Chic, cool – but actually good?
Volvo’s handsome Sino-Swedish V60 is a breath of fresh air in compact-exec country, proof that there’s a third way for those turned off by the Germans’ macho posturing. But is it a case of Scandi-style over substance?
For the really fresh air you need the hugely expensive, hugely powerful hybrid versions, though the £50k+ bill might have you sucking that air through your teeth. For our purposes, the D4 diesel delivers the same quietly confident styling and distinctive interior, without costing the same as a low-rung Porsche Cayenne.
V60 prices start at £34,665 for the 148bhp D3 diesel in Momentum trim. Want the R-Design visual baubles and that rises to £37,015, while stepping up to the 187bhp D4 motor adds another grand, plus a further £1500 if you want our car’s automatic ’box. Four-wheel drive? Not on the menu unless you go hybrid, meaning that jumbo centre tunnel’s only function is to make the cabin feel more cramped than it really is.
Some might prefer the sporty, hunkered-down seating position to the newer BMW’s more open-plan living arrangements. Most will love the comfort and support of the seats, a Volvo strength for years that we’re pleased to see alive and well in the new era. And that portrait media screen ought to win fans in the showroom.
On the road it won’t be so popular. It’s a familiar tale: too many functions bundled inside to allow buttons to be ditched, and many of the virtual buttons not shown on the main panel are so small you couldn’t safely interact with them on the move. The navigation mapping is responsive but the map graphics look prehistoric and… well, you get the idea. With its airier cabin and carefully honed iDrive media system, the BMW looks like it’s pulling away. And we haven’t even started on the good roads yet.
Winding north towards Thwaite, Buttertubs Pass is as restless as a chocolate-fuelled toddler and just as demanding – and as good as English roads get. It takes its name from the 20-metre-deep limestone potholes supposedly used by farmers to keep butter cool while they took a rest on the slog to Hawes market, and it’s exactly the kind of road that can make a sub-par chassis melt in the heat of harsh examination.
The V60 stays firm. Too firm, in fact. Riding on a stiffer suspension set-up than more prosaic Momentum and Inscription-spec V60s, the R Design is quiet and comfortable on the motorway, but brittle over imperfections elsewhere, highlighting bumps that the Audi hides.
The upside is sound body control that makes this a surprisingly fun steer. There’s little roll in corners, and despite being the only front-wheeldrive car of the three, traction is rarely an issue, even in pouring rain. The steering is meatily weighted and sensibly geared, and only really spoiled by lack of BMW-like precision just off-centre. Drive it back to back with the BMW and the 320d shades it for connection. Until you reach for that middle pedal. You do plenty of that in the Dales, and the BMW’s soggy brakes can’t live with the Volvo’s firmer set-up.
It’s the faster BMW that would benefit from the more feelsome stoppers. Our test V60 was fitted with the optional £745 Polestar Performance upgrade, and there’s a brawniness to the way it metes out its mid-range power, but it’s about as sporty as a beer-guzzling ’70s darts champ – and as uncouth. Our car’s optional auto transmission could do with some elocution lessons, too. Like the Audi’s twin-clutch, it dithers where the BMW’s auto does not. So you get busy with the paddles.
For maximum protection you’ll need to fork out £1625 for Volvo’s Intellisafe Pro pack, which bundles lane-keeping adaptive cruise with Intellisafe Surround, a suite of safety features including cross-traffic alert. That lot augments an already generous list of safety features, including City Safety forward detection and other kit designed to keep you safe in your lane – and safe when you inadvertently leave it. The shocker here is that according to the latest Euro NCAP tests, it’s the BMW you’d want to crash. Who knew? But the five-star Volvo is still big on safety.
And just big. Seems the one thing all the safety kit in the world can’t prevent dying is old habits. The V60 is the only one capable of carrying three passengers in the back without a big old barney breaking out, and it has the most luggage space of the three cars. The boot floor is low and level, the opening wide and it has thoughtful touches like the (optional) flip-up divider to keep shopping in place. It’s a thoughtfully-designed car. Like a Skoda, but without the whiff of Lidl. ⊲
Buttertubs Pass is as restless as a chocolate-fuelled toddler and just as demanding