2010 Volvo XC60. Click image to enlarge

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Review and photos by Jil McIntosh

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2010 Volvo XC60

Oshawa, Ontario – Every year at the auto show, there’s always one concept model that catches my eye and won’t let go. In 2007, it was Volvo’s XC60 Concept, a lovely little vehicle that forever banished any memory of boxy models with its flowing lines and wraparound taillights. Unfettered by the realities of production, concepts can vary considerably by the time they get to the assembly line, but the XC60 has made it to the showrooms with most of the touches that appealed to me in the first place, and with a driving experience that lives up to the promise.

This is a genuinely nice car: comfortable and sweet to drive, with enough sporty characteristic to keep it interesting. It’s relatively practical, beautifully styled, and should you want them and are willing to open your wallet, it can be equipped with a gaggle of active safety features. Included in the price is Volvo’s newest technology, a City Safety feature that will bring it to a halt if you’re about to bump the vehicle in front of you.

2010 Volvo XC60. Click image to enlarge

All XC60 models currently available come in one configuration, with a turbocharged 3.0-litre six-cylinder T6 engine producing 281 horsepower, a six-speed automatic transmission with manual shift mode, and a Haldex all-wheel drive system that’s front-wheel biased under normal driving, but will transfer power to the rear if necessary. Pricing starts at $45,495, but that’s going to change in the future.

In June, Volvo announced that it will also equip the XC60 with a 235-horsepower, naturally-aspirated inline six-cylinder that’s also used in the S80, V70, XC70 and XC90. It’ll come in front-wheel drive, starting at $39,995, while a version with the all-wheel system with several other upgrades will be $44,495. My tester, the T6, will remain all-wheel only, but it will receive several new features and will rise to $49,995. While lower prices and more choice are always welcome, I suspect some of this may be due to the fact that the larger and very popular XC90 starts at $48,595: that’s just $3,100 more than the current base XC60, and that’s not a huge sum of money when you’re already up at this level. Options and upgraded trims can move most Volvo models into the stratosphere faster than the space shuttle, though: the price of my tester’s option list could have purchased a subcompact car. The XC60 will also add a new optional R-Design package, which upgrades the wheels and handling, among other features.

2010 Volvo XC60 (bottom photo by Greg Wilson). Click image to enlarge

Smaller than the XC90, less outdoorsy-looking than the XC70, the XC60 falls into the upscale small SUV/crossover market that’s populated by such manufacturers as Lexus, Acura, Audi, Volkswagen, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Infiniti. Expect this niche to become wildly popular as North Americans fall out of their full-size SUVs but with an unwillingness to move into traditional cars.

The XC60 is based on a shortened version of the S80 sedan’s platform, which also makes it a cousin to the V70 and XC70, as well as the Land Rover LR2. Unlike the available-seven-passenger XC90, it’s strictly two rows of seats, for a maximum of five passengers.

The turbocharged six-cylinder is a very sweet engine. It makes 295 lb-ft of torque, and at a very low 1,500 r.p.m., making the XC60 very responsive to throttle pressure even as it delivers its power smoothly and quietly. The downside to the engine is that it isn’t terribly fuel-efficient: it’s rated only at 13.5 L/100 km in the city and 9.1 on the highway, and in combined driving I could only manage 12.4 L/100 km (23 mpg Imp). That’s certainly nothing to write home about, especially when several competitors can do much better in published city driving figures: 12.5 for the BMW X3, 12.5 for the Acura RDX, 13.3 for the Mercedes-Benz GLK, and 11.2 for the Volkswagen Tiguan. The upcoming non-turbo model will probably help somewhat; in the meantime, the T6’s thirst is partially offset by the fact that the recommended fuel is 87 octane.

2010 Volvo XC60. Click image to enlarge

While it’s certainly no low-slung sports car, the XC60 is a considerable surprise when it’s taken out for twisting-road duty. It’s much more asphalt-adept and agile than its looks would suggest, with nimble handling, minimal body roll, sticky stability and smooth return from one turn to the next. Part of my tester’s Luxury Package was the Four-C Active Chassis, which provides three driver-selectable settings of Comfort, Sport and Advance that change the suspension tuning, transmission shift points and steering feel. The Comfort is exactly that, smoothing out the bumps and giving the wheel a light touch, although it isn’t so over-boosted that it feels sloppy. When the Sport or even more direct Advance is selected, the changes aren’t radically more aggressive, but they are noticeable, and they really add to the fun of driving this little ute. Despite its corner-carving ability, though, the XC60 still offers considerable ground clearance of 230 mm (9 inches), which came in handy over some high curbs when I wanted to access a spot for some photos. Even so, it isn’t so tall that it’s difficult to get in or out of it; in that regard, the XC60 feels more like a large car.

