SA Road Tests

Welcome

This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. We drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under South African conditions. It also just happens that most of the vehicles we drive are world cars as well, so what you read here possibly applies to the models you can get at home. To read one of our road tests or launch reports, just select from the menu on the left.

* Please note that prices quoted are those in effect at the time the vehicle was tested

 

2009 Volvo XC 60 3,0 turbo AWD Geartronic

Possibly the most sporting car Volvo has ever created


XC 60, Volvo’s latest contender in the fiercely competitive 275-model SUV market in South Africa consists of three variants – the D5 2,4 litre turbodiesel in manual and automatic and the 3,0 litre turbocharged petrol version with Geartronic transmission, under review.

A little shorter than the XC 70 and a touch lower than the 90, the XC 60 is billed as the safest Volvo yet, with advances to the dynamic stability and traction control (DSTC) system, optional trailer stability assist (TSA), roll stability control (RSC) and the new City Safety feature.

This is worth a report all to itself, but basically it helps overcome a problem almost every driver encounters at some stage.  You know how you approach a junction behind another car, the road clears and he moves forward, you follow slowly while sneaking a last peek for approaching traffic and as you face forward again you find the confounded idiot has stopped for no good reason on this green earth?  You make low-speed but ridiculously expensive contact and it’s entirely your fault because you ran into him, right?

City Safety seeks to overcome or mitigate problems like that. A laser detector picks up any vehicle up to 10 metres ahead and, together with a visual warning, preloads the brakes. If the driver fails to take corrective action, the car stops by itself. The system is designed to work at speeds up to 30 km/h and it does need to be switched on by means of a button on the central control panel, but it’s a start.

Another button controls a warning designed to wake you up before your eyelids start drooping, by emitting an annoying ringing sound if you drift over into an adjacent traffic lane.  It also gets strident if you deliberately change lanes, unfortunately.

While we accept that Volvos are big on safety, dynamic road behaviour has not always been a priority. Not so with the XC 60, though. This is possibly “the most sporting car Volvo has ever created,” according to its head of development, Hans Wikman.

An even more rigid chassis, optimal weight distribution, all-wheel drive, suspension improvements and steering enhancements make this a brilliant car to drive – not just “for an SUV” but for practically any kind of car.

Dirt road ride comfort and behaviour is (to the seat of my trousers) on par with that of the legendary Range Rover and a side trip onto a little-known back road between Boughton and Hilton served to confirm this.

Nature is busy reclaiming this track as it becomes overgrown and rain causes washaways with exposed rocky sections. With the Geartronic selector in first, I let the car amble gently downhill over the worst parts, while 230 mm of ground clearance added peace of mind. (Please note that I am not comparing ultimate 4x4 ability here, just talking about the sort of thing you might encounter while touring Grandma’s farm.)

Inside, leather-clad opulence for five with lots of leg and shoulder room, an excellent standard 8 speaker sound system (upgradeable to a 12-speaker, 5 by 130-watt surround sound device with optional 260-watt sub-woofer), climate control and all the usual bells and whistles look after your most urgent comfort requirements. 

One point appreciated about the sound system is that I could plug my iPod straight in, using its original USB cable, rather than having to shell out over R2000.00 for a special connector, as some manufacturers expect you to do.

A change from the usual rear seat back splitting arrangement is that the Volvo unit divides three ways, the narrow centre one being to accommodate skis of course. This section includes a neat fold down picnic table with built-in dividers (think upmarket army mess kit) and a pair of cup holders.

With all three seat back sections folded down, one is left with just over 1,6 metres of totally flat, carpeted load space, or possibly a sleeping area for two small people.

Although the lifestyle vehicle field is fiercely competitive, Volvo’s SA marketers are aiming for a 30% share of the “compact” SUV segment with the XC 60. With its capabilities, they just might succeed.

The numbers courtesy of Car magazine:

Price: R 515 000

Engine: 2 953 cc turbocharged straight six cylinder

Power: 210 kW at 5 600 rpm

Torque: 400 Nm at 1 500 rpm

Zero to 100 km/h: 7.81 seconds

Maximum speed: 213 km/h

Fuel Index: 14,28 l/100 km

Tank: 70 litres

Maintenance plan: 5 years/100 000 km

 What We Do

This is a one-man show, which means that road test cars entrusted to me are driven only by me. Some reviewers hand test cars over to their partners to use as day-to-day transport, so barely experience them for themselves.

What this means to you is that every car reviewed by me is given my own personal evaluation and receives my first-hand seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.

Every car goes through real world testing; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads as well.

I am based in Pietermaritzburg, KZN, South Africa. This is the hub of the KZN Midlands farming community; the place farmers go to in order to buy their supplies and equipment, truck their goods to market, send their kids to school and visit to kick back and relax. 

So occasionally a cow, a goat or a horse may add a little local colour by finding its way into the story or one of the pictures. It's all part of the ambience!

Comments?

Want to ask a question, comment or just tell me you thoroughly disagree with what I say? That's your privilege, because if everybody agreed on everything, the world would be a boring place. All I ask is that you remain calm, so please blow off a little steam before venting too vigorously. Contact me here

Back to Home page