VOLVO XC60 D4 AWD MOMENTUM by Tony Yates
I am not sure how many of you have ever driven a Volvo – but let me tell you this; once you have, you will never drive anything else that feels even remotely close. So, why does a Volvo make you feel this way? Well, to be honest, I have no idea – all I can tell you is that every time I go out for a drive in a Volvo, I seem to be a better driver who is, more courteous, more relaxed, and dare I say it – more like a human being. Of course the same cannot be said of BMW drivers for instance.
So, by buying a Volvo, I become a much-improved person. This, of course, got me thinking about what other improvements I could make to myself, but then I remembered a recent event that made me pause. I recently attended my best friends wedding as his‘ best man’ and on the way to the church, he told me he was very excited as it would be the first time he gets to see his bride’ s‘ new’ enlarged breasts!“ How long have you been waiting for that moment I asked him” He replied“ about 6 weeks, and it’ s part of my wedding gift, so I was prepared to wait he said”. So, it seems everyone wants‘ improvements’ in their life, but I think the last two are just a tad too radical for me. I believe It’ s far easier if you just go out and buy a Volvo instead. This, of course, gives me the starting block on how the XC60 faired when I took‘ her’ out for a spin to Norfolk.
Power and Efficiency: The XC60 I had on test was fitted with a 190hp four-cylinder 1,969cc diesel engine with 400Nm of torque at 1750rpm. 0-60 is dealt with in around 8.3sec( manual) and will max out at 127mph. I like this engine a lot because it’ s very refined and does the job of getting you around at a decent pace brilliantly. The big plus point here though is its torque levels which makes overtaking easy and pretty much effortless, even for a vehicle that I would consider to be large in size. For those of you looking for the fuel figures, I managed around 50 + mpg on the combined cycle.
On the road: I expected nothing but the best because my test car was fitted with AWD- which basically means you can take it anywhere you like subject to the ride height of course. Remember this is not a Range Rover – but for me, it ticks all the right boxes and its AWD abilities are very good on pretty much any surface. I was actually amazed at the amount of grip it had on and off-road. Volvo have done a great job in getting this system to work on all surfaces-
while still allowing it to feel like a normal road car once you hit the tarmac, which is pretty hard to pull off – as most will suffer from either being a little soft or at the other end of the scale‘ rock hard’. But Volvo seems to have found some middle ground here, which is of course, a real blessing.
Equiptment, Safety and Technology Volvo’ s interiors are very similar across all their models now- and are all very‘ plush’. Also, everything fits and works well with the driver and nothing is fussy, even the touchscreen display is simple to use and not complex like the one BMW employ. The seating is also well designed and even after a 4hr drive to the Norfolk coast, I still felt as fresh as a daisy.
Some of the standard equipment in the XC60 includes; City Safety with Steer Assist – which includes pedestrian, cyclist and large animal protection and front collision warning. Oncoming lane mitigation – automatically provides steering assistance if you unwittingly drift out of your lane. Sensus Connect – allows you access to a range of web apps and a lot more, DAB( Digital Audio Broadcasting) Radio, Bluetooth ® Handsfree System and a 9” centre console touch screen, two-zone climate control, 8” active TFT crystal driver’ s information display, heated front seats, 18” alloy wheels, plus a whole host of additional features that will keep you going for weeks to come. But, let’ s be clear here, a lot of the features in the XC60 point to safety, which means it is doing all it can to keep you safe & sound.
To sum up:
Driving the new XC60 is like having a brand new girlfriend who’ s prepared to do just about anything to make you happy. Seriously though, it’ s a great machine that will also do it’ s utmost to please you every time you turn the key. So there you have it, the XC60 is the perfect all in one package. All that is left to say is- I never did find out if my friend was pleased with his‘ new & improved wedding gift’.
Price: From £ 35,655( excluding options) tony @ yatesmedia. co. uk
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