All are bored the bland wagon

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RoadTest

Volvo V70

RoadTest

Volvo V70

RoadTest

Volvo V70

If you thought that the funky C30 heralded the start of a bold new era of Volvo design, think again.

This is the all-new V70, Volvo's flagship estate. That's right, all new. We've been staring at photos of the old and the new V70 side-by-side for the last half-hour, and we're still struggling to tell them apart. 

But as Volvo's designers - with their well-worn set squares and My First Estate handbooks - might argue, why change a winning formula?

The V70 was the UK's best-selling estate in 2006, and you don't want to confuse all those loyal buyers by throwing in some piece of leftfield design like, say, a curve.

No, this is a Volvo, and it's gonna do what Volvos do best. Carry stuff. And people. And more stuff. A long way.

Like children, for example. The V70's proudest boast is - ready for this? - the 'innovative dual-stage integrated rear booster seat'. Yes, it's an adjustable child cushion.

An important and useful innovation no doubt, but about as exciting as dandruff. 

It's the same story under the bonnet. The V70's engine line-up is topped by a three-litre six-cylinder petrol block - a new engine for Volvo. 

Turbocharged to produce 281bhp, it'll dispatch 60mph in just over seven seconds and crack 150mph before the limiter kicks in.

All very well, but we were rather hoping to see the V8 from Volvo's own S80, with which the new V70 shares a platform. But no, the boys from Gothenburg decided to play it safe.

And that's exactly what the new V70 is. Safe. It's got every electronic aid and safety feature known to man... but all the character of a rutabaga.

A rutabaga with a class-leading number of rear-seat folding combinations, though. Sixteen, since you ask. You didn't?