2014 Volvo XC60 preview
The Volvo XC60 is the friendly face of SUVs. It’s more restrained than the Audi Q5, BMW X3 or the Range Rover Evoke and majors on practicality, safety and comfort. It’s available in a range of petrol and diesel engines and front or four-wheel drive. The economical 2 wheel drive D4 diesel is our favourite model.
Comfort is certainly one of the XC60’s strengths behind the wheel. The suspension is set up to take the sting out of bumps so the ride is really smooth. We drove a 2 litre diesel engine and it’s pretty refined and it’s really strong from low revs so you hardly ever have to work it hard. The optional automatic gear box in the model we drove isn’t so good though, it can be slow to respond and sometimes changes down a gear, when all you want to do is accelerate smoothly. The steering is light enough to make town driving effortless, but it’s a bit vague on faster roads. The XC60 doesn’t handle as well as many rival SUVs either. Still it feels stable and a comfortable ride is more important than agile handling in a car like this. It’s also quiet on a motorway so it’s a relaxing cruiser.
You’ll also be sitting comfortably thanks to lots of adjustments to the steering wheel and a supportive driving seat. The cabin looks suitably plush but there are too many fiddly buttons on the centre console and some of the onscreen menus are too confusing.
You get plenty of toys for the money though even entry level models come with climate and cruise controls, digital radio, automatic lights and wipers, rear parking sensors and a nifty powered tailgate.
Being a Volvo safety is paramount and not only does the XC60 have an excellent euro ncap crash test rating, there’s all sorts of safety kits to prevent a crash or limit the impact of one. There’s lots of space for your family in the back. There’s good head and leg room and enough elbow space to stop your kids squabbling. The rear seats are also slightly higher than those upfront so anyone in the back gets a good view out as well. If you use a child car seat, just check with your manufacturer that the seat will fit in the car because you can’t remove the rear head restraints. You do have the option though of excellent integrated booster seats.
Of course a good family car needs a big boot and the XC60 provides that. It’s a good square shape and it has a useful panel that pops up to help stop your shopping rolling all the way to the back of the boot. If you need even more space the rear seats fold totally flat and on some models the front passenger seat drops, perfect if you’re a fan of flat pack furniture.
The Volvo XC60 is a great family SUV it’s practical, comfortable and great to withstand family life. It’s also good value and is pretty cheap to run especially if you go for the D4 version. It’s true that there are pricier models that look ritzier and have more equipment but with the Volvo XC60 simple is best. Click here to take a look at some XC60 examples.
