Volvo of Dallas

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Walk Around

The Volvo XC60 bears a striking resemblance to its elder and slightly larger stablemates, the XC70 and the XC90. The XC60 continues the Volvo design trend away from sharp angles and square corners and toward softer and more rounded lines. Nothing sporty, of course, but less severe, more relaxed.

The front end wears a softened version of the trademark trapezoidal grille, with egg crate mesh behind an angular slash emblazoned with the Volvo logo and braced by swoopy headlight housings embedded in swept-back fenders. A secondary air intake fills the lower center portion of the bumper, with fog lights tucked into the corners. The outlines of the openings, all V-like in overall shape, flow into each other, giving the fascia an of-a-piece look. The resulting head-on view is pleasing, while substantial and a little tall.

Side perspective offers a low-grade confusion between a sportier, almost coupe-like hood slope and roofline and a wedgy beltline that rises in a straight line from just aft of the front wheel well to where it ends above the rear door handle, leaving a bulbous mass of a rear quarter panel. This unbalanced look leaves a relatively hunkered down front end attached to a high, bustle-like rear end. Granted, this makes for a relatively expansive cargo capacity of almost 70 cubic feet, roomier than all of the competition save the BMW X3, but it leaves the XC60 with a stubby, chopped-off posterior.

Tires and wheels nicely fill the wheelwells. Door handles bridge oval recesses, promising sure grip even with gloved hands. The rocker panels, which, with their metal cap, remind of a running board, split a matte-black panel that also encircles the car, downplaying the gap between car and road.

The rear view shows broad shoulders capped by a tapered glasshouse with LED taillights climbing up the sides of the glass portion of the one-piece liftgate. The rear bumper cups the bottom edge of the liftgate, with widely spaced chrome exhaust tips peeking out below just inboard of each rear tire. The body mass also minimizes the visual effect of the XC60's height, giving the rear perspective a more planted presence than the front.

Interior

2010 Volvo XC60

The XC60 interior is as true as the exterior to Volvo's contemporary styling idioms. Even to the odd, slab-like center panel that drops down from the dash to the center console and holds the audio and climate control panels and, when ordered, the new navigation system screen.

The seats, front and rear, offer all the expected comfort for the everyday driver and passengers on the everyday drive, be it around town or between towns. And for families with toddler, there's the optional rear seat with built-in child safety seats. The front seats are modestly bolstered but no less comfortable for being so. The rear seat is more bench than bucket, but properly, as it's intended to accommodate three average adults, which it does, if somewhat snugly. The optional Nordic Light Oak veneer on the center stack is real wood.

Front-seat legroom bests only the X3, although there by an inch. Rear-seat legroom generally splits the difference, save for putting to shame the EX35's 28.5 inches. Nevertheless, in perceived roominess, the XC60 fares well, feeling marginally more spacious than the RDX and about even with the EX35 and X3.

Visibility from the driver's seat is good all around. The back-up video camera is especially appreciated for its assistance when parking; the video display bends the outer guidelines to reflect the car's path based on the position of the steering wheel. A nice-to-have would be the delay first introduced by GM, which leaves the camera on for a few seconds after the transmission is shifted out of reverse; this accommodates the commonplace back-and-fill maneuver so familiar to many drivers by giving them time to shift out of and then back into reverse without interrupting the safety of that rearward visibility.

The cuts and stitching on the seats and floormats and the brushed aluminum trim on door panels and center stack add a smart, cosmopolitan look. Bins molded into front and rear door panels and pouches sewn into the back sides of the front seat backs provide more than adequate occasional storage. The lighted glove box actually is deep and tall enough to hold more than the leather-bound owner's manual portfolio.

The navigation system has been redesigned, and the system display is fully integrated with the sound system control panel.

The premium audio system is superb, with crisp highs and booming lows. Auxiliary jacks and USB ports provide access to personal MP3 players and the like to keep passengers entertained.

A panorama moonroof is two-piece, with a front section that retracts up and over the back section. This produces a pretty cool skylight effect, which also benefits rear-seat occupants. The moonroof does, however, exact a cost, chopping a full inch out of front-seat headroom and nigh onto an inch and a half over the rear seat. Which pushes the XC60 even farther beneath the competition in that measurement, where it already trails by between about a half-inch to an inch or more.

Carpet covers all five surfaces in the rear cargo area; a thoughtful touch is how the removable floor panel extends rearward enough to be secured beneath an overlap from the closed liftgate.

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