Volvo does not build many cars like the Volvo S70: a 4-door saloon with Petrol engine, built from 1996 to 2000 when airbags, anti-lock brakes and Japanese build quality became the world standard. Its designer of record is Peter Horbury (exterior) / José Luis Diaz de la Vega (interior).
The background
The Volvo S70 is a compact executive car produced by Volvo Cars from 1996 to 2000. The S70 was essentially a facelifted 850 saloon. The S70 was replaced with the Volvo S60.
The engineering
Under the skin sits Petrol engine; other versions carried different engines, listed in the specification table below. Kerb weight is 1428 -. The gearbox is a 5-speed Volvo M56 Manual transmission / manual / 5-speed Volvo M58 manual / 5-speed Volvo M59 manual / 4-speed Aisin AW50-42LE Automatic transmission / automatic / 5-speed Aisin AF. The wheelbase is FWD: 2664 mm / AWD: 2654 mm. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
Where it sits
Where it sits in Volvo's history is not in doubt: the Volvo 850 saloon came before it; the Volvo S60 followed it; it was built at Torslanda. On a showroom list of its day it stood against the Lotus Elise, the Alfa Romeo 156, the Škoda Auto Škoda Octavia. Its Volvo stablemates include the Volvo 144 and the Volvo 264 TE.