<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by fishhead:<BR><B> However, I am not cheap.</B><P>Never implied that.<P><B> You get what you pay for but I still can not justify buying a new car that costs about 1/3 of what my house costs.</B><P>True (about the "you get what you pay for) but if a car costs about 1/3 of what your house costs, then that particular car is not the right car for you, if you want to be financially sensible. Unlss you have no other responsibilities, everything has been paid for...then go for it! I would love to own CLK AMG55 but that is roughly 1/3 of what my house costs...can I afford to buy it? Sure...would I be crazy to do so...Sure! <IMG SRC="http://www.swedespeed.com/ubb/wink.gif"><P><B>Definitely not a payment buyer, you can make a payment what ever you want it to be with financing.</B><P>Not necessarily true as purchase price is an integral part of a monthly payment. <P><B>Anyways, I was questioning a Volvo due to its durability, safety, fit, efficiency, and reliability.</B><P>You got all that and more with the new generation V70s.<P><BR><B>I was looking through the Consumer Report buyers guides and noticed that the 1999 wagon had some electrical issues.</B><P>WHO? The Consumer Toastmaster experts? Definitely take that with a grain of salt. There are many cars on their recommended list that truly S..K, and also many cars on their "don't" list that are not bad. They are stupid enough to disgrace the 1999 S80s but not honest enough to make a note on their <B><I>2002</I></B> issue that the car has had stellar results after MY2000. I live with these cars every day and I will tell you to, honestly, do not be afraid in buying a Volvo. There were some years that were tougher than others but the new V70s, S60s and late S80s are tremendous cars to own!<P><B>I was also concerned about fuel efficiency. Speaking of that, what does the T5 get for city and highway miles?</B><P>You are right to be concerned about that and the T5 will be the worst of all the models you are looking at. Don't get me wrong; it is not a gas hog at all but it is not a 4-cylinder Jetta or Passat. And since you will have a lot of extra power I am sure that you will feel "inclined" to use it! If you have a heavy foot avoid any turbo cars (even the VWs) as you will see increased fuel consumption. If you don't care, then go for it! On my T5, I get (even with my ECU upgrade) 17 to 18 in the city, about 21 to 22 mixed driving and when we go on a trip, even if I sustain avg. speeds of more than 75mph, I will never fall below 26 mpg; going up to NY or down to Washington, I have averaged as high as 29mpg even when I was pushing the car forcertain periods of the trip.<P><B>Anyway, I know that the Volvo sounds like a logical choice. It has more room, drives as nice as or better than the Jetta/Passat, has similar crash test ratings</B><P>SIMILAR? Er, I would rather be in ANY Volvo than a Jetta (pretty safe car, especially since the Side Airbags became standard but not a Volvo, by all means). Even the Passat won't give you the full spectrum of safety that Volvo does (Inflatable side Curtains, etc.). Do the VWs have pretensioners on ALL 5 3-point seatbelts? Because Volvos do.<P>What more can you tell me (about the vehicle that is)?<P>I believe I, personally, covered all the great points of why one should own a V70; overall a wholesome car that combines tremendous safety, lots of room, great ease to operate (therefore, pleasurable car to own), excellent versatility for whatever you want to do plus reasonably good performance that can be upgraded for a fairly cheap price (in case you are interested to get more out of it).<P>Good luck!<P><BR>Yannis<BR><HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>