Our base for the week was a spectacular cottage on the edge of the Fjord in Onsala, Sweden, the location tactically chosen for its access to Trollhättan, and more importantly, the Saab Museum. The entire trip was focused around a long awaited visit to The Box exhibition, with everything else taking less priority.

Arriving from England by air, rather than road, we'd planned on hiring a car, however with the lack of available Saabs at Sixt, we settled on a Volvo V60 T6 AWD Hybrid, finished in the wonderfully muted Forest Lake metallic over supremely comfortable, Charcoal leather. As far as the specification goes, the V60 was a great choice for us, it performed faultlessly over a few thousand miles, although I was utterly underwhelmed by it's performance and smoothness alongside awkward gear changes. Aesthetically however, the V60 and V90 wagons have always appealed to me, their design feels beautifully elegant, and dare I say it, very Swedish.

Besides the pilgrimage to Trollhättan, and a few days spent in Gothenburg, we'd not planned anything specific, just days out to truly explore the Halland area as much as possible. Then we came across an absolute gem of a book - Kulinarisk Resa Genom Halland, or Culinary Guide for Halland for those who don't speak Swedish.

Being total foodies, the book literally became our guiding light for the week, featuring nearly 100 farm shops, herbal gardens, restaurants, cafés and artisans throughout the area, we picked a culinary destination each day, and set off in the V60.

In my ideal world, this entire series of road trips would have been in a Saab, possibly in my classic 9000 Aero or 9-5 Sportwagon, either would have made each and every trip more memorable, but that will be something for us to look forward to in the future.

The weather was spectacular for the entire week, but we had one day where the rain was going to set in for the day, so we decided to pick one of the furthest destinations in the guide, and take the scenic coastal roads for a relaxed road to SOLHAGA in Slöinge. Apparently famous for its breakfasts and legendary gröt, it looked like the perfect place for a rainy day.

A few hours driving in light rain, and we turned off the E6 Coastal road and in to the small village of Slöinge - picturesque timber homes in the iconic Falu Rödfärg and Gulockra Slamfärg paint, endless, deep trees with vibrant green leaves from the rain, and at the heart of the village, SOLHAGA.

I have an enduring affinity with Sweden, its quiet beauty, warm and inviting lighting, and timeless elegance, SOLHAGA encapsulated everything I love about the place. The ground still wet and the wonderfully earthy, fresh smell in the air, the door wide open and the tantalising displays of freshly baked breads and pasties glowing through the window. The gröt lived up to its reputation, and a long, late breakfast was enjoyed, the 2 hour drive was totally worth it.

We plotted our return journey back to Onsala with many detours and stops on the way, the cobbled streets of Falkenberg and its nearby deserted beaches, coffee and fika at Sikta Stenugnsbagei in Varberg and an epic detour on 'the most beautiful road in Halland', the stretch of road between Askome and Gällared.

Late afternoon and the rains had stopped, the sun was shining though the beautiful forests, endless lakes appeared around every curve in the road, and all I could think was - "I really need to do this in a Saab".

The battle of the big Swedes, I’ve been patiently waiting to write this one for years, are Volvos as good Saabs, or just different?

Recently, I’d come to the end of a few Saab projects, so rather than jumping straight back in and reaching for another Aero, I decided to try out the competition in the form of a Volvo V70 R. It seemed a logical choice when comparing its credentials; the Saab 9-5 2.3 Aero produces 260hp from it’s efficient 4 cylinders whilst the Volvo 2.5 R is 300hp from 5 cylinders, both Turbo and in this case, both automatics (I’d love to compare the manual versions one day too, but for now, I only have these available) from 2003 and they even have similar milage at around 70,000 (V70 R shows in km’s as it’s a Japanese car). As Saabs are so sensory to me, I thought I’d compare the Volvo based on my senses.

See

I’ve always adored the solidity of the Volvo, especially the V70, it really is utilitarian beauty at its best. The enhanced curves of its rear exterior and light clusters give just enough relief from the overall angular profile to differentiate it from older models. The modified front bumper and lower grille, unique to the R model, gives the Volvo a more aggressive look whilst the side profile is pure form and function. The stark simplicity of the Pegasus alloys have always pleased my visual sense, and with subtle modifications to the suspension, the stance is near perfect.

My love for the Saab 9-5 exterior is well documented, so won’t do a detailed rationale, but it possesses subtle qualities that most marques can never live up too; the clamshell bonnet with its distinct profile that guides your eye along and directly in to the curvaceous hockey stick rear windows, the exquisitely designed light clusters, the shark nose front bumper with its wide, aggressive lower grille, and the little seen detail of the C pillar form flowing over the rear window in to the line of the boot.

The Volvo’s interior, especially with the exclusive R Atacama leather, feels special, the seats comfortable and give a sense of warm welcome. The instruments and cluster are very ergonomic and again, the exclusive R, aluminium and mineral blue face of the main dials are elegant and timeless. Mine has the wonderful Bridge of Weir aniline Atacama leather, inspired by the Chilean desert, which is simply exceptional, but some of the finish is let down by flimsy plastics underneath, the central armrest for instance has been broken under the leather and now looks unsightly.

Overall though, the use of higher quality materials goes above and beyond the 9-5, but I can’t help longing for the crisp orange and green Saab illumination, the superior comfort and, of course, inspirational cup holder and Night Panel.

Hear

If I have one single criticism of the Saabs, it’s the lack of smile inducing sound, the 4 cylinder visceral soundtrack just isn’t a thing of beauty to me, the V6 Turbo X is a different beast, but for now, we’re comparing the 9-5 2.3 Aero and even with heavy modifications, it’s still not as pleasing as I’d like, this is the one area the V70 R wins on; sound. The 5 cylinder has a gorgeous rasp on startup and sings when under acceleration, it resonates with your senses and leaves you wanting more.

I’ve added a decaf downpipe and Evolve 3” stainless exhaust system which has helped enhance the 5 cylinder of the V70 R, but my normal Jetex systems on the 9-5 Aeros just don’t compare. For the Graphite Green Aero, I’m trying out a 3” JT system, so will reserve final judgement until that’s fitted.

Feel

After using the V70 R for a while, I’ve embraced both its qualities and visceral sounds, the space is truly enormous and an excellent carrier or Saab wheels, interiors and various parts. It gets noticed too; quite often, I’ve had the thumbs up from both young and old, those that know, know as they say. Although on paper, the V70 R should feel faster, it doesn’t, it feels heavier, acceleration feels slower and the gears less responsive, and even with fully upgraded suspension, still wallows somewhat on fast B roads. Meanwhile, the 9-5 Aero running around 300hp with a recent remap, feels impeccably balanced; acceleration is lightening quick and again, handling transformed with modified suspension and has the ability to be thrown into twisting roads with ease.

Here’s the thing though, that feeling of driving a Saab is hard to beat, I don’t feel any emotion toward the Volvo, it doesn’t have the same captivating feel as the Saab does, it doesn’t involve me like Saabs do either, yes, it’s AWD, yes it’s robust and yes, it does feel rather iconic, but for me, I don’t think I’ll be switching allegiance any time soon, Ove, I’m with you, Rune can keep his Volvo, Night all.