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By
EWAN KENNEDY
10 July 2006
Is this an example of the next big thing on the Australian car market?
With fuel prices going through the roof and buyers finally coming to
realise that 4WDs aren't the safest of vehicles on the road, there has
been a marked swing in the type of vehicles Australians are buying.
So, Volvo is offering a vehicle that can be all
things to many people, one that can all-but replace the big 4WDs.
The Volvo V50 T5 AWD station wagon.
The latest addition to the Volvo T5 range is
a 4WD, though ‘all-wheel drive’ is a better description as it’s
not intended for off-road driving. Rather it drives all four
wheels to increase grip and safety on slippery sealed roads. This
Volvo wagon can tackle muddy dirt roads with great competence, and
it’s a well known fact that the great majority of truck-sized
4WDs never go beyond that sort of road in any case.
This Volvo wagon has immense practicality due to
the fact that the designers haven’t let sleek lines get in the
way of a spacious load area. The load area certainly doesn’t
come up to the voluminous size of the huge Commodore and Falcon
wagons, but can carry a decent amount of luggage, including bulky
items as the roofline goes a long way towards the rear of the
body.
Interestingly, Volvo launched the V50 in
Australia with a full-sized spare tyre. But received so many
requests from potential buyers who wanted the additional
underfloor luggage space allowed by the use of a space-saver
wheel/tyre that it now imports the model in that latter
configuration.
It comes as no surprise that the styling of the
V50 wagon follows the successful ‘new-Volvo’ theme,
particularly in the use of strong rear shoulders. This works well
and gives the car back some of the character that was missing from
the older series Volvos.
Thanks to its big 2.5-litre 162 kW turbocharged
engine, the Volvo T5 AWD provides plenty of driving enjoyment for
the keen driver. The high-tech unit has plenty of torque over a
good spread of engine revs and clever engineering sees turbo lag
cut to a minimum.
The engine is a real beauty to sit behind,
particularly when it’s beside a six-speed manual gearbox as in
our test car. It was a bit sad to note that a sporting wagon like
this one doesn’t have a driver’s left footrest. There seems to
be plenty of space for one but your left foot is left sitting at
an uncomfortable angle on the floor.
Fuel consumption will typically be about seven
to eight litres per hundred kilometres on motorways or level
country roads. This will rise to a still reasonable nine to eleven
litres per hundred in city/suburban use. Excellent economy for a
high-performance wagon and a lot better than that of a typical
large SUV. That’s for a manual gearbox, expect an auto to use
about five per cent more.
Volvo has ruled the luxury wagon market in
Australia for decades. Despite efforts by other European makers to
introduce competing wagons the Swedish maker has dominated the
wagon roost. Fifty five per cent of Volvo sales to date in 2006
have been wagons, and that’s not including the XC90 SUV which
is, of course, offered only in that body format.
Incidentally, the Volvo V50 is the wagon variant
of the Volvo S40 sedan. The names having been separated in recent
years to try to give the wagons their own identity. Volvo sedans
are dubbed 40, 60 and 80, whereas the wagons get 50, 70 and 90
tags.
Luxury levels are high and the V50 uses the
ultra-slim centre control panel that's such a clever feature of
the S40 sedan. The seats are comfortable, there's reasonable
legroom in the back seat, with good space under the front seats
for rear occupants’ legs. Tall occupants have more headroom than
in the sedan though the very tall should try it for size before
settling on the vehicle.
Handling in the Volvo station wagon is as good
as in the sedan, with a real sporty feel that seems sure to please
keen drivers. The Swedish wagon had no problems coping with the
somewhat rough and ready Australian roads. Sound magnification in
the load area means it’s not quite as quiet as the sedan, but
still more than acceptable for a body of this type.
Volvo's mid-sized wagon looks good, is fun to
drive and refined, but none of the foregoing have been allowed to
stand in the way of practicality. The top-of-the-line V50 T5 AWD
is an excellent buy for the buyer looking for image and driving
enjoyment, but who is not prepared to let form to stand in the way
of function.
AT A GLANCE
MODEL RANGE
V50 S 2.4-litre five-door wagon - $42,950
V50 LE 2.4-litre five-door wagon - $47,950
V50 T5 AWD 2.5-litre five-door wagon - $57,950
FEATURES
ABS Brakes: Standard in all models
Air Conditioning: Standard in all models
Automatic Transmission: No cost option in all models
CD Player: Standard in all models
Central Locking: Standard in all models
Cruise Control: Standard in all models
Driver Airbag: Standard in all models
Passenger Airbag: Standard in all models
Front Side Airbags: Standard in all models
SPECIFICATIONS (Volvo V50 T 2.5-litre
five-door wagon)
ENGINE:
Capacity: 2.521 litres
Configuration: Transverse, five cylinders in line
Head Design: DOHC, four valves per cylinder
Compression Ratio: 9.0:1
Bore/Stroke: 83.0 x 93.2mm
Maximum Power: 162kW @ 5000rpm
Maximum Torque: 320Nm @ 1500-4800rpm
DRIVELINE:
Driven Wheels: All-wheel drive
Manual Transmission: Six-speed
Automatic Transmission: Five-speed
Final Drive Ratio: 4.00:1
DIMENSIONS, WEIGHT AND CAPACITIES:
Length: 4514mm
Wheelbase: 2640mm
Width: 1770mm
Height: 1452mm
Turning Circle: 10.6 metres
Kerb Mass: 1547kg
Fuel Tank Capacity: 58 litres
Towing Ability: 450kg (1500kg with braked trailer)
MECHANICAL SPECIFICATIONS:
Front Suspension: MacPherson struts, coils springs, lower link,
anti-roll bar
Rear Suspension: Independent, multi-link, coil springs, anti-roll
bar
Front Brakes: Ventilated disc
Rear Brakes: Disc
PERFORMANCE:
0-100 km/h Acceleration: 7.2 secs
Standing 400 Metres: 15.8 secs
FUEL CONSUMPTION:
Fuel Type: Petrol 95RON
Fuel Consumption - Combined Cycle (ADR 81/01): 9.7 L/100km
STANDARD WARRANTY:
Three years/unlimited km
© Copyright
Marque Publishing Company
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