Ranking each edition of the Volvo wagon
Automaker’s design heritage endures through joys (and pitfalls) of family-first body style
Volvo was once known primarily for its focus on safety, but as that leading-edge status has faded in the sea of me-too technologies from other automakers, one aspect of Volvo’s design heritage has remained strong: wagons.
More than any other European automaker, Volvo has championed the wagon’s cause in North America, and as a result has become indelibly associated with the joys (and pitfalls) of this family-first body style.
We’ve ranked each longroof Volvo from best to worst.
See which of our choices you agree with, and if you think we got any wrong, feel free to yell at us from the wayway back.
1974-93 200 SERIES
The Volvo 200 Series — also known as the 245 (200 Series, four-cylinder, five-door) — is the vehicle that has traditionally popped into mind when putting the words “Volvo” and “wagon” together. Produced from the mid-1970s all the way to 1993, the brick-like styling, emphasis on safety, and reputation for extreme durability would do more to build the brand’s reputation in North America than any other model.
It would also introduce scores of European car fans to the pleasures of turbocharging, while maintaining a manual transmission option right up until the end.
It’s the template from which all future Volvo family cars would be judged, and an unquestionable entry into the automotive hall of fame.
1972-73 P1800 ES
Contrary to popular belief, not all early Volvos looked like they had been designed with a T-square. The P1800 coupe made famous by the television show The Saint would give birth to a short-lived twodoor wagon that kept all of its curves and added a glorious rear hatch opening whose massive glass proportions would go on to inspire the Volvo C30 decades later.
Although it handled more like a truck than the sports car its shape suggested, the ES wagon would cap the swoopy P1800’s production and become a prize for collectors in short order.
1993-1997 850
How does the Volvo 850 edge out the ubiquitous 700 Series? Simply put, the 850 represented a significant step forward for the brand in technology and features, ushering in an entirely new outlook on drivetrain design and safety.
The 850 would swap rearwheel drive for front-wheel drive, install a five-cylinder engine (offered in both naturally aspirated and turbo flavours), and even feature a built-in child’s seat.
Volvo would famously take the 850 wagon racing in the British Touring Car Championship, and offer its first hotted-up T5 R version for fans of street performance.
1984-1992 700 SERIES
Intended to replace the 200 Series, the 700 Series was larger and more modern than its predecessor.
The 200’s strong sales convinced Volvo to keep both vehicles in the lineup alongside each other, which made them contemporaries for the latter’s entire run.
Sold as the 740 or 760, depending on engine configuration and trim level, the 700 Series would open the door for Volvo to a more premium-focused customer, which it would explore with the 900 Series in the 1990s.
1962-1969 P220 AMAZON
The P220 Amazon was the first Volvo wagon to truly make a dent in North American auto sales.
Offering a functional tailgate, a small footprint, and a useful interior, the Amazon was also much better equipped than any other previously exported Volvo.
It was a pioneer for the brand that would help it establish a beachhead outside of its native Sweden.
1996-2016 V70
The Volvo V70 moved the automaker’s bread-and-butter sales firmly into the midsized segment. When the departure of the 200 Series, 700 Series, and 850 created a vacuum by the end of the 1990s, it was the V70 that would fill the void.
Following the same basic blueprint as the 850, it would include front-wheel drive but also added all-wheel drive and a crossover-like Cross Country (XC) version into the mix. Safety would continue to be upgraded, cargo space would challenge even larger SUVs, and engine output would reach 300 horsepower with the V70 R model, which also came with a six-speed manual transmission.
Eventually, the standard wagon would be taken out of service, to be replaced entirely by the V70 XC, which was identical in almost every way save for additional plastic body cladding and ground clearance.
2017-PRESENT V90
The current range-topping Volvo V90 is a technological tour de force that features not just the availability of a turbocharged and supercharged four-cylinder engine, but also a hybrid model that boasts 400 hp and 472 pound-feet of torque.
Offered in both standard and Cross Country versions, the V90 is also loaded with luxuries and is available exclusively as a special-order model in recognition of just how few high-end buyers are currently seeking wagons — even those as gorgeous as this one.
1990-1998
900 SERIES/V90
Volvo’s first brush with luxury customers occurred in the 1990s with the 900 Series.
In many ways a continuation of the concepts brought forth by the 700 Series, the 900 focused on power and comfort (with a more sophisticated rear suspension setup available), and became famous for its intercooled turbo models.
It was also the last rearwheel-drive vehicle produced by the brand, bowing out under the briefly adopted V90 moniker by the end of the decade.
2011-PRESENT V60
Volvo’s entry-level wagon levelled up in 2011 with the advent of the V60.
Sleeker and quicker than the V50 it replaced, the vehicle also offered a number of Polestar-tuned performance editions, as well as the choice between front or all-wheel drive.
Although early models were let down by their interior trappings, later versions became a perfectly acceptable alternative to the lower rungs of the German luxury ladder.
2005-2011 V50
Cobbled together from the global parts bin conjured up during its ownership by Ford, the V50 did feature AWD and a manual transmission — at least in some models — but quality concerns would dog it for most of its brief existence, and sales would taper dramatically toward the end of its lifespan.
2000-2004 V40
Restricted to a single drivetrain, the V40 compact sedan featured turbo power and a decent range of standard gear to go with its cargo space.
Largely a placeholder for a company still trying to figure out its compact-wagon strategy, it failed to make the same impact among buyers as the bigger V70, and it wasn’t missed when the V50 replaced it after only a fiveyear run.
1953-1969 DUETT
The Duett was the first wagon Volvo would sell outside of Europe.
Aside from that, however, there’s not much to recommend the Duett as anything more than a novelty form of basic transportation.
Its two-door design limited utility (which would be remedied by the more popular Amazon that replaced it), and very few remain on the road on this side of the Atlantic.