2004 Volvo S60 R Awd Turbo 6 Speed Manual on 2040-cars

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2021 Volvo XC60 Review | Swedish design; no assembly required

The 2021 Volvo XC60 may not be the first car to spring to mind when considering European luxury crossovers, but despite lacking the cachet of tier-one manufacturers, it is a solid, safety-first offering with attractive styling and excellent interior design, rising above the mainstream market and rivaling some of the continent’s best. The XC60Â’s cabin is uniquely Swedish: clean, modern and at its tastefully adorned best when done up in earth tones and natural wood trim. You won't confuse it for something from Germany or Japan. Its seats are among the most comfortable and supportive of any luxury car under $100,000, and its Sensus infotainment system is capable and flexible. No Volvo is perfect. Wheel size upgrades tend to disproportionately impact ride comfort, and Sensus can be slow to boot up and respond to inputs. Its powertrains are also lacking in refinement, with even the 400-horsepower plug-in hybrid model (Formerly the T8; now dubbed “Recharge”) lacks polish despite its robust performance. But the XC60 is nonetheless impressive, and thanks to its diverse array of powertrain options and versatile tech suite, this luxury crossover offers something for everybody. WhatÂ’s new for 2021? For 2021, the XC60 is largely carry-over. Models with the T8 powertrain are now referred to as “Recharge,” which is VolvoÂ’s new universal name for its plug-in hybrids. Keyless entry is now standard, along with illuminated door handles. WhatÂ’s the interior and in-car technology like? VolvoÂ’s attractive and refined shape is mirrored in its stylish, welcoming interiors. With premium materials and beautiful design from top to bottom, itÂ’s difficult to find anything negative to say about the XC60Â’s interior. Open-pore wood and real metal are both available depending on trim, and Recharge Inscription models even get an Orrefors crystal gear selector. VolvoÂ’s Sensus infotainment suite is compatible with both Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, and also offers robust integration with phones via Bluetooth, including speech-to-text, allowing it to read and compose text messages without outside assistance. Sensus lacks polish in some areas, offering slow boot-up times and menus that can be difficult to navigate on the road. Still, several of our editors appreciate its touchscreen layout and find it less overwhelming than admittedly quicker and flashier systems like Mercedes' MBUX and BMW's iDrive.

What's the deal with comedians and their cars?

'Round about the time in his life when it should happen for all of us, Jerry Seinfeld's ship came in with a force that almost split the dock. He'd been doing pretty well with his observational style ("There's a cereal now that's just cookies. Have you seen this? Cookies for breakfast. It's called Cookie Crisp. Cookies for breakfast! They oughta just call it 'To Hell With Everything!'"). But he showed no signs of setting the world on fire until he got cast in a show that was either about – depending on the level of comedy geek you ask – the average New Yorker, the very worst people in the world, or nothing. Suddenly Jerry Seinfeld was pretty much the center of the comedy universe. And while his comedy was at once both brilliantly innovative and rooted in the mundane, his next move was a predictable grab at something exotic – he went out and bought his dream car. A rather nice 911, actually. As almost everyone knows, it didn't stop there, and the man put together one of the most enviable collections of iconic Porsches we're likely to see. So what's the connection, if there is one, between cars and comedy? As far as Jerry Seinfeld (the man) is concerned, he's probably not the same guy as the Jerry on Seinfeld (the show) although it's hard to say for sure; his public persona is almost unnervingly well managed. But cars and comedy were the constants in his life then, and, well, just look at what the guy does now; Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee is a cultural constant, and we're certainly seeing Seinfeld the man in that one, and cars are obviously still central to his life. And it's been that way with a lot of very, very good comedy guys. Cars seem to round out their lives, to become the yin to their comedy yang. Ernie Kovacs might not have invented visual gags or surreal humor, but he got them both to kill on television in the 1950s, so he's a comedy hero. He died behind the wheel of his beloved Corvair wagon, so he's absolutely some kind of car-guy hero as well. Bill Cosby, the hottest name in comedy for a good long while, had Ferraris, one of two fire-breathing supercharged big-block Cobras (pictured below), and a BMW 2002tii – none of which either contributed to or in any way make up for the profoundly sociopathic creature he turned out to be, but it's still a data point. The Smothers Brothers, who defied the networks and the norms by getting blatantly political before that sort of thing was cool, went sports car racing.

New Volvo ad remembers the joy of rear-facing jump seats

With the rise in popularity of first the minivan and later the crossover as the default family vehicle, there have been about 20 years of children who have missed out on the joy of rear-facing jump seats in station wagons. It means kids today don't know the pleasure to be found in making faces or lewd gestures at other drivers while their parents can't see. Plus, they don't know the slightly nauseous feeling of watching the world pass by in reverse. However, a group of filmmakers look back with nostalgia at this increasingly uncommon automotive feature in a new ad for the 2015 Volvo V60.
As part of its sponsorship of the National Film Festival for Talented Youth, Volvo commissions a team each year to create an advertisement to be shown during the festival. This year's shows how the company's buyers have gone from riding in the back to driving the brand's cars. Scroll down to check out the charming ad, along with some wistful looks at classic Volvo wagons, before the jump seat is forgotten.