The article was originally produced on February 2, 2009, some facts and prices may have changed since then.

Volvo XC60 D5

After my friend Andrea Reuter had driven the Volvo XC60 that I had for loan and test, she exclaimed with Finnish-Swedish banter – It's the damnedest car ever! And she is absolutely right! The XC60 has assistance systems for everything, the blind spot, lane change, fatigue, panic braking and on and on. The only thing missing is the autopilot in short. For my part, I choose to turn off a lot of all help systems because they are quite annoying sometimes. Like, for example, Lane Assistant, which warns you with a ringing sound if you change lanes without yielding. Of course it can certainly be good if you drive and get tired and lose a bit of focus, but since I'm a bit careless sometimes and don't always blink when changing lanes, it's quite tiring to hear that tinkling sound every time. And speaking of ringing annoying noises, it should be mentioned that you almost didn't have time to unlock the car before it started screaming that you weren't wearing your seat belt. In my opinion, a bit exaggerated. I'm the type of driver who ALWAYS wears a seat belt, so I think a simple reminder in the form of a light and a low beep would have been enough. The XC60 is equipped with something called City Safety. It is a series of sensors that sit above the rearview mirror in the windshield. This system should prevent, among other things, collisions at low speed, such as, for example, in the event of a sudden stop in a queue. I tried to test this by simply not braking but my braking reflex reacted even though I didn't want to and this before the car braked itself. When Volvo themselves were to demonstrate this system, they used an inflated plastic car..! So my opinion is not entirely convinced about City Safety.

The XC60 I had on loan was a D5. So a 2.4 liter straight 5 cylinder diesel engine with 185 horses and a torque of 400 newtons. An engine that does just fine in this car together with the 6-speed automatic gearbox.

In terms of appearance, the XC60 is quite different from its big brother, the XC90. The XC60 has quite a bold design, the whole shape of the car leans forward in a rather sporty way. However, I have a very hard time with the incredibly high hip area in the back end. Looks like they forgot to round it. The taillights are really tough though, they run like two waveforms that are mirrored to each other. The headlights have also been done really well. Two slanted daytime running lights sit between the radiator and the main light, and the large marked fog light inserts give the front a rather aggressive look. Inside, in usual Volvo fashion, there is a high-quality feel and choice of materials. However, I think the chairs could have been slightly more rounded and due to the rather shiny leather, I thought you slid around in the chair. Otherwise, all buttons are clear and it is easy to understand how the car's various functions are operated. 

Due to a photo shoot in Sundsvall and a tight schedule, I had to cover Sundsvall round trip in one day. The entire distance there and back is roughly 80 miles, not an insane distance by any means, but still a good distance to drive. I started feeding the miles around 9 o'clock in the morning and it was immediately noticeable how adapted the XC60 is for this very purpose, delicious. You set the cruise control with a suitable interval for the car in front, then you can relax and think about other things. And actually I have to admit that the lane assist and the blind spot warning work very well in that context. You can actually relax and let the car do the grunt work, maybe not so much that you happily sit and read the morning paper at the wheel, but still.