We have a 2004 XC70, and need another car. My wife wanted a third row for when the kids are around, so we started thinking SUV. Currently, we are thinking the brand new model Infiniti JX35. There's supposed to be an all new MDX for 2013, but no news on it yet. I am looking for reliability and lower cost of ownership, so anything Audi is out, and XC90's are too close to a total makeover.

The JX35 is winning, but I can't get over its odd looks. And it's "roof rails" are a plastic cap on something underneath, but it only has two pop off caps for cross bars that have to be Infiniti and they are waaaaay to close together for bike rails. It looks like there's no way to add a Yakima.

So we stopped by the Volvo dealer, who has about 10 XC70's lined up. That's rare, usually its 1 or 2. The salesguy said they are in a dealing mood, I could probably get it for invoice. One with the 300hp turbo and Platinum package...

So, if you have one, or know someone who does, a few questions...

- Do the 6 speed geartronics hold up better than the notorious 5 speeds in the last generation?
- Did they figure out how to do bixenon lights?

Considering this makes me nervous, having been though (at 100K miles): Broken ignition switch, 6 wheel bearings, struts+shocks+Aarms, motor mounts, etc...

Thanks for any comparison thoughts, and stuff y'all already know about like, "the gizmo breaks on all of them", or "they are known to be noisey at this speed", etc.