Volvo V60 review

You know the drill with modern Volvos. They feel like a Scandinavian Airline's first class lounge. It's all about the matte finish materials, the reserved but considered shapes and the choice of light airy colours. There’s room for bringing the interior up to date, but we like that there’s a certain timeless elegance to a Volvo interior. 

What’s the tech like? 

The V60 isn’t as stuffed with tech as more recently launched cars, but that’s definitely to its credit in our book. You’ve got a 9.0in portrait oriented touchscreen in the middle of the dashboard running Volvo’s Android-based software and it works well.

It does take a little getting used to how it works and where Volvo’s stashed the various settings, but it’s more than made up for by having Google Maps as your satnav rather than some naff in-house effort. And the stereo menu runs from good (standard unbranded) through great (Harman Kardon).

What doesn’t work?

In spite of the size of the screen it won't simultaneously display the car's map and the name of the tune you're playing at the same time, so forget about skipping ahead a few tracks when you've got a tricky exit coming up. Though the nav display in the digital dashboard is a reasonable compromise, it lacks the detail you want when driving somewhere fiddly.

Perhaps worst of all, the climate control is also integrated into the screen, so even simple stuff like adjusting air distribution or temperature has you prodding away at the screen without maximum focus on the road. Hmm.

Is it practical?

The front seats are as great as in other Volvos, and have power adjustment on most versions, with an option of powered side bolsters too. In the back there's lots of legroom (though the raised floor means the middle seat is for tiddlers only), and vents in the B-posts and centre console.

The boot is pretty huge – 648 litres with the seats up and 1,431 with them tipped down, which of course they do very easily and in a variety of configurations. The V60 is as versatile as you'd hope for in what is a proper estate rather than just a sporty saloon thing posing as a load lugger. The compartment itself is wide and square, with a flat loading lip and some storage space underneath the floor.

There are some nice standard fit touches in the boot, like the divider that folds out of the floor and has elastic on it to secure any loose bags, there are integrated hooks along the side of the boot, lashing points, and a net you can use if you want to, plus a 12V socket.