Customer Feature - Ross Melvin

Customer Spotlight

Beast: The do-it-all Volvo

by: Ross Melvin - ipd customer

"My 2007 XC90 V8 AWD Sport was an absolute positive experience, it really was the "do all" Volvo."

I bought my XC90 with 40K miles on the clock and loved every mile of the next 30K I put on it until it was basically totaled in an accident. I called my XC90 the Beast for one simple reason, that V8 engine. This SUV was so much fun to drive - chuck into a corner, get on the loud pedal, feel the inside front wheel spin, the AWD and DSTC systems redirecting power, then the glorious growl from the V8 and a big smile on my face. It felt heavy but secure and always willing to go where you wanted.

High speed driving was a pleasure too, near silent at legal speeds. On a closed road, I can confirm mine was not limited to 130 mph, very confident and surefooted. The AWD drive system always made me feel like I had the upper hand on mother nature in the tremendous thunderstorms we get here in the south. Oh and it helped out in the mud too!

Another instance the AWD helped was in towing, starts on the slipperiest boat ramps, muddy tracks at the barn with the horse trailer or moving me off to college, never let me down. Having 7 of the most comfortable seats (in the world) was a a valuable feature to haul all my friends around or I could fold them down and take the dog to the beach. Then one morning coming back from class a girl texting ran a stop sign and plowed right into the passenger side front wheel, broke the rim, pushed the driveshaft into the angle gear/ transmission, bent the steering rack, tore the shock from its mounting points. The Beast really was a fun to drive, go anywhere, carry anything or anybody, do it all Volvo. I miss it everyday.

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