016 VOLVO CROSSOVER SUV PLUS

As you might expect it receives a lot for the $9,800 price increase, the most noticeable change being its direct-injected and turbocharged 2.5-liter inline five-cylinder engine that adds 10 horsepower and 8 lb-ft of torque over the base 2.0-liter Drive-E powerplant for a total of 250 horsepower and 266 lb-ft of torque, but the big difference is the way the engine performs.

016 VOLVO CROSSOVER SUV PLUS

On top of all this is a long list of standard safety gear including the usual four-wheel discs with ABS, electronic brake-force distribution, and brake assist, plus Optimized Hydraulic Brakes, Ready Alert Brakes, Fading Brake Support, City Safety autonomous emergency braking, stability control with a sport mode and torque vectoring corner traction control, roll stability control, active front headrests, safe approach and home safe lighting, a security system and immobilizer, plus the usual count of airbags, all of which combine to earn the highest possible IIHS Top Safety Pick Plus rating and five stars from the NHTSA for every XC90 trim.Īs far as upgrades go they’re wide and varied with five available engines, two transmissions, front or all-wheel drive, numerous trims, plus options aplenty, the $46,400 T5 AWD Platinum just one nicely packaged example of many possibilities. While I’m tempted to run through the entire menu of XC60 standard features that further testify to its excellent value proposition I’ll just touch on some highlights so that this review doesn’t end up looking like a brochure, therefore along with the usual de rigueur exterior LED lighting elements, powered accessories, powered heatable mirrors, dual-zone auto HVAC, faux leather upholstery, etcetera, the notables include an electromechanical parking brake, engine auto stop/start for saving fuel, a seven-inch color touchscreen with Volvo’s Sensus infotainment interface, high performance audio, Volvo On Call telematics, eight-way powered front seats with powered lumbar and driver’s memory, B-pillar rear ventilation, versatile 40/20/40-split rear seatbacks, a metal cargo threshold protector plate, locking cargo floor storage, and more.

It’s a rich looking cabin that exudes quality, and yes this should be expected in the premium sector, but the XC60’s interior is another notch above many in this class. Elegant satin silver trim circles around the switchgear to arrive at the door handles, while that same metal trim highlights the steering wheel, gauge surround, side vents, floating center stack surround, CD changer slot and various switchgear, plus the otherwise leather-clad gearshift knob, while all the roof pillars are finished in fabric. Highlights shared with the two trims and every other XC60 include a completely soft-touch synthetic dash top that wraps all the way down the instrument panel, the same pliable material used for the door uppers, which actually flow all the way around into the lower portion of the doors as well, covering everything but the map pocket insert, while stitched padded leather fills the door inserts before melding into each armrest.

Granted my loaner was at the lower end of the “Editions” quad, the other three being the R-Design, Ocean Race and Inscription, but value represents its own kind of beauty and the XC60 has plenty of that in both form and function.įirst off you can get into an XC60 for only $36,600 plus freight and dealer fees, and it’s just as well built and refined as the T5 AWD Platinum I just drove. Having been editor more often than writer when Volvo introduced the XC60 I had the pleasure of proofreading five XC60 reviews before getting my first weeklong tester, a pre-facelift 2012 T6 AWD R-Design, which after a couple of additional edits was followed up by a refreshed 2015 T6 AWD, both of which I heaped praises upon, so time recently spent with a 2016 T5 AWD in Platinum trim was like being reacquainted with a favorite traveling companion.Ī quick glance showed it was still stylish, although next to its totally redesigned bigger brother the XC60’s gracefully sporty lines certainly look a generation behind. Still a very competitive compact luxury crossover Volvo’s brilliant new XC90 might be grabbing all the headlines, but the smaller XC60 compact utility remains a strong seller for the Swedish luxury brand.

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