Volvo Xc60 road tests and consumer car reviews

Volvo XC60 D5 R-Design SE 2010

Volvo ownership does something for you. It declares your intention to go for the best and to be guided by good solid commonsense, mediated with innate taste. Behind the wheel of one of this company’s superb products you are very clearly not trying to impress, but at the same time are creating the best of impressions. These cars have class by the bucket load and don’t have to dip their toes in the twinkly tinsel of flash in order to steal a march on rivals. It’s rather like the difference between understated, made to measure apparel that comes - as all good things do - at a price, but a sensible one, and designer labelled fashionable fripperies that ’costa packet’ and don’t guarantee a pocket to put your hands in. With a Volvo you know to expect comfort, performance, style, safety, good residuals and a warm acknowledgement from fellow road users who are rightfully suspicious of undue ostentation and conspicuous flag waving of the parvenu kind. It comes as no surprise then that the XC60 has been named ’Best SUV’ by influential title Fleet News where it beat off competition from Audi Q5, BMW X5 and Ford Kuga. To be more specific, with the XC60 one has everything one expects of an upmarket SUV with the addition of enough bells and whistles to serve a cross channel ferry negotiating busy sea lanes. It’s a big car, but as captain, you’ll feel completely in control and as comfortable as a first class passenger in a force nine gale. Driver aids are many and multifarious, ensuring safe and secure passage along the highways and byways of our congested roads.You’re safe and secure in all conditions and need not fear whatever adversary the highway gremlin may strew in your path. Whilst off-road capability is obviously there, it’s most definitely not a competitor to rival a Land Rover or a Jeep: it is a gentle off-roader of the refined kind. The standard ’City Safety Pack’ has radar that sees ahead and at speeds under 20 mph applies the brakes if you are distracted and about to collide with the vehicle in front. I tried it with a big piece of foam rubber taped to a cardboard box and tried to run into it: it didn’t work. Hmm! Perhaps it was ’stealth foam’ that doesn’t show up on radar. There are also ’blind spot’ sensors in the mirrors that warn you if a vehicle is lurking unobserved - most useful. Similarly if you stray over clown painted white lines, a bing bong noise wakes you up. God’s teeth! why not just learn to control a motor car and stay awake? Most useful though are the red lights that are projected onto the windscreen to warn you that you are too close to the vehicle ahead. This should be a feature in all cars because it really concentrates the mind and re-educates tailgaters. It’s nice to know that while incident free motoring may not make for highly dramatic reportage, safety features in abundance guarantee safe arrival and happy endings - so who would argue with that. Inside this crossover SUV It’s solid, airy and well appointed with everything being of excellent quality. There’s lots of room for five to travel at ease and it’s well equipped with comfort features like dual zone climate control and an excellent sound system. The driving position is typically high and from a ’command’ position you get an excellent all round view. At the wheel one feels supremely confident, eminently sensible and refined in taste - almost to patrician levels. In short, the driver feels good and passengers feel secure and comfortable. It suits the discerning motorist down to the ground. Tested with the 2.4litre,205PS five cylinder diesel engine driving through a six speed manual gearbox to all wheels, performance was brisk for a vehicle of its size with responsive handling and surefooted road holding through bends. The adventurous can travel at 130mph if they wish and if one is in a thrusting mood,60mph can be reached in under eight seconds. Much more importantly, throttle response and overtaking ability enable you to cover distances surprisingly rapidly. During the test your correspondent did not ’spare the horses’ having matters of grave urgency to attend to at different points of the compass. Of course, these days only the feckless ignore fuel consumption and I have to say that, in its class ,the figures are extremely competitive while the performance never leaves one in doubt that whatever the conditions, here is a motor that will deliver - more reliably it has to be said, than today’s postal services. Despite a thorough thrashing, economy never dipped below 39.4 mpg. Surely a huge embarrassment to Ford, I mused, reminding myself of the new Fiesta automatic I had tested recently that returned barely 31mpg. It’s a splendid diesel engine in this installation, but some will criticize the slight ’gruffness’ under load. It’s nothing to complain about really - but it’s not as super smooth as some diesel rivals - but it’s smooth enough. At a time of great financial and ecological uncertainty one feels that here is a vehicle you can bank on. It’s a Volvo through and through and that means you can trust it to do what it says on the tin - to coin a phrase.(No wonder the canny Chinese have leapt in!). Weaving my way through congested city streets I felt imbued with the aura of understated celebrity, rather as if a respected theatrical knight were negotiating the Saturday afternoon hordes in the shopping precinct. I was astonished when, in a ’fifty fifty’ situation, a boy racer flashed me the ’go ahead’ - and as I obligingly negotiated the gap, he acknowledged my wave as if to say ’suits you sir’. Politicians today bang on about ’change’, but quite frankly where this Volvo XC60 D5 R-Design SE is concerned, I wouldn’t change a thing.

