Volvo S60 saloon shows you don’t have to go for an SUV to find space

Our seemingly unstoppable lust for SUVs is having a detrimental effect on the sales of family-sized saloon cars over the last 10 years or so. Volvo has its share of these SUVs but still produce high class, four-door cars that are right up there with the best in terms of premium quality and individuality.

You can’t get enough of a good thing, and driving the Volvo S60 this week reminded me of just how much I still appreciate driving a proper, four-door saloon. Not only is it perhaps one of the best looking cars of its kind and pretty incomparable on the inside, it is considerably rewarding on the open road too.

Volvo don’t offer a diesel anymore, so the test car was the 2.0-litre turbocharged T5 R-Design petrol model with a healthy 250hp and 350Nm of pulling power. CO2 emissions come in at 155g/km which adds up to an annual road tax bill of €390. It is also fairly good in terms of fuel consumption for a car of its ilk, coming in at 7.8L/100km over a mixed 1,000 kilometres.

Consistently good in every department, the R-Design adds additional weight to the suspension and to the steering feel. Sitting on big 20-inch wheels, there could have been a harsher ride, but that is not as evident here as you might think. Everything on board is measured and well built. You won’t want to be too aggressive with the S60, although when you do push it, it is agile and responsive when asked the serious questions.

Every Volvo comes with a delicious interior. Everything feels good to the touch, but I think that the hand swiping system in the big 12.3″ Active TFT Crystal Driver’s Information Display is a little more complicated than it needs to be.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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