BALANCE OF POWER
THERE ARE FASTER V60s, BUT THIS IS THE SWEET SPOT
BEING FAITHFUL can be a challenge, and with an enticing variety of cars coming through the Wheels garage recently, I’m afraid to admit that I’ve strayed. With the V60’s keys offloaded to others, I’ve been having my way with everything from small hatches to seven-seat SUVs.
It’s the different body shapes that get me. And all those drivetrains!
But after putting myself about a bit, it was nice to jump back into the Volvo. It’s made me appreciate the competence and power of the wagon’s drivetrain. Unlike some of the others I’ve spent time with lately, there’s no doubting its capability in overtaking and acceleration.
It may not be neck-snappingly quick, but with 187kW/350Nm on tap it’s got plenty to call on when slotting into gaps in fast-moving traffic.
With the surefootedness afforded by all-wheel drive, the Volvo allows you to attack bends with confidence – though push harder through the tighter stuff and it can lose composure as its 1797kg becomes apparent.
Experiencing all those different powertrains got me thinking about power-to-weight ratios, and what’s ‘enough’? It’s a pretty subjective thing. The Volvo’s is 104kW per tonne, which for me is just about right. I’ve driven plenty of cars with double that figure and had a ridiculous amount of fun (I’m looking at you, MercedesAMG C63 S), but then they cost more than twice as much as the V60.
If you found an extra $24K down the back of the couch you could slot your backside into the V60 T8, packing 311kW and 670Nm. The hybrid drivetrain will get you to 100km/h in 4.5 seconds – a whole two seconds quicker than the T5. There’ll be an extra 239 kilos to lug along, which will affect cornering ability, and the larger wheels stiffen a ride that’s already on the firm side, but these issues (and the extra spend) may be worth it to have a fuel-saving hybrid parked in the driveway. This month’s figure of 9.9L/100km for the T5 is 40 percent more than what editor Inwood was getting from his XC60 T8 long-termer in 2018.
But that’s not to take anything away from my T5, which is proving consistently to be a great all-round wagon. Would I seriously consider buying one? Definitely. Unless my couch coughs up 100K I could chuck in towards a C63 S AMG Estate...