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MOTORING Volvo with a kick


Taking to the Perthshire hills to test a sporty diesel coupé WORDS DOUG NIVEN


patiently for this month’s road test, when I arrived on a nice sunny morning. The vehicle’s name and initials conjured up some interesting pictures as I drove to Perth, to enjoy driving the car in the countryside. The Volvo XC range comprises a family of


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three, of which the XC90 is the versatile SUV go anywhere vehicle, followed by the XC70, known as the rugged yet stylish all-rounder, and fi nally the XC60 sporty coupe, all-wheel drive all-road model. To complicate things further there are various models of the XC60 range. The XC60 R Design D5 has a unique power


steering system and 18 inch alloy wheels together with the R Design sports chassis, which stiffens up the vehicle for better road holding. To give it an even sportier look the R Design comes with twin aluminium exhaust tail pipes, and in fl amenco red it does look the part. Once you are inside the vehicle, comfort


comes with front sports seats, leather sports steering wheel and sports gear knob. There are yet more sporty items such as sports fl oor mats, aluminium sports pedals, aluminium trim and blue instrument dials. The radio is an all singing and dancing system with eight speakers and all the bits that seem to come with them nowadays. Going back to the chassis and handling depart- ment, the car comes complete with the Dynamic Stability and Traction Control System to stop the back end skidding out on corners. The XC60 R Design D5 2.4 litre diesel engine


fl amenco red Volvo XC60 R Design D5 was sitting on the forecourt of Strathmore Motors, Arran Road in Perth, waiting


‘Comfort comes with front sport seats, leather sports steering wheel and sports gear knob’


model comes with either a manual or auto- matic gearbox and the test car was the automatic version complete with geartronic facility, which means that you can manually select 6 gears on the move if you feel the need to try and speed up the gear changes. This model has a theoret- ical top speed of 127 miles per hour and the combined fuel consumption is 40.4 miles per gallon in automatic mode or 42.8 in manual. Co2 emission is quoted at 184 and it comes in at £33,795.00 on the road. When driving the vehicle it feels big inside,


and I was conscious on the narrow roads that I was taking up a lot of road space. And as it is quite a large vehicle and has tinted rear side windows it is not easy to see out of when reversing. The car handled well, but I did not fi nd the engine quite as responsive as expected when accelerating. The Cruise Control System worked fi ne and the ABS Braking System coped well under a planned emergency stop procedure. There was no more than adequate space in


Below: The Volvo XC60 R Design D5.


the back seat area for leg-room, but with the rear tailgate open there was good access for luggage or whatever. The maximum towing capacity is 2000 kilograms with a braked trailer and there are fi ttings available for the roof to carry more if required. The XC60 was diffi cult to compare with other SUV type machines tested recently, but on refl ection it is more of a road-going rather than off-road vehicle and it is not easy to see which slot it fi tted into as there are the other XC Volvo models as well out there all trying to fi nd their own niche in the market place. I have to admit that I quite liked it but there


was just something that I could not put my fi nger on and that would make me hesitant to buy it – but I am sure many will and that they will enjoy its sporty looks.


WWW.SCOTTISHFIELD.CO.UK 139


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