12 July 2011

The Scoop
The XC60 is Volvo’s entrant in the medium prestige sports utility segment. Price starts from $54,150.

The drive
You can handle the XC60 like you would a small car. The ride is light, pleasant and precise with electro-hydraulic steering making for a nimble and quick response.

Another in its bag-of-tricks - Volvo’s XC60 uses Haldex Instant Traction Technology, which means the car will be in all-wheel drive when you take off, but then switches 95% of the drive to the front wheels. Clever.

There are even more goodies all ‘round: leather interior, sunroof, rear park assist, electric park brake, climate control and for all those music lovers – an 8-speaker sound system. The seats are super comfy and the rear ones can be folded completely flat, turning the XC60 into a large station wagon. This vehicle is pretty close to being the perfect family car.

Safety
Included is Volvo’s patented City Safety Technology, created to detect and avoid collisions by braking the car to a complete stop or decreasing speed significantly.

Green factor
The Haldex Instant Traction Technology is great for fuel efficiency. Also, it passes European emissions regulations.

Describe the car in 3 words:
Comfortable, sensible, sporty.

Best thing about the car:
It’s a good looking, well-priced, well-designed option in its segment.

Downsides about the car:
Many of the safety features are optional. Wouldn’t it be great if they all came as standard – isn’t that what a Volvo is all about?

Soundtrack for this car:
Anything Powderfinger.