When it's one of those days when everybody around you is driving as if they're in an arcade game, it's reassuring to have around you a solid vehicle that's been engineered with safety in mind. But the Volvo 850 GLT wagon is much more than that; it can win the game, too.

    You can be excused for thinking, "Volvo?" After all, fun isn't a word we've always associated with the stolid Swede; in my New England youth, Volvos were the dowdy choice of overprotective parents. No more; the folks in Linkoping have discovered a playful streak, and you're the beneficiary.

    Start with the interior. At first, it's what you expect; the interior (done in blacks and greys on our dark grey test car) is very straight up, the dash simply, almost starkly designed. "A broad boxy layout, but it's not unpleasant. All the parts fit very neatly together, and I find it more pleasing then the collection of swooshy curves in the last Ford we drove," noted the Splendid Co-Driver.

    Then the seats throw you a curve. They look not stark but cushy, with a soft, slightly loose leather, much too plush to be properly Lutheran. Yet they feel firm and surprisingly comfortable, although the lumbar support wheel is partially blocked by the center console and a little hard to use.

    Delightful idiosyncracies abound in this vehicle. Little pyramids in the center console are power mirror switches, although there's nothing to tell you that. Indeed, labeling's best described as Scandinavian Laconic; the pictograms are reasonably clear, albeit with some puzzling acronyms. They label the fuel gauge in number of gallons, and it appears to officially recognize, as we've always suspected, that gas gauges are nonlinear. The markings are 18 at full, at 12 at half, 6 at three-quarters, and 2. The driver's seat has memory positions -- three of them! For a couple and a kid, or is it just those enlightened Scandinavians (one for Sven, one for Inga and one for the au pair)? More conventionally, each door has a big, deep bin for maps and objects. The center console sports a rubber coin tray (which hides the OBD-2 connector), and buttons for the power windows. A center storage compartment hides two cup holders in its lid; a clever design, but surprisingly flimsy, and larger cups don't fit. However do the Swedes manage tankards of glogg?

    The SC-D is a big fan of the separate heat systems for passenger and driver, and Volvo doesn't disappoint her; the 850 has fully automatic, dual zone climate control. (I wonder how the car figures out what's supposed to be going on.) When set to automatic (AUT, says the switch, so it either runs on automatic or teleports you to Austria), the fan in the 850 GLT intelligently doesn't start blowing until there's actually some heat built up in the motor. Unlike other vehicles, we do not see a mix setting which allows air to simultaneously defrost the windshield and the feet.

    I'm a sucker for moonroofs; the 850 has one, and it's well tinted so that you can leave it open in strong sunshine. The steering wheel is oversized, very large and thick, you can get a good handful of it. Passengers can get their own handful, with grab handles up above the doors; as you'll see, they're not superfluous.

    We interrupt this review for a brief daytime running light rant: People, if I wanted my headlights on, I'd turn them on. Thank you. The 850 GLT actually respects you enough to allow overriding of the DRLs by a small set screw in the headlight switch panel. Sorry, Canadian readers, the manual very clearly states you're not to touch it.

    Switchgear feel is not quite as solid as on the Germans and Japanese that imitate the Germans. It's a little bit light.

    The exterior squareness of Volvo wagons has evolved some over the years, but you'll recognize it right away. From the inside, it feels larger than it looks outside. Oddly, as you look forward, the styling of the dash and such lead you to believe it's a very boxy vehicle. Looking rearward, though, it's all curves. Inside the D pillar is curved plastic, so the rear hatch looks rounded. It's nonetheless very easy to tell where the corners are for parallel parking.

    The passenger seat adjusts (although without power assist) over a very wide range of angles, and it slides back very, very far. It can be quite comfortable for us taller types. The rear seat is split, with a center arm rest. There's lots of room in the rear seat and the wayback; obviously not as much room as in a minivan, but awful lot of room for a sports sedan. Choose your reference carefully, lest midlife crisis set in.

    With the handling, it could really use a cargo net.

    We like large taillights. We like people behind you to know what you're doing. This car has large tail lights going up the pillars on either side of the rear windows, similar to those on the Chevy Lumina APV. We think they're quite ugly. Ah, hypocrisy, where is thy sting?

    Outside, the only clues to the GLT's secret nature are a low ride height and Goodyear Eagle GAs, nice and meaty 195/60X15s, on alloy wheels exposing big brake discs at all four corners. This is, in fact, is a vehicle of paradoxes. The seats looked soft, they are very firm. It's square outside and round on the inside. It looks like a box, but drives like a sports car. Come on along for the ride!

