Motors North

Make

ANY AC AIXAM ALFA ROMEO ASIA ASTON MARTIN AUBURN AUDI AUSTIN BENTLEY BMW BRISTOL BUGATTI CADILLAC CATERHAM CHEVROLET CHRYSLER CITROEN COLEMAN MILNE DAEWOO DAIHATSU DAIMLER DATSUN DAX DE TOMASO DODGE FERRARI FIAT FORD FSO GINETTA GMC HILLMAN HOLDEN HONDA HUMMER HYUNDAI INFINITI ISUZU JAGUAR JEEP JENSEN KIA KOENIGSEGG LADA LAMBORGHINI LANCIA LAND ROVER LEXUS LIGIER LINCOLN LOTUS MARCOS MASERATI MAYBACH MAZDA MCLAREN MERCEDES-BENZ MERCURY MG MICROCAR MINI MITSUBISHI MITSUOKA MORGAN MORRIS NISSAN NOBLE OPEL PAGANI PANTHER PERODUA PEUGEOT PILGRIM PLYMOUTH PONTIAC PORSCHE PROTON RELIANT RENAULT RILEY ROLLS-ROYCE ROVER SAAB SEAT SINGER SKODA SMART SSANGYONG SUBARU SUNBEAM SUZUKI TALBOT TATA TOYOTA TRIUMPH TVR ULTIMA VAUXHALL VOLKSWAGEN VOLVO WESTFIELD WOLSELEY YUGO

Model

ANY

Area

ANY Badenoch and Strathspey Caithness Inverness Inverness Area and Loch Ness Lochaber Moray Nairn and District Ross and Cromarty Sutherland Other

Price From

0 500 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000 8000 9000 10000 20000 30000 40000 50000 60000 70000 80000 90000 100000

Price To

500 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000 8000 9000 10000 20000 30000 40000 50000 60000 70000 80000 90000 100000

Your Local Newspaper

Inverness Courier Highland News
North Star Lochaber News Northern Scot
Ross-shire Journal Caithness Courier
John O Groat Journal Northern Times
Forres Gazette Banffshire Journal
Strathspey and Badenoch Herald

Copyright SPP Group

our test drives or view them all

Volvo XC60 D5 SE Lux

THERE is nothing wrong with the Volvo XC60’s six-speed manual transmission – but what a joy this same model is to drive with a six-speed Geartronic automatic.

A week with the brisk 203bhp 2.4 litre D5 turbodiesel proved the manual cog-swapper is light with well-spaced ratios.

But if it had been mine, I would have happily shelled out another £1400 to get the optional auto.

There are 24 models in the range – most have manual gearboxes as standard apart from the half-dozen three-litre straight six T6 petrol models that get Geartronic as part of the deal. But no matter which XC60 you buy, diesel or petrol, they are all far more desirable with the six-speed Geartronic option.

Why? Because it is so smooth, so intuitive and so well matched to the high torque outputs of all the engines offered with this fine compact 4x4 Swede.

I’ve had a soft spot for the XC60 since it was launched in Perthshire last autumn. It’s streets ahead of the bulkier XC90 and a far better buy all round thanks to intelligent design, a roomy 4x4 body and a ride comfort few challengers can match.

As you’d expect, this 1.9 tonnes Volvo is safe. It comes with front and side airbags, Volvo’s legendary side impact protection, a superb DSTC electronic stability and traction control system in addition to progressive and powerful ABS brakes – all of which delivers a well-justified five-star NCAP occupant rating, four stars for child protection and two for pedestrians.

But Volvo wanted to go one better and has equipped all XC60s with City Safety – an auto-braking system that uses a laser beam projected from the top of the windscreen to pick up a car-sized object immediately ahead of the car. Providing you’re travelling at less than 18mph and make no attempt to take avoiding action, it will try and brake the SUV to a halt before you collide.

Clever yes, but when I tried it against an empty car-sized cardboard packing-case I managed to whack the target with a substantial thump as the XC60 was still trying to stop. Not what I’d hoped for.

It’s a good effort – but needs developing. To be fair Volvo is refining the system to make it identify cyclists and pedestrians. Once that’s been perfected I think I’d be more impressed.

In the meantime, the best advice I can offer is to forget it’s there and concentrate on your driving.

My SE Lux lived up to its name – it’s luxuriously equipped. The four-wheel-drive system and gutsy turbocharged diesel five-potter give it excellent refinement and performance on tarmac, and even though Volvo doesn’t claim it’s an out-and-out off-roader, it has good ground clearance and behaved brilliantly when I tackled muddy fields on a friend’s west coast farm.

