Used Volvo XC60 long-term test review

The car 2018 Volvo XC60 D4 AWD R-Design auto
Run by Mark Pearson, used cars editor
Why it’s here To find out if buying a year-old premium SUV like the XC60 makes good sense, and to see if it’s a viable alternative to a new car with a less premium badge for the same money
Needs to Inject a bit of Scandi-cool into the suburbs as well as cope with a variety of uses, including daily commuting, motorway journeys, school runs and family life

Price when new £41,570 Price when new with all options £47,395 Value on arrival £36,200 Miles on arrival 2855 Miles now 5910 Official economy 50.4mpg Test economy 39.0mpg CO2 emissions 148g/km 0-62mph 8.4sec Top speed 127mph Power 188bhp Insurance group 31E Options Intellisafe Pro Pack (£1500); Sensus Connect with premium sound by Harman Kardon (£825); Fusion Red metallic paint (£650); powered driver seat with memory for seat and exterior mirrors (£600); Winter Pack (£525); keyless entry and start with hands-free tailgate (£500); powered passenger seat with memory (£400); Convenience Pack (£375); Apple CarPlay and Android Auto (£300); and Tempa spare wheel and jack (£150)

7 May 2019 – Luddite wants to meet Volvo for long-term relationship

Although I profess to know a little about the mechanical side of a motor car, I am a bit flummoxed by the electrical bits and pieces. I use a phone, of course, and a laptop, but I have no idea how they work, and nor would I spend much time trying to find out. My idea of fixing one when they go wrong is to throw it hard at a wall.

So naturally being a Luddite my tech-laden XC60 occasionally baffles me. It took a young colleague here to point out, after I had reported on the various ways to change the climate control temperature via the touchscreen, that you could also do it with your voice, an option that works well but one I’d forgotten about. You can also use your voice to start a phone call or change the radio station, all of this accessed via a steering wheel-mounted button.

The car also has the optional Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, as I mentioned in my last report, and when this failed to connect up recently my first reaction was to mutter an oath. In fact if I’d had the patience to scroll through the settings and then let it connect up to my phone first all would have been well.

My car also has the Volvo On Call app, which allows you to track the whereabouts of your car. There was an occasion where this would have been useful, but I’d forgotten to set it up. Now it’s on, I can trace where my car is on my phone and adjust the temperature settings and even start it up remotely. In an emergency situation it could prove invaluable, of course, calling for help and relaying your location.

However, of all the Volvo’s many safety features the one I find really useful in everyday driving is the BLIS blind spot information system feature that can alert you if you’re pulling out into the path of another vehicle overtaking you from the right. Quite a few cars have this now, but the XC60 can steer you away from imminent danger, too, should the situation arise. 

It’s part of a £1500 option on my car called the Intellisafe Pro Pack. This also comes with Pilot Assist, which can help you out with some mild steering of the car, and a Cross Traffic Alert that has the ability to spot cars approaching from different directions as you’re reversing out of a space.

Some of this technology may baffle me, but there’s no doubting its use.    

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