Photographs can be seen in our Volvo Gallery

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Volvo scoops two awards and special honour in Auto Express Used Car Honours

16 April 2003

2003 Volvo's design, residual values, Selected Used Car scheme and reliability and durability earned it a Special Honour, Executive Car and Estate awards in the Auto Express Used Car Honours 2003, published on 16 April 2003.

• Executive Car: S80 (for 2nd year running)
• Best Estate: V70 (for the 6th year running)
• Special Honour: Volvo

Experienced road testers from the magazine, together with industry used car experts, judged a whole range of cars and gave no less than three awards to Volvo, despite strong competition from the traditional German rivals.

Volvo: Special Honour

Auto Express awarded Volvo a Special Honour to mark its major contribution to improving the lot of the used car buyer. Phil Parker, Auto Express' Publisher said Volvo won this award "thanks to evolutionary design without being too radical, a commitment to preserving its brand image and residual values, an excellent used car scheme, supreme reliability and a reputation for durability."

S80: Best Executive Car

Volvo's large, executive S80 saloon won the 'Executive Car' award for the second year running. Auto Express' used car expert, Craig Cheetham said: "I love the way the S80 manages to be huge but subtle. It's a refined, relaxing car to drive, feels special yet is nowhere near as ostentatious as its main rivals." Jeff Paterson, the editor of the industry's guide to used car values, Glass's Guide, is also a big fan of the S80. He said: "It looks great and holds its value very well after the first year. The initial depreciation means you can enjoy full-on luxury motoring for the price of a Mondeo or Vectra, while the Volvo is much more subtle than a BMW or Mercedes."

V70: Best Estate - 6th year running

The V70 continues to be the unrivalled 'Best Estate' and has now won this award for the sixth consecutive year in the Auto Express Used Car Honours. Glass's Guide editor, Jeff Paterson, said: "You can't go wrong with a Volvo estate. The trade adore them because they have such a solid reputation - and most buyers adore them too, because they're genuinely pleasant to drive." Auto Express' Motoring Editor, Tom Barnard, added: "If I were buying an estate I'd definitely have a used V70. Nothing comes close in terms of carrying ability, and in T5 form it's incredibly quick."

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