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| Launch Report Volvo XC60 |
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Sean Connery's Eyebrow
It looks a lot more like the former than the latter. Volvo makes a point of describing the car as a crossover, in the sense that it has the bottom half of an SUV with the top half of a coupé, but the major effect of this on the design is to make the glass area disappointingly small from the central pillar backwards. And although this is nothing more than a matter of opinion, to me the XC60 looks just the way I would have expected the little brother of the XC90 to look. There is talk both of a new, more emotional design language, and - in what seems to me a contradictory claim - of retaining the appearance of other modern Volvos. You can make your own judgement, but as I see it the second statement is a lot truer than the first. It is also suggested that the coupé idea is expressed in sporty handling. If you share Volvo's idea of what represents sportiness, you'll probably agree, but if you find corners a joy in themselves rather than merely a way of connecting one straight to the next you may find yourself wondering where that idea came from. The XC60 grips well, but it is no more fun to drive than a host of other competent lifestyle SUVs. ("It drives like a top quality compact sporting car," says a Volvo spokesman. No, it doesn't.)
The ride, too, is substantially less impressive than Volvo says it is. This depends on which model you drive (there are distinct differences) but having tried out two in the same day I have to tell you that neither of them absorbed sudden bumps particularly well. Let's have a bit of balance here. Volvo describes the XC60 as its safest ever car, which is a proud boast from a company that has put safety at the top of its priority list for at least half a century, but also one which can easily be defended. There is an enormous amount of protective equipment, but the headline item (standard with all trim levels) is the award-winning City Safety. This system works at up to 19mph and has the potential to avoid collisions if the speed differential between the XC60 and the object in front of it is less than 9mph; a greater differential means a collision is more likely, but probably a lot less severe than in a car without the system. City Safety becomes useful if the driver is either distracted or simply not paying attention. Testing its effectiveness is a strange business because you have to ignore the fact that you're about to crash into something - your instincts tell you to take avoiding action, and as soon as you do this City Safety switches itself off and leaves you to your own devices. The point, though, is that it becomes effective when your instincts don't kick in (in other words when you're not paying attention, for whatever reason). It's a brilliant idea, executed superbly, and it will become better. At the moment City Safety can't identify objects narrower than a car, but the second-generation version, due in a couple of years' time, will be able to recognise bikes and people too.
This is really the best bit of the XC60, but it has other good points too. The interior is very roomy, and there's no doubt that it will accommodate four large adults (though not five, because the centre rear seat is much narrower than all the others). The design is attractive too, my favourite part being the fact that the cowling on the instrument panel was modelled on Sean Connery's eyebrow. No, really. I mean, how cool is that? My least favourite part is that there are so many buttons on the centre console, all with markings too small to read at a glance, that it will take some time to learn where they all are so that you can reach them without taking your eyes off the road for a perhaps critical amount of time. That's a strange oversight for a company so concerned with protecting the occupants of its cars, and it gives another reason for City Safety being a Good Thing. Luggage volume varies between about 490 litres and about 1450 litres depending on whether or not you flat-fold the 40/20/40-split rear seat (excuse the vagueness in the figures, but having either a spare wheel or a tyre repair kit makes a small difference). There's an underfloor compartment which locks automatically when the tailgate closes, so it's a good place for hiding valuables. From launch there are three engines and three trim levels. The engine most people will ignore is the 281bhp three-litre six-cylinder petrol turbo, which gulps fuel at a tremendous rate. 97% of UK buyers will instead choose one of the two five-cylinder turbo diesels; they come in 161bhp (2.4D) and 182bhp (D5) forms, and officially they are both rated at 45.6mpg and 199g/km on the combined cycle when fitted with manual transmission (41.5mpg and 219g/km in the case of the automatics), though in real life the 161bhp will be the more economical of the two.
The trim levels are called S, SE and SE Lux. S cars come in diesel form only and cost £24,750 for the 2.4D and £25,750 for the D5. SE trim adds £1500 to the bill, SE Lux a further £2300. The petrol car costs £31,995 as an SE, £34,295 as an SE Lux. Other models are also being prepared. A front-wheel drive diesel, with more power but better fuel economy and CO2 emissions of around 170g/km, will be launched in 2009, and Volvo is also working on a hybrid, though there's no official word yet on when that will appear in the showrooms.
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