ON THE ROAD

    Cruising north on Maryland's Route 301 in mixed rain, and snow, and little bits of sleet, the Volvo feels right at home. And, to be sure, it is. But just wait for a dry road.

    The GLT is capable of things that will throw the tots around quite a bit. It is a very confident handling machine. It's a little bit busy when driving down the street, but the suspension is very controlled. And there's a huge amount of grip from the big Eagle GAs. When you're pushing hard in a corner, some body roll becomes evident, but the grip doesn't go away. There's a hint of understeer, but it's basically very well balanced. You can slice a curve right to the apex. At one point I had to get on the brakes in the middle of a corner, and the tail did not get light in the slightest. Very good suspension, well damped; you know what the road is doing, but bumps and heaves are not transmitted directly to you, and the car just feels utterly solid. This is easily the most corner loving station wagon we've ever seen.

    The 850 GLT's well tuned front wheel drive exhibits very little, if any, in the way of front wheel drive characteristics except on a slick surface, when it characteristically pulls you out of slippery situations, instead of wagging its tail. Further evidence that they did not intend the 850 GLT for just anybody: the steering is fast enough that you can shuffle steer and get something done.

    The automatic transmission has settings for economy, sport, and winter. When you decide that you really want to go, it shifts well, it keeps the torque coming. In sport mode, the 5 (yes, 5)-cylinder engine, because of where the shift points are, frequently sounds like it's about to herniate itself. It's not offensive, but seems a bit loud and intrusive for a vehicle of this class, and isn't a really burly engine sound. It sounds like one of those things that chops up leaves, as if you were hearing it from the inside your house and it was outside. When cruising, the engine note is a deep throated purr, but not from an entirely happy cat.

    While the 2.4 liter engine may not speak strongly, when you get it to kick down the GLT really does go. The tradeoff is less low-end dig. I'd love to try this car with a stick, though.

    Cruising at 60 yields 2500 revs with the automatic. The engine at that point is barely noticeable, just ticking over. There's a little bit of wind noise in the Volvo, but not near as much as you would expect from such an apparently boxy style; it's a quiet and comfortable vehicle. Closing the privacy panel to the moonroof quiets things even further (until you get to uneven pavement, whereupon the sliding panel vibrates and makes noise itself.)

    Cruise controls are understandable, and work reasonably well. While it doesn't explicitly have a cancel feature, if you switch it off and back on, it does not, unlike others, forget the last setting, so it functions the same. On wet roads, the rear window of the 850 GLT wagon collects road water and dirt very readily. Fortunately, the rear wiper has an interval setting, which all rear wipers everywhere should have. The 850's tailgate has a little door over the keyhole, we'd guess to keep it from freezing up in that rear spray.

    Crossing the Chesapeake Bay Bridge in a high and noisome gale, the GLT trembled not a bit. One did not notice that there was any wind at all.

    It's got a lot of brake, but pedal travel is very long. Pump it once and you get great brakes all the way, but that first time it goes down a long way without retarding the vehicle. This may be an adjustment problem on this one car. Nevertheless, once the brakes started doing something, they came in with gusto.

    At night, the instrumentation in the Volvo is very bright and very legible, simple white numbers on a black background. Wipers have three settings, one of which is delay, but the delay is not variable. The SC-D likes the bright map lights that allow her to "read a paperback novel with great ease, as if it were daylight." Unfortunately, they're not well focused, thus distracting for the driver, so we made her put the book away. She also likes "the little screw turn things that keep the floor mats in place. I think that's very nice and very practical."

    The SC-D feels very safe in this vehicle, noting the Volvo feels hewn from a single billet of steel. "It certainly doesn't feel like I'm driving a station wagon," declared she who grew up in a Vista Cruiser.

    When you release the hood, the secondary release pokes itself out from the grill. ('Twould help if it were yellow, to those of us who didn't know where to look.) Underhood, the Volvo 850 is very clean. Everything you need to get to is right there and easy to reach. It doesn't look cluttered at all. Also, aesthetes, the 5-cylinder is a lovely engine to look at.

    On the highway in economy mode, we got 26.5 mpg. Around town in sport mode, 22.6.
 

SUMMING UP

    I'll admit it, I like this Volvo. It does lots of things, and while it may not make you giggle, it's quite enjoyable to drive. You look forward to corners in this wagon. With the carrying capacity, handling, and solid build, is there anything this vehicle can't do? It's a wagon, a luxury sedan, a sport coupe -- it's Everycar.