The New Volvo V60 Is Here To Make Being Sensible More Sexy

Volvo's newest estate is attractive, packed full of safety equipment and can be had with up to 385bhp

The big push for Volvo right now may revolve around SUVs, but for most of us, the Swedish brand will forever be synonymous with practical but cool estate cars. And now, there’s a new one.

It’s the latest V60, which puts Volvo one step further in its quest to replace the entire line-up with cars built on the Scalable Platform Architecture that debuted with the new XC90. And before we go any further, it must be said: it’s quite a looker, isn’t it? Yes, it maybe borrows a little too readily from the bigger V90, but Volvo’s latest design language works out very nicely indeed on the V60’s more compact dimensions.

It’s quite possibly the prettiest of the new crop of Volvos, and depending on which engine you go for, rather fast too. Pick the top-of-the-range T8, and you’ll have 385bhp at your disposal from a plug-in hybrid powertrain. One step down from this is the 335bhp T6, which is also a hybrid. Yep, unlike all other Volvos in the current range, you have two plug-in options here.

Confusingly, there’s also a non-hybrid T6, plus a T5 and two diesel options in the form of the D3 and D4. All engines are 2.0-litre inline-fours. Sorry folks, the days of inline-five Volvos are long gone…

It should come as no surprise that the V60 comes stuffed full of safety gear, including an automatic braking to avoid collisions with cars, pedestrians, cyclists and even “large animals,” plus steering assistance systems such as Run-off Road Mitigation and Oncoming Lane Mitigation.

Volvo’s boffins have had a fiddle with the Level 2 autonomous Pilot Assist system, giving it “improved cornering performance.” We’ve always found Pilot Assist a little less than smooth in this regard, so that’s good news.

Want one? It’s yours from £31,810. Or alternatively, you can have it on a “premium subscription service” called Care by Volvo. You pay a monthly flat fee, and that covers everything. Think of it as Netflix, but instead of the latest series of Narcos, you get a handsome and practical Volvo.

The new V60 will say its big hello to the world at the Geneva Motor Show next month, before making its way to the first customers in the third quarter of 2018.