Car price: $32,900

Nudging the upper limit of our car pricing filter, the XC60 3.2 has a standard safety feature worth noting. It is the City Safety system that applies the brakes without driver input to avoid or lessen low-speed, frontal crashes.

Giddyap comes from a 240-horsepower, 3.2-liter V-6 engine. A driver-shiftable, six-speed, automatic transmission delivers engine power to the front wheels or to all four wheels, if you spring for the $2,000 extra cost of all-wheel drive.

Despite the V6, the Volvo XC60 still is considered fuel efficient by our mileage test with an EPA-estimated 18 mpg city and 25 mpg highway rating.

Rear-seat passengers have 36.4 inches of legroom. Folding that seat down opens cargo space to 67.4 cubic feet.

Among the standard gear are full power accessories, leather seating, eight-way power-adjustable front seats, leather-wrapped tilt-and-telescoping steering wheel with redundant audio controls, heated outside mirrors with integrated turn signals, trip computer, cruise control, six air bags, and an eight-speaker audio system with CD player, satellite radio, auxiliary input jack and MP3 integration.