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From Swedespeed.com Reviews and Road Tests Americans love adventure. A generation who came of age watching Indiana Jones traverse the far corners of the earth tends to shun the traditional family station wagon and minivan for the sexier Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV), causing the entrenchment of a major automotive segment. Wagons and minivans alike have tried with varying degrees of success to ape the “cool” SUV stigma by adding rugged-looking cladding and all-wheel drive, though they still tend to be perceived as cars trying to be trucks. The “trying to be a truck” strategy for some reason tends to be more looked down upon than say trucks that try to be cars - complete with very little applied or intended skill toward off road prowess. One of those cars that looks like an SUV and would assumingly have something to prove is the Volvo XC70.
Answering just this sort of question is what Volvo had in mind recently when they shipped a group of XC70s to the Southern Baja peninsula – deep in the heart of the Mexican countryside.
The Spanish verb “volver” means “to return”. Let’s hope that theme held true. Our course ahead was to be vast and grueling. Over three days Volvo intended us to cover over 400 miles – and hardly on big, high-speed, meandering highways. Rather, a high percentage of the event was performed on the same “roads” as the world-reknowned Baja 1000 endurance race. That figure of 400 miles would prove to balloon to over 500 miles by the time we were done – that last extra hundred being some of the most interesting and grueling of the trip. From rock-climbing to salt flats, fording streams to high-speeds on wash-board textured mud roads - the XC70 would be put through paces few if any of its owners might actually encounter. Further, we’d be driving the facelifted 2005 XC70 equipped with Volvo’s 4C system. Durability and performance of the latter were particularly of interest to us. In fairness to those who try to duplicate this adventure or one like it, Volvo did perform some modifications to the cars being used in the Enduro. In fairness to Volvo, the modifications list was short enough to count on one hand and, with the exception of the tires, available across the parts counter of your friendly neighborhood Volvo dealership. Modifications Power Steering Oil Cooler - It may be December, but the heat in Mexico is still quite impressive. Considering the Southern Baja climate and combined with the grueling pace we’d be maintaining in the middle of the desert, Volvo decided that installation of the higher-capacity stock power steering cooler from the XC90 would be prudent. (Part # 30680192, Current Price $291.77) Skid Plate - We may have been in the middle of a desert, though any initial stereotypes of the environment being all sand were left at the air strip. Over three days of driving, we’d be encountering all sorts of fatal-to-an-engine obstructions such as rocks, large islands between deep tire ruts, flying stone debris and more. With that in mind, Volvo installed one of their accessory skid plates on each of the vehicles. (Part# 8685885, Price $99.00) Refrigerator - Not all modifications were to make the car tougher in the grueling environment of Baja Sur. Volvo’s rear-seat refrigerator was installed instead to toughen up the journalists who took part in the enduro. Acclimated to a lavish life of fine gourmet food while on the manufacturers dime or a Denny’s Grand Slam Breakfast when on their own, neither was to be found in the middle of the Mexican desert. Instead, taquitos for those in the spirit or ham sandwiches for those with a less adventurous palette were packed with drinks for mid-day stops. (Part# 8624155, Price $329.92) Steel Cargo Barrier - Probably more commonly used in the States to keep Spot from jumping into the back seat and diving for cheerios dropped by Jr. from his baby seat, Volvo intended a more performance-oriented purpose for their Steel Cargo Barrier accessory. As the drivers would never return to the same place for sleep or even make their return flight to los Estados Unidos, all of our bags had to come with us. Dropping them in the trunk behind the steel barrier would keep any of the baggage from bouncing forward, particularly if the rubber side of the XC70 didn’t stay on the road, dirt, sand or rocks.
Before departing for the Malarrimo Enduro, we received some PR photos for the trip. As with any photographs of this type, they depicted a highly picturesque place that was almost storybook-like in its quaintness While the were cars shown dirty – these fantastic-looking photos just don’t communicate the hardships these cars were exposed to. We shot some photos during the trip too, though anything less than video wouldn’t expose just how grueling this event was. Over this week, we’ll reconstruct the trip and do our best to share just how intense it was. Each day will include a recap of a day of driving, with a summary of the event at the end of the week. With luck, we’ll communicate just how impressive a display it was for a car that very unfairly gets stereotyped as “Mom’s Taxi” or an “SUV wannabe”. ARTICLE SERIES LINKS 1. Introduction 2. Part I: Loreto to Mulege' 3. Part II: Mulege' to San Ignacio 4. Part III: San Ignacio to San Francisquito 5. Trip Wrapup
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