Volvo C70, S40, and C30 are top rated in AutoPacific’s 2008 Ideal Vehicle Awards

The automotive research and consulting firm AutoPacific announced yesterday its annual Ideal Vehicle Awards (IVA), of which three category winners were Volvos.

An “ideal” is defined as an excellent or perfect example. So, in search of the ideal vehicle, AutoPacific asked owners to rate their model year 2008 cars and trucks using a measurement of 15 key vehicle attributes.

According to AutoPacific, “The Volvo S40 was the clear winner in the Luxury Mid-Size Car category.  With high rating for exterior size, visibility, ride, handling and safety it’s easy to see why the S40 is an ideal vehicle.  Volvo engineers and designers definitely hit their target.  Luxury Mid-Size car owners’ scores prove that Volvo understands their buyers very well.  Top marks were also given for seat firmness, interior lighting, wheels and tires, and exterior styling.”

In the Image Compact Car category AutoPacific cited, “Image Compact Cars are products where style typically trumps absolute function.  In the case of the Volvo C30 it seemed to appeal to Image Compact Car owners on both an emotional and rational level.  Owners’ preferences for the C30’s exterior styling, ride, and safety blended well with the interior lighting, seat firmness, and level of technology.”

The Volvo C70 shared the top spot in the Aspirational Luxury Car category.  AutoPacific summarized that, “Even though the Volvo C70 is only available in one trim level (T5) it seems as though the Swedes have packaged the vehicle just right.  With the most modern convenience features, owners in the Aspirational Luxury Car segment found the C70 well-equipped, giving the C70 top honors as a 2008 ideal vehicle.  Of course it comes standard with numerous safety features (it’s a Volvo), sharp wheels and tires, excellent interior lighting and appreciate seat firmness.”

AutoPacific’s IVAs are quantitative gauges measuring how closely a vehicle matches an owner’s expectations. The buyers who are least likely to want to change their vehicle: they are driving their “ideal” vehicle. The AutoPacific report concludes, “The automakers that best understand their customers and create the vehicle their buyers demand come closest to the ideal.”

The results of the IVA were based on data collected from thousands of new car and truck buyers who rated 15 specific vehicle attributes: exterior styling, exterior size, passenger roominess, cargo space, driver’s seat comfort, drivers seat visibility, interior technology, interior lighting, power and acceleration, ease of getting in and out, interior storage compartments, ride, handling, safety features and tires and wheels.

A complete Ideal Vehicle Awards summary and additional information can be found on AutoPacific’s website: http://www.autopacific.com/

Volvo XC90 is Volvo’s best selling model worldwide with 85,994 cars sold in 2005. It was first launched in 2003 based on the Volvo P2 platform. Because of its superb performance, the Volvo XC90 also won the North American Truck of the Year award and Motor Trend magazine’s Sport/Utility of the Year for 2003. It was Volvo XC90 which pioneered Roll Stability Control when it debuted for the 2003 model year. This bit of technology uses a gyro sensor to identify every SUV owner’s greatest fear – a potential rollover situation, and activates the stability control system to try to avert it.

XC90’s front end is engineered to deflect the effects of frontal impacts and also to repel any pedestrians up on to the hood of the vehicle rather than underneath the bonnet. Volvo is the first carmaker to use a unique frontal structure known for crumple zones and pre-determined positions for the engine and other ancillaries during a frontal impact. With this technology, XC90 has gained the honor of having the worlds’ best performance in the SUV roll over test. Another interesting feature that debuted for the 2007 model year is the Blind Spot Information System (BLIS), which monitors images from a pair of cameras mounted on the side mirrors and warns the driver via an indicator light when another vehicle moves into the XC90’s blind spot.

The Volvo XC90 is offered in two versions: namely the 3.2L and 4.4L V8 variants. Available with front- or all-wheel drive, the first one carries a 3.2-liter inline six-cylinder engine rated for 235 horsepower. The second one, the 311-hp, 4.4-liter V8 engine provides strong acceleration, zooming from 0 to 60 mph in just 7.6 seconds.

Thanks to its advanced safety features and different XC90 parts, the Volvo XC90 is now considered as one of the world’s best luxury SUV’s. The Volvo XC90 parts are developed with only the latest Volvo technology in order to achieve award-winning performance. Most of Volvo XC90 parts eventually wear out due to constant use, while some gets damaged because of lack of maintenance or improper use. It is important to keep every single Volvo XC90 part at its best by having regular check-ups and immediate replacement of damaged parts.