Volvo used to be a popular old fart’s car and I guess it appealed because it has always had the best seats designed by back specialists and everything was simple to operate and worked the same for ever.
By Rubin van Niekerk
However, a few years ago Volvo funkied up and got so sexy that it attracted a much younger market along with their grandparents.
Once people drive Volvos they often become brand loyal so we should not question why older people still love their Volvos.
Four 2,0-litre engines are offered with two diesel derivatives and two petrol derivatives.
Turbo charging varies and that changes the characteristics of the different models significantly. Our test unit was the D5 which is seriously powerful with ample torque for towing just about anything. The XC60 is Volvo’s 5-door, 5-seat mid-size SUV, built on the Scalable Product Architecture (SPA), which is a modular product platform that is shared in the 90 and 60 Series.
Locally the XC 40 is more popular but the XC 60 is the best-selling model globally with almost one million units sold globally since its first generation and was the best-selling mid-sized premium SUV in Europe.
Clean uncluttered Scandinavian interior design is tactile and upmarket with natural materials and new details on the dashboard and instrument panel. German rivals do not trump the Swedes stylistically, nor in terms of its impressive driver assistance features.
An intuitive touch screen combines car functions, navigation, connected services and in-car entertainment applications such as Spotify, Pandora, Baidu or TuneIn, while smartphone integration with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto is available.
Safety wise Volvos has always been a pioneer and the SPA platform has resulted in the sturdiest Volvo yet by using boron steel extensively, while numerous safety systems protect passengers and people outside the car.
www.volvo.co.za
