Let’s get this straight from the start. Nobody is going to hold their hand up in excitement and extol the virtues of owning a Volvo S60.

This is not a saloon that shouts performance or couture styling – it’s the type of car you could easily park in long-term at Heathrow for a month and forget where you left it.

But don’t be put off because the S60 has plenty going for it. Not least – it isn’t German and owners enjoy the cache of driving something that little bit different.

It is also beautifully bolted together, packs a premium cabin and, of course, being a Volvo, it is loaded to the roof with ingenuous safety features.

A hundred miles into driving the D3 model and, wearing my sensible 9 to 5, ‘must save for my pension’ hat, it’s actually a fine car.

I’m not bored yet and I would have been in an Audi A4. More tomorrow…