In the weeks leading up to the arrival of our latest long-termer I've been getting some real stick from my evo colleagues, not only because of Volvo's long time association with elderly golfers, but the fact that the V70 is larger than just about anything else in the evo car park. Including the Brian James trailer.

But there's some serious power under the bonnet of this Swedish lovely, an all-new, in-line, five-cylinder, 2.5-litre turbocharged engine that produces 300bhp and gets you from 0-62 in around 6.0sec - does that really sound like an old man's car?

There are some really subtle styling changes to the V70R compared with the standard V70 - a new extended front spoiler with a bigger air duct for extra engine cooling, bi-xenon headlamps and whopping 18in five-spoke alloy wheels with embossed 'R' logos. These logos appear all over the car; I've counted fourteen so far and I think there's yet another one lurking under the bonnet. There's also a tiny, pointy roof spoiler, which makes the wagon look a little more aggressive in profile. It improves stability - and seems to help keep the rear window clean, too.

The distinctive Flash Green paint is unique to the R. For the interior I had a choice of three upholstery colours, Atacama natural, Gobi beige or Nordkap blue metallic. After much debate I opted for the blue metallic, though was slightly nervous about the choice - just how blue, and how metallic, could it be?

When the car arrived I was pleasantly surprised. The leather is almost black but has a kind of unusual oily-blue sheen, which when it catches the light looks really cool, definitely different. Even the door pockets are lined with the stuff, which was apparently inspired by a pair of Nike trainers.

There's a strip of brushed aluminium on the doors and on the dash, but most stylish of all is the row of electric blue dials, like giant Breitling watch faces, which look even more chic when lit up at night.

As part of an optional navigation package you get a built-in hands-free phone. It's a neat set-up (and will be exceptionally useful with the forthcoming change in law about using a mobile in your car) with speakers in the headrests and a slot in the facia that accepts the SIM card out of your mobile.

At the top of a long list of techy stuff, the V70R has something called Active Performance Chassis with Four C (Continuously Controlled Chassis Concept) technology, that controls the engine, brakes and steering. There are three different damper settings, selected by buttons on the dash: Comfort, Sport and an Advanced setting in which the car is supposed to handle like 'a pure racing car'. Can't wait to try that last one out on a track. Of the three settings, Sport seems best to live with day-to-day.

There's another function I can't wait to use on track, the DSTC (Dynamic Stability and Traction Control) system. Turning it off apparently makes the car easier to oversteer. It can either be partially or fully disabled, but to completely disable the system you have to press the button five times in succession.

I'm looking forward to getting to know my new large Swedish friend over the coming months, and getting to grips with all that technology. The drive to the golf club will never be the same again...