Introducing.... LIKVAGN

[eTiMaGo]

So, my (future) brother-in-law is looking to get rid of his pickup truck and take over our 2013 Yaris... At the same time, a buddy of mine was looking to sell his 2015 Volvo V60... We crunched the numbers, it'll basically be double the monthly payments that we do on the Yaris, but I'll be getting a raise next year, so we can swing it...

And I'm now the proud owner of the aforementioned Volvo

It's a 2015 V60 T4F (Flex Fuel) R-Design.

Powered by a 1.6L Turbo 4-cylinder pushing 180hp yet maintaining decent fuel economy for a car its size. It can take E85, so even though mileage will take a hit, the cost per mile is a little cheaper than 95RON gas, and cleaner too (not to mention the possibility of running higher turbo pressures...) Not the fastest car in the world, but a good balance between performance and economy.

R-design spec means it has some sexy 19" wheels, lowered suspension and stiffened chassis, so it handles pretty well. Yet it's not overly bumpy, and the plush leather seats are a real delight.

But my favorite aspect has to be the tech. It may not be cutting-edge stuff anymore, but adaptive cruise control is such a relief... Ever since I having a girlfriend and some more free time, I have been driving a lot more than before, and longer distances too. And my right leg would just be numb after a while of modulating speeds to follow the flow of traffic. Now I just have to press a button and the car will follow the car in front of me.

Being a Volvo, it has a ton of safety features too, airbags all around, blind spot warnings, emergency braking... Maybe I'm getting older, I used to curse car manufacturers for adding all these "nanny" systems and taking away the pleasure of driving, but I can understand and appreciate it now.

So, all in all, I'm super duper happy. In about a week we'll be taking a first proper road trip, 700+ km (about 450mi) to spend a few days with my mom, and I am really looking forward to it!

Oh and the nickname, LIKVAGN? Swedish for hearse, so wrong yet so right