This is the car that most readily comes into your head when someone mentions the word “Volvo”: big, solid, safe and practical. The new generation V70 is wonderfully spacious, with superb seats and a fabulous, ergonomically designed dash, pared to elegant simplicity. The boot offers 745 litres of space which extends to 1641 litres with the rear seats folded. And it isn’t just a box: inside the boot you’ll find nets, tie-downs and hooks in abundance, so you can keep whatever you’ve stowed from ending up looking like the aftermath of a burglary or a jumble sale at the end of the journey.

This is large, chunky estate so it clearly hasn’t been designed to hurtle along a racing circuit. But it gives a genteel, smooth ride and just isn’t remotely bothered about pretending to be sporty (even though there is a Sport model). The 2.0 litre petrol engine, to be frank, is punching above its build – it can’t quite deliver sufficient power. But the 2.0 litre diesel is very good and the top of the range T6 AWD superb. The front wheel drive handles well in a slightly workmanlike way but the four wheel drive has noticeably more tenacious traction; neither aim to be especially exciting but this car is exceptionally safe and reliable and not designed with thrill-seekers in mind. The new Volvo V70 is a lot less box-like and angular than its predecessor and looks distinctly classy.