The midsize wagon — pretty lonely among U.S. offerings — gets some real oomph from its hybrid power train. And the Swedish nameplate may actually have produced a workable, nonirritating touchscreen.

Volvo, while already regarded as an automaker that made sturdy and safe cars, was known just as that. In other words, Volvo was boring, despite offering the P1900 sports car in the 1950s.

Volvo Cars announced 18 billion Swedish crowns ($1.87 billion) in cost cuts and a restructuring of its U.S. operations on ...