$34,000 is a ton of money, but the car is really sweet. My wife and I are looking at selling our 850 and Civic, and buying one replacement -- a V50 or V70.
This latest iteration of Volvo's smallest wagon is now available in three trim levels. The naturally aspirated 168-hp front-drive V50 2.4i starts at $26,345, the turbocharged front-drive T5 model ups the base price to $27,945, and the top-of-the-line T5 AWD you see here adds the four-wheel factor to the same turbo motor and starts at $30,795.
The V50 keeps the same basic proportions as the V40. All the wagon's dimensions are within a few inches of that earlier model's, but by moving the wheels closer to the corners of the vehicle, Volvo designers have made incremental improvements in interior space, as well as improving the styling and handling.
). It's a proven platform that looks good and provides a lot of versatility. The new S40/V50 is still a bit young to show any big problems that might arise and major components would be a good bit more pricey to replace on it because so many parts that use to function as a group of individually purchaseable parts, are now integrated into one big unit. The turbo is a good example of it. If the turbo should ever have any problems, the turbo, manifold, and associated hardware must all be replaced as they are all cast as one part.