The curious case of the XC60

MANILA, Philippines - As I scanned the Qantas valet parking lot in Perth Airport, darting my eyes impatiently from one steel shape to another, I felt a bit like Angelina Jolie waiting for delivery of her next adopted child. I was picking up a test unit of a freshly launched XC60 and the excitement was finally starting to suck up all that nasty travel fatigue. I’ve seen it in pictures, of course, and even up close in the motor shows, but it’s a whole different thing when you know you’re going to take it home for two sensational weeks driving up and down the pristine coast of Western Australia.

“This is it?!” My wife said as I flicked the keyless entry switch, a huge smile spreading rapidly across her face. “It is so… nice!” She finished off as she circled the car. I stopped for a moment and looked at her like, thanks, but, umm, what exactly does “…” mean?

I’ll admit that this surprised me a little. Honestly, as sincere as she was, I was left pondering the fact that her comment, seemed to straddle that fine line between a compliment and an insult.

Now I know I’m not the only person to notice that over the past decade or so Volvos have evolved from looking like chest freezers to becoming stylish Swedish bombshells that no longer look comfortable in the car park of the local lawn bowls club, but nothing punctuated the point quite as soberly as her reaction. And then I figured it out. Volvos are the automotive equivalent of Benjamin Button.

Think about it. They really were born old. Then year after year, along comes a new addition that wipes 20 years off their corporate image without betraying their core competence: safety. It all started with the massive leap from the 850 to the Peter Horbury-designed S80, and eventually made its way into the XC series with the highly successful XC90 and XC70, but unless you have been following their progress keenly, for the casual observer, I can see how it’s seemingly-sudden burst of sex appeal could seem rather surprising.

From a design point of view, the C30 (the last Horbury-designed Volvo) was about as radical as you’re legally allowed to be in Sweden. And now the all-new XC60, under the pen of former Mercedes Benz designer, Steve Mattin, takes it another massive leap forward.

Call me shallow, but with the stunning new XC60, this is a case of that girl your mother always says has a nice personality that you keep brushing off… until you see her again after a few years and find out she now looks like a super model. It is responsible motoring clothed in a shape that you would imagine libido to look like – which as far as breakthroughs go, is up there with unlocking the secret to making make health food taste like lechon and beer.

There is not an angle that it looks awkward from. There’s a strong resemblance to its bigger brother, the XC90, but it shares more common bonds with the XC70, S80 and Land Rover Freelander 2. In other words, contrary to its styling, the XC60 is more of an upgraded XC70 rather than a diluted XC90, which offers some key benefits.

First is the exceptional ride. It rides just like a luxury car, quite simply because it is one. Then there’s the handling. On the B roads leading into the world famous wineries of Margaret River, the XC60 remained completely committed to the tight corners and sweeping curves, and handled the undulations brilliantly. At no point did I feel I was in something capable of crawling down a 45 degree muddy slope.

There are so many contrasts to this car, little personality quirks that keep you constantly surprised. On one hand you know you’re in an SUV, what with the commanding driving position, the cavernous luggage area and the fact that I was able to park on the beach when all the prime spots had been taken. But squeeze the throttle and feel all 281 horses come alive as you throw it into a series of quick turns with 5 people on board, and you’ll be convinced you’re in something that has an electronic foldable roof.

Parents will greatly appreciate the integrated child seats and the electronic child locks, which may seem like such simple things, but are incredibly useful. One of the most charming things about the interior is how Volvo has fused Scandinavian style with American car conveniences. This is a fabulous car to take long trips in; I’ve always felt that Volvo make the best seats in the luxury car business, and the XC60 continues to impress with its generous support and genuine long haul comfort, while a huge electronic moon roof allows plenty of light into the cabin and gives it a very airy feeling.

Unlike its European counterparts, the XC60 is basically a front-drive unibody, even if this test unit, like the rest of the first wave of XC60s happens to be all-wheel drive. It uses the tried and proven Haldex 4 system that sends most of the engine’s power to the front wheels the majority of the time, throwing thrust to the rear wheels only when the fronts begin to lose grip. It may seem fairly urban, but a best-in-class 9.1 inches of ground clearance makes this cross over fairly useful off the beaten track.

This is a whole new concept for Volvo and I have to say that they have done a remarkable job. This is a segment previously owned and operated by BMW, Mercedes and Land Rover. I have driven all three before, and while I was thoroughly impressed with the GLK and the Freelander 2, Volvo has given us the best interpretation to date. The LR2 would get you further into the bush, while the GLK would get you around a racetrack a bit quicker, but if your life rotates around everything in between, the XC60 was made for you.

It is the longest in its class (albeit tied with the Audi Q5), has the largest luggage capacity and offers unparalleled levels of safety. Aside from the plethora of standard features like whiplash protection system, side impact protection system, roll stability control, dynamic stability and traction control, inflatable curtain), hill descent control, collision warning with brake support, active bi-xenon lights, and patented front, side, and rear structures, the XC60 also introduces a new technology feature that Volvo has named City Safety.

Volvo’s research indicates that 75 percent of rear-end collisions occur below 31km/h, and in 50 percent of those collisions the drivers never touched their brakes or did anything else to avoid the crash – they were probably updating their Twitter or Face Book status. The system uses a closing velocity sensor that helps determine whether a collision is likely. Depending on the speed, if a collision is likely, the Volvo’s computer system will either prepare the car to brake or automatically brake the vehicle to avoid or mitigate a rear-end collision.

Not one to just take the word of a press release, I just had to try it out. My apologies to the neighbor’s kid; I didn’t realize the system couldn’t detect pedestrians. I’m joking of course. With the help of Bruce Maynard of Premier Motors in Osborne Park, and in a completely controlled environment, we set up three tall cones and approached it at 30 km/h. Miraculously, without any driver intervention, the vehicle comes to a complete abrupt stop. Amazing.

It’s not something you want to continuously demonstrate to your friends, though; you would be quite surprised just how violent an emergency stop is from 30km/h. But in moderate doses, it is a great party trick.

All this safety does come at a price however and in the XC60, you pay in weight. At 4174 pounds, it is beefier than all but the LR2. This means you need all of the 281 and 295 pounds of torque to keep up with the Joneses. In fairness, you don’t feel the heft thanks to some clever engineering, but fuel consumption does take a bit of a hit, returning exactly 6.9 kilometers to the liter in city driving and 10.5 on the highway run down south. Still very respectable, and about the only trade off I could find in the car.

When my two weeks were finally coming up, I was starting to suffer from separation anxiety. After almost 2,000 kilometers from the car parks of the corner store, to the winding roads of Margaret River, the XC60 felt like such a complete vehicle. One that strikes a chord in every area: Practicality, power, handling, luxury, safety and above all good looks. Funny, but while I felt a bit like Angelina Jolie before picking it up, I felt more like Brad Pitt driving it home.