... all this and a good price too

Volvos are safe, okay. Research supports it. If you're going to have an accident, have it in a Volvo. You can have one in a lot of other cars, too, but a Volvo is popularly reckoned as the leading life-saver.

The best that Volvo has to go on in this part of the world is the results of a recent study by Melbourne's Monash University.

Researchers looked at 519,000 car crashes in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland between 1987 and 1989 and found that of the 145 types of cars involved, the Volvo 700 series sedan or wagon was the safest. The 700 became the 850 model, then the V70 and S70.

Sure, there obviously weren't as many crashes involving Volvos as there were Holdens and Fords. But the results echoed Volvo's research in other parts of the world.

A catering contractor in Britain called "Mick the Shoemaker" would support the findings. So would a couple of Australian mates we've mentioned before, one nicknamed "Dundee" and the other "Banjo."

Mick the Shoemaker got his monicker on account of his dad being a farrier in Ireland.

Dundee got his because he shares the surname Hogan with actor Paul, star of Crocodile Dundee. Banjo's surname is Clancy and in the wee hours when the lies were being told he would often launch into Australian bush poet Banjo Patterson's ballards, starting with The Man From Snowy River and ending with Clancy of the Overflow. Get it?

All three blokes hit something bigger than the Volvos they were driving. Mick the Shoemaker was sandwiched between two trucks in a foggy motorway pileup; Dundee and his two daughters collided with a Euclid carrying goldmine tailings in Queensland; and Banjo ... well, bachelor Banjo and his 240 sedan used to collide with lots of things bigger than he or his vehicle.

Anyway, each of them has stayed loyal to Volvo over the years. Which is something John Snaith wants more and more New Zealanders to do.

Snaith is the boss of Scandanavian Vehicle Distributors, the people who bring Volvo cars into New Zealand.

In Weekend Drive earlier this year he said of Volvo: "The cars have always been seen as square and safe and capable of huge mileage.

"But the new models aren't square anymore. They are dynamic looking, softer, rounder and designed and built to compete in a broader market.

"And they are still safe - that's how Volvo made its name. It would never compromise safety."

He said pretty much the same thing the other day when he and Volvo's Asia-Pacific sales director Jan Eriksson unveiled the updated and mostly less expensive models for the year 2000.

Except Snaith went further this time, quoting Volvo co-founder Assar Gabrielsson: "Cars are driven by people. The guiding principle behind everything we make at Volvo, therefore, is and must remain safety."

Snaith could be excused for flogging the safety theme, because he was just about to launch a new, mass-market 40-Series model at a price never before heard of in Volvo land, and he was prepared for the obvious question.

Is it as safe as Volvo's more expensive cars?

"Yes," he said. "Volvo's philosophy of translating safety benefits through its model range means the 40 series now receives many features first seen in the premier S80 sedan.

"The 40 series has been heralded as the safest car in its class - the first to receive a maximum four-star rating in the European new car assessment programme [NCAP]. The safety features added for model year 2000 will ensure the 40 series remains the class leader."

The car in question is the 1.8-litre variant of the S40 sedan and V40 wagon. Both models cost $39,995, a highly competitive price aimed at pulling customers away from more mainstream brands. The rest of the S40 and V40 range is powered by naturally aspirated and boosted 2-litre engines and is more expensive, between $46,950 and $63,950.

The four-cylinder 1.8-litre comes with the same equipment upgrades as the 2-litre models, including improved engines, safety equipment and brakes, chassis and suspension, and security. Fuel consumption has improved and the cars' exhausts are cleaner.

One feature which has won Volvo many design awards is the integrated child seats/seatbelt system in the rear. Both seat cushions lift up and lock into place flush against the seat back, allowing children to sit higher and enjoy the view while resting their feet on the space left by the elevated cushion.

It makes much sense and also comes in the bigger two- and all-wheel-drive S70 and V70 models, which have received similar equipment upgrades and are priced between $63,950 and $98,950.

The only all-new Volvo to be unveiled was the C70, the luxury convertible model. Two soft-tops are available, priced at $99,900 and $114,900 and both powered by turbocharged engines, one of 2.4-litres capacity and the other of 2.3-litres.

The convertible features the usual Volvo safety features like WHIPS (an anti-whiplash device), SIPS (side impact protection) but adds a new acronym: ROPS, for rollover protection system, or steel hoops which spring up to protect occupants' heads if the car flips.