Volvo

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Volvo XC60 – The Second Coming

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It’s 12 years since Volvo launched its first SUV. The XC90 was incredibly good, which is one reason why the new version doesn’t appear on the market until later this year. Why change a winning formula?

After the success of that car, Volvo put its foot to the floor and produced a whole raft of chunky-looking sports utility vehicles. Last year’s facelift to the XC60 has helped create a car that will fit perfectly into your family life.

And one key reason why buyers opt for the Volvo over other premium brand SUVs is the cabin. It’s not just well-built and an ergonomic joy but simply beautiful to look at too.

Comfortable, refined and very classy, the XC60 may not be as exciting to drive as a BMW X3 but as a package, it’s a whole lot better…

 

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Volvo XC60 – Light Fantastic Beam

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I’m just back from five days riding a motorbike around Spain. The Spanish are ‘enthusiastic’ drivers and equally nuts in a car. However, they are particularly bad at dipping their headlights at night, which is annoying and dangerous if you are the oncoming motorcyclist.

What Spain needs is more XC60s. Why? Well, Car Couture’s test car is fitted with a system called Driver Support Pack. It’s a £1900 extra but probably the most advanced lighting system I’ve ever used.

The XC60 has sensors that continually monitor for blind spots and oncoming traffic, then adjust the headlights accordingly. Lots of other cars have this type of system but the Volvo one is so advanced, it’s constantly changing the headlight beam projection with the movement of the vehicle.

My favourite is when you follow a car and the Volvo system cleverly dims the lighting area that would have otherwise blinded the motorist in front. The main beam stays active on both sides of the car in front.

Does it work? Yes it does but Driver Support Pack takes some getting used to. My eyes started following the beam, rather than the road on several occasions. Clever but whether it is worth you hard-earned £1900 might be another issue…

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Volvo XC60 – Volvos Were Never Meant To Be This Sexy…

 

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Remember the wedge-shaped Volvo 480? Not many people do but back in the mid-eighties, this sleek four-seater was seen as radical. It was a total break from the norm for a company that produced lumpy estate cars with the aerodynamics of a brick.

Apparently, the 480 was designed many years before by a man who was almost hung, drawn and quartered by his Swedish bosses for suggesting something so outrageously different. Hell, this was Volvo and we don’t do sexy! Volvos were designed soley to carry sofas, while being capable of hitting an elk at 60mph.

Well, that’s all changed and for further proof, just Google the all new Polestar models that are the hottest Volvos ever built. Even the ‘everyday’ cars are pretty smart too. Just take a loot at the XC60. If you have to make the school run, then this is an SUV that your kid won’t mind stepping out of.

There’s not to much 4×4 ‘bling’ about the styling either, it doesn’t shout about it’s four-wheel drive credentials. Yes, it’s taller and more butch than your average hatchback but if you want a Volvo that is a tiny, weeny bit sexy as well as practical and safe, this is it….

 

 

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Volvo XC60 – With Fart Alert

 

141634_4_13Volvo will replace the hugely popular XC90 later this year – the giant SUV was the family car that really turned things around for the Swedish car maker. But if you want a taste of what the next generation model will be like, there are plenty of clues in the current XC60 we have on test.

The smaller XC60 has rugged, robust looks, wrapped up in a stylish bodyshell that holds it own against the likes of BMW and Audi. At £36k, it has too because top spec Volvos aren’t cheap these days.

The XC is available with either front wheel, or all-wheel drive, so unless you need mud-plugging ability, save cash and buy the former.

As you would expect, the XC60 is equipped with every piece of safety equipment you might imagine. That includes lane departure warning and a light in the door mirrors that warn you if a passing car is going through your blind spot. It probably has an alert for farting passengers too but I haven’t found that yet.

More tomorrow when I have learnt how to open the windows…

 

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Wednesday – Hot & Cold

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Jeremy Last day with the V40. I might have been a bit harsh about Volvo’s family hatchback. I really do like the way it looks and the interior, especially the dashboard, is a neat piece of work.

Quality is up there with Volkswagen and the seats in particular are comfy and substantial – I like the way the rear headrests drop forward when not required too.

I have found rear visibility a little lacking because of the small screen but the trade off is that the boot is a decent size for a small hatch.

While neither Jessica or I truly got to grips with the heating system, I can tell you the heated seats are quick to warm up – as if the heated front screen which clears in seconds.

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Tuesday – Small Car, Big Ideas

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Jessica Volvo, never a brand to evoke thrill or excitement, more a sense of stability and safety, is attempting to join the rat race for small off-road style cars with the V40 Cross Country.

