Volvo V60 review

You're not supposed to drive the V60 like your hair's on fire. Not that the non-PHEVs will complain if you do – they’re actually very well composed when you press on. The V60 contains its body roll well, there's little understeer and the steering does let you place it with fluent accuracy on the road. It doesn't feel unwilling or lardy, although in the T6 and T8 (despite a decent turn of pace) you can feel the extra weight of the battery under braking.

It just doesn't encourage keen driving. There's little of the engagement and interaction you'd get from a BMW 3 Series or even a Mercedes C-Class. The steering has little feel despite its accuracy. In hard cornering, throttle adjustments bring very little change in the car's attitude. That's the sort of predictable stability that all Volvos wear like an iron shield of invincibility. But there are moments when an amusing road opens up ahead and you regret that nothing about the V60 would dream of egging you on.

Run me through the engines...

You’ve got three powertrains to choose from here, a petrol and two PHEVs. The B4 petrol produces 194bhp/221lb ft from its 2.0-litre petrol engine, does 0–62mph in 7.6secs and is WLTP rated at 44.8mpg. We managed 46.1mpg over a few hundred miles of mostly motorway and a bit of town driving, which is respectable. 

The two PHEV options use the same 2.0 petrol in different states of tune paired with a 143bhp e-motor. The T6 PHEV is good for 345bhp/258lb ft, a 5.4secs 0–62 and a 352.6mpg WLTP rating thanks to the 14.7kWh battery that’s good for up to 56 miles of official range (much less in real world driving, expect around 40 to 45). 

The more powerful T8 version manages 449bhp/295lb ft, a speedy 4.6secs to 62mph and the same 352.6mpg as its sibling. The B4 comes with a 7spd auto while the T6 and T8 models are upgraded to an 8spd box.

What else do I need to know?

The eight-speed auto gearbox is smooth enough for very relaxed driving, but it is a bit slow-witted off the line and sometimes fails to shift when you’d expect. If you fancy taking control yourself there’s a plus-minus gate on the lever.

Overall the ride is smooth and the V60 will cruise quietly along the motorway – the car sits somewhere between the sporting firmness of a 3 Series and the buttery smooth ride of a C-Class, though it edges closer to the C-Class on that spectrum. We did find the 4cyl petrol engine to be a bit clattery sometimes and Volvo’s PHEV powertrains can be a little clumsily integrated in terms of handoff between petrol and electric power.

What about safety?

On the motorway, you can be assisted by adaptive cruise and the (definitely hands on) 'Pilot Assist' feature. It holds lanes smoothly but it can be a little quick to scrub off speed as you approach a slower car from a distance. If you go fully DIY, the steering's centring is calibrated to hold a lane well and the V60 feels planted.

Volvo's City Safety system, standard across the range, doesn't just detect vehicles, people and cyclists. Its sensors are now calibrated to react to large animals (since few of our cities have roaming moose, you need to know that despite the name, it also works beyond town limits). And, in a first, it'll also do the very quick calculations needed to recognise the rapid closing speeds of a head-on collision and apply useful braking to soften, although not avoid, a ghastly crash.

The downside is that it’s also quick to slam on the brakes if you’re reversing into a space and a bush jumps out of nowhere, but we’d happily take a few of those shocks if it meant the reassurance of knowing you’re that little bit safer in an accident.