Volvo has to work hard to maintain its reputation as the maker of the safest cars on the planet.

As a journalist, I take what the car companies say and do professionally and personally. But with Volvo I get a real mix of feelings: sometimes I like it, sometimes I love it, and sometimes I cringe.

First, the things I like best: I've driven Volvo engines on frozen lakes in Sweden, in the forests of Finland and on the hottest and coldest tracks in Canada and the US - all with absolute reliability (except for a broken taillight) and complete satisfaction.

I've been buying and operating old-style used Volvo's that look like tanks for years at home. The P1800 ES I bought some 30 years ago (and still have in my modest collection) was and still is the best of them all because it is a comfortable, practical classic car that has never let me down. Another of my favorites was the hilariously ugly 850 station wagon, which I decided to use as the safest station wagon to haul the most "precious commodities" I've ever owned - my two kids.

Friends and relatives with demanding jobs and schedules also chose used Volvo's as workhorses. Among them is my fellow cop Dave, who used an S60 before upgrading to two V60s. And there's my musician/photographer friend Steve Crisp, who bought a 2010 V50 for pennies (hundreds, not thousands). It serves him well on the roads between England and the depths of France.

Our Volvo has rarely, if ever, broken down, failed maintenance or had other problems. What's not to like about the aforementioned safe, highly reliable cars bought for pennies after their original owners suffered large losses in value? And what's not to like about the upcoming purely electric EX30 with a promised starting price of £33,795? It's Volvo's base electric car for the price of a regular Vauxhall Corsa Electric. Insanity.

It's all good and positive. But, as regular readers probably know, I had a serious problem with a Volvo test car that was supposed to be delivered to me last month but never arrived. "Dead as a dodo" is how Volvo representatives described the situation to me. I promised to tell you what happened, and although it took me a while, I did find out. This £83,000 XC90 with a plug-in hybrid system has encountered a "faulty connection in the high voltage system".

"This is very unusual," Volvo told me. "With the help of our global technical support, we were able to find the root of the problem and restore connectivity. Now that it's fixed, the car is running normally again." What exactly "normal" is, I never found out. The findings suggest something has fallen off, but one would hope the high voltage connection would be as reliable as stone houses.

It's amazing how easily reputations can be lost. Volvo had a reputation for building the safest cars on the planet. It's hard work to maintain that reputation, especially when new brands are trying to overtake you.

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Mike co-founded Auto Express magazine in 1988. He was technical editor on four newspapers - the London Evening News, The Sun, News of the World and the Daily Mirror. He was also a weekly columnist for the Daily Telegraph, The Independent and The Sunday Times. The agreement between Geely and NIO could lead to battery replacement technology in Volvo, Polestar and Lotus cars. The Chinese giant behind Volvo, Polestar and Lotus will team up with NIO on battery technology. New models from Audi, BMW, Citroen, Ford, MINI, Skoda and many other brands will hit the roads in 2024. Volvo has finally unveiled the new EM90, a premium multi-seat car that may or may not be available in the UK. The story of how a Volvo-based car became a Hot Wheels legend. We find out how a Volvo-based drag racer conquered the world and became a model from Hot Wheels. New Renault 5: price, features, release and sales date. Renault will introduce a reincarnation of the Renault 5 for €25,000 in Europe, which is roughly the same price as £30,000 in the UK. It will go on sale in the summer of 2024. The new BMW X3 replacement will be larger in size and get a minimalist dashboard. BMW's first Neue Klasse electric SUV could be named the iX3, and our exclusive photos give a glimpse of what it might look like. Forget leasing a car, your next daily transportation should be a discount van. Mike Rutherford believes the van could be the perfect vehicle because of the great discounts.