My parents had a Ferrari red 1989 Volvo 760 Turbo STATION WAGON.
Boxy? Yes. Slow? No.
Took it to high school a few times. There were a lot of confused muscle-car-driving teens that year. The first couple of seconds off the line, these things are typical station wagons. That's why North Americans don't buy European style cars - they value torque above all. But a funny thing happens once you get past the intersection. With the accelerator at the sweet spot (not floored), the turbo really kicks in, and the speedometer jumps. I now realize the value of acceleration at speed - especially for changing lanes and merging. Most GMs, I find, are very touchy on the accelerator when stopped, but useless between 60 and 100km/h.
Here's the problem with Volvos, though: Sell them when you pass 100,000km. They don't break often, but preventive maintenence becomes prohibitively expensive.
Regards,
Craig