Compared with its most obvious opposition, then, the V60 falls well short as a load-carrier. But Volvo personnel do a good job of justifying it. "Volvo estates used to be designed to carry fridges," says design chief Peter Horbury. "But modern lifestyles make that unnecessary. Retailers nowadays normally deliver fridges! We clearly see the need to continue to offer vehicles that can carry big loads, but that is not the role of the V60."And here's Commercial Project Leader Malin Schwartz on the same subject: "This car is not designed to carry big loads. We have a V70, XC70 or XC90 in our range that can do that. Rather it's a stylish, dynamic vehicle that offers more carrying capacity and versatility than a typical saloon or hatchback."Stylish? Well, yes, I'll go with that. The latest-generation S60 is a smart looker, and if anything the V60 is better still. It's all the more eye-catching if you opt for the R-Design, which isn't as comprehensively equipped, nor as expensive, as the range-topping SE Lux, but is far more dramatic thanks to its 18" five-spoke alloy wheels and redesigned front and rear including a diffuser with twin exhaust tailpipes.The interior has sports seats, leather/textile upholstery and quite a lot of R-Design branding, while on the practical side there's a 15mm lower ride height, stiffer springs, revised dampers and a front strut brace. The car reviewed here also had the Premium Pack which is available on all V60s other than the entry-level ES and consists of extra leather, satellite navigation, digital radio and an upgraded audio system.It also used the T3 engine, a 1.6-litre turbo petrol unit which is the least powerful in the range by a considerable margin. On the other hand, its maximum output of 148bhp isn't exactly paltry, and it actually performs reasonably well - better, in the real world, than its relatively modest 127mph top speed and 0-62mph time of 9.2 seconds might suggest.But perhaps it only feels like a good performer because you're not likely to use all the power the engine can provide. Even with the suspension upgrades mentioned two paragraphs ago, the V60 is nothing like as sporty as the R-Design styling makes it appear. However aggressive it may appear, it's a thing of good humour and cuddliness, with a not unpleasant vagueness to the major controls which inspires gentle rather than press-on driving.You do pay a price for the R-Design bits, though, and not just in monetary terms. Those 18" tyres, or rather the low-profile tyres fitted to them, make the ride fidgety in a way that clashes with how the car behaves otherwise, and they also create a roar which changes considerably in tone, though not much in volume, when you move from one type of road surface to another.Added to that is another kind of roar which isn't affected by the road surface at all and I assume is something to do with a resonance created in the estate body, since I don't remember hearing it in an S60. Seems like a bit of extra work on the soundproofing wouldn't go amiss.Another thing Peter Horbury says about this car is that he reckons some people will prefer it over the S60 "purely because they happen to prefer its styling". I'd go further and comment that the looks are probably the main reason for buying it, since in all other respects it's neither outstandingly good nor offensively bad. Not an exciting sum-up, I admit, but then again there's always going to be a place in the market for cars like that.
Our Rating
