Volvo XC60 D5 Car Review

Facts At A Glance
Car: Volvo XC60 D5
Prices: £26,745-£31,995 – on the road
Insurance Group: 14E
Emissions: 183-199g/km
Performance: Max Speed 130mph / 0-60mph 7.9s
Fuel Consumption: (urban) 30.7mpg / (extra urban) 50.4mpg / (combined) 40.9mpg
Safety: Front, side and curtain airbags, seat-belt pre-tensioners, DSTC, ABS, FBS, HBA, RAB, EBA, RSC, ROPS, City Safety.
Dimensions: length/width/height 4628/1891/2142mm

SAFE CRACKER

Our Rating: 7.7 / 10

Volvo’s XC60 is safe, versatile and, with D5 diesel power, it can be respectably economical too. Steve Walker reports

Volvo’s XC60 isn’t just another compact 4x4. The Swedish marque has pushed the sector’s boundaries in terms of safety and interior versatility. The D5 diesel engine isn’t the smoothest or the most economical unit of its kind but it copes with the XC60’s substantial bulk effectively and makes the most of the car’s impressive chassis. The automatic option is preferable from a driver’s perspective but comes with a fuel economy penalty.

In an area of the car market as congested as the compact 4x4 sector, a manufacturer’s mere presence may not be enough. Even attendance with a reasonably adept product in tow is no guarantee of sales success. The key is differentiation, having a car that stands out from the thronging crowd of rival options that vie for the public’s attention. This can be achieved by means of astute marketing, advanced technology or inherent style and with its XC60, Volvo is pedalling its own special blend of all three. Here we check out the D5 diesel models that are destined to be strong sellers.

It’s no exaggeration to say that almost every self-respecting mainstream car manufacturer now has a compact 4x4 product of some description on sale in the UK. Some have two. The sector has been a major growth area over recent years bringing the big names flocking to get in on the act. Volvo has a decent history of 4x4 products with the XC90 and XC70 having been well received, so the only surprise where the XC60 is concerned is that it took the Swedish firm so long to get it to market. The delay looked all the more unusual given that Volvo seemed ideally placed to come at the potentially lucrative compact 4x4 segment from its own unique angle. The traditional Volvo attributes of safety and cool Scandinavian design with a family-friendly bent seem ideally matched to the typical compact 4x4 buyer profile. All this meant that the XC60 always appeared a great idea in theory and with Volvo’s accomplished D5 diesel thrown in, the prospect was more desirable still. The question is, how does the car shape up in the metal?

The D5 is the more powerful of the two diesels that will account for over 95% of all-wheel-drive XC60 sales - the T6 petrol being a little on the thirsty side for UK tastes. The entry-level 2.4-litre unit has 175PS but the D5, a derivative of the same 2.4-litre 5-cylinder powerplant, chips in with a full fat 205PS. The 0-60mph sprint can be dispatched in 7.9s if you’re using the manual gearbox but the shift lever is positioned a little too far back, perhaps as a result of the steeply raked centre console, and isn’t the most comfortable or rewarding thing to use. The Geartronic automatic suits the engine’s prodigious 420Nm maximum torque and produces a more relaxing driving experience, although the 0-60mph time is slowed to 8.4s. Engine noise in the XC60 is very well suppressed, a factor that’s particularly noteworthy as the D5 unit can be slightly raucous in other models. Accelerate hard and the distinctive offbeat roar of the 5-cylinder engine is audible but not unpleasant.

‘Compact’ isn’t a word that immediately springs to mind when driving this compact 4x4. It feels (and is) on the large side. The D5 copes very adeptly with its bulk however and the big Volvo also corners with a surprising degree of composure. Body roll, the dynamic nemesis of high-riding 4x4 vehicles, is very well controlled and although the suspension does shudder a little over poor road surfaces, the ride is generally smooth. Volvo’s past 4x4 efforts haven’t been at home in an off-road environment but the XC60 promises to be the best of the lot. Its 230mm ground clearance is superior to the larger XC90, there’s a 22 degree approach angle and the wading depth is 350mm. This still isn’t a vehicle you’d want to tackle serious obstacles in but with torque automatically distributed between all four wheels by the Intelligent Traction 4x4 system, it should trundle down muddy tracks and take pesky gravel driveways in its stride.

Can we really class a 1,825kg car measuring 4,628mm in length and 1,891