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Xtra Cool - 2010 Volvo XC60 |
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Written by Jeff Zurschmeide
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Thursday, 25 June 2009 |
I like Volvos. By any standard, a Volvo is a good car. They’re comfortable, well-engineered, good-looking, nice to drive, and they have all the latest features. And they’re safe, which is always a good thing.
Last weekend, I was nearly killed while driving my lovely old classic MG sports car. Some complete chickenhead in a big ol’ U-Haul came careening around a curve and wandered into my lane, coming right at me at a combined closing speed of about 80 MPH. I was in the process of pitching my beloved british car into the guardrail when the U-Haul swerved the other way and missed me. It was closer than I like to recall.
So maybe it’s dashing and rakish to ride around in a classic sports car and defy mortality, and I certainly don’t intend to let this experience put me and my MG off the road, but if you’re going to buy an SUV to haul the family around, why not buy a safe SUV?
Therein lies the true secret of Volvo’s success. All other things being equal, Volvo’s safety record is a distinct benefit. And all other things are really not equal. Volvo gives you a great interior, solid ride and handling, a gutsy 3.0-liter V6 engine that delivers 281 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque. Power is transferred to the ground via a six-speed automatic transmission with All-Wheel Drive.
In the bells and whistles department, the Volvo has every modern feature you could possibly want. Navigation, backup camera, heated seats, every form of music, lane departure warning, heads-up display of following distance warning. You name it, the XC60 has it – including for Volvo’s optional blind-spot radar system, “BLIS.” I strongly recommend you check out BLIS before you buy or order a Volvo – once you’ve tried it, you’ll want it on your car.
Oh, and here’s another advancement – the XC60 stops itself if you’re in imminent danger of a parking lot fender-bender. City Safety works at speeds of 19 mph or under. It utilizes radar to help determine whether a collision is likely. Depending on the closing speed, City Safety will either pre-charge the brakes or automatically brake the XC60 to help avoid a collision or reduce the impact speed.
I think it’d be even better if they fired that radar out the back of the car as well, to help prevent drivers from backing into things.
The XC60 comes with the usual alphabet soup of safety-related driving features. Traction control, stability control, tire pressure monitoring, rollover control, airbags in every conceivable location, whiplash control, LATCH system for child safety seats – it’s a Volvo. It’s got all of that stuff.
The Volvo XC60 starts at $37,200. Not cheap, but not sky-high either for a European sport-luxury SUV. As tested with a bunch of useful options, the XC60 booked out to $44,240, but I’m betting you can outfit one just the way you like it for around $40,000.
So, it’s not a fair car review without a couple of dings. First, the XC60 gets only 16/22 MPG, and combined fuel economy is just 18 MPG. That’s a price you pay for crash safety, sure, but Volvo has a perfectly good range of engines and I have to think that the XC60 would be almost as fun with a little less power. Second, the GPS navigation system is controlled by a little handheld remote control device that’s just begging to get lost. I don’t understand why some familiar dashboard or touchscreen controls wouldn’t have worked.
About the only other rap I can put on the XC60 is that the two-toned interior on some models might not please every customer. I thought it was funky when I first got the vehicle, but it grew on me over the week I had the XC60 and I kind of like the “cookies and cream” upholstery now.
So, let’s end on a good point and the bottom line ¬– I enjoyed driving the XC60. It was fun to drive, useful with its cargo and people-hauling capacity, and still not too big. I’d be proud to own one of these and I wouldn’t feel like I was compromising anything. The bottom line on the Volvo XC60 is that it’s a solid choice for a family looking for a safe, fun SUV.
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Last Updated ( Monday, 06 July 2009 )
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