I can’t deny it – writing about the S60 is more time-consuming than I thought. The problem is that Volvo’s mid-size family saloon has nothing remarkable to recommend it.

And I don’t mean that in a bad way. It’s just that this is a good, honest car that doesn’t try to be anything else but well, normal.

There are times when driving all manner of exotica can be tiresome. Honestly, you just want to drive something straightforward. A no nonsense car that doesn’t anything about the type of person other drivers might think you are.

That is the Volvo S60. It’s the sort of car that celebs would buy, just to blend in with the crowd and not get recognized. Not a problem I have but you get the picture.

And for that reason alone I like it. It’s the Swedish equivalent of the VW Golf, the BMW 3 Series, the Land Rover Discovery – the great benchmark models of our time.