This being a Volvo, the primary focus is safety, and the company is using this model to debut its new City Safety. While I expected it to be an option, it’s a standard feature. Volvo says that 75 per cent of all collisions occur at speeds below 30 km/h – most of them, it seems, caused by drivers who are paying attention to anything other than the vehicle in front of them when they’re meandering in parking lots or in stop-and-go traffic. The system, which can be shut off if not wanted, uses a laser sensor to measure the distance between the XC60 and a vehicle in front. Active at speeds of between four and 30 km/h, the system first pre-charges the brakes, reduces the throttle, and illuminates the brake lights to warn drivers behind. If the driver is still oblivious, the system automatically applies the brakes and brings the vehicle to a halt – quite late in the travel, and with jarring force that’ll really get your attention and maybe learn ya for next time. At lower speeds, it will avoid the collision; at higher ones, Volvo says it will reduce the severity of impact. Be aware, though, that the system can only detect wide objects such as other vehicles, and it’s still up to you to avoid knocking over pedestrians.

2010 Volvo XC60 – City Safety, low-speed auto brake; image courtesy Volvo. Click image to enlarge

The company demonstrates the system using pylons, and in a test in my driveway, it worked each time – providing I didn’t tap the brakes or move the steering wheel, which “tells” the system I’m in control and I don’t need it. It’s a marvellous piece of engineering, but I’m still of the theory that a combination of better driver training, regular testing, getting rid of drive-through restaurant windows and a complete ban on all telephone calls by drivers in moving vehicles, hand-held or otherwise, would be far better than relying on lasers and electronics. My tester was also equipped with a system of collision warning and auto-braking, which does the same thing at higher speeds, so that my vehicle would, in theory, never be found with its nose buried in someone else’s rear bumper.

2010 Volvo XC60. Click image to enlarge

The XC60’s standard safety list also includes stability and traction control, pyrotechnic pretensioners on all seatbelts, active head restraints, and side and curtain airbags. Optional items are adaptive cruise control that automatically adjusts for other vehicles in front, a blind spot information system that warns when another car is alongside, collision warning with auto brake, distance alert to warn if you’re too close to the car ahead, driver alert control that beeps and flashes if it suspects you’re falling asleep, lane departure warning to notify if you’re drifting out of your lane, a personal car communicator that warns if someone has broken into your vehicle and is waiting for you to return by sensing the intruder’s heartbeat, and power-operated rear-door child locks. With almost all of them packed into my tester, the warning lights in the doors, the head-up display on the windshield, and all the warning chimes and lights could be a little overwhelming at times.

Inside, the XC60 could easily be the centerfold from Better Scandinavian Homes and Gardens (although it’s built in Belgium). Heated leather seats are standard, lovely chairs that stay comfortable on long drives and can be ordered in two-tone at no extra charge. It features Volvo’s signature “floating” centre console, which looks good but really is impractical, as its design doesn’t allow for any cubbies up top, and the small one that it creates below is small, difficult to reach, and so low-sided that items will tumble out on hard turns. I’ve always found Volvo’s centre stack controls to be overrun with too-small buttons, and the XC60 is no exception – perhaps those who rear-end others in traffic are simply trying to figure out how to turn on the defroster – although I’ve always been charmed by the little chrome figure whose body is actually the buttons for the vent mode. My tester’s optional navigation system offered two methods of input, both of them unusual: a set of buttons on the steering wheel for my use, and a separate remote control for the use of a passenger. Once I figured out where the “enter” button was on the wheel, though, it was quite easy to use the map system.

Three can sit across the rear seat, but if you’re only taking two, they can pull down a combination armrest/storage cubby/cupholder between them. The cargo area on mine included an optional grocery bag holder, and a clever unit it is: a panel on the floor lifts up and stays upright, with hooks to hold plastic bags. Pulling up the entire cargo floor panel reveals several divided cubbies. With the seats up, the cargo space is 100 cm long; the seats fold flat, without removing the head restraints, for a length of 170 cm. For even longer loads, the front passenger seat drops down as well, for a total length of 280 cm.

Volvo may have erred in introducing the XC60 in top-line trim, because it’s a hefty chunk of paycheque; the upcoming under-$40K and presumably less-thirsty 3.2 FWD model may bring in more crowds. It deserves to be on the test drive list, though: it’s gorgeous, fun to drive, all-day comfortable, and it’s just an all-around, genuinely nice vehicle. Volvo can be justifiably proud of the job it’s done on this one.

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