A Swedish BMW?Let me admit to a bias; I dislike front-wheel-drive (FWD) configurations- period. With that off my chest I can confidently state that the
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| (Photo: Rob Rothwell, Auto123.com) |
Sport-Package-equipped, Volvo V50 T5 is the best handling FWD compact wagon I have tested, and quite likely the best handling FWD wagon available today. It's Volvo's entry-level wagon intended to give the Germans a run for their Euro dollar. Direct competitors of the
V50 include BMW's 325xi Touring wagon and Audi's A4 Avant wagon, both of which are all-wheel-drive (AWD) configured. Not to be left curbside when it snows, the V50 can also be equipped with AWD although front wheels alone pulled this week's tester. This mighty trio of sport wagons all measure similarly in overall dimensions and in their ability to stow gear. Despite its svelte proportioning, the V50 comfortably passed my compact-wagon litmus test by swallowing my road bike whole. With the wagon's rear seat folded flat, there was no need to drop the front or rear wheel from the bike's large frame to fully insert the human-powered machine into the V50's cargo hold.
Such versatility is what makes the sport-wagon segment so popular among the recreationally oriented who don't wish to surrender the exhilaration of a sports car to acquire the convenience of a wagon. With the V50 T5, Volvo has done a particularly good job of blending these polar
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| (Photo: Rob Rothwell, Auto123.com) |
attributes into a marvelously constructed unit; and because it's a Volvo, safety reigns supreme. Volvo's sport wagon looks every bit as athletic and inspiring as the noted competition, putting it into some exotic company based on style alone. When it comes to build quality, the V50 has no excuses to make. Extremely narrow panel gapping is dead-on precise, as is assembly tolerances found within its highly functional cabin. The materials in use are first-rate and easily up to the benchmark set by Audi. The V50's cabin architecture is in many ways unique, which is to say Volvo'ish. Take the exotic floating centre console trimmed in brushed aluminum. It beautifully houses audio and HVAC controls in one of the more intuitive setups I've seen in years. Behind the ultra slim centre console is a convenient storage tray. An optional navigation screen pops up from the centre dash.
Seating in the V50 is superb, at least in the front buckets. Those in my tester were upholstered in Volvo's slick new T-Tec, graphite material and were power adjustable except for a manually operated lumbar support. Leg and headroom in the V50's cockpit is very good up front, making the
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| (Photo: Rob Rothwell, Auto123.com) |
vehicle feel bigger than it is. Rear seating is fairly spacious but as one would expect in a compact wagon, moving the front seat to mid position is necessary if adults are to be comfortable in the rear; ah, but passenger comfort is secondary to driver comfort, at least when I'm piloting. The V50 feels like it was designed around the driver. All things important fall naturally to hand- the steering wheel being the most obvious. The ergonomically contoured, tilt/telescoping 3-spoke leather clad wheel I gripped all week was divine to work with. In addition to a brushed aluminum insert set into the upper half of the rim, it featured thumb actuated cruise control buttons and redundant controls for the V50's sensational-sounding, optional Dolby Pro Logic II audio system. The second most important instrument falling precisely to hand was exclusive to the driver's right palm.
