It took having a few children for Ben Whitworth to finally understand Volvo’s appeal
I never really got Volvo. Sure, I’ve driven all the models in its transition from cumbersome and quirky to sleek and sophisticated, but I never got the whole Swedish thing. They were just a bit too bit too Waitrose on a Wednesday, a touch too safe and pious and way too familyman for me.
And then I looked in the mirror a week ago, looked at the baggage beneath my eyes caused by the fraught arrival of my second daughter, and realised that I am a family man. Despite feeling and behaving like an 18-year-old at times, I possess two children, a wife, a large mortgage and a greying beard. I am ripe for Volvoisation. Which is why I have a new XC70 – my new long-term test car – on my driveway. And I just love it.
Like a recently rehabilitated smoker, I can’t bore enough people with my conversion to Volvoism. Everything from its off-beat five-cylinder diesel to its unlacquered wood trim makes perfect sense. The XC70 is a car infused with deep-seated intelligence, and it has real personality and integrity. It’s incredibly comfortable and its logical just-where-you’d-want-it design makes a mockery of most of its German rivals. And with my wife and children on board it allows me to wrap one of the most protective motoring arms around those most precious to me. On our way to Waitrose on Wednesdays.