Volvo’s mid-size Sports Utility Vehicle is not just an immensely comfortable cruiser but also one loaded up with some serious technology
Swedish carmaker Volvo reinvented itself with the XC90 over a decade ago. A easy to use, functional yet rugged large Sports Utility Vehicle with comfortable interiors became a huge hit. But when Volvo transferred the same attributes to the slightly smaller XC60, it created the brand’s best-selling product. In India, the XC60 combined an ideal size, comfort and luxury even though it went head to head with cars such as the Audi Q5 and BMW X3. But while Volvo had gradually updated its portfolio of larger cars with the XC90, S90 and last year’s V90 Cross Country; the 60’s series of mid-sizers remained a bit dated compared to the competition.
But now the first of the new 60’s series cars is here and predictably it is the second-generation XC60. Volvo has given it a thorough makeover. I got a chance to experience it on the East Coast Road between Chennai and Puducherry recently and I was very impressed with the overall package. But, like all new Volvos, we must start with the interiors. And there is the small level of quality you have in the 90s complete with a lack of physical buttons, most of which are replaced with a 9-inch multi-touch screen that allows you to control everything. This remains one of the best touchscreens in the business, something like pinch to zoom on the navigation system works as seamlessly as you would expect on a high-end smartphone. The screen is the same size as on the 90’s cars, but the lack of the bezel on the top makes it look a little bit smaller. The layout of the car, from its digital instrument panels, gear shifter as well as the premium wood finish, does lend a touch of class. like on other new Volvos, the machined aluminium door handles and paddle shifters for the gears have a wonderful touch to them. The seats are excellent and the massage function works wonderfully well.
In fact, with the front seat being such a nice place to be, the biggest problem that the launch specification, the “D5 Inscription” of the new XC60, faces is that it is not a car you would want to hand over to your driver. Maybe if it wasn’t that exciting to drive you might consider doing that, but you know what, this car has class-leading performance. Here is the thing, Volvo has managed to draw out an incredible 235 horsepower from a two-litre diesel. Sure, it is turbocharged, but on a car with a big turbocharger, there is always the issue of “turbo-lag.” Now turbo-lag is the situation when there is not enough hot exhaust gas to spin the turbo to force more into the intake. So on a typical turbocharged car, you get this push of power around 2000 rpm as the turbocharger starts to spin efficiently. In a manner of speaking, you are always “riding the turbo” to keep the revolutions of the car up and keep the power going.
Now, what Volvo has done is that it has created something called the “Power Pulse”, which basically stores some compressed exhaust gas in a cylinder which is pumped into the turbo at lower engine speeds to get it spinning faster much earlier. So the get up and go you want from a traffic light, this car can do across the rev range.
When it comes to handling, you have to remember that you are in a large SUV, but it has an all-wheel drive. Around the corners, the XC60 turns well enough with just a little bit of understeer. The ride is enhanced on this specification with the wonderful air-suspension which reduces body roll and makes even a not great road seem like a silky smooth expressway. The party-piece of the air-suspension actually happens while you load and unload this cavernous car with a button operated system that lowers and raises it. I didn’t get much of a chance to take it off-road, but the XC60 has a “Rough” setting which adapts the suspension just right, although this is available only at speeds below 30 km per hour.
So we come back to the same point. The XC60, like the three 90’s car that preceded it, is a wonderful car, mixing luxury and performance in Indian conditions. But it is the sort of car that I would buy to drive myself. Maybe, Volvo India could bring in a slightly derated D4 specification later but the XC60 D5 Inscription is a car that you buy to drive yourself. And at Rs 55.9 lakh ex-showroom (all-India) it is going to be much more expensive than the competition, which are the Mercedes-Benz GlC, the third-generation BMW X3 due soon as well as the second-generation Audi Q5 being launched mid-January. These might be a bit bit skinnier in terms of features when it comes to Indian specifications but they could be a lot cheaper. Because while there are more luxury car owners driving their own cars, most of them still employ someone to drive them around.
Now, the smaller XC40 which I drove recently in Barcelona is a different proposition altogether, but you will have to wait for that review in the New Year.