Safety in style
Volvo’s entrant in the medium prestige SUV market is as safe as it is good looking. At the introduction last year, the T6 petrol variant was top dog, offering superb performance. That’s changed with the arrival of a new 2.4-litre, diesel five-cylinder that replaces the 2.4-litre diesel five. It’s a bit confusing but if you buy a new 2010 model D5, it has the new engine and is a better proposition than the previous unit.
Power and torque are now at 151kW/420Nm and fuel consumption is down to 7.6l/100km — not bad in a 1888kg vehicle. It passes stringent EU5 emissions regulations with significant reductions in carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide. All-aluminium engine construction saves weight and it features twin cams and four valves as well as twin turbos arranged sequentially. An in-house effort, the new D5 engine delivers strong performance. It’s relatively quick off the mark and has plenty of kick in the mid-range. The action stops about 5000rpm.
It’s hooked up to all four wheels via a six-speed auto with sequential shift mode and the on-demand all-wheel-drive system is controlled by a Haldex clutch system. The test vehicle was in LE specification, which ticks plenty of boxes, but options such as Bluetooth should be standard. It has an adequate amount of goodies — such as leather upholstery, premium sound, large glass sunroof, climate control, electric front seat adjustment and 18-inch alloys — but a global positioning system is $4100 extra.
The good stuff, such as “city safe” adaptive cruise control technology to avoid a rear ender, adaptive xenon headlights and lane departure warning cost a lot more. The XC60 is a pleasant drive. It steers with precision and has powerful brakes. But paddle gearshift is missing and the test vehicle had an annoying rumble at the highway speed limit. We were impressed with the styling and practical features such as the large load area and easy to fold rear seats. But the space saver spare is an issue. And while the XC60 has plenty of safety-related technology, too much is optional. We’d lose the glass roof and some of the other “luxury” stuff in favour of some safety kit.
VOLVO XC60 D5 DIESEL
Fuel consumption 7.6 litres/100km
Dealers www.volvo.com.au
Story: Peter Barnwell, from Issue 616, March 4th, 2010.
Volvo’s entrant in the medium prestige SUV market is as safe as it is good looking. At the introduction last year, the T6 petrol variant was top dog, offering superb performance. That’s changed with the arrival of a new 2.4-litre, diesel five-cylinder that replaces the 2.4-litre diesel five. It’s a bit confusing but if you buy a new 2010 model D5, it has the new engine and is a better proposition than the previous unit.
Power and torque are now at 151kW/420Nm and fuel consumption is down to 7.6l/100km — not bad in a 1888kg vehicle. It passes stringent EU5 emissions regulations with significant reductions in carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide. All-aluminium engine construction saves weight and it features twin cams and four valves as well as twin turbos arranged sequentially. An in-house effort, the new D5 engine delivers strong performance. It’s relatively quick off the mark and has plenty of kick in the mid-range. The action stops about 5000rpm.
It’s hooked up to all four wheels via a six-speed auto with sequential shift mode and the on-demand all-wheel-drive system is controlled by a Haldex clutch system. The test vehicle was in LE specification, which ticks plenty of boxes, but options such as Bluetooth should be standard. It has an adequate amount of goodies — such as leather upholstery, premium sound, large glass sunroof, climate control, electric front seat adjustment and 18-inch alloys — but a global positioning system is $4100 extra.
The good stuff, such as “city safe” adaptive cruise control technology to avoid a rear ender, adaptive xenon headlights and lane departure warning cost a lot more. The XC60 is a pleasant drive. It steers with precision and has powerful brakes. But paddle gearshift is missing and the test vehicle had an annoying rumble at the highway speed limit. We were impressed with the styling and practical features such as the large load area and easy to fold rear seats. But the space saver spare is an issue. And while the XC60 has plenty of safety-related technology, too much is optional. We’d lose the glass roof and some of the other “luxury” stuff in favour of some safety kit.
VOLVO XC60 D5 DIESEL
Fuel consumption 7.6 litres/100km
Dealers www.volvo.com.au
Story: Peter Barnwell, from Issue 616, March 4th, 2010.
