There are so many things I love about the Volvo XC90. There is plenty of room for 7 passengers and with a young child who likes to have play dates, extra seats are always a bonus. There is plenty of cargo space when the 3rd row seating is not in use. I can fit a large dog crate plus two dogs and the human's luggage in the rear. The most amazing feature to me though is the AWD. I grew up in a warm climate but now live in an area that regularly receives snow in the winter. I am naturally a bit nervous driving in those conditions but the Volvo doesn't miss a beat. The AWD is automatic and there is a winter weather mode that lowers the torque and makes for a steady ride in less than ideal conditions. I now have over 100,000 miles on the vehicle and have never had any major maintenance issues with big ticket items like engine or transmission.

The Volvo XC90 is the first Volvo I have driven, although it is my husband's second Volvo. He was sold on Volvo's because of their dependability and safety, two things that are very important to us for transporting our children. The XC90 is a sporty-designed SUV, not boxy (like I remember the older Volvos). It is roomy, well appointed with dual airbags, temperature control for the front drivers and passengers seats, and a TV for watching movies on the back of the front headrests. It seats 7, although the back 2 seats (back row) are not comfortable if you are an adult, or even an older kid...but they are perfect for younger kids. The middle seat (in the middle row) also has a built-in booster seat, which is handy; it also converts to a traditional seat quite easily. The outside seat on the middle row can easily slide back to gain access to the back row, but with a car seat there (in our case) the kids have to climb in through the trunk, or step over the middle seat. It would be nice if it was a little roomier (especially in the back seat) and sometimes I feel like they really just fit that third row in there so they could say it seats 7. But either way, with so limited choices for seating this many people (mini van? No, thank you.), we've found this was a very good choice for our family. And even though it's a 2008, you'd never guess it wasn't a newer model because of the dashboard features.