What are you driving?
Hello, and welcome to the Volvo V60 that no-one in Ireland is going to buy. That's partially down to the fact that this T6 turbo petrol version is not appearing on official Irish price lists and, even if it did, it would be silly expensive to buy, and crazy expensive to run. Volvo says that it will do 39mpg, but frankly, with a 310hp turbocharged petrol engine and four-wheel drive, they're just kidding themselves. On a brisk run over the mountains behind Barcelona, we struggled to do better than half that.
Aside from the engine, it's the same as the rest of the (more sensible) new V60 range. So, you get a sexy (yes, a Volvo estate - sexy) body that looks very much like a Honey I Shrunk The Kids V90, a gorgeous interior with digital dials and Volvo's big central touch screen as standard, a surprisingly big boot and excellent quality.
That engine is the same as Volvo's T4 and T5 units in the sense that it's a Swedish-designed-and-built 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo, just that this one has the biggest turbo. Those hoping for a return to the wild-and-woolly days of the old T5R 850 estates will be disappointed - the V60 T6 is far more mainstream than that. Well, mainstream for other countries.
Name its best bits
The engine is a bit of a belter, actually. Ignore, if you can for a moment, its stag-party thirst, and you've got a smooth, refined powerplant that packs the same power as a VW Golf R, and has a hefty 400Nm of torque for snappy overtaking manoeuvres. Pin the throttle to the firewall to get around that slow-moving truck and you're rewarded with a crisp, angry exhaust note, and a sub-six-seconds 0-100km/h time, which is more than respectable. The all-wheel-drive system is doubtless helpful and useful when it's lashing down or there's snow and ice about, but to be honest, on our bone-dry Spanish test drive, there wasn't much of a chance to test it out, although it definitely increases traction levels on the way out of tight hairpins.
Sit back and relax a bit more and the V60 T6 becomes a consummate cruiser. That cabin is just a fantastic space in which to laze and loaf about, letting the eight-speed auto ride the torque wave and using the Pilot Assist system to help keep you in lane and a safe distance from other traffic on the motorway. Quality, fit, finish and the choice of materials is little short of exquisite - Audi, you may have to hand back that Dermot Bannon Perpetual Trophy For Interior Design. It's roomy too, with the 529-litre boot being usefully bigger than what's on offer behind the tailgate of a BMW 3 Series Touring, Audi A4 Avant or Mercedes-Benz C-Class Estate.
Anything that bugs you?
It's not a sports car. In spite of the T6 engine, the all-wheel drive and the relatively sporty styling (there's an even sportier R-Design version coming later this year), the V60 T6 is still more cruiser than bruiser. Really attack a twisting road and even with the drive mode selector switched to Dynamic, you'll find that the steering doesn't feed communicate properly, and is reluctant to get the nose turned in sharply. The body takes a millisecond of hesitation time to settle on the springs during a fast direction change, too, and that eight-speed gearbox just stubbornly wants to hold on to a higher gear. A BMW 330i is much more of a driver's car, but then it doesn't have the space, gorgeous cabin, nor lovely exterior styling of the Volvo. Oh, and if you want one in Ireland, it's special order only, and it's going to - at minimum, and with the basic alloys and wheels fitted - cost you €570 a year in tax. Don't even ask about the fuel bills.
And why have you given it this rating?
The V60 is, by our standards, an achingly desirable car - great looking inside and out, fantastically comfortable, practical, safe (of course it is - it's a Volvo) and at the lower end of the price range, good value and well-equipped. The T6 is lovely, nice (if not exceptional) to drive, with a sweet engine, but the cost and running costs cost it stars. Lovely, then, but you'd have to be dedicated. You might be better off waiting for the 340hp T6 plugin hybrid (coming later this year), which will have an official Irish price, which will have a very low (official) CO2 figure and which will probably have similar levels of real-world thirst.
I want to know more
If there is anything specific you'd like to know about the new Volvo V60 that we've not covered, feel free to send us a question via the Ask Us Anything page.
