FORMIDABLE PRESENCE
Volvo displays an inner wild child with its new crossover, says Neil Lyndon
What make of car is this? A capacious and comfortable fiveseater crossover, with Haldex all-wheel drive, which looks so good that it deserves a second glance, is stylish and comfortable inside, better than most to drive and can widen the eyes of passengers if you floor the throttle pedal. Not a Volvo, surely? The XC60 R-Design is a surprising and unusual car in every sense – not least for what it tells us about Volvo’s current notions of itself as a company. With its formidable but thoroughly contemporary presence – a high-shouldered stance on a coupé-like body – this car insists that a new age has dawned in Gothenburg (Volvo’s home) and that today’s Volvo is as far removed from the staid and stuffy conveyances of the past as a collarless popover shirt is from a wing collar. For decades in the past century, Volvo was as square and unexciting as a box of safety matches. Family doctors and country solicitors drove Volvos and showed how much they disdained vain fashion in favour of sturdy Swedish values to do with safety and construction. Until the compact SUV took its place on suburban streets and at school gates, the Volvo estate was the automatic choice for every middle-class couple who read Which? and subscribed to the Wine Society. Volvo lost dominance in that market more than 20 years ago and has been wandering the world in search of an identity since. In 2010, Ford gave up trying to make money out of Volvo and sold the company to the Geely group of China. Many Power player: Volvo’s XC60 R-Design combines style with safety pundits guessed that, in company with Saab, Volvo would then survive just so long as it took a shallow swirl to gurgle down the plughole, but, in fact, under its new owners Volvo seems to be prospering, and has produced a succession of ever more surprising cars – notably the desirable and capable V40, which rivals and in some ways outshines Ford’s Focus. True to its long-term character, the company remains a starched, fusspot nanny in its approach to safety. The latest XC60 R-Design not only issues stern reminders to fasten your seat belt and to stay in lane on the road but also has eyes everywhere to detect cyclists and pedestrians who might be in danger from the car. If the car sees them and senses that you haven’t, it slams on the brakes. You may sigh at this bossy know-all, but, as with nanny, you should understand that it’s all for your own good – and the XC60 R-Design does its best, under that fretful eye, to show off a hint of wild side. It’s categorically not a Lamborghini Diablo, but its ride, steering and handling are not far short of a Porsche Cayenne, which is the last word in Chelsea Tractors that accelerate like sports cars in a straight line. Going around corners, however, demands the more cautious approach of a driver with a fully loaded artic – make sure you brake early and in a straight line, getting the whole load settled down before you open up steadily through the bend. Its 2.5-litre, 20-valve five-cylinder diesel engine may have become an old workhorse, but the Polestar company that Volvo retains to add performance to the range has fiddled with the software to add a solid punch of midrange torque or pulling power that gives new zest for life to the old dear. People who buy Cayennes probably don’t care what they cost, but the more frugalminded customer may be pleased to think that one and a half XC60 R-Designs could be bought for the price of one Cayenne, and you wouldn’t feel much difference as a driver or a passenger. Making sense of Volvo’s control set-up for audio/air conditioning/telephone remains as browbeating a task as mastering the Swedish language, but, overall, this is one of the best-value higher-performance, luxury crossovers on the market. Price (as tested): £47,865 Power: 215bhp 0-60 mph: 7.5 sec Top speed: 130mph Average fuel consumption: 41.5mpg CO2 emissions: 179g/km Insurance group: 30E Star rating (out of five): BMW X3 20D M SPORT £34,550 best sporty compact SUV Against: zilch Star rating: RANGE ROVER EVOQUE 240 DYNAMIC Price: £40,510 For: flirty fancy-pants Against: impractical Star rating: