I've posted this on the V 70 forum but thought it might be of general interest as well as a measure of Volvo's (deplorable) direction:

My '03 V-70 2.4T is at the dealer -service - some (extended) warranty repair etc. They gave me an new '08 XC-70 to drive - here is a brief capsule of my reactions:

The good: New I-6 engine is very smooth - like my old Mercedes, you can't tell if the engine is running at idle - transmission very smooth but positive and the steering is excellent (especially for a 4WD) - real wood on the interior trim and the leather covered wheel feels great.

The bad: - higher belt line makes the car seem a lot bigger - harder to place on the road. No temperature gauge!!! - silly bar graph fuel gauge (shades of the rotating drum speedo on the 122 S.) Dash light level control does not control the LED info brightness (fuel level, odometer, trip meter, messages) and they are hard to read. push on-push off parking brake - another electrical gadget to go wrong and a gimmicky "no key" key that you stick in the dash and then press a "start" button (and press again to shut off) - more opportunities for electrical glitches.

The ugly - the entire exterior compared to the earlier models - too much gratuitous chrome and black plastic - looks like a japanese crossover SUV wannabee!

Pretorien

 

I share the same view about electronic gadgets, but the industry is heading that way and we can't stop them.