Style and substance

The XC60 is a premium compact SUV from Volvo. Paul Acres finds out if it’s a worthy contender for your cash

The new XC60 is Volvo’s latest assault on the premium car market that’s been dominated in recent years by the German trio of Audi, BMW and Mercedes.

It sits on the same platform as it’s big brother, the XC90, and uses the same engines. It is, however, shorter, has five seats instead of seven and shaves several thousand pounds off the asking price.

That doesn’t make it cheap, though, and with rising prices come rising expectations. The question is, can the XC60 live up to them?

The driving position is excellent, courtesy of a generous amount of adjustment in the steering wheel and driver’s seat, which is also wonderfully supportive and comfortable. Height and lumbar adjustment is electric on all trim

levels, but reclining the seat or sliding it fore and aft is a manual affair on Momentum and R-design models. If you want to go all-in on electric adjustment then pick the Pro Pack or top-spec Inscription. Like all Volvos, the XC60 showcases the firm’s latest safety kit. The highlight is the semiautonomous cruise control, which will accelerate, brake and steer the car at speeds of up to 80mph – although you have to keep your hands lightly on the wheel if you don’t want the system to shut down.

As is the norm inside modern Volvos, physical controls are kept to an absolute minimum and, instead, you get a nine-inch touchscreen that, unusually, is in portrait orientation.

Sat-nav is standard across the range but, while DAB radio, Bluetooth handsfree calling and audio streaming and a 10-speaker audio system are also included, you have to pay extra for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone mirroring.

The XC60’s passenger space easily rivals anything from Audi, BMW or Mercedes in terms of outright quality.

Refinement is excellent. Engine noise is supressed superbly, even under heavy acceleration, while tyre roar is well-managed at speed. The mirrors, do, however, whistle up a fair amount of noise when the pace picks up.

Wherever you sit in the XC60 you won’t be complaining about head or legroom. The XC60 is wider than many of its key rivals, too, so shoulder room is impressive but, if you do end up in the middle of the rear bench, you will find yourself having to straddle a raised tunnel.

There’s a choice of just four engines, and they’re all four cylinder units. My T5-spec review car was fitted with the 247bhp turbocharged petrol power plant. It feels quick and responsive when up to speed but you have to work it quite hard to get away smartly from a standing start. Every XC60 is fitted with an eight-speed automatic gearbox as standard. It swaps ratios smoothly in normal driving conditions but can be a little hesitant on kickdown.

Air suspension is an option on the XC60 and generally gives a composed and well-controlled ride. Indeed, in Comfort mode the big SUV makes quick work of low-frequency peaks and troughs on high-speed roads, offering a level of ride comfort that stands comparison with the very best in class.

Sadly that isn’t quite the case

when the terrain becomes a little less predictable. A sharp-edged pothole is likely to make itself known with a bit of a thud but it is, by no means, frequent nor unbearable.

The XC60 isn’t cheap, but it isn’t meant to be. It’s a premium product competing against premium rivals and is priced accordingly. For your money you get a superbly built, safe and generously-equipped SUV

It takes a more comfortorientated approach to driving dynamics than its rivals but there cant be many people who want to fling their SUVs around corners like low-slung sports cars, can there? I thought not.