Very few of us actually live where we need to do any off-roading, or even negotiate stony old roads or tracks in our commute and daily activities. So it’s is puzzling to comprehend what this car is actually meant to be for.

I found my long (hardly orangutan proportion) arms having difficulty with elbow room. I felt cramped in the drivers seat, which had to be at full extension to accommodate my not too giraffe like legs. Only a small child or an orangutan of my own could fit on the seat behind me.

Something to bear in mind, if you go and stay in a draughty country house (with no central heating) and you want to hop into the car to warm up, you will have trouble staving off hypothermia! There is no hot blast from the heating system and the controls are complicated. Take more thermals with you, or get yourself a car ‘onesie’ to survive extreme conditions.

The V40 is fairly fast and easy to drive but the lower gears are tricky and it is difficult to drive smoothly in stop-start traffic.

All in all, fundamentally there is good stuff going on. Perhaps Cross Country is too big a label for this hatchback car.

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Monday – What Is Love?

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The best cars I have ever owned are the ones I fell in love with. Let me say from the start, I would never fall in love with the Volvo V40 Cross Country, or any other small family hatchback for that matter.

The V40 is one of the smartest small hatchbacks on the market, especially with the additional Cross Country trim. And that’s despite the fact this model is no better off road than the other two-wheel drive V40s.

The extra body mouldings and slightly raised suspension are supposed to appeal to our adventurous spirit. I would rather spend the £1000 premium for the Cross Country on an adventure holiday instead.

Like all Volvos, the V40 is packed with safety equipment but some of it can be infuriating, as our earlier reports reveal. That said, it does feel like a well-built, robust car that’s well screwed together.

The D4 diesel engine is excellent but trying to keep the front wheels from spinning under acceleration is surprisingly hard. If only this car really did have four-wheel drive!

It has served us well over Christmas, averaged over 47mpg, carried five people in reasonable comfort and waded through many a flood too – but we are not going to fall in love, that’s for sure.

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Sunday – Weighty Issues

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So, I’m driving back from my afternoon run with a small rucksack on the V40 passenger seat. Nothing heavy in it – just a bottle of water, a dry pair of shoes and an energy bar. After 200 yards an alarm sounds, warning me that the passenger safety belt isn’t fastened.

This I find very odd. I know Volvo covet the super safe appeal of their cars but what size of passenger weighs the same as a rucksack, water bottle, shoes and an energy bar?

Rather that drop the bag on the floor, it became a personal battle of wits between myself and the seat alarm. If I propped the bag upright, the noise continued – if I lay it flat, the seat sensors didn’t detect the weight. Until I went round a corner, the bag shifted and the alarm sounded again.

I have already deactivated the Volvo’s lane departure warning system and would happily cut the wire on the alarm and flashing red lights that ensue when it thinks I’m about to rear-end another vehicle.

But a super-sensitive seat alarm? Maybe this wet weather is driving me nuts but it all seems a little ‘too safe’ for comfort to me…

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Saturday – Climb Every Mountain

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Just back from interviewing North Face ambassador James Pearson in London. The 28-year-old is one of Britain’s best climbers – and it was quite an adventure trekking down a very wet A303 in the V40 to meet at a climbing centre in Stoke Newington.

Pearson is of ‘no fixed abode’ and spends his life roaming around the mountains of Europe with his wife in a camper van. Sounds like fun but I wonder how he would fare in a Volvo?

Well, I’d say it’s very much a small family hatchback and even with the back seats folding down, you would have trouble stretching out for a good night’s sleep, especially as the base of the rear seats don’t fold flat.

It does have  plenty of cubbyholes and spaces up front and the Cross Country looks especially macho if you add a Volvo roof box to the fixed roof bars.

The front seats have three-stage heat – great for an Alpine adventure – but we found it difficult to get the climate control at the right level, how ever much we played with the rather complicated controls. Love the sound system though – especially the thumping bass speaker.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Friday – Lost Volvo

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We’re back from an enforced silence, caused by a week-long break in Ireland. Apart from wishing you a Happy New Year, my top tip for 2014 is always make a mental note of where you park your car on a ferry.

Maybe it says more about the styling of the V40 than our own stupidity but walking around the car deck of an Irish Ferries ship looking hopelessly lost isn’t the best way to start a new year.

You can feel the eyes of other drivers burning in to you as you wander aimlessly around, searching for a hatchback surrounded by countless other hatchbacks on a ferry packed with hatchbacks.

The V40 may have a few extra bits of trim to give it Cross Country status but it’s also remarkably good at blending in with the crowd. The fact our car was parked on deck 5 and we were searching deck 7 didn’t help… Never mind.