Once, when Volvo estates were rigidly rectilinear and as upright as the people who drove them, they were often stereotyped as middle-class mules. Today there is more than the hint of a curve about them and Volvo has succeeded in going stylish.

If you want an attractive alternative to a big 4x4 for transporting the family, the art deco sideboard, kayaks and Ikea flatpacks then the V70 is still one of the best load luggers around. The outgoing V70 was thoroughly thought through, and that legacy is evident in the new version. The longer nose has had its corners chamfered to disguise the extra length needed to better protect hapless pedestrians.

The interior is all new, from the dashboard complete with Volvo’s floating centre console, to a luggage room with more convenience features. As you’d expect, there are safety advances – mainly directed at protecting occupants, especially children, in side impacts – and a radar-guided collision avoidance system.

This V70 is bigger too, not only for safety but accommodation, with 60 litres of extra luggage space and more room for passengers. The cabin fittings are of slightly higher quality, and the aura of luxury is more than show, the enlarged front seats proving particularly comfortable during lengthy trips.

Being in the back is no hardship either, with adequate room for three, even if you can’t quite slide your feet beneath the chairs in front. But parents will be pleased with an optional pair of built-in child booster seats, the two-position cushions suitable for offspring of various sizes.

Behind these lie the carpeted tract of luggage space that is this car’s raison d’être, and there’s plenty of it, accessed via a tailgate that’s wider now that sections of the rear lamp clusters reside on the panel itself. That said, the load deck is fairly high, making the space shallower than you’d expect, and though the false floor hides a storage tray, it’s barely deep enough for a small fish to swim in. But, the load deck is pretty long, and the load bay itself is very regularly shaped, enabling the V70 to carry significantly more real-world chattels, reckons Volvo, than the Audi A6 Avant and BMW 5-series Touring, despite official figures suggesting otherwise. The Mercedes E-class estate is larger still, however.

As before, the V70 is available with a heap of practical extra-cost options. There’s a sliding load-floor an electrically opening and closing tailgate (order this and you’ll never want to be without it), and laminated side window glass to prevent smash and grab break-ins. Among the standard kit is a rear lighting system that ensures that, should you have the tailgate open to carry a long load, brake lighting duties are transferred to the rear lamp clusters fixed to the rear pillars.

The new V70 can be pulled along by a variety of engines, ranging from a new 285bhp six cylinder petrol engine at the top of the range, to a 163bhp 2.4 litre turbodiesel at the bottom. That engine is expected to account for 40% of sales, another 40% accounted for by the 185bhp diesel version that we test here. It is not the most sophisticated diesel drivetrain, but in fact it can get the V70 travelling quite briskly, though kickdown on the auto box is often too slow for opportunistic overtaking moments. It is a very effective motorway mile-muncher, however, not least because it is impressively quiet at a cruise.

The V70’s suspension copes well with motorways, and proves adequate, if hardly sporting, on twistier roads. Is its behaviour better than the old car’s? Marginally, yes, but not as much as you’d expect given that this edition is new.

And that pretty much sums up this V70. It presents small advances on a number of fronts, but not enough, somehow, to justify redesigning the car from bumper to bumper. The old Volvo 145/245 series enjoyed a 27-year lifespan. Yet such is our apparent need for the new that Volvo feels compelled to replace each range every seven years. Good though this new V70 is, it’s hard not to conclude that the model it replaces didn’t really need replacing at all.

Vital statistics

Model Volvo V70 2.4 D5 SE

Engine type 2400cc, five cylinders

Power/Torque 185bhp @ 4000rpm / 295 lb ft @ 2000-2750rpm

Transmission Six-speed automatic

Fuel/CO2 38.2mpg (combined cycle) / 195g/km

Performance 0-62mph 9.4sec / Top speed: 116mph

Price £27,995 plus Geartronic/auto option price

Verdict Practical, comfortable and versatile

Date of release September

The opposition

Model Audi A6 Avant 2.7 TDI SE £29,105

For Stylish, beautifully finished cabin

Against Pricier, not quite so spacious

Model Mercedes E 220 CDI Classic £31,032

For Roomy, nicely finished, refined

Against Expensive, less powerful