Volvo

Though I tend to drive less frequently these days, my 2005 Acura TL turned six years old, and the time had come for something new. I test drove a plethora of vehicles including the Audi A4 and S4, BMW 335, Infiniti GSx, Lexus IS 350, Mercedes C and finally the Volvo S60 T6. The finalists were the Audi S4, the Lexus IS 350 and to my surprise, the Volvo S60 T6. All three of these vehicles are offered in all wheel drive, a definite plus for my New England climate.

The Volvo S60 T6 is different from Volvo's of the past, it has very sleek European lines, a sporty look, excellent acceleration (300HP) and provides a great ride. It boasts extremely comfortable ergonomic seats, great styling, a state of the art navigation system and all the options I required. The S60 T6 also came with a 5 year/50,000 mile full maintenance, bumper to bumper warranty, including oil changes, brakes, rotors, wiper blades, etc., ensuring a what I expect to be a maintenance free 5 year ownership at my mileage levels. When I compared the total price, after adding the options I selected, the Volvo came in comparably priced to the Infiniti and less than the Audi S4 or Lexus, which came as no surprise. To my surprise, however, Volvo said they would provide a complimentary trip to Sweden to pick up and use my new car. I was somewhat dubious about that last statement and researched several blogs on the subject.According to my research and the DVD Volvo sent, the free trip included free airfare for two, 3 nights free hotel (3 nights for existing Volvo owners or 1 night for new owners), airport transfer to your hotel, hotel pickup to the Volvo delivery center, lunch and a tour of their factory, and use of your own Volvo for your vacation, including insurance and roadside assistance. Assuming the commercial accurately portrayed the trip, this appeared to be a really fun way to take another vacation abroad, compliments of Volvo.