car). Too bad the 850 began to develop a liking for my mechanic, otherwise I'd keep it.

As for the replacement V/XC70, everything I've heard says that it will be unveiled sometime in 2008, which may mean that it won't be on the lots until MY2009. I am also reluctant to buy a new model in its first year, since many cars, including Volvos, aren't at their best until at least a couple of years after introduction. That, and the meatball lunch in Gothenburg, made me go for a new car this year.
You probably go the car from OSD by now - how do you rate the experience?

[ellita]

You probably go the car from OSD by now - how do you rate the experience?

The car arrived right after Labor day, so I've been driving it at home for almost 2 months now. It has almost 2800 miles. There are no mechanical or cosmetic defects, and almost everything works as advertised. The only thing that does not is my iPod. I'm using a 5th gen iPod and the Volvo adapter doesn't advance tracks properly with the latest iPods.

General experience?--my ride is definitely upgraded, and it is nice to no longer hear weird new noises or see odd lights on the instrument panel every time I start the car. There are some things that I miss about the ol' 850--but then I had been driving that thing for 10 years and I could find every control by touch. I do wish that I had cloth seats on the new car-my passengers complain about sliding about on these leather ones. I'm mostly curious to see how much sliding about the new car does when the snow comes.

[Jack]

Some thoughts...(deep eh!)

I believe that '07 is "supposed" to the the last model year for the current XC70. That was my understanding when I leased my '05 for 3 years (always thinking ahead to the next acquisition :D ) and I've heard nothing that conflicts with that schedule. The tweaks in '07 are consistent with the industry practice of doing a "MCE or mid-cycle enhancement" near the end of a model run...see the new SAAB 9-5 for another example.

My '05 is a wonderful vehicle. To me it is competitive with everything in it's class. That said I'm REALLY impressed with our V50. It's a quick, fun drive and the user interface is somewhat improved -- though the new fibre optic audio system doesn't support any aftermarket interfaces yet...a major problem in my view.

I anticipate that the next XC70 will use the same dash/audio/network systems as my V50 and the new S80. There are rumors that an aftermarket audio interface may soon be on the market, so maybe its all good.

It didn't look like ellita answered glansberry's question about OSD so I'll offer an opinion about that as well[thumbup] .

OSD is WITHOUT QUESTION the way to go if you have the time. We had an incredible trip picking up our V50 last June! The basic setup with Volvo's travel agency was painless. My wife booked the rest of our lodgings through Orbitz. We drove from Gothenburg to Copenhagen and Amsterdam. We then took the Calais to Dover ferry to the UK, visited with old friends near Milton-Keynes and toured south England, then took the ferry back to the continent to drop the car in Brussels. Awesome trip! Everyone we talked to in Europe was beyond polite and accomodating. My family HIGHLY RECOMMENDS doing an OSD if at all possible. Memories of the trip will be with you long after the car is history. My 5 year old still carries Euro coins in her wallet and my 13 year old son thinks the trip was better than Orlando or the Virgin Islands!

As for the next XC, if the '08 XC70 shows some of the same spirit as my '06 V50, I'm in!

[xc7010]

http://www.worldcarfans.com/spyphotos.cfm/spyphotoID/6061024.004/pageview/photo/photo/Mini2/page/1/country/ecf/volvo/spy-photos-new-volvo-xc70-undisguised
http://www.worldcarfans.com/spyphotos.cfm/spyphotoID/6061024.004/pageview/photo/photo/Mini3/country/ecf/volvo/spy-photos-new-volvo-xc70-undisguised
http://www.worldcarfans.com/spyphotos.cfm/spyphotoID/6061024.004/pageview/photo/photo/Mini1/country/ecf/volvo/spy-photos-new-volvo-xc70-undisguised
enjoy[thumbup]

[ellita]

I wasn't sure if GLansberry was asking about OSD or about the car--I chose to comment on the car since that was the original theme of the thread.

Regarding OSD--we really enjoyed our trip (10 days driving from Gothenburg to Norway last August). We stayed in several nice places along the coastline. I also highly recommend it as the best way to buy a car--if you can tolerate the 3 months required to finally get it in your driveway. Driving is actually easier over in Sweden (less crowded than the east coast of the US) and everyone, except the kid in the pizza shop, speaks English. My only advice--stay longer than 10 days if you can, and don't travel via Dulles airport (that place belongs in the third world).

[JsR]

don't travel via Dulles airport (that place belongs in the third world).

What in particular is there to dislike about Dulles? (and I guess you mean DC). I've booked to fly out of there back to the UK in June next year - any tips on what to avoid (and please don't say 'all of it' :D )

many thanks

John R

[budrichard]

I get a loaner XC at every service interval. I have driven all but an 07. no big differences. -Dick

[ellita]

What in particular is there to dislike about Dulles? (and I guess you mean DC). I've booked to fly out of there back to the UK in June next year - any tips on what to avoid (and please don't say 'all of it' :D )

many thanks

John R

OK-I won't. The major hassles at Dulles are in entering the US. A process which took about 20 min at Copenhagen took more than 2 hrs at Dulles. The airport is in a permanent state of deconstruction, so you have to take a shuttle bus to get from terminal to terminal, and sometimes from airplane to terminal. I think that they employ ex-Tokyo subway pushers to maximize occupancy on those things. So, just allot plenty of time to transfer between flights, and don't depend upon airport personnel to help you out, because you won't find any, and if you do, they probably won't speak intelligible English.

[tomclick]

Yuk!

Tom
03-XC70, Nautic, EuroSport Stage 2+, USspec iPOD, IPD anti-sway w/HD ends