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Jaggy Bunnet's Cars - August 2011
Volvo V60 R-Design DRIVe
Green at Peace Road Warrior
When you think of Volvo, you think of box vans with windows, but it’s been a while since the 740 series. In fact it’s over 25 years since it was launched on an expectant public who wanted to carry lots of big stuff around. And yet the image lingers. Like Skoda and Hyundai, the company has worked hard to turn its image around, and they’ve all succeeded – well nearly all.
I was reminded of my own previous 740 just the other week when Volvo delivered a new V60 R-Design DRIVe to my door. Before I saw the badges, I saw the 17 inch alloys and the twin exhausts, and thought: “Ya Beauty! They’ve sent up the 237 bhpT5.” They hadn’t.
The car certainly looked the part in its gleaming bronze spray-tanned sportwagon styled body, and then I noticed the badges. This was the ‘green’ model with its new 119 g/km 1.6 litre DRIVe engine which means it falls below the 120 g/km threshold. That equates to zero first year road tax and only £30 a year after that. Add in the frugality of the 1.6 diesel turbo (62.8 mpg - Govt figs.) and you’ve got a car that looks as though it would appeal to the perma-tanned road warrior, but actually would better suit the retired gentry at the posh end of the street.
It’s a more compact car than it looks which will add to its appeal to those who no longer want or need big cars and yet it’s got oodles of space inside. Even the boot is a reasonable size underneath that sloping roof, although the open-door aperture itself is a bit on the mean side.
On that basis the V60 lives up to Volvo’s claim that this car is more about style than volumetric capacity. If you want to carry grandfather’s clock or the grandweans’ toys, then buy the V70 – Simples, as the furry rodents would have it.
Volvo have done a great job over recent years with their interiors, no longer simply utilitarian, but look and feel good too, and this one is better still. It really is a nice to car to sit in and to drive, but if it’s performance you want, look elsewhere. Volvo reckon the lightfooted can get more than 900 miles out of one tank of fuel. That’s enough to run from John O’Groats to Land’s End with enough left over to get you to a decent overnight hostelry, just don’t expect to do the trip quickly.
Although 1.6 litre engines are generally reckoned to be quite sprightly and the word turbocharger implies speed, that’s not the case here. This is where I was really reminded of my old 740 which floated like a butterfly and stung like a dead wasp. The new 1.6 engine has been tuned for efficiency and frugality. It generates 114 bhp which sounds alright, till you try and overtake a truck or a tractor on a country road.
A word of caution here, plan well ahead and don’t be too ambitious! Crikey, I had trouble getting past an old biddy in a wee Peugeot 106 going for the Sunday papers. Having said that, I was averaging nearly 60 mpg at the time, so it all comes down to a simple choice for the buyer – more pounds in your wallet, or more points on your licence.
And so to the burning question, would I have one. In a word, No, but that’s only because it’s not for me. This is for the driver who wants a bit of comfort and style, and who wants to arrive calm and at peace with the world, while being kind to his/her wallet/handbag and fluffy animals. It’s the kind of car whose driver will take flowers home to the wife, not because he has to, but because he wants to.
If it’s speed you need, then the 2 litre T5 will do the bizz, but if tyre-shredding is your game, then the 3 litre T6 will accommodate such wasteful desires. In fact, that one should do me nicely!
I liked the V60 DRIVe. It is a nice relaxing cruiser that will suit those who don’t have to hurry to get home. On that basis it doesn’t suit me.
In Short:
Price: £27,275
Engine: 1.6, 4 cyl turbocharged diesel engine with 114 bhp
Performance: 0-62 mph in 10.7 seconds, flat out at 118 mph
Economy: 62.8 mpg (combined )
CO2 emissions: 119 g/km
Insurance Group: ??
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