Volvo XC60 D5 SE Lux 2008

This car was chosen to replace an uncomfortable A6 estate, and in most respects it has done a sterling job: It’s VERY comfortable, it’s good in bad weather, it is the best towing car I’ve had, and it handles fairly well for a car of this bulk. In my opinion, it’s damn good looking, too. It is not economic, and struggles to beat 30mpg - if economy is the main requirement then steer clear. Considering previous experience with Volvo, it hasn’t been bullet proof, either - electrical gremlins shut the car down in France due to a problem with the AC system (the subject of a subsequent recall) and failed drivers electric window (not useful at an airport car park) and failed rear door closed indicator (which prevented the car from being locked) have been an irritation. Overall, I’ve had the car about a year and on balance it’s good; cruising and comfort spring to mind in terms of the car’s strong points, but fuel consumption is too high for my liking.

Responses to this review

Hi, its said that the volvo xc60 will do 47 mpg 2wd is that right? - Gary Williams from Swansea

Volvo XC60 SE LUX D5 2009

The only problem I’ve encounted with my XC60 SE LUX D5 is with the battery. The car is only 1 week old, with delivery miles only on it, and now the battery has drained 1 of the cells and the car will not start!! The car will only start from a jump start, after calling volvo assistance out I was told that the CD player was draining the battery which is a 1st for me!! But apart from that it’s a beautiful car inside and out.

Volvo XC60 D5 AWD geartronic 2005

I also have a love hate relationship with my xc90. We also have the same problem with towing. Our engine service required is displayed in the dashboard when pulling our caravan, the car then goes into limp mode, however if the car is driven for another minute it will then disappear. No other lights or messages are displayed but I am starting to get worried and always think how much is this going to cost me. Mr Sherwood, did you get your car reprogrammed by the garage with him saying it was a software issue? And is it OK now? Our car did it again this weekend but with a full boot and 5 passengers - no caravan. Just seems to do it under heavy load. Can anybody give me advise? Thanks

Volvo XC60 D5 SE Lux Geartronic 2008

The Volvo replaces my X3, which was a good car and reliable but had one serious failing ... the ’Sport’ set-up, with thin tyres, big wheels and the ability to jar ones spine running over a match stick. The Volvo is beautifully finished - vastly superior to the X3; the leather seats and ’oak’ floating switch panel make the plastics of the X3 look very cheap. With a softer ride - it is supremely comfortable; handling is positive and although a little slower than the X3, the 184 horses with the five cylinder engine do a sterling job! Well mated to the 6 speed automatic, the car has returned just over 30mpg overall (33 on a long run), which for such a solid 4WD machine, I find acceptable. Where the Volvo astonishes ... apart from its ’blind spot surveillance’ (brilliant!) ... its ’lane deviation warning’ (dips radio volume to chime a warning!) and the ’City Safety’ (as yet NOT checked out as my nerves are not up to it!) ... the intelligent cruise control which takes over control of accelerator and brakes, maintaining safe distance from the vehicle in front applying brakes or accelerating as required ... is a masterpiece of automotive engineering! It takes a while to gain confidence in this sophisticated system, but once one has trust in it ... amazing is an understatement! No faults in nearly 5000 miles; courteous dealers (who can show the BMW people how to treat a customer!) and a quality product, I commend this as a most excellent vehicle!