Review of the new Volvo XC60 T6

Compact 4x4s with 285bhp on tap are few and far between. So are buyers for them. Does Volvo's impressive XC60 stand a chance of snagging a few with the top turbo T6 petrol engine on board? Impressive as it is, this may prove quite difficult.

Maybe I'm getting old, but 2002 really doesn't seem that long ago. It was during this year that Volvo finally committed to building a 4x4 with its multi award-winning XC90. Let's pause for a moment and consider quite how odd that is. Sweden is a country bigger than the UK, Greece and Ireland combined yet has less people than Belgium, it's frequently covered in snow, its people enjoy outdoor leisure activities such as logging and driving into moose. It seems tailor-made for 4x4 ownership, yet neither Volvo or fellow Swedes, Saab, ever offered us a beefy SUV before 2002. All of which might go some way to explaining why Volvo seem keen to catch up on lost time, revising the XC90 and then launching a smaller model, the XC60, a car safe enough to make short work of an errant alces alces and yet still cut a dash on your local high street, especially in top turbo T6 guise.

This XC60 T6 is certainly a quick car. Rest to sixty takes just 7.1s on the way to 130mph. Few other cars in this class can match it. Equipped as standard with all-wheel drive, the XC60 features InstantTraction to shift power from the front to the rear wheels if the system detects slippage, and is backed up by electronic stability control to avoid skids. Couple that with Trailer Stability Assist, Roll Stability Control and Hill Descent Control and it would appear to take some genuinely jaw-dropping ineptitude to get an XC60 out of shape. The chassis has been developed to give the XC60 a nimble, sporting feel which is welcome on the T6 flagship we're looking at here. This model's powerplant comes only with Volvo's Geartronic automatic gearbox.

The body has been designed with the enthusiast driver in mind, with a huge degree of torsional rigidity and excellent sightlines out of the vehicle. Weight is distributed optimally between the front and rear axles and with 230mm of ground clearance, the XC60 won't dishonour itself on a country track.

"The body has been designed with the enthusiast driver in mind."

Imagine an XC90 that's been on a hot wash cycle for a couple of hours and that's what the XC60 resembles; shrunken slightly, a little chamfered in its edging but recognisably a Volvo product and one that the company claim has turned up the visual volume. The grille is a little bolder, the car's 'shoulders' more distinctive, especially when viewed from the rear. If you thought the C30 hatch was a neat piece of design, wait until you take a good look around the XC60. In fact, Volvo cite this compact 4x4 as the car that C30 owners are likely to migrate to after they start a family.

The rear seats are higher than the front pair to give better visibility for children and the two outer seats in the back can be specified with two-stage booster cushions. The interior feels very airy courtesy of some serious glazing overhead, the laminated glass panorama roof being one of the biggest in the sector. The load opening at the back is also the widest amongst the XC60's direct competition, opening to reveal a 480 litre capacity. As in the XC70, the rear seat is a three-piece affair that folds 40-20-40, with each section capable of folding down completely flat.

Perhaps the most revolutionary piece of equipment in the XC60's arsenal is its amazing City Safety function. This is Volvo's technology for avoiding low-speed collisions in city traffic and tailbacks. If the car is about to drive into the vehicle in front and the driver does not react, the car brakes itself. Volvo claims that it's the first manufacturer in the world to offer this type of feature as standard.

Other technological highlights of the XC60 include 'Clean Zone Interior' system which will vent the interior at higher temperatures to ensure that allergy and asthma sufferers aren't left wheezing. Plus there's one of the best optional stereo installations available on a car at this level. The Premium Sound system features 12 Dynaudio speakers and a Dolby Pro Logic II Surround amplifier delivering 5x130 watts. An optional digital subwoofer under the floor bolsters that with an additional 260 watts. A USB port, an auxiliary input and a CD stereo that can play MP3 files means you shouldn't experience difficulty deafening the neighbours with your digital music library.

An urban fuel figure of 16.5mpg and a combined cycle economy figure at close to 24mpg for the T6 will put a lot of customers off, as will the 284g/km CO2 showing that will put this car in an expensive tax bracket. Still, residual values should be reasonably buoyant, if not quite as strong as you'd have got if you'd bought a diesel version.

Economists define 'opportunity cost' as the cost incurred by choosing one option over the next best alternative. Thus, opportunity cost is the cost of pursuing one choice instead of another. When Volvo launched the XC90 in 2002, the demand was such that the opportunity cost of using the Torslander factory to build less desirable models was plain to see. The Swedes aren't going to repeat that mistake and in the XC60 they have a compact 4x4 that is good enough to face down the very best in the market.

With some fascinating technological detailing, sleek yet muscular styling, state of the art safety features and some brawny powerplants, the XC60 is right on the class pace in a way that utterly eluded the likes of Land Rover, Volkswagen and BMW. Though its task is more difficult in flagship T6 form, it's still an impressive debut in this sector by the Swedish maker.

TOP 5 XC60 DEALS

The results below show the top XC60 deals on buyacar

Volvo XC60 D3 [163] DRIVe ES 5dr Diesel Estate
Price £23,624 Read XC60 Reviews	Save £3,871
Volvo XC60 D5 [205] ES 5dr AWD Diesel Estate
Price £25,788 Read XC60 Reviews	Save £4,137
Volvo XC60 D5 [205] ES 5dr AWD Geartronic Diesel Estate
Price £27,085 Read XC60 Reviews	Save £4,310
Volvo XC60 D3 [163] ES 5dr Geartronic Diesel Estate
Price £25,016 Read XC60 Reviews	Save £3,974
Volvo XC60 D3 [163] DRIVe R Design 5dr Diesel Estate
Price £26,204 Read XC60 Reviews	Save £4,291
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