Traction is good and the hill-descent control kept the XC60 in check and stopped it sliding as I eased down a really treacherously greasy slope.

The interior is outstandingly comfortable, one of Volvo’s best. Leather is standard at this grade and the support you get as driver or passenger is fantastic. On a long trip to Argyll, in miserable conditions, my passengers had nothing but praise for the car, its comfort and great visibility thanks to its high set suspension. The XC60 was also fitted with excellent adaptive headlamps that followed the twists and turns of the A86 with ease.

It’s a big car – 1.7 metres tall, nearly 1.9 metres wide and just over 4.6 metres long. That’s almost as long as the 4.9 metre XC90, but at the same grade the bigger 4x4 costs another £6600.

Curiously, although both XC60 and XC90 have the same 2.4 litre five cylinder D5 turbodiesel, the XC60’s transversely-mounted unit has a higher output – 203bhp from a twin-turbo setup instead of the 90’s single-turbo 183bhp. That’s because the XC90’s engine compartment can’t accommodate the XC60’s extra turbo.

There are other benefits for the smaller car. It’s more economical than the XC90 with average 40mpg on test while its big sister gives just 34mpg.

The XC60 is also cleaner with just 183g/km compared to the bigger model’s 219g/km – that drops the twin-turbo D5-powered XC60 into Band I and a tax bill of £175 while the single-turbo D6 XC90 is in Band K with a £215 bill.

The dash is fresh and modern in that unique Swedish style. Instruments are clear with good switchgear but I’m no fan of the electronic parking brake or the natural wood trim fitted to my car’s slim central stack – a finish Volvo calls Nordic Light Oak and reminds me of superior plywood. I’d much rather have the optional Classic dark wood trim that is a tasteful balance in this fine modern environment.

When it comes to standard cargo space, the smaller Volvo wins over the XC90 – its boot has a mighty 495 litres while the XC90 can only manage 249litres. Mind you, things change when you drop the back seats – an easy one-handed job on the XC60 that leaves a perfectly flat, wide and solid loading floor and an impressive 1455 litres of space. But it’s outdone by the XC90 with 1837 litres.

In just about every aspect, the XC60 makes good sense. It’s refined and quiet on the road – thanks to the test car’s deep side-walled 65-section 17-inch alloys and a well-insulated suspension. The ride is soft but controlled. Long journeys are a real pleasure.

And if you ever need to tow, it will cope with a 1.8 tonne braked load.

The £31,605 manual test car came with some options that pushed its on-the-road price to around £35,200.

Metallic paint would be a worthwhile expenditure at £600, as would the pricey but good Communications Pack that delivers superb audio along with a clear full-colour screen sat-nav for £2100. But why does it need a remote control? When would you ever need to remotely control a system that is less than 18 inches away from the driver or front seat passenger? That’s technology overkill.

The car also had a £537 Exterior Styling Pack, adding unnecessary brightwork that looked tarty, and powered tailgate at £350 that I could happily live without.

Driven hard, the XC60 soaked up the A86 and A82 and averaged 39.5mpg. Less aggressive motoring on main roads saw that rise to 42mpg while prolonged town driving dropped the average to 31mpg. Not at all bad for an able and brisk SUV that weighs more than two-tonnes with a full load of passengers and fuel and delivers powerful overtaking.

Along with the excellent XC70 estate, this is a strong 4x4 Swede that is as impressive as a Land Rover Freelander 2 or Audi X5 and challenges the new Discovery 4 for comfort and performance.

It looks good, is spacious, offers great occupant protection and drives beautifully – but above all it has the feel and solidity of a Volvo. It comes with a three-year/60,0000 mile warranty and needs servicing once a year or every 18,000 miles A great car.

Rating: 9/10

FINAL THOUGHT: XC60 is a far better vehicle than the larger XC90 and will fulfil the needs of a wider cross-section of owners. It’s more compact, superbly built, very comfortable and able on and off road. Best buy is any model with the five-cylinder D5 turbodiesel, but preferably with Geartronic automatic.

Volvo XC60 D5 SE Lux

• Price: £31,605 (£33,005 with automatic)
• Capacity: 2400cc
• Power: 203bhp
• 0-62mph: 8.9 seconds
• Maximum speed: 127mph
• Economy: Combined 37.7mpg; Urban 28mpg
• CO2 emissions: 199g/km
• ESP: Standard DSTC
• Insurance: Group 15