Volvo XC60 D5 AWD Inscription

Our second taste of the XC60 confirms this premium midsize SUV is a strong contender for honours at next years Top 12 Best Buys awards...

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Price: R779 736

0-100 km/h: 8,37 sec

Power/Torque: 173 kW/480 N.m

Top speed: 220 km/h

CAR fuel index: 6,72 L/100 km

CO2: 147 g/km

AS winning streaks go, Volvo’s is an astonishing one. Following years spent languishing in the massive shadow of owners Ford, China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Ltd stepped in with a US$1,8 billion cheque, taking ownership of the Swedish brand and spending more money on developing new hardware. Today, the results are undeniably impressive; in 2017, Volvo sold a record 571 577 vehicles. One of the main contributors to that tally was this new XC60.

It’s little wonder this SUV has been attracting positive attention. In our August 2018 road test of the T6 R-Design, we awarded it an impressive 81 points out of a possible 100, recording its cruising abilities, superb packaging and competitive pricing as big pluses.

We did, however, have reservations about two aspects: whether the R-Design package is a touch too compromised at low speeds on its firmer damper settings (that T6’s ride was sporadically flummoxed by sharp intrusions sending a slight shudder through the structure straight into the otherwise hushed cabin); and if a diesel model wouldn’t suit something like the XC60’s lifestyle focus better than the powerful but anodyne T6’s 2,0-litre dualcharged petrol.