Volvo has long enjoyed a reputation for making safe cars, though these days the Swedes have to do a lot more than merely build their cars to resemble concrete outhouses, writes Peter Carroll.  

Car safety technology has made big advances in the last 15 years, to the point where a small urban vehicle equipped with modern crash protection features can be safer in a road smash than one of the Volvo tanks of old – as Fifth Gear found when they filmed a crash between a Renault Modus supermini and an elderly 940 estate.

But the latest Volvo, the new XC60 SUV, is simply stuffed with safety features: from passive ones like the side impact protection system to active electronic aids which help prevent an accident from happening in the first place.

There’s a whiplash protection system, a range of braking, traction and towing aids, and a computer which tells you to take a break if you’ve been driving for over two hours.

There’s also a warning system that indicates if a vehicle is approaching in your blind spot, and, making its global debut on the XC60, is the new City Safety system.

This is designed to prevent the sort of low-level shunt that accounts for 75 per cent of all accidents – the sort of collision that often happens at roundabouts.

With the system engaged, provided the car is being driven at less than 9mph, the car will brake itself to a halt if it senses a crash is imminent. At speeds of up to 19mph the brakes deploy in a similar fashion – but rely on the driver to complete the job.

I tested the system by driving towards inflatable cars at a test circuit – and it does work. I’m not sure the Volvo rep appreciated my repeating the test by driving at a £25K Volvo S80 parked nearby but the system did its job and no damage was done.

Note that the system needs to be ‘activated’ by turning the steering wheel. If you were to buy the car and show off the City Safety feature by driving at your neighbour’s car without having done this you might have some explaining to do.

There’s more to the XC60 than its safety features, however, and Volvo reckons its designer looks will prove popular with buyers, as will its sporty driving characteristics.

It is certainly a striking vehicle, with an imposing front end – and it’s bigger than you might think. The car is around the same size as the Volvo XC90 but not quite as tall. It only has five seats too instead of the XC90′s seven.

The XC60 comes with four wheel drive, hill descent and has good ground clearance, so should be good off-road too. Volvo’s test route did not include an off-road section but the Swedes reckon the XC60 will turn out to be the best off-roader in their range.

The initial XC60 range is straight forward, with three trim levels – S, SE and SE Lux – and a choice of two diesel engines or the powerful three-litre T6 petrol turbo. Prices start at under £25,000 for a diesel S.

Inside, the XC60 has a classically Scandinavian look and exudes premium quality. The design for the instrument binnacle was apparently based on the look of Sean Connery’s eyebrow – a revelation which left me shaken, but hardly stirred.

However you dress it up, though, the Volvo’s cabin is an understated, classy affair. There’s plenty of room for five and the seats fold down in a convenient fashion.

Parents with young children may be particularly interested in the optional two-stage child booster seats. These pull out of the main seats and have two sizes, to accommodate children at different phases of their development.

The front seats are generally comfortable but some may find the head restraints angled too far forwards. This has been done to prevent whiplash injuries in a crash but means you have to recline the seats a little more than you normally would in order to get comfortable.

One feature that didn’t work that well for me was the sat nav system. To zoom in and out on the display you have to fiddle around with controls set into the back of the steering wheel – and at an odd angle too.

I daresay you would get used to it but, frankly, it’s easier to just rotate a knob on the dashboard.

On the road, the XC60 is good to drive but not as sporty as Volvo would like to think it is. The car grips well, as you would expect from an all-wheel drive car, but its light steering lacks sufficient feel for the sporty driver.

The 2.4 litre D5 diesel pulls well, particularly in the mid-range, but the de-tuned version is only marginally less capable. Fuel economy and CO2 emissions are similar for both engines.

Rivals include the Land Rover Freelander2 – still a formidable competitor, especially when it comes to the off-road stuff – and Audi’s forthcoming Q5.

But the XC60 looks capable of giving either a run for their money – and next year, assuming the economic situation brightens up, there will be a low emissions two-wheel drive model which should offer even better value.

By Peter Carroll