Volvo's Glorious Concept Estate

Images courtesy of  Volvo

I will admit to being a Volvo fan. I've owned a few of them, and in my opinion they are great cars. I could go on, but this post is really all about the glorious Concept Estate Volvo unveiled to the world yesterday.



First off, the wagon's exterior looks gorgeous and athletic, especially the rear quarters. The lights are unique, instead of trying to copy Audi or BMW like everyone else in the industry. Then there are those large wheels, which are just the right size for an athletic appeal, without being ridiculous.

To top it all off, the dark brown paint is perfect. I'm not a huge fan of brown vehicles, to be honest, but the shade Volvo picked is sophisticated. Instead of painting the car a "look-at-me" orange, red, or yellow, the Swedish automaker went with a color that is silky and smooth. Thinking about it too long makes me hungry, so let's move on.

Then there's the interior. Again, Volvo is flashing orange seat belts at us. Why? This and the two previous concept vehicles are supposed to be harbingers of the company's future design language, so perhaps orange belts will be included in production vehicles? Then again, it could just be one of those whacky concept features that never appear in production.

Volvo took a cue from Tesla and is using a large, tablet-like screen that is the center console. Forget monkeying around with a bunch of little knobs that get all loose and break, you can control almost everything from the touch surface. Drivers can even configure the digital gauge cluster using the touch pad, which brings up so many possibilities.

Just like Jaguar and Land Rover, Volvo seems to be doing quite well after getting out from under the thumb of Ford. Of course, Ford's big advantage in sedans seems to be waning, thanks to its reliance on the old technology it stripped from Volvo before it kicked the Swedish automaker to the curb. It seems that Chinese money is doing wonders for Volvo, which is producing better vehicles than before and is looking to refresh its entire lineup. If its future models will be anything like this Concept Estate, Concept XC Coupe, or Concept Coupe, you'll find me in line at a Volvo dealer.