2018 Volvo XC60 review, road test

Luxuriously appointed, smart-looking and relaxing to drive, the new XC60 is a serious contender in its segment.

Published on Mar 15, 2018 02:43:00 PM

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It isn’t the last word in refinement but the engine delivers its power in an effortless and fuss-free manner.

Air-sprung suspension delivers good high-speed stability.

Based on the SPA platform, the XC60 comes with only four-cylinder engines, and Volvo has selected just one for India – the more powerful D5 diesel that puts out 235hp and 480Nm of torque. This is the same spec as on the larger XC90 and thus performance is expectedly very good. 100kph from a standstill came up in 8.36sec, that’s around a second quicker than the XC90’s 9.14sec, and a shade quicker than the Mercedes GLC at 8.56sec.

An interesting bit about the D5 is the Power Pulse technology – the Swedish firm’s answer to turbo lag. The engine has a compressed air tank that delivers a high-powered shot of air at the turbo, spooling it up quickly at low revs. So, does it work? Yes. There’s virtually no lag and power comes in from about 1,600rpm and the build-up is strong and linear all the way to just below the 4,900rpm redline, where the gearbox will upshift even if you are in manual mode. As far as refinement goes, the engine is silent most of the time, but it’s far from setting a benchmark and it does sound a bit coarse when revved; there’s no mistaking this for anything but a diesel.

Gearbox performance is satisfying too. The eight-speed Aisin automatic transmission is quick enough and does keep pace with the engine performance, and you also have paddleshifters behind the wheel, but bear in mind, the software will always be in nanny mode, downshifting or upshifting when revs drop or rise too much.