Volvo XC60 review

You won’t have issues fitting in the front of such a big car, even if you’re very tall. The front seats slide back a long way to accommodate those especially long in the leg and there’s loads of head room, too.

Admittedly, the Land Rover Discovery Sport is bigger still, but Volvo’s penchant for light-coloured interiors gives the impression of more space than there actually is.

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As for stowage, there’s a deep bin beneath the centre armrest and a cubby behind the gearlever that has a sliding cover to keep valuables out of sight. The door pockets are easily big enough for a one-litre bottle of drink, too.

Likewise in the back, while a Discovery Sport may offer an extra centimetre of space over the XC60 here and there, even very tall folk will still appreciate how much knee space the Volvo offers. Head room remains impressive even if you add the optional panoramic glass roof; this isn’t always the case with some competitors, such as the DS 7 Crossback.

The XC60 is also broader inside than many of its key rivals, meaning shoulder room for three adults sitting side by side is surprisingly good. However, whoever gets the middle seat will have to straddle a raised tunnel that runs along the floor.

All versions have five seats. If you want seven seats, you’ll need to upgrade to the XC60s larger sibling, the XC90 or go for the the Discovery Sport.

The XC60 gets all the basic seating flexibility tricks. You get 60/40 split-folding rear seats as standard and they can be dropped at the touch of a button (much like those in the Mercedes-Benz GLC) if you fork out for the optional Convenience Pack. This saves you the job of pulling manual levers.

However, it’s a shame that the seatbacks aren’t split in a 40/20/40 layout like that you can specify in the Audi Q5 the Discovery Sport. It’s also a pity that you can’t have sliding and reclining rear seats; again, this handy feature is standard on the Discovery Sport and optional on the Q5.

This is another area in which the XC60 can’t quite match the class best. Officially, there’s 505 litres of space to play with – about 10% less than you get in the Q5 or BMW X3. That’s mainly because the boot is quite shallow. This is reduced further in the T8, as most of the electrical gubbins sit under the boot floor.

However, it’ll still bel big enough for most families’ needs and will easily swallow eight carry-on suitcases – that’s one more than a DS 7 Crossback can manage. There’s no lip to negotiate at the boot entrance, either, and folding down the 60/40-split rear seatbacks leaves a completely flat extended load bay.

The fact that the load bay is a uniform shape with no major wheel arch intrusion also helps, and all trims come with a through-load hatch in the middle rear seat for carrying skis or other long, narrow items. You also get a powered tailgate.