2003 Volvo XC90; Volvo gets into the sport/ute market with this svelte Svede.(Brief Article)(Evaluation)

In SUV-speak, ``Medium Premium'' refers to all luxo-crossover-not-for-serious-rock-crawling sport/utilities based on passenger cars aimed at semi-wealthy suburban soccer parents. That's where Volvo's XC90 fits. Buyers there want lots of room, plenty of safety stuff and an exterior that says, ``I am not a soccer parent!'' The XC90 delivers all three.

First, the lots of room part. The XC90 has 145.4 cubic feet of it according to the SAE's ``roominess index,'' of which as much as 93.2 cubic feet can be cargo space if the second and third row of seats are laid flat. Yes, the XC90 has a third row of seats (it can also be ordered with just two rows), so it can officially hold up to seven people. In the '80s it was cupholders, in the '90s, doors and in the '00s it seems to be third-row seats. One is an integrated child booster seat for toddlers that not only flips out from the middle seat but slides forward for better nose-wiping access by front-seat parents. Those third-row seats face forward, too (with limited headroom), and the floor is flat when all the seats are folded down.

Other XC90 pluses include an optional flip-down DVD player; a tailgate that splits into 70/30 proportions; storage pockets and cupholders all over; the list goes on.

Volvo loves to yap about safety, too. To the yaw-control systems that are becoming increasingly common, Volvo adds its own Roll-Over Protection System. ROPS uses a torque sensor mounted in the floor to detect when the car starts to rotate about its longitudinal axis, or roll. The system then independently applies brakes to understeer the XC90 out of trouble. We tried to roll the thing and couldn't. Expect to see ROPS in Ford SUVs soon. Also, ...