As per the OP, it does frustrate me that the 'better' cars in any range (not just Volvo) drive you down the bigger wheel route. Why not offer the smaller wheels as so no cost option - they are there as standard on their 'lesser' spec versions so it isn't as if it would cost any more.
For me in the back lanes of Cornwall I don't need a 4x4 or even a 4WD car, I do want a car able to cope with the deplorable roads (having just replaced a 17" low profile tyre on our V50 - destroyed by a pot hole). The extra 'give' in a 16" wheel/tyre combination would probably have coped.
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